Conscious Marriages 3/29/15 Part 1 of Chat

A few years ago a department was started called Conscious Marriages, because many disciples especially the mothers, ask me for help in finding a husband. Until then I had helped here and there on a more private level, giving advice and encouraging or discouraging respectively according to each case. But there was no formal project. But the repeated request from my daughters to find a husband, and the fact that in Vedic culture traditionally the father is the one who supports the process, and even though in the Western civilization the situation is different, we began the department called Conscious Marriages a few years back in Colombia.

I felt compelled to move in the direction of providing support to the devotees in general women and men, but at the same time I do not agree with marriages that are motivated by some kind of pleasure. I thought if I was involved in a marriage, my desire is that they are marriages between those devotees who are really serious about Krishna Consciousness, who have a serious plan to make a spiritual family, who are serious in their commitment to a woman or man, and instead of just talking about it they will fill out a form with your request in writing. There they write saying what they want to commit to, etc.

When we see this commitment in writing, we put it to the test. When we see two people who apparently would work together, we allow the two partners to realize if they actually want to get married or not. This is called a conscious marriage. This has already worked for about 6 years, without much success. Nor have we made it very famous in the sense that we do not talk about it all the time, but generally people know it exists and if they desire to proceed with it they can. It is a very private matter, no one knows what happens there. Who is enrolled is not publicized. The person in charge of this is the mother of Mohana who is an elder mother with 35 years in Krishna Consciousness, with three happy and balanced children happy . Laksmi has been through a lot, she had polio as a child and had trouble moving, she really is an admirable person. So I confided this service to her, besides the fact that she wrote some books on the subject, after she suffered difficulties in her marriage. Therefore she has the heart to do this service. Laksmi Sahasrara sent me nine questions for me to answer in this chat.

1. According to the statistics of the Western world, the duration of marriage is 10 years. There are 25-30% chance of divorce in this period. To make an effort, based on these statistics, seems like a bad bet. Why do you think humans continue to have faith in the institution of marriage?

My answer is that with common sense and probably connected with their tradition and belief, sacred marriage exists in Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Native religions (at least most). So for people to have faith in marriage they need to have very good reasons. Common sense is related to bringing children into the world with this commitment. It is more a commitment of value, an educational commitment, financial commitment, so, with so many conditions, rules and regulations are required and that is a marriage; where there is a union between women and men that is blessed and protected by the law.

2. What is the perfect formula for marriage to be successful at home?

It's a wonderful question and if I knew the answer completely and if people actually listen to me carefully, we would have a better record in our marriages. So I can only answer this according to what I feel and what I heard and based on the success we have achieved to maintain marriages who have gone through difficult times. I think especially that trying times are  the best experiences, when things go wrong and for some reason it may be amended. I do not think my experience is complete or there is nothing more to learn. Things change a bit as well, for example, we have not had the tradition of Internet at home.

So I do not think this question can be answered in a short way. It is something that is connected with a whole procedure of how to live life, and in many ways would have to be analyzed. Parenting, how to deal with problems, how to love and respect each other, how to include the spiritual master in the family especially when there are problems, or in general when it comes to service attitude; How important it is to have Krishna and His representatives in our lives, in our efforts, as well as how much He is ignored, how often we chant the Holy Name, how often we read the holy scriptures in our marriage, how conflicts are quietly discussed in marriage instead of fighting or ignoring the problem causing the internal anger to grow or to explode. If you see, all these things are part of making a successful marriage, and therefore I do not think there is a simple answer to this, rather we must study successful marriages, living beings who can give advice in times of difficulties.

I could talk a lot about this issue but there is not enough time for it now.

3. How can one control sexual desires?

Yes, this is a very interesting question. Prabhupada used to say that spiritual life is the transcendance of sexual desires towards spiritual desires. With this declaration of Prabhupada we know that lust is a problem. Krishna says that the biggest enemy, of challenges, is lust. For a Brahmacari or Visnupriya, or Sannyasi, how to control lust is by dedication to devotional service with full enthusiasm, and if this works, they can live a life of celibacy which is possible and recommended. It is recommended not to lose semen unnecessarily, but this should not be handled fanatically. In particular semen is a force that gives life, thus reproduction is commendable when performed within marriage. Therefore, the natural recommendation for those who have difficulty in taking celibacy, is to assume the consequences and prepare oneself for a nice marriage so you can take responsibility for a family properly.

Pravritti Marga (sense enjoyment), Nivritti Marga (spiritual advancement) {SB 4.25.39}, with sexual enjoyment without sexual enjoyment. With no private property and with private property. You can not be a Sannyasi preaching Krishna consciousness and simultaneously be saving money in a private account. This does not work like that, and if a Sannyasi starts having children it would be seriously incorrect. You must then marry and admit that you could not practice celibacy and accept to protect your children. In this sense we should not think that sexual control is something that belongs to an ashram, especially since if married, you should still control your sexual desires. It is a process of development that occurs throughout life; Krishna has said this is confronting the worst of enemies so He knows what He speaks, and therefore we try to advance in this tradition trying to do what our heart and inspiration dictates.

4. How  can sexual desires be controlled in those who are married or  are not, and yet have desires to have new sexual experiences with others?

Promiscuity, some people consider very bad, rejected by spiritual etiquette, but there are also others who see it as normal. We have seen a diversity of cases in our lives and on one hand absolute fidelity to the wife for life exists, which is very valuable and beautiful. And there are also cases where this has not been achieved and polygamous situations arrive. If a man has had children with more than one wife, then he cannot deny protection to any child. Therefore, these situations are brought to us by force, because we can not reject neither the first nor the second wife, nor the children of the first or second wife, they can not be placed in anxiety by rules and regulations. Why So? Because children are innocent and should not be punished for the mistakes of their parents. So it's something that happens in the community, in our society Vrinda we have polygamous situations, some accepted and others not. However, if there is more than one woman having children of a man, it is a situation that one way or another there is no turning back but it is definitely not encouraged. Some are justified in the Vedic scriptures that is to say that the kings had many wives and children. It is true, and in the time of my Gurudeva Srila Prabhupada he also forcibly accepted some polygamous situations of his disciples, which were not produced by him, meaning Prabhupada never proposed the idea of marrying more than one wife, but when it happened, definitely he wanted them to be responsible with both children.

Each case is studied according to time, place and circumstance. This is something we want to prevent but it has already happened more than once and may happen again in the future and we must accommodate according to the tests that arrive.

Especially for myself, when I am involved with the spiritual father of the first woman and man, or the second woman or man, and children, this is a big test of how you will handle human difficulties and I can say I do not like that job and is one of the most difficult challenges for me. The usually polygamous situations are mostly laid over to me by force, but, let's be open minded and perhaps what I say is not pleasing to your ears ...

I have met women in my life who for some reason are very desperate because they found no husband like they wanted. However they want a child. And for this reason they are desperately seeking someone they like so he can be the father of her child. Sometimes without even demanding that they assume responsibility for the child. I personally have been reached out to by women asking me to be the father to sons because they want to have children of devotees. I politely refuse to do so, but the rules of a ksatriya is to not refuse when they are embraced in this way.

It's a tough world. There are women who want children but found no husband due to their karma. Should you be judged for it? I do not want to judge any woman. But it is a difficult situation, and it exists, so when there is a situation like this, we must deal with it in a very spiritual and humane manner. So this is an additional issue which you did not ask.

5. Why are devout men nowadays less inclined to marry?

This is a difficult question to answer, because it requires judging people and their reasons for marrying. If someone comes to me and tells me he does not want to get married because they do not want to take responsibility for a woman, then my answer would be "very well! Do not marry because you're not going to take care of your family." To accept that someone wants to marry, I demand that they be very responsible, that they can be relied on; I want  them to be someone who gives hope to a woman and her future children that they will have a wonderful home. As we have many serious devotee couples, who give us the pleasure of seeing beautiful children grow in Krishna consciousness and then get excited to take responsibility as well in the future. This is a dream come true for a parent. At least if I were Grhastha and had had children I would dream of this for my children to grow and take the movement of Srila Prabhupada seriously, and want to spend their energy, love and capabilities to this movement.

But to pressure people to marry is not my inclination, because it is too big a job. Sometimes circumstances lead me to push people to become a temple presidency because there is nobody to do so on their own initiative and the temple is there. Similarly when someone impregnates a woman I press him to marry her because you can not simply abandon a pregnant woman. Stuff like that is a responsibility. But hey, we teach people everything we know, everything we can, Prabhupada gave us this gift so now the next job is to invite people to embrace marriage with joy. Marriage should not be embraced as a simple obligation, but must be embraced with joy.

Being a Brahmacari is a very happy period but being a Grhastha is a more intense task. It's a big task to be a good father day after day, year after year. This needs to be first class, you have to be top notch, both the mother and the devotee. I think successful Grhasthas are more admirable than an average Brahmacari. A Grhastha who takes full responsibility for his/her family is very admirable. Actually there is no competition, but from my experience I admire anyone who does a good job with his family and at the same time keeps Krishna in the center. Sure, this is the important consideration for me because I try to keep a spiritual community alive and I can only do this with the help of Brahmacaris and Grhasthas, I can not do it alone.

Sometimes people want to  get divorced after the kids are grown u[ and one does not understand why, if one already tolerated everything that was more difficult. But some people have other priorities. Something I've learned from all this is that even if they are married or divorced you have to love them both. We can not get into the mood of accepting and rejecting because it brings more problems than blessings and this is very dangerous.

So why are devotees less inclined to accept the responsibility of marriage? I guess they are afraid to be first class. They know that if they marry they must be first class, and maybe they are afraid they cannot be. Maybe they prefer a mediocre existence as Brahmacari instead of a disastrous situation of Grhastha. Something like imperfection on one side and on the other, but they prefer this type of imperfection instead.

Those who study the impact of repressed desires they also say that perhaps it explodes into another problem, and there are enough problems. I've had some devotees living in the temple and secretly going out at night dressed as women. Can you condemn it? It is a complicated issue because they also want to be with Krishna. In one way or another they have an issue with their gender identity, and want to dress like the opposite sex and What to do? I have had homosexual people who want to join my temple and in fact there are devotees who have undergone sex reassignment surgeries, and are doing important services. So life is not easy, in my service I deal with everything. We also meet homophobic people. I have been in contact with gay people even before meeting devotees. Krishna saved me from falling into it because by association one can easily fall into these things. It is something that exists, it can also be by psychological repression. There is not a proper way I know to handle this but what I do know is that love should not be excluded. Perhaps even more love in these situations are required.

Difficult situations have their reason and devotees in general are not homophobic. They are not hateful towards anyone.

6. Why are there fewer devotees on the conscious marriage page?

Sometimes I make a joke. If you want to be a candidate for a conscious marriage of our Vrinda family, you must fill out more requirements than if you were to apply for a visa to the United States. We ask many questions because we want to know who you are, what you have to offer to your partner and if someone does not like that these questions are being asked or may not have good answers to give, know intuitively that for not having good answers one is not a good candidate to receive the blessings of his spiritual master to have a wife. Perhaps this is one reason why they are not inclined to do it and we are seeing many mothers who are enrolled but not much devotees who say "I'm ready, these are my credentials."

7. How can you help a couple when they have difficulties?

The natural way of dealing with difficulties is seeking professional help. I think among devotees, especially the Grhasthas whom are more mature should do service and provide guidance to younger couples on difficulties or as necessary. Sometimes I send people to talk to older couples. I also offer guidance but sometimes I'm on the run because there is so much to do. I tell people when I will give guidance that both should agree that what I have to say to them they both will follow. But sometimes people want me to put me on their side and against the other and push me to blame the other. I've had people even arrive and begin to have a great fight. Sorry but this does not produce anything good for me. If you're not submissive at the time you seek guidance you will not have good results. There are requirements for guidance and also professional help, there's a price, so you must also give a donation so that people really appreciate. I think that if they allowed themselves to be guided, I could help hundreds of couples to stay together and overcome their problems.

There must also be seminars on Grhastha life, not only guidance for those with difficulties but also preparation for those who want to marry. And that issue we have neglected a bit. But sometimes you have to learn to swim by being in the water. Sometimes a leader learns taking leadership, learning sankirtan by to taking to the streets, and so you learn about married life when you impregnate a woman, because you did what Grhasthas are blessed to do, so now you must take charge and learn what it means. Whatever the circumstance we should be compassionate and positive. Positively guide the needy.

8. When there is no possibility of reconciliation between a couple What can you do to avoid becoming enemies?

This is very abstract to answer because so much depends on the individuals. So much depends on who you are and what to do. So I prefer to talk about this according to common sense. People should never be enemies with anyone. And if you have a child with someone, and you become enemy with whom you had a child with, then you're a total idiot. Why? Because, who do you think will pay the consequences? Who will pay the price for this mess? Children. The children will suffer much when parents fight and say hurtful words. It is traumatic for them, but I can not talk because there are some extreme situations that calls for different advice under certain circumstances. So sometimes you do not know what to say but to become enemies after divorce is a sign of immaturity in relationships. And there are people who have a child and run away, and tell me they do not want to account for their children, it is my duty to wake them up. And at the final straw you can respond and meanwhile practicing Krishna consciousness, and one is not an obstacle for the other.

9. Why do devotees feel shy entering the website of conscious marriages to have some kind of involvement?

Well I do not know. If you do not want to get married do not enter the site, although I think all devotees and especially leaders should know what the concept of the spiritual master is in relation to conscious marriages. Must take action and present their understanding to show the Guru's plan. Maybe you do not want to marry but should be willing to learn about it, because then you can give advice to others that if they want to marry or do not know of the page this is there. So sorry, but most of those who do not know of this concept of conscious marriages and are not inclined to visit the site it is because they belong to the group of lazy people who do not read anything now, unless it's something stimulating to the senses. The ability to read is not as high now, but there are also videos and materials which can learn, if that is your desire.

Sankirtan puts people in touch with God. Mallorca, Spain. 3/22/15

Very dear devotees, greetings from Mallorca, the beautiful island in the Mediterranean. In the company of the wonderful devotees of Spain and other countries. I send a fraternal greeting, all glories to Gurudeva Atulananda whose birthday just passed. We send a warm embrace and recommending always to take things to heart and work hard because that is the only way one can become qualified to understand the essence, because the essence is always something that one has to make a special effort for. One is not allowed to take things lightly or superficially, but requires that one treats it with the utmost care.

Today is Sunday, and tomorrow we will have the Theatre Mallorca festival where we will have 8 different spontaneous performances to convey to others the urgency of the message that has been chosen for the work. It's called the theater of emergencies.

There are several types of intelligence: rational, emotional and spiritual. The mantra Vanca Kalpa includes all these types of intelligence. The Vaisnava is always looking for the constructive welfare of others, and to be filled with compassion one must have great emotional and spiritual intelligence. The disenchantment with the material world, which wants to keep us from submitting to anyone except our false ego. This is the world that promotes selfishness, while the Vaisnava is always aware of the welfare of others. Thus the sankirtaneer is always aware of the welfare of all, all he does is look how to help others. A sankirtaneer can never be inattentive, even if he works with many people, each contact has a connection like the level of detail of a heart surgeon, because a wrong movement can even kill. One must be extremely cautious in the way he talks to people.

The sankirtaneer puts people in touch with God, not imposing but exposing. The service to animals, family, devotees, is a service to God. In all angles one must link all activities to God. But we must not think that we ourselves can liberate another from pain. Instead Krishna can, my Gurudeva can. They can give the form in which to find many treasures when one puts the welfare of oneself  submissively to the world. You can measure many things but you can not measure the transcendental, you can feel it but not measure it. Maya means that which can be measured, but the transcendental cannot be measured.

One always feels they are the most important and what one has to do is most important and it is partially true because if you did not exist you would not know of the existence of everything else. But this is very dangerous, because even though my life allows me to connect with others, we risk devaluing others. I can say, "My mom is the best in the world" and that may be fine, but one can not say "My mom is the best and only good mother out there." The same applies to Guru. I think my Guru is very special because I think I am the most important. "My Guru is the best Guru" that is fine. But "my Guru is the only good Guru alone" this is arrogance, it is ego, all about "me, me, me."

Everything is associated. When I think that my prayer is worth more than a native praying to the sun, that is arrogance. To think that God likes your prayer more than someone else's that is arrogant. To minimize or ridicule the faith of others is arrogant. Being in the state of  "me, me, me" becomes offensive to others. Instead of producing something good it produces something negative. What makes you important is your love for others. I'm here just trying to serve, and I do not even have the essential criterion. The Vaisnava is a Vaisnava because they feel that they are not. He thinks he's an aspiring servant of the servant of the servant of the Vaishnavas.

Only when Krishna allows us to serve, can we do so and preach. When we have a bad conscience, depressed, unwilling, we need to go preach. If you do not want to ask anyone for anything, then sit on the street and sing "Oh my Lord let me be an instrument of your love", until someone asks you of out curiosity and you show them a book.

Prabhupada did not come to us personally, but through the efforts of others, and thus we worship all devotees that give us the truth. Nobody knows how to be happy whether with wealth or poverty. But devotees of Vrinda are richer, more than Bill Gates because wherever they arrive they are welcomed by hundreds of temples. Bill Gates will always have to pay to be received somewhere, but devotees have much fortune.

One of the main problems we have is intense laziness. The process of awakening enthusiasm to serve is through Sadhana, since the most essential element of Sadhana is to share what the spiritual master has given you with others. Mahaprabhu said, "I plant a tree of love and it grew and bore fruit, and I distributed the fruit but still many fruits kept falling and I do not have enough hands to distribute all these fruits, many hands are needed, so I need your help, because there are many who need these fruits and I can not distribute all, I need help. "

The idea of ​​Sankirtan has changed a bit, it's more personal. It means that I treat you with all your needs. Ask "What do you need, are you a vegetarian? Here is the cookbook, here are CDs of the best chefs. Or do you want to know about reincarnation, here's the book. Or do you have someone with addiction problems, here's Vedic wisdom. Would you like to have a nice vacation? Here are the best places to go to in India or Colombia, or Mallorca. Personalized Sankirtan is: that I offer everything you could need. The essence is, I have nothing, this is the message of Srila Prabhupada. Sankirtan is a delight, it is the best thing to distribute to give a hand to many people. Today courses are made, Prasadam, but this is an excuse to be able to give them assistance. This preaching is education. It is the process of healing by healing others.

After all, despite not being qualified, do your best because it is all you can do, and do not be discouraged if for one reason or another there is a fall because they exist so one can overcome it, to recognize your flaws and weaknesses and to continue the struggle, because this is what we have to do. We can not wait to be perfect to go out and preach and help people.

Jay Srila Prabhupada!
With this message I leave today. Haribol.
B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami

Traveling & Preaching 7/27/14 From Austria

Dear devotees. From Austria I send this chat today.

We are traveling at a rate of one country per day. So there is no desperation we are meeting beside rivers and lakes to take advantage of the beautiful Mother Nature in all its merciful aspects.
Right now I'm talking to Gandharvika, the Austrian artist. We are planning more Chaskis festivals. I am inviting her, as soon as she feels the need, to go to South America to do a Chaskis tour throughout all the temples.

Now tomorrow we are going to Hungary to a 6-day Mela where I can recuperate some strength. There we will be more calm. And Yatra in Germany, I can tell you that they just prepared the art of sadhana of Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj so they can start distributing it.

When you travel around Europe preaching you realize the nectar of preaching in South America. As you said, one does not know what you have until you lose it. So, I can tell you that I have received much mercy to represent Srila Prabhupada with you anywhere in the world. It's nice to open a mission anywhere in the world, but believe me it is a very hard thing and more so when it is in Europe.

The many number of projects that there are in South America is a great fortune to be able to know besides the devotees filled with much enthusiasm. But there is a very interesting thing for all of us and that is that the people in Europe are interested in the ancient villages. On this side, it can be shown that the ancient wisdom of India and that of the world is really one.

A base to see the world differently and solve the problems facing humanity. So I think we are in a historical moment where they are giving circumstances, that from my point of view, is a positive forecast for the Planet.

In recent days I  have been discovering productions of Vrinda that I had not seen although they are not so new. Perhaps due to the saturation of our materials there are other very important material that I have missed. For example Gandharvika offers a new video clip called Wake up sleeping soul on youtube for all to see (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCBozWAJJKQ). Or mother Gita Manjari who has a beautiful video clip called Gopinath, to the tune of Ave Maria. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4dw6U51_-8)

I send all my affection. The celebration of 30 years of the Vrinda Mission we are celebrating everywhere, especially by the medium of sacred songs in all waters of the world.


Your always well wisher,
Swami Paramadvaiti

I pray to Krsna that you regain this appreciation 03/23/14 From Miami

                                                           Conference.

My dear devotees , Greetings from Miami Mandir.
Happy to meet again with the devotees of Miami, after nearly two months of many activities in India.

To keep a family together in Vaishnavism, it is very important that the people that you do service with know that you appreciate what they do. And more importantly, that you continue appreciating what the spiritual master is doing and a lot of that depends on your good example.

If, perhaps for years or other reasons, a devotee loses interest in what the spiritual master does and stops listening to his lectures and stops reading his weekly messages, it means that one way or another something inside him needs attention: what if you have a girlfriend in your life, she sent you a letter and you, you don't even read it?

In relationships of heart to heart one should tell one another all the time " I love you, I'm happy that you exist, I am grateful that you care about me, I feel that you are for me the encouragement that makes me get up in the morning and encourages me to do things again and again."

Just as when the spiritual master receives the disciple with a hug, with a smiling face and words of encouragement. He wants to know how you been, what you need to be happy. The fact that the spiritual master has this concern about every devotee makes one remember the direct presence of Krishna within us. Do not forget that along with the spiritual master is the entire spiritual family: the spiritual brothers, spiritual uncles, the spiritual grandfather, the spiritual great grandfather, the holy scriptures, the deities that the spiritual master installed and installed so that we can worship, the holy name, devotional songs, the gayatri mantra ... a beautiful and unique culture of its kind.

If I lose appreciation for all that or if I feel bored (most likely it is due to bad association), something starts to die inside me and I start to get into an area of ​​danger. At that point I have to wonder how I will recover and feel the beautiful things I felt when I danced in the kirtans with my brothers or when I would go do Sankirtan for extra hours to connect more people with Krishna Consciousness. When I endured the discomfort of a cold and still got up at mangal artik not wanting to spend a day without receiving the darshan of the Deity in the morning. Those beautiful moments when I did not have my mind invaded on negative thoughts and justifications, in bad times usually caused by bad circumstances or living with other devotees.

You know, even among brothers there are fights for no reason when they are children, and so cohabitation always has hard times, trials and hardships, but those details do not matter to the Supreme Grace that is Krishna Consciousness. That is why contact with the spiritual master is so important, not only with the spiritual master but also with other devotees who love and appreciate your work, and those who are encouraging you to do the same. Do not forget that the spiritual master has the task of transforming you into a spiritual master also. Such a task when one has to observe his own consciousness!

Therefore, how will he transform you into a spiritual master if you do not even notice that one's teacher is working in such a way?What reason could one give to stay away from your spiritual master? Could it be that there was some misunderstanding? Is is that you really talked to him for an explanation of what you did not understand? Did you give your spiritual master the chance to show you the affection that you need?

Or was it your material desires that flourished and that made ​​you decide not to go to your spiritual master or to his devotees because they expected some contribution toward the plans of Krishna Consciousness? While you had no desire to contribute anything.What was the trap of Maya that got you?

Well remember that Krishna just wants your heart, he wants nothing material from us, yet He allows us to participate in His many marvels that he is organizing on this Planet Earth. Wonderful and varied things. Just seeing what has been done in Vrinda family and other missions for the expansion of Krishna Consciousness is so wonderful. Sure, there will always be imperfections, but problems exist to solve them one: that's why problems ultimately are blessings. But let's move ahead anyway, because as they say in South America:"do not go back not even to build momentum".

We will always strive to make something beautiful, because if we do not do something nice then we only do something ugly and that's not good. Furthermore, if you're not preaching, you're not giving others a chance to feel love for Sri Guru and the Vaisnavas, so you're not communicating the message nor allowing other people to connect. Then your life has no meaning nor can you produce much joy for others. Your life is a precious diamond which can brighten the darkest places and thus give life to the hearts of others. Chances are you are suffering from loneliness, and he who does not give something very deep and significant to others will not have any company committed to him. Well, even families get bored and move away from one another when there is no concern in the relationship. So loneliness, especially in old age is a terrible thing.

What is the solution against that?

Always speak about Krishna and surround yourself with people of any age who want to share in an arati, in prasadam, the guru 's mission and the latest instructions from him.

People watch news and read the newspaper every day, meaningless news like someone who made a goal somewhere in the world and a name of someone you do not even know. Yet people look at such mindless news--all those things that you consume. Well of course we need to hear news, but the soul needs spiritual development, devotees like Yuga Dharma and Thakur distributed 600 Srimad Bhagavatams in a single day in Venezuela, that should be a reason to jump for joy and so we should congratulate these devotees who are on the street preaching intensely in Venezuela. But if you do not hear or find out about what the brothers of your spiritual family are doing, if you do not contact them, then loneliness and boredom will invade you and only the karmic news is going to generate some kind of satisfaction. Sure, the world news only reports things so ugly that when you read them you think "there, luckily this is not me and things aren't going so wrong in life", but that's just more nonsense.

In other words, the nectar of the devotees, the nectar of the latest publications of SEVA, preaching nectar, the nectar of the worship of the deity (like Syama Mohini and Vishvanath and La Merced in Mexico that made a beautiful onyx altar), such news is worthy and should be celebrated, jumping and dancing.

I pray to Krishna for you to regain this appreciation and that you spend time to know what happens in your family. Our spiritual family has grown a lot and every time I visit all the temples less ( although I wish I could visit more), I can not even visit all countries that there are temples, nor can I write very long letters to the devotees. I remembered disciples of Srila Prabhupada, at the end of his life, started recording because he could not go to their countries.

More service and more expansion of the mission requires more advanced devotees to put the energy into more place where a siksa guru is needed. Because the diksa guru can no longer appear. And as the diksa guru and siksa guru go in the same direction, then the devotees will naturally feel gratitude to perceive that there are people who are sacrificing themselves for the beautiful cause of bhakti. With these words I leave you today, I hope that it does not sound trite to say things you may have heard many times. When I repeat it, it's only because it is the inspiration that comes to me at the time. Thanks for reading these lines.

If you want to make me a special favor, I ask you to distribute this letter that comes from my heart to all of the devotees who are not as connected at this time.

Thank you for accompanying me on this journey of service to my Gurudeva.

With all my affection.
Jay Srila Prabhupada!
Your always wisher,
B. A. Swami Paramadvaiti .

Envy of God 12/22/13 Mexico

My dear devotees, receive all my affection from Mexico .
The land of Sri Gauranga Radha Madhava .

Very nice days in the company of Mexican warriors . Today I want to talk about a very common issue among us, of which we hardly realize that we are very attached to. It is the envy of God . We always seek to be the most prominent of something.

A girl wants to be the prettiest, or someone wants to be the richest . We are always trying to be "the most ..." So, when this is exaggerated, the richest wants to be even richer than God ... That's the bad consciousness of competition, the rising vanity, the desire for power . In the scriptures we find many examples of this, the demons like Hiranyakasipu wanted to be more than Krishna ... Even demigods like Lord Indra, also are envious of God. What to say about Lord Brahma himself , who thinks he can fool and confuse Krishna hiding  his friends, shepherds and cows.

Nobody can compete with Krishna, no one should , no one should doubt the existence of Krishna. That is something offensive, intolerable. Krishna is the Supreme, they can give Him different names, but if you call Him Yave , Adonai , Allah , or as you like to call Him it is still Krishna , the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the origin of all, the sum total of all and, in addition,  He is your everlasting father, the goal of all perfection.

So how to be envious of someone who has given us all ? Envy is not only competition , if you do not pay attention to God  you are also envious, for you are not able to appreciate all that you have received from Him nor revere Him for that.

Have you ever wondered : What do you do for Krishna ? In other words we can say that God is always present, but it does depend on how much value we give it, is simply a matter of realities. In Vedic culture the presence of God is in all areas of life and it is a constitutional right . The same happens in the ancient cultures. It's all constitutional and it does not give rise to discussion. Krishna can not be debatable. It is not a matter of debate or ambiguity. We can not say that we are all God ... God of what?

The Mayavadis , the Impersonalists are completely envious of God. They accept all the incarnations of Vishnu as figures you can meditate and worship, but why to what extent ? So they can "detach" themselves from the personal and melt into nothingness. It should be clear that just because we know that we have an eternal nature with God, that we do not have the need to pray, nor to purify or qualify ourselves as servants. Contrary. For as much awakened spiritual nature that we have we must recognize the superiority of Sri Krishna and His associates Sri Balaram , Sri Gauranga and Nityananda ... For only they can save us from material existence. Only Krishna and Prabhupada can save us.

Srila Prabhupada said that he could help us to stay connected to Him. So we must give much importance to cultivate our relationships with others to always stay beside the devotees and Prabhupada, stay close to them and become their servants, so we will be forever linked to Krishna Himself . We must cut that root of envy towards God and we will succeed only to the extent that we do service in connection with the devotees and the spiritual master .

Some time ago in Europe there was a famous yogi who invited people to " become God through meditating". Imagine that madness. Such things are very common today because people want to enjoy to the maximum exponential possibility of everything, so they yearn to become God of something. This is just another confirmation that we are marked by envy .

We must precisely define that Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so to cut the impersonal that has expanded so strongly and that preaches this jealousy without reason and which only makes us believe that we should not worship anyone because I myself am the center of everything. What a crazy mentality. Our goal is to become servants of Krishna and His devotees. Krishna himself has revealed the process for this. That's what we want and that's what we're spreading. That is the essence. So that is why we do marathons in December in Bogota, Chile, Mexico, Peru ... To expand the process of becoming servants of Krishna, to save the souls of the envious tendency towards God that looks so lovely, but it is no more than a great offense. These are the teachings of Srila Prabhupada.

I want each of you to feel completely part of this family of service to Srila Prabhupada and focus on working hard and wonderfully to be happy about it.
That's my message to you today .

Today we have a very nice preaching to organize here in Mexico. Devotees are very active, developing wonderful programs .

There is nothing to fear , for Lord Krishna is here and we are dealing in His service. We just have to connect with Srila Prabhupada and move on. All my love to you. Have a very nice ending in the December marathon, conquering many hearts for Krishna and Prabhupada.
Jay Srila Prabhupada!

Your always wisher,
Swami B.A Paramadvaiti

Srila Narottama Das Thakura Cleaning Project 7/28/13

My dearest devotees,

Receive all my affection from Nandafalva. I've been sharing my days with all the devotees here. Beautiful concerts, news, new initiates ...

Today I wish to share with you a few words about a very important personality in our sampradaya. One of the greatest poets who composed many of the songs we sing every day in our programs,Srila Narottama Das Thakura.

Narottama Das Thakura was a disciple of Srila Lokanath Das Goswami and he reminds us of the true meaning of initiation. Narottam Das Thakur Das received initiation from Srila Lokanath Das Goswami after a long time. Narottam Das Thakur was announced by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. He had the direct inspiration of Krishna Prema that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu deposited in the river Padma for Srila Narottama Das Thakura.

So, it is told in the book called "Narottam Vilas" which tells about the time Sri Narottama Das Thakura went to the river, and how the personality, Padma River gave Krishna Prema to a young Narottama .

Since the beginning of his existence, Srilaa Narottam Das Thakur was a very inspiring acharya, someone who had a clear mission in the world to share love of God with others. He was the son of a great king. His father was very anxious to make young Narottama his successor, but the young man did not want anything to do with kingdoms. He invested his time listening  to a brahmana tell the glories of Gauranga and Nityananda. He was always very eager to hear more about the glories of the Lord.

Finally, Narottam escaped his father when he was going to present him as his successor. When he traveled on the float for the event, Narottam asked to stop to go to the bathroom and escaped, hiding in the jungle. So he walked through the jungle for days without food or rest. Until he came to a crossroads where he passed out from exhaustion. There, one of the guards from his father found him and told him he would take him back. Narottama was very determined. Narottama told the guard "you better do something else, because I'm to Vrindavan and have important things to do there."

Narottama he argued in such a wonderful poetic form, which convinced the guard to go back without him. Narottama said to the guard, " many have come to find me and none of them yet to find me, so there is no problem, you can be another one of them and no one will be surprised. Please let me go and continue on your way."

So the young Narottama finally came to Vrindavan. An incredible story of great renunciation, so much so that he  left all varieties of  an opulent lifestyle just to follow his ideal of service to the Lord. Sometimes, for someone who has almost no material possessions it is easy to say, leave everything because they have not had much, but a special personality such as Narottama das Thakur, who had access to all opulence, he shined more when he gave them up and gave his life to God, with no interest in material things.

When Narottam came to Vrindavan, Srila Jiva Goswami was still there. So Narottam visited all the major Vaishnavas of that time. But his heart was completely conquered when he met Srila Lokanath Das Goswami. Narottama decided to become his disciple. He approached and Srila Lokanath Das Goswami accepted him as his disciple. Srila Lokanath Goswami was very moved by the request and replied: My dear boy, I am very flattered by what you're saying, but I regret to inform you that I vowed to never accept any disciple, and that can be done by someone else, so go your way, please. Srila Lokanath Goswami was one of the busiest in the dhama seva in Vrindavan. He found more than 300 holy places in the dhama, identified them and made sure that those places of lila were clear. He was someone very important in that service, therefore, he was always moving from one place to another. So Srila Lokanath Goswami continued and said, please find someone who can accept you as his disciple, Vrindavan is full of great souls who can.

Narottama was very sad with this answer ... not knowing what to do and so he asked for advice from other devotees. They told him to try to do some service. Then Narottama turned to Srila Lokanath Das Goswami and said,  "Goswamiji, Is there a service I can do for you?" But Goswami Lokanath thought Narottama was trying to convince Him again and said to not insist any further. Narottam again became extremely sad. Hecried and cried without cessation. Then someone said, 'Why do not you do a secret service Lokanath Goswami? So, Narottama started watching Lokanath Goswami every day in secret. He saw everything he did and followed him, with an intense longing in his heart to serve. He saw when Srila Lokanath stood, when he went to take his bath in the Yamuna, when he went to the temple of Sri Radha Gokulananda to worship their deities ...

My dear devotees ... imagine that determination of Narottama Das Thakur to serve his Gurudeva in anyway. We are very fortunate to connect with the pastimes of the Vaishnavas ... and we are more fortunate at our temple in Vrindavan, Vrinda Kunja which is located right in the heart of the area where these pastimes occurred. So when we started our little attempt to do service for the dhama, we called it the "Narottam Das Thakur cleaning project" in honor of the intense service that Srila Narottama did for his Gurudeva and the Dhama.

Well, we're cleaning the same areas as Srila Narottam Das Thakur cleaned in honor of his Gurudeva. Thus Narottama Das Goswami would clean all the areas where Srila Lokanath Das Goswami had been, even the area where his Gurudeva performed his physical needs. He cleaned everything with love ... and did so for a long time without Srila Lokanatha Goswami knowing. (All this is narrated in the Bhakti Ratnakar, a book full of nectar.).

Our devotees also perform annual cleaning of the 64 samadhi places of Vrindavan, near the temple of Radha Govindaji ... it is one of the qualities that make our Braj Mandal Parikrama something very special, because we do not just visit the holy places, but the devotees go and do service there, a genuine connection with the dhama.

Our service in the dhama is always a guided meditation in the service of Srila Narottam Das Thakur who was always looking to please his Gurudeva, even if at the time he did not know. But there came a time when Srila Lokanath Das Goswami began to realize that someone was cleaning the forest. One way or another, Srila Lokanath Goswami began to question what was going on, he realized that something strange was happening. One day, he decided to wait and hide to watch what happened. So he did all of his daily activities and instead of leaving, he sat behind a tree to see what happened ... and so Srila Narottama Das appeared in a gamcha with his broom and started cleaning the place where Srila Lokanatha Das Goswami had been, even cleaning where Srila Lokanatha Das Goswami performed his physical needs. Henceforth, Srila Lokanath Goswami appreciated and told Narottama angrily: Who gave you permission to do that? Narottam replied: Oh Gurudeva, nobody has given permission, but seeing my sadness, some devotees said I should do a secret service for you. And that might please you, even with this indirect service. So Srila Lokanath Goswami felt affected by it all and said softly:

I told you to go to any place where the goswamis were and ask them for initiation. I want you to be happy, have a service and you stay in Vrindavan. But understand that I can not accept disciples, as I did take a vow. Please walk and visit the other Vaishnavas. Then, Narottam Das Thakur intensely composed a poem whose meaning is more or less like this:

"When a woman is in love with a man, but her father arranges for her to marry another, this marriage will never work, because she is really attached to the first."

So, Narottama said this to Lokanath Goswami and Goswami said: you are very foolish, do what you want ... Narottam was very happy and said, Joy! Now my service is authorized by my Gurudeva :) And so he went on cleaning with much more enthusiasm. Sometimes devotees approached Srila Lokanatha Goswami and said to him why do you not take this young man who has so much love for you and give initiation? But Srila Lokanath Goswami was very serious about his vow to not accept disciples.

Until one day, he accepted Srila Narottama and sent for him. When Narottam heard Srila Lokanath Goswami was looking, he ran up and prostrated himself at his feet vigorously. Lokanath Goswami said Narottam My dear, I made this vow to never accept disciples ... and it seems that you made the vow that I should be your Guru. Well, I have concluded that your vow is even more powerful than mine ... so he brought together the ingredients for the initiation ceremony and Narottama's happiness was overwhelming and with the same enthusiasm he brought everything needed for initiation.

Remember the beautiful hobbies and loving exchanges of these Vaishnavas, they fill the heart with happiness. They are able to transform your heart and  teach you what really is sadhu-sanga ... of the way in which the devotees are related to each other, how they reciprocate and appreciate. All these experiences  are very sweet. They are examples that we can apply in our own life's relationships. So, Narottama became an official member of the Gaudiya Sampradaya. And then he continued to incessantly preach and spread the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in many places.

In the same way that Srila Lokanath Goswami initiated Srila Narottam Das Thakur only, Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji also had only one disciple, Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta ... In both cases, the only disciple was a real gem in the sky of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and they each managed to bring the message of Divine Love to many souls. Spiritual life is not a matter of form or quantities, it is a matter of quality and substance.

When I think of Srila Narottam Das Thakur, I feel very fortunate to be connected with his beautiful songs and such. Thus, all our family members who have the ability to share for a month in the Braj Mandal Parikram can live the experience of visiting these sacred places that Narottama and the goswamis were present in and do service there.

Our main service is to serve the Vaishnavas via the Vishva Vaishnava Raj Sabha, providing a bit with our volunteering service through the Internet, etc.. We pray for the blessings of all the Vaishnavas to be useful in this endeavor, because their pleasure is the only goal of our effort. We do not have any other purpose.

I take this opportunity of this Chat Sunday to remind all of you of the great service we have in Colombia for our Ishtadevas Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Vrajesvara, who really are our life and soul.

The Yoga Project Planetarium is a humble offering to Them, our Lords ... I'm really grateful for the great work that devotees are doing there and my sincere hope is that more devotees participate there, either helping in the construction or the arts or financially supporting this offering. Even if its going to take several years to finish it all, the support of all of you will be of great help in this. This is one of the historical architectural contributions of the Vrinda Mission to the world. With this invitation and remembering the sweet pastimes of Srila Narottama Das Thakur I say goodbye for today ...

I am very happy that soon we will meet again in the Latin lands to share more nectar and service to Srila Prabhupada.

With all my affection for you.

Jay Srila Prabhupada!

Who are your real friends? From Austria 7/21/13

Topic: Who are your real friends? from Austria. 21/07/13

Conference.

Dear devotees
Receive all my affection from Austria. Just starting this visit to Europe.

We were traveling by car from Germany. Today I share with you a topic called: Who are your real friends?

This question accompanies us all during our lifetime, due to this fact many may not pay attention to the issue itself. Sakha in Sanskrit means friend.

We can understand the concept of "friend" in two ways I please ask you to apply the criterion of discrimination in it. The first way to understand it: "A friend in need is a friend indeed", this means that a true friend is always there when needed. The second is "a friend without need is a friend indeed", this is even deeper and that is to say a friend never expects anything from us, but is always there to help. That is the criterion of a true relationship.

Going further, we can apply various criteria in our relationship with God: "A friend in need is a friend indeed" and it is completely like that, for God is always there when we need Him, He gives us everything we need: the air we breathe, the food that sustains us, the nature around us, etc..

He even gives us free will to make our own decisions. God is completely "a friend in need." Now think about the second statement: "a friend without need is a friend indeed." Well, here the question is: are we really qualified to call ourselves "friends of God"? Are we able to be faithful to God, to be with Him even if it is assumed that we "do not need" from Him, just because He's our friend? That's a good question about our relationship with God. And, unfortunately, the answer is that we are not such good friends of God, but rather we are friends of God only when it suits us or we need something. At that point we think: "Yeah, yeah, God, please help me and get me out of this, I'm here for you."

But ... when danger is finished this thought comes, "Phew, this was difficult, bug luckily it has ended, now I can continue to enjoy"

Our relationship with God is not the most friendly to say, even worse, if we are friends of God, and He has been very friendly with us, why do we give so much trouble and ill-treatment  to our brothers and sisters? Then it is just us living with humans, but failing to appreciate them. It is an amazing attitude that we must take towards our brothers and sisters, because if you really want to be friends of God, then we must be friends of His sons and daughters, or do you think that there is another way to be?

It is contradictory to say: I am a friend of God, I love God, but hate anyone who gets in my way and goes against my own lust, my anger, my ambition or anything like that. Just think of a time when many animals are tortured just for fun, do you have something in mind? Or lets speak about other more terrible things such as the alleged "scientific evidence in animals" or animals stripped of their skins so humans can look luxurious in their furs. Imagine this:

An animal has beautiful skin by the desire of God and that beautiful skin is taken from him for your "sweet will" (yours) and after that you call yourself "a friend of God."

Does it make sense? Is that religious?
So, who are our true friends? The first thing we have to think about is to become qualified to be friends with others. Friendship and relationship to God and His creation is very important, and that is "supposedly" what religion teaches. You can say something like: "I follow a religion that teaches me species-ism, where I can like my own kind, but any other kind can be abused and mistreated by me or say, "I follow a religion that is ethnocentric, where all persons belonging to my ethnic group are wonderful, but those who do not, lose all rights and can be abused and removed from freedom, etc.. Is this within the parameters of common sense?

No, if we consider human rights, animal rights, the rights of Mother Nature. To speak of rights is basic, we do not even begin to speak about friendship. Rights is something that someone has, which belongs to the department of laws and if it is not respected it is required. But, in friendship and love we do not need to talk about rights. Why? Because in friendship and love the concept of "rights" is automatically included.

Put it this way: the right to welfare, which sounds very popular today. We have the "welfare training", "diet for wellness," including the "Guru for your welfare" welfare, welfare and well-being everywhere, my dear. But what happens to the welfare of your brothers and sisters? Do you not think that the number one question related to welfare is: Are you worried about the welfare of  all those around you? Do they have the same right to welfare?

We belong to a completely hypocritical society where everything is based on self-interest to some extent. In my own selfish interest. A society where my friendships are based only upon those that fit my personal needs. If someone does not agree with it, sorry to say but  they cease to have rights and so people today make war against those who are not suited to their interests.

War is not a very encouraging word, I would rather like to avoid talking about it, because wars are related to prisoners, the concentration camps and all that is terrifying in the world. Again Imagine: thousands of people gathered in one place because they are prisoners of war who knows who invented this because of their own interests.

And thinking of prisoners, what happens to the 65 billion animals that are confiscated in cells in the meat industry? They are deprived of water, food, suffering and jailed ... And why? Only because of the selfish desire of someone who decided to take away the freedom that God gave them.

Very likely that these people say they wanted to be friends of God. Yet, they deny animals a place to live, a natural environment, their own families, and confine them in squalid cells. All this for one reason: human greed. It is a very severe situation, since we are talking about rights: humans, animals, nature. Again: rights are something natural, something that should be respected on its own. Moreover, we are talking about true friendship, because to proudly claim to be "friendly", but to who are you really a friend, and who are your real friends?

Anyone involved with the abuse of others, either directly or indirectly is responsible for the suffering of a living entity. It's a very expensive bill. Like it or not you are signing that bill. Even if you say: I never knew, I will not be responsible for this, yet you will receive that bill.

That's what the famous British singer Paul McCartney said that the horrible holocaust of the Nazis in Germany is as bad as the current holocaust which the animals are subjected to in different industries that use them. Or even worse, as Germans in general, they did not know what was going on or if they knew they had to remain silent from fear that they would do the same to them, however now we are all aware of what happens to animals and we have the facility to boycott the Holocaust, no one is coming to shoot you so show yourself against it.

You, as a human being have rights, you can protest against ill treatment and not just protest, but consistently live and act against it, clearing your support or use of anything that is related to the mistreatment of others. No one who is involved in the mistreatment of animals can be called a "friend of the animals" or say "they love animals", much less that he is following the teachings of God, who is the Father of all animals. Whoever mistreats animals or is a part of their ill-treatment does not love nature or the Creator of it, someone so selfishly just loves their own palate, their stomach and genitals. Such a person is the worst enemy of Mother Earth and responsible of the current environmental situation.

I protest against it, against the behavior of those ignorant people who abuse others. Even so, we continue to offer our friendship to them so they can too come out of that ignorance, because we hate the sin but not the sinner. That is the right approach for a friend, because what we are promoting is true friendship, not irrational hatred. We even say we  love the sinner, because we really want to see change in the world, and see change in people and a change for themselves, a change for future generations.

As the saying goes: "help me when I least deserve it, because it will be when I need it."

Because, let me tell you one thing, my dear friends (and I call you my friends because I consider myself as your  friend) that people who are related to the mistreatment of animals, humans or the exploitation of natural resources are the poorest of the poor in the world. They are the first who should receive emergency aid, the most urgent attention. Just as in war, the paramedics have to identify the worst cases to give priority and attention, in the same way in Kali Yuga, after the devastation caused by the bomb of selfishness and exploitation, the spiritual paramedics seek cases that are most grave in nature, the "lost cases" and there you will find all the traffickers, the corrupted, the exploiters of the Earth, the animal abusers, the owners of alcohol companies, politicians, deceivers, etc.. They are still our brothers and sisters, human beings like us and they are as bad as we might become.

But fortunately for us and them, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to shed boundless mercy upon all. No matter how sinful we are. No matter how many living beings we have mistreated. Mercy is there, Srila Prabhupada even brought that mercy to us, the lowest of the low. God himself, the best friend of all of us, came personally to deliver His Divine friendship and teach us by example what it means to provide for the welfare of others. Divine Friendship and solidarity for all those who are suffering in the world, the abused and the abusers.

In English the devotees say that the spiritual life is not just "joy" (fun) but "jay" (victory celebration of the battle against illusion). Our mission is to follow the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada, who was a real fighter in the battle against illusion and a true friend who does not expect anything in return. He is the embodiment of mercy without restraint, shakti avesa avatar of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. A revolutionary protector to animals and nature. An example of simple living and high thinking.

Mahatma Gandhi said: "Be the change you want to see in the world" that we must implement: to become agents of change, agents to fight against illusion. With these words I leave you today, my dear friends of the soul. I wish you all the best in this process to become true friends of all, to aspire some day to become faithful to God, without expecting anything from him.

All my love to you.
Jay Srila Prabhupada!

Your always wisher,
Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti.

Sounds that Heal From Brazil 7/14/13

Topic: Sounds that heal. From Brazil. 14/07/13


conference

Dear devotees.
I am full of joy because Krishna saved Sridham Prabhu of Germany, who was at the point of being paralyzed for life. One is always in this world with one foot in disaster. Sure, you have to see Krishna even in the time of difficulty. That difficulty is there so our compassion and solidarity grow.

These days I recorded many sounds that heal. This effort is an attempt to serve all of you more. I think these sounds that heal have multiple applications. Not only are they for people who are in bed but also for example for those who drive a car or who are imprisoned in a jail.

If anyone can put photos to these audios to embellish the message,then the meditative sound could reach otheres even better. The cover must be designed as well. In the edition the messages must interject with the beautiful music exclusively from Vrinda musicians.

Srila Prabhupada encouraged us with pure transcendental sound. There has been many themes and when one meditates on them it will reveal more and more dimensions, it is incredible. The philosophy of Vaishnavism is inexhaustible.

And I want you to keep expanding them to reach the hearts of all.
From Brazil with love.

Your always wisher
Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti.

Institutional Authority vs. Authority of the Spiritual Master 7/7/13

Today I want to talk about a very delicate subject: institutional authority vs. the authority of the spiritual master. I read that in one Vaishnava institution the institutional authorities released a new rule, in which they say that the spiritual master should always be under the administrative and governmental rules of the institution.

Of course, we do recognize that spiritual masters are not independent. They depend on their own spiritual master’s blessings, on the sadhus’ criteria and on the scriptures in order to draw a truthful authority of conclusion. And of course, there is the inner consciousness, which is of top importance in any circumstance of life. Our inner consciousness, is not independent either - it has to associate, compare and check itself with guru, with sadhu and with sastra.

Why is this topic important? It is very simple: because people can commit mistakes. Even if they are sitting on the chair of the teacher – be it siksa guru or diksa guru, they can still commit errors. This is the reason why the scriptures have given this indication of assisted checking for when there is a question and there is a doubt, so to be saved from what we may call arbitrary speculation of an individual. Now, we may think “All Glories to Democracy”, because in this case we have a group of people who vote on a topic and in this way they supposedly come up with the right solution. If the democracy is a democracy amongst true and very sincere sadhus, it will actually have validity - the sadhu democracy may work up to a certain point. But if they are not, then we can see that even groups of people with voting powers can still make errors. In other words, they are not a guarantee that you will never commit a mistake.

Srila Prabhuhada, our most beloved spiritual master, is so extraordinary that he continued receiving titles even after his departure - such as Senapati (chosen empowered agent by Lord Chaitanya) and Shakti Avesa Avatar (empowered incarnation of Lord Nityananda’s spreading love potency). He has been recognized for his extraordinary contribution to the world.

Nevertheless, if you want to pick on Srila Pabhupada and find fault in him, you may actually be able to do so. If he gave sannyas to a person, who later failed in his sannyas, you could say –if he was trikalajna, somebody who has knowledge about the past, the present and the future, could he not have foreseen what would happen? Or what about his establishment of cow protection farms, which due to the circumstances later turned out to be unsustainable? Or how about establishing Gurukulas, where later some degraded individuals abused children?Didn’t he see that, didn’t he know that?

My personal answer to this is that Srila Pabhupada worked for his ideal with whoever Krishna sent to him and he gave them a chance – by telling them what to do and by giving the right example how to do it. So you could say that Srila Pabhupada never failed us. He gave us the love of his guru. But because he was preaching in the Western world, there was an incredible risk taken.

Whether you are in business, in politics or in a spiritual community, there are always trust issues: you have to give the keys to somebody; you have to give the management of the funds to somebody. In human life there are always trust positions which could be powerfully utilized for truly beautiful things, but which could also be misused. So considering this fundamental condition, we are very concerned to find some security measures to counteract abusive situations.

Fortunately, we have one safeguard in our system and this is Parameshvara – the supreme controller Lord Krishna. He knows everything and he is the benefactor judge of everyone. In other words, if you do wrong, he’ll judge you, but for your benefit. He will still make some arrangements, which will favour you in some way - and save you from your own faults. But even there we see that sometimes Krishna loses his patience - if we may dare say so, my dear Lord Govinda. In a sense He says: “This or that person’s earthly chance has come to an end for this round. He has to go and come again.” It’s up to Him, He is the supreme controller – and we are in safe hands with Lord Krishna. He sent us our spiritual master Srila Pabhupada, so that we have a solid foundation of how to practice Krishna Consciousness even in the degraded Western circumstances, as long as we stick to his safeguard instructions:
Number 1 is chanting Hare Krishna.
Number 2 – follow the 4 regulative principles,
Number 3 – keep reading the scriptures and
Number 4 – do service.

Without service even the chanting becomes a kind of “I’m asking for service, I’m asking for service - but when the service comes I’m not available anymore”.So the question of having an institution ruling above the guru has to be analyzed very carefully and also very generously. After Srila Pabhupada left this world and some of his leaders stopped working properly (to say it in soft words), some devotees suggested that it was best to eliminate the spiritual master function, and have Prabhupada as a huge major spiritual master of all present and coming devotees.

This proposal, that every initiation after Prabhupada would be a ritvik initiation, where the actual guru Srila Prabhupada, would practically equalize Krishna Consciousness with Christianity. There is the Son of God, he saved us all - of course we don’t accept that he died for our sins, so that we could keep sinning, this is another degradation of true spirituality. According to Christianity, you are connected to Jesus by coming in contact with one of His institutions with several different practitioners, of whom you may like some or be inspired by some, but they never become that fully important, because the fully important position is given to Jesus.

So the suggestion of putting an institution over the Guru is a very strange proposal in a sense. If you analyze it, it is not ritvik of Srila Pabhupada – it would be a representational initiation on behalf of an institution. Where is Prabhupada there? The institution has already shown faulty judgements on many past occasions – for example, faulty judgements in respect to Vaishanvas who belong to other Vaishnava institutions and are initiated by spiritual masters from the same lineage, but not from the same institutional framework.

There are plenty of other examples of grand institutional misjudgment that causes quite some havoc both in the individual life as well as in the structural thinking of the people who are educated under such a system. Excuse me for the comparison, but when the socialists created a system about educating their children, they gave them a kind of a package for dealing with life according to the socialist parameters. A capitalist existence gives another type of frame, and a totalitarian military dictatorship has another framework. And if there is a king, he might be like a dictator in one way, but may also happen to be much beloved and caring to all his subjects – all these circumstances put another framework of psychological guidance towards behaviors in that system.

So when institutions cast judgements which end up becoming systems, rules or regulations, it creates an impact upon the people who have to live under the influence of such judgements. It is different when you have a guru, be it siksa or diksa guru. Mark my words, I say both of them have the same validity to a certain degree – and Prabhupada wrote (or quoted Srila Jiva Gosvami) that it is an offense to see a difference between siksa and diksa guru. So this is a very important point.

I will tell you something from my own spiritual family, the Vrinda family. I initiate devotees, it is my service in this family, and then I move on my journey as a beggar of love to the next destination. The people I initiated stay behind with the diverse qualities of siksa gurus who are hopefully of the highest quality, but may not always be. They take care of the new devotees for the period of 364 days until I come back for 1 day. Of course, people can have contact with me in many ways through my teachings, and my question and answer sessions, which I continuously try to supply to the devotees, but nevertheless many devotees in our mission see me once a year for a day – and many of them even less, because I can’t visit every place for a day each and every year.

So who is looking after the devotee, who’s delivering the guru tattva? These are the siksa gurus, those very wonderfully surrendered devotees and good examples, who have taken Krishna to heart, like I took Prabhupada to heart – hopefully. I wish it may be so, because taking your guru to heart makes you a transparent via medium of what he is to you through the authority and supervision of Sri Paramatma, the Lord in the Heart. You have to understand one thing – all glories to Srila Pabhupada, but he is not the Paramatma. Being the greatest and the most beautiful of all spiritual masters in the history, never ever he had impressed upon us, that he is identical to Paramatma - and as a matter of fact he is not.

So this is a very interesting thing to take into consideration: that the final guide, quality guarantee and quality control of Guru Tattva rests in Sri Paramatma, Chaitya Guru, and all the others have a chance to participate by divine grace to deliver the divine goods of their Guru Tattva as they were able to appreciate them and as they were able to preserve them, and as they were able to deliver them to you and as you are able to receive them.

So there are quite a few steps built into the system, which are somewhat faulty, but because of the quality control and the quality guarantee of Sri Paramatma for his devotee, there is nothing to be feared. Just we have to know how to deal with the diverse circumstances as we proceed. And when my Gurudeva said that he wanted all his disciples to become spiritual masters, he was not joking. And also I can only second it, because to me everyone who has come to me is actually a disciple of Srila Pabhupada. That they are under my guidance and can maybe be inspired in their service by my existence is a special mercy upon me, so that I can be somehow useful for the Divine purpose. I don’t feel that it is more than that, but I don’t feel that this is little.

I feel that it is far, far high and incredible mercy if we can be an instrument of His love – that’s what we always pray for: Oh my Lord, please let me be an instrument of your love!”
This is what it’s all about. Anyhow – just as much as I can be so, you can be and shall be so too, if you are ready to go along with the requirements. It is like when you give a class in front of an audience, you are not the one who is doing the talking – at least you are not supposed to be – you are supposed to be the transparent via medium for your Guru’s message to be delivered. That’s why I always say “My dear Friends, please try to be a speaker on behalf of Krishna, because Krishna has given you the mouth so that you can deliver beautiful speeches on his behalf on Harikatha or even on Prabhupada Lila, for example. Krishna Lila Amrita, Prabhupad Lila Amrita – yes, to hear the glories of the devotees is very dear to the Lord.
Srimad Bhagavatam is full of stories about the glories of the devotees - and don’t think that telling the story of Prabhupada is any less ecstatic than hearing the story of Dhruva Maharaj. These are the extraordinary features that we are coming in contact with the high delivery of the mercy – and whoever gets the mercy, that’s a beautiful story, makes up for another conversion.

Of course, if I have been a Muslim before I met the devotees, this doesn’t make me immediately Haridas Thakur. There are a lot more certain things in the divine planning department, which is the plan that Haridas Thakur was Brahma, who by the mercy of Lord Gauranga had the chance to appear in His lila as the Nam Acharya but still, when Muslims convert to the love of Vaishnavism we rejoice. It as an extraordinary beautiful thing to happen. The whole world is one family. We all belong to one another. All sectarian “I am better than you” thoughts are not appropriate or applicable of how to deal with others in this world - something, which is often forgotten in institutional law making, and which is not so spiritual.

Like when an institution releases a law, which says: “You are not allowed to take siksa instruction from somebody, who is outside of our institution”. It sounds very similar to some political systems where you are not even allowed to know what the opposition proposes, otherwise you will be considered a betrayer and will be dealt with like a traitor. In a time of conflict traitors are shot, and in a spiritual institution those considered traitors are shunt, rejected, badly spoken about and denounced.

So philosophers and spiritual intellectuals have to deal with everything, including opposing views. If you are a Brahmin or a sannyasi and cannot deal lovingly with opposing views, then you become a frog-in-a-well kind of philosopher. You think “All that is happening in my well is my wisdom” but you know what Prabhupada said about the frog-in-the-well philosophers. If there are opposing views, we have to think about them and either refute them, according to Guru, Sastra and Sadhu, or accept them with constructive criticism of what we are doing.

If the truth is approaching in the form of an opposition towards my misgivings, then shall I reject the truth because it doesn’t come within the institutional frame? This is a very dangerous attitude. It means that you create a philosophical jail, where you are limited to the conception of often polluted interests of law makers, which then contaminate the whole possibility of having a transcendental vision - and it is exactly here where the spiritual master comes in. The spiritual master is a free thinker. He is a person with an individual personal realization and criteria, who can evaluate faithfully, according to Guru, Sastra and Sadhu, whatever he sees, plus he can adopt to time, place and circumstance to whatever circumstance presents itself, which can be even new to what his Guru had explained.

One of the best examples about it is called Facebook. Facebook definitely did not exist at the time of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Shridhar Maharaja. When I last saw my mother, who used to be illiterate about computers, she knew more about Facebook than me. I was very surprised but Facebook is a great Maya, a great illusion. It can really serve for getting Krishna, for losing Krishna, for wasting your time to an extreme. But at the same time Facebook can be considered a fantastic tool for announcing temple activities and for active communication with other people in the world.

So, we have Zuckerberg, the inventor of Facebook. He is a human being who became the instrument of delivering a technology, which is putting people in contact with each other like never before. And it became a disease - there are Facebook clinics already. There are people, who lose contact with the external world because they became too mesmerized with the technology and the “I like you”/“You like me” business.
The real substance of propagating Krishna Consciousness through Facebook gets lost, because such a person is not even practicing it at that point. But if a temple or a project uses Facebook to announce to thousand, two thousand, three thousand people their next activity, it becomes a very useful and appreciated tool. It’s a double sided sword, which can cut the right thing and the wrong thing.

Srila Prabhupada didn’t say anything about Facebook. So, does that mean that the new spiritual master shouldn’t say anything about it either, just because they should only say what Srila Prabhupada has already said? Such type of a concept kills the whole thing. The spiritual master has to have criteria of how to utilize the new technology. I am giving only one example but there are plenty of examples.

Time, place and circumstances may be favorable for development of Krishna Consciousness. The individual realization is the last checking point and that cannot be safely checked, when it is obvious that there is a deviation from the principles of Bhakti. I will give you a very extreme example but here we are talking the naked truth.

There was a guy, who considered himself a spiritual master, so he went from India to one Latin American country and started to give initiations. He was a nice looking young man and many of the girls he initiated fell in love with him and he also fell in love with them. But not only with one devotee - he fell in love with a few of them. He became lusty after several of them. He was with several of them. It is very embarrassing for a spiritual master but of course he was not a real spiritual master. One, who falls down for illicit sex life is not a spiritual master. The girls eventually found out that he was not falling down with only one of them, but with many. They felt cheated and, of course, they were cheated. Probably, he told each of them “You are the star of my life” and everybody wants to be the only star on the sky. When they found out that they were one out of many, the girls went together and denounced him at the immigration office, so he was kicked out of the country. His own disciples kicked him out of the country. You may talk about democracy, vox populi or whatever, but the truth is that his own disciples kicked him out of the country. The girls later took shelter from a very sincere senior devotee and continued their spiritual life.

So, yes, failure can be there in the individual spiritual master, and failure can be there in an entire institutional group of GBCs, coming together and casting the vote for this or that. Myself, I went through a period of my spiritual life, when I was under the voting system of such an advisory board. At that time there was a rule that nobody could be removed from the top system unless there was 75 % of the vote against him. I went through the list and realized that more than 25% of them were in questionable condition. Whatever they would vote about, they would not come up to 75% to remove somebody with faulty behavior, because more than 25% were with faulty behavior.

They killed themselves. They had created a system, whose guard process could not function anymore. There was no real safeguard - on the contrary, it was releasing faulty legislations and faulty guidelines. It was then that I decided to search for a Sadhu who can guide me, because I didn’t want my life restricted and limited to the faulty judgments of people, who prohibited me from following my own heart and understanding of what Srila Prabhupada wanted me to do.

Now I read that this absolutism was also applied to the individual spiritual master. Spiritual masters were demoted to be really just ritualistic mantra deliverers, because you can get the mantra from a tape recorder or from the mouth of anybody. Recordings have been used by Srila Prabhupada himself for some of the second initiations, when he was not personally present.

Some people said: Well, since it has been done while Prabhupada was there, why not do it also now, when he is not here anymore - it is still the same mantra with the same power. Yes, that’s true, it is the same mantra with the same power but the element of accepting the spiritual master is to surrender to somebody and to serve somebody. You say – no, you don’t have to serve Guru, you only have to serve the institution of the Paramaguru. That means all your service has been put in the framework of the abstract connection because you do not trust anybody completely.

This is another deficiency because the element of love and trust is instrumental. It is the key to giving yourself and being enthusiastic for spiritual life. And it goes both ways - the guru loves and trusts you because otherwise how would he tell you to go out and preach? If the guru thinks that you are just a bogus and you will talk nonsense or cheat people, is he going to tell you to go out and preach? Am I going to tell you to give a daily class about Krishna, if I know that all you are going to say is lies that confuse people? I would be suicidal then. So, I say, give the message of Srila Prabhupada with love and trust, you are capable, and Krishna may agree to speak through you. Who knows, tomorrow when you are out there and preach about Krishna, somebody might say: “I love what you say. I have 10 000 dollars and I’m not doing anything with them. Can you use them for Krishna?” Why not? Is it prohibited to receive a donation for Krishna? No, it is not. So he comes and gives it to you because you gave a class that deeply touched him. Now you have 10 000 dollars. Thank you!

If you, in that moment, think that the money is yours, well, you fall down right there. You have received this on behalf of Krishna and you are supposed to use every penny for Krishna, otherwise you are cheating. But when I speak about love and trust, I mean that the guru trusts you to do this properly. If somebody does not do it properly, it is up to their reaction. In other words, the disciple has to be responsible. But I cannot base my whole life on mistrust, because if I mistrust everybody, then I cannot preach. I cannot say - there is something very secret, very sacred, very beautiful, and very incredible and I would almost give it to you but the problem is that I cannot trust you. This maha something, it can be shhh something, and you have to figure it out by your own inner realization. No, it is not like this. As soon as I preach the maha mantra, I’m giving somebody a chance to get rid of all the sinful activities and to enter into spiritual understanding - and this is the power of the mantra, not the power of my words. It is all the power of grace. So, when you don’t trust people you are in bad shape. Now, vice versa, the trust also goes that I give you my time and you also trust me.

Spiritual life is a trust relationship. Even an ordinary marriage is a trust relationship because you work together, you put your money together and you sleep next to one another, which means that while you are sleeping, the other one could theoretically pull a knife. Nobody has a bodyguard next to their husband or wife. If marriage is a 100% trust relationship, so how cannot a guru-disciple relationship be a trust one? And there is no institution, which stands above the husband and wife relationship, except the court. Sometimes husband and wife end up in court and she says that he did this and that, and the court may judge on the relationship, but who is the court above the guru? Where is that court? The disciple surrenders to the guru and says: “Please, give me the mantra! Please, give me service! Please, accept me! I want to be your spiritual son!” And the guru says: “Yes, I accept you as my child and I accept you to be a part of my family.”
There is a very intimate personal connection. Who is going to judge that? Of course, the truth will judge, Paramatma will judge, the history will judge but in that personal private connection, who is going to be the judge? If there is anything going wrong, only Krishna himself can straighten it out. Because if you say there is a guru, there is a disciple but above them there is a Sadhu Samaj, GBC and if you have a problem you speak to them and the guru has nothing to say, he can only repeat what the advisory board has said, then that means that the advisory board doesn’t trust the guru. So how come that the disciple is supposed to trust the guru then?

The advisory board says: we don’t trust the guru. Just take the mantra from him but don’t trust him. But you should trust us with our criteria because we have put the guru and we can also remove him. We will give you a substitute guru if one fails. We have some spare gurus for such cases but everything rests in the advisory board, it doesn’t rest in the guru’s position. But this is not the presentation sustained by Bhagavad Gita (4.34), where it says:
tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah
You should approach a guru, ask him humbly questions, you should offer your obeisance and become very humble, put your head on the ground and serve him and he will instruct you, when he sees your sincerity. He will teach you the truth, which he has seen. This is the question: has he seen it or has he not seen it? Well, we believe he has seen it if he has met Srila Prabhupada and lives in Srila Prabhupada’s service. And if he has not seen it, then Srila Prabhupada and Krishna have seen it and they will be in charge of this.

Coming back to the point of siksa guru - it is such a powerful institution and it is sometimes given to people such as temple presidents who have only spent two years in Krishna Consciousness. Sometimes people just have to take over the temple management duties. When I became a temple president in Denmark, I scarcely had two and a half years in the movement and out of a sudden a whole temple was depending on me. So we have to see the practical side of it as well. And we have to see how important are love and trust. If we are going to eliminate love and trust from the transaction of the spiritual organizations, spiritual master, representative of the spiritual master and want to make the whole thing institutionally governed, then we are not following the tradition of our spiritual Paramapara.

In our tradition the ritvik system is in the heart of the devotee because he feels that his guru is the real guru. This is appropriate. But institutional connection, even the institutional formal diksa guru connection, has been rejected in some of the cases in our Guru Parampara.

Like when Bhaktivinod Thakur declared his main connection to be Srila Jagannath das Babaji Maharaja and he was not his diksa connection but he gave a preference of the siksa guru connection over the diksa connection. And there are other examples like that, where Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaja explains that this is Siksa Guru Parampara. So, this is one of the considerations here. And if you reflect upon it, you will find that institutional Parampara is not prepared very well. Or I may ask you, where is the institutional Parampara of Srila Rupa Goswami in the Radha Govinda mandir of Vrindavan, or the institutional Parampara of Sanatan Goswami in the Radha Madan Mohan temple, or the institutional Parampara of Ragunath das Goswami, Madhu Pandit? Where are they? Virtually they are absent. Some people claim that it is a family right thing and others see that the buildings are administrated by the Indian archeological society. So, where is the Parampara? The institutional Paramparas have practically disappeared or there are some people, who practically claim that they have it. At least we can see that they haven’t done much work. And in the case of Srila Prabhupada, he had to go against the institutional Parampara because there was no connection available. When he went to the west he actually tried to represent one of the Indian teachers, who had higher position in the institution of his guru but Krishna didn’t want it. So Srila Prabhupada had to start his own institution but don’t forget that he also said: “There are many institutions, which are for saving people from ignorance and giving them Krishna and my institution is one of them.” Srila Prabhupada never said: “My institution is the only institution and all the other institutions are invalidated and we should go against them” - or anything like this. Or: “They are deviations because they are not coming to surrender to my institutional framework.”

Whoever comes up with such ideas, I must honestly say, is bogus. He is sectarian, he is fanatic and even worse, he may have become a Vaishnava aparadhi and if you practice or teach Vaisnava aparadha, what good fortune will come to you? It is the elephant offense – diminish, minimize, criticize and mistreat people who are connected to other spiritual families. These are all different types of Vaisnava aparadha. So, only individuals can save us because they can imbibe, what is called love and trust and they can get personal realization, which we hope they will get.

I hope all my disciples will be so qualified siksa gurus that they will deliver the mercy of my diksa guru in 100% quality. This is quite an expectation from those beloved friends of my soul. I want them to represent 100% of something that I cannot understand myself. Good question, no? But do I understand Krishna? No. Do I understand Srila Prabhupada? No. I love him! I feel grateful! I try to do, what he told me to do but I don’t want to lie that I understand Srila Prabhupada. Do I understand Srila Shridhar Maharaja? No.I have heard that Krishna doesn’t understand himself. So then I don’t feel that bad that I don’t understand Him either. But simply because Krishna doesn’t understand Himself, it doesn’t make Him less Krishna or His mission less important for the world. I don’t think so. This is the domain of love and trust. In love and trust sometimes you do not understand.

I do not understand the power of the Maha Mantra but I have seen it. I have seen how it works on people. I am very grateful for the power of the Maha Mantra, but understanding it? Understanding the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam? I read them every day. I think it is really great stuff, which is taught there, but do I understand Shrimad Bhagavatam?

aham vedmi suko vetti
vyaso vetti na vetti va
bhaktya bhagavatam grahyam
na buddhya na ca tikaya

Lord Siva said; "I know the meaning of the Bhagavat and I know that Sukadeva knows it also. But for Vyasadeva he may or may not know it. The Bhagavat can only be known through bhakti, not by mundane intelligence or by reading many commentaries."

On the whole, Srimad Bhagavatam, the spotless Purana, can be learned only through devotional service, not by material intelligence, speculative methods or imaginary commentaries. Sukadeva Goswami understood the Srimad Bhagavatam. Vyasadeva maybe understood it but maybe not. How come that he did not understand it when he wrote it down? How would he not understand? Because sometimes, Srila Shridhar Maharaja says, things descend in a special way through somebody to somebody else. The one in between, does not understand but the one, who receives it, understands. That’s what Srila Sridhar Maharaja wanted to say. That’s what we love and that’s what we trust.

We love and trust that this mission is Krishna’s mission and if anything goes wrong, He will come and intervene. And still, we teach people to love their diksa and siksa gurus because if we do not tell them to love and trust their siksa gurus, they will not be inspired. They will not have enthusiasm to serve their diksa and siksa gurus, to participate from the core of their heart, to risk themselves like their gurus are risking themselves for them and for the service of their guru.

At the end Shrila Prabhupada said: the gurus are self revealed. They are acting on behalf of their Lord, their spiritual master and their own consciousness. And if divine grace descends upon them, then they will be able to show some incredible transformation, either in quantity or in quality, or in both. Otherwise not, krsna sakti vina nahe tara pravartana. Those empowered will be recognized as genuine representatives of Parampara and of their spiritual master. And what will they say if you approach them and ask them personally about this?

They will say: no, no, no, I am not empowered. What is happening here is the power of my guru. All glories to him! Me and you are all depending on his grace but this is not ritvik, it is representative.
Through the humble representative and through that chain or succession this whole movement has continued and is alive. The institutions can do some check and balance; they can organize things that cannot be done by as easy individuals - for example, the Vishva Vaishnava Raja Sabha. It invites all the Vaisnava groups to help clean the holy dham together. If you only clean 100 or 200 m in each direction of your beautiful Mandir, we already have a clean Vrindavan. There are so many temples now everywhere. So we have the spirit of doing things together, of helping each other. For example, if one devotee publishes a beautiful book on science of spirituality (like one devotee called Govardhan did in Mayapur – he showed the importance of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and the evidence, found in the scientific discoveries for the transcendental teachings), will it not be appreciated and used by all Vaisnavas? Can science or social work be restricted to one institution? Would any Vaisnava make charitable medical service and restrict the charitable help only to people who belong to his institution? When scientists, philosophers and charitable people become sectarian, then you can surely tell that this is the end of spirituality.

Therefore in the department of spiritual philosophy and also, where this philosophy is applied in practical decision making, there has to be freedom, there has to be individual criteria and there has to be love and trust. Otherwise, there will be no joy and no progress.

If these observations were for the benefit of anybody who listens to them, I will be greatly rewarded, because my only ambition is to become servant of the servant of the servants of those wonderful Vaisnavas. We have to develop taste for Srila Prabhupada and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Thank you.

Your always well wisher,
Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti