Wednesday 16 May 2012

Container of the Heart


Sri Rupa  Gosvami states: krsna prema pradaya te, "Lord Caitanya is freely giving krsna-prema to one and all." One might logically ask the question, "Why haven't I received that prema yet?"
"You cannot receive the prema-rasa from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu with your hands or any other container. Only with the container of your heart can you get the prema-rasa given by Mahaprabhu. But you should examine the container of your heart to see that there are no holes in it. Is it a pure heart? If there are nasty things like lust, anger, greed, envy, pride and arrogance in it, how can you get the prema-rasa" "These nasty things are holes in the container. Mahaprabhu gives prema indiscriminately, but why all are not getting it? We must take care of the container of the heart so that we may receive Mahaprabhu's mercy. If your chanting is pure and offenseless, then you will definitely get krsna-prema. Mahaprabhu gives prema through chanting, but He gives a condition.

trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada hari
One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly, (sihastaka 3) "The pot of the heart must be made up of these four constituents: humility, tolerance, respect and pridelessness. Mahaprabhu is the giver and you are the receiver. But if your pot is not made up of these constituents, how can you receive?"

(Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaj - Krsna Kathamrta BMu 6/01)

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