Great Spiritual Masters are Persecuted

Throughout world history it has been repeatedly seen that those who realize the Supreme Truth manifest great kindness upon the suffering souls of this world and thus powerfully broadcast the message of the Supreme Truth as far and as wide as possible to as many people as possible. And sadly such great spiritual masters are too often criticized and persecuted. The notable examples in this connection are Lord Jesus Christ and Hari Das Thakur. In an attempt to put him to death Lord Jesus was crucified. And in a similar attempt Haridas Thakur was severely beaten in twenty-two different market places. But in both cases these great devotees were protected by the Lord and could not be killed.

So we can similarly expect that sometimes in our efforts to share Krishna consciousness with those who are not so fortunate as to have it yet that we may sometimes be criticized, harassed, and persecuted. When this happens to us it is a real test of how serious we actually are to do whatever it takes to please our most beloved Lord Krishna, even if we have to be put into displeasing and difficult situations.

Haridas Thakur and Jesus Christ

 

Answers According to the Vedic Version

Question: Why 108 Japa Beads?

My Dear Guru Maharaja,

In a Gurukula class one of the students asked, "Why do the Japa beads have 108 beads and not any other figure?"

Your humble Servant,

Pravin

Answer: 108 Upanisads and 108 Gopis

We have 108 beads because there are 108 Upanisads. By this chanting on the 108 beads we have surpassed the study of 108 Upanisads by realizing the conclusion of the 108, namely to be absorbed in the devotional service of Lord Sri Krishna.

Also there are 108 gopis in Vrindavan who are especially dear to Krishna. So by chanting on these 108 beads we are serving those 108 chief gopis. Serving Krishna's devotees is essential because becoming a devotee of Krishna means to become a devotee of the devotees of Krishna.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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