Protection from Material Desires

Summary: Material desires can easily draw us to the position of being taken far from the path of devotional life. A sincere devotee is quite aware of this danger, and takes all precautions to not indulge; even a small indulgence very quickly draws one into significant foolishness! To receive the Lord's protection from these desires, we need to be very very sincere in our purpose! Due to the amazingly merciful nature the Supreme Lord, recognizing our deeper sincerity of purpose, He may, according to His sweet will, both provide us with the means to see our desires fulfilled (as the cow supplies milk to the calf), but also supply protection from the sense gratification component of consciousness when coming in contact with the very object of those desires (as the cow protects her calf).

Dhruva recognizes this amazingly merciful nature of the Lord, just by dint of the purity he has received from the mercy which came from Narada, and the purification received from the devotional service rendered under the direction of Narada. He is feeling *extremely grateful* for this mercy of Narada! To qualify ourselves for this unique mercy of the Lord, as Dhruva did, what must each of us do? We must place ourselves in the care of Sri Naradaji or his representative, which means we must sincerely carry out the instructions we receive from such representative, stirred by feelings of great gratitude in our hearts for the mercy received. That was Dhruva's qualification, and it needs to become ours.


a) Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.9.17
TRANSLATION My Lord, O Supreme Lord, You are the supreme personified form of all benediction. Therefore, for one who abides in Your devotional service with no other desire, worshiping Your lotus feet is better than becoming king and lording it over a kingdom. That is the benediction of worshiping Your lotus feet. To ignorant devotees like me, You are the causelessly merciful maintainer, just like a cow, who takes care of the newly born calf by supplying milk and giving it protection from attack.

PURPORT Dhruva Maharaja was cognizant of the defective nature of his own devotional service. Pure devotional service is without material form and is not covered by mental speculation or fruitive activities. Pure devotional service is therefore called ahaituki, unmotivated. Dhruva Maharaja knew that he had come to worship the Lord in devotional service with a motive - to get the kingdom of his father. Such an adulterated devotee can never see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. He therefore felt very grateful for the causeless mercy of the Lord. The Lord is so merciful that not only does He fulfill the desires of a devotee who is driven by ignorance and desires for material benefit, but He also gives such a devotee all protection, just as a cow gives milk to a newly born calf.
In the Bhagavad-Gita it is said that the Lord gives intelligence to the constantly engaged devotee so that he may gradually approach the Lord without difficulty. A devotee must be very sincere in his devotional service; then, although there may be many things wrong on the devotee's part, Krsna will guide him and gradually elevate him to the highest position of devotional service. The Lord is addressed herein by Dhruva Maharaja as purusartha-murti, the ultimate goal of life. Generally purusartha is taken to mean execution of a type of religious principle or worship of God in order to get material benediction. Prayers for material benediction are intended for satisfying the senses. And when one is frustrated and cannot fully satisfy the senses in spite of all endeavor, he desires liberation, or freedom from material existence. These activities are generally called purusartha. But actually the ultimate goal is to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called pancama-purusartha, the ultimate goal of life. Lord Caitanya therefore taught us not to ask from the Supreme Personality any benediction such as material wealth, popularity or a good wife. One should simply pray to the Lord to be constantly engaged in His transcendental loving service. Dhruva Maharaja, being cognizant of his desire for material benefit, wanted protection from the Lord so that he might not be misled or deviated from the path of devotional service by material desires.

What to do when you don't have control over the Mind?

You practice. Best to practice bringing the mind to that which will make the mind pure. The Supreme pure is the best for making the mind pure. So in the condition that you described, what should the person do? They should continue to chant, calling from their heart: “My dear Lord Krishna, I know that my mind is all over the place and that it is not with You. That’s my condition. I am disclosing my condition which You already know because You are in my heart. But that's my condition. Please help me. Please pick me up from this dark place of an uncontrolled mind, by Your supreme compassion and purity.” That's what one should do.

Adapted from a lecture entitled “Limbs of Surrender: Humility”, given by His Holiness Romapada Swami in Chicago during March 2012.

Earnestly Awaiting for Lord's Causeless Mercy

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.8

tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
 bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
 jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

Translation:
My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.

Purport:
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains in his commentary that just as a legitimate son has to simply remain alive to gain an inheritance from his father, one who simply remains alive in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, following the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga, automatically becomes eligible to receive the mercy of the Personality of Godhead. In other words, he will be promoted to the kingdom of God.

The word su-samīkṣamāṇa indicates that a devotee earnestly awaits the mercy of the Supreme Lord even while suffering the painful effects of previous sinful activities. Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā that a devotee who fully surrenders unto Him is no longer liable to suffer the reactions of his previous karma. However, because in his mind a devotee may still maintain the remnants of his previous sinful mentality, the Lord removes the last vestiges of the enjoying spirit by giving His devotee punishments that may sometimes resemble sinful reactions. The purpose of the entire creation of God is to rectify the living entity’s tendency to enjoy without the Lord, and therefore the particular punishment given for a sinful activity is specifically designed to curtail the mentality that produced the activity. Although a devotee has surrendered to the Lord’s devotional service, until he is completely perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he may maintain a slight inclination to enjoy the false happiness of this world. The Lord therefore creates a particular situation to eradicate this remaining enjoying spirit. This unhappiness suffered by a sincere devotee is not technically a karmic reaction; it is rather the Lord’s special mercy for inducing His devotee to completely let go of the material world and return home, back to Godhead.

A sincere devotee earnestly desires to go back to the Lord’s abode. Therefore he willingly accepts the Lord’s merciful punishment and continues offering respects and obeisances to the Lord with his heart, words and body. Such a bona fide servant of the Lord, considering all hardship a small price to pay for gaining the personal association of the Lord, certainly becomes a legitimate son of God, as indicated here by the words dāya-bhāk. Just as one cannot approach the sun without becoming fire, one cannot approach the supreme pure, Lord Kṛṣṇa, without undergoing a rigid purificatory process, which may appear like suffering but which is in fact a curative treatment administered by the personal hand of the Lord.

Deity Darshana

Science of Daiva Varnasrama

This is an excerpt from “The Science of Daiva Varnasrama” by His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami, pages 29-31. 

Very often this argument is presented by some devotees, i.e., the position of Lord Caitanya giving less importance to varnasrama or even rejecting varnasrama, both in his conversation with Ramananda Raya and also in his conversation with the Tattvavadis when visiting South India. We need to analyze these discussions very closely.

Actually, Lord Caitanya did not reject varnasrama. Lord Caitanya is Lord Krsna Himself. He has established varnasrama. He cannot reject it; it is his own creation. The conversation in the context of Ramananda Raya and Lord Caitanya was what is the best activity that one can take up to actually become successful in life, to attain self-realization. So Ramananda Raya began by explaining the importance of varnasrama. Lord Caitanya considered that as externaland explained that actually there is something higher. So we need to understand that varnasrama is not an end in itself. In that conversation Lord Caitanya rejected varnasrama as being the ultimate goal and also as being the highest activity for attaining that higher goal. The higher goal, as we mentioned before, is to attain pure love of Krsna-Krsna prema. Varnasrama is a means to attain that and  the process which will actually help one to develop pure love of Krsna is bhakti, or devotional service.

When we see it in this way, we should understand that Lord Caitanya rejected ordinary varnasrama as a means, let us say as the best means, and that’s why Srila Prabhupada spoke about daiva-varnasrama which has the element of devotional service. When that varnasrama is imbued with bhakti then that varnasrama, although normally seen as a material arrangement or material system, when covered with bhakti, becomes transformed as devotional activity. So Lord Caitanya’s purpose in the whole conversation was meant to bring out the bhakti element. That is how varnasrama, without bhakti, is simply a material activity and is generally motivated. So it is not the ultimate aim of life. It is not the best or the highest way by which one can attain bhakti for bhakti in itself or varnasrama imbued with bhakti is what will help us attain that highest goal.

In the conversation with the Tattvavadis in South India, the initial question raised by Lord Caitanya was related to the goal, being liberation, and the means to attain that goal, being varnasrama dharma. So Lord Caitanya naturally rejected it because the goal even within daiva varnasrama dharma is not liberation. The goal in daiva varnasrama ramains bhakti or to develop pure love for Krsna. So Lord Caitanya replied to the Tattvavadis that actually activities of bhakti are the best means to attain the highest goal, which is not liberation. The highest goal is to develop love for Krsna. So automatically liberation is included. For Vaisnavas that is actually liberation.

Srila Prabhupada mentions that the simple fact that Lord Caitanya accepted sannyasa, means he accepted varnasrama because sannyasa is part of the varnasrama system. So we should not prematurely or wrongly conclude that bhakti replaces varnasrama. No. Bhakti is always the primary, the highest activity and the highest goal. “Krsna bhakti nitya siddha” that is the eternal perfection of the living entity. We can begin developing this eternal activity of bhakti most ideally through the system of varnas and asrama, that’s the point. That is for those of us who are here, all of us who are here in this material world, it is very, very rare to find someone who can just be absorbed with pure devotional service and Srila Prabhupada gave the example of Haridas Thakur. Haridas Thakur was such a personality that he could chant 24 hours a day. He was not preoccupied with varnasrama and so also Lord Caitanya, He is the Personality who established and introduced the bhakti element which was missing earlier. Therefore, He was much less concerned about the externals.

So the other point to understand, as one of the conclusions from this, is that we should regard varnasrama in the same context that Lord Caitanya explained as being eternal. As Srila Prabhupada explains, varnasrama, “it is like a drama.” Externally, we take up these different roles of brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, etc., in different asramas, but internally, we cultivate bhakti, that is the main thing. That is why Srila Prabhupada spoke about varnasrama as being a “classless society.” Classless refers to “no class”, that all of us are aspiring devotees of Krsna. We are all endeavoring to practice devotional service to attain the highest goal of pure devotional service or pure love for Krsna. So it is a tool as mentioned by Srila Prabhupada. It is as like a drama. We voluntarily agree to carry out this drama knowing fully well that ultimately, as Srila Prabhupada says ad Lord Caitanya also, that I’m not a brahmana, I’m not a ksatriya, I’m not a male nor a female or whatever I am none of these things which are external and temporary.

Krishna is pleased only by Devotion

After receiving initiation at Gaya from Srila Iswara Puri, Sri Gaurasundar, the son of Mother Sachi, returned to Nadiya with a happy heart. One day, Vishwambhar gave transcendental knowledge to some pure brahmin boys of Nabadwip who were his students.

Lord Gaura Hari said: pana eka satya vastu - krsnera carana sei vidya - yathe hari-bhaktira laksana
You should study only the one truth - Krishna's feet. One who knows that truth has the ornament of devotion for the Lord. (Text 11)

The sastras describe that anything other than this is ignorance. Do not study anything other than devotion to Sri Sri Radha-Krishna! (Text 12)

Persons intoxicated with pride in their learning, wealth, and birth do not attain Krishna. By devotional service one easily attains Krishna, the Lord of the Yadus. (Text 13)

Krishna is conquered by the nectar of devotional service. To prove this I quote these words from the sastras: (Text 14)

Where was the hunter Dharma's piety, Dhruva's maturity, and Gajendra's knowledge? Where was Kubja's beauty? Where was Sudama's wealth? Where was Vidura's noble birth? Where was Ugrasena's chivalrous strength? Lord Madhava is pleased only by devotional service and not by material qualifications. (Text 15: quoting Rupa Goswami's Padyavali, text 8).

--Adapted from Srila Lochan Das Thakur's Caitanya-mangala, Madhya 1.11-15

Krishna is There!

Kṛṣṇa is there. You haven't got to search out Kṛṣṇa. He is already within you. Simply He wants to see whether you are sincere. That's all. You cannot deceive, you cannot deceive Caitanya, Kṛṣṇa. He is always present. Anumantā, upadraṣṭā. In the Bhagavad-gītā, He is upadraṣṭā. So śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. If you simply hear about Kṛṣṇa from the lips of pure devotees, then it is puṇya. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (CC Antya 20.12). It will cleanse your heart. It will cleanse your heart.

- Srila Prabhupada 

Daily Deity Darshana - 21.08.2012

LOVE

Awaken that Love for God and there is no more suffering!

Vrindavan Sounds with HH Radhanath Swami

[A clipping from Vrindavan Yatra 2008]