Receiving without Questioning and Cultivating appreciation 8/7/16- Sweden

**(Excerpted from a round of questions and answers in Nimaihuset, Sweden, May 2016)Question:

What is the purpose of Kali Yuga?

 Answer: I like this question because it forces us to be self-critical.

  prayenalpayusah sabhya

 kalav asmin yuge janah

mandah sumanda-matayo

 manda-bhagya hy upadrutah

 

Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: 

 

O learned one, in this iron Age of Kali men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed. (Sb 1.1.10)

That is one of the first verses in Srimad Bhagavatam which explains the effects of Kali Yuga. There it is stated that Kali Yuga in a way has come to wake the laziest, the "unintelligent", the "less sincere," those who have received the invitation of Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga but continue to pursue the idea of "I want this and that" (...) then the atmosphere of Kali Yuga becomes necessary to (hopefully) wake them up.

 Actually this is not exactly a very lovely answer, right? This means that there is another alternative as well. Srila Prabhupada used to say "learn either by listening or suffering; yet there are people, when suffering comes, who will not learn". This means that there is another opportunity. First of all, at the time of destruction of the material world you rest in Mahavishnu and then come back. The cycle begins again. Because God loves us regardless of our own stupidity, but He does not want to take away our free will.

 Another thing I would add is that we should not question the good intentions of the Lord towards us. Do not do that!, Do not let your mind do it! Because the moment you do it is like falling again and say, "God, you can sit in the chair of the accused?" And you feel yourself being in the position of Judge saying, "Be attentive my Lord because now I'll check." That should not do for any reason; the position to question the Creator's intention towards us is not for us. That destroys something inside us and creates a kind of artificial ego. It is that  very artificial ego which otherwise is very popular, among those who deny the existence of God, that makes us not only put God in the chair of the accused but remove Him as if He didn't even exist.
 The question about why Kali Yuga is perfectly answered in the Srimad Bhagavatam, I just wanted to branch out a little more, I only wanted to explain what happens when we allow our minds to question the good intentions of God. What if we ask ourselves whether we have the right to breathe? And if we do, who gave us that right? We have never paid for the air we breathe. How is it that we have the right to drink water? How is it that we have the right to eat a plate of food? After thinking about these questions the only thing left is to be grateful and say "thank you to whoever is responsible for it." You can call "the responsible" as you want, but you must recognize that he exists and be grateful to Him. That's what even the native tribes teach us. This is what we call the "United Nations of the Spirit" human beings united in the spirit of gratitude.

 Without a deep spirituality nothing can happen, nothing will change within us. That's what Krishna said: "Anything that is ingested without being offered to me is nothing but sin." Even the strictest vegan who does not offer their food to God is doing nothing more than eating sin. Even if we take water without having offered to God, we're just drinking sin. That is what the Scriptures teach us.

 Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. Because, you know what comes after gratitude? Mirth. Without gratitude you can not have joy. So we plunge into depression, because we are not grateful. In modern society, one way or another, we have managed to put the mind above all things, but that has not produced very good results, rather it has turned our lives into a mundane, materialized and secularized life. So there can be no obedience to any higher authority, because the very principle of authority is questioned. Children often do that sometimes and question the authority of their parents, but as soon they have a problem or are even a little hungry, they are transformed again immediately and accept the authority provided they obtain food. Therefore, it is better to appreciate all that we have received without question and rather  receive it with deep appreciation.

 Jay Srila Prabhupada!

Your always well wisher,
 Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti

Only God's Love Can Solve the Problems of Life. 8/9/15. From Argentina.

All glories to Prabhupada!

My message today begins with the following verse: 

vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogah prayojitah janayaty vairagyam jnanam ca yad ahaitukam (SB 1.2.7)

By rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world. (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.7).

 Bhakti Yoga should be executed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Person, Vasudeva Krishna. That will gradually make the person who practices to become detached from things that have no connection with Him and the person will also receive the gift of pure knowledge and the desire to offer everything they own to the Lord of Love. That is an incredible quote from Srimad Bhagavatam. Krishna is the one who is speaking in the Bhagavad Gita and who is spoken about in the Srimad Bhagavatam, all glorification are meant for Him.You should not think that Srimad Bhagavatam is a simple esoteric idea. No. Today there is much esoteric, many people talk about things that are not visible, but usually they refer to the impersonal Brahman or cosmic ocean, but not the Supreme Person.

  Many people worship the impersonal aspect of God for some material benefit, mystical powers, etc ... Krishna is infinite and will manifest in the way you want to connect with Him. In the case of Draupadi, for example, the Lord manifested in the form of a sari, to protect her from degradation.On another occasion, Krishna was present to save Prahlad Maharaja from the different assassination attempts by his father.

  Likewise, Krishna has saved us many times. It may be that we have been conscious in the past. But, anyway, Krishna is always aware of all things. He does everything. Therefore minimizing the Srimad Bhagavatam believing that it is just a Hindu interpretation of Truth, it is also a way to ignore a great gift. Only God's love can solve the problems of life. That love is unique. I consider myself a fan of Krishna, because when I think about Him I know that I have to love all others, and I want to, without discriminating between someone more important than others. (As Christians who believe that animals have no soul). Without discriminating, even Mother Nature. Rather we must fight for the rights of nature, the rights of animals, native peoples, fighting for the future of humanity. Because today nobody cares about anyone's rights, only the right to exploit, decapitating others, industrialization, etc ... If one does not recognize that the other living beings must be respected because they have a right to because they deserve it, then whatever you do is incorrect, twisted and wrong. Abuse is considered the methodology to get everything you want unscrupulously.

 For example, Frederick Nietzsche once said that the Manu Samhita was the first book in which he found that women and the poor have rights. Imagine, 5,000 years ago that concept already existed, while in Europe only in the 70s women were given the right to vote, before that there was only a terrible patriarch.The culture of India, however, has a different position in that respect because it always keeps the concept that we are one big family where the concepts of man or woman are temporary, only the soul is eternal.

  Charles Darwin established the misconception of the principle of survival, where the more powerful survive over the weak (survival of the fittest). The so-called "weak" have no chance in the world. No right. After that there were more and more terrible proposals, one of those was that any "defective" individual should be removed, because the inferior races should not reproduce. This movement was responsible for millions of murders of people worldwide. It is completely discouraged. That same mentality gives rise to abortions and many other atrocities. By mercy we have received the right concept of knowledge for these things. Only love can save us. One who does not practice love for all living entities can not talk about God. The Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam are classical writings about love, respect towards all. When a human being becomes a vegetarian, 51 percent of your problem is solved. Even environmental problems are solved.

Srila Prabhupada Ki Jay!
With affection, your ever well-wisher.
B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami

Become fully grateful for all we have received. 05/18/2014 From Quito.

                                                           Conference.

Dear devotees, accept my affection today.

We were singing a very special bhajan, " Sri Guru carana kamala bhajan mana" .

"O mind, just worship the lotus feet of Gurudev, without the mercy of Gurudeva I have no strength in my sadhana, so worship Him and serve him at every turn."

Unless one head towards Sri Guru in this human birth, which is rare, we will continue to seek material pleasure. Oh , how lucky we are to have their partnership and receive the darshan of the devotees of Sri Hari. Sri Guru is the blessed recipient of the mercy of Sri Krishna and also the reservoir of compassion for the fallen souls.

He illuminate our bhakti, bhava and prema and he is the savior of the world. All srutis, smrtis and puranas describe the glories of Sri Krishna and His devotees. "Offering my body, my mind and my life itself to the Lotus Feet of Sri Gurudeva, chanting Sri Harinam without cessation."

Jaya Prabhupada
Jaya Prabhupada
Patita Pavana.

After this beautiful song dedicated to Gurudeva , I want to share with  you all a known and very precise verse:

Isvara parama krishna
sac-cid-ananda-vigraha
anadir adir govinda
sarva-karana-karanam

"Krishna, who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes."

It is a very clear verse, is it not. Need another confirmation of the supremacy of the Lord? He is the Supreme, He is the Controller, His body is eternal, full of bliss ... But what about your body? Are you the Supreme?

Your body is not full of bliss nor is it spiritual, unless you completely use it for the Lord's service. Until you fully use your energy for Krishna do not think you can free yourself from the suffering of the material world.

Using our body for the service of Krishna from morning to night is the goal, only in such a manner can we talk about a sensible occupation of the body. If we did not use the body from morning to night in service, then many attacks from the world of exploitation of the senses will come. Something always comes to disturb us. Always coming to test if our effort is sincere or not, if it's real or not.

The body of Sri Krishna is eternal, full of bliss and beyond the modes of material nature, but not yours ...but anyway you can still purify your body by using it in devotional service!

Your body is about to die at any moment, any time, it can be even tomorrow. Nothing is guaranteed in this world. A person may be fine in the morning but at night leaves the body . That is not under your control. Do not live with the conviction that you're going to be alive forever. Best to live every minute as if it were your last. Appreciate everything you have received. Pray with faith to surrender.

The beginning verse helps us remember what the goal of our path is. Return to God, the Supreme Controller, return home. Never give up that goal. Never. Abandon that ideal is like receiving a special invitation to a wonderful party but rejecting it. Reject only the desire to enjoy temporal things. It's like getting an invitation to participate in the most important event in history, but refuse it just to go see a movie. It makes no sense.

Krishna is inviting you to utilize your body in sacred activities, you must take responsibility to make your life useful. Useful in service to God. You're not the enjoyer of this body. You're not the enjoyer of all. Parama Isvara is Krishna. The Supreme Controller and Enjoyer is Krishna. Any chance of enjoyment away from Krishna is nothing but a hoax. You have to get out of that deception. Stop at once the gratification of the senses and offer everything to Krsna. That's a wonderful thing. Even in marriage you can offer your family to Krishna.

Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhridam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santim ricchatii

The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries. (Bhagavad Gita 5.29)

That Krishna , the Supreme Controller , the Well-wisher of all , Krishna himself is the one who invites us to His loving and sincere service under the guidance of the spiritual master. It is inconceivable. Possible only by the mercy of His devotees. This is a strong enough reason to become fully grateful for all we have received.

With these words I conclude my message today.
Jay Srila Prabhupada!

Your always well wisher,
B. A. 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 .

The importance of Oida in our lives. 02/02/2014

Dear devotees,
Today I want to share a theme about the importance of Oida in our lives.

There is something called Eugenics philosophy. The eugenicist wants to create a human race that is the "best" race, they handled and viewed the human beings as an evolving race, then to quickly have many geniuses like Einstein, " nice " people, blue eyes, white, so then they had to study to eliminate negative influences, the Jews with the curved noses, or rather they were going to kill them to be safer. They are demoniacs. These are speculated symptoms that are allegedly showing different states of traumatized behaviors and then comes the drugs that try to invent calming drugs to relieve such symptoms. But a psychologist can not give drugs, only psychiatrists, therefore the psychologists study in a more gentle manner :

 "Hello, how are you? Bad? Come here sit on the couch we're going to find a solution, yes, yes, yes. "
Then the psychologist appears as very kind but in actuality it is the prelude to give you drugs that only a psychiatrist can give you. They all sleep under the same blanket, they are atheists using the discomfort and sadness, because the first point of discomfort is to forget that you are a spiritual soul, because you try to be happy without taking into account that you are a spiritual soul, that is wrong.

The purpose of treatment of Oida Therapy is to regain the beauty of faith, the right to have convictions, ideals. You make payments to feel repentance, thankful . One of the best therapies is to give applause to God. Appreciation through applause to God is a tremendous therapy. It's very nice to applaud while sitting, but a true applause, in the material world there is something called a standing ovation, have you heard of it? When people continue applausing and are standing.

God must be given a standing ovation and that's  through dancing and sankirtana . Then you can explain to people what is Hairnam Sankirtan, it is not just a standing ovation, but a dance in applause to God. Amazing is not it? So can you explain why we do kirtan for hours, it is nothing but an applause for God and the therapy of harinam.

In the original Oida that is how it is done: an applause for God, a standing ovation to God and songs to glorify God but overall, not even Hare Krsna kirtan, Hare Krsna kirtan is introduced rapidly at times to the people and that isn't allowed in Oida. Therefore we sing: Pachamama jaya, Pachamama jayaya, Paramapurusha jaya ... as soon as you start with Sanskrit terms everyone likes, but in Oida Therapy we start with prayers, general music, " I only ask of God" as Mercedes Sosa sings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvyl_zdji2k&list=PL74d6P6gL5a0dAPjz9riZt5Jhp9eREehd

Then you can sing a song like that. It is a therapy that awakens in people a religiosity without specifying which stream to use for worship, but because they are glorifying God, it is perfectly acceptable. That's a tremendous preaching effort.

Then the standing ovation comes and as we stand at that moment, and we can hear one of these songs and then we are no longer left standing, we begin to dance, a dancing ovation . And that is called Oida Therapy .
All this will have a major impact, and Oida therapy works with the House of Wisdom, and the House performs healing through service and Oida Therapy means doing service. Oida therapy is not passive, it is completely active! And everything that has been done is monumental, but the effect has not been seen yet, because the theme has not been completely presented, it was fragmented, until now.

We may use the familiar constellations too, " OIDA constellations therapy," which first shows how we fail God when we fail our family, someone should always represent God and should be aware of how God views situations, because He is the well -wisher of all participants, equally, it is actually a very good idea, you have to have the experience, it is a very good idea.

What happens is that a man speaks of all the issues with the woman and the woman speaks all her issues with the man, and God speaks as the transparent medium with the content of Krsna consciousness.

"First you are not the false ego, that you think you are "
" ... And that everything should be as it seems. And although it is totally wrong, you have forgotten the essence of the divine mother which your wife is a representative of, and you abused her, treated her as a sexual object, forgetting that your children are sensitive and you fight with her in front of them .... "
 Rather, it gives a devastating message, that's powerful , right? You can make special songs for that.

- God forgive me, for all the bad treatment I gave to my family, God forgive me, for the abuse of the body you gave me, God forgive me for the bad treatment of animals, God forgive me for ignoring your presence in my life, I'm sorry and I want to always have you in my memory, I can not continue to forget you anymore because you are the Lord of my life.

- God forgive me for the bad words out of my mouth, God forgive me for my diverted thoughts of your will, God forgive me for not having looked to you with hope and living influenced by the material ambition, God forgive me  for unconsciously consuming, for polluting the earth with chemicals, God forgive me for being ignorant and not worrying, for not volunteering in educating and caring for my people, for such an unconscious life, God please guide me to serve you every moment, ... God allow me to serve you in all parts, you are present in the sun and the moon and the earth that nourishes us in a wonderful way, you are in the wind and water, purifying and refreshing me. God forgive me, for every bad treatment I gave to the water, in avoiding my own realization, being engrossed in novels and politics ... worshiping you through money and being so far from you, being in ignorance.

From this you can do more than 10 songs ... even as kirtan ... and so people can repeat :
God forgive me ... I've been in gnorance, God forgive me! , I have been cruel to those around me, God forgive my ignorance to my own children, God forgive me feeding them junk food, God forgive me for being glutinous and not waking up ... God forgive me for not having prayed from the heart, God forgive me for not seeing your beauty, God forgive me for eat without thanking you, God forgive me for forgetting that you are the center, God forgive me for forgetting that only in your worship everything is resolved, God forgive me my life is yours and I have ignored.

God forgive me, I wanted to enjoy but not receive, God forgive me, for the theft I've done, you have given me all the facility to serve you, and I am left with more debt because I took from others, God forgive me for ignoring the sensitivity of others, forgive me for always putting myself in the center and hold you to blame for my suffering, God forgive me I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, God forgive me, I can not live without you , so I ask you to reveal your will,

How I can always remember your mercy ? ...

Now let's meditate on the Lord of all souls, who loves me and loves you, because we are all brothers under His mercy.

Oh Divine Mother, Mother Nature, the most wanted, because you do everything perfectly that He has put in your divine projection. Oh divine mother, you are the cause of my body, but I 've ignored and mistreated my own body and I have abused my body with bad materialistic education. Oh God forgive me, you are male and female, mother and father, my unconditional well wisher, God forgive me, I'm yours from now on, I promise I'll will follow you as you let me follow my heart by Your will.

God forgive me, my life is pure joy, because when one is depending on you then there is no regret of anything. Oh my lord I thank you, I wanna dance for your name that You have revealed to this world so we can be close to You.

Oh Sri Krsna , and Dear Radha, Oh Sri Govinda, the most beloved Srimati Radharani,
Oh Kakusarankwa, you manifest as Atisenekan, Oh Lord of the universe, You come here in female form, giving birth to your appearance and bringing the pure devotees. Your presence is always here, you're so loving, and I've been so bad, cruel and diverted... how can I obtain your forgiveness, You alone my Lord with Your infinite goodness can heal my heart ...Oh Lord of the universe, your feminine energy is like a mother without limits, who has cared for us, has come to us, even in times when we misbehaved, who has never left us .

Lord of my heart , I am very sorry and I stand before You , I kneel always thinking of you the biggest importance there is in this creation, indeed, infinite space, infinite time, are just fragments of your divine opulence, one of your smiles or care are worth more than anyone can imagine.

Your flowers are your smile, your vegetables your laugh, your water is the unlimited mercy flowing from the highest levels to feed us all. What are we before Thee?

We are nothing more than your dear children and we can remember and serve You, we can create what You want, a healthy family, a sincere community ... We can become as you wish us to become, representatives who see everyone as your children. Parents who see their family as a reexamination in their devotion to You, brothers who are after Murari to protect their sisters from being mere sex objects of a depraved industry and  so much more ...

So here we will remain for the day..

 I leave you my affection
 Jay Srila Prabhupada!
Your always well wisher,
Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti swami .

Translating Personal Abilities & Our Internal Search into Practical Positive Actions 1/5/14

Colombia Coast Conference

My dearest devotees
I send all my love from the coast of Colombia .

The theme of the Chat today is how to translate our personal abilities & our internal search into practical positive actions for the world.

With this topic in mind I would like to offer my personal appreciation to really define what it means to become a real person. Becoming real means being honest with God and with everyone else.

Truthfulness means to follow the teachings of Guru, Sadhu and Sastra and to not speculate. We must not create fantasies or illusions about philosophy. Veracity means determination to be connected daily with the Srimad Bhagavatam, because the scriptures are our medicine against hypocrisy and falsehood.

Those who fail to connect daily with the Srimad Bhagavatam do not have the opportunity to develop healthy spiritual growth process. The Srimad Bhagavatam is the guide to develop a special sensitivity to the truth.

So it is clear that the * truth * is the first element that must be considered in the process of delivering our hearts in service. Truth in sanskrit is satyam . The second element is sivam, auspiciousness. And it refers to anything that pleases Krishna, Guru and Vaishnavas. So the question arises :
How to bring auspiciousness into our lives?

Well, it all starts with determination, becoming a consistent person .
Determination should be something always present in life. We should even underline it three times to take the important need: determination, determination and determination. As a kshatriya ... they followed the principle that if they promised something three times they rather die before not keeping their word. That should be the strength of our determination.

What am I determined to do? What is the purpose of my life? The lotus feet of Sri Radha Govinda should be the goal. The lotus feet of my Gurudeva ...
" pujala raga-patha gaurava bhange"

That was a phrase that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur frequently use to say.
This meditation brings us to remember that we are servants and we must do what Sri Radha- Krishna and my Gurudeva want me to do. I will give an example:

The first time I came face to face with my Gurudeva was in Paris , in one way or another I got to his room and it was full of people and, in one way or another, I could give my obeisances to his lotus feet. And so, just as I was coming back up Srila Prabhupada looked at me and said:

"Occupy the rest of your life to give to others what I have given you ".

And so, the first sentence that he said, the first time I saw him in person, he gave me a job for life. Not just something for the next three weeks, but a task for life. And that has become the focus of my life. The object of my determination. I have nothing else to do more than that.

I was looking for a Guru and he gave me lifetime service. I am very grateful for that fact. Finding the Spiritual Master is really a profound change for life.

Therefore, determination is very important. Determination is needed to have an auspicious life in service. Thus, the first two characteristics satyam ( truthfulness) and sivam ( auspiciousness ) correspond to very high ideals, now I'm going to talk about the third, sundaram.

What does sundaram mean ? I tell you with an example:
If a candle is beautiful, then 100 candles are even more beautiful ... So the logic is : get millions of beautiful candles so that everything becomes beautiful.

That's a metaphor that teaches us that everything we do should be done to the highest maximum of beauty possible . If you want to preach about Krishna in the Internet, you have to make the best effort, attention to detail is needed. For that you have to learn to make web pages, do the designs to make it pretty, learn how everything works on the web, so you can better promote your site , etc. . . . You have to train yourself properly for it.

The beauty is directly related to the intent that is put behind things that are done. Something done with honesty and pure intent is beautiful. And we should worry that things are done beautifully, that they are well made and well maintained. The beauty has meaning, if something is not beautiful then we do not give importance to it. What is true beauty? It is the beauty of the heart. And this beauty is manifested in action. It is like a beautiful chef who feeds others only with beautiful thoughts. He has to cook with beauty (with dedication) so that others eat. It's real. And how to apply beauty in everyday life? Well let all your actions become beautiful, everything you do should be done with increased dedication. To beautify explicitly means working hard for something. Working to make it look beautiful.

Beauty : work and dedication.
Satyam, sivam and sundaram : truth , auspiciousness and beauty is Vrindavan
The land of the personification of satyam , sivam , sumdaram ... the place of Srimati Radharani. The highest truth, auspiciousness and beauty.

That is why I am very involved with maintaining Vrindavan and Yamuna clean and beautiful, because they are essentially beautiful and should not be so contaminated. I feel Vrindavan should be glorious, that the beautiful temples and the worshiping of the deity must be wonderful . That's what Srila Prabhupada taught us and that's part of my own devotion. And my Gurudeva said: Transmit to others how beautiful Krsna is... and I have devoted myself to that over the years. I really want the glories of Sri Krsna to be disseminated without boundaries and that everyone can see them and fall in love ... that is why I feel that I have to help in the search for solutions to maintain the holy places like Vrindavan and Mayapur beautiful and clean. Same with our churches and farms. They should also be an example of satyam, sivam, sundaram. To achieve the opportunity to keep ourselves guided under these three features there is a great need of patience. Patience, determination and good organization.

And how do you organize everything correctly?

The first step of good organization is observation and that is found in the brahmacari life which translates into action of performing "sravanam" or to listen, listen and listen to the instructions of our acaryas. Our Spiritual Masters descended to this world not just to entertain, they came to tell us what are the right activities to perform in life. Please do not be negligent with this message. Apply it in your lives. It is basic ... one chooses to live in preyas or sreyas.

If your actions are focused on getting an immediate result of things then one is in preyas,  you are not thinking about the future or consequences ... The events in preyas only have negative results in the future .

However, sreyas is the way of wisdom . We have to look at things. Observe, observe and observe ... learn and apply, apply, apply. Why do we learn if we will not apply what we learn? There is no need to waste your time learning something if you will not then implement it. Apply!

In the same way , in spiritual life we must see how things unfold and act under sreyas: considering the consequences that everything we do is going to bring something in the future. We must act while considering the impact of what we do. So we must act properly and that's always harder to do than doing the wrong thing .

Acting correctly requires dedication, care, and attention and that is all of a personal nature ... it applies to us and our relationships with others. Many details to take care of. It's not easy. Beautify, beautify and beautify it is not something external. It is not just about putting some lights around here and other relics there. It is internal, dedication, sacrifice ... It is the inner treasure within each of us.
Beauty is directly related to love. If you feel love than you want to do things beautifully. Or to put it in another way , when you have love for some thing then naturally it comes out beautiful .

Love makes things take significant importance and what is important we also want it to be beautiful.
That 's what we've learned from the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, the most important person, the most truthful, the most auspicious, and the most beautiful is called Krsna and He loves Radha  and she is the personification of satyam, sivam, sundaram. And Krsna is so charming that Radha, the embodiment of beauty, auspiciousness and truthfulness, loves Him more than anything in life.

And if you want to understand more about all this and want to enter into this world of perfection, beauty and love, then you have to give your heart completely. You have to surrender your existence to the most profound love. Give what is most sacred to you. Without it you will never enter the world of love. Srila Sridhar Maharaj used to call Krsna : "The wonderful wonder of all wonders " There is nothing more wonderful and amazing than Sri Krsna, He is the Supreme Beauty,  The Infinity Enchanter....
And How to link to that?

If you really want to reach the top and surrender the best of you, undoubtedly some will do. If you're not ready to give the best of yourself, you will not be able to achieve the best. It all depends on your ability to appreciate in knowing what is real and what you have to do to get the best. You can not buy Krsna in the corner store, you can not photocopy or make a pirated copy, no. You can not copy the bhakti in that manner. You must be ready to give whatever you have in the highest manner and only at that time can you understand how wonderful God is, beauty personified.

He is present at every moment, we are just not able to appreciate it. Krsna is manifested in the beauty of a flower, the beauty of a tamal tree, in the beauty of the Vaishnava.... Krsna Himself  wants you to make Him the goal of your life. That He becomes your life and soul. Then you will be able to see things that your eyes and your senses are not able to perceive.

Those are my words to you today. I thank you for reading them.
May the blessings of Srila Prabhupada fall on you in this new year.

With All my affection
Jay Srila Prabhupada!

Your always well wisher,
Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti .

One should accept their prescribed duty . From Vrinda Kunja India 11/17/13

                                              Conference from India.

Dear devotees,

The lack of clarity and love in our lives is taken to the extreme when people lose enthusiasm . We all know some of that experience to lose heart ; Like being lively one day and the next day not even wanting to get out of bed . So the sacrifice of this kartik goes hand in hand with the prayer to Krishna to always allow us to serve and to also be able to "tolerate" the devotees.

Why do I say "tolerate" ? Because, in reality, one should tolerate others. Then in the related life of devotees one has to learn to tolerate all that the materialistic mind will not let us understand . This becomes even a necessity, as the only connection we have with Krishna are the devotees and without them we can not do anything . When there are not devotees in our life, our life becomes empty , because without them we bow only to the support of our mind and thus always remain in the way of Maya.

Therefore, the association of devotees is a gift , just like any type of coexistence, it is somewhat difficult to take at times. That 's not even the fault of the devotees, they are not hard to bear, but it is the mind of oneself that cannot even stand at times itself as well as not wanting to live with others. :) . Thus, rather than endure or not endure, we must adjust to one of the basic principles of this world, that principle is fear.

Fear is the beginning and love is the solution. Why fear? Because every day we live in fear, the material world is made on the basis of fear. Fear of dying, fear of being sick, fear for something to happen. But fear may be replaced by a sense of duty. Duty is what makes one settle down and realize that you have to do things because " it's your duty " . " It is my duty to feed my children ", " It is my duty to get up early ," " I have to give Bhagavatam class ", it is a must. Keeping your body clean is a duty, observing ekadasi and glorifying Sri Krishna on holy days is a must, and singing the Holy Names is the highest duty. Having good relationships with others is also a very important duty. Imagine, we are 70 people here who have been through a full month ending today with Rasa Purnima and we have not fought at any time. That's an example that indeed one can maintain relationships with sympathy and affection constantly.

One should accept their prescribed duty joyfully. For example, the Braj Mandal Parikram with you is a great joy, but at the same time it is a must; it is something that we have had to maintain day to day : today is parikrama , beyond tomorrow somewhere else, etc. . , Etc. .

By confusion, one can reach the point of becoming bored to perform one's prescribed duty . Why? Because the mind tells me there is nothing better for me. But one should not be disturbed by the mind. So, he who really accepts the Guru, can replace the restless mind with that connection to always be planning and organizing on the basis of their prescribed duties. Because that makes the Guru the planner of the prescribed duties of individuals. He watches your life and projects your prescribed duties according to the position in which you are in: a sannyasi has a prescribed type of duty, a child has another and so each has their own prescribed duty.

For example , for a child of five years, his duty is prescibed to eat, stay clean and play, but, as the child grows and starts school and ( phew ) Now there comes the prescribedduties, everything becomes serious. Now the child must be up at a specific time, sit in the front of the teacher in the classroom, have good grades ... it is a rather bitter pill .

So if you can not be excited while performing your prescribed duties, there is another way. It is the output of attachment. The spiritual attachment. Attachment becomes love when one really takes it to heart, when it is taken seriously. What is attachment ? It is the ability to see the prescribed duty not as an obligation but as actions that can be filled with love. It makes everything easier. For example, I become attached to being with all the devotees here in Kartik, sharing every day, I can not think of the idea that we could cease to be together. I do not really like this idea, but my prescribed duty calls me to travel ... and we all have prescribed duty and the only solution is to stick to everything that has to do with that prescribed duty and do it with love. We do not even know if this will be the last time we meet. That is life, no?

Today we were in video calls with Mother Radha Tulasi Maharani, who left the body on Rasa Purnima day, something so auspicious and beautiful. She was a pujari of Their Lordships Sri Radha Vrajesvara for over 15 years. Radha Tulasi Maharani left the body in Varsana along with the devotees chanting the holy names at all times. A very wonderful Maharani who returns to the world of Krishna. I even felt jealous of such a beautiful departure. I wish I could leave the body in that way. It is a very strong experience, but also very beautiful . We all have to go through that and we will. In Krishna consciousness we know that and we are very grateful to be able to be ready to go, with full of love and zero resentment.

Resentments are like internal mice. Resentment means one blames others for things that happen, one complains of others not even understanding what is happening to oneself. So the phrase "Woe is me ," the victim's position is useless. It's worthless . We have to understand that and turn our prescribed duty into something sacred, accept our fate and all that Krishna has given us and appreciate it. Attachment to what one has to do, and with this very attachment constantly encourage yourself to improve, and bring happiness to those around you . I believe that only when one has attachment for his service one can really do things well. If one performs their prescribed duty, without attachment, then things are done half empty.

When one is attached to his service, he remains grateful. I hope that when you have any problem in life you can remember these words from this day, at the end of Kartik. And come to the conclusion within your heart that the only goal we have is to stick to Krishna, His devotees and your service, because in this attachment happiness lives. If one is not happy, then , how will you make others happy? That's a very important question. If you can not make others happy, then what is the value of what you are offering? If you do not have the predisposition or the ability to make others happy, then you have virtually guaranteed suffering.

There is much work to be done. Everywhere, in Colombia , in Chile, in each of our programs. When you lift something, when you start a service you have to work hard to maintain and adhere to the beauty of it every day ... appreciating every detail that Krsna has given us to perform.

With these words I leave you today, on this beautiful day of Rasa Purnima . I wish all of you who are charmed by the flute of Sri Krishna can fall in love with your service and all that Krishna has sent you. I send all of my affection from Vrinda Kunja on this auspicious day . Srimati Radha Tulasi Maharani  back to the spiritual world ki jay.

All the beautiful and pious devotees who are dedicated and are fighting to fall in love with their service, prescribed duties, ki jay .
Srila Prabhupada ki jay, Rasa Purnima, ki jay, Kartik vrata, ki jay, Urja vrata, ki jay, Damodara masa ki jay!


Your always well wisher,
Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti

Aggression & How to Protect Ourselves from It. 9/8/13 From Puerto Rico

                                               Conference.

My dearest devotees
All my love from Puerto Rico .
We had a few quiet days with devotees . Yesterday we went to preach to a university .

Today I want to talk about aggression and how we can protect ourselves from it. When your relationships are based on aggressiveness , you lose the ability of conviction , reasoning, and power to handle the beauty of the intellect .

People who practice aggression differ in various aspects , some of them are : raising their voice excessively and intimidating, blackmailing others, deceiving and reaching points of  physical violence threats or violence itself . This indicates that these people do not practice the fine art of thinking and reflecting , much less do they come to spirituality. Guided only by their selfish ends , they turn to different types of violence: physical , verbal and even worse. An example is the case of the military , another case is that of criminals .

The current military forces , which have no basis in love or respect of for other beings, only achieve their objectives by creating fear in others . Criminals base their actions only in violence. Another example that seems to pass unnoticed , but it is completely aggressive is the contemporary agricultural industry . This is a very popular topic these days , as people in camps are starting to realize that they are being deceived .
Where do you see the aggression in the farming industry ?

In creating suicide seeds that do not reproduce well and in patenting them, penalizing the common seed propagation that had been used since ancient times for millions of generations by creating laws that prevent rural people in claiming what it is just,  they have gotten to the point of confiscating such seeds and destroying them. It's so unjust and an aggressive act by those multinational companies that seek to control seeds and food production, and they are also pushing laws that penalize people with GM seeds in their fields, even if they got there due to wind or pollination. This creates the most diverse terrors . The famous company Monsanto recently hired a company called "black water" which is a private military organization of the planet's most feared mercenaries . Among them there is already a contract for half a million dollars to create terror of international organizations fighting against GMOs , creating discrepancies between them and using who knows what other tricks for this.

Industrial agriculture and the supposed "green revolution " has been nothing but a big lie through which they want to invade agricultural fields with chemicals that have previously been used to manufacture bombs,such as urea, for example. Thus, they have tried to control the food market of the entire planet using fertilizers that are put into to crops, in addition to imposing an unnatural monoculture system they land acquisition by dirty political deals .

At first no one realized what was happening , people thought that these multinational companies were working against world hunger, but at this point , up to the last farmer has realized the aggression against freedom behind this . The only result behind it is hunger and misery for farmers and for the rest of society. Imagine how serious the situation really is : a few people behind some international companies are trying to take over agriculture in all countries, worldwide, keeping governments bribed or threatened to keep their selfish interests . That's not healthy . That is aggressive and even demonic . Without exaggeration, we can describe these people as heartless and even having a lack of brains, with their very actions going against the interests of their own children. They are in a state of profound ignorance and need to be enlightened to save the planet from a worse disaster than what already exists. Because the current situation is bad ... only if we want to go from bad to worse we leave everything as is and keep silent. Of course not, we must do something . In the Bhagavad Gita , Krishna tells Arjuna : " Stand up and fight with the sword of knowledge " also He adds that one must act with love. That is the key to solving all these problems : to become activists against this mess, but activists backed by nonviolence and love . Because without love there is never any solution. How to become activists to all this ?

One of the things we have to learn, which is perhaps the most difficult , is to control our senses and stop using any product that has GM ingredients . There are many foods that fall into this category , we must identify and eliminate them completely, for almost all products containing grains and oils are of transgenic origin . It takes work to become an activist, but it's time to do it , to save our lives and the future of the planet. You may have certain consumerist habits and comfort and do not want change or become a radical in this respect, but the price you pay if you keep feeding yourself with transgenic then disease is assured. Simply observe just how many people are dying of cancer, who have tumors or cysts , etc. . We are surrounded and infected by all these diseases that are caused by foods full of chemicals . People lose fertility because of it and whether you want to accept it or not, this is a mess created by man.

We're totally excited about products that we believe are essential but only damage our health . Fluoride is another example of this , we were told that toothpaste should have fluoride to maintain healthy teeth, but that is another chemical that harms the body only and does not guarantee anything . Antibiotics are another example. These are only lies established by companies seeking to control people . I argue this on behalf of the Global Awareness Compact - IKWASHENDWNA and confirm that the control of the senses is the only way to run a global boycott blockade and produce real change. For just as Mahatma Gandhi proved , only through the boycott is it possible to remove a rule, it is not achieved with aggressive confrontations, but by not buying what the empire wants to sell .

Those who behave aggressively yearn to be answered by aggression and not by love or wisdom, because when they are fought with aggression, they have the excuse to become even worse. In those moments they take more terrible weapons to fight, and position themselves as victims and then they end up raising taxes to the town . It's just a windfall of the same aggressive nature they use to try to control us.

Wars are just heartless business . So we must make a commitment to inform , to become aware and act with love unconditionally. That is the goal of the Global Awareness Compact. The only defense on our part will be not buy anything from that empire that wants to crush humanity; do not invest a penny on GMOs, in dyes, monosodium glutamate and other chemicals that are in food . Only by working together and organization we can accomplish this. Celebrating always peasants and ancient cultures as they are those who maintain our healthy life. And now comes the deeper issue ...

How do we, the devotees of Lord Krishna, face the reality of Kali Yuga ?

As aspiring devotees , we must stand firm spiritually for not participating in the multinational empires aggression and encourage others in this boycott.
A devotee looking for a Higher Taste , a pleasure beyond what can be offered by the material world and a Superior Taste which is only achieved by chanting the holy name , protected by meditation on the best environmentalist in history, called Srila Prabhupada , who is surpassed only by Krishna Himself in environmental activism . As we sing the Holy Names of the Lord we will be protected , and we remain enthusiastic even in the fight against all evil of Kali Yuga.

Another important point is that we should eat only prasadam , only God's mercy in the form of food , only food offered to Krishna and this offering must be healthy, organic, clean, chemical free, GMO free and free of dirty products. Dairy that is cruelty free and no maltreatment. No chemical creams, no pasteurized cheese, no refined sugars. Krishna is not going to please with such a gift . Even I have the solution for those who have problems giving up ice cream, for them I recommend my personal recipe best ice cream in the world:
- Take some grapes , place them in the freezer and leave them there until they are hard . When fully frozen, take them out and wait a few minutes. Then put them in your mouth and let them melt smoothly :) and you'll have the best ice cream you have ever eaten before. Without any chemicals, no refined sugar, or anything like that. A true delight for children to the elderly. They have to try it and realize they no longer need to spend money on ice cream with chemical ingredients which are full of refined sugar. At first they look like a sweet nectar, but it is not more than poison to your body . Sure, frozen grapes must be offered to Sri Krishna first :) .

So my dear, hands-on, hands to nectar in spreading active awareness and environmentalist awareness to all souls. Only in this way can we be free from the pressure of rogues and demons that want to take over the entire planet and thus enslave everyone.

With these words I say goodbye for today.
It makes me happy to know that we move forward, together in heart in this fight. Guided by the love of Srila Prabhupada.
Jay Srila Prabhupada!

Your always wisher,

Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti .

Vishnu Priya Ashram From Guatemala 8/25/13

Conference.

My very dear devotees,
Accept my affection from Guatemala.
Today I want to speak of Vishnu Priya Ashram and the beautiful opportunity we all have to become Vaishnavas or vaishnavis.

The illusory condition in which we find makes us waver between good deeds and bad deeds all the time. Men can behave in positive or negative ways as well as women. Vaishnava and vaishnavi is synonymous with sainthood. A person who intends and tries to be a Vaishnava or vaishnavi is on the path of holiness. Sure, a true Vaishnava or vaishnavi never consider themselves Vaishnavas. They see themselves as  not "Vaishnava" and see all others as Vaishnavas. A true devotee should think: I'm not a Vaishnava, I'm not a vaishnavi. If I think others are not Vaishnavas, I become offensive and if I think I am a Vaishnava then I have gone crazy. That's the secret of success: seeing all others as Vaishnavas, but thinking of oneself as a Vaishnava. That is the correct Vaishnava mind, humble and respectful.

Now I want to refer specifically to vaishnavis. But I do not just mean how men should view women, but as men should see and appreciate the vaishnavis and further more, how the same devout vaishnavis should see and appreciate the other vaishnavis and Vishnupriya Ashram, the place of the vaishnavis.

The number one lesson here is:
-That all women belong to Vishnupriya Ashram, but even if a mother does not live in the Vishnupriya Ashram, she is part of it. Each devotee should engage herself in having a concrete link with Vishnu Priya Ashram. Why? Because spiritual education of women is the basis of society.

Also, something very important is that both our family and the mission of Mahaprabhu in general is full of mothers. Even if we did a count among which we are now in this room, we can see that there are more mother devotees. Imagine! This was not so in the beginning of our own Mission. Actually, the fact that more men or women is not the main point. The important thing is to understand that women are mothers, are vaishnavis and that they are the "secret weapon" of Srimati Radharani. "Secret weapon" of Srimati Radharani means that they are the best preachers and moralizing agents, that mothers can maintain the standard of Vedic culture, as the vaishnavi is also a representative of Mother Earth, they are the basis of religion.

Women are much more inclined to religion than men. As soon as a woman has a child all the potential of  protection and conservation blooms because a child is not a fad, a child means responsibility and care to minutest detail. If we get to the plane of preaching, each new soul that comes to the temple, each new bhakta is like a son to care for. And the same care that is required by the new bhaktas is also needed by the Deities, the administration of the temple, the Laksmi of Krsna, etc. Well, it all belongs to Srimati Radharani in Her service to Sri Krishna.

Those who look after the children, who are the future of society, that responsibility and care also comes from the mothers. Therefore children are born from the womb of women and not men's arms :) God knows how things are organized. The design of God is perfect, we need not correct it ... but now human nature has become so crazy that they think they can do it as well.

So think a bit and analyze the position of women:
She is the guardian by nature, cautious and steady.Therefore they are compared to the Goddess of Fortune, because they are full of qualities. Thus, a Vishnu Priya Ashram is the refuge of vaishnavis serving Srimati Radharani. They are sites of protection to women, mothers, young women. Protection of women by women. Women should be protected, but never feel independent, that is against their nature and their own psychology. So the role of men is to become guardians of the mothers and where there is no man who fulfills this role, a senior mother should give the other mothers the greatest care. In a spiritual family there is also the guru and his supporters like the sannyasis, who are the protectors of all, both men and women, however, mothers need guidance in daily life and for that there is no one better than another mother who the can protect them if there is no husband to do so.

A Vishnupriya Ashram is the site of maximum protection for women and children. Therefore, our spiritual family must be aware to always support the Vishnupriya Ashram, our daughters, sisters and mothers should never feel abandoned. The reality of the spiritual life is that we are servants and to Krishna we are all feminine in nature, Krishna is the only Purusha, and we are all Prakriti.

The temporary male or female body is just that, temporary. No matter the rank or role we have, what matters is how we develop it, because if not properly used it becomes useless. So women in our family are protected, they are never abandoned, they are not independent and yet are empowered to do all that is at their fingertips.

The Vishnupriya Ashram school is for mothers to become pure devotees, servants and protective experts of Vedic values, family and society. Several of the larger projects we are doing are headed by women in our family: the House of Wisdom, the Oidatherapy, the Spoon Revolution, the Global Awareness Compact ... most are mothers who bring the pulsing beat of these services. Therefore devotees should become qualified to become true protectors of mothers, responsible true leaders of deep religious values, otherwise, without these they will be guided only by their own mind which will seek to satisfy the senses. So men should work hard to be trustworthy people, 100 percent, and fulfill their guardianship to  mothers in all circumstances.

A devotee should strive to become a great devotee and set aside anything which is unfavorable to the development of bhakti. A devotee, just one vaishnavi is someone very powerful. So I started the Vishnupriya Ashrams, to encourage them to take leadership, to preach and to protect other mothers. Every devotee is able to establish a new Vishnupriya Ashram, making programs, preaching, etc.. A mother must recognize the validity in all that has been received and refrain from being exploited by others, not to be minimized or belittled, there in Krishna Consciousness there is magic , because you can transform the karmic qualities into the service of Lord and His devotees.

Vaishnavi Dignity in action. Mothers who have been abandoned by their husbands, single mothers, etc.. are only the symptoms of Kaliyuga and a society of irresponsible sex addicts. There should be no unprotected women and single mothers. However, all of them can find refuge in the Vishnupriya Ashram. The capacity that mothers have are wonderful and those who minimize this are fools who does not understand anything. Even in some of our churches there are mothers who are temple presidents who have done their service much better than all the devotees who came before.

The submissive nature of the mothers qualify them for such things. And that submission is very important in the spiritual process, it is the submission to the Guru and the Vaishnavas what makes someone to assume more responsibility in their service. Spiritual life without service, just does not work. The Guru can not be present in every little detail, especially when the family grows and spreads quickly, so leaders need confidence to help you make your service better and protect others. Men and women who are responsible. Thus a vaishnavi decides to abandon a life of worldly womanhood and instead of becoming a fool watching TV or running after men, or someone influenced by consumerism she decides to assume the role of a representative and protector of dharma.

My dear vaishnavas and vaishnavis, this is an invitation to a life rendered in service and backed by sincerity, a life dedicated to the service of the Lord and the Vaishnavas. So I am giving this lecture today, because I want each of you understand the importance of Vishnupriya Ashrams and become committed to supporting the protection and development of the vaishnavis. Without the Vishnupriya Ashram one can not guarantee the protection of children, or the conservation of dharmic values. And all those pious youth living in Vishnupriya Ashrams like brahmacarinis and are doing service, but also have aspirations to find a good devotee with whom they can establish a beautiful family in service to Sri Krsna, they will achieve that only with lioness preaching ... preaching and serving so selflessly and honestly.

It is the spiritual intelligence of women and the vaishnavi's qualities which allow a family to remain united and dedicated to God. The essence of our life is to serve, serve and serve and thus the Vishnupriya Ashram school teaches one to learn to serve. We must move away from the exploitative and selfish mentality that has been spread throughout the  material world of illusion and help dedicate lives to service.

Whoever worships Krishna becomes someone very special and if you do so from the bottom of your heart, all imperfections disappear soon. So we continue in appreciating the Vaishnavas and Vaishnavis who worship Krishna. From Guatemala I leave you with a special greeting with great fondness. I am very happy to see the pioneer devotees here. Preaching and pioneering is very nice. It is the best use of one's life that can be done in this human birth. When I see the work that the couple of Rupa Manohar Prabhu and Mother Parvati in Guatemala have done I get excited by seeing the power and mercy that Krishna delivers to a family dedicated in their service to Him. At the same time I am very happy that tomorrow I get back to my Datadesh prabhu, where Sri Krishna allowed me to do service over the years.

I believe that every day that I can do service it is an extraordinary gift that Srila Prabhupada has given me in life. I firmly believe that the essence of this process is to be happy with what you have and the people around you, because only when you learn to appreciate what you have and you are happy with it you can make others happy. I feel really happy in Mexico, Guatemala and am now in Colombia. Happiness is unique to each site. I ask you, my dears, do not stagger over the inconsistencies. That is the happiness I wish for all of you and it is the happiness I'm experiencing anew for approximately the last forty years.

Of course, there is also sadness in the way and certainly the highest sadness is not able to meet any of you, or worse, not even knowing how you are. Srila Prabhupada once said: "I receive too many letters, but still I feel anxious when I do not receive a letter from you" :) Imagine, Srila Prabhupada had such tenderness for each of us. With these words I say goodbye for today is my last day in Guatemala and there are many things still to be done.
I leave you with a big hug from the heart.
Srila Prabhupada ki jay!

Your always wisher,
Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti.

The Importance of Education 8/4/13 From Mallorca

* From Mallorca, a lecture on the importance of education that His Divine Grace gave in Imbabura, Ecuador, some weeks ago. *

All of us are looking for an alliance that provides us the guidance to become true guardians of Mother Earth and all its beings. By searching for answers to the questions of how to improve education, we can realize the reality in today's society is: Plagued by consumerism and materialism that only causes suffering in the people. That's where the proposal for a conscious and holistic education based on people's faith arises; for faith is the basic mechanism for consciousness to function properly. If a person's faith is misguided, so is his conscience and his actions, an example:

-For the body to live you need air, water. If the air and water are polluted, the person can not have good health, in the same way, if a person's faith is contaminated, it is impossible to have a good conscience. The air and water must be pure, must be kept protected in its natural state. Likewise faith must be protected and kept pure. We're not talking about fundamentalist impositions of religious belief, but to appreciate the glorious and beautiful lessons that we have received, for it is only through appreciation that we feel the natural enthusiasm to become good citizens, responsible persons, guardians of those who surround us.

All this must be considered in the basics of education of the people. And when the system fails at some level we must stop and analyze what these failures correspond to and  cleanse or "purge" these failures. For this, the Oida therapy has worked in "purging of ill consciousness" which are tests that people can do in order to decontaminate faith or remove the distortions of faith. Such distortions of faith also physically manifest themselves in stress, which is the result of a unhealthy competitive mind. That competitive mindset is not healthy nor does it promote the welfare of all. But if we apply universal values ​​seeking the benefit of all beings, one can begin to correct all errors that the neo-colonialist system has permeated into society.

Here is a very important issue. Someone might ask:
 How can we measure faith?

-It's very simple, you just have to assess your happiness and that of those around you. The happiness of the people in your environment means: The happiness that you produce for the people who are around you. The basis of our analysis is an essential way to improve education now and in the future. Personally, I'm just a humble pilgrim, but I've been linked to education in different ways over the past 40 years.

Speaking of education does not only refer to young children in schools. While that is the basis for being responsible in the future, we must think about educating children today. Education also applies to the different stages of life, especially in a society like ours where we can see the lack of education in fundamental and universal values.

The term "educator" is therefore not only the profile of a school teacher, history, geography, etc.. But a teacher who is able to guide others in learning to be complete. The educator is someone very important. Teachers should be of the highest level of spiritual and emotional balance, being harmonious and consistent people.

The term "spirituality" is very broad and it is important to clarify. It refers to an understanding of the environment and the interaction of the environment, which is free of materialism and where a spiritual model applicably meets life in a harmonious, conscious, creative and constructive manner, which is carried by the appreciation one has for everything in their life.

The term "appreciate" is based on the principle of having the capacity to see and appreciate all that is surrounding oneself and receive the beauty that pervades everything: The river, the waterfall, the mountains, all that nourishes us with inner values.

A "guardian" is a spiritual being away from the materialistic concept of life, who is interested in everything around him and appreciates all and not just that, but who works to protect it all: protecting people from the lack of awareness and to educate them about protecting the planet from the impact of all the damages that are caused to Mother Earth today: Chemicals, GMO, exploitation, trash, ruthless killing of animals, etc..

Education in this profound educational model is based on the observation of the great and generous phenomenon that we have received and it is through having a connection in faith with the Infinite.

We have a connection through the physical realm through the air, as we discussed in the beginning, how important is air? It allows us to have a connection with life, just as the same happens with water, the earth ... basic elements of physical life. Just as the air is essential for physical life, faith is essential to the development of consciousness.

-Without faith it is impossible to walk, without faith a baby cannot be fed from the mother's breast., I can not learn without faith, without faith I can not accept responsibility ...
Even people who say they do not have faith, they have faith that they have none. It's just a mental mechanism nothing more, faith is the tool that allows you to connect both the relative, the rational, and that which is essential.

The rational consciousness, emotional, and spiritual, corresponds to the three areas that makes a person complete and become aware. A teacher or teachers who do not develop these three aspects can not fully educate others. A teacher who does not have a good moral conduct, which goes hand in hand with the universal values ​​can not be called an educator. Someone who only focuses on material achievements, in selfishness, money, etc.. can not encourage others in the joy, the hope, the confidence, the spirit of sacrifice, etc..

Education is a new paradigm which proposes to deal with faith in the same way that we deal with air and water ... What does this mean? -That water and air are vital, and must be kept pure, for contaminated water and air can kill a person. Therefore we use water purifiers or air purifiers. Do we not? Then, in the same way that we ensure that the air and water remain clean, we must work so that our faith is pure, clean of the materialistic influences.

There are many variations in contaminated faith: Faith distorted, misdirected faith, etc.. but nevertheless we cannot say that faith is bad. Just as we cannot say that air is bad because in a city it has been contaminated. The air is pure in nature, but man has been responsible for its contamination. Faith by nature is also pure.

The possibility of making a quantum leap from matter to spirit is through faith. We're talking about basic faith: in the male or female divinity, on Mother Earth (or Pachamama, Mother Bhumi), in the wisdom of our ancestors, the Faith education is a response to three streams:

1. - A secular education which was born in submission to the materialistic and consumerist system.

2. - At fascist fundamentalism that imposed an ideology of fear, where people are not able to think or create because they must adapt to a specific model.

3. - The educational sectarianism and the religiousness posed: My concept of God is the best of all and those who follow him are saved or go to heaven and those who do not go to hell.

This is an approach that divides all to such an extent that people have decided to live without religion, to the point of denying even faith, regardless of how essential it is for the development of consciousness, beyond any religion .

Humanity needs to find this new paradigm of purification of faith, so it is not fanatical, not sectarian, a non-institutionalized concept of power ... a faith that brings appreciativeness of the results. As Jesus said, "The tree is known by its fruits", in the same way we must think:
 What fruits do we want to bring and teach to humanity?
 What should be the goals of a healthy education, a healthy faith?

-The basic purpose of a person's interaction with others and their environment are: Act in the same way that you want others to act with you. Do not do to others what you would not like done to you. The educator must be able to deliver to others all the wisdom he has received in the same way that someone would teach them. This is a point that does not exist in the interests of a fascist education, as an educator or teacher in a fascist line should refer only to teaching a curriculum that has been received in advance which is full of faults and critical errors.

A single employee is not an educator. A true teacher is a servant of truth, love, law, spirituality, free from contamination. For this, we have the right to question, analyze, understand ... if we do not have that right, then we are only part of a system that is unable to satisfy ourselves as a human society  and who have to follow paradigms that are not fulfilling but are required (consciously or unconsciously) to be practiced, and now comes the errors:

'People are intoxicated, they become indifferent, lazy, criminals ... etc. We need to educate people in happiness, to realize that all members can be valuable to the world so that our children can leave school full of positive expectations, so they are cheerful, enthusiastic, grateful, motivated to help those who have been fallen, to support the afflicted ... to make everyone feel real and useful as members of society. There, the Education opens a new subject: Appreciation of Universal Love, or rather: Appreciation of all the beauty that exists. Educate them with love and not fear, so that people can appreciate the incredible gift we have received with this human life.

The Indian sages say brahma athāto jijnasa. "That this human form of life should be led to inquire about the knowledge of the Infinite and thus, love for everyone else." In the theistic concept is said because of the love of God, the person loves everything that is inseparably a part of God's creation ... however, on the contrary, people try to appreciate and love each person individually, and this can only generate exclusivity and limiting concepts, competence and separation. There is no appreciation that we are a great universal family, let alone is there talk about identification with the problems of others.

Faith education promotes growth and advancement, but never harms others.
The growth and advancement of a person based on the suffering of others (whether they be human, animal or the environment) is part of a selfish concept where nothing matters more than material achievements of a few. We deeply understand the main point of education: The responsibility of each one of the people for the welfare of humanity. How can we educate others on this responsibility? On based teachings such as the "natural law of action and reaction": That every action of a person has an equal and opposite reaction.

The accountability to our actions and reactions is critical. If someone commits a bad action, naturally there is a reaction coming from that very action which will have similar characteristics.

So when a person is educated on the concepts of unfair competition, who is opportunistic and ignorant of the law of action and reaction, the result is loss of common values ​​and happiness of oneself. The goal of each competition is increasing the positive virtues of the people. Vying for the cleanest, the kindest, the protection of animals, that which promote healthy values the most ​​...

The children are so enthusiastic and capable that automatically they can be involved in healthy competitions where they feel like a responsible party in benefiting society. Today's society is in great danger from all the chemicals that are poured into the mother earth after unfair competition, materialistic and selfish needs. Only education and the development of consciousness on these issues can save us from the reactions that are coming for the damage to our Mother Nature.

it is never too late to start changing the future, the base is in education which allows us to reclaim faith in its pure state. Everything is in our hands.
I appreciate the participation of all of you today, I hope you feel a part of this great task of promoting education in faith for the people.
Jay Srila Prabhupada.

Your always well wisher,

Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti