Lesson from a Victrola
Today on a rare day when the sun was partially breaking through the clouds in Lima, Peru I took the opportunity to get some good exercise by going for a lengthy walk in the neighborhood surrounding the ashram where I am staying. As I was returning to my ashram I happened to notice an antique Victrola for sale. You may be wondering what this has to do with Krishna consciousness, and I will explain.
The songs of the Narottam das Thakur are recognized by the great Vaisnava acharya Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur to be as good as Vedic mantras. In one of his songs Narottam das Thakur has written:
guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriyā aikya,
"My only desire is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from the lotus mouth of my spiritual master."
The famous logo for the Victorla, an early day wind up non-electric record playing machine, is of a dog named Nippy listening with keen interest to his master's voice being played through the Victrola. We have a very good lesson to learn from Nippy and his Victrola. Just as Nippy's ears are glued to the words of his master, our ears should also be glued the words emanating from the lotus mouth of our spiritual master. Our attachment to the merciful words emanating from our guru's mouth will save us from the repetition of birth and death and carry us back into that wondrous spiritual sky where life is eternal, full of nectar, and full of knowledge.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Please accept my most humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
In many of your lectures you told us the sentence: "If you work the process, the process will work". It is indeed the truth. But what puzzles me a little is that, many people who began Krishna consciousness but later on gave up due to lack of taste said: "This process doesn't work". I have to admit that there are many obstacles on the path of Krishna consciousness, and many dead corners as well. It is a fact that these people might be chanting 16 rounds, might be reading Srila Prabhupada's books, but at last they say it doesn't work. Is it because they didn't take the process as seriously and conscientiously as the time they had began the process? I have to admit that somehow or other we tend to become a little callous when we have practiced Krishna consciousness for some time. So we should we maintain our enthusiasm as best as we can in Krishna consciousness. Is it that their becoming callous caused their tastelessness, thus they left? Even though they are chanting and doing things, they are sitting back, that they are seated comfortably at their current status, forgetting to dive deeper, so the taste became lessened. Is this the reason?
Actually this is very common and easy to happen. How to avoid such a situation?
Your most humble servant
Yechen Zhang
Similarly, in the process of Krishna consciousness we must precisely follow the instructions given by the bona fide spiritual master. He understands perfectly well how to properly apply the scriptures and the teachings of the previous acharyas. If we carefully follow the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master, our success on the path of Krishna bhakti is assured. However, if we pick and choose from his instructions which ones we will follow and which ones we will not follow, we will not derive the same result.
We will be a failure. Therefore we must put our unflinching
faith in the teachings of Lord Krishna as revealed to us by the bona fide spiritual master because it is only in that way that we will become perfect in transcendental realization.
His Holiness Vishnujana Swami said, "Casual means casualty." So if we become callous or overly familiar with the process of Krishna consciousness thinking that now we are very advanced in Krishna bhakti, we will lose that taste we had in the beginning. The way to always keep that initial taste and to continually increase it is to be always be more tolerant than a tree, considering ourselves to be more lowly than the straw in the street. We should always offer all respect to others without demanding any respect for ourselves. In this way we will be able to chant the holy names constantly with ever-increasing taste.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
The songs of the Narottam das Thakur are recognized by the great Vaisnava acharya Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur to be as good as Vedic mantras. In one of his songs Narottam das Thakur has written:
guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriyā aikya,
"My only desire is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from the lotus mouth of my spiritual master."
The famous logo for the Victorla, an early day wind up non-electric record playing machine, is of a dog named Nippy listening with keen interest to his master's voice being played through the Victrola. We have a very good lesson to learn from Nippy and his Victrola. Just as Nippy's ears are glued to the words of his master, our ears should also be glued the words emanating from the lotus mouth of our spiritual master. Our attachment to the merciful words emanating from our guru's mouth will save us from the repetition of birth and death and carry us back into that wondrous spiritual sky where life is eternal, full of nectar, and full of knowledge.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Antique Victrola in Lima Teaches Lesson
Nippy's Ears Are Glued to His Master's Voice
Answers According to the Vedic Version:
Question: Why the Process Does Not Work for Some?
Dear teacher:Please accept my most humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
In many of your lectures you told us the sentence: "If you work the process, the process will work". It is indeed the truth. But what puzzles me a little is that, many people who began Krishna consciousness but later on gave up due to lack of taste said: "This process doesn't work". I have to admit that there are many obstacles on the path of Krishna consciousness, and many dead corners as well. It is a fact that these people might be chanting 16 rounds, might be reading Srila Prabhupada's books, but at last they say it doesn't work. Is it because they didn't take the process as seriously and conscientiously as the time they had began the process? I have to admit that somehow or other we tend to become a little callous when we have practiced Krishna consciousness for some time. So we should we maintain our enthusiasm as best as we can in Krishna consciousness. Is it that their becoming callous caused their tastelessness, thus they left? Even though they are chanting and doing things, they are sitting back, that they are seated comfortably at their current status, forgetting to dive deeper, so the taste became lessened. Is this the reason?
Actually this is very common and easy to happen. How to avoid such a situation?
Your most humble servant
Yechen Zhang
Answer: Because They Do Not Properly Work the Process
If we follow a cake recipe properly, we will be able to bake a nice cake. If we do not properly follow all of the instructions given in the recipe, our cake will turn out to be a flop. It will end up being simply some useless goo in the bottom of the cake pan.Similarly, in the process of Krishna consciousness we must precisely follow the instructions given by the bona fide spiritual master. He understands perfectly well how to properly apply the scriptures and the teachings of the previous acharyas. If we carefully follow the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master, our success on the path of Krishna bhakti is assured. However, if we pick and choose from his instructions which ones we will follow and which ones we will not follow, we will not derive the same result.
We will be a failure. Therefore we must put our unflinching
faith in the teachings of Lord Krishna as revealed to us by the bona fide spiritual master because it is only in that way that we will become perfect in transcendental realization.
His Holiness Vishnujana Swami said, "Casual means casualty." So if we become callous or overly familiar with the process of Krishna consciousness thinking that now we are very advanced in Krishna bhakti, we will lose that taste we had in the beginning. The way to always keep that initial taste and to continually increase it is to be always be more tolerant than a tree, considering ourselves to be more lowly than the straw in the street. We should always offer all respect to others without demanding any respect for ourselves. In this way we will be able to chant the holy names constantly with ever-increasing taste.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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