Relishing the Sweet Nectar of Devotee Association

Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita that the devotees of the Lord derive great bliss and satisfaction by gathering together to hear about, discuss, and glorify Him. We have practical experience of this on a regular daily basis. There is truly nothing more ecstatic than to be in the association of the Lord's devotees engaged in devotional activities. In the photo below we have just arrived on the Fijian Island of Viti Levu after flying over from several nectarean days of sharing Krishna consciousness with the wonderful devotees of Taveuni. While driving through the mountains from the airport at Savusavu on the way to Labasa (pronounced Lambasa) we stopped by the side of the road to share a wonderful picnic of Krishna prasadam together. The spiritual master is very pleased when he sees that the devotees are gathering together to take Krishna prasadam.

Sankarshan Das and Devotees share a picnic of Krishna Prasadam

Answers According to the Vedic Version

Question: Is Obedience to Guru Predestined?...

Is whether or not I put sincere effort in following the instructions of the spiritual master predestined by my past karma, or is it according to my free choice? I mean sometimes I am able to put sincere effort and sometimes I am not.

your servant

Rama Rupa Chaitanya das

Answer: Obedience to Guru Transforms Destiny...

To what extent one is obedient to one's spiritual master is not predetermined by one's karma. It is totally up to you right now how much you will be surrendered to following the instructions of your spiritual master.

You can be neglectful and suffer the consequences, or you can be fully obedient and reap the supreme reward of going back to home, back to Godhead at the end of this lifetime. The choice is fully yours, no matter what your past karma may be. The spiritual master is giving you the opportunity to become liberated from the predestining influence of the laws of karma. This is his special mercy upon the disciple. It is fully up to the disciple whether or not he will take complete advantage of the guru's mercy. The choice is fully yours. Now what will you do?

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Little Sparrow Who Conquered the Ocean

Image
In his purport to Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 6, Text 24 Srila Prabhupada wonderfully teaches us the power of determinations by telling us the story of the little sparrow who conquered the ocean: "As for determination, one should follow the example of the sparrow who lost her eggs in the waves of the ocean. A sparrow laid her eggs on the shore of the ocean, but the big ocean carried away the eggs on its waves. The sparrow became very upset and asked the ocean to return her eggs. The ocean did not even consider her appeal. So the sparrow decided to dry up the ocean. She began to pick out the water in her small beak, and everyone laughed at her for her impossible determination. The news of her activity spread, and at last Garuda, the gigantic bird carrier of Lord Visnu, heard it. He became compassionate toward his small sister bird, and so he came to see the sparrow. Garuda was very pleased by the determination of the small sparrow, and he promised to help. Thus Garuda at once asked t
Read more

Heart Melting Reunion with Amarendra and Gayatri

Image
On Friday 26 June 2015 I was blessed with the greatest good fortune of meeting with two of the dearest devotees of my entire life, His Grace Amarendra Prabhu and his good wife, Srimati Gayatri devi dasi. I am eternally indebted to these great souls for how much they helped me in my spiritual life when I was a young devotee. When I was young brahmacari monk in 1973 I joined with the two of them in Gainesville, Florida. We were a three person preaching center, and they were just like a mother and father to me. I had so many wonderful Krishna conscious experiences in their association that I can hardly begin to describe them here. But at least may it suffice for me to say for now that Gayatri taught me what it means to be a soft-hearted devotee of the Lord and she gave me my first cooking lesson, teaching me how to make cauliflower pakoras, and Amarendra taught me the art of how to preach strongly, intelligently, and coolly to defeat opposing arguments. Recently Gayatri almost died. But
Read more

Misguided Fools Say that Masturbation is Healthy

Image
Foolish modern day materialists recommend masturbation as follows: "Masturbation is a common activity. It’s a natural and safe way to explore your body, feel pleasure, and release built-up sexual tension. It occurs among people of all backgrounds, genders, and races. Despite the myths, there are actually no physically harmful side effects of masturbation." They are wrong. To get a proper understanding on this this topic read the question and answer section below. Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: What are the Ill Effects of Masturbation? Since you answered questions related to understanding the real need of sex in a human being's life, so I also request you to please enlighten us with the knowledge about semen conservation, it's importance, and the consequences of frequently releasing it thorough sex or masturbation. Since today most of the youth are indulged in mansturbation and they think it to be good in comparison to doing sex with some female for
Read more