50 years of Srila Prabhupada. From Guatemala. 9/27/15

Srila Prabhupada ki Jay !!!

Today is a special day because we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada in the West. Srila Prabhupada gave us a wonderful gift and we can multiply it. Srila Prabhupada planted the seed of Bhakti, he gave us this gift. This seed is still present and is being replanted in different parts, so that we can continue to care and multiply, it is not enough just to sow the seed we must also take care of it and water it to finally reap the benefits and so we can give our respective offering to Srila Prabhupada.

We are fortunate recipients of these seeds that were planted in our hearts. Through this manner we came into contact with the transcendental as they were planted by the original sower. I'm referring  to the seed planted by Srila Prabhupada, the seed of Bhakti. This began with great devotion, the devotion of Srila Prabhupada himself, and he came to New York and started it all.

Srila Prabhupada wrote some songs when he came to Boston in the Jaladhuta, they are very beautiful songs:

"I emphatically say to you, O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa only when Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī becomes pleased with you."

"Oh Krsna, in truth I tell you: Radharani will give you Her grace, when my Guru is pleased, this I certainly declare."

This is something very pure. Who has such pure appreciation/judgment? Radharani will give grace when my Guru will be pleased ... and when will my Guru become happy ??? That is very difficult, after all the representative of Radharani, Prabhupada said; My Guru sent me to the West and if he is the representative of my Guru then Krishna help me to please Radharani, if you want to deal with Raharani then ignore my prayers, and to know how to please Radharani is our goal, this is the correct meaning.

"Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, who is very dear to Lord Gaurāṅga, the son of mother Śacī, is unparalleled in his service to the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He is that great saintly spiritual master who bestows intense devotion to Kṛṣṇa at different places throughout the world."

By his strong desire, the holy name of Lord Gaurāṅga will spread throughout all the countries of the Western world. In all the cities, towns, and villages on the earth, from all the oceans, seas, rivers, and streams, everyone will chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.

Now Prabhupada is telling the story of how he came to share Krsna with the world ...

"As the vast mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu conquers all directions, a flood of transcendental ecstasy will certainly cover the land. When all the sinful, miserable living entities become happy, the Vaiṣṇavas' desire is then fulfilled."

"Although my Guru Mahārāja ordered me to accomplish this mission, I am not worthy or fit to do it. I am very fallen and insignificant. Therefore, O Lord, now I am begging for Your mercy so that I may become worthy, for You are the wisest and most experienced of all."

"If You bestow Your power, by serving the spiritual master one attains the Absolute Truth-one's life becomes successful. If that service is obtained, then one becomes happy and gets Your association due to good fortune."

"My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the general populace. But Your servant Nārada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my first duty is to serve him. How could I leave his service?"

"O Lord Kṛṣṇa, You are my eternal companion. Forgetting You, I have suffered the kicks of māyā birth after birth. If today the chance to meet You occurs again, then I will surely be able to rejoin You."

Srila Prabhupada says I want to be with my Lord. ..

"O dear friend, in Your company I will experience great joy once again. In the early morning I will wander about the cowherd pastures and fields. Running and frolicking in the many forests of Vraja, I will roll on the ground in spiritual ecstasy. Oh when will that day be mine?"

This verse of Prabhupada speaks to some devotees that he is a very close devotee of Radharani, he did so much service in Raman Reti, where wonderful things happen in Vrindavan, servant of Radharani, particularity of the school in Sri Vrindavan Dham.

"Today that remembrance of You came to me in a very nice way. Because I have a great longing I called to You. I am Your eternal servant and therefore I desire Your association so much. O Lord Kṛṣṇa, except for You there is no other means of success."

Thus, following the men fell into a dark pit, by associating with so many material desires, but Narada saved me to make me his disciple, therefore, how can I move away from your service?

Srila Prabhupada tells a beautiful story ... the second song that continues in this way of thinking which was also written on the Jaladhuta ...

My dear Lord Krsna, You are so kind upon this useless soul,
but I do not know why You have brought me here.
Now You can do whatever You like with me.

But I guess You have some business here,
otherwise why would You bring me to this terrible place?

Most of the population here is covered by the material modes of ignorance and passion.
Absorbed in material life, they think themselves very happy and satisfied,
and therefore they have no taste for the transcendental message of Vasudeva.
 I do not know how they will be able to understand it.

But I know Your causeless mercy can make everything possible
because You are the most expert mystic.

How will they understand the mellows of devotional service?
O Lord, I am simply praying for Your mercy
so that I will be able to convince them about Your message.

All living entities have become under the control
of the illusory energy by Your will, and therefore,
if You like, by Your will
they can also be released from the clutches of illusion.

 I wish that You may deliver them.
Therefore if You so desire their deliverance,
then only will they be able to understand Your message.

The words of Srimad−Bhagavatam are Your incarnation,
and if a sober person repeatedly receives it
with submissive aural reception,
then he will be able to understand Your message.

It is said in the Srimad−Bhagavatam (1.2.17−21):
"Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted. By regular attendance in classes on the Bhagavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact. As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature's modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy. Thus established in the mode of unalloyed goodness, the man whose mind has been enlivened by contact with devotional service to the Lord gains positive scientific knowledge of the Personality of Godhead in the stage of liberation from all material association. Thus the knot in the heart is pierced, and all misgivings are cut to pieces. The chain of fruitive actions is terminated when one sees the self as master."

He will become liberated
from the influence of the modes of ignorance and passion
and thus all inauspicious things accumulated
in the core of the heart will disappear.

How will I make them understand this message of Krsna consciousness?
I am very unfortunate, unqualified and the most fallen.
Therefore I am seeking Your benediction
so that I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own.

 Somehow or other, O Lord, You have brought me here to speak about You.
Now, my Lord, it is up to You
to make me a success or failure as You like.

 O spiritual master of all the worlds! I can simply repeat Your message,
so if You like You can make my power of speaking suitable for their understanding.

Only by Your causeless mercy will my words become pure.
I am sure that when this transcendental message penetrates their hearts
they will certainly feel engladdened and
thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life

 O Lord, I am just like a puppet in Your hands.
So if You have brought me here to dance,
then make me dance, make me dance,
O Lord, make me dance as You like.

Jay Nimai! Jay Nitai! those songs are the heart of Srila Prabhupada and you will get that which he himself communicated.

Now, how about this general Srila Prabhupada? You do not imagine that you are a beggar of love, he is a beggar Radharani and Mahaprabhu, he told us more and more, double, double, triple, triple, quadruple and quadruple, a million and a million.

Srila Prabhupada was always on top of things, preaching and he always had the power of a humble beggar, of course preaching something you could only understand through the particularity of this appeal, to make us essentially Krishna's devotees and this is only by the grace of Srila Prabhupada and so we continue to preach.

Another 50 years are on its way and then we can come celebrate 100 years of Srila Prabhupada in the West, that is why it is a very nice celebration and that is why we have received it very well, celebrate, celebrate .. The Sunday of celebration, celebration of love, this is what I wanted to say in a few words. Amen to Srila Prabhupada, encourage people in the path of Srila Prabhupada, this is a unique opportunity.

Your always well-wisher
Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti

Dedication is the Key. 6/29/14. Spain.

Conference.

Dear devotees
Receive all my affection from Spain. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Ratha Yatra, ki jay.

Today Lord Jagannath goes to distribute His mercy to everyone.
Even those who are not considered fit to receive His darshan, that mercy is given to them today. And thanks to Lord Jagannath who sent Srila Prabhupada, we in the West could also receive that mercy. Srila Prabhupada was able to establish the Ratha Yatras throughout the world.

Festivals of Universal Love. And today, in our spiritual family, we also have them and they have become real festivals of joy and art for God. Thanks to the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and the Supreme Lord, service possibilities are growing in our family. That's the life of the devotee, to serve. I deeply and wholeheartedly thank all those devotees who are giving all their love and dedication to the vrinda family.

Everything in the life of the devotee depends on the love that he gives to others. A devotee is not grumpy nor unhappy. A devotee is totally loving. Anger is an atheistic quality. Sometimes anger is pedagogical. For example a parent has to show some anger at the bad things you do to educate the child. Mahaprabhu also showed anger in some of His lilas to instruct His devotees. But I do not mean this kind of "educational anger," but the self-absorbed and selfish mode of anger. That's not natural for a devotee. The devotee is naturally affectionate and expresses their love in every moment, to all beings and in all services performed.

To grow and advance one needs to learn what unconditional kindness is. To grow you must be nice. Not just kind to some, but kind to all. The affection of the heart is the only thing that will allow us to serve. And indeed, our life and soul, our main motivation is service. We have no other reason to exist than to be engaged in service. Service, service, service. And what is service? Helping others, appreciating others, being useful to others.

Service implies staying motivated, healthy and happy to continue serving. Because life, after all, is not to relax. If you are a farmer and your job is to plant and harvest the field, then you need to get up early, you work with effort and dedication, sometimes even under the sun and heat, sometimes enduring the cold or rain. You have to learn to be patient and wait for the propitious times for planting and picking. If you are a lazy farmer it is unlikely that you will produce good crops. Everything depends on the dedication with which things are done. You must realize the great responsibility that it takes to become a cultivator of your spiritual life. The grand responsibility to cultivate your service. Because you have received a great gift from God, the service given to you by your spiritual master. So it is very important that each of you find an area in which you want to dedicate and fight in order to grow. And therefore extending your arms to the spiritual community and to all the possibility of serving them..

Being present and saying, 'I'm here, I'm willing to work on what is needed for the good of all.' All souls who cross your path have been put there by God for the purpose of teaching you to love. Do not take it as unimportant. Do not take it lightly. Serving those souls means to serve Krishna ...

Just as a child is the ability that God gives to parents to teach them how to love and serve, similarly, all the people God puts in our path have such a value. Only by planting the values ​​of love in our spiritual life can we flourish and grow. But that mentality is very lacking in today's society. Completely absent. The world teaches us to enjoy alone and without love. To have sex without thinking of children. To exploit others without caring whether they are good or not, but if we give away love and we remain in the association of devotees and our spiritual family, then we are protected.

I want to emphasize the importance of the people that Krishna has put in our way. They are our companions. Relationships should be sacred. Krishna gives us holy people. I feel enriched and indebted to the presence of each of you. Despite that, we have not been able to spend much time together or  we only see each other once a year when there is a big mela or when I visit your country, but still I feel that you have the ability to do a wonderful service and offer it to the Lotus Feet of Srila Prabhupada. That comforts me. So I ask you to become leaders in your service area. Commit to it. Develop responsibilities. And put forth the effort. Never stop striving in your service. Because when you stop trying complacency comes and everything loses its magic. The importance is bringing love to every place.

Man must be carrying the seed of love. Please take care of it and sow it into the hearts of all, so that they flourish in bhakti. And for that we have a variety of areas for preaching: We have Vaishnava Academies, the UDSA, Eco Yoga Villages, Yoga Monasteries ... Because the devotees of Krishna are the servants of humanity. They are the guardians of the seed of love and the same seeds that Mother Nature gives us. They are the guardians of proper consciousness and are responsible for engaging human society in the service of God. Srila Prabhupada taught us the importance of simple living and high thinking. So fur us to be able to serve in such a way, Krishna is giving us everything we need.

Therefore we just need to put all our skillfulness, enthusiasm and great clarity in the process. And we always keep chanting the holy name of the Lord and beg for mercy. Thereby allowing us to expand our awareness that we are guardians and servants.

What the Lord has given us is pure mercy, it is completely independent of our work. It's not something that we have produced. I know devotees have worked hard and I deeply appreciate your help and service, but I know it has not been by individual efforts and powers alone that this family has managed to do something... It is only by mercy. Well, as the saying goes: "Krishna Consciousness expands despite us" Despite our unconsciousness, despite our impurities, despite our indifferences, despite our lack of affection ... Yet Krishna Consciousness expands. All I have received are gifts from Krishna and the master plan behind it all is controlled by Krishna.

The master plan is based on what Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said: "pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nām" That everyone chanting the holy names of the Lord will listen. Although everything is controlled by Krishna, like He tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita: "it is up to you to carry out your duty for your own growth." In other words, we are not the controllers, hopefully we can make a plan ... but, either way, we have to comply with what we need to do and appreciate how Krishna manifests in our lives. One must become an instrument, nothing more. A complete instrument. An instrument of a service that does not bring sole profit to us. And not just to our community.

We are serving all of humanity. Without seeking personal gain. Our task is to spread the Eternal Divine Consciousness to all conditioned souls in the material world. This human form of life is meant for God. Destined for God. That's what I wanted to share with you today. We are here to do good, not to waste it. So, when we come out of this world we've done something good and not just wasted our life that will only force us to come back again to this world of suffering. So we have to preach and preach ...

We have to become serious and strive with joy. Never lose joy and affection. I wish that you all become happy and loving devotees and all that you do is filled with love for others.
Jay Srila Prabhupada!

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

Give the Happiness You Receive in Krsna Consciousness 4/13/14 Berlin

Dear devotees,
All my love from Germany Yatra .

Back to Their Lordships Gaura Gandharvika Sundaram. It's nice to get to a temple and see the effort devotees put into serving. Maintain an atmosphere of loving and dedicated service. How difficult in these times and in this era! But it is possible by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. He was and is who encourages our enthusiasm. And sometimes drawbacks arrive but they are little compared to the amount of mercy that we receive.

You have to understand the essence to capture the spiritual beauty in everything. For example when a Arati is done you can express your joy of singing and exist for Krishna with your body, voice, and smile. The joy in this world is artificial, difficulty is joy, rather it is a confirmation that what you are searching for is joy.You can find joy in Krishna consciousness.

If  you still have not experienced happiness in devotional activity it is because you have not devoted sufficient effort to deserve it. It's in the way of your efforts. There are people who work hard for their enjoyment without Krishna. The devotee strives in the same manner but more so for the enjoyment of Krishna. If you see such dedication from anyone to achieve something in this world, that is thanks to Krishna who also gives you the ability and intelligence to do it. Imagine, what Krishna could not give to His devotee? In the Bhagavad Gita (9.22) the Lord says:

ananyāś cintayanto māṁ

ye janāḥ paryupāsate

teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ

yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham

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

- Srila Prabhupada says in the purport :

One who is unable to live for a moment without Krsna Consciousness cannot but think of Krsna twenty-four hours, being engaged in devotional service by hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, rendering other services, cultivating friendship and surrendering fully to the Lord. Such activities are all auspicious and full of spiritual potencies; indeed, they make the devotee perfect in self-realization. Then his only desire is to achieve the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called yoga. By the mercy of the Lord, such a devotee never comes back to this material condition of life.Ksema refers to the merciful protection of the Lord. The Lord helps the devotee to achieve Krsna consciousness by yoga, and when he becomes fully Krsna conscious the Lord protects him from falling down to a miserable conditioned life.

By the mercy of the Lord, such a devotee never comes back to this material condition of life. The word ksema refers to the merciful protection of the Lord. The Lord helps the devotee to acquire Krishna consciousness through yoga, and when the devotee becomes fully Krsna conscious the Lord protects him from falling into a bleak conditioned life.

Srila Prabhupada ki jay, Srila Prabhupada explained that devotees could chant Hare Krishna and distribute transcendental books, and Krishna would take care of the rest. No one is more valuable in this world than one who knows the transcendental science and helps others. His work is more important than a doctor, engineer or judge. Smart people who understand this are inspired by Krishna in the heart to support the preaching of the transcendental science and so, they also benefit greatly.

Devotees are not very interested in accumulating material things, but the little that they need is always enough. The devotee wants to accumulate nectar. A kirtan is a nectar. If you are very lucky your kirtan can be led by Gurudeva Atulananda, kirtan does not end there, it is a kirtan until you become unconscious. Gurudeva's Kirtan jumping is revolutionary and that is that he has more than 60 years, and how he jumped at 20, I do not know how. And at 60 he still makes such a revolutionary jump, leaving the youth on a mental plane.

Sada kirtaniyah harih  uaauuu ! And at the end of the kirtan you do Prema- Dhvani to remember all the sacred places and important people in your life. Wow. All of this is amazing and gives much joy to the heart. Remembering all the great teachers who fought to build a large family. Meditate on pure devotees. Pray from the heart, "when will be the day that I can do something valuable for them?"

I know different styles of Prema- Dhvani, for instance when Srila BB Bodhayan Maharaj recites Prema Dhvani takes a tour of all the holy sites of Puri Dham, Mayapur Dham, and Vrindavan Dham, he does not even miss a corner.

Another very special one are those of Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj, who is now in his Samadhi in meditation. We all pray every day for your health: Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj, God willing stay with us. Stay or go, what Krishna wants, now he is silent, bur when he spoke Prema- Dhvani was very slow, deep, lasted like 5 times longer than any other, straight out of his heart.

After all, what is the life of a devotee? Remembering Krishna, remembering devotees.
I'm always in a hurry, I do Prema- Dhvani very fast, they are different points of view, we are the group of administrators, we are always in a hurry. Come on , let's Sankirtan!

In India there are people who take half an hour to put on Tilak, I have at most 30 seconds.

In India, they put on tilaka with a mirror, it's very nice, it's a whole meditation. Krishna consciousness is a process of details. All is in the details, and perfection is when your details are perfected. Then the modalities that exist in devotional service are also realizations. Then there are different situations according to time, place and circumstance. Preaching and living in India is totally different than preaching and living in the West, truly a difference of day and night. The two situations are good, they are just totally different. You have to understand that in the spiritual life we must have the flexibility to understand individual differences. If you think that everything has to be as you like it, no, it's not like that at all. Everything that has to do with Sri Krishna is special. When we meditate on the essence everything is special.

Another example is when we offer our obeisances to the devotees. In the morning, after the program, after reciting their mantras, 20 people offer obeisances to you. That does not happen at work, in college, or in the government. Nobody ever gives you respect and obeisances. Devotees revere one another because they are a devotee of the Lord and are full of compassion for the fallen souls and they can satisfy the desires of all living entities, therefore people want to offer their obeisances.

Nobody says Vanca kalpatarubhyas ca with a superficial intention or as an automatic thing. No, it is like this: Prabhus, Please accept my most humble obeisances and let me offer my obeisances to your lotus feet. Out of the depths of my heart directly up to the spiritual world.

So the next step is conference day, now comes the majority of the day. Starting with Dhruva Maharaj: Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya . Go play your games! No? Narada muni proposed to Dhruva, go play! And Dhruva said, if you want I will give you my toys, I'm looking for God, if you want to help, then help, but if not then leave me alone, I'm looking for God, a very important job. Narada Muni was surprised by the detachment of the child, who wanted to give up his toys.

So that is how we begin the class of Srimad Bhagavatam: Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya and then there is the message. The message of the Bhagavatam is always strong.

It's amazing how a person could write 18000 strong verses! It is a very special talent, and not only that, each of the lines is strong, full of hope, of information of the spiritual world, the identity of the Jiva. Amazing! I'm reading for more than 45 years and I am still amazed. So then ends the class, and here comes the worst austerity, now we have to recite a mantra called sarira avidya - jal. Even those who are the most lazy come out of their little holes, and they join enthusiastically to honor this yajna. Everyone, brightly eyed, sing. They are the Prasada fans! There they are queuing. So, Krishna grabs us from the front, from behind. If we like the life of a monk or if we like married life then He grabs us but He grabs us from somewhere, we can not escape it! And one of the nicest things about Prasada is that we get to speak with the devotees. And after that, your responsibility, your Dharma and the Dharmas of all devotees are wonderful, including cleaning the bathroom . If you have the proper vision, cleaning the bathroom of the Vaisnavas, you have a very great privilege, if you have the vision, if you understand these things as they are.

Then life of the devotee is full of everyday joys, challenges. To go out preaching one has to be strengthened to deliver His message with much vehemence. If I do not speak well and everyone falls asleep in the classroom, what frustration! It must be delivered with a good vocabulary, beginning with a conducting thread from the beginning to the end of the conference, all mental configuration.

The joy of spiritual life has no limits, it's amazing. But the most beautiful thing is to see the lotus faces of the devotees when they smile, of course! Sometimes they have long faces, but it's not that normal. The devotee is normally very open, smilingly saying: welcome to my heart. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said, "The mission of my life is to build a temple in everyone's heart."
A temple! Just imagine that, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Takura came to build a temple in your heart, please smile! Because if you smile the temple is open , but smiles the temple is closed.

My guru built a temple in my heart but I make sure that it does not remain closed. Therefore, devotees have to always carry Prasada because in a temple there is always prasada. Imagine, you go to the temple and someone says to you, " Prabhu, today and tomorrow there will be no prasada, they are doing yogic austerities for 10 days and are only serving prana, sit in the temple, take a deep breath to get your dose of prana. . . " I do not know how many would put up with that for a week or so, after 3 days they will say, 'I 'm going on to another mission, this one performs too many austerities .

Everything is controlled by the Supreme Lord . Everything, absolutely everything . The Lord is great. The gift he gave to all of you, to me, is a thing of another world, the world of love. Because temples are the world of love and the devotees living in the temples are full of love. So, on with the love! Prabhupada 's love , the love of Krishna ki jay! , His temple ki jay, Vrinda Sannyasis ki jay, All sannyasis ki jay, All grihastas ki jay. All brahmacaris ki jay, All vishnupriyas ki jay. The Editorial Seva ki jay . All projects to serve the world ki jay. Everything the devotees do to promote awareness ki jay.
By the way, do you use what the devotees produce? This is an important question to ask every day. Are we supporting the efforts of the devotees? Are we consuming their products? Are we in solidarity with our brothers?

It is a commitment to promote the products that the devotees make. This does not take us out of our thread today. Quite the contrary. The essence is to promote all that gives joy and all everything the devotees do is with that ideal. Joy, increase joy. We are glad that SEVA printed a new book out, now we have to distribute it. We are glad that the temple produces prasadam bread, we have to take it to all places. If devotees make soaps like Spoon in Colombia or Brazil or in Antofa mother kunja and the many products out there, please support them. It is our family who makes them. Solidarity among devotees is always important. Your main task is to find joy in Krishna consciousness and give it to others.

You have to let me help you find a situation where you will want to fight to the end of your days. It is a responsibility of the spiritual master to occupy his children in a service where they can be very satisfied.

Maya? Very tricky, right? Maya sets up so many silly traps. It's easy for people to fall into the traps of maya, then we have to fight hard in union. The spiritual master is responsible to engage everyone in Krishna's service, it is important that you have a service which you can work on from morning to night, and hardly stop to eat because you identify yourself so much with that service.

Then do not lose your focus. The essence is to give what you get. And the more details in spiritual life you have the more joy you will have, then you have more to deliver. And that's sankirtan, solidarity. I do not want anything less for you and your soul either. And the souls in this world they do not want anything less.

This is my message for today . I wish much success to your heart and joy in Krishna Consciousness.
Srila Prabhupada ki jay .

Your always well wisher,

B. A. Swami Paramadvaiti .

The importance of spiritual assessment. Sao Paulo 03/30/2014

                                                           From Brazil .

My dear devotees .
Receive all my affection today .

I want to share a few words with you about the importance of spiritual assessment.

I am very happy because the Lord let me go back to Brazil . I first came to this country 38 years ago, also on a flight from Caracas to Sao Paulo. The same destination, the same trip. Thirty eight years ago I came to Brazil, a world completely unknown to me. Of course, the world of the divine plans of Krishna are always very difficult to understand. Until yesterday I did not know that Krishna also worked with TAM airlines and that cancellations are done without authorization and in secret :)

The day when I arrived at Caracas airport to travel to Brazil I was looking for the TAM airline to embark, but it was nowhere to be seen, nobody knew anything and I was worried, thinking, "how is it possible, I have a flight? " And after 2 hours of research I found out that my flight had been canceled two months ago, without any warning. Well, then I thought : What am I doing here? I was worried and did not have the slightest idea what was going on, I knew that Brazil had an organized program at the Aclimacao park. I thought, "What am I going to do now? " But it was dark at the airport in Caracas. I was even a little angry because they had not confirmed the flight. You're always looking for a culprit, you never think that it is you who is at fault, rather one thinks that you are innocent and the others are bad. Anyways I accepted and thought, " Krishna, it is what You want" then, after two hours I was told I could travel the next day.

At some point I thought they were going to cancel everything and I had to stay in Caracas, but eventually it resulted in just another day in the city. I did not know, but the next day there was a meeting of more than 100,000 people who were making ​​a statement to protect Mother Nature. I had forgotten about this, but since we were there we participate in the event and in fact it was a very important meeting. Practically the most important day of the existence of our movement in Venezuela, which ended with a meeting between the President of the country, the Cabinet Ministers of the Government and the devotees. If I had known that this would happen, I would have canceled the previous flight myself, but Krishna did. Krishna does everything, He even worries about irregularities. I was told that we were invited to participate in this event, but I did not know that the government and the independent groups would also be present. It was a very important meeting.

The next day I was suppose to travel and so I returned to the airport and everything was normal again, TAM existed. I wanted to share this because it was totally a plan of Krishna. From the beginning to the end. Flight canceled alongside a disappeared airline to public relations with the Government of Venezuela. Only God knows how he will use us.  Venezuela is the first government that openly declared it self as an environmentalist country, therefore our responsibility to that is done by the  Spoon Revolution and the World Conscious Pact.

Many things happened that day, a rally with 100,000 people, 5 hours of very auspicious harinaza. We were very well received by all of them, they could not believe what we were doing. Everyone carried signs of protest, but nobody had music, just us. That is the gift of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who always makes things better. Behind us was a large group of 500 people with slogans, they at one point got tired and came to me and said, " You go, you sing and all of us will also sing" So we did a kirtan with 500 voices. It was great, it was the first time I sang, but they did very well. That is the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

When we make a fair comparison of the things that the world offers, we realize that the overall situation is always the same: aggression, violence and sadness.

Working in the mail: sad,
Working in the military: sad,
Working in Government: sad,
Working in trade selling things to the capitalists: very sad
Working in a factory making shoes: very sad.

So honestly, most people are unhappy with their work, but they have no choice. They have to do that to eat ... but the result of all this is that the world remains sad, no dancing, no singing, no smiles. In the Quran God says he who make others smile goes to Heaven. Do you understand?

It is an interesting topic because almost no one is smiling because no one has a reason to smile. When they get home  they only fight with their wife or husband. No smile. When they see their children they do not smile. It's really very sad. But thankfully, the other side is Krishna Consciousness, where devotees rise early for mangal arati to dance and sing. Early in the morning they take a bath, come into contact with water who is Krishna Himself, a luxury. They cleanse themselves from their dream, fantastic. Then they put clean clothes, another luxury .

Devotees wear clean clothes every day, that's a real treat. Think of the farmers, for example, they never have clean clothes, they have to use the same clothes forever. Then the devotees sacredly decorate their body with tilaka. A devotee has time to consecrate his body. Another luxury. "Om Kesavaya namah Om Narayanaya namah ..." So, every step you are remembering how God is protecting your body, that is beauty! Another luxury.

So mangal arati begins and the devotee receives the darshan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is not just a luxury. That's the greatest causeless mercy. At 5 am, every day, you can have an audience with God Himself!

Normally it is not very easy to get an audience with the governor of the city . No one is going to say " I'll see him tomorrow " ... you may never get to see him that way. However, when one goes to mangal arati one receives mercy daily... I do not understand very well as there are people who prefer to avoid it. Perhaps their mind is a little sick, or there is a lack of faith. Well they are missing the opportunity of having personal audience with God. Sure, it happens that when you have something every day you no longer find it very special ... but that does not mean it ceases to be wonderful. I had to wait almost a year to receive the darshan of Gandharvika Giridhari. Long time! And you have it every day.

Morning darshan is a tremendous luxury, what a mercy ! And what do the devotees to be thankful for such darshan of the Lord? They offer all the elements of His own creation. The pujari offers all these energies with love, with love, with affection and with care for my Lord. Krishna gives you, you give it to Krishna ... And so, again and again, Krishna gives you, you give it to Krishna. You offer to the Lord and then the Lord gives His remnants. One gets the fire, the water touches our heads ... everything is mercy.

In Krishna Consciousness everything amazing. Being a monk is a great mercy. It is also a mercy to be a real grhasta of Krishna, a grhasta raising her children is something very special and auspicious. Being a monk living in the temple, a brahmacari, a vishnupriya is a unique opportunity. You have to understand the essence to capture the spiritual beauty that signifies all this.

It's amazing that we can live in the monastery of God. The temple of God where one can get up early, where you can devote your body, which can have the darshan of the Lord, which can be in the kirtan and chanting with the devotees and which can then glorify all Vaishnavas, the holy places and listen to scripture, amazing. That is the meditation of devotees who offer their hearts at the feet of the pure Vaishnava . That's the life of the devotees, to remember Krishna .

Krishna Consciousness is a process of essence. Maybe in a way things are done differently in some places, but the essence is always the same: try to please Krishna and His devotees. One has to have the flexibility to understand the different ways in which Krishna is manifested in the life of the devotee. Krishna's things are special, and they are not necessarily the way we want them to be.

I pray that each of you can deepen your spiritual life and appreciate all that has been given to you and that you can feel a strong commitment in service to Srila Prabhupada.

This is the message I wanted to share today.
Jay Srila Prabhupada!

Your always wisher,
B. A. Swami Paramadvaiti