How Devadeva Das Became a Devotee

In today's Thought for the Day my disciple, Devadeva Das, tells the story of how he became a devotee.

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I was born in a religious family, my grandparents instructed me in the evangelical scriptures. As I was growing up, I started looking for the answers to my existence but I did not find anyone who could answer me. My grandfather would only say, "God knows." For a while I accepted it. When I was 12 years old, I would go out to preach the gospel in the street with a group of pastors from the church, but I didn’t find satisfaction there. Something was missing.

I would pray a lot to the Lord for Him to guide me to the person who would be able to answer my questions about God and my existence. I searched in different religions but I still could not find that person who could really help me.

I met the devotees in Mendoza, Argentina en 1994. I found a place that was really helping me. I was very young, about 17 or 18 years old; now I am 47. After some time, I withdrew from the movement because my parents wouldn’t let me attend and I lost contact with the devotees, thereby losing my happiness from the holy association with the devotees of Krishna and everything became a disaster.

My life was not very happy after I went away from the devotees of Lord Krishna. I prayed to Lord Krishna to please give me again the incomparable gift of the company of the devotees, because I had lost all contact. They had disappeared. I didn’t know where to find them, and this was how the Lord granted me His mercy:

One day, when I was standing in front of the door where I work, a devotee I had previously met appeared and he suddenly took out some earphones and placed them in my ears and asked me, "Do you remember this, Prabhu?" He was listening to Srila Prabhupada chanting "HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE." I felt the hairs on my body stand on end and I was overcome with emotion and I could not stop laughing and my eyes filled with tears of happiness. This devotee, whom I had not seen in a long time and was already initiated, helped me return to the path.

In April of 2008, while I was looking on the internet for a class by Srila Prabhupada, suddenly the page Ultimate Self Realization appeared, and when I saw the picture of His Grace Sankarshan Das Adhikari immediately my existence lit up and I could feel that finally I was finding that wonderful person who would save my existence. Every day that went by I wanted to know more about this person who inspired me from the first moment that he appeared, and then, thanks to Prema Bhakti Prabhu, whom I thank profoundly for helping me get in contact with my beloved spiritual father, I had my first initiation in January 2010.

I began the “Ultimate Self-Realization Course” in 2008 as a student and later serve Srila Gurudeva in the course for Spanish-speaking students. I have the blessing of interacting with many students who are also taking the course and receiving the Spanish edition of “The Thought for the Day” that Srila Gurudeva prepares kindly for the whole world.

My life has become very happy and I pray that the whole world may have the blessing of meet a pure devotee, like me I have had the blessing.
He has saved me. Since I met him, my life is dedicated to serve him as much as possible in gratitude for having given me shelter in the shade of his lotus feet. Thanks to Srila Gurudeva, I have been able to understand many of my questions and to know the purpose of life and how to become very happy and blissful. I pray that Sri Krishna to always keep me engaged in the service of my spiritual master life after life if He so desires.

I hope you are in very good health.

From Mendoza, Argentina.

Your servant,
Devadeva dasa

(Devadeva das lives in Mendoza, Argentina and is currently a member of the ISKCON Argentina National Board commission in different departments.)

I am eager to receive more such stories from you, my beloved readers, how you came to Krishna consciousness.

Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom

Question: Why is Krishna So Hard to Please?

Dear Gurudeva,
Please accept my humble obeisances.

All Glories to Lord Chaitanya .
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Please help me.
I have read articles about the procedures of deity worship and many more such procedures. I am following a considerable amount of rules, but they say unless we follow all the rules with devotion , the Lord will not be interested or pleased!

Why is Lord Krishna so hard to please?

Please tell me what should I do regarding not following all of the prescribed rules. I am still sinning and what all I am able to follow is nothing but 'worthless sentimentalism,' as suggested by a site.

Thank you.
Sincerely,

Mandavi

Answer: Krishna is Easy to Please

My Dear Mandavi,

Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Krishna is not difficult to please. If you will simply offer Him a leaf, a flower, fruit or water with love and devotion, He will be very pleased to accept it from you.

I hope this meets you in the best of health and in an ecstatic mood.

Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Krishna Gladly Accepts Our Loving Offerings

Sankarshan Das Adhikari is one of the spiritual masters of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement. He has dedicated the last 50 years of his life for bringing a spiritual revolution to planet earth by spreading the teachings of Lord Sri Krishna all over the world. He is based in Austin, Texas and when there is no pandemic regularly travels all over the world teaching his audiences how to attain Krishna consciousness, the highest stage of spiritual awakening. He is available for media interviews and to speak to groups and organizations either in person or via the internet.