BECOMING PASSIONATE FOR SERVICE

Conferencing from Chacra y Mar, Peru, Eco Truly Park

Today I want to glorify all the great devotees whom dedicate their lives in service to Krsna.

Meditating on the degrees of dedication to spiritual life, you know, all devotees of Krsna are marvelous, well the mere fact that they don’t eat fish, meat, or eggs make them semi-heroes in this material world. At least, heroes for the animals and those who make any animal suffer by their own fault, they are not heroes, and they are to blame. Apart from that, devotees don’t destroy their bodies with drugs and even more so the devotees respect women, men, and mothers. A respectable attitude, however even following the regulative principles does not necessarily bring advancement. For one to advance in devotion it depends upon the intensity in their devotional service up to the point that there service is a reality. How much of dedication is within you the thermometer of bhakti then moves accordingly.

Srila Haridas Thakura was fully absorbed in Krsna. He sang without fatigue the names of Krsna twenty four hours. Is it that service can be measured by the hours or by the intensity, zeal, or degree of longing? Yes, in the degree of care towards dedication because in the world there are people who are very loving like the hostesses, but they must be amiable, if not they lose their job, but this isn’t a profound job. However, profound in Vaishnava treatment, meaning devoted to the well wishing of others.

A perfect example would be someone who does sankirtan. A true sankirtaneer goes out every day to preach to lift the spirits of the people and inform them about the meaning of life. They don’t do something for themselves and they are dedicating in becoming involved with others. They are sensible and sympathetic to other. If this is your case , you realize that you have a big problem.

In essence, your spiritual advancement depends on your intensity in assuming responsibility and achieving goals. You must assume responsibility and something divine will happen. Krsna is very tricky and naughty. When the devotee is falling into the routine like saying Krsna ki jay, vaisnava vanca kalpa, but there is no humane warmth, quality in relations, dedication, there is nothing that moves the heart, then Krsna is absent until the devotee realizes that he is in that very routine. Then at that point he says, I’m in the routine and there is no passion. One must work harder and find motivation. It is like when someone says I love you but then one does not know in what context it was said. I love you a lot, a little, nothing. In the same way, Krsna wants that you have a strong passion in adoration, passion in devotion, like the devotees of colon, who are passionately working for the temple. We can see that in their service. There are six devotees passionately working and there are twelve in contemplation. In that contemplative mode there is not much advancement. Krsna is impassioned; he makes traps, breaks his promise, and does trickery. Through His passion he is always involved in some kind of mess. Passion is a natural conviction because it cannot be imitated, one feels it or doesn’t.

One remembers in sakirtan, at times three hours passed and you didn’t see anyone. It is clear that one can fall into desperation even to the point where we forget about Krsna and do not distribute. One must think of Krsna at all times, offering his service to Krsna. I told Him, “Krishna, forgive me for not thinking about you. At that point I started to sell something, it was not that I had the key, the pin, something automatic to sell something. I just had the determination not to reach the temple without selling anything.” That was all he had and wanted to offer something to Krishna. So I know that when Krishna wants something, everything comes out perfect. He does the impossible. I realized this yesterday because 15 years ago I went to Bolivia and Sridhar Prabhu was living where the wind makes the curve. Very difficult to reach and if I wanted to preach we had to buy a house in downtown La Paz. We look at the newspaper and saw some sites.

Then we decided on a site near the main square, but on the way there the taxi failed. So we had to walk a lot and getting a person I touch my shoulder and said you have something to do with Swami Srila Prabhupada, and I said, yes I am his disciple, and he said to me some years ago I received a book by him at the airport. Then he asked what I was doing there and I said I wanted a place to preach so he offered me his luxury hotel. It was Don Mario the gentleman who offered us several times to preach hotel.

Yesterday, Bhima Prabhu from Bolivia gave us a big surprise. She found a temple for Gauranga Radha Raman in the plaza square. I'm dancing for joy at this news. That is the desire, the enthusiasm to do something for Radha Raman and so things arise that are not normal. For about two weeks ago this week by Bhima was with her 5 year old son, Narayan. The dad thought, look at your son he is asking you that, I want to have a temple for Sri Sri Radha Raman. The little boy, five years old, and said your wish will be granted. And a week after that, the signature on this block is a house of five floors, a hotel, four shops conveniently located for all, now I do not know what was all this. If Krishna, Vishnu, Govinda, Radha Raman same or paramatma, but they are key moments in life.

This conversation reveals so much passion between a father and son, normal conversation would be the child asking for ice cream and dad would say, no son ice cream has a lot of white sugar. So this conversation was unprecedented, this house of Radha Raman back in Bolivia is a wonder to the sermon, there are mutual reciprocations of passions. Our passions Krishna reciprocates, but then to have passions, one cannot be gotten into things with projects, plans long and short term, one cannot be bored, because this way Krsna will not manifest. Now you must understand that Krsna is always there because without Krsna there is no life in the body, no nothing.

Among my passions, I have a passion, it's called preaching in La Merced in Mexico, we have a super temple there, which is functional, dynamic, and now a devout disciple of mine told me that they just got a house in La Merced. This is a place where all groceries are sold in the city, where every kind of plate is sold, everything. The place can be half ugly as there are many beggars, prostitutes, and everyone goes there because everyone wants to buy food, many animals are dead. La Merced is great because imagine, in addition to feeding 25 million people in Mexico City, while I was there I said let's see, let's go look, and while there I could not believe it, and this house is very large, preaches a room at the entrance, has an office, an apartment on the second floor. Seeing this place, I thought what can we do here? And we have good people, the temple; we just have to do it.

So, back to topic: For me, this is a passion, the passion of how to increase Lord Caitanya’s preaching. People in the market do what they want, the real world is crazy, imagine it's almost beside the slaughterhouse, they’re selling millions of animals every day, and now Hare Krishna devotees singing there is a passion for my life to see the devotees struggling, overcoming, publishing books, making things, this is truly spectacular. To me, I am passionate seeing the devotees, seeing the devotees and their determination to do things, that's unbelievable, their capacity, their quality, caring, and I tell you, when you are passionate about something is when Krishna manifests, so the bottom line is, whatever it is that makes you passionate therefore, do well, very well, sweating, and we know this is difficult, is not automatic, passion is a special gift, because this allows the self disappears.

There are people who are passionate about climbing a mountain, and this is only for the eyes, and good for the body as well, and after reaching the top thinking now I have to go down, and mountain climbing also cannot be drawn up without a photo ... One can be passionate for silly things, Krsna is often reflected in the satisfaction of the desires of people but it is Durga who manifests, not Krsna. Krsna manifests when he is conquered, when he feels like his can do anything for him. You are all very special manisfestations, so that someone who decides to surrender to Krsna, that is something very special, that's very beautiful and pure, something extraordinary.

We are all miracles, saved from something fishy and this was Krsna's passion for you, and perhaps in part a passion of yours for Truth, a passion for purification. If at this point, we confess who here has been rescued it will be many. Look at the trend of all types of addictions one can easily lose themselves in it, and truth is lost.

I like becoming impassioned, I like becoming impassioned in Bolivia, like when passing through the Titicaca there, and there the Transcendental Andean Pact was founded. although not all taken into account, but this is a momentous celebration of the Andean Pact in also the change of name from Latin, Latin momentous agreement, it is a very big deal for a very pure profit for the continent.

Then, there in Bolivia, I am impassioned and I told Bhima, we get an island, and he likes tough challenges, then he worked on that, and look Krsna gave us this sacred spot called Shanti Dwipa, and now we must give a service to this place, and there also exist Trulys, there is much service to do.

If you wish, you can also become excited with the things I’m passionate about. Look, I tell you: I encourage you to do things that are not material and are beyond the concept of self, my and mine. To me, I do not like that; you can have responsibilities and say: it is my duty, but one cannot say that something is yours, because at death none of it goes with us. At death, the cremation, the person is ashes and if it is not ash body is food for worms. The reality is that one must be passionate for Goloka Vrindavan, one has a passion for the eternal consciousness. Or do you want to be passionate by the applause of people, for the applause of politicians, by the applause of people who know nothing; more so, the applause comes only from those who can make something out of you, a selfish interest. What applies here is, tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are.

This is something which I recommend passion for, be passionate about service to Krsna, but do not worry about looking for something big, because with big things one comes into troubles. For this you must pray more and trinad api sunicena, sing it without ego, thinking about things that you do not need. Krsna loves those who are humble and those who are not screaming, demanding things. When you cry from the heart Krsna is very close to you and that is guaranteed. One cannot believe the title you have. One cannot think that is something, is dangerous; there are dangerous things like having the title of Maharaj. When Hanuman has to jump to Sri Lanka, the jumps of mountains and hills is unlimited service, but there is also the only person who complains when he has to jump, the service with passion is a gift, not something I can strive, but I can ask in my heart what can I do here, how to improve things.

For example, in Colombia I'm waiting to be passionate about yoga planetarium, because I am passionate but I cannot passionate alone. If you are passionate about something means that you will get all the energy to do so, any way you can you will do. For example I myself did not know how to make a truly. Look at the devotees in Peru, when I saw this mountain and I said this mountain is missing something, it lacks a truly over it. And I talked to Tapasvi Mahara, Pancatattwa Prabhu, Prapana Prabhu, and I had to encourage them to this idea. Imagine lifting materials of construction up a mountain, so much work, just imagine all alone with nothing coming up in the hands that is a tremendous task, but we fell in love with the idea of wanting to have a truly there and through our passion we achieved it. Many people are truly responsible for this material, and this beauty is the emblem of the sector, and this is what is called in english Land Mark, it is what stands out and characterizes the sector, and alsoI got permission from the municipality to do so, this is passion for Krsna.

The idea of Eco Truly Park, born in Germany in 1986 or so, we were devotees at a meeting between artists and there the decision to build the school, harmony of conscious art and we would use this paradigm to speak to the world as concerned artist on welfare, and this time I had been thinking, what will we do at all the different eco villages, conscious art centers. How to bring people to come to work in our land, and it originated there, and then Vamsi prabhu $ 5000 and here I thought what do we do now, and saw the Peruvians and how they lived in the center of Lima, it was terrible, an ugly industry.

I felt very guilty and they needed a place to go after Lima. The first option we had was Chilca, but there something went wrong and we failed. Then we find a fisherman who had this land and when we bought it, it all started but in Germany we thought about artistic sites. We didn’t want a place where you come and see a stupid stick, but someone with vision, put him there with a specific sentiment and now it's a statue. For example here we will open the square of humility which came from India, and it will be one of the hooks, a tremendous hook of Eco Truly Park.

I’m going to let Gurudev Atulananda to give a few words.

Gurudeva Atulananda:

Without doubt, wanting to serve Krsna is a great benediction, that is why we sing Hare Krsna. Krsna blesses us. Srila Sridhar Maharaj says: the highest for the highest sacrifice. Go to Atmanivedana, it is like the heart of Gadadhar Pandit, like it was stolen from Radharani, Krsna always wants to steal, Krsna wants to steal your heart, and that is our hope, everything is the grace of Krishna.

Bhakti is beautifying our heart; one who is dedicated to bhakti, your heart will be filled with qualities. A heart that is going to be increasingly desirable and irresistible to Sri Krsna, sometimes even loving Krsna it is hard to give to Him, but nonetheless Krsna comes and steals our hearts when we are stripped.

Guru Maharaj:

I want to say something more. One very important thing about passions is that one can be excited but not angry with those who are not passionate. One should not be unmotivated either. One must be passionate about relationships also take responsibility with other devotees and encourage that's fine, but you cannot get angry. If you are a leader much less, you just have to animate. As a service leader, siksa guru, your duty is to encourage others not to be angry about the limitations of others; you do not have this right. When you get angry with someone you also become discourage, that's called boomerang. A person who is angry with others instead of encouraging becomes discouraged, because it is self defeating and that is the opposite of passion, you're burned out, tired.

Well, I would like to send more messages to this wonderful mela chat every Sunday. I thank all those of who put passion into this Sunday Chat. Now we will continue our festival here. Srila Prabhupada Ki Jay, Haribol.

Your always well-wisher

Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti.