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