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8/14/2019 Reflections May09

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A Newsletter from His Holiness Bhakti

T he favorable conditionsfor discharging devotionalservice are that one shouldbe very enthusiastic in serving theLord. The Lord in His form of LordCaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted thecult of devotional service to theLord to be preached all over theworld, in every nook and corner, andtherefore a pure devotees duty is to

ischarge this order as far as possible. Every devotee shoulde very enthusiastic, not only in performing his daily rituals of evotional service, but in trying to preach the cult peacefullyy following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya. If he is notuper cially successful in such an attempt, he should not beeterred from the discharge of his duty. Success or failure haso meaning for a pure devotee because he is a soldier in theeld. Preaching the cult of devotional service is something

ike declaring war against materialistic life. There are different

kinds of materialists, such as the fruitive workers, the mental

speculators, the mystic jugglers, and so many others. All othem are against the existence of Godhead. They would declarthat they are themselves God, although in every step and in

every action they are dependent on the mercy of the LordTherefore a pure devotee may not associate with such gangof atheists. A strong devotee of the Lord will not be misled bysuch atheistic propaganda of the nondevotees, but a neophytdevotee should be very cautious about them. A devotee shouldsee to the right discharge of devotional service under thguidance of a bona de spiritual master and should not stickonly to the formalities. Under the direction of the bona despiritual master, one should see how much service is beinexecuted, and not simply in the matter of rituals. A devote

should not hanker after anything, but he should be satis edwith things that may automatically come to him by the will othe Lord. That should be the principle of a devotional life. Anall these principles are easily learned under the guidance of spiritual master like Sukadeva Gosvami. Maharaja Pariksitinquired from Sukadeva correctly, and one should follow hiexample.

-Srimad Bhagavatam 2.8.21

1Sri Panca-Tattva Spreading the Holy Name

The Devotees Dutyby His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

ay 2009


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ervants. At this point, we become all for Krishna and Krishnaecomes all for us.

While we chant these Siksastaka prayers each morning,we should simultaneously re ect on these points since theight verses literally contain everything necessary to becomeully Krishna conscious. We read many books and engage ino many activities mainly to help us control the mind, buthese eight slokas contain everything. Lord Caitanya did not

write many books because there was actually no need. Heame to give the highest truth in the most simplistic, directnd potent way. If we perform a daily or periodic exercisef trying to go deeper and deeper into the meaning of theselokas, we will discover that everything else we can readbout, hear about or experience is contained within them. Weeed to learn so much since our mind and intelligence are suchascals. We actually want to trick the mind and intelligencey occupying them with devotional thoughts and re ections

while undergoing the cleansing process. To the extent that our

mind and intelligence are strong and powerful, we must learno tame the wild mind just as one tames a wild horse. If a

wild horse is not tamed, it will knock everything down, kickveryone and even run away. Due to its wild nature, it mustome under great surveillance and monitoring until it decideso cooperate and recognize its boss. We have to go througho many rituals and study simply because our intelligence isevious and hyperactive. If we just chant the holy name withurity and potency, everything will be revealed. However,ometimes we have to hear more and even undergo certain

xperiences in order to take deeper shelter of the holy name.Ultimately, in Krishna consciousness we only need the maha-mantra , but before we can chant the names of Radha andKrishna and chant this message imported from the spiritualworld, golokera prema-dhana hari-nama-sankirtana , we haveo build up so much. From this perspective, we can realize whatoes on in Krishna consciousness. Living entities from timemmemorial have been nding expert ways to deny reality,xpert ways to run away from their real identity and expert

ways to minimize and deny Krishnas love. Krishna arranges

hrough scriptures, sadhus , gurus , plenary expansions, partiallenary expansions, incarnations, avataras , and even throughHis own personal presence to somehow encourage us to givep the unnecessary and reach out for the obvious truth weide from.

For these reasons, Lord Caitanya comes Himself.Advaita Acarya and Narada Muni call Him, letting Him knowhat this is a serious time. The rascals in Kali-yuga need special

mercy because they will not expend the effort to meditate, andven if they do, their minds will be everywhere. They will note xed in temple worship or yajnas , and although they willretend, their minds will be in other places. Consequently, the

Lord gives a process that can still bene t the people despitethe wandering mind. Although the mind, the will and themotions are all over the place, somehow there will still ba chance for advancement. Just by chanting the holy name invarious environments, even those who have no interest careceive benedictions. Even those who are not very serioucan still act as ambassadors to spread the chanting of the holnames. Therefore, as they chant, they purify themselves another entities while distributing the mercy to those who maybe more destitute or insane than them. In this way, everyonewill receive some blessings. Everyone on this planet is verfortunate due to the availability of the holy names, but sommay take full advantage and be able to return to the spirituakingdom. While repeating this verse, we can re ect on themirror conception and the need to cleanse the dust from thheart.

T hanks to in ation, saa recent release frthe Associated Preyou are now worth 5 times mothan you were just a few years agoThe calcium, magnesium, iron a

other chemicals in an adults bowere worth 98 cents in the early pof this decade; now theyre wo

$5.60, according to Dr. Harry Monsen, a professor of anatomyat Illinois College of Medicine. And the price will keep goingup, just like its doing with cadavers and skeletons, he saidWe are caught in the in ation spiral.

What we are caught in is more than just the in ationspiral. We are caught in what the Vedic literature points to asthe very essence of illusionthe failure to understand clearly

who we are.Most of the human body, the article continues, iwater. In a 60-pound person, Dr. Monsen said, there are about

ve pounds of calcium, 1 pounds of phosphate, about nineounces of potassium, a little more than six ounces each osulfur and sodium, a little more than an ounce of magnesiumand less than an ounce each of iron, copper, and iodine.

Now, does that sound like you?Meditate on this for a moment. The body is mostl

water, Dr. Monsen says. But when you think about who youarewhen you think about your self, your identitydo youthink of yourself as watery?

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How Much Are You Worth?by His Holiness Jayadvaita Swami (A


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n the course of your life youve drunk so much watern and passed so much of it out. The water has come and

gonebut you are still here. Who is that you?Calcium, phosphate, potassium, sulfuris this the

ssential stuff of our identity? Sodium, magnesium, iron,opper ?

The point is simple. If we analyze our bodies, wellnd nothing more than a barrelful of water and ve orix dollars worth of chemicals. Yet if we meditate on ourelveswho we really arewe intuitively know that each

of us is something more. Conclusion? We are not thesematerial bodies.

By intelligent discrimination, we should try tounderstand the difference between the body and the self.The body is made of chemicalssulfur, iodine, and soonbut the self, the real identity of the living being, isonsciousness. The body with consciousness is a person;

he body without it, a cadaver.Cadavers, notes AP, are more expensive than ever.Dr. Monsen predicts that the price will soon reach $200.

Consciousness, however, is priceless. Intellect,ambition, kindness, lovethese are all symptoms of onsciousness. So, in one word, it is consciousness that ishe essential, invaluable element in the body.

AP has sent out an interesting release about thevalue of the body, but how much more interested we shouldbe in understanding the self within the body. What is it that

makes us attach so much value to our bodies while weren them? If we inquire in this way, we ultimately come toee the importance of consciousness. It is consciousnesshat gives life to the body and makes it temporarily so

precious.This consciousness is also known as atma , the soul,

or the spirit. The Vedic literature therefore tells if we wanto understand the value of life, we should inquire about ourpiritual identity, beyond our material bodies.

The body is what most of us think ourselves to

be. When we think of ourselves as American, Indian,apanese, or German, white or black, man or woman, what

are these but more detailed descriptions of our bodies?We give so much attention to the bodywhich is worthpractically nothingand we ignore the invaluable soul, oronsciousness, within the body.

When people were told they were worth only 98ents they were shocked, Dr. Monsen said. They feel

better knowing they are $5.60. But if we can free ourselvesrom bodily designations and recognize who we really are

heres no limit to how much better we shall feel.

How and where did you jointhe International Society forKrishna Consciousness?

I joined ISKCON when I wsix years in this body. I saw tdevotees walking down the strein Brooklyn, NY and made mfather give them a donation. Af

many years, I got into the straight-edge movement aneventually joined the Army. It was during a deploymenwhen I was placing some little children in a body bag (thewere blown up by a land mine placed during the BosnianSerbian war) that I asked, What is the purpose of life?That day I received a book in the mail with an interviewfrom a devotee band. I remembered how I met the devoteeas a child, chanted, stopped eating meat, etc., and thhappiness it brought. So I decided to strictly follow thteachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Later I joined in thtemple in Nuremberg, Germany.

How did you meet your spiritual master?

I met my spiritual master in Germany. I was invited ta wedding of a good friend, and also for the NarasimhFestival on the German farm. H.H. Kadamba KananSwami was giving class and I had just returned from deployment. I asked a question about karma and the that I have to kill people in my service. He answered mquestion and I was satis ed. Later in the morning I wasreading Srimad-Bhagavatam , and he sat next to me and started to speak. He asked if I wanted to go on a walk withim and I agreed. We walked a few kilometers and talke

about various topics.

What are your current services and what servicesenthuse you the most in your spiritual life?

My current services vary. I am a traveling preacher. I preachin the United States and Africa, and am now starting tpreach in Latin America. Wherever I am, I go out on boodistribution and promote book distribution. I give classestalk with devotees, and try to help in anyway possible t

increase the preaching in that area. All services give me a4

Devotee Spotlight: Partha-sarathi dasa


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ot of inspiration in Krishna consciousness, but bookdistribution really motivates me.

How do you maintain an internal connection with yourpiritual master? How have you been able to apply thenstructions of your spiritual master to your own life?

Well, I have not had so much physical association with

my guru . I keep my relationship fresh and exciting withmy guru by always trying to meditate on his instructions.

listen to my initiation lecture once a week, to remind meof what he expects of me. I go out and preach and offer theesults to him.

When one takes initiation, there is a contract: the gurupromises to take you back to Godhead and you promiseo help him take you back by following strictly, preaching,ollowing instructions, etc. My spiritual master has given

peci c instructions and I know if I follow these orders,hese instructions, I can please him, and keep my end of he contract.

Can you describe a time when you faced a signi cantobstacle in your spiritual life and you overcame theobstacle? How?

was in Iraq for over ve years and that was an obstacle. Ihad no association, I had my vehicle blown up with all my

books, I had hardly any prasadam (just nuts and dried fruit).But I saw this as a chance to reach an audience that couldvery much bene t from this message of Lord Caitanya. Theonly reason why I made it through this time period wasbecause of the prayers of the devotees and by preaching.My guru once commented that my preaching saved myife.

f serious doubts have arisen during the course of yourpiritual life, how have you been able to combat them?

had some doubts about this process, but after experiencingall I have in Iraq, I have no doubt anymore that this processworks.

What do you see as the most signi cant obstacle facinghe expansion of the Hare Krishna movement?

The most signi cant obstacle is the relationships betweenongregation devotees and temple residents. In order topread this movement, everyone has to preach, everyone

has to serve. If we adopt this attitude of wanting to help

each other spread this movement, relationships will bnicer and we can attract more people.

How do you feel that devotees can tackle this obstacle?

We can combat against this by promoting a sense of familand togetherness, we can provide training that integrateboth groups of devotees.

Can you tell about an event in your life when you reallysaw Krishnas mercy coming through?

Another soldier didnt want anything to do with Krishnbut then one day his truck was blown up. I went and helpehim; I knew he would die. I started to chant to him, placeNarasimha Sila on his head, and before he died, he saidFor so long you tried to give me Krishna and I ran awayBut now at the time of death, He is the only one standin

next to me. And he left. That had a huge impact on mlife.

Paratha-sarthi dasa a is disciple of His Holiness KadambaKanana Swami. When not traveling the world givingKrishna consciousness to others, he is based in Atlanta,Georgia, USA.

Copyright 2009 Hari-Nama PressAll rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, includingmechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or other wise, withoutprior written consent of the publisher.

Hari-Nama Press gratefully acknowledges the BBT for the use of verses,purports and photos from Srila Prabhupadas books. All such materialare Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.

Designed by Tamal Krsna dasaEdited by Lila Katha devi dasi

Photo of Bhakti Tirtha Swami: 2005 Lawson Knight/Laksmivan dasa

ACBSP

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