Ten Thousand Disciples

On March 7, 1976 in Mayapur, India Srila Prabhupada instructed that he wants all his disciples to become gurus. He said that he wanted each disciple to make thousands of disciples just as he did and in this way spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. "You each be guru," he said. "As I have five thousand disciples or ten thousand, so you have ten thousand each. In this way, create branches and branches of the Caitanya tree." Therefore in humble obedience to my spiritual master I am trying my best to make thousands of disciples all over the world to please him. And I can see that Srila Prabhupada has mercifully sent me so many sincere souls all over the world to engage in his mission. I am praying for his full blessings that I may be successful because it is only by his grace that I can do anything.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Revitalize and Rejuvenate in beautiful Govinda Valley, Australia 19-21 December 2008 Aerial View of Govinda Valley Retreat Center

Aerial View of Govinda Valley Retreat Center

Blissful Participants from Last Year's Retreat

Blissful Participants from Last Year's Retreat at Govinda Valley

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: When Others Take Advantage of One's Humility

Srila Gurudeva,

Thanks for the newsletter and your pearls of wisdom. Your answer about humility prompted this question.
How do we handle when humility and unconditional love are taken for granted by others and such a situation brings us pain, when those qualities are seen as signs of weakness and mocked upon, when they are taken advantage of by many in this material world?

Thanks and Regards
Shalini

Answer: Make a Show of Strength

As I have previously explained there was one time a cobra who became a devotee of Narada Muni. Before he became a devotee he was a cause of great fear for the villagers. But when he became a humble devotee has was no longer a threat. Some naughty children took advantage of his humility and used to harass him with sticks. He became distraught not knowing what to do, and he approached his spiritual master for guidance. Narada then told the snake that whenever the children came to harass him, he should expand his hood and raise his head up as if prepared to strike. He said the sight of this would scare the children away.

So in a similar way, if a devotee is being harassed because of his humility, he should make a show of strength in order to deter those who are harassing him.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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