True renunciation - 7/31/16 From Ecuador

Message sent from Ecuador on July 24, 2016:

All glories to Srila Prabhupada,

 My beloved devotees, I hope you are very well in your respective services.

 I wanted to tell you that sending a weekly message to the whole community has been my custom for the past 15 years. However, this year we have not done it one way or another. This is a new attempt to recuperate the Sunday chat so as to connect with each of you.

There are three things you should never abandon in your spiritual practice: tapa (austerity), yagna (sacrifice) and dana (charity). Austerity is basic for the Age of Kali-yuga. Srila Prabhupada called it 'simple living and high thinking'. Sacrifice is expressed as the chanting of the holy names of the Lord, either in the form of japa or in congregational kirtan, in gatherings, or even writing about the glories of the Lord. Charity refers to creating temples with such a beautiful atmosphere that people do not want to leave them and return to the material existence of which we all came from. Places filled with sadhu sanga.

Everything that is done in the company of sadhus or devotees is a profound and beneficial purification. Sadhu-sanga is full of rasa, full of taste and appreciation for others. There may even be people in the world that we do not feel a natural appreciation for, but then they immediately become recipients of this special mercy. As the saying goes, "Lord, please give me your mercy when I least deserve it, because it is when I need it most." So we can constantly keep the desire to encourage all people in our environment, including both members of the spiritual community and those who are not.

 Similarly we have to learn to see the action in the inaction. We must learn the concept of detachment in the concept of attachment. This means that while we have a material body, and devotees are seeking detachment, we are placed in constant contact with the material energy. This is inevitable. In this way devotees must maintain temples and centers open in a practical and efficient manner so that people can learn more about spirituality; they have to participate in campaigns to address adverse ecological situations that may affect the people around them; They have to care for their health and their bodies so that it is in perfect condition while sharing the message of Sri Krishna to the world; They have to keep their families healthy and happy. They have to become excellent professionals in the areas defined by Srila Prabhupada that devotees should take action in, etc.

 Sometimes one feels a strong urge to give up all the material attachments and run away from them, but in that case, the real renunciation is the ability to fulfill your duties and responsibilities. For it is through this compliance that one qualifies oneself for transcendence. As soon as one abandons their independence and takes refuge under the protection of a Vaishnava, the same Vaishnava will give you responsibility to protect, which can only be executed with a mature approach and individual discernment. This responsible and careful attitude is completely healthy for the spiritual development of those who have been inspired by the Lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada.


 I ask you to reflect on these issues and share them with the members of your communities and families. Jay Srila Prabhupada!

With all my affection from Ecuador.Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti

Attachment to devotees is essential. Panama 5/25/14

                                                Conference.
                                                       
My dear devotees,
Receive all my affection from Panama.

Let's see what is the message that Srimad Bhagavatam has for us today. We are reading the Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3, Chapter 6, called the two gatekeepers of Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya, who are cursed by the sages. Srila Prabhupada explains in this verse :

yas tam vivikta-caritair anuvartamanam
natyadriyat parama-bhagavata-prasangah
sa tvam. dvijanupatha-punya-rajah.
punitah srivatsa-laksma kim aga bhaga-bhajanas tvam

"O Lord, You are exceedingly attached to the activities of Your pure devotees, yet You are never attached to the goddesses of fortune who constantly engage in Your transcendental loving service. How can You be purified, therefore, by the dust of the path traversed by the brahmanas, and how can You be glorified or made fortunate by the marks of Srivatsa on Your chest?" (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.6.21)

Srila Prabhupada said that hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune are serving the Lord in Vaikuntha. This is explained in the Brahma Samhita.

Krishna has 6 unlimited opulences in full:
Unlimited - Wealth, Fame, strength, beauty, knowledge and renunciation.

The demigods and other living entities worship the goddess of fortune for her favor, but even so, the Lord does not become attached to her, because Krishna can create an unlimited number of goddesses of fortune for transcendental service. Laksmi Devi sometimes even envy's Tulasi's leaves, because they serve the Lotus Feet of the Lord, while Laksmi Devi dwells on the chest of Krishna, but she has to leave his service to please others. In fact, the Lord appreciates more the service from Tulasi's leaves than Laksmi Devi.

The Lord Himself declares that His opulence is due to the blessings of the brahmanas and Vaisnavas, however, he only does this to teach others to offer respect to the devotees of the Lord, the brahmanas and Vaisnavas. This is a statement that comes from the same Lord Brahma, Braham uvaca ...

 Previous texts say : The scholars said :

 "O Supreme Personality of Godhead we are incapable of knowing what you want us to do, although You are the supreme ruler of all, you speak favorably about us, as if we had done something good for You."

  "Oh, Lord, You are the supreme director of the brahminical culture. To consider the fact that the brahmanas are in the highest position is Your example for others to learn. Reality is that You are the supreme worshipable Deity, not only for demigods, but also for the brahmanas."

 "You are the source of eternal occupation of all living entities, and in multiple manifestations You have always protected religion. The ultimate goal of religious principles, and, in our opinion, You are inexhaustible and eternally immutable."

 "Mystics and transcendentalists, by the mercy of the Lord, cross nescience to suspend all material desires. So it is not possible that the Supreme Lord receives the favor of anybody."

This theme that the Lord is saying, "I am blessed by the brahmanas." And the devotees say, "How is that, my Lord, that You are blessed by the brahmanas? Nobody can bless you. You are the source of all." That exchange is very interesting. Krishna is always competing with His dear devotees, He wants to give all the glory to them and they want to give all the glory to Him. As it is stated in text 22:

 "O Lord, You are the personification of all religion. Therefore You manifest Yourself in three millenniums, and thus You protect this universe, which consists of animate and inanimate beings. By Your grace, which is of pure goodness and is the bestower of all blessings, kindly drive away the elements of rajas and tamas for the sake of the demigods and twice-born. " (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.16.22)

Jay Nitai, Jay Nitai ...

It's amazing that there are innumerable slokas that exist and describe the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And on the other hand, the Lord remains forever glorifying His devotees. Pure and devoted completely surrendered and appreciated by Him like Druva Maharaj, Narada Muni and Prahlad Maharaj.

 Devotees are always glorified by the Supreme Lord. And at the same time, they glorify the Lord and His pastimes intensely. Those are two types of Hari- katha: sometimes spoken by Krishna Himself and sometimes devotees speaking of the Supreme Lord ... both are Hari- katha and clearly, there is some certain transcendental loving competition between them: while the Lord says that Sun worshipers are higher, they say that the Lord is the source of all glorification. And Krishna himself says:
" If someone becomes attached to My devotees, then they become attached to Me."

It is completely present in the Vedic scriptures, a ceaseless personal attachment between the Lord and His devotees. The devotee is attached to the Lotus Feet of the Lord and never wants to leave.

 There is a verse that I really like that says : It is well known that the attachment is what made ​​us come to this world of pain, but if that attachment is transferred to the Lord and His devotees, He will open the doors to liberation automatically. "sa eva sadhu sukrito  moksa dharma pavritam." sukrito sa eva sadhu , means that all the sages have confirmed it.

We have to understand the depth, intimacy and commitment of the relationship between the Lord and His devotee. Srila Prabhupada said that by following this process to the letter, the fully purified aspirant will be able to see Krishna face to face. And Srila Prabhupada was the same who came to the West to save us from our ignorance and give us all his mercy. He prayed for all of us before the Lord and said:

"Oh my Lord, they are all covered by ignorance ... what can I do here? Nothing my Lord, only you yourself can give them Your mercy, otherwise nothing will happen."

 Srila Prabhupada also said: "I ​​was sent here by my Gurudeva, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada, Varsabhanavi-devi-dayita-dasa, the servant of Srimati Radharani, I would never have come to this terrible place for myself, I just came for him ... Oh, my Lord, if you 're not willing to help in this difficult task, I will have to complain to Srimati Radharani."

 Uff, a very sweet way to pray to the Lord :) Srila Prabhupada humbly thought :
   "How will I convince all these people about Krishna, only He can, "

 And of course, Sri Krsna Himself totally helped since His devotee had told him that if he did not help then he would go to complain to Srimati Radharani ... this was not a good idea.

It sometimes happens that people become devotees without really knowing what's going on ... and of course, it happens because everything is under the control of Krishna, the Lord captures us in different ways, without a logical sequence, but unlimited . In my case I joined the movement for Krishna Consciousness without knowing much about it. I did not know the details of the philosophical differences between one line and another, I was just captivated by the devotees and the way they performed things. Without even being able to differentiate between personalism and impersonalism. It was the grace of Krishna's devotees that I was brought here.

The dear Lord's devotees, one can easily become attached, and  by become attached to them one receives the mercy of the Lord Himself. That's the message I wanted to share today and how essential it is to stick to the devotees. If there is no attachment to the devotees, our life becomes empty. Attachment to the devotees is what saves us every day. I am attached to you all, I depend on all of you and I pray not to be at any time without the devotees that help me remember Srila Prabhupada.
 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 .