We are like that lost child, not knowing where to find the shelter where mother and father are. But when a vaishnav calls out Radha and Krishna’s name then the mother and father; their prayers bring us again, yoga means in reunion with our eternal shelter. I am very much grateful for this opportunity to speak to all of you on behalf of my beloved guru maharaj, His Devine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, whose prayer and whose sacrifice of compassion has brought us all together this evening. I thank you from my heart for taking your precious time to be here with us.
Understanding the real nature and need of the soul.
Srila Prabhupad explained that this ratha yatra is a festival of feeling, feeling of let us say cultivating the feeling of longing for the most fundamental need that we all have. Rupa Gosvami explains, the basic necessity for every living being in order to experience real happiness is to loved and to be loved. Without having that reciprocation of love in our life, no matter what else we do or what we achieve, there can be no true satisfaction of the heart. We are all seeking pleasure. Why? Because we have forgotten the dormant love within our hearts. In order to understand how to be satisfied with real love first we must know what is the origin of that permanent unrelenting necessity within us. The vedantasutra tells us “Änanda-mayo ‘bhyäsät”, that the absolute truth is always full of pleasure, full of bliss. And our nature according to the Gita “mamaiväàço jéva-loke jéva-bhütaù sanätanaù”, we are all part and parcel of the absolute truth, like the sun ray is to the sun planet. We are qualitatively one to the God. But quantitatively the Upanishads tell us “nityo nityänäà cetanaç cetanänäm eko bahünäà yo vidadhäti kämän”, we are always subordinate to the absolute. The absolute is Rasa Vihari, He is the enjoyer of the all pleasure eternally, He is the supreme enjoyer. And as a part of Krishna it is our nature to always be happy. But that happiness is the love between our self and God.
Real problems and real solutions.
Human civilization has advanced in so many spheres, science technology, medicine, economics, but is there actually more happiness despite all our amazing successes and accomplishments. Some people think back of what it was like 100-200 years ago, and we consider now we are so much more civilized. The world is such a better place to live, in some ways it is. But let us take a glimpse into some facts. There is a institute in Washington in America called the World watch institute, they study the world very very carefully. Their finding is that there were three times more people killed in war or in genocide; genocide means cruelly exterminating innocent men, women and children. Who are unnamed, there were three times more people killed in war or in genocide between the year 1900 and the year 1999, then there was people killed by the same way from 1 A.D to 1899. That mean in the last century there were more people killed in wars and genocide, then in one thousand nine hundred years. Are things really getting better? What is the problem? The problem is very simple. We are all seeking pleasure, but if we do not understand where our real pleasure is we search in alternative places, and constantly become frustrated. Because nothing else except awakening our original love of God or Krishna can satisfy the heart. All the desire we try to fulfill in this world, it is like putting fuel in a fire. Where as Srila Prabhupada explained without our spiritual consciousness which is our very nature, we are like a fish trying to enjoy on dry sand, it’s just not our place. In the ocean we are free; we are liberated, we can really be happy, if we are fish. But on the sand whatever you get, you can get a beautiful husband, a beautiful wife or so many girlfriends; you can have jewelry, beautiful house, wonderful imported car, all kinds of technological entertainment systems, you can have fame prestige or power but cannot have real happiness. Because it’s not our nature, we are the eternal soul. The force that gives life to this body, when the atma leaves this body the body is dead. Who are we? We are that conscious force. Real knowledge is not to be duped of propaganda of materialism but to sincerely enquire, “Athäto brahma jijïäsä”. The Brahma Sutra declares your human life begins when you sincerely enquire who am I? What is the purpose of life? Who is God and what is my relationship? And we seek not only to understand but to realize the answers to those questions. Otherwise the soul passes through eight million four hundred thousand species of life one after another, trying to find that happiness, trying to find that love, “nitya-siddha kåñëa-prema ‘sädhya’ kabhu naya”, the love that is within us and to experience the love of Krishna, which is perfect and complete. And that loving exchange between the supreme lord and the soul the awaken soul is so perfect that it extends to every living being, because every living being is a part of Krishna. When we realize the soul within our own heart as being part of God, we see the same in everyone. We are cleansed from al of the misconceptions and all the designations that trap us in so much bondage. We are thinking we are man and women we are thinking we are particular religion a particular nationality a particular race a particular cast. The Gita tells us
“vidyä-vinaya-sampanne
brähmaëe gavi hastini
çuni caiva çva-päke ca
paëòitäù sama-darçinaù”
Finding the inner pleasure:-
What is wisdom? What is knowledge? It’s not just getting a high seat in collage; it’s not just getting a M.A or P.H.D. That is knowledge, but real knowledge; a learned person Gita says is one who sees every living being with equal vision. A person who doesn’t just see the artificial, superficial covering of the body which is ever changing, and will soon be vanquished. But a person who realizes the eternal essence within him or herself and in everyone else, such a person sees a Brahmin, an elephant, a dog, an eater of dogs, every living being not just human being but wherever there is life. There is love and there is compassion for the soul within theirs hearts. In that state we are satisfied, we are no longer controlled by our hunger our starvation for pleasure and thus plundered and exploited by consumerism. I need more and more and more and so much propaganda to convince us if you have this or this or something, you’ll be happy. The environment is in a critical condition in today’s world, even the greatest scientists who have the dignity to open their hearts and see the reality of this planet are bewilder, what are we going to do? The green house effects, the solar ice capes are melting, thus all kinds of horrible, dangerous climatic changes are taking place. The future are so dim and gloomy, unless we do something now; people are not concern with the necessities of life. Srila Prabhupad says they are concern with the unnecessary necessities. And we are convinced that they are unnecessarily destroying our environment and are increasing our own greed, and own dissatisfaction; we consider those things to be necessary but we are by nature pleasure seeking. We have to find pleasure, we can’t live without it.
Basis of Krishna Consciousness Movement:-
Srila Prabhupada explained that this Krishna consciousness movement is based on a simple principle, “ceto-darpaëa-märjanaà bhava-mahä-dävägni-nirväpaëaà”, the pleasure in within us; it is with our relationship with Krishna. The love we are longing for, the love we are earning for, the love we are completely frustrated by because we are looking in the wrong places. Love Krishna love everyone, if you love Krishna you will love your husband and wife billions of times more you can then in any other way. And your children and your parents and your dog and everyone else, loving Krishna is not excluding anyone. Queen Kunti prayed
“Twai me nanyavisaya matir madhupate’ asakrit
Ratim udbahatat addhaganga iva ogham udanwati”
That my dear Lord Krishna, let my attraction let my attraction be drawn to you, like the Ganges is flowing to the sea without being diverted to anyone else. When we focus on the real purpose of life, when we focus on the real need of the soul, that love when it reposes to the lotus feet of the Lord, extends on conditionally toward every living being. For all of eternity, that is what we are all looking for and to realize that is the purpose of human form of life. And it is so easily available; it’s just the matter of purifying our consciousness. Srila Prabhupad explained in very simple words he said, “when a drop of water falls from a sky, it’s pure. But when it comes in contact with the earth, it becomes mud, looses its transparency all you see is the mud, the mud is not water the mud is just mixed with the water and pollutes the water. All that is required is filtering that water, to bring the water to its original natural state. Similarly our consciousness is by nature pure, why? Because our consciousness is the symptom emerging form the pure soul. The soul is always pure, but it is covered. Our mind is like a mirror, when you look in mirror you expect to see yourselves. But when that mirror is covered by layers of layers of layers of dust and dirt, and debris all you see is that. And you think this is me, and this is how I will enjoy. Its superficial, artificial and the source of all problems. ceto-darpaëa-märjanaà, the purpose of human life and the basis of this Krishna Consciousness movement is to clean the mirror of the mind. And what is the most powerful and effective of all ways of cleaning the mirror of the mind? According to all the great scriptures, and the Lord Him selves
“kaler doña-nidhe räjann
asti hy eko mahän guëaù
kértanäd eva kåñëasya
mukta-saìgaù paraà vrajet”
The way is the greatest of all benedictions that has been bestowed upon us, that we can attain that perfection, of realizing and directly experience the long lost love for Krishna and all living beings that is within our own selves. And the process is simply chanting the holy names of the Lord. Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally taught us by his own examples how to celebrate this festival of feeling.
Mood of the residents of vrindavan:-
When Krishna was living in Dwarka, here was a solar eclipse. Then He and the prominent Dwarkavasis all desided to go to Kurukshetra, to take their bath in Brahma Sarovar. And after many many years of separation Krishna invited the residence of Vrindavan to come there. When they met the most beloved of all the gopies Srimati Radharani, who is the very pleasure potency of the Lord the very personification and embodiment of all love for God, She saw Krishna dressed as a royal prince and She prayed, “I am the same Radha Rani and you are the same Krishna, but I do not like seeing you in this role of a great king surrounded by elephants and solders. Wearing all sorts of royal attire, I know what makes you happy My Lord. I want to bring you back to the forest of vrindavan. Under the kadamba tree on the banks of yamunna, and see you in the three fold form with the peacock feather in Your hair, playing upon your flute”. It was this mood of the residence of vrindavan, bringing Krishna back home that is personified in ratha yatra, where Jagannath who is Krishna Himself along His brother and sister Balaram and Subhadra are being brought from kurukestra to vrindavan. And Srila Prabhupad explained very simply, it is a festival of bringing Krishna back into our hearts, of longing to bring Krishna back into our hearts. And Lord Chaitanya taught us how to do that, in a prayerful mood, in a prayerful mood with our raised to sincerely cry out Krishna’s holy names, HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE/ HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE. So we invite everyone, please if you are philosophically inclined there are beautiful books explaining, how we can practically in our daily lives whether we are business people or housewives or students or doctors or lawyers or farmers or politicians or monks, “gåhe thäko, vane thäko, sadä ‘hari’ bole’ òäko”. In whatever particular position we are in life we don’t have to give it up. We only have to pursue our goal, by learning the art of living in such a way that everything we do is an expression of our love for God that is our nature. Bhakti is so simple, even a child can perfect their lives. People can perform yoga birth after birth after birth, but Krishna tells in Gita
“yoginäm api sarveñäà
mad-gatenäntar-ätmanä
çraddhävän bhajate yo mäà
sa me yuktatamo mataù”
The ultimate perfection of all yoga is to abide in me with faith and worship, serve Me with love and devotion, such a person is most intimately united with me in yoga. And anyone can do it, all we require is the desire and proper guidance and association, we don’t have to change our field of life, we simply have to change our hearts. So please take this very seriously, the world is seriously in a mess, worst then ever before in history. There has always been an enemy nation but never before with nuclear bombs they have now. The planet has never been so polluted that the whole eco system is collapsing, the kinds of deceases, mental illness, depression, world has never seen. There is a need, and each and every one of us by accessing the power, the love and the compassion of Krishna or God for within our own heart s can make a very very substantial difference. So please chant Hare Krishna, be happy and bring about real happiness in this world.
Thank you very much.
