Stress Free Success
On Friday 5 September 2014 I gave a seminar called "Stress Free Success" at the Noida branch of Steria Corporation, a France-based international information technology company with over 20,000 employees. In the packed boardroom I explained to the employees that inner success is more important than outer success because inner success is permanent while outer success is only temporary. I taught the eager listeners that if they cultivate inner success, their outer success will follow like a shadow. And I cautioned them that if they only cultivate outer success, their life will ultimately meet with failure. There were so many wonderful questions at the end of my lecture that I was forced to go twenty minutes overtime to answer them.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Stress Free Success Seminar at Steria Corporation
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Stress Free Success Seminar at Steria Corporation
Noida, India--5 September 2014
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:
Question: Spiritual Growth Depends on Piety?
Is a person's spiritual growth in any way dependent on pious and impious activities?
Your Servant,
Abhay Charan das
Your Servant,
Abhay Charan das
Answer: Eagerness for Krishna is More Important
Piety is helpful to make one open to Krishna consciousness. But a most sinful person can take to Krishna consciousness before a pious person if he is eager to become Krishna conscious. Remember the thief who went to Vrindavan to steal Krishna’s jewels? He was so eager to see Krishna to steal His jewels. But when he finally saw Krishna he became a pure devotee.
The following verse makes this point very clear:
kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ
krīyatāṁ yadi kuto 'pi labhyate
tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ
janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate
"Pure devotional service in Krishna consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thousands of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price-that is, intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay.”
Once one accepts the path of bhakti he must be pious, following the regulative principles and not engaged in the impiety of breaking the regulative principles. But it is not that simply by piety one can awaken pure love of God within in the heart. It is by intensely calling out to the Lord with love that attracts His mercy for the awakening of prema bhakti within the heart. In short, piety is required, but one must go beyond piety. Piety will establish one in the mode of goodness. But the mode of goodness will not liberate one from the cycle of birth and death.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
The following verse makes this point very clear:
kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ
krīyatāṁ yadi kuto 'pi labhyate
tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ
janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate
"Pure devotional service in Krishna consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thousands of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price-that is, intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay.”
Once one accepts the path of bhakti he must be pious, following the regulative principles and not engaged in the impiety of breaking the regulative principles. But it is not that simply by piety one can awaken pure love of God within in the heart. It is by intensely calling out to the Lord with love that attracts His mercy for the awakening of prema bhakti within the heart. In short, piety is required, but one must go beyond piety. Piety will establish one in the mode of goodness. But the mode of goodness will not liberate one from the cycle of birth and death.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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