Falldown from Spiritual Life...!!!

By: Nandagopal Jivan das

Part- I

This time, we decided that we’ll discuss a little bit on falldown from spiritual life. You might think this a discouraging topic. Krishna consciousness, after all, offers us great hope. It cleanses our heart, frees us from illusions, and re-awakens our dormant love for Krishna. And it does this potently and quickly. Why then should we talk about falldown? Simply: Because it happens.

After starting on the path, not everyone makes it all the way—at least not in one lifetime.

In one sense, that’s why we’re here. To be attracted to Krishna consciousness now, we must have pursued it before, in a previous lifetime. Yet somehow we fell short of our goal. And so we’ve come back, in another birth—and with another chance. By carefully using this opportunity, we can attain perfection, even in this life. And for the sake of success, it’s vital for us to know what dangers to expect along the way.

Striving for Krishna consciousness is like declaring war on maya. “The trouble with you,” Srila Prabhupada once told some disciples, “is that you’re not sufficiently afraid of maya.” Maya, illusion, is very powerful. And the serious transcendentalist never underestimates its strength. We should expect maya to fight back. So we should know Maya’s power and maya’s tactics. We should know how to protect ourselves. We should know how to guard our flanks, rescue the wounded, and recover from setbacks. And we should know that victory is certain—as long as we depend upon Krishna. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita that maya is insurmountable because it is His divine power. But when we surrender to Krishna’s lotus feet we can overcome maya and enter Krishna’s abode, the eternal world of the Absolute Truth. To help us surrender to Krishna and reach that spiritual world is the purpose of ISKCON Youth Forum.

In Bhagavad-gita Arjuna asks Lord Krishna, “What happens if I start this practice of yoga and then later I fall down? Then I’m nowhere. I’ve given up my material life, and I’ve ruined my spiritual life. Now I don’t have anything. I’ve lost on both sides. So what will happen to me?”

This question comes up theoretically in Bhagavad-gita and it comes up practically within our own experience. After we take to spiritual life, either we may fall down, or we may see others around us fall down. Falldown is a concern that everyone—on any spiritual path—has to deal with.

First we should ask ourselves, what is falldown?

“When one vows to follow a spiritual path but later strays from it, one has fallen.” In Krishna consciousness, for example, at initiation one pledges before the spiritual master to chant the Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds each day and follow four regulations: no intoxication, no illicit sex, no gambling, and no meat-eating. To break these vows is to fall. Beyond this, one may give up the spiritual life altogether. In 1966 Srila Prabhupada once said that one who gives up Krishna consciousness falls again into the material pool. Srila Prabhupada imitated the sound of a stone falling into water—“bloop!” From that moment on, “Bloop” soon became standard devotee lingo. To leave Krishna consciousness was to bloop.

In one sense, all of us in the material world have blooped. We’ve forgotten Krishna and fallen from the spiritual world. Now we’re trying to revive our spiritual life. And however far we’ve come, we ought to be moving steadily forward. Yet sometimes we stumble and slip back. Why? What causes falldown? How do we keep from falling—and help others keep from falling too? When devotees on the path do fall, how should we treat them? And what do we do if we should fall ourselves? It’ll be discussed here.

One of the most persistent underlying causes of falldown is not merely being careless with the regulative principles but maintaining offenses—in particular, offenses against the holy name—and not engaging in an effort to clear them up. If one is trying to clear up offenses, even though the offenses may be there, one is on the “clearing” stage and will continue to make spiritual advancement. But if one commits offenses and doesn’t try to rectify them, he stops making spiritual advancement, and after a while he gradually loses interest in the path of Krishna consciousness. That’s described in The Nectar of Devotion as the “waning-moon effect.” Somehow one’s enthusiasm for Krishna consciousness gradually disappears, like the waning moon. Why am I losing interest? It’s because of not trying to clear up offenses.

Actually this is not the only reason. There are many. Sometimes falldown might result from committing offenses against a devotee. And pride goes before a fall. Not enough hearing and chanting is also one of the reasons.

In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna Himself pinpoints the causes, in the Second Chapter, verses 62 and 63. These are two verses every devotee should hang on the wall of his mind. “While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.”

So that’s it in a nutshell—the sad story of falldown. Lord Sri Krishna beautifully encapsulates it in the Gita.

Devotional Relationships

And now the question is why it happens? Prabhupada said, “Preaching is the essence.” He also said, “If you don’t preach, then very soon after I leave there won’t be any more Hare Krishna movement. You won’t be able to go on with this ‘Hari bol, Hari bol.’ And he said that if you preach, everything will be in perspective.” Also there’s a need for more instructions in the beginning. Because some people come to Krishna consciousness but they don’t know deep inside what it is about. They think it’s only wearing the dhoti-kurta, putting a tilaka on your head, and having a good time. There’s not enough training. We tend to preach until someone’s initiated, and then we stop preaching. Another problem is lack of honesty in communication.

We may fear to open our minds to other devotees because we feel that they may somehow say, “You’re fallen.” If a devotee’s not introspective enough to understand what his actual standing is, if he’s more concerned with what he should be than what he actually is, you can have a community of devotees relating to each other in a very superficial way. And that doesn’t lead to open dealings. There has to be someone you can go to and reveal your heart to who’s not going to turn you away but is going to encourage you to purify yourself and return to the standard. And there’s a need for self-honesty. You need to be able to accept your position and work from there and not be too hard on yourself. Not that you compromise the philosophy but that you give yourself a break. Encourage yourself.

There’s some seed of falldown in our mind, but we fear that if we say something our prestige will be damaged. So we keep quiet, and the disease grows, and we become more of a hypocrite as we dig ourselves deeper in. We need people to reveal our minds to. So we need to make friends among devotees. If we don’t have those devotional friendships, we’ll be stuck inside our own minds—and then we practically must fall down. In The Nectar of Instruction Srila Prabhupada says that the only reason ISKCON exists is to foster those personal loving exchanges. If we didn’t have a society of devotees who were concerned about one another’s welfare, we’d all be fallen.

ISKCON is an institution where we’re not just engaging in devotional service on our own but in the company of many others. So naturally our relationships have a social standing to them. And we may hold above the real purpose of the institution, namely becoming Krishna conscious, our standing in the institution or whatever. And if we’re thinking about our social status, holding more dearly to how others perceive us than to our own spiritual well-being—we can just get lost in the institution. Another classic cause for a falldown is ambition. Or when we achieve our ambitions, then attachment; then appears duplicity and that’s quite a lineup Maya’s got.

Counseling

One person we’re supposed to be able to confide in is the spiritual master. But, because ours is a preaching movement, the spiritual master may not be accessible to us every time. When we need some immediate counsel, he may be halfway around the world. Or you may not want to burden him with your problems…So, there is a need to have devotees we can feel intimate and open with and reveal our minds to and feel that they’ll be concerned about our best interest.

One thing Srila Prabhupada advised was to avoid politics and business, because our Society needs people one can trust. We need devotees who’ll concentrate on developing these qualities—simplicity, honesty, self-control—so that people will trust them. Such a great responsibility rests with sannyasis, gurus, temple presidents, leaders, senior devotees. We have to offer training. Those who have the inclination will take it up, and then people will seek them out. Ultimately, each person’s going to decide whom he or she has faith in. We’ve been conditioned for millions of lifetimes, and on our own we have no power, because the material energy is insurmountable. But Krishna declares emphatically in the Bhagavad-gita that one can get free from this if we surrender unto Him. And part of this surrendering process is prayer. So when a devotee has difficulty, that can be an impetus for really taking shelter of one’s guru and Krishna and praying for the strength and intelligence to overcome the difficulty he’s been caught in.

One time, maybe in the early 1970’s, when the movement was starting to spread a bit, Prabhupada was with some disciples in his room in Los Angeles. The temple was big and opulent, for those days. And Govinda Mataji had made Prabhupada a coat with peacock feather tassels to tighten its hood, and someone had given Prabhupada a gold lame bead bag. Prabhupada said, “Now we are getting so many things. So I’m just praying to Krishna that I may not fall down.”

• Read Part-II

Falldown from Spiritual Life...!!!

Part- II

Seeing Others Fall

Sometimes we see that even big devotees fall down, devotees we look up to or admire, devotees who are considered advanced. When that happens, how do we see it, and how should we see it? Well, when someone who’s well known or elevated or respected falls down, we tend to think, “Here was such an advanced devotee, and he fell down. So what chance is there for me?” It’s discouraging. And we say, “What’s wrong with Krishna consciousness that this person fell down?” When a person you respect deviates, naturally you doubt not only that person but the whole thing. We shouldn’t think that if someone falls there’s something wrong with the process. The process is perfect, but one’s application of it may have some defect. Spiritual life is like a razor’s edge—it shaves us clean, but if we’re not careful we can get cut. When a person falls, we should look upon it not as a problem with our philosophy but a confirmation of it. The philosophy predicts that if a person does certain things he’ll fall down. So, when a person does those things and falls, that confirms it. Do we ask ourselves not only what was wrong with him but what was wrong with us that he wasn’t helped?

In Or Out?

How do we regard those who have fallen?

In commenting on the twelfth chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada makes it really clear that the Hare Krishna movement is in principle made up of three groups of people. Krishna says, “Surrender to Me.” So first are those who are spontaneously attracted to surrender to Krishna. Then Krishna says, “If you can’t do that, follow the regulative principles of devotional service.” And in the purport Srila Prabhupada makes it clear what this means: rising early, taking a shower, going to the morning program, and so on, under the supervision of the spiritual master. So those who do this are in the second group. Then Krishna says, “If you can’t do that, then work for Me.” And Srila Prabhupada says that this means that at least one should be sympathetic to the propagation of Krishna consciousness. Every organization requires land, capital, labor, and organization, so you can contribute one of these things. Those who do this are in the third group. These three groups make up the Hare Krishna movement. So there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the movement’s having all kinds of people who aren’t following the strict regulative principle. Where we have a problem is with people who at one time or another have taken formal vows to follow the principles of the second group and then found themselves unable to keep to them. We’re really surprised when we see that people who left devotional service [blooped] kept coming back to the Sunday Feast. Many of us wished they should just go away. We couldn’t preach to them. They’d already heard everything, and now they were blooped. But we should know that they are in the third group and think, “Hey, these are our people! They’re part of our movement!”

One obvious lesson to learn from this is that people should be more careful about taking vows. And when you take vows you should be into it for the long run. But apart from these lessons, one point is that many people who took those vows and broke them may again one day be following them, and until then we should help them stay in as much association with Krishna consciousness and get as much benefit from devotees as they can. To say, “You’re so fallen, you can’t even come to the temple” is just very uncharitable and inhumane. And one should feel that one could any day be in that position oneself. So we just have to be tolerant and give people as much association and help as we can. Krishna places so many obstacles, so many tests. So even if we might see some fault in a devotee for some time, especially if he’s a senior devotee we have to be very careful not to criticize and not to judge, because he’s Krishna’s devotee and therefore it’s up to Krishna to purify him. And sometimes Krishna will let some fault linger for some reason that’s beyond our ability to comprehend. So we have to learn not to be judgmental, because that makes it more difficult for someone who’s having a hard time.

Prabhupada said our devotees are like bomber pilots. During the war the Air Force would be careful not to lose its bomber pilots. The country had put so much energy into training each one of those pilots that to lose one was a great loss—they were practically irreplaceable. Our trained devotees are like bomber pilots: so much experience in devotional service, so many skills, so much devotion cultivated. So we should be so concerned for the welfare of our devotees: if someone is having difficulty, how to hold on to him, and if someone has left how to bring him back. Such valuable are the devotees of Krishna.

Making Things Worse

Srila Prabhupada concludes his purport on the api cet su-duracaro verse in a very instructing way. There he excuses accidental falldown, but says that if a fallen devotee doesn’t improve his character by devotional service he is not a high devotee. In other words, he is a devotee. So Prabhupada indicates that someone having difficulty as a devotee should still be recognized as a devotee. Srila Prabhupada also says that no one should deride a devotee for an accidental falldown.

So a lot of times what happens when we condemn other people is that we’re condemning precisely what’s wrong with ourselves. That’s why it’s said that when you point your finger at someone, three fingers of your hand are pointing right back at you. It’s unintentionally very revealing. If somebody’s going around condemning, “This person’s having illicit sex, he’s having illicit sex, he’s having illicit sex,” you can suspect that the person speaking has sexual problems he’s not going to honestly deal with. He notices the problem in other people because he’s worried about himself but doesn’t have the courage to confront it.

After the fall

Technically, a devotee falls from Krishna Consciousness when he breaks the rules against illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating, or gambling. We all try to avoid falling. But when a devotee does fall, how can we help him?

In The Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada states that if one regularly discharges devotional service, one won't fall down. “But even if circumstantially there is some falldown, the Vaisnava [devotee] need have nothing to do with prayascitta, the ritualistic ceremony for purification. If someone falls down from the principles of devotional service, he simply has to execute the rules and regulations of discharging devotional service, and that is sufficient for his reinstatement.” Our main service to a person, who has fallen, then, should be to convince him or her not to despair but to resume Krishna conscious activities.

When devotees fall, we shouldn't discourage them by treating them like outcasts. No matter how serious their offenses or mistakes, Krishna can forgive them. Therefore, devotees too should be forgiving and helpful. Otherwise, if a fallen person thinks he must stay fallen, his sins may become habits, and his chanting and fellowship with devotees may stop.

Devotees should help other devotees who have slipped on the path. Lord Krishna Himself advises that no one deride a devotee for some mistake. “Even if one commits the most abominable action,” the Lord says in the Gita (9.30), “If he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.” Srila Prabhupada comments that this is a warning that a devotee should not be derided for an accidental falldown. “He should still be considered saintly even if he has accidentally fallen down.”

An advanced devotee is sometimes like a thunderbolt and sometimes like a rose. Spiritual masters sometimes enforce strict discipline, as when Lord Caitanya banished Chota Haridasa for a slight mistake. This was in fact a spiritual pastime between Lord Caitanya and His liberated devotee. In this instance, Lord Caitanya wanted to set a strong example for others. But Lord Caitanya and His devotees were often lenient towards those who fell. Prabhupada once said that he himself, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and all the other Krishna Conscious spiritual masters were “eighty percent lenient” toward their followers. This leniency grows from faith that the best remedy is not to push fallen devotees away but to encourage them to continue their devotional service.

On this point, Lord Caitanya's dealings with His servant Kalakrishna are instructive. Kalakrishna was the only person to travel with Lord Caitanya on His tour of South India, but unfortunately a woman allured Kalakrishna to join a band of nomads (Bhattatharis). Lord Caitanya went personally to the nomads and risked violence to save him, but when Lord Caitanya returned to Jagannatha Puri, He told Kalakrishna He wanted nothing more to do with him.

Yet although Lord Caitanya rejected Kalakrishna, Lord Caitanya's devotees, led by Lord Nityananda, did not. They devised a plan by which Kalakrishna could serve as a messenger to Lord Caitanya's devotees in Bengal. This was certainly the best medicine for the fallen Kalakrishna. It made him blissful and grateful and kept him in the association of devotees. “Therefore,” Srila Prabhupada writes, “The Lord's devotees are more merciful than the Lord Himself. The Lord Himself may sometimes be very hard, but the devotees are always kind.”

With a devotee named Subuddhi Raya, it was Lord Caitanya Himself who showed the forgiving and purifying power of bhakti-yoga. Subuddhi Raya's falldown was mostly circumstantial. In his early life he had once beaten a Muslim servant. By fate that servant eventually became a politician and was appointed governor, and that governor, instigated by his wife, took away Subuddhi Raya's caste status. He did this simply by sprinkling on Subuddhi Raya's head a little water from a pitcher used by a Muslim. By the Hindu customs in those days, that was enough to get one cast out from the Hindu community.

When Subuddhi Raya went to consult learned brahmanas at Benares, asking them how this shame could be counteracted, they advised him, “Drink hot ghee and give up your life.” But other brahmanas gave him different advice, so he was doubtful about what to do. In perplexity, he met Lord Caitanya at Benares and explained his position. Lord Caitanya advised him, “Go to Vrindavana and chant the Hare Krishna mantra constantly.”

This advice from Lord Caitanya certainly stands in contrast to the harsh advice of the caste-conscious brahmanas. Lord Caitanya said, “Begin chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, and when your chanting is almost pure, all the sinful reactions will go away.”

Srila Prabhupada comments that according to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's instructions one should not wait to purify himself before chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. Whatever our condition may be, we should start chanting right away. The power of the Hare Krishna mantra will gradually relieve us of all material contamination, and thus we will find shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna, the ultimate goal of life.

So a genuine spiritual movement should forgive and encourage. Sometimes devotees, because of their own mistakes or events beyond their control, may leave the association of the other devotees and the ISKCON temples. If devotees who have left are treated at this crucial time as “outcasts” and not treated with kindness, they may become bitter or disgruntled and lose faith. One devotee complained that after he made a mistake, no devotees visited him or spoke to him. He then grew disillusioned and said, “I want to see good, moral and happy examples of people in daily life, with their friends, families, and disciples. Not just so-called good classes from high seats.”

Srila Prabhupada told his disciples that they would not become contaminated by extending themselves to nondevotees. So we should extend ourselves even more to followers of Krishna consciousness who have temporarily fallen away. As we offer Krishna consciousness to newcomers by giving them Srila Prabhupada's books and inviting them to ISKCON temples and festivals, how much more we should befriend those who have already served Krishna but been tricked by Maya. This may be the best way to fulfill one of Srila Prabhupada's last requests: “Your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate among yourselves.”

• Back to Part- I
  

Nrsimham Adim Saranam Prapadye– A true story!!!

By: Avyanga Das & Nandagopal Jivan Das

In the series of our “True Stories” there had been times when devotees were touched while reading experiences shared by other devotees. Like our previous posts devotees have started to share their experiences so that they can be put into words and shared with other devotees. This time we are trying to put a recent incident across which was shared by one of the IYF-Delhi (ISKCON Youth Forum–Delhi) members who has had a privilege of staying in Sri Dhama Mayapur and attend “Bhakti Shastri Course” for 3 months!!!

Madhava (name has been changed on request) is a wonderful devotee and an active member of IYF–Delhi. He has been chanting regularly, reading Srila Prabhupada’s Books and following four regulative principals for a long time now. He is one of the most sincere and humble devotees and stays a stretch away from ISKCON Delhi Temple– East of Kailash. He has read Bhagavad Gita and numerous Prabhupada’s books under the supervision of senior devotees like Our Temple President H.G. Mohan Rupa Prabhu. He also shared an intimate relation with all devotees and specially our respected temple president. He always desire to progress on the path of devotion and attain love of Godhead.

One fine day he was discussing with H.G. Mohan Rupa Prabhu about various courses offered by ISKCON and showed his desire to attend one which would help him progress on his way. Prabhu ji advised him to start with “Bhakti Shastri Course” which was supposed to be started in Sri Dhama Mayapur. All arrangements were made within no time. He also received a letter of recommendation from Temple Authorities regarding staying in Mayapur Temple to continue with the course.

The big day came when Madhava reached Sri Dhaam Mayapur and stepped on the pious land of The Golden Incarnation “Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu”. He couldn’t believe his fate to have him step on such an illuminating land. He was intensely thankful to Srila Prabhupada and all Vaisnavas for showering such a mercy upon him. He paid obeisance to the land of wonders and went ahead to have Darshans of Srila Prabhupada Pushpa Samadhi Mandir. He felt immense satisfaction being inside the huge hall that looks like a palace of Roman Emperor. Now he moved towards the main temple hall to have Darshans of Presiding deities of “Sri Sri Pancha Tattva, Lord Sri Narasimhadeva with Sri Prahalada Maharaja and Sri Sri Radha Madhava with Ashta Sakhis”. On entering the main hall he found himself standing in front of an altar with a magnificent form of Lord with glittering eyes like diamonds and dressed astonishingly in white. For a while he was stunned looking at the mesmerizing beauty of Lord Sri Narasimhadeva & Prahalada Maharaj. He paid his Obeisances to his dear lord and felt rejuvenated. After that there were more eye-catching scenes to have Darshans of Sri Sri Radha Madhava and Sri Pancatattva altars. They all were dressed in whites. Sri Sri Radha Madhava looked astounding in white color. Madhava felt himself non-different being in Goloka.

Within next two days he was settled and ready for the course. He started actively participating in his classes which were conducted by many sannyasis. He continued to stay in Sri Dhaam for the duration of the course and participate in temple activities as well, such as Prasadam distribution, books distribution and harinaam. One day after he got up early in morning he felt uneasy and drained. It was difficult for him to walk but he did not realize that he was also running with fever. He took bath and attended Mangala Arotik. That day, instead of staying in temple hall for japa meditation, he decided to come back to his cottage and take rest. He couldn’t even go to have morning Prasadam because of weakness. His entire body was itching and developed red spots throughout. Instead of all this, he was determined to go and attend his daily class. He forced himself to move, took bath, get dressed and started walking towards Conch Building, where the class was conducted.

After reaching there other devotees could identify that he was not feeling well and took him to medical room to get his body temperature checked. He was found running with 104°C temperature and given necessary treatment to break his fever. Other devotees helped him to get back to his room/cottage and got some Mahaprasadm for him. He didn’t eat much that night and fell asleep. The following day was worst for him because red itching spots were developed throughout his body. He was feeling restless because of them. Later during the day he was taken to a local doctor in Mayapur for diagnostic and found to have Varicella (Chickenpox). He was advised to get his blood-checked for the confirmation. Doctor advised him to stay away from others for minimum 21 days so that it doesn’t spread. [Varicella is extremely contagious, and can be spread by direct contact, droplet transmission, and airborne transmission. Affected person develops hundreds of itchy, fluid-filled blisters that burst and form crusts. Chickenpox is caused by a virus.]

Madhava’s condition was not improving and he felt immense pain to miss one of his classes because of his illness. His condition didn’t improve the following day as well. Later the following day he was taken to a Russian Mataji who is a doctor and wife of a full time devotee at Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir. She was serving devotees and utilizing her skills for the pleasure of Krishna. She diagnosed the same and advised him to stay away from other people as much as possible atleast for next three weeks so that it doesn’t harm other devotees. He was prescribed some medicines and sent to take rest in his room. Night and days were long and painful due to itching and watering blisters but there were devotees taking care of his meals as prescribed by doctor Mataji.

Next day he gathered all his strength and decided to have Darshans of the deities in temple hall. He came from the other side and entered Sri Sri Pancha Tattva Hall first. After reaching near the alter he stood along with devotees to see Arotik. His condition didn’t allow him to dance or sing during the aortic but he continued to stand with other devotees standing by the platform. After the arotik was over, he caught the attention of the pujari in service. He approached him and advised to go out of the temple hall so that other devotees are not infected. Madhava felt bad but knew that was true. He moved to Sri Sri Radha Madhava altar where pujari was distributing Maha Garlands from the altar. After Darshans he moved towards the altar of Bhakti Vighna Vinashak Lord Sri Narasimhadeva. There the pujari was distributing the mercy of Lord Narasimhadeva by touching His lotus sandals on the foreheads of devotees. After that pujari saw Madhava in front of the altar, he could see small red blisters all over his body. He could understand that it was an infectious disease and didn’t touch the lotus sandals of Lord on his forehead. Looking at this Madhava broke and started to look at his sweet lord. He prayed to Lord Nrsimha to shower his causeless mercy on him so that he is in a state to continue with his classes and have Darshans of deities whenever he wants. He was not thinking of his bodily sufferings but was more concerned of spiritual side of it. It was hampering him to attend classes and be part of other devotional services. He looked into the eyes of Lord Sri Narasimhadeva and felt as He was straight looking into his eyes. His eyes were shining like two moons studded on his lotus face. Suddenly Madhava felt a lot more relaxed and headed towards his room.

While coming out of the temple hall he met a chowkidaar (security guard) on the main gate. After looking at him, he said “Prabhu don’t do not come to temple hall unless you are healed completely, it is dangerous for others as well” and gave him way to go out. Madhava understood that he would cause problem to other devotees if he continues to come for Darshans and decided to stay within is room until he gets cured. It was a difficult decision for him to make but he was thinking about other devotees. He was chanting extra rounds during those days to utilize the extra time he had. At night he felt asleep remembering Lord Nrsimha to give him strength to face this situation.

Next morning, as usual he was awake before Mangala Arotik but knew that he would not go in the temple hall for the sake of other devotees. He decided to take bath and do his prayers in his room. Not caring about his bodily condition, he took bath with cold water [in the month of December] and came inside the room to dress. By the height of his surprise while applying Vishnu Tilaka on his body, he noticed that all his red watery blisters were no more there. He looked himself into the mirror and checked his entire body was free from any so called blisters he had. He was amazed and thought he was dreaming about the same. But it was real example of causeless mercy of Sarva Vighna Vinashak Lord Narasimhadeva. He broke into tears to have been blessed by The Lord himself. He forgot that he had to do his morning prayers and started thanking his beloved lord. He noticed that it was time for Mangala Arotik to end; he grabbed his “Chadar” and ran towards the temple hall. He ran with very high speed and reached temple hall in no time. Altars of Sri Pancha tattva and Sri Sri Radha Madhava were closed by that time and “Nrsimha Prayer” was being sung in front of the Narasimhadeva Altar. He paid his heartiest obeisance unto the lotus feet of Lord Narasimhadeva and thanked Him from the bottom of his heart for this mercy. On the same time devotees were singing:

“Nrsimha adim saranam prapadye”

Meaning:

I surrender to Lord Nrsimha, the origin of all things and the supreme refuge.

“Tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-srngam

Dalita-hiranyakasipu-tanu-bhrngam
Kesava dhrta-narahari-rupa jaya jagadisa hare”

Meaning:

O Kesava! O Lord of the universe!

O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of half-man, half-lion!
All glories to You! Just as one can easily crush a wasp between one's fingernails,
so in the same way the body of the wasplike demon Hiranyakashipu has been ripped apart
by the wonderful pointed nails on Your beautiful lotus hands.

He met the same pujari at Lord Nrsimha’s altar that morning. Pujari was bit apprehensive to talk to him to confirm if he was the same devotee he saw last night suffering with some disease but he finally asked and felt speechless hearing the instant mercy of Lord Nrsimhadeva. He could not believe his eyes & ears and went inside the altar and got a garland and a bottle of Maha oil from the lotus feet of Lord and gave that to Madhava. Pujari made a note of this incident to be published in the edition of “Pastimes of Lord Nrsimhadeva” of year 2007.

Madhava was simply mesmerized by this miracle shown by supreme lord; by the mercy of which he was able to complete the course successfully and returned to New Delhi. Now he is back in form and serving devotees in Delhi for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi. The day he came back and met with temple president and other devotees, he shared this realization. His entire body was shaking and tears were flowing out his eyes while narrating this fascinating incident. All glories to Sri Nrsimhadeva Bhagavan! All glories to Sri Dhama Mayapur! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to the ISKCON World!

Maha-Prasade Govinde – A True Story

By: Avyanga Das

Hare Krishna to you all devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisance,

All glories to Sri Guru & Sri Gauranga,

Sometimes in our lives certain things happen in such a way that we don’t understand them, else keep silent and try to understand reason behind them. Similarly; there had been many times when devotees have experienced living dramas which were difficult to believe. Like our previous posts we are again trying to add another milestone in the series of True Stories. This time we are describing an incident happened with one of our devotee friends who keeps immense faith in our practices and philosophy.

It was a routine day for Madhava (name has been changed on request); he was highly occupied in his office where he works in night shifts. Being in quality department, he and his team is supposed to have complete quality check on operations and maintain high standards. Days have not been passing good for him because of high work pressure, which even forced him to extend his shift and stay back till late. He had been working hard to meet deadlines before the end of the month. It was the last day of month when all efforts were paid when it was declared that he and his team met with all standards and were able to over achieve targets.

It was the time of great happiness and relaxation when all team members decided to go out for celebration. It was 03:00 o’clock (early morning) and team members decided to go out to a bar cum restaurant for Wine “n” Dine. All team members were supposed to attend the celebration without any excuse as per the order of the director. Madhava had no way to escape. All of them boarded in cars and reached the venue which was full of living dead bodies, so called sophisticated rich and high-class people, half awake by the influence of liquor. All of them entered the site and got mixed with the crowd. Unpleasant surroundings made Madhava felt like an uninvited guest. It was Brahama Muarata, around 04:00 a.m. which is considered to be the best time for religious activities in every religion but he could see none of them even thinking about anything apart from sense gratification. People around were all drinking, dancing on loud music and misbehaving with one another. Most of them were indulge in intoxication and other abusive activities with people of opposite sex. Looking that Madhava tried to escape out of that crowd for a while and prayed for the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Guru Maharaja so that he does not even get attracted towards such “Maya” even for a second.

Within no time, of them were settled on tables and started deciding about drinks and food to have. They ordered in bulk for Beer, Whiskey and other alcoholic drinks with big amount non-vegetarian snacks. All of them started to ask him (Madhava) to share with them, but he simply refused to eat anything for a non-vegetarian kitchen. All of them respected him for his strong faith and believes. Finally he grabbed a bottle of mineral water and started sipping some out of that. He was constantly watching all his team mates enjoying drinks and gulping dead-bodies down their throats. He was surprised to see that there was no limit of their love for such contaminated things.

Then the moment came to grab the dance floor. All of them were really excited to dance wild now. During dance they were hitting each other and also abusing and misbehaving with one another. This made Madhava think about the real pleasure of singing and dancing together during Mangal Arotik at ISKCON Temples. There was no comparison between both. Later his team mates indulged into fight with other gang which accused them for stealing one’s wallet full of money. After lot of arguments, it was finally resolved. Even after being insulted, there were no signs of embarrassment on their faces, they were still enjoying every bit of being there just like a pig enjoys stool and think it to be the best thing in the world.

A while after, all of them were tired of dancing and wanted to take some rest, they approached the table where Madhava was sitting, watching and not responding to anything happening. After that they decided Smoking to be the best way to reenergize and within no time all girls and boys including managers were enjoying their so called relaxing smoke. Following that a discussion session started about other seniors and managers at office. It was more or less a bitching session where people were taking their frustration out.

After it was enough of drinking, dancing and chit chatting, they decided to have food. Again so many innocent animals and birds were slaughtered and offered to them as an offering. Every single moment was difficult for starving Madhava to spend in that grave yard. He had not eaten anything for many hours and he wanted to get back home. He started to ask his people to leave the place and get back to their respective homes. One girl commended “Madhava – I am still offering you to eat some rice with chicken otherwise you will die before you reach your home”. Madhava smiled and replied “How can dead bodies save someone from death?” and walked out.

People started gathering outside the pub and heading towards their respective homes. A boy dropped Madhava half way from his place and he started looking for an auto-rickshaw to reach home.

While Madhava was waiting for an auto-rickshaw, he saw one of ISKCON devotee crossing the road and walking towards him. After greeting each other the devotee assumed Madhava is waiting for a cycle rickshaw or a bus to reach ISKCON Temple (as it was quite near). They kept talking and waiting for rickshaw (but for different purpose). Time went on but they kept talking about the last visit of Guru Maharaj. After a while, devotee said “I think bus will not come, let’s walk”.

Madhava: “I stay very far so I have to wait for the auto rickshaw”.

Devotee: “I thought you are going to temple.”

Madhava: “I want to, but I will come in the evening.”

Devotee: “Why not now? We will listen to morning lecture.”

Madhava: “I understand, but I have not taken bath coz I am coming back from my office.”

Devotee: “Doesn’t matter. I am sure you had taken bath after you got up last evening and you haven’t slept after that. Please come because today we have a lecture from a senior devotee who is Prabhupada’s disciple”.

Devotee was convincing and made Madhava walk towards temple. Within no time they were at the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha Krishna. Madhava didn’t want to enter the temple hall because he was ashamed of coming from such a filthy place. He sat outside the temple hall and listened to the lecture. After the lecture was over, starving Madhava started his journey towards his home.

He was on a shoe stall where he met with a Mataji. Looking at him taking his shoes she said “Are you not coming for prasadam?” Madhava wanted to go but was reluctant because of feeling himself not fit to sit with devotees and have prasadam. He disliked himself for being in company of such bad people, so wanted to get back home and take a shower. But Mataji was extra caring and forced him to go and have prasadam with her son and husband. Again, he had no way to escape.

He was amazed to look inside the prasadam hall that the mercy of Lord was showered with its fullest. There was a huge feast going inside the prasadam hall. It was sponsored by a devotee couple on their wedding anniversary. Starving Madhava who was thinking of cooking something after reaching home to offer to his lord and then partake was blessed with sumptuous prasadam to partake. There were different dishes and sweets offered to devotees. He was simple astonished looking at the mercy of Lord Krishna. There were fewer devotees than expected so; even the Maha Prasad was to them in quantity. He partake prasadam more than he could out of the love with it was served.

This incident made it clear that the causeless mercy of Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga is readily available for each and every living entity. It depends upon the way we take it. Everything that we use in this world is given by the grace of god and in a way it belongs to Him. So, if we use everything for his service or keeping Him in our minds, it will become Maha Prasad for us. It will always shower nectar to satisfy our all thirst.

With above I tried to offer little service to explain the causeless mercy of Lord Sri Krishna for all living entities. Please overlook my mistakes and offences that I have made while writing it.

Lord Siva: Who is He??

By: Nandagopal Jivan Das [Narender Nolakha]

Lord Siva is actually most dear to Sri Krsna, and therefore Krsna can give him services which He cannot give anyone else. When the demigods and demons were churning the Milk Ocean in order to obtain the nectar of immortality, the first substance produced was a powerful and dangerous poison, burning the entire world. The demigods appealed to Sri Krsna, and He advised them to request Lord Siva to drink the poison. Thus, they worshiped Lord Siva and prayed, “Please save us! Only you can protect us!” Lord Siva collected the poison and took it in his mouth, but he hesitated to swallow it, considering, “Lord Krsna is in my heart. The poison will affect Him.” He therefore kept the poison in his throat, which was burned, and his neck turned the color blue. And therefore he is also called Neel-kantha.

Cheating the Cheaters

It is sometimes seen that Lord Siva having given benedictions to Lord Krsna’s enemies. To fulfill his Lord’s desires, he had given benedictions to demons like Ravana, Vrkasura, Salva and Jayadratha, and thus he had performed many activities that were seemingly opposed to Krsna and krsna-bhakti. But whatever He does is to please Lord Krsna and to assist Him in His pastimes, for the benefit of all beings. He may have many times given benedictions to His enemies. But those benedictions are not foolproof; they always have some loophole. Actually, He cheats these beneficiaries in order to please Lord Krsna.

A Loophole

The great epic Mahabharata tells of King Jayadratha, one of the many demons who received such a clever benediction from Lord Siva. Duryodhana, the paternal cousin of the five Pandava brothers, had given his sister Dushala in marriage to King Jayadratha, and therefore the king had also become like a brother-in-law of the Pandavas. Once, Jayadratha tried to kidnap the Pandavas’ wife, Draupadi, desiring strongly to make her his own wife. As he forced her onto his chariot, she admonished him, crying, “I am the wife of the Pandavas. When they catch you, they will punish you and kill you!”

Jayadratha’s arrogance prevented him from hearing her, and he continued his abduction. Meanwhile, the sage Narada approached the Pandavas and informed them, “Oh, I saw Jayadratha taking away Draupadi, and she was weeping!”

Two of the Pandavas, Bhima and Arjuna, immediately chased after Jayadratha. Bhima dismounted his chariot and ran faster than Jayadratha’s horses. With his bow and arrows, Arjuna created a fire that surrounded the chariot of Jayadratha, who was then captured and could not move. Severely beaten by Bhima and arrested by Arjuna, Jayadratha was bound to the chariot and taken to where Yudhisthira Maharaja had been staying with Draupadi.

Bhima and Arjuna spoke to Yudhisthira, their respected senior brother. Bhima urged him, “I want to kill Jayadratha. Please order me to kill him.”

In support of Bhima, Arjuna said, “Jayadratha has performed a heinous act and should be killed.”

King Yudhisthira replied, “The offense was committed against Draupadi. We should take the case to her, and we will do whatever she orders.”

When Jayadratha was brought at the feet of Draupadi, she mercifully told her husbands, “Don’t kill him; forgive him. He is our brother-in-law. If you kill him, your cousin-sister will be widowed and she will weep for the rest of her life.”

Bhima and Arjuna then approached Lord Krsna and appealed to Him: “What should we do? We have vowed to kill Jayadratha, and now Draupadi tells us to forgive him.”

Krsna replied, “For one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.”

Arjuna then shaved King Jayadratha’s head, leaving few hairs, and he shaved one side of his face, leaving the other side unshaven. Jayadratha felt humiliated, and after being released by Bhima and Arjuna he considered it better to have died. He thought, “I will somehow take revenge.” Thus absorbed, he went to Gangotri in the Himalayas and undertook a severe type of penance to please Lord Siva.

After some months he gave up all food, water, and bodily activities, and was about to die. At this point Lord Siva came before him and asked what boon he wanted as a result of his austerity. Jayadratha replied, “I want revenge against the Pandavas. I want to defeat and kill all of them.” Lord Siva told him, “You can defeat the Pandavas, but only Yudhisthira, Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva; not Arjuna.” Jayadratha said, “If you cannot benedict me to my full satisfaction, then please grant that neither Arjuna nor anyone else will be able to kill me.” Lord Siva replied, “I can grant you this: if your head is severed and falls on the ground, the person who caused this will die immediately. Your life will be saved and your head will rejoin your body. You may be ‘killed’ hundreds of thousands of times, but you will not die. On the other hand, if your severed head falls into your father’s hands and he throws it on the ground, then you will die.” Jayadratha was satisfied, thinking, “My father would never do this.”

When the battle of Kuruksetra began, Jayadratha took the side of the Pandavas’ enemy, Duryodhana. One evening during the battle, as the sun was setting, Jayadratha’s father was absorbed in prayer and making an offering of water to the Sun-god. Arjuna saw this opportune moment. With the skillful release of an arrow, he severed Jayadratha’s head from his body and caused it to fall into the hands of his meditating father. Startled and without thought, Jayadratha’s father tossed the head on the ground. Then, opening his eyes he exclaimed, “What was that wet thing?” Seeing that he had just thrown his son’s head, he began to cry, “Oh my son! Oh my son! You are dead now!”

In this way, the benedictions given by Lord Siva to the enemies of Lord Krsna always have a weak point – a loophole. Lord Siva is extremely clever, and he is always serving his Lord, Sri Krsna. Siva is very near and dear to Krsna, and in a way non-different from Him. Try to always honor him, for he is Krsna’s greatest devotee.

nimna-ganah yatha ganga
devanam acyuto yatha
vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh
purananam idam tatha

"Just as the Ganga is the greatest of all rivers, Lord Acyuta (Krsna) the supreme among deities and Lord Sambhu (Siva) the greatest of Vaisnavas, so Srimad-Bhagavatam is the greatest of all Puranas."[Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.13.16]


Siva-Tattva
Siva-tattva – is extremely complex. The principle of Brahma is not as complicated, because Lord Brahma is always a jiva, a finite spirit soul. Sometimes, when there is no qualified jiva, Lord Vishnu (Krsna’s expansion) personally takes the post of Brahma, but that is very rare. Lord Siva is not like that; he is not a finite soul.

After passing through the eight material coverings, and after crossing the Viraja (the river that divides the material world and the spiritual world) and the planet of Lord Brahma (the highest material planet), one comes to the planet of Siva. There he is known as Sadashiva, a manifestation of Lord Vishnu.

Sometimes, When Krishna, the Lord Himself, accepts the management of the modes of ignorance, He is called Siva. So Siva is God, but because He is in the department of ignorance, therefore his name is Siva. Another meaning of Siva is "auspicious." The inauspicious persons who are in ignorance, for them worship of Lord Siva is recommended so that gradually they come to the modes of passion and goodness, and then they are liberated. He has got connection with this material energy, and he is meant for destruction. Material energy is under the control of this Siva-rupa of Krishna. Therefore He is called father and the material energy is called mother. And because He has connection with this illusory energy, therefore He is not exactly God. God has nothing to do with this material energy, illusory energy. He is never illusioned. But Lord Siva has connection with Durga, the material energy. Therefore His position is between the living entity and Krishna.

Once when the heavenly Ganges River was descending onto the earth, the weight of its force would have crushed the world, so Siva accepted it on his head, wherein it stayed until it was ready to be released. The Ganges River is considered to have entered the universe when the Supreme Lord in His incarnation as Vamanadeva kicked the outer shell of the universe with His toe, thus letting in some of the water of the Karanadakashayi Ocean (Viraja River). This became the holy Ganga. Thus, it is considered the foot wash of the Lord. So Lord Siva takes this water on his head.

The Bhagavatam (3.28.22) relates: “The blessed Lord Siva becomes all the more blessed by bearing on his head the holy waters of the Ganges, which has its source in the water that washed the Lord's lotus feet….”

Krishna's Devotees are dear to Lord Siva & Lord Siva is Dear to Them
Siva works for the benefit of everyone, and tries to help the living beings make spiritual advancement. This is why he has his own line of disciplic succession or sampradaya called the Rudra-sampradaya [now known as vishnu-swami sampradaya or vallabhacharya sampradaya]that comes directly from him. Its adherents say that ultimate liberation comes from devotion to Krsna. And Siva, they say, showed how to be the perfect devotee. Even Siva himself confirms that one can achieve the supreme destination only by the mercy of Vishnu. Lord Siva says, “There is no doubt that Vishnu is the deliverer of liberation for everyone.”

This is also why he says to the sons of King Pracinibarhi:

“A person who is directly surrendered to Lord Krishna, or Vishnu, in unalloyed devotional service is immediately promoted to the spiritual planets. I, Lord Siva, and other demigods attain these planets only after the destruction of the material world. You are all devotees of the Lord, and as such I appreciate that you are as respectable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. I know in this way that the devotees also respect me and that I am dear to them. Thus no one can be as dear to the devotees as I am.”

In this way, a devotee of Krishna does not disrespect Lord Siva, but worships him as the greatest of devotees of Lord Krishna. A Krishna bhakta also prays to Lord Siva, but asks Siva to assist him in attaining the favor of Lord Krishna, and not merely for material benefits.

Lord Siva’s Position
In Srimad Bhagavatam (4.3.23), Lord Shiva himself tells his wife, Sati, He is always engaged in worshiping the Supreme Personality known as Lord Vasudeva, Krishna, who is revealed in pure consciousness, by offering obeisances. In the pastimes of Lord Krishna in Vrindavana, we find that Lord Siva had also tried to enter the rasa dance between Krishna and the gopis, the cowherd damsels. The Mahadeva Gopisvara temple in Vrindavana is said to mark where Lord Siva desired to become a gopi in order to enter the dance with Lord Krishna. So Lord Siva was trying to enter into the most confidential pastimes and devotion of Sri Krishna. Prior to this, Lord Siva had asked Sri Krsna for the boon to witness His childhood pastimes. Krsna ordered him to situate himself in Nandagaon in the form of a hill. Siva followed this order and became Nandisvara Hill, and he thus became known as Nandisvara.

In another place in the Bhagavatam (8.12.10), when Lord Shiva was bewildered by the Supreme Lord’s form as a beautiful woman, Mohini-Murti, Lord Siva admits his weakness in being unable to fully understand the illusory nature of this material creation. Later, Lord Siva, who is often pictured in meditation, explains to his wife who it is that he meditates on while in trance. He says, “O Goddess, You have now seen the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the unborn master of everyone. Although I am one of the principal expansions of His Lordship, even I was illusioned by His energy. What then is to be said of others, who are fully dependent on maya? When I finished performing mystic yoga for one thousand years, you asked me upon whom was I meditating? Now, here is the Supreme Person to whom time has no entrance and who the Vedas cannot understand.”

So the difference between Krishna and Siva or Shambhu is more clearly described in the Brahma-Samhita (verse 45) as follows: “Just as milk is transformed into curd by the action of acids, but yet the effect curd is neither the same as, nor different from, its cause, viz., milk, so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whom the state of Shambhu is a transformation for the performance of the work of destruction.”

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta goes on to explain in the purport to this verse that Siva is not a second Godhead other than Krishna. In fact, those who entertain such a discriminating sentiment commit a great offense to the Supreme Lord. The position of Shambhu is subservient to that of Govinda, Krishna. Hence they are not really different from each other, as the above verse indicates. But as yogurt comes from its initial cause, so Siva is manifest according to his initial cause, which is from Krishna through Maha-Vishnu. So God takes a subservient position to His direct forms when He attains a distinct personality by the addition of a particular element of adulteration, which is the form of Lord Siva or Shambhu, through which the Lord comes in contact with the material energy, since Maha-Vishnu never does touch the mundane energy. However, Siva has no independent initiative or ability.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta further describes that in this way, Govinda manifests Himself as a plenary portion which, in this case, is a guna-avatara in the form of Shambhu, lord of tamo-guna or the mode of darkness... Thus, Shambhu, in pursuance of the will of Govinda, works in union with his consort, Durga-Devi, by his own time energy.

It is explained further by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta that Lord Krishna has sixty divine qualities in their fullest measure. While 50 of the divine qualities of the jiva souls are present along with five additional qualities in Lord Brahma, yet in Siva these fifty-five qualities are also present but in greater degrees than in Lord Brahma. (Brahma-Samhita, verse 49, purport)

This makes it clear that the form and position of Siva is eternal, but only in the context of the endurance of the material creation. Lord Siva is the lord of tamo-guna and material nature, but not of the spiritual world. It is Lord Krishna who is described as the Supreme Being and controller of both the spiritual and material energies.

Conclusion
In his commentary on Sanatana Gosvami’s Brhad-bhagavatamrta [1.2.86], Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Gopipranadhana Prabhu, drawing on Sanatana Gosvami’s own commentary, writes, “The Padma Purana includes…a list of ten offenses against chanting Lord Vishnu’s names. Therein it is said, ‘One who sees differences between any of Lord Siva’s qualities and names and those of Sri Vishnu is an antagonist to hari-nama.’ Lord Vishnu cannot tolerate offenses against Lord Siva, because Lord Siva is the greatest of Lord Vishnu’s empowered incarnations. Lord Siva is especially empowered to distribute in the material world the elevated tastes of pure devotional service.”

Lord Siva is unique among the devas. He is an incarnation of Krishna, but he is somewhat different from Krishna, as curd is milk but not milk. He possesses qualities beyond those of any living entity and has an eternal dominion beyond matter. But to think that the name & personality of Lord Siva are equal in every way to those of Krishna is offensive. And it is also offensive to se them as different.

The perfect way to reconcile the positions of Siva and Krishna is to worship Siva as a changed incarnation of Krishna who considers himself Krishna’s devote and servant {somewhat similar to Lord Ananta}. In his incarnation as Siva, Lord Krsna acts as all destructive time and as the father of all living beings. As Krishna, he is aloof from matter; as Siva, he consorts with the personified material energy. When we properly worship Krishna, Siva is included and pleased. But if we worship Siva other than as a Vaisnava, Krishna’s devote, then neither is Siva fully pleased or satisfied nor is Krsna properly reverenced. [Urmila Devi Dasi, Srila Prabhupada’s Disciple, Back To Godhead, March/April 2006, Page 41]

Thus, the position of Lord Siva has been described relative to his purpose and function within the material creation, and his form as an expansion of Lord Krishna.