If You Want to Taste the Bliss
If you want to taste the bliss, you must dovetail your consciousness with the supreme person, who is the source of everything. It is absolutely impossible that you will ever find permanent happiness if you are not connected with Him. So why waste time looking for happiness in this material world through so many millions of varieties of avenues, which are nothing but dead end streets because they do not connect to Krishna? The smart thing to do is to immediately come to the plane of transcendental bliss beyond all the miseries of material existence through the simple act of surrendering to Krishna.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Dear Gurudeva,
I was delighted to read the contents under the heading, "We were originally in Krishna’s pastimes". This is because, a few weeks back, a visiting devotee was giving the Sunday morning lecture at the temple hall in ISKCON, Juhu, Mumbai. At the end of his lecture, during the question – answer time, one of the devotees asked him how we fell from spiritual world. He answered that we were never in the spiritual world, we came instead from the tatastha shakti. Then when he was asked that in various books of Srila Prabhupada it is mentioned that we were originally in the spiritual world, he denied that this information is in Prabhupada's books. Honestly, Gurudeva, I was a bit surprised by this statement of that devotee, who I presume is a very senior devotee.
Anyway, I am very glad to receive the clarification, thru "Thought for the Day" dated 11th May ’12.
I am only wondering why this new opinion is doing the rounds! Is this also a lila of Krishna?
Your humble servant,
Krishna Kumar,
Mumbai.
jīvera 'svarūpa' haya—kṛṣṇera 'nitya-dāsa'
kṛṣṇera 'taṭasthā-śakti' 'bhedābheda-prakāśa
"It is the living entity's constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Krishna because he is the tatastha-shakti (marginal energy) of Krishna and a manifestation simultaneously one and different from the Lord."
--Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya 20.108
So it is not that we fell from the tatastha shakti. We ARE tatastha shakti or marginal energy. This is part of our constitutional nature. Tatastha shakti means the even though we are Krishna's eternal servants originating in the spiritual world, as confirmed by Srila Prabhupada in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.54, we have a borderline tendency that facilitates our either remaining in Krishna's pastimes or foolishly leaving Krishna's pastimes to try to enjoy separately here in this material world.
This new opinion is making the rounds in ISKCON because devotees are not carefully and thoroughly reading Srila Prabhupada's books. This rumor mill is not a pastime of Krishna. Therefore our ISKCON managers should take care to only allow those devotes to give class who have properly understood Srila Prabhupada's books.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Srila Prabhupada Relishing the Bliss of Krishna Consciousness
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version
Question: Why this Opinion Circulating in ISKCON?
My humble obeisances to Your Grace,All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Dear Gurudeva,
I was delighted to read the contents under the heading, "We were originally in Krishna’s pastimes". This is because, a few weeks back, a visiting devotee was giving the Sunday morning lecture at the temple hall in ISKCON, Juhu, Mumbai. At the end of his lecture, during the question – answer time, one of the devotees asked him how we fell from spiritual world. He answered that we were never in the spiritual world, we came instead from the tatastha shakti. Then when he was asked that in various books of Srila Prabhupada it is mentioned that we were originally in the spiritual world, he denied that this information is in Prabhupada's books. Honestly, Gurudeva, I was a bit surprised by this statement of that devotee, who I presume is a very senior devotee.
Anyway, I am very glad to receive the clarification, thru "Thought for the Day" dated 11th May ’12.
I am only wondering why this new opinion is doing the rounds! Is this also a lila of Krishna?
Your humble servant,
Krishna Kumar,
Mumbai.
Answer: Devotees Not Reading Prabhupada's Books
Yes, the idea that we did not fall from the spiritual world, but instead fell from the tatastha shakti is incorrect. Lord Caitanya has taught us:jīvera 'svarūpa' haya—kṛṣṇera 'nitya-dāsa'
kṛṣṇera 'taṭasthā-śakti' 'bhedābheda-prakāśa
"It is the living entity's constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Krishna because he is the tatastha-shakti (marginal energy) of Krishna and a manifestation simultaneously one and different from the Lord."
--Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya 20.108
So it is not that we fell from the tatastha shakti. We ARE tatastha shakti or marginal energy. This is part of our constitutional nature. Tatastha shakti means the even though we are Krishna's eternal servants originating in the spiritual world, as confirmed by Srila Prabhupada in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.54, we have a borderline tendency that facilitates our either remaining in Krishna's pastimes or foolishly leaving Krishna's pastimes to try to enjoy separately here in this material world.
This new opinion is making the rounds in ISKCON because devotees are not carefully and thoroughly reading Srila Prabhupada's books. This rumor mill is not a pastime of Krishna. Therefore our ISKCON managers should take care to only allow those devotes to give class who have properly understood Srila Prabhupada's books.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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