Lesson - B5

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"Nurturing the Seed of Bhakti"The Ultimate Self Realization Course, Lesson B5 by His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari Under the all-merciful guidance of His Divine GraceSri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That person who comes under the guidance and shelter of Lord Krishna is the most fortunate person in the entire universe. After millions of lifetimes of wandering in the cycle of birth and death such a soul has finally gotten the practical means of escaping all forms of suffering and achieving the supreme destination of going back to home, back to Godhead. If this opportunity is embraced with full enthusiasm and determination that most fortunate person can achieve the supreme perfection in this very lifetime. This is described as follows in the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita (Madhya 19.15):brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jivaguru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija"According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering

living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with the grace of Krishna. By the mercy of Krishna such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service."By submissively hearing the seed of bhakti, of devotional service, becomes planted within the heart. Then one has to nurture that seed by regularly hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord on a daily basis while simultaneously protecting the garden of one's heart from any weeds that may choke one's devotional creeper. The watering process is to chant and hear the holy names of Krishna on a regular daily basis. The spiritual master prescribes that one must chant at least 16 rounds daily of the Hare Krishna mantra on sacred prayer beads, known as japa beads. The Hare Krishna mantra goes like this:Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare HareThe japa beads are very, very important to help one become fixed in a regular routine of chanting. Especially potent are sacred tulasi beads from India. When one chants this prayer one is calling to the Lord's energy (Hare) and the Lord Himself as the All-Attractive One (Krishna) and the Supreme

Enjoyer (Rama) to be engaged in devotional service. We have been serving our material senses and our material minds for thousands and millions of lifetimes without finding any real satisfaction. Now in this human form of life if we can turn our attention towards serving the Lord and His divine energy we become qualified to become re-instated in our original identities in the spiritual world. There is no greater success than this. In fact there is no real success other than this. Everything else ultimately culminates in failure and is hence a useless waste to time. This point is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagavatam (1.2.8):dharmah svanusthitah pumsamvisvaksena-kathasu yahnotpadayed yadi ratimsrama eva hi kevalam"The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead."The weeds that can choke the creeper of devotion are as

follows:1. Illicit sex (sex outside of procreation)2. Intoxication (including coffee, tea, and cigarettes)3. Eating meat, fish, or eggs4. GamblingEven if one is not able to initially adopt all of the above disciplines if these principles are adopted as far as possible one will get the strength and encouragement to gradually follow the principles more strictly. In this way one can progressively become more solidly situated in the self-realization process and continue to advance until the point of complete purification of consciousness occurs. The sincere devotee is never alone on this pathway of spiritual perfection because the Spiritual Master and the Supreme Lord and are always there to help him or her. If one can adopt this path with full sincerity of attitude the immediate results will be tangibly experienced.Hare KrishnaSankarshan Das AdhikariBhaktivedanta Ashram, Austin, Texas, USAFebruary 18, 2004

 

 

 

The Secret of Success

 

 

 

By dovetailing all of your activities in the service of the Lord you becomes ecstatic. The secret of success on the path of enlightenment is to connect all your thoughts, words, and deeds with Krishna or God. The following link will give you a good opportunity to become more solidly connected with who you really are, the eternal servant of God.-----

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