Closeness to Srila Prabhupada

Last Sunday a guest at our weekly Sunday Feast program inquired from me how close I was to my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In spiritual life we do not measure closeness to the spiritual master by physical proximity. Actual closeness is measured by how much one is dedicated to always remembering and executing the orders that he has received from his spiritual master. This is because the spiritual master is more powerfully present in his instructions than he is in his physical presence.

Physically I had scant association with my spiritual master. But I was most fortunate to have received from him very sublime instructions that I have totally embraced as my very life and soul. Thus from the very beginning of my devotional life in 1971 I have been blessed with the utmost mercy of always being closely connected with my spiritual master.

For example, on 7 September 1971 he wrote me from London the following instruction:

"I can see also that you are a very sincere and enthusiastic boy and are anxious for spreading this movement. Those are first class qualifications for making advancement in Krishna Consciousness. So continue enthusiastically as you are doing and Krishna will surely bless you."

I realized my good fortune in receiving such an instruction, and thus I fully dedicated myself to always remain enthusiastic about Krishna consciousness and the Krishna consciousness movement no matter what may happen. And by so doing I have always been blessed by Lord Sri Krishna with being tightly connected with my beloved spiritual master. This is real closeness.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Poison in the Beginning?

Sir, is it true that Krishna Consciousness in the beginning is poison? If yes, is there any way by which a person can pass through the phase of poison easily?

Warm regards,

Sunil

Answer: Krishna Consciousness is Nectar All the Way

Krishna consciousness is nectar in the beginning and even more nectar as you progress. It is only happiness in the mode of goodness that is poison in the beginning and nectar in the end. In other words, if you practice bhakti purely 24 hours day, free of any material motives, you are already situated on the transcendental platform, which is bliss in the beginning and even more bliss as you advance on the bhakti path.

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