Radhanath Swami explains words, mind and ego with their respective controlling demigods have felt to achieve success in knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore we simply have to offer our respectful obeisance’s unto Him as a matter of sanity.
The froggish calculator may raise the objection that if the Absolute is unknowable even by the controlling deities of speech, mind and ego, namely the Vedas, Brahmā, Rudra and all the demigods headed by Bṛhaspati, then why should the devotees be so interested in this unknown object? The answer is that the transcendental ecstasy enjoyed by the devotees in delineating the pastimes of the Lord is certainly unknown to nondevotees and mental speculators. Unless one relishes transcendental joy, naturally one will come back from his speculations and concocted conclusions because he will see them as neither factual nor enjoyable. The devotees can at least know that the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu, as the Vedic hymns confirm: oḿ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaḿ padaḿ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ. Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) also confirms this fact: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. By culture of Vedic knowledge one must know Lord Kṛṣṇa and should not falsely speculate on the word aham, or “I.” The only method for understanding the Supreme Truth is devotional service, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55): bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ. Only by devotional service can one know that the ultimate truth is the Personality of Godhead and that Brahman and Paramātmā are only His partial features. This is confirmed in this verse by the great sage Maitreya. With devotion he offers his sincere surrender, namaḥ, to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, bhagavate. One has to follow in the footsteps of great sages and devotees like Maitreya and Vidura, Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and engage in the transcendental devotional service of the Lord if one would know His ultimate feature, which is above Brahman and Paramātmā.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Sixth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Creation of the Universal Form.”
Radhanath Swami on The Universal Form
In the description of the virat rupa which is but a manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within this material existence has been explained. Within this explanation the most inconceivable features of the Lord have been discussed which are utterly beyond the power of the mind, the senses and the human intelligence to possibly comprehend and we should know that this virat rupa is but the expansion of the expansion of the expansion of the manifestation of the Supreme Absolute Truth, Shri Krishna.
Radhanath Swami on Krishna reveals Himself to us through bhakti as we can’t understand him with our limited senses
So how it is that anyone can understand Krishna? Krishna is vibhu, he is unlimited. And the very consciousness of the soul, the jiva-atma is anu, is just tiny little particle which is very limited. And of course as it is said in shastras (08:58)
The senses and the mind and all processes of developing them are never sufficient in approaching the true understanding of the absolute truth. But the path of bhakti, devotional service is the supreme of all spiritual science because through bhakti Krishna is pleased to reveal Himself to us. Krishna has the power to reveal the unlimited to the limited. If He did not have that power He would not have been unlimited. There would be a limit upon him to say that God cannot reveal Himself to us. So we are limited but Krishna is unlimited.
Radhanath Swami on Materialists cannot understand the material cosmos
So bhakti means simply to respect, to offer our respectful obeisance’s unto Krishna and to depend completely on His mercy to understand Him in truth. And there is no other way. The materialistic persons who Prabhupad calls frogish calculators, they are very anxious to try to investigate and study and come to certain conclusion of understanding this material cosmos. But even that is impossible. This material cosmos is full of such greatness that we cannot fathom what the ocean is. It is simply one plane crash into Atlantic Ocean. And all the greatest technology of the greatest genius mind that have progressively evolved through generations and centuries of scientific development they are all utilizing all the facilities and all the faculties that they cannot find because the ocean is simply too big in finding some little scraps here and there. They cannot find everything. And some months back another plane crashed into the swamps of Florida everglades and they are still searching. Millions and millions of dollars of the greatest most advanced research coming from all over the world and the combination of all scientific thought to evolve into certain forms of technology but still they cannot find.
Radhanath Swami on We have not yet understood the planet earth completely
And what is a little swamp and what is a little ocean compared to the universe. This earth planet is just one tiny little spec within this universe. It is just like one little a chickpea floating in this ocean of space. And within this small chickpea are some feeble oceans that we cannot even understand what’s in that. What’s under the ground? What’s above in the sky? We have certain ideas, certain hints but we don’t understand. What to speak of other planets. There is so much speculation of what is going on in other planets.
Radhanath Swami on Our senses can’t perceive things which they are not programmed to perceive
And we learn from the Vedic literatures that there five basic gross elements and three subtle elements and according to the particular combinations different planets have prominently different prominence of various elements and we cannot even see, we cannot even perceive with our senses something that doesn’t match our particular programming. Our eyes are programmed to see according to this earth planet where earth is prominent. But there are actually living beings in the air; there are living beings in the ether. Even in this planet there are ghostly bodies we cannot see them although they are there. Sometimes we could feel them but we cannot see. What is it, who is it? Things are crashing down, why? So our eyes are just programmed to a very very very limited perception of reality. And even the greatest greatest scientists, microscopes, and telescopes they cannot see anything beyond the programming that their eye is seeing in which they are looking through. We have the greatest telescopes to look at the other planets but you are seeing through this eye which is only limited what we see here.
Radhanath Swami on Description of the Universe
So what can we understand even of this universe, practically nothing. What to speak of the extents and expand of this universe. Spending billions and billions of dollars to shoot a rocket ship to one little planet but beyond that there are so many, there are fourteen planetary systems. Within this universe there is Indra loka, there is vayu lokas, there is lokas of the all these demigods, bhurloka, bhuvarloka, swarga loka, we cannot understand this bhurloka what to speak of the swarga loka, the abode of Indra. Then there is Maharloka, Janaloka, Paap loka, there are planets far bigger than the earth which are filled with the greatest sages all with great great mystic power, all with mysticism. If one such person comes down to this earth planet everyone thinks he must be God because he can do so many wonderful things. We are quite useless in comparison. We don’t even know about these planets through our investigative research. And then above Janaloka, Paaploka, Maha loka is Brahma loka, such a heavenly planet where Lord Brahma is himself residing. Huge, huge abode of the Supreme Lord of this universe Brahma with all of his secretaries, ministers, family members everyone. Has anyone ever seen even a glimpse of this because they are so far from us? It is of another material element than what we are programmed to see. And yet the scriptures explain what the universe is. It is like one mustard seed in an oceanic bag of unlimited mustard seeds coming from the body of Maha-Vishnu, unlimited little bubbles coming out and forming into universes. Can we understand that? Can we see that, the Maha-tatva in which all the cosmic manifestations is included? The main and the cause of ocean Maha-Vishnu and beyond Maha-Vishnu of course is the Brahma jyoti, the spiritual sky in which there are innumerable vaikuntha planets, spiritual worlds. And there is Golok Vrindavan, the ultimate highest vaikuntha planet.
Radhanath Swami on We don’t even understand the working of our body
So how could the little tiny jiva atma with its little tiny intelligence and mind covered by this illusion or ego understand, impossible. We don’t even know who we are. We don’t even know how many pores are there in our body, how many hairs are there in our head. We don’t know how we are seeing, we are just seeing. We don’t know how we are digesting our food. We don’t know how we are feeling something, pain and pleasure. It’s all just happening. We don’t even know our own body. What to speak of the universe? What to speak of beyond?
Radhanath Swami on one can understand Krishna only through bhakti
So therefore through these mechanical processes of karma-yoga, jyana-yoga, and astanga-yoga we can develop and achieve higher, higher awareness and develop better reactions of this limited conception of reality that we have. And to understand the Supreme, the cause of all causes of all that is sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam, to understand Krishna, it is not possible. But it is possible for Krishna to reveal himself to us. That is His unlimited supreme opulence. And bhakti means to please Krishna, to attract the all attractive to attract us.
Radhanath Swami on The basic principle of this whole material existence is attraction
The very basic principle of this whole material existence is attraction, the attraction between opposite sexes. We see everywhere little insects, they don’t have any developed intelligence, they have never studied Darwin or any of these people. They have never studied the psychology of philosophy of mating. They just have attraction, uncontrollable attraction. We see little flies, they just have attraction and the lizards and the snakes and the fish and even the vegetables and the plants they have their attraction. In this way the basic principle in which everything is created and everything is maintained is attraction in this human civilization because we are basically insane because we don’t understand what the natural attraction of the soul is. People go mad with various attractions. They engage in the most terrible activities and put themselves in situations with the most painful consequences without even thinking because of attraction, attractions to food, attractions to sex, attractions to various egoistic prestiges, attraction to looking nice. Everything we do practically is to avoid what we are not attracted to and to somehow or the other obtain what we are attracted to by any means. That is not within human society only. That is in every species of life.
Radhanath Swami on All attractive things within this material existence are just an insignificant spark coming from Krishna
But Krishna explains in Bhagavad-gita that all attractive things within this material existence, all opulences they infatuate our minds with longings. They are all but an insignificant spark of the attraction coming from Him. This whole material existence and everything in it is running by the energy of the Lord, Maya-shakti which is Krishna’s energy. And whatever powers she has to attract us, she is gaining from Krishna because the spirit soul which is part and parcel of Krishna is in another person’s heart, that person is attractive. When the spirit soul leaves, the dead body is no longer attractive. So it’s by Krishna’s energy in the form of the Maya-shakti and the Jiva-shakti that everyone is attracted to in the illusion. But ultimately it is all Krishna’s.
Radhanath Swami – It’s impossible to overcome this attraction unless we surrender unto Krishna
And through any means we cannot disentangle ourselves from this attraction, from this scenario of being attracted by Krishna’s illusory energy. It is impossible.
Daivi hy esa guna-mayi
Mama maya duratyaya
Mam eva ye prapadyante
Mayam etam taranti te
(BG 7.14)
Krishna says this material nature which is manifesting indirectly my features in a reflected form is impossible to overcome. But if you surrender to Me you can cross beyond it because Krishna is all attractive.
Radhanath Swami Our goal of life should be to attract Krishna
So what is our goal of life? To be attracted by Krishna. And there is only one way to become attracted by Krishna and that is when Krishna reveals himself to us. And there is only one way to get Krishna to reveal Himself to us and that is we attract Krishna. We attract the all attractive so that He attracts us. Everything is based on this principle.
Radhanath Swami on We can attract Krishna only through bhakti
And Krishna explains how we can attract Him.
Patram puspam phalam toyam
Yo me bhaktya prayacchati
Tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
Asnami prayatatmanah
(BG 9.26)
That even if you offer even if the simplest person, even if a child offers me a leaf, a flower, a little water with devotion, I am attracted. I will accept.
Bhaktya mam abhijanati
Yavan yas casmi tattvatah
Tato mam tattvato jnatva
Visate tad-anantaram
(BG 18.55)
It is explained here that bhakti or devotion attracts Krishna. Bhakta vatsal is Krishna’s name. He is always favorable to protect, enlighten His devotees. And there is no other method.
Radhanath Swami on We must patiently continue our bhakti no matter how long it takes
And somehow or other however long it may take we must patiently continue the process of just trying to please Krishna. We may think it takes very long, I have been a devotee for some years but actually we have been attracted by maya for perhaps many creations. To purify ourselves of all the accumulated attachments we have acquired through so many births and so many species of life may take little time. But in this one human life if we are simply sincere to perform the tapasya of living by Krishna’s will then Krishna will bring us back to our original transcendental position which is full of joy and full of bliss. Then there is no more birth and no more death.
Radhanath Swami on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would reveal his ecstatic dancing only to pure devotees
One time Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he was in Navadip performing his wonderful kirtans in the house of Srivas. And Lord Chaitanya was very particular that only those who have pure bhakti can come to these kirtans. Why because in these wonderful relationships where all the devotees were together chanting the holy names there was so much love, prema that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would just reveal his inner most intimate ecstasies of love for Himself because he was Shrimati Radharani expressing her devotion to Krishna in that one form of Radha and Krishna combined. So the love of Radharani for Krishna was being manifested which is a very intimate and confidential thing and also he was revealing that love to everyone. He was giving that love to everyone. And he would only reveal such ecstasies amongst those who have the caliber of pure devotion that are qualified to see it. So for this reason no one else was allowed in the house. Only those with prema bhakti were allowed and they would go all night singing and dancing. And the town’s people some of them were longing to get in thinking we are humbly so disqualified because of our unfortunate material attachment we are not allowed. And others were simply criticizing and condemning that what they are doing all night long. If we are not allowed there must be something wrong. So there were many people.
Radhanath Swami on Srivas Thakur’s mother-in-law was caught while she was hiding to see the dancing of Lord Chaitanya
One time Lord Chaitanya was in the kirtan and he stopped the kirtan. He said I am not able to reveal and manifest my ecstasies. There must be someone in this house that should not be here, that wants to see my dancing. And the devotees looked everywhere and then they came back and said my Lord there is no one but close associates in this house. He said then you begin the kirtan again. So they began the chanting and again he stopped the kirtan. He said I am not feeling ecstatic love in this kirtan. There must be someone in this house. Search again. So they searched again and Srivas found hiding in a secret place so that she could see the dancing of the Lord, it was Srivas Thakur’s mother in law. She had no real devotion or qualification. She was trying by her own material efforts to see the dancing of the Lord. By her material calculations she was thinking if I go in this particular place and I hide and no one sees me then I will see this great great treasure of the Lords dancing. But you cannot possibly by your own material resources perceive such merciful revelation. It is only by bhakti. And Srivas knew this. So in great love and devotion he had her taken by the hair and thrown out of the house. Srivas Thakur ki jai!! And then Srivas told the devotees, begin kirtan. Now everything is clean. So they began kirtan and Lord Chaitanya began to dance in ecstasy.
Radhanath Swami on A brahmachari begged Srivas Thakur to let him see the ecstatic dancing of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
There was one brahmachari, he was coming to Srivas and he would say to Srivas that I know I am a very fallen soul but I have been performing great tapasya for so many years and I desire very much too even once see the beautiful dancing of Shri Gauranga. Please try to make some arrangement. I know you are his devotee and you are very dear to him and it is a fact. If we somehow or the other get the pleasure and the blessings of a devotee then the Lord becomes favorable just to please that devotee to give mercy to us. So he understood this. He did not approach Lord Chaitanya directly. But he approached Srivas. And Srivas was very attracted to the humility and the dedication of this brahmachari. So he was thinking how it is possible. And everyday again and again this brahmachari would come and beg Srivas for his mercy.
Radhanath Swami on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu caught the brahmachari hiding in the house
So one day Srivas said yes, I will hide you in a secret place. And then you will see the Lords dancing because anyone who would see this dancing would achieve love of God. So he hid him. And then the night came and the kirtan was going on when Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stopped the kirtan. He said I am not feeling ecstatic love. Is there anyone in this house that is not supposed to be here? And Srivas who was very honest and very gentle he said there is no grossly material person in this house. But there is one brahmachari. But this brahmachari he is very very humble. Is very dedicated and sincere and he is so austere that he only drinks little milk every day, he doesn’t drink anything else. He simply drinks milk. This is his austerity. And he is in the house. And Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu out of his great compassion became angry like fire and he began to roar. Get him out of here before I destroy the entire universe.
Radhanath Swami on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu chastises the brahmachari
And he began to explain that what right does he think that he has what qualification to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead just because he drinks milk? He said no one can achieve Godhead simply by drinking a little milk. One can only achieve the Supreme Personality of Godhead through humility and devotion. Not by austerities, not by giving massive sums of charity, not by performing tremendous tremendous yagyas, not by understanding very very deeply concisely, philosophically all the scriptures in all the world. One can never achieve love of God through any of these. It is only through devotion. Get this person out. In the mean while this brahmachari was trembling in fear as he was walking out of the house.
Radhanath Swami on Brahmachari took the chastisement as Lords mercy upon him and thereby pleased the Lord
And he went outside and as he was outside he began to think that actually the Lord has given me his great mercy by chastising me so severely. I deserve it. He is so merciful that just to teach me he has chastised me. But still for just a moment I got to see his dancing. So because he took that chastisement of the Lord with such humility and such gratitude, the Lord who was within his heart understood exactly his consciousness. And he told Srivas bring that brahmachari back. And the brahmachari came back in the house. And Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu placed his lotus feet on that brahmacharis head and gave him love of God. And told him give up this idea of thinking that you can make advancement by performing all of these austerities.
Radhanath Swami on We can make spiritual advancement only through humble service to Supreme Personality of Godhead
There is only one way to make real spiritual advancement and that is through humble service to supreme personality of godhead, through devotion. There is no other way. You always chant Hare Krishna and serve the vaishnavas. And then all the devotees were very happy when that brahmachari was allowed to enter into the beautiful kirtans of the Lord from that day on. We should know that what his qualification was; his qualification not was that he was very learned in the scriptures, he was very austere, he was perfectly celibate but the Lord cares nothing for any of these qualities. But he was severely chastised, when he accepted that chastisement with grateful heart knowing that he was the most fallen, knowing that he deserved much worse, knowing that it was the mercy of the Lord that devotion attracted Lord Chaitanya to give him revelation of himself. So we should know that this is the only process by which we can achieve the Lord.
Radhanath Swami on Humility and devotion can subdue the Supreme power of Krishna
We see Prahlad Maharaj was just a little boy, Hiranyakashipu was very very deeply learned in all of the Vedas. He was also very much powerful. He had all mysticism. But the Lord showed his loving form to Prahlad and to Hiranyakashipu he saw the Lord was death personified, fear personified. So we know that humility, devotion is the ultimate power because it is the power that even subdues the Supreme power of Krishna. Krishna’s nature is that he is always subordinate to the pure love of his devotees. He becomes the servant of his devotees.
Radhanath Swami on There is no envy among pure devotees
On that great occasion when Lord Chaitanya was revealing the fulfillment of the desires of all the devotees in the house of Srivas and all of them were so happy and the greatest happiness of the devotees was to see another devotee getting special mercy. This is Vaishnav society. The scene is we see someone advancing in Krishna consciousness, as soon as we see someone getting special mercy of the Lord that is our happiness. There is no envy amongst real devotees. We are always the well wisher, hoping, praying for the welfare of others.
Radhanath Swami on Srivas Thakur reminds Chaitanya Mahaprabhu of Mukunda as Mahaprabhu was ignoring him
So all the devotees who are getting such wonderful wonderful attention from Lord Chaitanya, but Srivas who simply lives for the pleasure of other devotees, simply lives out of compassion for fallen souls, he approached Lord Chaitanya and said you have other devotee Mukunda, you are neglecting him, ignoring him. He really would like you to also call upon him. And Lord Chaitanya said don’t bother me by speaking his name. This Mukunda is a rascal. He is a non-sense. First he touches my lotus feet and then he beats me on the head with a stick. What kind of devotion do you call that? First he worships me, he had kirtan with all of us then he listens to the mayavad philosophy from others. What is this mayavad philosophy? It is simply a philosophy which is trying to deny and destroy and kill my form, my personality saying it is all illusion. Actually when Mukunda was very young he by some inconceivable arrangement he studies under such a person.
Radhanath Swami on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu becomes pleased with Mukunda’s bhakti
And Srivas said this is his question. And Lord Chaitanya in great anger he said after 10 million births I will reveal myself. And then Mukunda began to dance in transcendental ecstasy. That in 10 million births I will see the Lord, how fortunate I am. And Lord Chaitanya was so happy to see the quality of his devotion that the great treasure of the darshan of the lord of love of god is so great that if it takes 10 million births of following all the regulative principles very strictly that is nothing. It is an insignificantly small price for what we are receiving.
Radhanath Swami on Some devotees become impatient and eventually leave the movement
Some devotees they practice Krishna consciousness for one or two years, sometimes six months and they are thinking why I am not shedding tears of ecstatic love? Why my hairs are not standing? Why my limbs aren’t trembling? Why my limbs aren’t trembling in kirtan? What is this, it doesn’t work. Why my body is not changing colors? Why I am not considering a moment to be like 12years and more? Why I am not chocking at the sound of the name? Sometimes we think like this after one year, sometimes after 20 years. Sometimes after 30 years. Why I am still not a prema-bhakta. Why I still have these material conceptions? So may be making some more realistic usage of my time to just resort again to eating, sleeping and mating and defending. After all it is practical and everyone else is doing it. I am not in ecstasy, living a pure life and chanting Hare Krishna. So perhaps I know I will not get ecstasy but at least I will get a nicer life if I just make money and break the regulative principles and live a very free liberated life of karmic bondage.
Radhanath Swami on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s benediction to Mukunda
But Mukunda he was thinking if I can just practice this Krishna consciousness movement for only 10 million more births then I will see the Lord. That’s nothing. Very small token gesture on my part to give the next 10 million births to chanting and hearing. And he was in ecstasy to know that it would be and he began to dance, only 10 million births. And then Lord Chaitanya called him, you can see me at this very moment. He said I give you the benediction that you will always see me and whenever I incarnate in any incarnation you will always be there singing and chanting the holy names of the Lord and I will always be dancing with you.
Radhanath Swami on Mukunda explains importance of devotion
And Mukunda was so humble. He said what is the use? You are showing yourself to me, I am seeing you. What is the use of this seeing if I have no devotion? He said, Hiranakshya and Lord Varaha what was the use of seeing him, he was killed by him. And Hiranyakashipu saw Narasimha dev but was the use of that seeing. He had no bhakti, and Rukma he saw the Lord, so many demons had seen the Lord. Duryodhana he not only saw the Lord but also the universal form f the Lord but because they had no devotion ultimately they were all destroyed by the Lord. In this way Mukunda was explaining that the only real, valuable property in all of existence is devotion. Everything else is quite worthless. We may want so many nice things to posses, but they will all simply cause us pain because they will all be torn away from us sooner or later. Even attachments to this body itself and all of the expansions and all of the facilities. The only property that actually has true value is devotion.
Radhanath Swami on We should abandon everything for pure devotion
So Rupa Goswami explains if you can get pure devotional service in the market place, give everything you have to purchase it. Don’t hold back.
Sarva-aharman parityajya
Mam ekam saranam vraja
(BG 18.66)
We should abandon everything for that real treasure, that real wealth of devotion. And however long it takes, whatever the price may be we should have that conviction that this is what life is exclusively meant for and nothing else. So Mukunda dutt by his willingness to patiently go on with his service he attracted the heart of the Lord.
Radhanath Swami on Krishna will reveal Himself to us if we just surrender and have faith on him
Actually it is not that you have to go through 10 million births to achieve Krishna prema. If in this life Krishna within your heart knows that you are willing to remain faithful to the path of bhakti for the next 10 million births he will give it to you now. But do we have that faith? Do we have that determination? Do we have that trust in Krishna? When we actually have that consciousness that yes I will give whatever Krishna wants to do with me that is his business.
The Lord can reveal himself and embrace us; the Lord can tremble on us by putting us through so many purifications. The Lord can make us broken hearted by not being present before us. He has the right to do anything he likes for us if he have this faith that it is all for our good he is my Lord and I am his servant unconditionally.
One who even in the greatest trails, tribulations and suffering with folded palms gratefully offers obeisances unto the Lord that person is the recipient of the Lord’s real mercy. That person will be liberated in devotion. So when we have this consciousness then Krishna will reveal that I am willing to go through anything. That I will remain faithful servant of your servant even if it’s a 10 million births, even if its 100 million births, even if its billions of birth Krishna, it doesn’t matter I am yours. When you have this consciousness then it is the time for Krishna to reciprocate and reveal his all attractive nature to you and fill your heart with ecstatic bliss.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna!
Is there any questions?
Question-answer section
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Radhanath Swami Maharaj: Sometimes this is the way he takes away the reaction. He has his master plan. He won’t take away the reaction but how he takes away the reaction that is his own free will to make that decision. This body has to go through so many tribulations, sufferings and ultimately death. So sometimes rather than just material nature is punishing you to get the neutralization of your karma. That is how material laws work. You perform some bad activity and then material nature gives you the atonement whether you like it or not to neutralize the affects of that sin. There is no purification; there is no spiritual advancement that comes through that process. It is simply action and reaction on a material platform. But when Krishna intervenes he can allow some token of material phenomena to come upon us. But because it is working under his direction, going through that you can be purified of all your sins. Going through that you could actually become completely purified. So sometimes Krishna works through his material nature to purify us even as devotees and if we go through it with faith then Krishna will take us home back to godhead in due course of time. Does that answer your question? If someone has engaged in certain types of activities but he is sincerely grateful and willing to atone then Krishna may work through material energy to put that person through terrible terrible suffering. That person may suffer till death but if with a grateful heart he says Krishna I have done so much wrong and you have only given me this small amount of reaction. I am your servant. Thank you very much. If he dies in that consciousness he will go back to godhead. So that is Krishna’s great mercy upon his devotee. But we should not behave in such a way that we attract that type of mercy. If it comes we accept it with a grateful heart. But according to our capacity just try to be the servant of the lord and please the lord. Everything else will be taken away but the one thing that is eternal is whatever devotion is offered to Krishna.
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Radhanath Swami Maharaj: There is material life and there is spiritual life. It is true. We may not have much of the material life in that sense we must agree. But as far as spiritual life it has nothing to do with these things. Sudama had nothing. He was poverty stricken. He was living in little tiny shack which was uninhabitable by practically any human being. And he and his wife they just had little torn up clothing that they would put on and they had no food. He was emaciated. They were practically starving because they had no food. But he was very happy. And he was very dear to Krishna. But his wife is thinking that you shouldn’t have to be so hungry all the time. You should not have so many inconveniences like these. We should go to Dwarka and ask Krishna for something. He is the husband of the Goddess of fortune. He is your childhood friend. So Sudama went to Dwarka with his torn clothes and entered into the big beautiful palace of Krishna. Krishna got down and washed his feet and worshipped him because he had the greatest wealth of bhakti. Sudama was not willing to ask Krishna for anything. My business is not to ask Krishna. My business is to only ask what I can do for you. Not what you can do for me. That was his mentality. And Krishna snatched the little bag of chipped rice, the poorest mans food. Took one morsel and when Sudama went home he was thinking that my wife would be very disappointed that I did not ask Krishna for anything. But I don’t mind because I had Krishna’s darshan and he was very merciful to me. Although he is the master of the Goddess of fortune, the Goddess of fortune was fanning me with a chamara and he was washing my feet. They were so kind to me, loving and gentle and he is giving so much mercy to me. Then when he came back he saw his little hut turned into a palace more beautiful than Indra’s. And his wife came out decorated with all nice clothes and jewels and so many servants. Sudama there was no difference. He and his wife lived with the same simple consciousness that they did when they were in the hut in this beautiful palace for the rest of their lives. Why because whether you have everything or nothing if you simply have devotion you actually have everything. He was simply indifferent to material wealth and to material poverty. He was satisfied with chanting Krishna’s name and hearing about Krishna and serving Krishna’s devotees. That is wealth. If you are not satisfied with that you will not find any real satisfaction even if you make millions and millions of dollars, have the most beautiful mansion. You will find no real happiness. Why because there is no happiness in these things. All these big big people in New York City you go to Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue they are frustrated people. They have so much they don’t even know what to do with it all. There is always a fear of losing it and they think I have so much I need more because somebody still has more than me. A devotee is peaceful in every situation. We read of Haridas Thakur he was living in a cave with snakes. He was very happy because he had Krishna’s name.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare
Shuklambar brahmachari he was just a good little brahmachari. He had a little torn up sack and he used to go from house to house to beg little rice every day. But Lord Chaitanya was so happy with him. He was always just chanting Hare Krishna. Kulavecha Sridhar, he is such a poor person. No food to eat practically. He was living in poverty but he was so happy. One time Nimai Pandit when he was just a little boy before he revealed his supreme opulences he was teasing Sridhar that you are chanting Hare Krishna what are you getting? Look at your clothes. They have so many patches on them. Look at what food you are eating. And Sridhar said that my clothes may have so many patches and somebody else may have very nice clothes but the fact is that I have clothes. I don’t care what it looks like. And somehow or the other I am eating enough to survive. I may not live in beautiful palace but somehow or the other I am protected. Krishna is providing for me. I am very happy. He was very happy. And when he made money he dint just think so much shortage let me get more and more. He would give it to the Ganges, worship the Ganges. At the same time sometimes there is some opportunity to live a very nice life as far as materially and use it Krishna’s service. That is also wonderful. The question is not how much you have or how much you don’t have. The question is whatever you do have what are you using it for? Maharaj Prataparudra lived in big big palace but he used it all for Krishna. So by our karma, by honest means we can earn a lives livelihood and be very exemplary and show people in society. Actually we need people in society to see that people could actually be materially successful and be completely devotional. So actually both ways of life are very important, people who have affluent and people who live very simply, whatever comes natural. The poor should not think that I am better than you because you have money. And the rich should not think I am better than you because you have no money. It is all non-sense. Whatever we have or don’t have we should not compare with each other. We should simply live a life of devotion. Maharaj Ambarish was offering beautiful offering to Krishna and Kulavecha Sridhar was offering bananas. Who is better? They were both great. They were offering the best they could but everything was for Krishna. So we should not criticize people if they are building some home at the same time we should not criticize people if they are willing to live in a cave. The real thing is you evaluate within your own life why are we doing it. Are we doing it for preaching, for example or are we doing it simply for our own sense gratification and prestige? That is most important. We should not judge others. We should very strictly judge ourselves what is our motto? Real life is a life of devotion. We should not try to create some stereo type where everyone has to fit in one particular formula because there are people with different tendencies. Brahmacharis should live very simple. There are some grihastas that should live very simple. Some grihastas may live very affluent. There is no comparison. Different people with different propensities are meant to serve Krishna in different ways. The shatriyas usually had great power and opulence like Yudhistir Maharaj. But he used it for Krishna. He didn’t use it for himself. So in our community we have to develop a material broad vision. This is all nonsense that if you don’t have lots of money and comfortable places you has no life. If you have no devotion you have no life, you have no spiritual life. Then you can have that devotion at any situation, if you just understand how to utilize everything we have whatever it may be for Krishna.
Srila Prabhupad ki jai!
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