Become Attached to a Sadhu
At the present moment we are very attached to money, women, nice houses, country, society, friends, family, and so forth. Because of these attachments we are tightly bound up by three ropes, which are the three modes of material nature. If one is tightly tied up by ropes, he cannot get free on his own. He can only become untied if he gets the help of someone else. This means that we have to transfer our tendency of being attached to a sadhu, a saintly devotee of the Lord. If we do so, that sadhu will cut through the ropes which bind us and liberate us from our entanglement in the cycle of birth and death.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Srila Prabhupada on Morning Walk With Disciples
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Srila Prabhupada on Morning Walk With Disciples
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version
Question: Am I a Crazy Fanatic?
Hare Krishna, dear teacher,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
My Vaisnava friends say that it is not important to chant 16 rounds, that the most important thing is to have good relationships with each other. I am not interested in their thoughts when we talk. It becomes boring to me. They very rarely talk about Krishna. I am not very friendly with them What is more, they do not understand me when I ask them to do service for Krishna. They say I force things, have too many standards, and the most important thing is to be friendly, to ask them how they are doing, etc. But I want to do service to Krishna, and I don't understand friendship as they understand it.
Now I feel like crazy, not loving, not having not many friends and burning to be able to do service. Am I a fanatic? Could You help me understand everything in correct way and be in harmony?
Your servant.
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
My Vaisnava friends say that it is not important to chant 16 rounds, that the most important thing is to have good relationships with each other. I am not interested in their thoughts when we talk. It becomes boring to me. They very rarely talk about Krishna. I am not very friendly with them What is more, they do not understand me when I ask them to do service for Krishna. They say I force things, have too many standards, and the most important thing is to be friendly, to ask them how they are doing, etc. But I want to do service to Krishna, and I don't understand friendship as they understand it.
Now I feel like crazy, not loving, not having not many friends and burning to be able to do service. Am I a fanatic? Could You help me understand everything in correct way and be in harmony?
Your servant.
Answer: They Are the Crazy Fanatics, Not You.
They are the crazy fanatics, not you.
Anyone who tells you that it is not important to chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna japa daily is not your true friend and is not a real Vaisnava. Krishna orders us to chant His names 24 hours a day. So the real friend, the real Vaisnava will encourage you to chant as much as possible 24 hours a day.
Your friends are saying that the most important thing is to have a good relationship with them. But actually the most important thing is have a good relationship with Krishna by fully surrendering unto His instructions. Just like by feeding your belly all the parts of your body are properly nourished, when one surrenders to Krishna he automatically has the best possible relationship with everyone. So the defect in relationship is from their side, not your side. They are the ones who are not maintaining a proper relationship with you.
I am very happy to hear that you are not interested in mundane topics. This means that you are advancing very nicely in Krishna consciousness.
You do not need to have relationships with people who discourage you from surrendering to Krishna. Instead you should base your social life on relationships with people who are trying to fully dedicate their lives to Lord Krishna.
A fanatic is someone who acts without any philosophical understanding. Because you are sincerely trying to philosophically understand things properly according to the teachings of Lord Krishna, you are not a fanatic. It your friends who are acting fanatically without philosophical understanding.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Anyone who tells you that it is not important to chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna japa daily is not your true friend and is not a real Vaisnava. Krishna orders us to chant His names 24 hours a day. So the real friend, the real Vaisnava will encourage you to chant as much as possible 24 hours a day.
Your friends are saying that the most important thing is to have a good relationship with them. But actually the most important thing is have a good relationship with Krishna by fully surrendering unto His instructions. Just like by feeding your belly all the parts of your body are properly nourished, when one surrenders to Krishna he automatically has the best possible relationship with everyone. So the defect in relationship is from their side, not your side. They are the ones who are not maintaining a proper relationship with you.
I am very happy to hear that you are not interested in mundane topics. This means that you are advancing very nicely in Krishna consciousness.
You do not need to have relationships with people who discourage you from surrendering to Krishna. Instead you should base your social life on relationships with people who are trying to fully dedicate their lives to Lord Krishna.
A fanatic is someone who acts without any philosophical understanding. Because you are sincerely trying to philosophically understand things properly according to the teachings of Lord Krishna, you are not a fanatic. It your friends who are acting fanatically without philosophical understanding.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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