Author Archives: Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA

Guru, sadhu, shastra tattva
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In Krishna Consciousness or bkakti yoga or vedic understanding of the metaphysics, the three checkpoints used to ascertain truth is guru, sadhu and shastra. Although all three have to coincide still we need a reference point to begin with and that is the scriptures or shastra. In other words, the sadhu and guru must agree with the shastra or scriptures. Why? Because shastra is considered ‘apaurusheya’ or in other words not tainted by mundane dualities of time and space. It does not change as we change. Also, just as Narayana existed before creation, shastra existed before creation as well. Before creation there was no time so the vedic scriptures existed before time (outside imperfections). So once we come within time, even pure devotees need to align with shastra. That is the method or the way to ascertain tattva or truth.

Another aspect of shastra is that although we may study scriptures over time in piece-meal still the conclusions must be accepted in whole. It is like stitching a quilt with different colored patches. The quilt is one big blanket but stitched over time with different patterns. Similarly, there may be differences in different scriptures presented to different people and if we just look at the details in difference ignoring the whole, then we see a quilt for its patches or patterns and not as a whole fabric as a blanket. Therefore the conclusions from the scriptures must be holistically derived. Any contradictions we may encounter has to be understood as a detail.

For example, in some scriptures, Siva or Durga are glorified as Supreme. This is a detail that needs to be addressed and visited. But the overall conclusion is that Vishnu is Para or beyond materialism but Siva and Durga are Supreme within the creation (but not outside of it). Therefore the overall conclusion is Vishnu is the Supreme.  This is the quilt as a blanket vision. Another example is always remember Vishnu and never forget Him and do whatever is favorable in regards to that. This is the blanket vision. So other details such as guru tattva, sadhana bhakti, qualities of a disciple such as humility, tolerance etc should serve the blanket truth to always be connected to Vishnu. But if separate them, then we will give importance to guru’s instructions more than God’s instructions and elevate guru to God in a subtle manner. We will practice sadhana bhakti sentimentally (can lead to dogmatism) and humility as self-righteousness. So like this when we separate the singular individual truths from the blanket truths, we will eventually deviate and fall.

Therefore, we have to understand shastra as center and guru and sadhu are subservient to shastric conclusions and that we have to accept vedanta (conclusions) holistically and not piece-meal.

The actual center is the śāstra, the revealed scripture. If a spiritual master does not speak according to the revealed scripture, he is not to be accepted. Similarly, if a saintly person does not speak according to the śāstra, he is not a saintly person. The śāstra is the center for all.
– Purport by Srila Prabhupada CC Madhya 20.352

Strict adherence does not entail shunning of the non-strict
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Someone asked me about my thoughts on Neem Karoli baba. I heard about the Baba and how few of his followers have made him famous such as Krishna das and Baba Ram das. I also heard some of the other-worldly things he had done and how he was loving towards his followers etc. I think he is also a follower of Lord Hanuman. Since I have not met the Baba or read any of his books and know him only through hearsay, honestly, I cannot speak much about him. In India, there are so many babas and gurus even inside the line of vaishnaivism, so many that we can get lost and confused.

The general trends as far as I can tell is like this – those who believe God is a personal Being with form and attributes are most likely connected to some sampradaya in an official sense. They would have studied the scriptures in an academic manner and intellectually first approach God. Those who are not connected to a sampradaya but due to practice of yoga or some previous karmic spiritual realizations/yogic siddhis start their own ashram. Such self-proclaimed babas or gurus most likely live an ascetic life but their understanding of spiritual will lean towards an impersonal reality. This is the general trend as far as I can tell. Of course, there are other out-right cheaters who are not even ascetics (we can ignore them).

Srila Prabhupada, from the standpoint of suddha bhakti, was strict and even sounded sectarian against non-suddha bhakti. This is because he wanted to clearly demarcate the path to Vaikunta and this path is certainly methodical and not just sentimental. Therefore, from that perspective of pure devotion, we have to but shun other paths. Srila Prabhupada’s definition of bonafide guru is from the perspective of pure devotion to Govinda.

There is another way to look at this too. Not everyone will be interested in pure devotion to Govinda. If that is the case, they will be more sentimental towards God than methodical. Such people will be attracted to any guru or baba who has esoteric qualities. We should not criticize the devotees who are seeking a lower-form of spiritual shelter. This is because at the minimum, even if impersonally inclined, these spiritual aspirants are taught to give up a gross materialistic way of life such as meat eating, sex, intoxication etc. So from the perspective of elevation from gross-materialism (approaching satva guna), I think those who are not interested in pure devotion still are making progress towards Krishna albeit slowly. Perhaps in a future state, they will see the fallacy of impersonalism and take to personalism.

Srila Prabhupada dealt in a practical sense like a gentleman towards all types of people. For example, he was friends of Dr.Misra who was an outspoken mayavadi. He even took services from him. He even personally served Dr.Misra, healing him back to health when he was sick. Srila Prabhupada also used Dr.Misra’s facilities as a way to spread Bhakti yoga. Srila Prabhupada was grateful to Allen Ginsberg and had nice things to say about him. Allen was openly gay and spoke in favor of it. Srila Prabhupada also knew about it, yet he was compassionate and kind. There is also documentation of how Srila Prabhupada was friendly with Yogi Bhajan and despite the difference in philosophy, Srila Prabhupada seeked Yogi’s help as a Kshatriya. Srila Prabhupada was also a close friend of Mr.Hanuman Prasad Poddar and seeked his help to publish his initial Srimad Bhagavatam Cantos. I do not think Mr.Hanuman Prasad Poddar was a seeker of pure devotion as chalked out by Prabhupada in his books. Like this, we can see how Srila Prabhupada had friendly relationships with everyone on a one-to-one basis (private) but as a teacher and guru he was vocal about mayavadism in this books and lectures (public).

As followers of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, we also have to respect all people from all backgrounds but for our own self (privately speaking), we strictly adhere to the principles set by the Guru and Parampara and we do not internally associate (although may be externally sometimes) with mayavadism or other non-suddha bhakti path.

Hare Krishna

Essence of essence is humility
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Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a branch from the Brahma-Madhwa parampara. The uniqueness of this branch is that it imbibes the mood of Radha and sweetness of Krishna. No other sampradaya focuses on these two qualities much. Sripad Madhavendra Puri is the initiator of this mood and Lord Chaitanya accepted Madhvendra Puri as His Param Guru. Then Mahaprabhu planted this seed all over India and Srila Prabhupada all over the world.

The recommended method to achieve the mood of Radha as given by Mahaprabhu is Nama-sankirtanam. Therefore, (1) Externally speaking, the essence is chanting (2) Internally speaking, the essence is love in separation of God in the mood of Radha. the essence for both is humility. Therefore the essence of the essence is humility!

Therefore, Srila Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami said “One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord. Raising my hands, I declare, Everyone please hear me! String this verse on the thread of the holy name and wear it on your neck for continuous remembrance.One must strictly follow the principles given by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in this verse. If one simply follows in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya and the Gosvāmīs, certainly he will achieve the ultimate goal of life, the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”  – CC Adi 17.31-33
As per my understanding. humility is as follows;
  1. to be sincere, serious and no other ulterior motive but to follow the instructions of the spiritual master
  2. to do one’s best in fulfilling the mission of the spiritual master
  3. to try one’s best to depend on Krishna in all circumstances and pray to Him always
  4. to internally cultivate a mood of service to all living beings and mood of love for Krishna
Hare Krishna

Spiritual planning is a key to success
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“One should know that the goal is Kṛṣṇa, and when the goal is assigned, then the path is slowly but progressively traversed, and the ultimate goal is achieved.” – BG 10.10 Purport by Srila Prabhupada

The quote above by Srila Prabhupada is interesting I thought. Clearly, to me when reading this statement, it seems that we have to plan our spiritual life much like we plan anything in life from educational priorities to job to retirement.

Proper spiritual planning is important in healthy growth of devotional creeper within our heart. Planning involves a healthy balance hence it is slow and progressive. The pace of our spiritual life depends on our nature, desires,circumstances and ability. Sometimes, speaking for myself, I have desire and ignore other factors such as circumstances, my nature and hence put others around me in stress and myself in stress. I say stress because sometimes there can be incompatibility with others and my own material nature. So it is important to know how to pace our self in spiritual life or Krishna consciousness.

Regulation and balance therefore is part of planning and is key to our success. We have to practice our spiritual practice daily in particular times (regulated) and balance our time for material and spiritual activities. To artificially give up sense gratification can back fire. Perhaps few advanced souls can successfully do it without relapse but (again speaking for myself) I need time to do it slowly.

Therefore, in ISKCON we have so many projects, activities, festivals, worships and as a practitioner of bhakti and adherents to ISKCON, we may be obliged to do everything perhaps sometimes due to peer pressure. Once in a while perhaps it is ok, but certainly stretching our self always is not good for our long term Krishna consciousness. So as Prabhupada is saying slowly but progressively this path of bhakti towards Krishna needs to be traversed and for that we have to plan our spiritual life nicely just as we would do with our material priorities.

Hare Krishna.

In Jesus we believe…
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In Jesus, we see a lot of Vaishnava teachings as given by Krishna and great acharyas. Below are some of the sayings that I know from Jesus that align with the teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam.

  • Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments
  • Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name
  • Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
  • So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
  • Be in the world, but not of the world
  • No one can serve two masters (referring to God and materialism)
  • So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
  • Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God
  • Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy.
  • Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
  • Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
  • Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
  • Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

All glories to Jesus Christ!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Hare Krishna

Truly speaking…
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When we first come to the path of Krishna Consciousness, Krishna, devotees, chanting, Kirtan, Prasadam, etc attracts our minds. We think “this is pure and fresh, I want to do this”. We start our journey in earnest. Then as days go by, our enthusiasm starts to wane or plateau. Now, no more the same Krishna, devotees or chanting gives us the feeling it once did. Then the mind starts to wander during japa. The mind starts to see holes in others’ services. The mind justifies judgement and self-righteousness etc etc. Certainly familiarity will start to breed contempt. Then, in just a matter of time the soul will wash back to the shores of maya by criticizing everything Krishna consciousness or at least the institutions’ promoting it.

When we experience a lull, we have to understand that it is because of our desire for material enjoyment (in its myriad forms’). We also have to understand that our initial attraction to Krishna was actually not so pure after all but tainted with our enjoying tendencies. Therefore it is  our job to clean our enjoying tendency. To let this tendency go unnoticed means we truly are not interested in Krishna but just in ourselves but in a different way (so called spiritualism).

Always, we have to be simple, honest and keep focus the purpose of spiritual life – that is – to love God without selfishness. As long as this selfishness is there we cannot truly appreciate the Bhagavat.

 Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura mentions that…one must not desire material profit when rendering devotional service. Even if one follows all the sixty-four regulative principles, he cannot attain pure devotional service with a contaminated heart. – Purport by Srila Prabhupada CC Madhya 19.175

Hare Krishna

Hear Krishna! Chant Krishna! See Krishna! Serve Krishna!
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Letters combine to form words. Words combine to form sentences. Combination of sentences express an idea. It is like music. Music is actually made up of fundamental notes (basic notes), combined we get myriad musical notes which invoke in us the emotion of happiness, sadness, anger, patriotism, love etc. The same is true when a speaker has a knack to combine words and sentences in such a way to invoke a certain emotion within our hearts.

Adolf Hitler had such sinister motives that merely through his speeches; he could sway his troops to follow his ideology. To this day, in America, if a layman utters the phrase “I have a dream…” immediately people will recall the famed speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. This is almost ubiquitous. His speech stirred the emotions of people so much that to this day, people remember him with those four initial words. When Neil Armstrong put his first step on the moon, his famous line “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” is a memory etched in the follower of modern science. “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” rocketed Kennedy to the White House. Words and combination of it, history has shown, can invoke such action that it can change a person or community or nation for the good or for the bad. Hence, the scriptures stress the importance of hearing followed by chanting.

When spiritual sound is combined in an artistic way to express an idea that will lead us to act spiritually, then such sound is powerful. Self-realized souls who are constantly in touch with the supersoul have the ability to speak and inspire just about anyone. It is important to hear from them. Srila Prabhupada although not a trained scientist, still engaged many scientists’ in a meaningful way because he spoke in an artistic way to capture the minds of the scientists at the same time delivering his spiritual message despite their unwillingness to do so. By hearing sincerely, one’s intelligence about the non-physical becomes more of a reality. If mundane words can invoke deep emotions of the past, present and future, certainly words glorifying Swayam Bhagavan Sri Krishna is supremely powerful that it can burn away all misgivings of the individual and set the individual on a journey with an emotion full of unending magic and joy!

Hear Krishna! Chant Krishna! See Krishna! Serve Krishna!
Hare Krishna

One must always be connected to the Spiritual Master
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In ISKCON, there are all varieties of devotees from neophytes to madhyama to uttama. It is important to associate with highly elevated souls at the same time careful in not finding fault with not so sincere souls who may be in a position of authority as well. 

Because in our heart, there is a tendency to find fault, that tendency is flared up when we see a factual discrepancy in the behavior of devotees. We will use it as a justification to criticize ISKCON and its authority. This does not mean we just have a blind eye to misdeeds. We have to report it to the concerned authorities and take shelter of Guru and Gauranga. In other words, good or bad we should practice the art of taking shelter unto Krishna amongst the dualities of this world even if it is in a devotional environment such as a temple because after-all ISKCON is also within this material world of duality and hence anytime anyone can fall victim to maya. 
We should not leave the institution just because we have a sour experience with local congregation or temple authorities. Humility,patience and shastric insights can alleviate some of the pain but by taking shelter of Krishna we can try to resolve unresolved conflicts within our self. 
Srila Prabhupada in one of his purports writes even if we find not so pure devotees, still we must stick to the Krishna Conscious Society.
Even if one thinks that there are many pseudo devotees or nondevotees in the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Society, still one should stick to the Society; if one thinks the Society’s members are not pure devotees, one can keep direct company with the spiritual master, and if there is any doubt, one should consult the spiritual master. However, unless one follows the spiritual master’s instructions concerning the regulative principles and chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord, one cannot become a pure devotee. 
– Purport by Srila Prabhupada CC Madhya Lila 19.157
Hare Krishna

Purity imparts purity
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Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita says that for a soul to accept Him as the Supreme Being requires millions of life times of sojourn in this material creation. In this long sojourn, if a soul is fortunate to meet a bonafide spiritual master, then that soul embarks on the journey back home back to Godhead. 

In one lecture, Srila Prabhupada spoke about this potential jiva. Prabhupada said that it is not only that the spiritual master has to be bonfide but also the disciple has to be bonafide. By that he meant the disciple should be willing to accept the gift the spiritual master is bestowing. So it is natural to be curious to want to know who will accept this gift and who will not? or rather what is the qualification to accept the gift of the spiritual master?

I was reading the purport to CC Madhya lila 19.152, in there we get a clue. Below is the short excerpt.
Those with a background of pious life are eligible to receive life’s supreme benefit, and to bestow this benefit, the Supreme Personality of Godhead sends His representative to impart His mercy. endowed with the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master distributes the mercy to those who are elevated and pious. 
Here in this purport, Prabhupada qualifies a potential candidate of mercy is one who has a pious background, those who are elevated souls. To say this the other way, those who have whole-heartedly accepted the gift from guru (guru-prasāda), we can say are actually the pious souls. They must have performed sadhana in their previous lives to accept this gift in this life. I also want to distinguish mundane piety (in the name of dharma, artha, kama) from piety being referred here. Mundane piety leads to mundane prosperity (not certainly Krishna). Pious means one who has performed practical service to fulfill their constitutional positional as a servant of God. 
So yes, Krishna consciousness is certainly not for everyone. Only those with a pious background, those who are elevated will be able to fully accept guru-prasāda and make tangible strides on the path of ananya bhakti towards Krishna – the primeval and original living Being!
Hare Krishna

One liners…
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  1. What is Faith? – Faith means unflinching trust in something sublime. 
  2. What is Self-realization? – Self realization means understanding Kṛṣṇa and one’s eternal relationship with Him.
  3. What is Yoga?  – Yoga means to concentrate the mind upon the Supreme by controlling the ever-disturbing senses.
  4. What is Krishna consciousness? – Krsna Consciousness means an art of focusing one’s attention on Supreme Godhead and Giving one’s Love to him.
  5. What is Sannyasa? – Real sannyāsa-yoga or bhakti means that one should know his constitutional position as the living entity, and act accordingly.
  6. What is Knowledge? – Knowledge means knowing the distinction between spirit and matter.
  7. What is silence? – Silence does not mean that one should not speak; silence means that one should not speak nonsense.
  8. What is Renunciation? – Real renunciation means that one should always think himself part and parcel of the Supreme Lord.
  9. What is Liberation? – Liberation means freedom from the cycle of reactionary work.
  10. What is Humility? – Humility means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others.
  11. What is Nonviolence? – Nonviolence means not to put others into distress.
  12. What is Tolerance? – Tolerance means that one should be practiced to bear insult and dishonor from others.
  13. What is Simplicity? – Simplicity means that without diplomacy one should be so straightforward that he can disclose the real truth even to an enemy.
  14. What is Steadiness? – Steadiness means that one should be very determined to make progress in spiritual life.
  15. What is False ego? –  False ego means accepting this body as oneself.
– One line definitions extracted from Srila Prabhupada’s books

Simplicity
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One of the qualities of an aspiring devotee of Krishna is the concept of saralata or simplicity. It is mentioned that simplicity of heart is a key ingredient in the process of surrender to the Lord. Simplicity can be misunderstood to be naiveté. Srila Prabhupada was anything but naïve. A devotee is also an expert in everything. So how can expert and simplicity go hand in hand?

Simplicity means, at least to me, is to not have an ulterior motive or agenda. When we have an ulterior selfish motive, then we will try to extract some meaning even if it does not exist and that is certainly not favorable for Krishna consciousness. We should keep things simple and straight. Thus saralata or simplicity of heart is a key ingredient in Krishna consciousness.

Hare Krishna

The plight of man is a wonder indeed!
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Once a man was chased by an elephant in a forest. Seeing no respite, he climbed a tree but he slipped, was about to fall before he could hold on to a branch. He looked up and found that the elephant is waiting to devour him and two rats, one black and one white, were slowly nibbling the branch  he was hanging on to. He understood that very soon  the branch would fall to the ground.

As the man looked down, he discovered that there were many snakes. Suddenly a drop of honey fell on his face. He pulled his tongue out and licked it. There was a honeycomb between the two branches he was holding. Due to disturbance caused by his holding and shaking the branch, bees were out to bite him. But at the same time honey was also oozing from the comb.

Forgetting the obvious (elephant, snakes, rats, and bees), he just adjusted his tongue to get drops of honey straight on his tongue. Now, he was happy indeed forgetting his precarious situation.

This analogy from the Mahabharata perfectly fits a common man. The man represents the common man or ourself. We are stuck in this precarious situation of this material world (samsara). Death (elephant) is chasing us continuously; it will not leave us without devouring. The black and white rats represent night and day respectively. They are slowly reducing our age. The hissing snakes represents the big obstacles in life. Honey-bees represent the day to day problems we face in our life. The sweet honey represents the pleasures’ of this world in its myriad forms.

If only we accept the lending hand of Krishna, we can save ourselves a lot of trouble but we are too attached to the drops of dripping honey.

The plight of man in this world is a wonder indeed!

Hare Krishna

Dhanaraj, Balaraj and Ananda
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Once upon a time there lived a king in Benaras with 3 sons named Dhanaraj, Balaraj and Ananda.

Suddenly one day the king left his body and the kingdom was seized by the minister.

The minister took charge of the kingdom and cheated the 3 prince by giving them a small house to live in a village which was located outside the kingdom.

Now these three began to contemplate on the situation.

The eldest one asked, “What is the finest thing in the world?”

The youngest one said,  “I dont know?”

The middle one Balaraj said, “Power is the finest thing, the minister would not have snatched our kingdom without power.”

The elder prince disagreed saying, “The finest thing in the world is money. With money we can have power also. I will go to China and return with lots of money.”

Prince Balaraj said,  “I will go to Turkey and raise a big army.”

The brothers decided to meet at the same place after 10 yrs .

Years passed by and one fine day a huge army came from one side and a huge caravan full of gold and jewels came from the other.

They were led by Dhanaraj and Balaraj, both the brothers embraced each other.

Dhanaraj told Balaraj, “I am the richest man in the world. I can bribe your soldiers.”

Balaraj proudly said “My soldiers can loot your money.”

They looked out for their younger brother Ananda. He came out from the small house with a young woman and 2 children.

Dhanaraj and Balaraj asked “Did you find the finest thing in the world?”

Ananda said, “Yes. I have found that contentment is the finest thing in the world, without it power and wealth are all useless.”

The brothers suddenly realized that its true, still they wanted to fight the Minister.

Ananda laughed and told that the Minister died years ago and people wanted to make him the king. But he was too contented to leave. So, all their efforts had been in vain.

Here we see that the youngest prince Ananda was happy with whatever he had and thus was living peacefully.

Moral of the story.

If you are happy with whatever you have, i.e. you are content with what you have there is no regrets. Then there is no desire and if there is no desire, you will be peaceful.

Here is the verse from the shastras which says:

santosha trishu kartavyah svadhaare bhojane dhane
santosha trishu na kartavyah svaadhyaah japa dhaanayoh

“One should be always satisfied with these three things:
1) their spouse
2) the food
3) the amount of wealth they obtained.

One should never be satisfied with these three things:

1) the amount of scriptural study
2) the amount of chanting
3) amount of charity they perform

We always want to accumulate wealth for future, want to build a house, take up life insurance policies and what not.

Every one tries to possess more and more. How much ever we endeavor we shall get only that which is in our prarabdha.

Lord is taking care of our needs right from the time we are in our mothers womb. As soon as the child comes out mothers body is filled with milk. Still we try to make all arrangements. This is because we don’t have faith in him.

Hare Krishna

Big bang and a fizzle in the long run
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Since everything is at the end temporary, no matter how grand the show may be materially speaking, in the grand scheme of things is simply fluff. The opening and middle may be grand but the end is it ends. The scene changes, people change and everything has to be dismantled. Of course, then the next group arrives, sets up their tent and the show continues. Regardless, all things must pass and this temporariness of this world makes reality less valuable than it is presented to us.

Below is a nice description, I thought, sort of describing this grand but temporary show.

aja-yuddhe muni-śrāddhe
prabhāte megha-ḍambare
dam-pate kalahe caiva
bambhārambhe laghu-kriyā

Aja yuddhe means two goats fighting. I vividly remember growing up in India, I have often seen two goats fighting clashing their horns and heads. Literally one can hear the noise of the clash like two gladiators in a ring. Then, the owner comes and shews the goats away and they are like friends again. This exaggerated fight between goats represents our grand illusory world.

Muni-śrāddhe means the sage or muni is trying to have a grand ceremony but living in the forest, what can they possess, some fruits, leaves etc. Although it is a ceremony but not very ceremonious. Again grand in stage but not much to show in terms of offering.

Prabhāte megha-ḍambare is rumbling of the clouds but no rain. This is very common. Everyone must have had this experience of dark ominous clouds with thundering sound but either there is little rain or no rain. One more instance of grand opening but just fluff.

Dam-pate kalahe, this is the most common although now a days this is not just innocent. When a husband and wife fight with each other, they chastise and shout at each other but a true loving couple do not continue the fight. After things calm down, they get back as if nothing happened. However, this is not the case much anymore but certainly once couples never separated despite arguments and fighting. In that sense, such fighting is not fighting.

All the above examples give us a clue that we should deal with life and life incidences with a smooth handle. In other words, if things get sour, let time heal the wounds because after all everything begins with a bang bambhārambhe, but ends with fluff laghu-kriyā (not very significant).

This is the nature of this world.

Hare Krishna

Devotee means…
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Vaiṣṇava devotee means give me simply a place to lay down, little prasādam, whatever little service you have got please give me, that’s all. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Letter to: Gurudāsa, Yamunā — Bombay 19 December, 1972

Devotee means he is able to tolerate all kinds of discomfort and whims of the material nature, and because he is so much absorbed in serving Kṛṣṇa, he takes no time to become angry or take offense with others or find out some fault. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Letter to: Haṁsadūta — Ahmedabad 10 December, 1972

Devotee means very liberal and kind to everyone, always gentleman under all kinds of conditions of life. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Letter to: Haṁsadūta — Ahmedabad 10 December, 1972

Devotee means one should be firmly convinced of his being the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.  -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Letter to: Mr. Kair — Los Angeles 8 July, 1969

So to become devotee means to do the best service to the family. -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Discussion on Deprogrammers — January 9, 1977, Bombay

A devotee means he knows everything. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s room Conversation with Professor Francois Chenique — August 5, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm)

Devotee means the first sign will be happy, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā [Bg. 18.54]. If he’s not prasannātmā, he’s a rascal. He has not entered even devotional life. He’s outside. That is the test.-Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Morning Walk — April 24, 1976, Melbourne

Devotee means tattva-darśī. He has seen the real truth. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Morning Walk — March 25, 1976, Delhi

Devotee means who follows Kṛṣṇa. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Morning Walk — March 25, 1976, Delhi

Devotee means sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]. He is above these material laws. That is devotee. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Morning Walk — March 25, 1976, Delhi

Devotee means brahmacārī. Pure devotee means brahmacārī. Anyabhilasita-sunyam [Brs. 1.1.11]. He has no other desire. That is brahmacārī. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Morning Walk — November 3, 1975, Bombay

Devotee means serious devotee. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Conversation with Professor Hopkins — July 13, 1975, Philadelphia

Devotee means he has no sense gratification. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Room Conversation with Tripurāri — March 2, 1975, Atlanta

Devotee means one who has taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Morning Walk — June 13, 1974, Paris

Devotee means he does not know anything better than Kṛṣṇa, that’s all. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Room Conversation — November 4, 1973, Delhi

The devotee means who is always pleasing Kṛṣṇa. He has no other business. That is devotee. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Talk with Bob Cohen — February 27-29, 1972, Māyāpura

Devotee means to hear about Kṛṣṇa, to chant the glories of Kṛṣṇa, to think of Kṛṣṇa, to offer fruits and flowers to Kṛṣṇa. -Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Departure Address — Los Angeles, July 15, 1974

Devotee means to become fully qualified with all the noble qualities. -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.119-121 — New York, November 24, 1966

Devotee means he must be sinless.-Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.1 — Madras, January 2, 1976

Devotee, means he is prepared to do anything for God. That is pure devotee. –Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.22-30 — London, September 8, 1971

Devotee means not with four hands or four legs, no. The hands, legs are the same. But his mode of thinking different. That’s all. That is devotee. Devotee does not depend on the country, color or religion or circumstance. Devotee means the mind. Anyone who is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, he is devotee. -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.50 — Detroit, June 16, 1976

Devotee means he’s not blind.-Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam1.7.40 — Vṛndāvana, October 1, 1976

Devotee means he does not ask anything from God.-Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam1.3.7 — Los Angeles, September 13, 1972

A devotee means who is abiding by the laws given by God. -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam1.1.2 — London, August 17, 1971

Devotee means complete spiritual. -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Bhagavad-gītā 4.2, Bombay, March 22, 1974

Devotee means he is firmly convinced about his relationship with God.-Śrīla Prabhupāda, Bhagavad-gītā 4.1-6 — Los Angeles, January 3, 1969

Devotee means servant—not paid servant—but servant by affection. -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 — Delhi, November 10, 1971

Devotee means he can act anything and everything for the Lord. -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 — Montreal, August 24, 1968

Devotee means one who has engaged his senses cent percent for the service of the Lord, he is devotee, pure devotee. -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Bhagavad-gītā 3.6-10 — Los Angeles, December 23, 1968

Devotee means although he is very, very powerful, he never thinks that “I am powerful.” He thinks that “I am acting simply by the order of the powerful.” -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Bhagavad-gītā 2.15 — London, August 21, 1973

Devotee means to finish all miserable conditions of materialistic life. -Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.12.46

Hare Krishna

Vaishnava dharma is the only supreme religion
→ Servant of the Servant

Once, I met Reverend Ridley De. After he quietly listened to my lecture for two or three hours, he said, “Since you are saying things that are so similar to Christianity, why don’t you declare yourself a Christian?” To this I said, “Christianity is only a partial representation of – or a step on the ladder of – Vaiṣṇava dharma. Apart from that, we have more, which supplements what Christianity teaches. Things that have not been said in Christianity because qualification is there in a fuller extent in Vaiṣṇavism. Vaiṣṇava dharma is the only supreme religion for all living entities. The other religious systems are either stages of Vaiṣṇavism or perversions of it. To the degree that they are stages, they can be accepted for particular classes of people; if they are perversions, they should be rejected.

– Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada, Uncommon Dialogues,pg 83

The Power of Chanting
→ Servant of the Servant

One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures.

If one chants the holy name of Hari and then dies because of an accidental misfortune, such as falling from the top of a house, slipping and suffering broken bones while traveling on the road, being bitten by a serpent, being afflicted with pain and high fever, or being injured by a weapon, one is immediately absolved from having to enter hellish life, even though he is sinful.

Authorities who are learned scholars and sages have carefully ascertained that one should atone for the heaviest sins by undergoing a heavy process of atonement and one should atone for lighter sins by undergoing lighter atonement. Chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, however, vanquishes all the effects of sinful activities, regardless of whether heavy or light.

As a fire burns dry grass to ashes, so the holy name of the Lord, whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly, burns to ashes, without fail, all the reactions of one’s sinful activities.

If a person unaware of the effective potency of a certain medicine takes that medicine or is forced to take it, it will act even without his knowledge because its potency does not depend on the patient’s understanding. Similarly, even though one does not know the value of chanting the holy name of the Lord, if one chants knowingly or unknowingly, the chanting will be very effective.

Spoken by Yama Dharmaraja to Yamadutas
– SB 6.2.14-19
Hare Krishna

Ignorance in the guise of literary embellishment
→ Servant of the Servant

When a person speaks about spiritual subject matter, normally the statements are conjectural and ambiguous. It is somewhat poetic and meant to be uncertain.

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given to you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer. – Rainer Maria Rilke

Now, I think I understand what the quote says but still the quote wants me thinking about it more. This is because the author expresses a vague subject vaguely. Mundane scholars do not admit to themselves and to others that they actually do not know what lies beyond!

Srila Prabhupada is different. Srila Prabhupada is self-realized. Srila Prabhupada is an expert in spiritual truths. Therefore, when he speaks there is no ambiguity indicating his gravity. One example is a statement by Prabhupada in his purport to Bhagavad Gita chapter 1 text 1. He says “It (referring to Bhagavad Gita) is the perfect theistic science because it is directly spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa”. One philosophy teacher simply could not digest this categorical statement because he was not used to accuracy and perfection in his field of philosophy. 

While it is highly refined to applaud subtle messages expressed in poetic language, it is still more refined to accept language (poetic or otherwise) that expresses the truth without duality. The underlying message is more important than literary embellishments for it will set us free!

Hare Krishna