Transforming Selfishness into Selflessness

Selfishness is only the perverted reflection of the pure selflessness which is natural for every living entity. It is foolish to try to be happy selfishly by making ourselves the center of existence, because the fact is that we are not the center of existence. There is an original source from which everything is emanating. That source is the center of all existence. Because so many persons are emanating from that source, that source must be personal. Just as by watering the root of a tree all of its leaves and branches are nourished, by rendering loving service to that person from whom everything is emanating we give the highest service to all living beings. This is pure selflessness. And because we are part and parcel of that originating person our personal needs are automatically taken care of when we serve Him.

By following the regulative principles of devotional life even the most selfish person can gradually be transformed into a purely selfless lover of God. So, from any stage of life, or from the time of understanding its urgency, one can begin regulating the senses in Krishna consciousness, devotional service of the Lord, and turn selfishness into pure selflessness, pure love of Godhead -- the highest perfectional stage of human life.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Devotee's Suffering

Dear Gurudeva,

All obeisances unto you.

Will you kindly tell me if there exists any difference between bodily sufferings of a devotee and a non-devotee? Or is there is only a difference of attitude between the two. For example if a devotee suffers from a terminal illness how much shocked he will be compared to a layman who may go into depression about his impending death till actual death catches him?

I lose concentration while chanting. How can I chant steadfastly?

Does initiation make any difference in the quality of devotion?

Your servant,
Rajendra
from Mumbai, India

Answer: Springboard to Transcendental Bliss

Both the devotees and the non-devotees experience bodily suffering. The difference is that the devotee fully realizes that he is not his body and is thus not disturbed by such suffering. He experiences the suffering as simply something happening out there in the material energy, not as something that is happening to him. And even if the devotee is disturbed by the suffering, such disturbance gives him further impetus for taking complete shelter of the Lord so that he can quickly regain his spiritual body which is never exposed to any kinds of suffering conditions. Therefore for a devotee suffering conditions are a springboard to transcendental bliss.

For concentration in chanting you must rise early and chant 16 rounds of japa before sunrise. This means you must go to bed as early as possible in the evening.

Initiation empowers the practice of bhakti. Bhakti becomes a thousand times enhanced for one who accepts and maintains strictly his initiation vows. This is why I want to see that all of my students become initiated.

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

Who is this Krishna?

Image
Krishna is not a myth, nor is He an ordinary historical personality. He is the Supreme All-Attractive Personality of Godhead. He is the oldest of all while simultaneously maintaining the form of a 16 year old youth. He is all-attractive because he exceeds everyone in all of existence by possessing unlimitedly all the qualities that are attractive namely power, beautify, renunciation, knowledge, wealth, and fame. There is no one who equals or excels Him in the possession of these attractive qualities. This is why is accepted by all enlightened spiritualists as being God, the original source of all existence. The perfection of our existence is to re-establish our long forgotten loving relationships with Him. There Is No One More Amazing Than Krishna Video for the Day Don't Be a Hypocrite Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: Was Krishna a Real Person? Was Krishna a real person who lived on Earth? Ray Galindo Answer: He Was and He Still Is My Dear Ray, Pleas
Read more