Family 3/31/13 From Germany

Dear devotees, Greetings from Berlin Mela.
I am very pleased to address you again.

Today I want to talk about some of the decisions that we have to take in life. Personally, I'm not married, I always thought I could not serve a single person, but I wanted to serve all who I could. When I was given sannyas I could not perceive all that would involve my decision, but I felt a very strong desire to serve and that's what I'm trying to do.

Being renounced is serious and involves a great sacrifice. I confess that in me, sometimes I get really sad to see that it is very difficult to completely for happy homes in Kali Yuga. I constantly receive letters or messages on the difficulties of my sons and daughters in marriage. I am sorry that I can not always trust a man's hand to one of my spiritual daughters and assure that they will have a good life. That makes me want to run out of this world. For the final analysis, one is fully involved in the spiritual welfare of his family. I preach every day to never let infidelity arise nor abandonment, I preach what is necessary to ensure that things develop properly, however, lust and sexual attraction is very strong that it can be compared with blindness, as it makes people lose all ability to see the spiritual vision and surrender completely to the desires that will lead directly to the wheel of suffering.

Going further, it is not just lust, but it's important to protect one commitment to another person, that's spiritual maturity and that's what we strive to maintain, despite the difficulties that come every day. It makes me very happy to know that there are families who manage to remain stable in spite of all this and behave in an exemplary manner, constantly striving to be faithful to the principles. Anyway, sometimes I do not know what else to do to make the devotees really be trained and learn to be better and more compliant with the people around them ...

There are four routes identified when complying with something, you can accomplish this by fear, attachment, duty or love. A marriage is an instance of full responsibility of full compliance. If someone wants to marry one of my spiritual daughters, you must take responsibility and have an economical means secured to care for her. But very few devotees are able to take this request seriously. I have many great spiritual daughters, fighters, helpful and rendered, but very few candidates for them. If I had a child of blood brought into the world, I'd have much fear of not being able to maintain him, since parents are the ones who will give them all the tools so this child can be saved from a materialistic life and become a surrendered devotee. The only solution for someone who wants to become a good grhastha is becoming a serious devotee, a leader who is surrendered to the service of the spiritual master. A devotee of such dedication never stops chanting the holy names of the Lord and reads the scriptures and thus becomes conscious of  the responsibility that has been given to him.

We can not go against the karma of others, but we can preach and excite them to become real human beings and responsible. So, my dear, there is nothing more to say: we have to leave this material world at all costs. So that is why there are dedicated warriors who decided to renounce, in order to fight and help others in the fight.

We all appreciate being pampered or would like to have someone waiting at home with a nice smile and a hot dinner :) but in the end, the story is that the material world was created to suffer and to awaken from this illusion and re- establish our lost relationship with God. That I can give as a guarantee. Personally, I'm not married, had no children or wife, but I suffer deeply when I see the sadness of my children due to irresponsible or poorly rendered marriages. Imagine, when a woman marries she gives a man his life, and then become pregnant and if the man does not answer that becomes a hell, it's terrible, human lives are at stake. Imagine being placed in the position of  a woman in that situation, someone with three children whom she loves very much, but reminds her of the husband who abandoned her, that is not easy. Sure, women by nature are very strong and it's likely that someone in that situation raises the family and educates their children in the best way, but there are always exists advantage takers who want to exploit women who are alone.

What does this mean?
Only another reality of this worlds misery. Relationships are not maintained and everything becomes chaos. Kali Yuga is terrible. I do not want to discourage them, I'd rather speak about the beautiful times we had these months on the banks of the Ganges and the Yamuna, but we must also address the situations of everyday life which enable us to fight to avoid or learn to face them in the best manner possible.

My dear daughters, should always be protected under the umbrella of the spiritual master.
Those who have the fortune of a good marriage, fight to keep your family and educate your beautiful children in the most conscious and consistent way, so that they become preachers, future leaders, environmentalists and animal advocates and defenders of life and consciousness. Those of you that have had to suffer family breakdown, take refuge in the Vishnupriya Ashram, which are special places for mothers to engage in the spiritual culture and continue educating children in the company of other devotees. Those who continue to live in the temple, and they are beautiful Vishnupriyas, please always support married and unmarried mothers, make them feel part of the temple and engage them in service as well as their children.

My dear children, become leaders, responsible preachers, fighters and workers.
Be dedicated to sankirtan, as a serving sankirtaneer to Mahaprabhu, there is never anything missing. Krishna provides you with all you need. If you are grihastas, be true to the family you are caring for and work for them so there is nothing lacking. Stay always connected to the temple with donations and support to the service of the deity and preaching. Do not forget that all we have received as a grhastha belongs to Krishna.

If you are brahmacaris and have not yet decided on your future, work and serve as if you had 10 children, this will be the school that will polish you in service to the spiritual master and will give you the strength in the future, whether you become grhastha or sannyasis become dedicated and responsible. Our life should be exemplary in order to offer it to the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada. And please, do not make separate plans, those who want to start a family should do so with all the blessings, so we established the Vrinda Mission Marriages Awareness program protected by Mother Laksmi, for applicants to be trained in the process.

This is my message for today ... Never let go of the preaching and sankirtan. I hope they you are all very enthusiastic in your seva. And with all my heart, I am very happy to meet with you again, very soon. Thank you for participating in the chat of Srila Prabhupada.

With affection
Your always wisher,
Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti