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Transcript of Reflections Feb09
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A Newsletter from His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swam
Aperson is said to be
still further advanced
when he regards all
the honest well-wisher, friends and
enemies, the envious, the pious, the
sinner and those who are indifferent
and impartialwith an equal mind.(Bhagavad-gita 6.9) There are
different kinds of friends. There is suhrt, who is by nature a
well-wisher and is always desiring ones welfare. Mitra refers
o an ordinary friend, and udasina is one who is neutral. In
his material world someone may be my well-wisher, friend or
neither friend nor enemy but neutral. Someone else may serve
s a mediator between me and my enemies, and in this verse he
s called madhya-stha. One may also see someone as pious and
nother as sinful according to his own calculations. But when
he is situated in transcendence, all of thesefriends,
enemies or whatevercease to exist. When one beco
actually learned, he does not see any enemy or any fr
because in actuality no one is my enemy, no one is my fri
no one is my father, no one is my mother, etc. We are all simliving entities playing on a stage in the dress of father, mo
children, friend, enemy, sinner and saint, etc.
It is like a great drama with so many characters pla
their parts. However, on the stage a person may be an enem
whatever, but off the stage all the actors are friends. Simil
with these bodies we are playing on the stage of material na
and we attach so many designations to one another. I ma
thinking, This is my son, but in actuality I cannot beget
son. It is not possible. At the utmost I can only beget a body
not within any mans power to beget a living entity. Merelsexual intercourse a living entity cannot be begotten. The li
entity must be placed in the emulsication of secretions.
is the verdict ofSrimad-Bhagavatam. Thus all the multifar
relationships between bodies are just so much stage play.
who is actually realized and has actually attained yoga no lo
sees these bodily distinctions.
-The Perfection of Y
1
Krishna and Sudama displaying genuine friendship.
The Great Dramaby His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
ebruary 2009
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Humility in devotional service
with determination is a powerful
combination. When we lack
humility, then we have the tendency to
only see someone elses faults ratherthan our own. When someone tries to
show us our faults, we immediately see
it as the other persons issue. Therefore,
we conclude that we are okaybut we
re not okay because nobody in a material body is okay. If
we fully understood our faults, then we would not be in the
material world in the rst place. Krishna, in the heart and
hrough sadhu, sastra, and guru, is constantly showing us.
Humility is so signicant that it determines the degree of a
persons advancement. One who constantly looks to see what
has to be eliminated will quickly advance. Elimination comes
rst because we are already eternally connected with Krishna
nd we are pure, but this purity is covered over. Our spiritual
ife basically involves uncovering. It is just that simple and
ust that difcult. When some people are uncovered, what do
hey do? Some people who are sleeping simply become angry
when you wake them up. They want to be left alone.
For this reason, when Krishna comes, most people do
not know His real identity. They miss out because they do not
ccept how much they are prisoners and criminals who are in
llusion. The crazier a person, the more they see everyone else
s crazy rather than themselves. An insane person might roam
he streets, eating out of the garbage cans without proper clothes
on, but they notice other people, thinking how ridiculous they
re. They feel that they have a good situation since they can
leep anywhere while other people have to work, take baths,
hange clothes, etc. An insane person in such a situation really
annot change their situation because they cannot hear. They
hink they are completely sane.
The material world is just one big crazy house or prison
where the living entities are absorbed in the illusions while
imultaneously thinking of it as wonderful. For instance, when
ndra was cursed and became a pig, he thought of his situation
s wonderful. When Narada came to take him away, he thought
f the sage as a disturbance to his sense gratication. Srila
Prabhupada would sometimes tell the public, I have come to
emind you about what you have forgotten. And sometimes
t is painful to be reminded. Srila Prabhupada would explain
o much philosophy, which would disturb some people. The
deeper their illusion, the more it would disturb or even a
them to hear the truth.
Of all the elements conning us to this material pri
the false ego is the thickest. It is difcult because false eg
one of the rst things that Brahma created when he cre
the material universes. He created the misconception of bo
identicationahankara. The prison environment revolve
much around false ego.
We can even evaluate our state of humility by watc
our minds in different situations. If one of our peers is glor
in our presence, to what degree do our minds become envi
If we feel such intense envy, we can understand that we ha
deep level of contamination. We should recognize that it is
reason that we are in the material world. Attaining libera
means becoming non-envious and not seeing ourselves a
proprietors.
We can also evaluate ourselves by noticing the ex
to which we maintain the mindset of friends and enem
Krishna has said that one who is dear to Him does not h
enemies or friends. Even if someone acts as our enemy, w
not have to accept it. It does not mean that we are in deni
avoid addressing improper behavior. We address it out of
with humility by speaking truthfully, but we should try
to see others as enemies, whether they agree or disagree w
us.
We see the most exemplary humility in the beha
of Lord Caitanya during his interaction with Ramacandra P
Ramacandra Puri, who was extremely envious and devi
challenged Lord Caitanya by attempting to point out
improper behavior. At one point he saw ants and came to
conclusion that Lord Caitanya was not controlling His sen
Since they were eating sweets, according to Ramaca
Puri, the ants came. Did Lord Caitanya respond by arguin
criticizing as well? No, not only did He not defend Himself
He even changed and started to eat lessand He is the Supr
Lord. Rather than arguing, He showed us the position of
strength. When there is real strength, a person feels genui
humbled and always thinks, I want to know Krishna mowant to serve Krishna more; therefore, Krishna will help m
so many ways. A person constantly looks for ways to be f
of the illusion.
A devotee always feels very humble and is alw
thinking that he or she is the worst of all and the most fa
We see this example in the writings of the acaryas. They t
that no one is more fallen than them, and they pray for h
Conversely, the neophyte devotee not only does not acc
but he sometimes even tries to blaspheme or attack some
who tries to help him see his own suffering. When a perso
Humility with Determinationby His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami
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gets too absorbedin their mindset and in the habit of acting on
t, he or she will just try to nd faults as a way to not have to
ook at themselves and their weaknesses. It is just false ego.
But the mind could think, What if I know I am right and the
other person is just trying to put me down? Well, it is even
more of a reason to be humble and to be able to help the other
person understand what is proper by showing humility and
etting the bhakti prevail.
Lord Caitanya did just that when Ramacandra Puri
ttacked Him. In this case, Ramacandra did not even have the
Lords best interest in mind; he was just trying to demise the
devotees. However, Lord Caitanya just accepted the so-called
nstructions and made the shift in His behavior. A person
who has great strength does not get so swayed by popular
entiment, by fads, by friends and enemies. Rather, he or she
s very happy. Why? When someone is thinking that Krishna
s everywhere, is in the heart, and is calling us constantly, then
he person is always wondering why he or she hasnt gone
back to Him yet. The devotee wants to know what is blocking.
From that position we are taking the humble position, trying
o see what is obfuscating our return home. We are quick to
ook at whatever weaknesses we have, realizing that they are
esponsible for our position in this material world.
One devotee approached me the other day with fear
nd concern because he was seeing so many senior devotees all
round the world whose devotion is almost gone. New devotees
observe this phenomenon with fear and it should frighten a
devotee. He or she should wonder how such a thing happens.
A devotee should also nd ways to avoid that same result. A
devotee can think of ways to sympathize and the means to help
omeone else come back into the re of devotional service.
However, ego causes a person to think that such a situation
will never happen to him because he sees himself as different.
He sees that other people are a certain way but sees himself
s strong and immune to such consequences. However, the
ame maya is there, and she has different tricks to bring people
down in different ways. In most cases, the person who got
aptured by maya was not thinking that they were in mayauntil it became so dominant that they knew and everyone else
knew.
Many times people are in maya and are thinking they
re ne until they are so devastated that there is no way to not
ee the reality of their position. Therefore, if we dont have
humility, we will simply be a disturbance. Krishna will give us
o much assistance, but if He sees that we are not taking it, He
will help us through tough love just as a parent helps a child.
So, how powerful if we can even humbly accept
nd use the advice of a person who might not have the best
intentions. If we cannot do that, then we know we are wr
If we end up in such a situation and show enviousness,
we immediately know that our creeper is still very muc
the neophyte stage. Krishna makes it very clear inBhaga
gita 12.13-14, One who is not envious but is a kind fr
to all living entities, who does not think himself a propri
and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness
distress, who is tolerant, always satised, self-controlled,
engaged in devotional service with determination, his m
and intelligence xed on Mesuch a devotee of Mine is v
dear to Me.
How and where did you
the International Society
Krishna Consciousness?
It was Feb. 92 and I was ha
a crisis. A relationship had en
and I was losing the battle
depression. In counseling, I had been asked if I had plan
the future - the words stuck in my head. By that time I
been convinced about Krishna Consciousness for almost
years. In the back of my head it had been my plan for a
time. It was a plan that always ran into the same brick wa
four regulative principles. So there I wasnot doing
well and needing to come up with some real direction to k
from sliding deeper into depression. Unfortunately the
thing that inspired me seemed impossible. So I PRAYE
got down on my knees, closed my eyes, and kind of just l
all hang out. I told Krishna that I knew that I hadnt done m
with the mercy hed given to me already so there wasnt g
reason to give me more. But I told Him that I was despe
and that I knew He could help me if He wanted. In Ju
moved into the Detroit Temple full-time.
How did you meet your spiritual master?
Its funny. It was Srimad-Bhagavatam class and
expectations werent so high because the previous week H
Hridayananda Goswami had come through and had g
some wonderful classes. Since Maharaja had been an inte
part of the project to complete the translation and commen
of theBhagavatam, I was thinking that no one else woul
able to present it so well. But when H.G. Ravindra Swaru
3
Devotee Spotlight: Giri-govardhana das
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Prabhu had nished his class, I was stunned by the insight and
larity of his explanations. I was hooked!
What are your current services and what services enthuse
you the most in your spiritual life?
recently had a big change in my service. After 15 yrs. in
Detroit, I joined the Bhagavat Life team. Bhagavat Life has
been holding Japa Retreats and Weekends around the country
or the last couple of years. I went from spending a lot of
ime on the altar serving the Deities to spending an inordinate
amount of time in front of a computer screen. While I do miss
he close connection with the Deities, I feel very happy to be a
small) part of something which helps devotees to enrich their
elationship with the holy name.
Can you describe a time when you faced a signicant
obstacle in your spiritual life and you overcame the
obstacle? How?
ts an on-going obstacle reallyand I think it ultimately
omes down to pride. In the beginning it was crystal clear
hat it was only Krishnas mercy that had allowed me to come
o Krishna Consciousness and only Krishnas mercy that was
keeping me. Thats no less true today of course, but I nd
myself trying to take some of the credit. Instead of feeling
helpless, I want to think that my service over the years has
omehow given me some standing in devotional service. I fear
hat I have closed myself in many ways to Krishnas mercyand have made offensesboth of which have drained some
of my enthusiasm. Unfortunately, like in the years before I
oined, I havent taken advantage of the mercy given. Thats
my biggest struggle at the momentto soften the hard heart
and feel helpless again.
What are your short-term goals in Krishna consciousness?
Long-term goals?
Taking goals to be something more realistic than hopes, andnding myself closer to the end of life than to the beginning,
want to build a foundation for Krishna Consciousness in this
ife that will allow me to carry on in the next. While there is
till life, there is still hope of becoming a better recipient of
mercy and making more substantial progress, but if it turns
out that I continue to muddle along in the beginning stages
ofbhakti, then I just want to keep the faith and carry on till
he end.
f serious doubts have arisen during the course of your
piritual life, how have you been able to combat them?
I think for me its less a question of doubt than of weak
of heart. In the Bible there is the story where Jesus stau
disciple Peter is afraid after Jesus is arrested and denies
he is his follower. He doesnt think to stop being a discipl
its more weakness than doubt. In the background at lea
feel condent in Krishna Consciousness and the path give
by Srila Prabhupada. Ive experienced enough of a chang
my life to know that it works. In that way I dont worry
maybe Ive made the wrong choice, or taken the wrong
or something. My struggle lies more in bringing that fait
bear in day to day situations.
How does your association with devotees help main
your own spiritual life/sadhana?
There are philosophical explanations for how associa
does what it does, but at the time it seems to just work
by magic. Im fortunate to have some excellent associa
right now and the effect is really amazing. Its sometweve really noticed in the Japa Retreats is how powerf
is when devotees come together for a few days of focu
association.
What do you see as the most signicant obstacle facing
expansion of the Hare Krishna movement? How do
feel that devotees can tackle this obstacle?
I think something we all can do is to step back and loo
ourselves as clearly and objectively as we can. Its hunature to be a little generous with ourselvesto play
the positives and gloss over the negatives. It makes it a
harder for us to make real progress. Even if the picture i
so prettyif we can look at ourselves honestly, we have
basis for moving forward.
envy envi, n. ill-will or hostility (obs); a feeling of discon
at the good looks, qualities, fortune, etc. of another; an ob
or person contemplated with grudging or envious feeling
wish to have or to covet someones property, good fort
skills, etc.4
Envy: The Orginal Sinby Rupa-vilasa dasa (ACBSP)
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Bhagavad-gita (7.27) states, iccha-dvesa-samutthena.
Two kinds of propensities arise in the living entity.
One propensity is iccha, which means desire to lord it
over material nature or to be as great as the Supreme
Lord. Everyone desires to be the greatest personality
in this material world.Dvesa means envy. When one
becomes envious of Krsna, or the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, one thinks, Why should Krsna be the all
and all? Im as good as Krsna. These two items, desire
to be the Lord and envy of the Lord, are the beginning
cause of material bondage(SB 3.27.20 purport)
Envy is the original cause of the living beings
bondage to matter. The living being is enslaved by the
unfortunate emotion of envyenvy of the Supreme Lord. As
Srila Prabhupada points out above, These two items, desire
o be the Lord and envy of the Lord, are the beginning cause
of material bondage. As long as the competitive desire to
be superior to others remains, the cause of our enslavemento matter remains, and from such consciousness there is no
escape.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has explained in his Sri
Caitanya-siksamrta that the anarthas (unwanted things)
which exist in our hearts are personied by the demons whom
Krsna and Balarama kill when such asuras attempt to enter
Vraja. The holy names of the Lord can swiftly destroy ourdemon-like anarthas, but due to the strength of maya, our
material conditioning, and offenses to the holy name and
Vaisnavas, the struggle may be long and difcult unless weare very sincere and determined.
The snake demonAghasurarepresents envy. The
attitude of envy, exhibited dramatically by Aghasura, is an
offense against the chanting of the holy names and to Vaisnavas,
as envy is most commonly manifested toward God and great
devotees who have dedicated their lives to the propagation of
he holy names.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states: The devotee who
worships the holy name should rst petition the Lord for the
trength to cast out all these unfavorable tendencies andhould pray thus before Lord Hari on a daily basis. By doing this
egularly, the devotees heart will eventually become puried.
Krsna has killed a number of demons which may arise in the
kingdom of the heart so in order to destroy these problems,
a devotee must cry very humbly before the Lord and admit
defeat then the Lord will nullify all contaminations.
Envy is the original and most prominent anartha that
blocks our advancement on the path of Krsna consciousness.
Srila Prabhupada has described our existential situation as
ollows:
Since no one in this material world can tolerat
anothers advancement, everyone in the material worl
is called matsara, envious one who is not free from
the contamination of envy cannot advance in Krsn
consciousness. (SB 4.19.2 purport)
Important questions to be answered for the sin
practitioner are: how can I be rid of the contaminatio
envy, how do I deal with those who are envious, and, in
process of ridding myself of envy, how can I avoid commi
offenses while still in an impure state of consciousn
Srila Prabhupada addresses these questions repeatedly in
books.
O King Pariksit, anyone who aurally receives th
narrations concerning the characteristics of Lor
Ramacandras pastimes will ultimately be freed from th
disease of envy and thus be liberated from the bondag
of fruitive activities.
PURPORT
Here in this material world, everyone is envious o
someone else. Even in religious life, it is sometime
found that if one devotee has advanced in spiritua
activities, other devotees are envious of him. Suc
envious devotees are not completely freed from th
bondage of birth and death. As long as one is no
completely free from the cause of birth and death, on
cannot enter the sanatana-dhama or the eternal pastime
of the LordBecause the devotee knows that the Lor
is his supreme protector, he thinks, What harm can th
so-called enemy do? Thus a devotee is condent abou
his protectionA devotee must therefore be completel
free from envy, especially of other devotees. To env
other devotees is a great offense, a vaisnava-aparadha
A devotee who constantly engages in hearing an
chanting (sravana-kirtana) is certainly freed from thdisease of envy, and thus he becomes eligible to go bac
home, back to Godhead. (SB 9.11.23 purport)
In this purport, Srila Prabhupada gives the solutio
how to become free of envy: to become absorbed in hea
and chanting. The obstacle of the envious behavior of othe
addressed below:
To act under the direction of a bona de spiritual maste
with a motive to satisfy the Supreme Personality of
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Godhead is pure devotional service. But if one has a
motive for personal sense gratication, his devotional
service is manifested differently. Such a man may be
violent, proud, envious and angry, and his interests are
separate from the Lords.
One who approaches the Supreme Lord to render
devotional service, but who is proud of his personality,
envious of others or vengeful, is in the mode of anger.
He thinks that he is the best devotee. Devotional
service executed in this way is not pure; it is mixed
and is of the lowest grade, tamasah. Srila Visvanatha
Cakravarti Thakura advises that a Vaisnava who is not
of good character should be avoided. A Vaisnava is one
who has taken the Supreme Personality of Godhead
as the ultimate goal of life, but if one is not pure and
still has motives, then he is not a Vaisnava of the rst
order of good character. One may offer his respects to
such a Vaisnava because he has accepted the Supreme
Lord as the ultimate goal of life, but one should not
keep company with a Vaisnava who is in the mode of
ignorance. (SB 3.29.8)
However, disagreements and envy between Vaisnavas
can be resolved by those devotees who sincerely desire to please
he spiritual master and Krsna. Srila Prabhupada explains:
Indra decided to fall down at the lotus feet of King Prthu,
but the King was so magnanimous a Vaisnava that he did
not want Maharaja Indra to fall down at his feet. Instead,
King Prthu immediately picked him up and embraced
him, and both of them forgot all the past incidents. Both
King Indra and Maharaja Prthu were envious and angry
with each other, but since both of them were Vaisnavas,
or servants of Lord Visnu, it was their duty to adjust the
cause of their envy. This is also a rst-class example
of cooperative behavior between VaisnavasThere
is a great need to propagate the Krsna consciousness
movement in the world so that even though people
sometimes become angry and malicious toward one
another, because of their being Krsna conscious such
rivalry, competition and envy can be adjusted without
difculty. (SB 4.20.18)
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura discusses dealing
with envy and other anarthas:
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has suggested how
one can conquer lusty desires for sense gratication...if
one is determined not to live with a woman, even whil
seeing a woman he will not become lusty...The exampl
given in this regard is that even if one is hungry, if on
particular day he is determined to observe fasting, he ca
naturally conquer the disturbances of hunger and thirs
If one is determined not to be envious of anyone, he ca
naturally conquer anger. Similarly, one can give up th
desire to accumulate wealth simply by considering how
difcult it is to protect the money in ones possession(SB 7.15.22 and purport)
The indications in this purport are that it is not sim
a matter of passively waiting for purication to take place
that there must be active endeavor to control the lower
by the higher self, i.e. acting with determination, accor
to scriptural injunctions. There are many instructions a
the proper behavior of a Vaisnava. Despite the cond
of our hearts, we can adopt the process of purication
simultaneously change our modes of behavior. Munpropensities may dissolve slowly, but behavior can and mu
altered. Otherwise, we are pouring oil on the re of material
propensities and will continue to be governed by envy,
anger, etc.
Therefore, although envy is a pernicious prob
troubling to the heart, it can be overcome. First, one m
strictly apply the process of Krsna consciousness as given by
spiritual master, and second, one must alter his or her beha
to conform with the standards outlined in the teachings o
acaryas, and third, one must beg for the mercy of the Land the Vaisnavas. As outlined in the rst instruction of
Nectar of Instruction, one must learn to tolerate and neg
the unwanted urges of the mind, anger, tongue, belly,
genitals. Without controlling our materialistic urges with g
determination, our envious nature will manifest in beha
counter to our real self-interest, and, by offenses, our prog
in Krsna consciousness will be slowed or even halted.
must furthermore beg the Lord to help us in this endeavor
we must be sincere. When once questioned how to bec
sincere, Srila Prabhupada looked surprised and answered,
be sincere. There is no other formula. There is only sin
endeavor and begging for mercy. There is no other way.
Copyright 2009 Hari-Nama Press
All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced, stored in a retriev
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Hari-Nama Press gratefully acknowledges the BBT for the use of verses, purports a
photos from Srila Prabhupadas books. All such material are Bhaktivedanta Bo
Trust International, Inc.
Designed by Tamal Krsna dasa
Edited by Lila Katha devi dasi
Photo of Bhakti Tirtha Swami: 2005 Lawson Knight/Laksmivan dasa ACBSP
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