Remembering Srila Prabhupada - Meaning of 'Good Morning'

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Meaning of 'Good Morning' The temple was almost an hour

away and so we left the hotel before dawn, while the sky was still dark.

Hawaiian singing and guitar music were piped into the elevator, and Sudama,

the Honolulu temple president, remarked to Prabhupada that Hawaiians were

famous as melodic singers. Srila Prabhupada acknowledged Sudama's remark but

commented that Bengalis were also famous as melodic singers. In the lobby

American tourists -- mostly elderly and carrying cameras, the men wearing

Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts -- were moving about, getting taxis or

walking to the beach. On the road, as far into the distance as the eye could

see, a line of cars with headlights shining approached the city. "This is

the best part of the morning for spiritual life," Srila Prabhupada said

unhappily, "and they are all up for sense gratification and for going to

work" The sun had not yet risen when we reached Waikiki

Beach for Prabhupada's walk, but there too, surfers and fishermen were

already in the water. "They have gotten up so early just to kill the fish,"

Prabhupada said. And, referring to the surfers, he remarked, "It is a

suffering for them to enter the water so early, but for this they will do

it." About half a dozen devotees joined us in a park by the ocean, and we

walked behind Prabhupada, who went briskly, marking the ground with his

varnished, bamboo-textured cane, holding his head high. The devotees had

brought him a wonderful garland of freshly-picked magnolia and pikake

flowers, and he accepted it around his neck with pleasure. He also seemed to

enjoy the nice ocean breezes. His shiny saffron silk clothes looked very

elegant on his body, and his thickly crocheted white scarf, which he had

asked me for at the beginning of the walk, was draped loosely around his

shoulders. When one of the devotees mentioned that the government had cut

all the coconuts from the tall palm trees out of fear that they might fall

and hurt someone, Srila Prabhupada scoffed that this was ridiculous. "In

India," he said, "there are many coconut trees, and there is no instance of

anyone being hit on the head. Krsna knows when to drop the coconut so no one

is underneath. This is a demoniac government, the tree loses its beauty when

the fruits are taken off, just as a woman without children loses her

beauty." As other people out strolling approached us, Prabhupada often

greeted them by saying, "Good morning." After several greetings he stopped

and asked us, "What is the meaning of saying, 'Good morning'?" "It is a

kind of friendly exchange," I said. "It is a way of wishing each other

good," said Sudama. "No," said Prabhupada. "The real thing is that in

England, it is rarely a sunny morning. So when finally there is sun, people

say, 'Good morning' Similarly, in the material world there is

always darkness, and that dark cloud is the desire of the living entity to

be master." As the sky lightened, we saw distant mountains and a nearby

skyline of tall hotel and apartment buildings. Many small fishing and tour

boats were in the harbor, and directly overhead large jets, both arriving

and departing, flew over the island. "As man wonderfully manipulates the

material elements to make airplanes," said Prabhupada, "there must also be a

Supreme Being who has made the material universe. A plane, for example, is

not created accidentally or automatically. It is produced and piloted by

man. Similarly, God creates and controls the material universe. But the

atheists deny God by saying that nature works on its own. They have lost

their intelligence." Speaking for the opposition, I gave what I thought was

a feasible argument. "Prabhupada, the atheists believe that they can

control nature, and therefore there is no need for God.

After all, they are able to fly their planes. " I gestured to the 747 jet

overhead as evidence of man's power to control. "They have some control,"

Prabhupada replied, "but some control means no control. They are unable to

control death, birth, disease and old age. So what is the value of some

control?" - From the "Life with the Perfect Master" by HH Satsvarupa Dasa

Goswami

 

 

 

CHANT HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE AND BE HAPPY

Your humble servant

radhabhava gaur das

 

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