Supreme supervision of the Lord

Anything that is going on in this world, is under the supreme supervision of the Lord. There is a philosopher's saying, "Not a blade of grass moves without the will of God." It is actually the fact. Now, we have to dovetail ourself with that plan of the Supreme Lord. That is called karma-yoga. So Arjuna understood it, and he dovetailed himself with the supreme will of the Lord. And when he was inquired, "Whether you are going to fight or not after hearing Bhagavad-gita?" he said, "Yes Krishna. My illusion is now removed by Your grace, and I have decided to fight." Now, that agreement of fighting and in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita, “not to fight,” that is the difference. He made so many arguments with Krishna against fighting. And at the end, he agreed. "Yes.” He became a yes man. So we have to become a yes man to the Supreme Lord. That is the perfection of our spiritual life. Now we are all "no men." God says this, I say "no." Stubborn. Now simply we have to say "yes". That's all. Present formation of our existence is to say "no." Anything godly, we say "no." We shudder even by the name of God. We have come to a certain stage of our civilized life, that we want to banish God altogether. Not only saying "no," but we now prepare to agree to the point that there is no existence of God. So how much foolish we are becoming day by day in the name of advancement of civilization. You see? So we should correct this. We shall try to understand our position, "Yes, there is God, and I am servant of God." That's all. You have to learn that thing only.

Ref: Srila Prabhupada’s lecture excerpt, Bhagavad-gita 3.13-16 — New York, May 23, 1966

Come to Me

Come to Me, and I shall give you all protection

SB 3.30.5

The conditioned living entity is satisfied in his own particular species of life; while deluded by the covering influence of the illusory energy, he feels little inclined to cast off his body, even when in hell, for he takes delight in hellish enjoyment.

PURPORT

It is said that once Indra, the King of heaven, was cursed by his spiritual master, Bṛhaspati, on account of his misbehavior, and he became a hog on this planet. After many days, when Brahmā wanted to recall him to his heavenly kingdom, Indra, in the form of a hog, forgot everything of his royal position in the heavenly kingdom, and he refused to go back. This is the spell of māyā. Even Indra forgets his heavenly standard of life and is satisfied with the standard of a hog’s life. By the influence of māyā the conditioned soul becomes so affectionate towards his particular type of body that if he is offered, “Give up this body, and immediately you will have a king’s body,” he will not agree. This attachment strongly affects all conditioned living entities. Lord Kṛṣṇa is personally canvassing, “Give up everything in this material world. Come to Me, and I shall give you all protection,” but we are not agreeable. We think, “We are quite all right. Why should we surrender unto Kṛṣṇa and go back to His kingdom?” This is called illusion, or māyā. Everyone is satisfied with his standard of living, however abominable it may be.

By Swami Prabhupāda

The Lord's Feelings

The Lord's Feelings Toward Someone Who Chants His Name

Srila Prabhupada told us that the chanting means to address the Lord. We talk to Him by calling His name.

But we may wonder, How does the Lord feel about those who chant? Does He notice them?

Yes. Krsna notices chanters even if they don't notice Him - and He thinks of them. As Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakura said, "When someone chants the Lord's name, the Lord's mind dwells on him. Krishna thinks, 'This person belongs to Me. I will always protect him!' "

Srila Sridhara Swami explains in this connection: "When the Lord heard that Ajamila was chanting His name, He thought about Ajamila deeply and then ordered the Visnudutas to bring him to Him. How much more, then, will the Lord remember a person who chants His Name with a service attitude?"

Let us not try to see the Lord.
Let Him see us.
And let us not try to hear His voice in the beginning.
Let Him hear us first.
Then one day the morning will dawn
when we hear him say:
"You are Mine."

HH Sacinandana Swami's newsletter Amrta-vani

I pray so we can all have this feeling that Krsna accepts our chanting, that He looks at us as His servant so we may have this love exchange and feel His blessings every minute of our lives.

May your chanting be connected to the Supreme, through your heart in a way that the sound vibration of the holy names are able to subdue your mind.

Bhakti of Gopis

Hare Krishna ! Pranams to Bhagavan Sri Krishna and Bhaktas,

The divine plays of Bhagavan Sri Krishna are known to this world as `Rasa'. They were the replica of the truth of that when one soul reaches the bliss of divinity the divine blesses it by merging it within himself.

Gopis are known to be the women of Vrindavan who soaked their souls in the ocean of Krishna-bhakti , physically, verbally and through meditation. The whole world bows to their feet, for they achieved the unselfish love and company of holy divine himself.

These Gopis are the incarnations of the roots of Vedas, the Rishis and Munis who soaked themselves in `tapsya' to achieve divine blessings in his holy feet.

People define them as women but it is wrong they just see the gender of their physical appearance; only those who soaks themselves in devotion can see the divinity of the Gopis' souls which outcast all barriers of existence .

If one debates why they incarnated in form of women and not anything else; one can see a hidden bitter truth in this factor too :

If they incarnated as Brahmans it was easy for all to say that they are learned, hence possessed holy powers to achieve the divine. If they incarnated as a man it was easy for the society to accept, as it doesn't bars a man to commit himself to Bhagavan in such manner. If they incarnated as a child all would apparently say that they are innocent and hence Bhagavan loves them the most. To show the height of devotion, thus they incarnated in form of women who were not learned ; simple villagers, bounded by the norms of society, filled with responsibilities of family and barred from freedom. As a human body, who is so bounded and yet sets its soul free from boundaries of world and entrusts it soul to the divine is the true warrior who wins the battle and shines the brightest . The `Rasa' is exactly the celebration of the moment, when divine merged holy souls within him by performing His divine playful selfless endeavors-`RaasLeel as'. Hence there can't be any vulgarity or Kama associated with it, because Bhagavan Sri Krishna was just seven years old- a prodigy of innocence when He performed `RaasLeelas' with the Gopis.

Please chant :

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

and be happy !!!

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya !!!!

Take refuge

When a fisherman casts his net, in order to catch fish, all the fish which come within the net, are trapped. But the fish which come closer to his feet, is not trapped. Similarly, beings having been attached to the world, get entangled and follow a cycle of birth and death. But those, who take refuge in Him, get over the deluding potency (Måyå) of the Lord (Gita VII. 14). There is an important difference, between the attitude of the fisherman and the Lord. The fisherman wants to trap the fish, but the Lord wants beings to be liberated from illusion, by taking refuge in Him. So He declares, ‘Take refuge in Me, alone.’ A person gets entangled in illusion, by being attached to worldly pleasure. As in a moving mill, all the grains are ground but those which are near the rivet are not pulverised. Similarly in the grinding-stone of the world, people are crushed i.e., they suffer and follow a cycle of birth and death. But those, who take refuge in Him, escape suffering and the cycle of birth and death. However, there is a difference between, grain and devotees. The grains remain near the rivet, without making any effort, while devotees themselves, by having a disinclination for the world, take refuge at His feet. It means, that if a man (soul), even being a fragment of the Lord, accepts his affinity with the world, and wants his desire to be fulfilled by it, he has to suffer, by following the cycle of birth and death.