Reasoning Love

Love – how sweet and strong a word, yet so easily thrown around. In this material world our existence is based on the search for happiness and to most if not all of us, love seems to be the answer.

 

Well, frankly, it is! But under the powerful and perverted influence of this material nature we fail to establish the ultimate source and destination of our love.

 

The classical story of boy meets girl is now an everyday occurrence of instant attraction – sometimes this happens fast and simply, at other times hard and complicated, but soon enough the word “love” is thrown into the mix.

 

- “I love you”

- “I love you too”

What are they really saying?

-“if I love you, will you love me?”

-“I love you, because you love me!”

 

 

This is the love of the material world – impure, conditional, limited and temporary!

 

But pure, unconditional, unlimited and permanent love is and can ONLY be for Krishna. Krishna is the original supreme personality of Godhead and the source of everything. He is the source of life, the source of life that makes every living being attractive to another. The only reason we have any attraction for another living being is because they are just a fragmental tiny part and parcel of Krishna.

The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can begin our ecstatic journey to awakening our dormant love for the lord and thus leading our lives to the door of eternal happiness. Some of us may easily learn this greatest lesson of life through the ideal method of sravanam (hearing). But, other not so fortunate souls may only learn through the painful cycle of mistakes in this material world.

 

In 2 weeks time is Valentines Day. A day of hearts, cuddly hugs, red roses, and little pink teddy’s and sugar kisses. It is a day of appreciating our beloved and/or declaring our heart to our dearest. It’s the blossoming of a love that induces security, warmth and false feelings of happiness arising from the finding of being wanted and loved – butterflies the age old addiction.

 

To all the single, young and aspiring devotees, just remember that if you ever fall in love, you are just falling for a single minute particle of Krishna, so why not just entirely “fall” for Krishna “trip” worth while.

 

…And to all the grhasthas, my sincerest condolences… (Jokes)…

 

We may think that bramhachari ashram is the one place that teaches us discipline, tolerance, and sacrifices. But no ashram teaches these more clearly and intensely that being in the grhasthas ashram, with family life, children and wife responsibilities, one needs to be tolerant, patient, sacrificial and endearing than in other way of life, so if you are in the grhasthas ashram my repeated obeisance’s unto you, and the key to any successful relationship is to put Krishna in the centre of every relationship. Non grhasthas be warned…

 

We don’t always get what we want, but we always get what we deserve. The idea is to work to either deserve what we want or to want what we deserve.

 

Hare Krishna!

Ratha Yatra Durban

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What Does Spiritual Advancement Mean To You?

As an ever-learning student of material and spiritual knowledge, I see spiritual advancement as an open book; the pages consist of Nature, the words the weather, the dialogue as experience and the structure as people. However, most people do not realise the importance of material advancement in relation to spiritual advancement.

A few months ago, a Mahraj had come to visit our temple in Bahrain. It was one of my favourite lecturers, as he connects well with the devotees, having a charismatic personality. Seeming as no one were asking any questions, I decided to enquire his point of view on spiritual advancement. So, I asked him:

‘Hare Krishna, doesn’t one have to advance materially before spiritually?’

What Does Spiritual Advancement Mean To You? By Keerty R

As an ever-learning student of material and spiritual knowledge, I see spiritual advancement as an open book; the pages consist of Nature, the words the weather, the dialogue as experience and the structure as people. However, most people do not realise the importance of material advancement in relation to spiritual advancement.

A few months ago, a Mahraj had come to visit our temple in Bahrain. It was one of my favourite lecturers, as he connects well with the devotees, having a charismatic personality. Seeming as no one were asking any questions, I decided to enquire his point of view on spiritual advancement. So, I asked him:

‘Hare Krishna, doesn’t one have to advance materially before spiritually?’

Ladies and gentlemen (or should I say ‘fellow devotees’?), the answer I received was quite an eye-opener;

‘You do not need to have money to advance spiritually, my dear child. You just need to be a good Vaishnavi and plenty of decent men will ask for your hand in marriage, whereby you can serve the Lord together.’

Why is it that as soon as the word ‘material’ pops up, all spirit souls relate it to money? As much as I adore this Mahraj, I was quite taken aback by his reference to my marriage, and complete irrelevance to my question. The reason why I am clinging onto my ridiculous theories is because the basis of any religion is becoming a moral human being. Christianity and Judaism (the Ten Commandments), Islam (Qu’uran) and especially Buddhism advises it, as without it how can one go further?

I have come across too many people who reject the plea of help from a less fortunate one, simply because they are too concerned with chanting their sixteen rounds for ‘spiritual advancement’. The second lesson that I was taught (first: Krishna is God and the Absolute Truth) is to try to be in the mode of goodness always. Ignoring to help someone in anyway simply to skip to the Chariot to seek Krishna is far from Sattva-Guna.

In a nutshell, I have understood that the basis of surrendering oneself to lead a rightful spiritual life is only through succumbing into leading a moral material life. This does not exclusively mean piling up one’s bank pockets, but rather following an ethical manner of living. There comes a certain point when material life and spiritual life are almost side by side, and that is when one steps forward to conquer either one of them. The best stanza that encapsulates this is from the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13; Text 8-12

amanitvam adambhitvam

ahimsa ksantir arjavam

acaryopasanam saucam

sthairyam atma-vinigrahah

indriyarthesu vairagyam

anahankara eva ca

janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-

duhkha-dosanudarsanam

asaktir anabhisvangah

putra-dara-grhadisu

nityam ca sama-cittatvam

istanistopapattisu

mayi cananya-yogena

bhaktir avyabhicarini

vivikta-desa-sevitvam

aratir jana-samsadi

adhyatma-jnana-nityatvam

tattva-jnanartha-darsanam

etaj jnanam iti proktam

ajnanam yad ato ‘nyatha

Translation: ‘Humility, pridelessness, non-violence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth – all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.’

Please note that the first few nouns Krishna has presented are: ‘Humility, pridelessness, non-violence, tolerance, simplicity’, while the last piece of advice is ‘…and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth’. Hence, without adapting the basics of material life, one cannot seek Krishna. So, next time you see someone without a smile, gift them yours - it starts of there, and soon any spirit soul will reach the bottom of this enlightening verse.

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