krsna Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 He reasons ill who tells that Vaisnavas die, when thou art living still in sound. The Vaisnavas die to live, and living try to spread the holy name around. - Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura Surrounded by friends and well-wishers chanting the Holy Names, meditating on Guru and Gouranga's mercy? /images/graemlins/blush.gif Will we have the same fortune to leave in full knowledge? /images/graemlins/confused.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsna Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 [00:05]His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a pure devotee [00:11]of Lord Krishna and therefore his entire life, including his passing from this mortal world [00:18]was a perfect example of Krishna consciousness. [00:21]This video depicts his final pastimes. [00:26] [00:27]During his last months in Vrindavana His Divine Grace continued to instruct [00:33]his disciples, discuss the affairs of ISKCON and translate Srimad-Bhagavatam. [00:38]On his request his disciples maintained 24 hour kirtan and readings from the scriptures. [00:45] [00:50]Srila Prabhupada invited all his disciples to be with him as he passed the test [00:56]we all must face. However, due to circumstances often beyond their control, [01:01]most of his disciples were not present. [01:05]Now those who choose to can experience those precious moments. [01:10]Although these scenes can be emotionally wrenching they do depict [01:15]a rare transcendental event. The last chapter in Srila Prabhupada's glorious life, [01:22]"The Final lesson." [01:27] [01:52]Out of many thousands of men, one may endeavor for perfection and among [01:58]many millions who have achieved perfection one may be a devotee of Lord Krishna. [02:04]Such a devotee, who is fully peaceful, is extremely rare. [02:09] [02:31]Being situated in his original Krishna conscious position [02:35]a pure devotee does not identify with the body. [02:38]Such a devotee should not be seen from a materialistic point of view. [02:43]Indeed one should overlook a devotees' having a diseased or infirmed body. [02:49]According to ordinary vision such imperfections may seem prominent in the body of [02:55]a pure devotee but despite such seeming defects the body of a pure devotee can not be polluted. [03:02]It's exactly like the waters of the Ganges which remain pure although [03:07]filled with bubbles, foam and mud during the rainy season. [03:11]Those who are advanced in spiritual understanding bathe in the Ganges [03:16]without considering the condition of the water. [03:20] [04:31]Since we cannot visually experience the presence of the Supersoul, [04:36]out of His immense compassion the Supersoul appears before us as a pure devotee, [04:41]the spiritual master. Such a spiritual master is as worshipable as Krishna is for in his [04:50]dealings there are no activities but those of transcendental loving service to the Lord. [04:56] [05:26]The verdict of all reaveled scriptures is that even by a moment's association [05:32]with a pure devotee one can attain all success. [05:36]That moment is human societies greatest treasure. [05:41] [05:44]Seeing the spiritual master with devotion and reverence is the perfection of one's eyesight. [05:50]Touching his lotus feet is the perfection of the sense of touch [05:55]and glorifying his qualities is the tongues real activity. [06:00] [06:32]Karma hetu. If you engage in devotional service we get a different nature [06:44]and if we engage in the basis of sense gratification the result is [not clear] [06:56] [07:04]And according to the association of different natures we get a body, [07:21]karanam guna-sango 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu. [07:27]Therefore we should always seek good association, devotee association. [07:40]Then our life will be successful. [07:46] [07:58]Jnana. If we live with good association then we cultivate knowledge. [08:08]That means association. A man is known by his company. [08:19]So if we have the chance of association with devotees then our character, [08:36]nature [not clear] [08:40]By hearing, by discussing Srimad-Bhagavatam, this raja-guna, tama-guna [08:56]is subdued, then sattva-guna remains. [09:05]nasta-prayesv abhadresu nityam bhagavata-sevaya. [09:16]Then the sattva-guna, tama-guna cannot do us harm. [09:28]Therefore Varnasrama dharma is so essential, [09:39]that people remain in sattva-guna. [09:44] [09:52]Tama-guna, raja-guna, rajas tama bhava. [09:58]Increases lust and greediness and that implicates the living entity [10:17]to exist in this material world in many, many forms. [10:29]That is very dangerous. Therefore they should be brought into [10:47]sattva-guna by the establishment of Varnasrama dharma. [10:54]How to bring people in sattva-guna. The Brahminical qualifications. [11:09]Very neat and clean. Rise early in the morning, see Mangal-Aroti. [11:23]In this way to stay in sattva-guna. [11:30] [11:43]The body, mind and senses of the pure devotee, [11:47]acting only for the satisfaction of the Lord, are transcendental [11:52]and are taken charge of by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. [11:57]Being awake to his constitutional position, the pure devotee is [12:02]situated in samadhi, the highest perfectional stage of yoga. [12:07]Being fully absorbed in devotional service, he does not care [12:12]what is going on with the external body. [12:14]Such a confidential devotee of the Lord sees in every moment, [12:19]even a most difficult moment, the special mercy of the Lord. [12:26] [13:11]Pure devotees are themselves places of pilgrimage. [13:15]Because of their purity they are constant companions of the Lord [13:20]and therefore they can purify even places of pilgrimage. [13:25]For such a pure devotee there is no difference between living and dying [13:31]because in this life he engages in pure devotional service [13:35]and after giving up his body he engages in the same service [13:40]in the spiritual world thus his devotional service is never hindered [13:46]nor does he perceive the pangs of death. [13:50]The pure devotee does not forget Lord Krishna even for a moment [13:56]and Lord Krishna never forgets His devotee. [14:00] [14:24]Every learned man knows very well that attachment to the material world [14:29]is the greatest entanglement to the spirit soul. [14:32]But that same attachment when applied to the spiritual master [14:36]opens the door of liberation. [14:39] [14:56]The spiritual master's eternal occupation is to expand the service [15:00]of the Lord by training his disciples in a service attitude. [15:05]This service attitude, along with knowledge of Krishna, [15:09]is such a great gift that it is impossible to repay the benefactor. [15:14] [15:43]Our dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because our [15:50]association with material desires one after another we were gradually [15:54]falling into a blind well full of snakes following the general populous [15:59]but your servant Srila Prabhupada kindly accepted us as his followers [16:05]and instructed us how to achieve the transcendental position. [16:10]Therefore our first duty is to serve him. [16:14]How could we leave his service? [16:17] [37:10]Srila Prabhupada was the crown jewel on the head of this world. [37:14]Without him this world is bereft of its valuable ornament. [37:19]Yet in Srila Prabhupada's absence there is no need to become despondent [37:25]because there is no difference between Srila Prabhupada's instructions [37:29]and Srila Prabhupada himself. [37:32]He is personally present in his instructions. [37:36]In his absence therefore Srila Prabhupada's words of direction [37:40]are the pride of his followers. [37:43]Their implicit faith in his words is their success. [37:48] [38:03]O virtuous devotees, thus we have seen the departure of [38:07]Srila Prabhupada and this is just to increase our desire for him [38:12]because the more we hanker for him the more we will be [38:16]freed from all material desires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsna Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Isopanishad 17 Mantra Seventeen TEXT väyur anilam amåtam athedaà bhasmäntaà çaréram oà krato smara kåtaà smara krato smara kåtaà smara SYNONYMS väyuù—air of life; anilam—total reservoir of air; amåtam—indestructible; atha—now; idam—this; bhasmäntam—after being turned to ashes; çaréram—body; oà—O Lord; krato—O enjoyer of all sacrifices; smara—please remember; kåtam—all that has been done by me; smara—please remember; krato—O supreme beneficiary; smara—please remember; kåtam—all that I have done for You; smara—please remember. TRANSLATION Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the ultimate beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for You. PURPORT The temporary material body is certainly a foreign dress. The Bhagavad-gétä (2.20) clearly says that after the destruction of the material body the living entity is not annihilated, nor does he lose his identity. The identity of the living entity is never impersonal or formless; on the contrary, it is the material dress that is formless and that takes a shape according to the form of the indestructible person. No living entity is originally formless, as is wrongly thought by those with a poor fund of knowledge. This mantra verifies the fact that the living entity exists after the annihilation of the material body. In the material world, material nature displays wonderful workmanship by creating varieties of bodies for the living beings according to their propensities for sense gratification. The living entity who wants to taste stool is given a material body that is quite suitable for eating stool—that of a hog. Similarly, one who wants to eat the flesh and blood of other animals may be given a tiger’s body equipped with suitable teeth and claws. But the human being is not meant for eating flesh, nor does he have any desire to taste stool, even in the most aboriginal state. Human teeth are so made that they can chew and cut fruit and vegetables, although there are two canine teeth so that primitive humans can eat flesh if they so desire. But in any case, the material bodies of all animals and men are foreign to the living entity. They change according to the living entity’s desire for sense gratification. In the cycle of evolution, the living entity changes bodies one after another. When the world was full of water, the living entity took an aquatic form. Then he passed to vegetable life, from vegetable life to worm life, from worm life to bird life, from bird life to animal life, and from animal life to the human form. The highest developed form is this human form when it is possessed of a full sense of spiritual knowledge. The highest development of one’s spiritual sense is described in this mantra: One should give up the material body, which will be turned to ashes, and allow the air of life to merge into the eternal reservoir of air. The living being’s activities are performed within the body through the movements of different kinds of air, known in summary as präëa-väyu. The yogés generally study how to control the airs of the body. The soul is supposed to rise from one circle of air to another until it rises to the brahma-randhra, the highest circle. From that point the perfect yogé can transfer himself to any planet he likes. The process is to give up one material body and then enter into another. But the highest perfection of such changes occurs only when the living entity is able to give up the material body altogether, as suggested in this mantra, and enter into the spiritual atmosphere, where he can develop a completely different type of body—a spiritual body, which never has to meet death or change. Here in the material world, material nature forces the living entity to change his body due to his different desires for sense gratification. These desires are represented in the various species of life, from germs to the most perfected material bodies, those of Brahmä and the demigods. All of these living entities have bodies composed of matter in different shapes. The intelligent man sees oneness not in the variety of the bodies but in the spiritual identity. The spiritual spark, which is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, is the same whether he is in a body of a hog or in the body of a demigod. The living entity takes on different bodies according to his pious and vicious activities. The human body is highly developed and has full consciousness. According to the Bhagavad-gétä (7.19), the most perfect man surrenders unto the Lord after many, many lifetimes of culturing knowledge. The culture of knowledge reaches perfection only when the knower comes to the point of surrendering unto the Supreme Lord, Väsudeva. Otherwise, even after attaining knowledge of one’s spiritual identity, if one does not come to the point of knowing that the living entities are eternal parts and parcels of the whole and can never become the whole, one has to fall down again into the material atmosphere. Indeed, one must fall down even if he has become one with the brahmajyoti. As we have learned from previous mantras, the brahmajyoti emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord is full of spiritual sparks that are individual entities with the full sense of existence. Sometimes these living entities want to enjoy their senses, and therefore they are placed in the material world to become false lords under the dictation of the senses. The desire for lordship is the material disease of the living being, for under the spell of sense enjoyment he transmigrates through the various bodies manifested in the material world. Becoming one with the brahmajyoti does not represent mature knowledge. Only by surrendering unto the Lord completely and developing one’s sense of spiritual service does one reach the highest perfectional stage. In this mantra the living entity prays to enter the spiritual kingdom of God after relinquishing his material body and material air. The devotee prays to the Lord to remember his activities and the sacrifices he has performed before his material body is turned into ashes. He makes this prayer at the time of death, with full consciousness of his past deeds and of the ultimate goal. One who is completely under the rule of material nature remembers the heinous activities he performed during the existence of his material body, and consequently he gets another material body after death. The Bhagavad-gétä (8.6) confirms this truth: yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà tyajaty ante kalevaram taà tam evaiti kaunteya sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù “Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunté, that state he will attain without fail.” Thus the mind carries the living entity’s propensities into the next life. Unlike the simple animals, who have no developed mind, the dying human being can remember the activities of his life like dreams at night; therefore his mind remains surcharged with material desires, and consequently he cannot enter into the spiritual kingdom with a spiritual body. The devotees, however, develop a sense of love for Godhead by practicing devotional service to the Lord. Even if at the time of death a devotee does not remember his service to the Lord, the Lord does not forget him. This prayer is given to remind the Lord of the devotee’s sacrifices, but even if there is no such reminder, the Lord does not forget the service rendered by His pure devotee. The Lord clearly describes His intimate relationship with His devotees in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.30–34): “Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination. He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunté, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes. O son of Påthä, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiçyas [merchants] as well as çüdras [workers]—can attain the supreme destination. How much more this is so of the righteous brähmaëas, the devotees and the saintly kings. Therefore, having come to this temporary, miserable world, engage in loving service unto Me. Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura explains these verses in this way: “One should regard a devotee of Kåñëa to be on the right path of the saints, even though such a devotee may seem to be su-duräcära, ‘a person of loose character.’ One should try to understand the real purport of the word su-duräcära. A conditioned soul has to act for double functions—namely for the maintenance of the body and again for self-realization. Social status, mental development, cleanliness, austerity, nourishment and the struggle for existence are all for the maintenance of the body. The self-realization part of one’s activities is executed in one’s occupation as a devotee of the Lord, and one performs actions in that connection also. One must perform these two different functions along parallel lines, because a conditioned soul cannot give up the maintenance of his body. The proportion of activities for maintenance of the body decreases, however, in proportion to the increase in devotional service. As long as the proportion of devotional service does not come to the right point, there is a chance for an occasional exhibition of worldliness. But it should be noted that such worldliness cannot continue for long because, by the grace of the Lord, such imperfections will come to an end very shortly. Therefore the path of devotional service is the only right path. If one is on the right path, even an occasional occurrence of worldliness does not hamper one in the advancement of self-realization.” The facilities of devotional service are denied the impersonalists because they are attached to the brahmajyoti feature of the Lord. As suggested in the previous mantras, they cannot penetrate the brahma-jyoti because they do not believe in the Personality of Godhead. Their business is mostly word jugglery and mental speculation. Consequently the impersonalists pursue a fruitless labor, as confirmed in the Twelfth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä (12.5). All the facilities suggested in this mantra can be easily obtained by constant contact with the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. Devotional service to the Lord consists essentially of nine transcendental activities: (1) hearing about the Lord, (2) glorifying the Lord, (3) remembering the Lord, (4) serving the lotus feet of the Lord, (5) worshiping the Lord, (6) offering prayers to the Lord, (7) serving the Lord, (8) enjoying friendly association with the Lord, and (9) surrendering everything unto the Lord. These nine principles of devotional service—taken all together or one by one—help a devotee remain constantly in touch with God. In this way, at the end of life it is easy for the devotee to remember the Lord. By adopting only one of these nine principles, the following renowned devotees of the Lord were able to achieve the highest perfection: (1) By hearing of the Lord, Mahäräja Parékñit, the hero of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, attained the desired result. (2) Just by glorifying the Lord, Çukadeva Gosvämé, the speaker of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, attained his perfection. (3) By praying to the Lord, Akrüra attained the desired result. (4) By remembering the Lord, Prahläda Mahäräja attained the desired result. (5) By worshiping the Lord, Påthu Mahäräja attained perfection. (6) By serving the lotus feet of the Lord, the goddess of fortune, Lakñmé, attained perfection. (7) By rendering personal service to the Lord, Hanumän attained the desired result. (8) Through his friendship with the Lord, Arjuna attained the desired result. (9) By surrendering everything he had to the Lord, Mahäräja Bali attained the desired result. Actually, the explanation of this mantra and of practically all the mantras of the Vedic hymns is summarized in the Vedänta-sütra and properly explained in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Çrémad-Bhägavatam is the mature fruit of the Vedic tree of wisdom. In Çrémad-Bhägavatam this particular mantra is explained in the questions and answers between Mahäräja Parékñit and Çukadeva Gosvämé at the very beginning of their meeting. Hearing and chanting of the science of God is the basic principle of devotional life. The complete Bhägavatam was heard by Mahäräja Parékñit and chanted by Çukadeva Gosvämé. Mahäräja Parékñit inquired from Çukadeva because Çukadeva was a greater spiritual master than any great yogé or transcendentalist of his time. Mahäräja Parékñit’s main question was: “What is the duty of every man, specifically at the time of death?” Çukadeva Gosvämé answered: tasmäd bhärata sarvätmä bhagavän éçvaro hariù çrotavyaù kértitavyaç ca smartavyaç cecchatäbhayam “Everyone who desires to be free from all anxieties should always hear about, glorify and remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme director of everything, the extinguisher of all difficulties, and the Supersoul of all living entities.” (SB 2.1.5) So-called human society is generally engaged at night in sleeping and having sex and during the daytime in earning as much money as possible or else in shopping for family maintenance. People have very little time to talk about the Personality of Godhead or to inquire about Him. They have dismissed God’s existence in so many ways, primarily by declaring Him to be impersonal, that is, without sense perception. But in the Vedic literature—whether the Upaniñads, Vedänta-sütra, Bhagavad-gétä or Çrémad-Bhägavatam—it is declared that the Lord is a sentient being and is supreme over all other living entities. His glorious activities are identical with Himself. One should therefore not indulge in hearing and speaking of the rubbish activities of worldly politicians and so-called big men in society but should mold his life in such a way that he can engage in godly activities without wasting a second. Çré Éçopaniñad directs us toward such godly activities. Unless one is accustomed to devotional practice, what will he remember at the time of death, when the body is dislocated, and how can he pray to the almighty Lord to remember his sacrifices? Sacrifice means denying the interest of the senses. One has to learn this art by employing the senses in the service of the Lord during one’s lifetime. One can utilize the results of such practice at the time of death. Isopanishad 18 Mantra Eighteen TEXT agne naya supathä räye asmän viçväni deva vayunäni vidvän yuyodhy asmaj juhuräëam eno bhüyiñöhäà te nama-uktià vidhema SYNONYMS agne—O my Lord, as powerful as fire; naya—kindly lead; supathä—by the right path; räye—for reaching You; asmän—us; viçväni—all; deva—O my Lord; vayunäni—actions; vidvän—the knower; yuyodhi—kindly remove; asmat—from us; juhuräëam—all hindrances on the path; enaù—all vices; bhüyiñöhäm—most numerous; te—unto You; namaù uktim—words of obeisance; vidhema—I do. TRANSLATION O my Lord, as powerful as fire, O omnipotent one, now I offer You all obeisances, falling on the ground at Your feet. O my Lord, please lead me on the right path to reach You, and since You know all that I have done in the past, please free me from the reactions to my past sins so that there will be no hindrance to my progress. PURPORT By surrendering to the Lord and praying for His causeless mercy, the devotee can progress on the path of complete self-realization. The Lord is addressed as fire because He can burn anything into ashes, including the sins of the surrendered soul. As described in the previous mantras, the real or ultimate aspect of the Absolute is His feature as the Personality of Godhead, and His impersonal brahmajyoti feature is a dazzling covering over His face. Fruitive activities, or the karma-käëòa path of self-realization, is the lowest stage in this endeavor. As soon as such activities even slightly deviate from the regulative principles of the Vedas, they are transformed into vikarma, or acts against the interest of the actor. Such vikarma is enacted by the illusioned living entity simply for sense gratification, and thus such activities become hindrances on the path of self-realization. Self-realization is possible in the human form of life, but not in other forms. There are 8,400,000 species, or forms of life, of which the human form qualified by brahminical culture presents the only chance to obtain knowledge of transcendence. Brahminical culture includes truthfulness, sense control, forbearance, simplicity, full knowledge and full faith in God. It is not that one simply becomes proud of his high parentage. Just as being born the son of a big man affords one a chance to become a big man, so being born the son of a brähmaëa gives one a chance to become a brähmaëa. But such a birthright is not everything, for one still has to attain the brahminical qualifications for himself. As soon as one becomes proud of his birth as the son of a brähmaëa and neglects to acquire the qualifications of a real brähmaëa, he at once becomes degraded and falls from the path of self-realization. Thus his life’s mission as a human being is defeated. In the Bhagavad-gétä (6.41–42) we are assured by the Lord that the yoga-bhrañöas, or souls fallen from the path of self-realization, are given a chance to rectify themselves by taking birth either in the families of good brähmaëas or in the families of rich merchants. Such births afford higher chances for self-realization. If these chances are misused due to illusion, one loses the good opportunity of human life afforded by the almighty Lord. The regulative principles are such that one who follows them is promoted from the platform of fruitive activities to the platform of transcendental knowledge. After many, many lifetimes of cultivating transcendental knowledge, one becomes perfect when he surrenders unto the Lord. This is the general procedure. But one who surrenders at the very beginning, as recommended in this mantra, at once surpasses all preliminary stages simply by adopting the devotional attitude. As stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.66), the Lord at once takes charge of such a surrendered soul and frees him from all the reactions to his sinful acts. There are many sinful reactions involved in karma-käëòa activities, whereas in jïäna-käëòa, the path of philosophical development, the number of such sinful activities is smaller. But in devotional service to the Lord, the path of bhakti, there is practically no chance of incurring sinful reactions. One who is a devotee of the Lord attains all the good qualifications of the Lord Himself, what to speak of those of a brähmaëa. A devotee automatically attains the qualifications of an expert brähmaëa authorized to perform sacrifices, even though the devotee may not have taken his birth in a brähmaëa family. Such is the omnipotence of the Lord. He can make a man born in a brähmaëa family as degraded as a lowborn dog-eater, and He can also make a lowborn dog-eater superior to a qualified brähmaëa simply on the strength of devotional service. Since the omnipotent Lord is situated within the heart of everyone, He can give directions to His sincere devotees by which they can attain the right path. Such directions are especially offered to the devotee, even if he desires something else. As far as others are concerned, God gives sanction to the doer only at the risk of the doer. But in the case of a devotee, the Lord directs him in such a way that he never acts wrongly. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam (11.5.42) says: sva-päda-mülaà bhajataù priyasya tyaktänya-bhävasya hariù pareçaù vikarma yac cotpatitaà kathaïcid dhunoti sarvaà hådi sanniviñöaù “The Lord is so kind to the devotee who is fully surrendered to His lotus feet that even though the devotee sometimes falls into the entanglement of vikarma—acts against the Vedic directions—the Lord at once rectifies such mistakes from within his heart. This is because the devotees are very dear to the Lord.” In this mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad, the devotee prays to the Lord to rectify him from within his heart. To err is human. A conditioned soul is very often apt to commit mistakes, and the only remedial measure to take against such unintentional sins is to give oneself up to the lotus feet of the Lord so that He may guide one to avoid such pitfalls. The Lord takes charge of fully surrendered souls; thus all problems are solved simply by surrendering oneself unto the Lord and acting in terms of His directions. Such directions are given to the sincere devotee in two ways: one is by way of the saints, scriptures and spiritual master, and the other is by way of the Lord Himself, who resides within the heart of everyone. Thus the devotee, fully enlightened with Vedic knowledge, is protected in all respects. Vedic knowledge is transcendental and cannot be understood by mundane educational procedures. One can understand the Vedic mantras only by the grace of the Lord and the spiritual master (yasya deve parä bhaktir yathä deve tathä gurau [ÇU 6.23]). If one takes shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, it is to be understood that he has obtained the grace of the Lord. The Lord appears as the spiritual master for the devotee. Thus the spiritual master, the Vedic injunctions and the Lord Himself from within—all guide the devotee in full strength. In this way there is no chance for a devotee to fall again into the mire of material illusion. The devotee, thus protected all around, is sure to reach the ultimate destination of perfection. The entire process is hinted at in this mantra, and Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.2.17–20) explains it further: Hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord is itself an act of piety. The Lord wants everyone to hear and chant His glories because He is the well-wisher of all living entities. By hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, one becomes cleansed of all undesirable things, and then one’s devotion becomes fixed upon the Lord. At this stage the devotee acquires the brahminical qualifications, and the effects of the lower modes of nature (passion and ignorance) completely vanish. The devotee becomes fully enlightened by virtue of his devotional service, and thus he comes to know the path of the Lord and the way to attain Him. As all doubts diminish, he becomes a pure devotee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsna Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Once Ramanujacarya, after the death of Yamunacarya, was pensive with some questions. He requested Kancipurna, the servant of Lord Varadaraja (Krsna), to ask the Lord some questions on his behalf. One of the questions was, "What happens if a devotee dies suddenly and is unable to think of You at the time of death?" Lord Varadaraja replied, "Then I will think of my devotee." "Today or tomorrow this worthless material body will leave me and all the material happiness connected with it will also leave. Because material happiness is temporary, it should be understood to be only a mirage of the real happiness. O my mind, please abandon this false happiness and enjoy the real, eternal happiness of devotional service within the land of Vrindavan." [Vrindavan Mamimamrta, Sataka 1, Verse 24] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gHari Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 Srila Satsvarupa dasa Goswami reveals the strength with which Bhakti-tirtha Swami left this world:<blockquote>A final point: aside from the issue that Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja died as a self sacrifice to purify others, just consider the exemplary way he passed through a long and horribly painful disease. He had to endure a cancer which produced big tumors all over his body. At one point his foot had to be amputated. During those days, when possible, he was still active, lecturing, writing, chanting, cheerful, and in his usual down-to-earth, humble mood. As the disease progressed, his thoughts turned more inward toward his own spiritual destiny, but he continued to keep up grateful communication with his caretakers and with whoever came to visit him. Then along the way, he broke the collarbone on his frail body by a slight movement. Still he persevered. In other words, he set an ideal example for what we will all have to go through in one form or another—the path leading to our death. Srila Prabhupada said, "Don't think this won't happen to you." Like Srila Prabhupada, Bhakti Tirtha Swami has again demonstrated an ideal departure from the world, and in his case, through a prolonged, painful ordeal, faced cheerfully, manfully, and with full dependence on Krishna and his devotees.</blockquote> Excerpt from Dipika.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsna Posted July 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 By Sangita devi dasi Posted July 3, 2005 All glories to Srila Prabhupada! June, 2005– By the mercy of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, I was called upon to serve as the hospice nurse for my dear Godbrother His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami during his final months on this Earth. As most of our readers are aware, Maharaja had been diagnosed with melanoma (an aggressive form of cancer) last year and had undergone surgery as well as many types of treatments in an attempt to slow the progression of his cancer. In the midst of tolerating the intense pain of his illness—as well as the side effects of the "cures"—he generously shared with our society of devotees his innermost thoughts and realizations about facing death. During my visits to the Gita Nagari farm to see him, I watched in awe as he used his last bit of strength and energy to teach others about what he was experiencing. Every Sunday he willingly accepted much personal discomfort to travel from his house down a rocky road in order to give class to the large crowd of devotees who assembled weekly in the temple room. He began each class with a kirtan and within minutes his voice would choke up and tears would flow from his eyes as he sang the holy names of Radha-Damodara, the presiding Deities in Gita Nagari. Watching him, I could not imagine the level of intense physical pain he was feeling, but like the "spiritual warrior" he was, he simply tolerated it in order to speak one more time to his devoted disciples and loving Godbrothers and Godsisters. Just as Maharaja lived his entire life thinking about the welfare of others, he spent his last days in this same mood. Thanks and appreciation from dipika.org to our sponsor and host, He never cared for himself or the pain it would bring him to give yet another dynamic lecture that touched the hearts of all who were present. The one class that stands out the most in my memory (and I am simply paraphrasing this) is when he asked for a show of hands from everyone who had ever suffered in any way and had asked, "Why me? Why not someone else?" He then asked for a raise of hands from those who had ever watched another’s suffering and thought, "I’m glad it’s not me." Finally, he asked who in the room had ever watched another’s pain and suffering and thought, "Why them? Why not me?" What can be said of such a rare soul? My association with Maharaja began in 2001 when my husband and I met with him in Philadelphia to bring to his attention a new project I was starting with my Godsister, Jusaniya dasi, called Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. (Counseling, Assistance, Resource, and Education for the Terminally ill and Their Families). After only a few minutes he enthusiastically said, "Put me on the board of directors and let me know what I can do to help." Over the next few years he helped in countless ways. He encouraged his disciples, especially those in the healthcare field, to become involved as volunteers. He met with us in Mayapur for our yearly meeting and discussed strategies to expand Vaisnavas CARE by presenting worldwide seminars and workshops and by fundraising so we could offer more assistance to those in need of our services. He encouraged us to dream large for this project. One of his dreams for us was to build inpatient hospice facilities in the West for those who will seek the shelter of a devotee community in their final days. He inspired us to have the CARE website translated into many languages for our international community. He also made us understand the importance of patience when taking on such a seemingly enormous endeavor as an ISKCON hospice project. He taught us many things, but most important, he taught us to love and have compassion for others because Maharaja himself exemplified love, compassion, and forgiveness for others to such a heightened degree. I will always be grateful to his dear disciples Ekavira Prabhu and Ekavirya's wife, Vraja Lila, for calling me to Maharaja’s bedside during his last few days. I was welcomed into an excellent group of caregivers who had given everything to their Guru during his year-long fight with cancer. Their degree of love and surrender should be held as the highest standard of care for one's spiritual master and should serve as a reference for future generations to follow. I cannot thank them enough for including me into their circle of love. So now, as a society, we have the difficult task of learning to live without the personal presence of His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami. As Indradyumna Swami once said, "Whenever a devotee passes away, this world becomes a little more unfortunate." Today, the world is much more unfortunate. However, through my grief I remain hopeful because I know that his sincere disciples and those who had the privilege of knowing him will carry on his mood of care and compassion. In this way, His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami will always be present within our Krsna consciousness movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsna Posted July 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2005 By Bhakti-tirtha Swami Posted July 8, 2005 A Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada written in 1983 nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale srimate bhaktivedanta svaminn iti namine namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine nirvisesa-sunyavadi pascatya-desa-tarine All glories to Srila Prabhupada! My dear eternal father and spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, Lately I have been reflecting more intensely on how fortunate I and thousands of other souls on this planet are to have met and served you personally or to have been influenced by your teachings, instructions, guidance, and encouragement. These days I normally like to personalize most of my reflections, so lately I have been thinking what would have been my fate if you had not so gracefully come into my life. I am bursting with gratitude. Thank you for rescuing me. If I had not met you, perhaps I would be a dean of a university somewhere, overseeing an institution that creates sophisticated animals. The universities are becoming more and more degraded as they teach and campaign of relativism and massive data collecting. Morality, ethics, integrity and the accumulation of wisdom have become extremely rare. Students as well as professors know so much but understand so little. They live for simply refining their eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, which also make up the lifestyle of animals. I am bursting with gratitude. Thank you for rescuing me. If I had not met you, perhaps I would be a politician, traveling here and there, supposedly representing a political party or a sovereign country, while actually representing myself. The world is presently overflooding with cheating politicians, who speak lies and who live an even bigger lie. Duplicity is their breakfast, exploitation is their lunch, and promiscuity is their dinner. Most politicians lack true commitment to their constituents and also lack courage to be principle-centered, and most unfortunately they also have very poor character. I am bursting with gratitude. Thank you for rescuing me. If I had not met you, perhaps I would have pursued a business career in corporate America, sitting somewhere in a plush office and slowly dying. I can imagine dying of stress, boredom, depression, or frustration while trying to get various promotions. I can also imagine how unhappy I would have been having a big family for whom I must spend almost every waking hour thinking how to get more money to provide for all their material desires. I can reflect on how difficult it would be living in a big house, which would be like a prison with a high mortgage and lots of security. I would be like a slave to the house, having to work like hell to pay for it and keep it in good condition. I am bursting with gratitude. Thank you for rescuing me. Thanks and appreciation from dipika.org to our sponsor and host, If I had not met you, perhaps I would have been a civil rights leader, totally absorbed in racial issues. There are so many people demanding their rights. There is the effort for gay rights, women's rights, children's rights, employees' rights, military rights, diplomatic rights, minority rights, animal rights, etc. But often while different groups demand their rights they are not concerned with other people's problems, needs, and rights. Most importantly, the various people who demand their rights almost always overlook their duties and obligations as nonmaterial entities. So in the process of strategizing and campaigning for material rights, one overlooks one's spiritual responsibilities, commitments, and obligations. I am bursting with gratitude. Thank you for rescuing me. If I had not met you, perhaps I would have been a leader in a religious or psychic order. I would have been pursuing popularity and mystic powers. Surely I would have been using spirituality to acquire a material empire. I would have been using God, His church, and His people to simply make me famous. While telling people about God, I surely would have been sectarian and fanatical so as to enhance my own power and prestige. I am bursting with gratitude. Thank you for rescuing me. You have given me a chance to live most of my life as a celibate sannyasi surrounded by so many wonderful Godbrothers and -sisters, projects, preaching opportunities, and disciples. How kind you have continuously been to me year after year, even though I am so unworthy! If I and others can give up the false ego and develop more compassion, each of us would be able to experience more of your blessings on each of us. Please continue to push us, more now than ever before. You, dear Srila Prabhupada, have given us the sweet, sublime science of bhakti, the culture of pure, radiant, eternal love. I thank you so much for your causeless guidance, protection, compassion, and love. I am bursting with gratitude. Thank you for rescuing me. Your son, Bhakti-tirtha Swami © dipika.org July 8, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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