Another story about gratitude

Gurumaharaj's wonderful lecture from February deserves to be quoted again:

You think anything is ordinary? Not in Krishna consciousness. In Krishna consciousness nothing is ordinary. Krishna consciousness means: to see the extraordinary in every thing. If you cannot see the extraordinary in every thing, you are ungrateful. Being ungrateful is the worst thing in the world. Somewhere in Hitupadesh it says, the vultures, they eat anything. They eat the dead carcasses, but they will not eat the flesh of an ungrateful person. ... How do you know if somebody is not grateful? Now you got to be careful with what I say, because it may be a description of you. A person who is not grateful is always complaining. 

We want to conceive of these things... sorry my dear. Krishna consciousness is inconceivable. The gratefulness is inconceivable. Completely inconceivable. And if you are not grateful, that is also inconceivable. If you are some rascal who can not appreciate that Krishna has given so much mercy to him, who cannot be grateful, this is very, very unfortunate. And if you don't follow the principles, this is the way of being ungrateful. Prabhupada came to bring us the four principles, so that we become human beings. We follow the regulative principles to be human beings. 

-- Srila B A Paramadvaiti Swami Maharaj

I had the incredible fortune to catch a glimpse, a very small glimpse of what he is talking about.

Hey Gopi! (Mazzy Star)

The Gopis’ description of Krishna’s glance some posts ago (here), “cool and gentle like the clear lakes of autumn in the saintly land of Vraja”, reminded me of Mazzy Star’s All Your Sisters. The same cool and gentleness. And isn’t it about the Gopis, whose lust for Krishna (as per Srimad Bhagavatam) transforms into to pure love for Him, prema, thus “making the devil feel surprised”, and whose “wine” Krishna drinks?

And I knew I was close to you
And I knew
Catch me flying in the sun
Catch me drinking of your wine

I'm gonna put something in you
Make the devil feel surprised
All your sisters wanna fly
Around my golden sky
Around my golden sky

Just because you feel hollow inside – it's real
Just because you feel hollow inside – it's real

I'm gonna put something in you
Make the devil feel surprised
Make the devil feel surprised

And I knew I was close to you
And I knew
Catch me flying in the sun
Catch me drinking of your wine

Reject your "knowledge" (Srila Sridhar Maharaj)

Srila Sridhar Maharaj 

on a verse from Srimad Bhagavatam

Srila Sridhar Maharaj

From Follow the Angels 

The Path of Dedication

From animal existence to Godly existence — Rama Navami lecture by Swami B.A. Sridhar Maharaj

Swami B.A. Sridhar Maharaj's lecture from the Rama Navami celebration in Nimaihuset – another long and great one. “It's about human behaviour, how to go from animal existence to the Godly existence – simply, how to become a liberated human being, how to develop pure love of God.” (From 13:00)

“Material platform means to do things for our own pleasure. Spiritual life means to do things – doesn't matter what you do – for Krishna's pleasure. [– – –] Animal life means to do things for our own pleasure, Godly life means to do things for Krishna's pleasure.”

 Our dear Sridhar Maharaj, from the Rama Navami celebration

Meditate on this

Dear blog readers, 

From April 10 to 21 we are in Berlin for a festival with Gurumaharaj, and during this time the temple will be closed. Here is something to meditate on until we’re back. (Yes, several times have we published this, but it’s really all you need to know.)

Two Instructions
(Follow the links)

“You should engage yourself in the service of the servants of Krishna and always chant the holy name of Krishna.”

— Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Nimai), Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya lila 22.25

Beautiful, cool, gentle

“’Your glance steals the beauty of the best blooming lotus growing in the clear lakes of autumn in the saintly land of Vraja.’ In this way the gopis describe the extraordinary beauty, fragrance, coolness and gentleness of Krsna’s eyes by comparing them to the superexcellent autumnal lotus flower.”

— Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, Sarartha Darsini (Srimad Bhagavatam, Tenth Canto Commentaries), chapter 31, text 2.

 

New monkeys in Gupta Vrindavan (2)

The new monkey on the monkey shelf

Recently, the readers of the blog were informed of the auspicious advent of new monkeys in Gupta Vrindavan Nimaihuset (read about it here). Soon after this, Nimaihuset's Padma and Subal showed up with yet another monkey. Somehow or other this monkey had got the essential information, and recognizing two temple devotees, somewhere or other, he kind of latched on to them and, one way or another, communicated his wish to be taken to the temple. For one reason or another, before Subal brought him to the temple, Padma gave him a pair of John Lennon-glasses. 

11 hours Srila Prabhupada chanting the Maha Mantra

The maha mantra chanted by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada – benefit from hearing it from a pure devotee and Saktiavesa Avatar (a soul empowered by the Lord to represent Him). During the day in the background, at night while asleep. 11 hours hi-quality connection, purification and consciousness raising, with sweet ambient sounds. 

Thanks to Nitai Gauranga