[Nectar] Urgency of Surrender to Krishna

[Guest guest]

Excerpt from a lecture by HH Radhanath Swami

 

"Srila Prabhupada stressed the urgency to surrender to Krishna. Every

line of his books, every sentence of his tapes, you would hear him

urgently, just pleading with you and me, to take Krishna Consciousness

seriously. Death, tragedy can come at any moment. And the greatest

tragedy is that our faith is stolen away by maya and her various

representatives which can come in many forms. There is no comfortable

position when we are secure in material existence.

 

We are like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. Our life is compared to

that. Our position in society, our health, our family members, our

friends, everything in this world that exists is like a drop of water

on a lotus leaf. It is going to fall and we don't know when. It often

happens at the least expected moment.

 

Srila Prabhupada used the example of the goats that are on the way to

the slaughter house. The slaughter house person is very expert at

pacifying the goats so that they very happily and peacefully go to the

chopping block by providing nice grass. The line of goats, they are

just eating grass and they are enjoying and the closer they get, the

grass gets nicer and nicer. The goats in front of them are getting

their heads cut off, but they don't see that. They just see the

grass. Srila Prabhupada said, "That is how maya is orchestrating the

entire material existence. Don't be a foolish goat just trying to be

happy and enjoy the comforts of this world, the comforts of family life

or a nice little floor in the bramhachari ashram".

 

We should know that any facility to enjoy in this material world is

maya's trick to somehow or other distract away from the urgent need

to be Krishna conscious. Listen carefully to Srila Prabhupada's voice

when you listen to his lectures. There is always that deep sense of

trying to give us the feeling of urgency. It has to be done now! We

have to take shelter of Krishna! We have to surrender to Krishna! We

have to give up our petty disagreements and work together because the

world is being condemned by the direction of modern society. "

 

"Srila Prabhupada's miracle was, that he gave everybody the chance

to become Krishna conscious. And those who heard his voice and somehow

or other connected to that urgency within him, they became empowered.

They were lazy hippies sleeping on the streets, never worked a day in

their life, then by contact with Srila Prabhupada,they were out

distributing books 15 hours day! Outside in the blizzard winters of the

New York city! And the only reason why they came home is for mangala

arati and to chant their rounds. They did this for years! In the

American cities and airports where practically no one is favourable,

they risked their lives, sometimes getting beaten up, blasphemed, but

they were so enthusiastic!

 

How did Srila Prabhupada transform these people ? Because he gave them

that sense of the urgency to surrender to Krishna. If we are convinced

of the urgency to take Srila Prabhupada's message to heart today,

Srila Prabhupada will empower us to do incredible things."

 

"I remember, when I was pujari, I was very happy doing deity worship

day and night, year after year, but I would always read Srila

Prabhupada's books, hear his tapes, hear about how Srila Prabhupada

is so eager for us to preach. So I was praying to the deities, "I am

very grateful to worship You. But my Guru Maharaj keeps talking about

preaching. Ultimately I want to please him. I don't know what

preaching is. But I want to please him. So whatever You think is

best."

 

And sometimes later I was given an order, "We need more devotees in

the temple. Go out and preach." I never asked. And who was I? From

New Vrindavan. I smelt like a cow because I would milk cows. I had one

dhoti that had holes in it and an old blanket from the World war II

army that had holes in it. I was told to preach. Very little education.

I went to one semester of a Junior College. And here I was in

Universities speaking to Ph.D candidates, Professors, and they would be

sitting in rapt attention, challenging and being defeated. And I was

thinking, "What's happening? Who is doing it? I am a fool. I

don't know much." But if we somehow or other feel that urgency,

Srila Prabhupada could do everything through any of us."

 

 

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