No Time for Krishna - Got to Work Hard for Maya

Today I came home from a hard day's work and had the following thought: "No time for Krishna. I work 12-hours at two jobs, and when I get home, I'm exhausted and just want to relax, watch some TV, eat, and go to sleep."

As I turned to The Nectar of Devotion, looking for some inspiration, the following passage appeared. Please help me by kindly sharing with me your thoughts and realizations on the following:

"A great authority like Bhishma has explained that love of Godhead means completely giving up all so-called love for any other person. According to Bhishma, love means to repose one's affection completely upon one person, withdrawing all affinities for any other person. This pure love can be transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead under two conditions--out of ecstasy and out of causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.

"Ecstatic love of Godhead can be potently invoked simply by following the rules and regulations of devotional service as they are prescribed in scriptures, under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. In the Eleventh Canto, 2nd Chapter, 38th verse, of the the Srimad-Bhagavatam this ecstatic love, born of the execution of regulative devotional service, is explained: "A devotee, in the course of executing the regulative principles of devotional service, develops his natural Krishna consciousness, and being thus softened at heart he chants and dances like a madman. While performing chanting of the holy names of the Lord, he sometimes cries, sometimes talks wildly, sometimes sings, and sometimes--without caring for any outsider--dances like a madman.

"In the Padma Purana there is a statement about ecstatic love born of spontaneous affection. Candrakanti, a celebrated fair-faced girl, rigidly observed celibacy in order to obtain Krishna as her husband. She always engaged herself in meditating on the transcendental form of the Lord and always chanted the glories of the Lord. She did not desire to accept anyone else as her husband. She had firmly decided that only Lord Krishna would be her husband."

... "From the example of Candrakanti as found in Padma Purana and from the example of the gopis as found in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, it appears that a devotee who always thinks of Krishna and who always chants His glories in ecstatic love, regardless of his condition, will attain the highest perfection of unalloyed devotional love due to Lord Krishna's extraordinary mercy." --The Nectar of Devotion, Chatper 19, Devotional Service in Love of God.

And as I was reading the statement above by Bhishma, one of the twelve great souls, mahajanas, I was reminded of a sermon by Lord Jesus Christ in his teachings to his disciples:

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven ... for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ... The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single [focused on the Lord], thy whole body shall be full of light. ... No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon [maya]." --The Bible, Mattew, Chapter 6 (Jesus' Sermon on the Mount), Texts 20-24

As I continued reading from that passage, I was amazed that Lord Jesus goes on to give one of the most illuminating and Krishna conscious speeches, the contents of which were exemplified by Saint Francis of Assissi. I couldn't help but smile as I read these statements given 2000 years ago by Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples. It's almost as if Jesus was quoting Lord Krishna's words from Bhagavad-gita :-)

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat [matter], and the body more than raiment [clothing]?

Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet our heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
[Yet I am very proud thinking that "I am the doer. I am the controller of my destiny. By my hard work I am achieving such and such."]

And why take ye thought for raiment [clothing]? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you. That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed [dressed] like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need for all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." --Lord Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount, The Bible, Matthew, Chapter 6, Texts 25-33.

As I read this, I couldn't help but think of the below verse, spoken by Lord Sri Krishna to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita, 9.22, "The Most Confidential Knowledge."

ananyas cintayanto mam
ye janah paryupasate
tesam nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-ksemam vahamy aham

"But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form--to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have."

As well as, "vyavasayatmika buddhir, ekeha kuru nandana" (BG, 2.41). "Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one." ... In the purport, "As by watering the root of a tree one automatically distributes water to the leaves and branches, so by acting in Krishna consciousness one can render the highest service to everyone--namely self, family, society, country, humanity, etc. If Krishna is satisfied by one's actions, then everyone will be satisfied. ... Service in Krishna consciousness is however, best practiced under the able guidance of a spiritual master who is a bona fide representative of Krishna, who knows the nature of the student and who can guide him to act in Krishna consciousness."

-------------------------------------------

I take it as my great misfortune, my hopeless addiction to mammon [maya], that even after hearing such divine instruction, receiving such causeless mercy, such great fortune, that I still have so little faith ("O ye of little faith") and turn away after reading the above and my mind notes "Very nice... but not practical. Now let me get back to my real work of endeavoring very hard for my own sense gratification."

In this way I continue to knowingly drink the poison of worldly pleasures that keep me in this prison cell of this temporary material mind, body, senses, fraught with the suffering of birth, disease, old age and death.

I need help.

Please help me. Shower me with your prayers and realizations.

Hedonism vs. Krishna Consciousness

My new word for today is hedonism. I looked it up on Google (wikipedia, etc) after reading some of my friends' MySpace profiles and noticing a trend towards "I love anything that makes me feel good. Peace. Love. Fun, fun, fun."

It seems to me that hedonism, in its various forms, is an existential expression of my desire to be happy and to do things that make me happy. If I identify with this body as being me, and the senses and sense objects as being mine, if I am the enjoyer, if I am the doer, then happiness equals sense gratification, body gratification, mind gratification. Pleasing my senses, mind, and body will make me happy. I will pursue beautiful sunsets, cool ocean breezes, dance the night away till I drop... enjoy healthy food, be active, attend good parties, appreciate beauty, practice yoga, love nature... an live a happy, healthy, hippy life :-) If I'm feeling altruistic, I may extend my hedonsim to my friends, family, community, country... or the entire human race, and wish for them to live an equally happy, healthy, hippy life.

But wait, there's a problem.

Theoretically I understand I'm not this body. I'm not this mind. I'm not these senses. I am not the enjoyer. I am not the doer. I am not the owner of the beautiful sunsets, ocean breezes, and the permutations of matter around me. ("But it feels so good - it must be good.")

I'm the spirit soul within, servant of the servant of Krishna.

Can the very thought of focusing on "my pleasure" instead of Krishna's pleasure ever make me happy?

What if I think, "by serving Krishna, I will be happy." Krishna conscious, dovetailed hedonism?

Or if I approach kirtana, prasadam, festivals, devotee association with the desire to enjoy these things?

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Is there any scope for hedonsim in Krishna consciousness, or are the two ideas categorically opposed?

Demon, Demigod, Devotee

demigod

1 : a mythological being with more power than a mortal but less than a god 2 : a person so outstanding as to seem to approach the divine the demigods of jazz>

When Srila Prabhupada comments that the demigods are lining up to take birth in the Hare Krishna Movement I look around at some of my generation / peers today, and I wonder...

Does any of the below sound familar to you?

Demigods like to enjoy in the mode of goodness. Sense gratification on a level no human can match. Music. Beauty. Wealth. Fame... Think of Indra, King of the Demigods, as an example.

Demigods seek pleasure in everything, including devotional service.

Demigods, as opposed to demons, are only 50% interested in being Krishna (demi-God).

Demigods who are frustrated with material enjoyment pray to take birth in the Hare Krishna Movement on planet Earth. What a great blessing. What a great fortune.

What a golden opportunity. Every moment bliss in Krishna consciousness. What an incredible loss to waste even a moment in material sense enjoyment.

Chanting Hare Krishna japa as our Rajasuya Sacrifice. Purifying our desire to be Krishna. 49%. 35% 25%.... the all-powerful, all-merciful, all-knowing Holy Name washes away at our steel-framed hearts.

Realization: Chanting nice japa is very pleasing to my spiritual master.

I often wish that there was some special service I could do for my spiritual master. Something that would get his attention and put a smile on his face. :-)

Today I was chanting my japa in front of our bus tour Gaura Nitai deities and my eyes fell upon a greeting card with a photo of Srila Prabhupada on the front, my spiritual master's spiritual master. It was propped up next to the altar, and I could barely make out the text on the inside of the card -- I leaned forward and tried to make it out... it was a quote from a lecture:

"You are chanting. I am very much pleased. That's all. I came to your country to chant, that "You chant also along with me." So you are helping me by chanting. So I am pleased."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 71-16-07)

Am I cheating people?

Am I cheating people on the bus tours by sprinkling Krishna consciousness with enough salt of material sense gratification to attract people to come on the bus tours in the first place?

I may have answered my question in asking the above. At least the seed to the answer seems to be there.

But seriously... I am trying to figure this out. If what we do at every moment of our day influences how we think, feel, operate... how we treat our relationship with Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, with Their Holy Names, then surely how we spend the majority of our time, moment to moment, on the bus tours affects our consciousness, our attitude towards the times when we do try to engage more directly in conscious, mindful service to the Divine Couple.

Are the bus tours the way they are structured now really conducive to someone who is serious about developing their Krishna consciousness? Or am I cheating people out of that experience by giving them "mishra bhakti," mixed devotional service, sprinkled with a lot of blunt and obvious time for sense gratification.

For some time now I have been feeling disappointed in myself with the results of the bus tours. With the way I and others spend most of our "leisure" time on the tours. I know this may sound shocking to some who tell me what a great thing it is, how it has changed their lives in some ways.

Our stated mission for the tour is to "inspire, train, engage and empower youth in Krishna consciousness to their fullest potential." Am I doing enough to give people a fair chance at becoming inspired, trained, engaged and empowered in their loving relationship with Krishna through serving Him and His devotees? Am I, and are we collectively becoming more Krishna conscious? (Or are we watering the weeds of mishra bhakti, mixed devotional service infused with the goal of our own sense gratification, as opposed to for the pleasure of Krishna.)

Earlier today Jaya Radhe and I were trying to figure out why we ourselves sometimes do not feel so attracted to Krishna and the process of becoming more Krishna conscious. We came to this conclusion that what we do during the rest of our day affects what little time we set aside for our "Krishna conscious" compartmentalized aspect of our lives... What priority does Krishna have in our lives? We spoke about the powerful effect of association. That if we associate with non-devotees for most of our day, hearing and participating in their conversations, soaking up material music and sound vibration infused with an intent to satisfy our own senses, eating food cooked by non-devotees infused with their consciousness, just because our taste buds demand it... that these things rub off on our consciousness, on our mind, and they do affect our "taste" for engaging in activities centered solely on pleasing Krishna.

Back to how we spend time together on the bus tours. How much time do I spend consciously, mindfully engaged in trying to please Krishna? Versus how much time do I spend doing other things to try to please my own senses?

Ultimately it comes down to my own impurities. I lack taste and so I can't convince others of the priceless jewel of the sweet nectar of the Holy Names.

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Haridasa Thakura and Lord Nityananda to go out and spread the chanting of the Holy Names door to door. He said that when the proud owners of the house open their doors, you should fall on your knees with tears in your eyes, grab hold of their feet and beg them to please discard everything they have learnt and to simply take up the most precious treasure of constantly chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

I lament because I don't have this strong conviction. I don't have a deep taste for chanting the Holy Names with tears in my eyes... begging you to take this up as your only means of happiness... and so it rubs off on each of you on the bus tour. I am not able to give this gift to you and I continue to be disappointed in myself. I find myself all too often looking for happiness in all the wrong places, anywhere and anything but Krishna (as the wonderful Mother Yamuna likes to say.)

There's hope. I'm getting tired of cheating myself, and thereby others. Slowly but surely. I'm attending japa retreat after japa retreat in the hope of focusing my own desires and consciousness more and more on sweet Radha-Krishna, Hare Krishna.

Please pray for me. If you have some faith, some taste for chanting Hare Krishna, please allow me to serve you in some way so that some of your taste may rub off on me. Share your realizations with me.

Do I want to be a devotee of Krishna?

Today I had the good fortune of trying to help someone on Live Help at Krishna.com. I had a few minutes to spare, took a chance, loaded up live help, and waited. The "door bell" rang. A live help question came onto my browser screen. David from Hartford, CT. David was interested in doing some more service for Krishna. He'd been reading and chanting, but wondered what the next step woud be.

While trying to encourage David, I googled a familiar verse and, as I read over it, paused and meditated on its intensity... trying to see how to apply it in my life, and in David's life.

The immediate questions that arose in my mind were, "do I really want to do this? Is this practical? Is this what I want my life to be like? Do I want to be a devotee of Krishna?"

What verse? Oh, right... here it is.

Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spoke to Sanatana Goswami as follows:

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha bhajana-kriya
tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatah
athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati
sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah

"In the beginning there must be faith. Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees. Thereafter, one is initiated by the spiritual master and executes the regulative principles under his orders. Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service. Thereafter, one develops taste and attachment. This is the way of sadhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually emotions intensify, and finally there is an awakening of love. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead for the devotee interested in Krishna consciousness." –Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta, Madhya 23, 14-15

That chapter in Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta is called "Life's Ultimate Goal." Lord Chaitanya goes on to describe the symptoms of one who has the seed of transcendental emotion for Krishna in his heart. What are the symptoms of a devotee?

He manifests forgiveness. (I see...)

He is concerned that not a moment of time should be wasted. Every moment should be utilized for Krishna. (Yikes!)

He develops detachment. .. Material enjoyment, mystic power and sense gratification do not appeal to the devotee at all. (Hmmmm.) .. He is not agitated by material things. (Hmmmm.)

There is an abscence of false prestige [reputation, distinction... ]

(1. reputation or influence arising from success, achievement, rank, or other favorable
attributes. 2. distinction.)

(I am not the doer. I am not the doer. I am not the doer. Krishna is da Bomb :-)

The devotee manifests hope and eagerness, a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord, attachment to the descriptions of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and affection for those places where the Lord resides...

(Hmmmm... I can see how this could potentially fill my whole day, every day. Is this what I really want?)

As I researched further I came across Srila Prabhupada's conversation with a guest about the "adau sraddha" verse, January 9, 1977:

Guest: Can you explain surrender?

Prabhupada: "Surrender, this is surrender, that... First of all, why you surrender? You must know it perfectly well that "Krsna is master; I am servant." Otherwise there is no question of surrender. Then you have to believe that "Krsna says, aham tvam sarva papebhyo moksayisyami. So now I have surrendered. I have no more fear. Krsna will give me protection." To believe firmly... "Krsna is all powerful. Krsna is my master." .. First of all, you have to check yourself whether you firmly believe in the words of God. If you don't believe, there is no question of surrender. Then you remain where you are.

This is firm belief: "Krsna says that He will give me protection. So let me surrender. I have surrendered to maya. I have not become happy. So why not surrender to Krsna?" This is intelligence."

You are not free. Then why you are declaring yourself as free? This is your disease. So intelligent means that I have no freedom actually. I am acting under the dictation of my senses. I am servant of my senses. So why not become servant of Krsna? This is intelligent. Everyone is acting under senses, order of the senses. Kamadinam kathidha na kathida palita durni-desah. Even I don't want to do it, something wrong, but my senses are dictating, so "All right, let me do it." So we are... I am servant of the senses. My position is twofold. Either I become the servant of the senses or I become servant of Krsna. My position is the same. Simply I have to change it."

----------

My conclusion for today: Who was helping whom? Here I was trying to help David clarify his decision on his next course of action in his grand adventure into Krishna consciousness, and meanwhile David–and of course Krishna who is da Bomb diggity–was helping this lost soul clarify his own goals.

Finding a suitable, Krishna conscious partner

I see many of my sisters and brothers struggling to find suitable partners. I pray that The Lord of Your Heart guides you in your pursuit. It’s not easy. Just as you think you’ve found one, s/he either gets cold feet or turns out not to be as good as you thought s/he would be.

Perhaps there is no perfect partner in this world. They say we're all here because we were envious and selfish and need to re-learn how to love Krishna, unconditionally. Sometimes Krishna may give us a partner who pushes all of our buttons, and forces us to become humble and take shelter of Him. Whatever challenges come our way, may those challenges remind us of our only shelter, our eternal partner, Sri Krishna! Govinda! Hari! Murari! He Natha! Narayana! Vasudeva!

I am reminded of something Mahatma Prabhu said during the Sharanagati Japa Retreat… “How you do anything, is how you do everything.” Using this simple measure we can sample what life would be like with a potential partner by taking inventory of how that person currently leads their life. It’s a good indication of things to come.

For a devotee, the measure of a good person is how much time this person spends pleasing Krishna, versus pleasing themselves. Is s/he mostly self-less and humble? Or pre-occupied with being selfish and proud?

(Imagine spending the rest of your life with a selfish and proud person?)

Some questions you might ask your aspiring partner:

1) How do you spend your spare time?

2) If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?

3) At the end of your life, looking back, what would you like to have accomplished?

--------------

26 Qualities of a Devotee

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best), rate your potential partner on how well they exemplify each of the following qualities, in relation to Krishna consciousness. If the overall score is low, chances are it's not going to get much better.

(Wouldn't you rather know now?)

Kripalu - merciful

Akrita-droha - humble

Satya-sara - truthful

Sama - equal to all

Nidosha – faultless

Vadanya – magnanimous

Mridu – mild

Shuci – clean

Akinchana – without material possessions

Sarvopakaraka – performs welfare work for everyone

Shanta – peaceful

Krishnaika-sharana – surrendered solely to Krishna

Akama – desireless for material pleasures

Aniha – indifferent to material acquisitions

Sthira – fixed in devotional service

Vijita-shad-guna – control the six bad qualities (lust, anger, greed, and so forth...)

Mita-bhuk – eats only as much as required

Apramatta – not inebriated with sense gratification

Manada – respectful

Amani – without false prestige (i.e. not proud)

Gambhira – grave

Karuna – compassionate

Maitra – friendly

Kavi – poetic

Daksha – expert

Mauni – silent (does not engage in idle talk)


More Questions...

4) If you could earn three times as much money at a job far away from the temple, would you take the job? Why?

5) In your daily life, how much time do you allocate to performing devotional service to Krishna and His devotees?

6) How important, in your life, is surrendering to a spiritual master and serving him with humility?

7) Statement: “Anything done without the objective of pleasing Krishna is useless.”

Could you live your life by this statement?

---------------

In compiling the above, I read the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 16, Divine and Demoniac Natures, describing the characteristics of a good person (in this context, good husband or wife).

I also read Vaishnava Behavior and the 26 Qualities of a Devotee, by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, elaborating on each of the 26 qualities mentioned above and how they are exhibited by a Krishna conscious person. This easy-to-read book is one of my all-time favorites.