Our Gentle Nudge
This morning (6 April 2007) after observing Mangala Arati and Tulasi puja I still had two rounds to go to complete my daily vow of chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on my japa beads. I was thinking that a brisk morning japa walk in the cool morning air would be both enlivening for my consciousness as well as good for my health. When I expressed this idea to go to my host, Gopinath das, all the devotees present at his apartment decided to come with me.
So it was quite a jolly scene: a large group of Vaisnavas sporting their traditional tilak and garb with bead bags in hand chanting the holy names like a transcendental bee hive. Gopinath told me that it was the first time a spiritual master had ever walked the streets of Kaliningrad. We ventured into a wealthy neighborhood where every house had a big dog and all of sudden all we could hear was dozens of dogs barking from all directions. We decided to turn around and seek a more serene street for our morning walk. When I told Gopinath that the wealthy neighborhood was "Sabakaloka", which means a planet of dogs, he had a hearty laugh. (Sabaka is the Russian word for dog, and loka is the Sanskrit word for planet.)
It felt really good to one of a large contingent of devotees enthusiastically displaying Vaisnava dress, tilaka, bead bags, and mantra chanting for the benefit of a suffering Russian society that is still so deeply steeped in illusion and misery. Such cultural expressions have a profound uplifting impact on the materialistic civilization to gently nudge it in the direction of spiritual awakening. May that day come soon. May that day come soon!
Thank You,
Jukka
manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah
"Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth."
--Bhagavad-gita 7.3
This tells us clearly that only a small handful of the world population will become Krishna conscious. But then Krishnadas Kaviraj states in the Caitanya Caritamrita:
saj-jana, durjana, pangu, jada, andha-gana
prema-vanyaya dubaila jagatera jana
"The Krishna consciousness movement will inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether one be a gentleman, a rogue or even lame, invalid or blind."
--Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 7.26
He is saying that everyone will become Krishna conscious. So is this a contradiction? From the mundane point of view it does certainly appear to be a contradiction. But then when we consider that Lord Caitanya is even more merciful than Lord Krishna, we can begin to understand how it is possible that by the mercy of Lord Caitanya that which is impossible can become completely possible.
There are rules, and there are exceptions to rules. The rule is that only a small percentage of the human population becomes spiritually awakened. But in this most amazing Caitanya Era, which began in 1486, it is possible and conceivable and predicted that the entire human population will become inundated in the tidal of Lord Caitanya's mercy by becoming Krishna conscious.
When are you going to dive into this ocean? You have been sitting on the shore long enough.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
So it was quite a jolly scene: a large group of Vaisnavas sporting their traditional tilak and garb with bead bags in hand chanting the holy names like a transcendental bee hive. Gopinath told me that it was the first time a spiritual master had ever walked the streets of Kaliningrad. We ventured into a wealthy neighborhood where every house had a big dog and all of sudden all we could hear was dozens of dogs barking from all directions. We decided to turn around and seek a more serene street for our morning walk. When I told Gopinath that the wealthy neighborhood was "Sabakaloka", which means a planet of dogs, he had a hearty laugh. (Sabaka is the Russian word for dog, and loka is the Sanskrit word for planet.)
It felt really good to one of a large contingent of devotees enthusiastically displaying Vaisnava dress, tilaka, bead bags, and mantra chanting for the benefit of a suffering Russian society that is still so deeply steeped in illusion and misery. Such cultural expressions have a profound uplifting impact on the materialistic civilization to gently nudge it in the direction of spiritual awakening. May that day come soon. May that day come soon!
Sankarshan Prabhu Expounds Gita Science in Russia
Early Morning Walk in Kaliningrad
Coining the term "Sabakaloka"
Answers According to the Vedic Version
Question: Impossible for Everyone to Become Krishna Conscious?...
So do you agree with the fact that it is impossible to make everyone on this planet Krishna-Conscious?Thank You,
Jukka
Answer: Everyone Will Become...
Lord Krishna does state in the Bhagavad-gita:manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah
"Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth."
--Bhagavad-gita 7.3
This tells us clearly that only a small handful of the world population will become Krishna conscious. But then Krishnadas Kaviraj states in the Caitanya Caritamrita:
saj-jana, durjana, pangu, jada, andha-gana
prema-vanyaya dubaila jagatera jana
"The Krishna consciousness movement will inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether one be a gentleman, a rogue or even lame, invalid or blind."
--Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 7.26
He is saying that everyone will become Krishna conscious. So is this a contradiction? From the mundane point of view it does certainly appear to be a contradiction. But then when we consider that Lord Caitanya is even more merciful than Lord Krishna, we can begin to understand how it is possible that by the mercy of Lord Caitanya that which is impossible can become completely possible.
There are rules, and there are exceptions to rules. The rule is that only a small percentage of the human population becomes spiritually awakened. But in this most amazing Caitanya Era, which began in 1486, it is possible and conceivable and predicted that the entire human population will become inundated in the tidal of Lord Caitanya's mercy by becoming Krishna conscious.
When are you going to dive into this ocean? You have been sitting on the shore long enough.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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