Failure is the Pillar of Success

Srila Prabhupada states in his book, The Perfection of Yoga, as follows:

"There is the famous proverb that 'failure is the pillar of success.' In the spiritual life especially, failure is not discouraging. Krisna very clearly states that even if there is failure, there is no loss either in this world or in the next. One who takes to this auspicious line of spiritual culture is never completely vanquished."

One this pathway of Krishna we sometimes or even often experience failures in our practice of Krishna consciousness, our relationships, and our attempts to preach Krishna consciousness. But we should not become depressed by these failures. If we take each failure as a learning experience instead of as a failure, they will all be stepping stones to our ultimate success.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Stepping Stones to Ultimate Success

Stepping Stones to Ultimate Success

Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom

Question: Duty Towards Spiritual Master?

1) Can we ask mercy from spiritual master without discharging any duty towards him?
2) What is our duty towards spiritual master and towards Srila Prabhupada?

Thanks
Sweta Mayekar

Answer: We Must Surrender to Him

My Dear Sweta,

Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita 4.34

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth."

So if you don't want to obey Krishna's order by rendering service to the spiritual master, the spiritual master's mercy is to chastise you for being a rascal.

The duty given by Srila Prabhupada and the bona fide spiritual master is that you must chant at least 16 rounds daily of Hare Krishna japa mala and strictly avoid illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling.

I hope this meets you in the best of health.
 
Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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 he 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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Little Sparrow Who Conquered the Ocean

Image
In his purport to Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 6, Text 24 Srila Prabhupada wonderfully teaches us the power of determinations by telling us the story of the little sparrow who conquered the ocean: "As for determination, one should follow the example of the sparrow who lost her eggs in the waves of the ocean. A sparrow laid her eggs on the shore of the ocean, but the big ocean carried away the eggs on its waves. The sparrow became very upset and asked the ocean to return her eggs. The ocean did not even consider her appeal. So the sparrow decided to dry up the ocean. She began to pick out the water in her small beak, and everyone laughed at her for her impossible determination. The news of her activity spread, and at last Garuda, the gigantic bird carrier of Lord Visnu, heard it. He became compassionate toward his small sister bird, and so he came to see the sparrow. Garuda was very pleased by the determination of the small sparrow, and he promised to help. Thus Garuda at once asked t
Read more

Heart Melting Reunion with Amarendra and Gayatri

Image
On Friday 26 June 2015 I was blessed with the greatest good fortune of meeting with two of the dearest devotees of my entire life, His Grace Amarendra Prabhu and his good wife, Srimati Gayatri devi dasi. I am eternally indebted to these great souls for how much they helped me in my spiritual life when I was a young devotee. When I was young brahmacari monk in 1973 I joined with the two of them in Gainesville, Florida. We were a three person preaching center, and they were just like a mother and father to me. I had so many wonderful Krishna conscious experiences in their association that I can hardly begin to describe them here. But at least may it suffice for me to say for now that Gayatri taught me what it means to be a soft-hearted devotee of the Lord and she gave me my first cooking lesson, teaching me how to make cauliflower pakoras, and Amarendra taught me the art of how to preach strongly, intelligently, and coolly to defeat opposing arguments. Recently Gayatri almost died. But
Read more

Misguided Fools Say that Masturbation is Healthy

Image
Foolish modern day materialists recommend masturbation as follows: "Masturbation is a common activity. It’s a natural and safe way to explore your body, feel pleasure, and release built-up sexual tension. It occurs among people of all backgrounds, genders, and races. Despite the myths, there are actually no physically harmful side effects of masturbation." They are wrong. To get a proper understanding on this this topic read the question and answer section below. Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: What are the Ill Effects of Masturbation? Since you answered questions related to understanding the real need of sex in a human being's life, so I also request you to please enlighten us with the knowledge about semen conservation, it's importance, and the consequences of frequently releasing it thorough sex or masturbation. Since today most of the youth are indulged in mansturbation and they think it to be good in comparison to doing sex with some female for
Read more