Elevation to the 27th Floor and Beyond
29 June 2013--Last night I was invited to do kirtan and give a lecture at the home of Amit in a high rise 27th floor apartment in downtown Melbourne, Australia. After a brief smooth ride on the elevator from the ground floor to the 27th floor we then hopped into another elevator to carry us far, far beyond the stratosphere into the transcendental spiritual sky, situated far, far beyond the world of birth and death. This is the amazing power of kirtan and Krishna katha. It transports us out of this world into the inconceivably sweet transcendental realm of the Supreme Personality or Godhead where birth, death, old age, and disease and all other forms of misery are conspicuous by their absence.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Transcendental Bliss on the 27th Floor
You keep repeating that one can go back to Godhead in this lifetime by chanting and following the four regulative principles. Is it true that simply by this process our heart will be cleansed and develop love for Krishna? But I see in many times in myself and other devotees the material character does not go away. I always think that unless we are purified there is no way of going back to Godhead as there is no tinge of impurity in spiritual world. How to develop that purity in my self? How do we understand that the purification which is happening in our heart is true?
J.P.
(1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name of the Lord.
(2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Siva or Lord Brahma to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Vishnu. (Sometimes the atheistic class of men take it that any demigod is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. But one who is a devotee knows that no demigod, however great he may be, is independently as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if someone thinks that he can chant "Kali, Kali!" or "Durga, Durga!"and it is the same as Hare Krishna, that is the greatest offense.)
(3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master. (This means one must be fully surrendered to the spiritual master.)
(4) To blaspheme the Vedic literature or literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.
(5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Krishna to be imagination.
(6) To give some interpretation on the holy name of the Lord.
(7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name of the Lord. (It should not be taken that because by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can be freed from all kinds of sinful reaction, one may continue to act sinfully and after that chant Hare Krishna to neutralize his sins. Such a dangerous mentality is very offensive and should be avoided.)
(8) To consider the chanting of Hare Krishna one of the auspicious ritualistic activities offered in the Vedas as fruitive activities (karma-kanda).
(9) To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name. (Anyone can take part in chanting the holy name of the Lord, but in the beginning one should not be instructed about the transcendental potency of the Lord. Those who are too sinful cannot appreciate the transcendental glories of the Lord, and therefore it is better not to instruct them in this matter.)
(10) To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding so many instructions on this matter. It's also offensive to be inattentive while chanting.
By chanting Hare Krishna and avoiding these offenses one becomes a spotlessly pure devotee of the Lord who is fully qualified to go back to home, back to Godhead at the time of death.
You can understand that your heart is becoming purified when you become completely disinterested in all forms of material senses gratification,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Transcendental Bliss on the 27th Floor
Melbourne, Australia--28 June 2013
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:
Question: Simply Chanting Will Save Us?
I read your daily thoughts and answers. Thank you so much for your enlightenment. Your faith and conviction in Guru and Krishna is ultimate. Please bless me also to develop the same one day in my life time. It is a coincidence that you are here in Melbourne to distribute the unlimited mercy of Srila PrabhupadaYou keep repeating that one can go back to Godhead in this lifetime by chanting and following the four regulative principles. Is it true that simply by this process our heart will be cleansed and develop love for Krishna? But I see in many times in myself and other devotees the material character does not go away. I always think that unless we are purified there is no way of going back to Godhead as there is no tinge of impurity in spiritual world. How to develop that purity in my self? How do we understand that the purification which is happening in our heart is true?
J.P.
Answer: You Must Chant Without Offense.
You are leaving out one other point that we repeatedly make. That is that one must also master the art of chanting Hare Krishna without any offense. Whenever I initiate new disciples in the initiation lecture I always make it emphatically clear that not only must one chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on japa mala beads every day. He must also be careful to avoid the ten different kinds of offenses while chanting. These ten offenses are as follows:(1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name of the Lord.
(2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Siva or Lord Brahma to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Vishnu. (Sometimes the atheistic class of men take it that any demigod is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. But one who is a devotee knows that no demigod, however great he may be, is independently as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if someone thinks that he can chant "Kali, Kali!" or "Durga, Durga!"and it is the same as Hare Krishna, that is the greatest offense.)
(3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master. (This means one must be fully surrendered to the spiritual master.)
(4) To blaspheme the Vedic literature or literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.
(5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Krishna to be imagination.
(6) To give some interpretation on the holy name of the Lord.
(7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name of the Lord. (It should not be taken that because by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can be freed from all kinds of sinful reaction, one may continue to act sinfully and after that chant Hare Krishna to neutralize his sins. Such a dangerous mentality is very offensive and should be avoided.)
(8) To consider the chanting of Hare Krishna one of the auspicious ritualistic activities offered in the Vedas as fruitive activities (karma-kanda).
(9) To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name. (Anyone can take part in chanting the holy name of the Lord, but in the beginning one should not be instructed about the transcendental potency of the Lord. Those who are too sinful cannot appreciate the transcendental glories of the Lord, and therefore it is better not to instruct them in this matter.)
(10) To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding so many instructions on this matter. It's also offensive to be inattentive while chanting.
By chanting Hare Krishna and avoiding these offenses one becomes a spotlessly pure devotee of the Lord who is fully qualified to go back to home, back to Godhead at the time of death.
You can understand that your heart is becoming purified when you become completely disinterested in all forms of material senses gratification,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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