Expecting the Lord's Mercy
Lord Krishna is bestowing showers of unlimited mercy upon each and every one of living entities throughout the totality of existence at every minute. Those who understand, appreciate, and reciprocate with this mercy are His devotees. Those who do not are the non-devotees. Being a devotee is most advantageous position to be in because as a devotee one is able to take full advantage of this unlimited flow of blessings.
It is easy to feel that one is being blessed by God when things are going wonderfully. But it is not so easy to see the difficulties, especially the extreme difficulties, to be His blessings. But those who are able to experience everything even the difficulties as the mercy of the Supreme Person are already practically liberated from the sufferings of material existence. This is further explained as follows in the Srimad Bhagavatam:
tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk
--Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.8
"My dear Lord, any person who is constantly awaiting Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him, and who goes on suffering the resultant actions of his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances from the core of his heart, is surely eligible to become liberated, for it has become his rightful claim."
The devotees accept whatever miseries befall them as the Lord's special mercy to free them from the reactions of their past misdeeds. Thus they can always feel happy in the midst of the most trying circumstances.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
2. Are you appointed therefore to be a guru? Best may not be good enough. And what if you fall from grace, then what?
3. Are you free from material desires?
Thank you,
Your reader
Because spiritual masters are not appointed, my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, did not appoint any of his disciples to be spiritual masters. He simply ordered that all of us who were strictly following his instructions should become spiritual masters. So it is not that one is appointed to become a spiritual master. The disciple is ordered to become a spiritual master by strictly following the predecessor acharyas. And all those disciples who strictly follow are automatically spiritual masters. Those who strictly follow do not fall down. Only those disciples who are loose in their practice fall down.
I have made a vow at the time of my initiation in 1971 to never deviate from my spiritual master's orders. I have strictly kept this vow since I took it 38 years ago. My only desire is strictly follow his orders for all of eternity either in this material world or in the spiritual world. This desire is a spiritual desire. It is not a material desire.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
It is easy to feel that one is being blessed by God when things are going wonderfully. But it is not so easy to see the difficulties, especially the extreme difficulties, to be His blessings. But those who are able to experience everything even the difficulties as the mercy of the Supreme Person are already practically liberated from the sufferings of material existence. This is further explained as follows in the Srimad Bhagavatam:
tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk
--Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.8
"My dear Lord, any person who is constantly awaiting Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him, and who goes on suffering the resultant actions of his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances from the core of his heart, is surely eligible to become liberated, for it has become his rightful claim."
The devotees accept whatever miseries befall them as the Lord's special mercy to free them from the reactions of their past misdeeds. Thus they can always feel happy in the midst of the most trying circumstances.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Bhismadeva Receives Krishna's Special Mercy Before Leaving His Body
Answers According to the Vedic Version:
Question: Are You Claiming to Be God?
1. When I asked you if it is it true that the guru is non different from God Himself, you said the answer was yes, and that this is confirmed in all the revealed scriptures. So does this mean that you are you claiming to be God?2. Are you appointed therefore to be a guru? Best may not be good enough. And what if you fall from grace, then what?
3. Are you free from material desires?
Thank you,
Your reader
Answer: The Spiritual Master is Not God. He is God's Representative.
When the scriptures say that the spiritual master is non-different from God, this does not mean that he is God. Just as a policeman is an ordinary citizen like you and me, but must be respected as non-different from the government when he is on duty, because the spiritual master executes the duty of being God's representative we respect him equally with God.Because spiritual masters are not appointed, my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, did not appoint any of his disciples to be spiritual masters. He simply ordered that all of us who were strictly following his instructions should become spiritual masters. So it is not that one is appointed to become a spiritual master. The disciple is ordered to become a spiritual master by strictly following the predecessor acharyas. And all those disciples who strictly follow are automatically spiritual masters. Those who strictly follow do not fall down. Only those disciples who are loose in their practice fall down.
I have made a vow at the time of my initiation in 1971 to never deviate from my spiritual master's orders. I have strictly kept this vow since I took it 38 years ago. My only desire is strictly follow his orders for all of eternity either in this material world or in the spiritual world. This desire is a spiritual desire. It is not a material desire.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Comments
Post a Comment