Relishing the Bliss at Krishna Balarama Mandir
Every morning at 7:15am here in Vrindavana at the Krishna Balarama temple we are treated to the most sublime darshan of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, Krishna and Balarama, and Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundar freshly dressed in intricately decorated outfits and adorned with fresh, fragrant flowers for the day by their loving pujaris (priests). It is always a very thrilling dramatic moment when the conch shells blow and the altar doors open with hundreds of devotees bowing down and then standing up to behold the dazzlingly beautiful forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord's amazingly gorgeous form is described as follows in the Brahma Samhita (5:32):
aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti
paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti
ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane."
How do I begin to see the calamities of life as Krishna's mercy?
How do I with intelligence begin to understand that I'm not this body? I can grasp on one level that I'm not. Yet as usual I react with passion to comments, looks etc.
As a spiritual master how can I be assured that you can take me back home to Godhead? And please define clearly what I must start doing from my side?
Your student
Calamities are nothing but karmic reactions for our past sinful activities. Every time we experience a calamity we are burning off some of the reactions from our past sinful activities. In other words, calamities are karmic therapy sessions washing the away the dirt of past sins and making us karmicly lighter. The Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.8 wonderfully tells us how to deal with calamities.
tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk
In the Nectar of Devotion Srila Prabhupada wonderfully translates and explains the meaning of this profound verse:
"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."
"This statement of Srimad-Bhagavatam should be the guide of all devotees. A devotee should not expect immediate relief from the reactions of his past misdeeds. No conditioned soul is free from such reactionary experiences, because material existence means continued suffering or enjoying of past activities. If one has finished his material activities then there is no more birth. This is possible only when one begins Krishna conscious activities, because such activities do not produce reaction. Therefore, as soon as one becomes perfect in Krishna conscious activities, he is not going to take birth again in this material world. A devotee who is not perfectly freed from the resultant actions should therefore continue to act in Krishna consciousness seriously, even though there may be so many impediments. When such impediments arise he should simply think of Krishna and expect His mercy. That is the only solace. If the devotee passes his days in that spirit, it is certain that he is going to be promoted to the abode of the Lord. By such activities, he earns his claim to enter into the kingdom of God. The exact word used in this verse is dāya-bhāk. Dāya-bhāk refers to a son's becoming the lawful inheritor of the property of the father. In a similar way, a pure devotee who is prepared to undergo all kinds of tribulations in executing Krishna conscious duties becomes lawfully qualified to enter into the transcendental abode."
Regarding how to understand that you are not your body, you can intelligently analyze yourself how you have remembrances of things you experienced when you were a child. And then you can also analyze how you have a different body now than the one you had then because the cells in your body have changed. In this way you can conclude that the self and the body are different.
You can judge a spiritual master's potency to deliver you back to Godhead by seeing if he purely follows and teaches the message of Krishna without any deviation or any distortion. If there is no deviation of practice and no distortion of Krishna’s teachings, this means that he is fully empowered by Krishna and the previous acharyas to deliver you back to home, back to Godhead. Of course it is Krishna who is the actual deliverer. Krishna's acts through the transparent via medium of the spiritual master to deliver you from the ocean of birth and death. Because the spiritual master serves the Lord so intimately in this way on the order of the Lord we worship the spiritual master as Krishna's representative.
The way to prepare yourself for initiation is to rise early every day and meditatively chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mahamantra every day on japa mala beads along with the strict avoidance of illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling. After your 16 rounds are finished chant Hare Krishna with or without your beads as much possible throughout the day in everything that you do. Make sure to restrict yourself to a Krishna prasadam diet. Also, you should scrutinizingly study all of Srila Prabhupada's books and associate regularly with ISKCON devotees in your area. Stay in touch with me regularly to ask questions and to keep me informed of your progress and any difficulties you may be experiencing.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti
paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti
ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane."
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version
Question: How to Know that Krishna Loves Me?
How do I begin to understand that Krishna loves me? As you suggested, I have started to imagine that Krishna is with me and chanting as I fall asleep.How do I begin to see the calamities of life as Krishna's mercy?
How do I with intelligence begin to understand that I'm not this body? I can grasp on one level that I'm not. Yet as usual I react with passion to comments, looks etc.
As a spiritual master how can I be assured that you can take me back home to Godhead? And please define clearly what I must start doing from my side?
Your student
Answer: Love Him and You Will Feel His Love
The way to understand that Krishna exists and that He loves you is to give your love to Him. The more you give your love to Krishna, the more you will feel His presence and His love for you.Calamities are nothing but karmic reactions for our past sinful activities. Every time we experience a calamity we are burning off some of the reactions from our past sinful activities. In other words, calamities are karmic therapy sessions washing the away the dirt of past sins and making us karmicly lighter. The Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.8 wonderfully tells us how to deal with calamities.
tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk
In the Nectar of Devotion Srila Prabhupada wonderfully translates and explains the meaning of this profound verse:
"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."
"This statement of Srimad-Bhagavatam should be the guide of all devotees. A devotee should not expect immediate relief from the reactions of his past misdeeds. No conditioned soul is free from such reactionary experiences, because material existence means continued suffering or enjoying of past activities. If one has finished his material activities then there is no more birth. This is possible only when one begins Krishna conscious activities, because such activities do not produce reaction. Therefore, as soon as one becomes perfect in Krishna conscious activities, he is not going to take birth again in this material world. A devotee who is not perfectly freed from the resultant actions should therefore continue to act in Krishna consciousness seriously, even though there may be so many impediments. When such impediments arise he should simply think of Krishna and expect His mercy. That is the only solace. If the devotee passes his days in that spirit, it is certain that he is going to be promoted to the abode of the Lord. By such activities, he earns his claim to enter into the kingdom of God. The exact word used in this verse is dāya-bhāk. Dāya-bhāk refers to a son's becoming the lawful inheritor of the property of the father. In a similar way, a pure devotee who is prepared to undergo all kinds of tribulations in executing Krishna conscious duties becomes lawfully qualified to enter into the transcendental abode."
Regarding how to understand that you are not your body, you can intelligently analyze yourself how you have remembrances of things you experienced when you were a child. And then you can also analyze how you have a different body now than the one you had then because the cells in your body have changed. In this way you can conclude that the self and the body are different.
You can judge a spiritual master's potency to deliver you back to Godhead by seeing if he purely follows and teaches the message of Krishna without any deviation or any distortion. If there is no deviation of practice and no distortion of Krishna’s teachings, this means that he is fully empowered by Krishna and the previous acharyas to deliver you back to home, back to Godhead. Of course it is Krishna who is the actual deliverer. Krishna's acts through the transparent via medium of the spiritual master to deliver you from the ocean of birth and death. Because the spiritual master serves the Lord so intimately in this way on the order of the Lord we worship the spiritual master as Krishna's representative.
The way to prepare yourself for initiation is to rise early every day and meditatively chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mahamantra every day on japa mala beads along with the strict avoidance of illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling. After your 16 rounds are finished chant Hare Krishna with or without your beads as much possible throughout the day in everything that you do. Make sure to restrict yourself to a Krishna prasadam diet. Also, you should scrutinizingly study all of Srila Prabhupada's books and associate regularly with ISKCON devotees in your area. Stay in touch with me regularly to ask questions and to keep me informed of your progress and any difficulties you may be experiencing.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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