Tum Hi Ho (You Are The One)

We all love love stories, don't we? The idyllic romances shown on the big screen swell our hearts with the hope that one day, we too would have a fairy-tale romance.. Despite nursing multiple heartbreaks and tolerating the wounds inflicted by our 'lovers', we remain drunk on the wine of love hoping that one day it would extricate us from our miserable existence. (Read: Wounded in Love?)

Few realize the love they are searching for is not be found in this world. Some of us know this intuitively. This explains why we love being in 'love' more than we love our partners. Love is God. God is Love. When you are in love, the nectar that you feel is actually a tiny taste of what 'true love' really is.

As Srila Prabhupada explains lucidly...

"The basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general tendency to love someone. No one can live without loving some one else. This propensity is present in every living being. The missing piece, however, is where to direct our love so that everyone is included and can be happy. At the present moment, human society teaches one to love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information on where to direct the loving propensity so that everyone will be happy. We have failed to create peace and harmony in human society, even by such great attempts as the United Nations or our economic and scientific progress, because we have missed this point. That missing point can be found in awakening the our original love for Krishna(God). If we learn how to love Krishna then it is easy to immediately and simultaneously love every living being. It is like pouring water on the root of the tree-all parts of the tree are nourished. Or supplying foodstuffs to the stomach-all parts of the body are nourished. When we are situated in that position we can enjoy a blissful life"

Ultimately all religion boils down to this: love of God....  And this love is more intimate and special than the love of this world, which is just a perverted reflection of this very divine love. This is not a love to be indulged in every Sunday in a church or temple, but a love to be relished every moment of our lives. Faith is required here. You trust your spouses, don't you? Even though they are imperfect beings and many times hurt you with their insensitivity and callousness. Compared to this God is the perfect being and knows the heart of every person in this world. With our welfare always on his mind, even when we think he 'hurts' us, its something very good hidden in it. God wants nothing from us but to share with us the love he has for us...

This lyrics of this soulful track actually extrapolates the deep and all consuming love we need to have for our Lord....

Tum Hi Ho (You Are The One)

Movie: Aashiqui 2

Music: Mithoon

Singer: Arijit Singh

Lyrics

Hum tere bin ab reh nahin sakte
Tere bina kyaa vajood meraa

I can't live without you now,

What's my existence without you..

Tujh se judaa gar ho jaayenge
To khud se hi ho jaayenge judaa

If I get separated from you,

I'll be separated from my own self..

Kyonki tum hi ho
Ab tum hi ho
Zindagi, ab tum hi ho
Chain bhi, meraa dard bhi
Meri aashiqui ab tum hi ho

Because you alone are,

Now you only are,

life. You're my life.

My peace, and my pain,

you alone are my love..

Teraa meraa rishtaa hai kaisaa
Ik pal door gawaaraa nahi
Tere liye har roz hain jeete
Tujh ko diyaa meraa waqt sabhi
Koi lamhaa meraa naa ho tere binaa
Har saans pe naam teraa

How's this relationship of ours,

I don't like distance of even a moment

Every day, I live for you

All my time is for you..

There shouldn't be a moment of mine without you,

There is your name on every breath..

Tere liye hi jiyaa main

Khud ko jo yoon de diya hai

Teri wafaa ne mujh ko sambhaalaa

Saare ghamon ko dil se nikaala

Tere saath mera hai naseeb juDaa

Tujhe paa ke adhoora naa raha

For you, I lived

I have given myself (to you)

Your faith [actually means 'my love for you' here] took care of me

Took all the sorrows from (my) heart

With you my fate is attached,

Getting you, Nothing is incomplete (within me, I got completed)..

Who is Radharani?

WHO IS RADHARANI?

Some notes on understanding Radharani 

by Jayadvaita Swami

Sourced from www.Krishna.com

When people see a picture like the one you see here, they often ask, "Who is that girl with Krishna?" The answer is that She is Srimati Radharani, Krishna's pleasure potency. The devotees of the Krishna consciousness movement humbly try to glorify Srimati Radharani because by her mercy one can advance wonderfully in Krishna consciousness.

What is the Pleasure Potency?

Everyone naturally wants to enjoy, yet no one is fully independent in finding enjoyment. To satisfy our desires, we need the association of others. We use the expression "to enjoy oneself," but we enjoy ourselves most in good company. Indeed, most people would find prolonged solitude practically unbearable.

Krishna, however, the Supreme Lord, being the source of everything, is fully independent. He is independent in His existence, His knowledge and His pleasure, for everything rests upon Him, as pearls are strung on a thread.

Krishna, therefore, needs no one. Since in one sense He is everything, no one exists outside of Him. Consequently, when Krishna wants to enjoy, He expands the potency or energy within Himself that gives him enjoyment. This potency is a person. Her name is Srimati Radharani.

Radharani is not a different person from Krishna, or, rather, she is both one with and different from Him. How could two people be one person or one person be two? A simple example will illustrate how this is so. The sun cannot exist without the sunshine, nor the sunshine without the sun. We say, "the sun is in my room"—even though the sun itself is ninety-three million miles away—because the sun appears in the form of its energy. Therefore the energy (the sunshine) and the energetic (the sun) are simultaneously one and different. Similarly, Radha and Krishna are simultaneously one and different. Krishna, the self-effulgent Lord, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Srimati Radharani is His supreme pleasure energy. Together They constitute the complete Absolute Truth.

Who Can Understand All This?

One cannot understand anything about Radha and Krishna through mental speculation. Krishna and His potencies are achintya, inconceivable, and ananta, unlimited. He is the very source of the mind itself, and therefore He is beyond the mind. The limited mind cannot understand the unlimited Personality of Godhead. The Vedic literature explains this very logically: "that which is transcendental to material nature is inconceivable, whereas speculative arguments are all mundane. Since mundane arguments cannot touch transcendental subject matters, one should not try to understand transcendental subjects through mundane arguments."

When ordinary mundane intellectuals try to explain or interpret the identity or pastimes of Radha and Krishna, Krishna's unlimited nature bewilders them, and therefore they misconstrue everything. Thus they sometimes consider Radha and Krishna to be like an ordinary boy and girl of the material world. But although they often pose as scholars, they do not know what they are talking about. One should therefore strictly avoid the confused mundane ideas of such blundering intellectuals. If one wishes to understand Radha and Krishna, one must understand Them by hearing submissively from a bona fide authority

The original authority on Krishna is Krishna Himself. Everyone is first an authority regarding his own self, and this is also true regarding Krishna. Moreover, since Krishna is unlimited, no one else can understand Him fully. Krishna's disciple Arjuna confirms this as follows in Bhagavad-gita:

svayam evatmanatmanam
vettha tvam purusottama
bhuta-bhavana bhutesa
deva-deva jagat pate

"Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own potencies, O origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, O Supreme Person, Lord of the universe!" (Bhagavad-gita, 10.15)

Although Krishna is inconceivable to mental speculation, those to whom He reveals Himself can understand Him. Krishna first gave such transcendental knowledge to Brahma, the first created living being. Brahma later transmitted this knowledge to his son Narada, who transmitted it to Vyasa, the author of Bhagavad-gita. In this way, the knowledge has descended from master to disciple, through a chain of the Bhakti tradition, even down to the present day. A spiritual master in this disciplic line is a bona fide authority regarding Krishna. He is the proper person from whom to receive transcendental knowledge.

What Gives Krishna Pleasure?

According to such spiritual authorities, Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure, and therefore He is all-attractive. Yet Krishna Himself derives pleasure from the service rendered by His devotees. Such devotional service attracts even Him. Krishna Himself, while speaking to a friend, confirms his as follows in Srimad Bhagavatam: "My dear Uddhava, you may know from Me that the attraction I feel for devotional service rendered by My devotees is not to be equaled even if one performs mystic yoga, philosophical speculation or ritualistic sacrifices, studies Vedanta, practices severe austerities or gives up everything in charity. These are, of course, very nice activities, but they are not as attractive to Me as the transcendental loving service rendered by My devotees." (Bhag. 11.12.1)

Krishna is full in six opulences: beauty, wealth, fame, strength, knowledge, and renunciation. No amount of material opulence, therefore, can attract Him. Just as one could not attract a millionaire by offering him a few dollars, one cannot attract Krishna merely by one's limited material opulence. Nevertheless, pure devotional service attracts even Krishna. This is the unique transcendental excellence of devotional service.

Srimati Radharani is the embodiment of pure devotional service. No one can be a greater devotee than She. The very name Radharani comes from the Sanskrit word aradhana, which means "worship." Her name is Radharani because She excels all in worshiping Krishna. Although Krishna is so beautiful that He can attract millions of Cupids and is therefore called Madana-mohana, "the attractor of Cupid," Radharani can attract even Krishna. She is therefore called Madana-mohana-mohini—"the attractor of the attractor of Cupid."

The same Krishna who is not attracted by any amount of material opulence finds Srimati Radharani irresistible. One time Krishna, to joke with the gopis, the cowherd girls of Vrndavana, was hiding Himself beneath a bush, but finally they spotted Him from a distance. Krishna then changed Himself into His four-armed form of Narayana. When the gopis approached and found Narayana instead of Krishna, they were not very interested in Him; only Krishna's original two-armed form attracted them. They therefore offered their respectful obeisances unto Lord Narayana and prayed that He would bestow upon them the benediction of Krishna's eternal association. Then they went on searching for Krishna. When Srimati Radharani passed by, however, Krishna tried to maintain His disguise as Narayana but was unable to do so; he kept slipping back into His original two-armed form. This illustrates the great influence of Srimati Radharani's pure transcendental love.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that as one surrenders unto Him, He reciprocates accordingly. Therefore the more Radharani tries to please Krishna, the more he desires to please Her, thus in turn increasing Her enthusiasm to increase His pleasure. Therefore although the Lord is unlimited, both He Himself and His pleasure potency are always increasing. The all-blissful reciprocation between the Lord and His pleasure potency is expressed in the transcendental pastimes of Radha and Krishna, which are described in detail in Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Love or Lust—What's the Difference?

The reciprocation of love between Radha and Krishna is the essence of spiritual love. Because Krishna is the origin of everything, He is the origin of love also. The attraction between boys and girls in the material world is a perverted reflection of the purely spiritual relationship between Radha and Krishna. One who thinks he can be happy through material sexual enjoyment cannot understand the relationship between Radha and Krishna; and, conversely, if one hears about Radha and Krishna from a bona fide spiritual master, his material sexual desires evaporate.

In the material world, although one may profess true love, inwardly one's real desire is to enjoy his own senses. We love someone as long as he or she satisfies our senses, and when such sensual pleasure dwindles, the so-called love dwindles with it. Thus the love affair ends in separation or divorce. But pure devotees of Krishna on the spiritual platform have no desires to please themselves. They desire only to please Lord Krishna. This is true unalloyed love.

What we speak of as "love" in the material world is actually lust, or a desire to serve oneself. It has no permanent basis; today I love one girl, tomorrow another, according to my changing fancy. Indeed, although a boy and girl may change sexual partners as often as dogs and cats do, in our modern idiom we refer to their sexual intercourse as "lovemaking," as through the gross friction of two hot bodies could generate love. We speak of love so easily, but really in this material world there is no love—it is all lust. The difference between love and lust is like the difference between gold and iron. Both gold and iron are metals, but otherwise they are not at all alike.

The conditioned souls in the material world are generally misdirected and frustrated in love because they try to get pleasure by satisfying their material bodily senses. They do not know that they are different from their bodies. The body is always changing—from childhood, to youth, to old age—but the same person is always present in each body. He identifies himself as an American or Englishman, a Jew or a Christian, a boy or a girl, according to his body, but that body is not himself. Therefore no matter how diligently he tries to be happy by gratifying his bodily demands, he is never successful. Just as one cannot satisfy a bird by cleaning its cage and not feeding the bird itself, one cannot satisfy his physical senses. Besides that, the more one tries to satisfy the senses, the more they demand. Indulgence cannot satisfy the senses, any more than gasoline can extinguish a fire. Trying to smother one's anxieties with the gasoline of sense gratification will only ignite an explosion. Therefore, by trying to satisfy his material desires for sensual enjoyment the poor conditioned soul merely increases his desire, but not his satisfaction. He becomes a servant of the senses, working hard to fulfill hankerings that can never be fulfilled. To find real pleasure, one must find real love—and for this one must love Krishna. To be truly happy, one must engage in His devotional service.

Such devotional service is under the control of Srimati Radharani. She is the presiding Deity of devotional service. Because She is very merciful, devotees especially take advantage of Her merciful nature to attain the service of Krishna. Indeed, although engagement is pure devotional service is rarely achieved, one can achieve it very easily by the grace of Srimati Radharani.

Bhagavad-gita confirms that those who are truly mahatmas, great souls, take shelter of Krishna's daivi prakrti, or spiritual energy—Srimati Radharani. "Always chanting My glories," Lord Krishna declares, "endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion." (Bg. 9.14) This devotional service is not an activity of the material world; it is fully spiritual because it is directly under the control of Krishna's spiritual energy—Srimati Radharani.

To perform devotional service, one should follow in the footsteps of Srimati Radharani by performing pure devotional service to Krishna, without any concern for material profit. But one should not worship Krishna alone. Krishna is not complete without Srimati Radharani, as the sun is not complete without the sunshine. One should therefore worship both Radha and Krishna, for together They are the complete Absolute Truth.

Actually, worshiping Radharani is better than worshiping Krishna. More precisely, one can best worship Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through Srimati Radharani, His supreme pleasure energy. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita, "If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." (Bg. 9.26) But rather than offer a flower directly to Krishna, better to offer the flower to Srimati Radharani, requesting, "My dear Radharani, please recommend me to Your Krishna." Krishna is the supreme controller, yet he is controlled by the pure devotion of Srimati Radharani. Krishna is therefore also known as the "property of Radharani." If one can please Radharani, therefore, one can very easily please Lord Krishna.

Srimati Radharani has the vision of a most highly elevated devotee. Thus She sees everyone equally. If anyone approaches her to serve Krishna, even if he is the most fallen, She immediately bestows Her mercy upon him by recommending to Krishna, "Oh, Krishna, here is a devotee. He is better than Me." Because Srimati Radharani is always absorbed in thought of Krishna, She is very dear to Krishna. Therefore if one tries in this way to reach Krishna through Radharani, he will surely be successful.

How Can We Learn To Serve Radha and Krishna?

To be able to serve Radha and Krishna, one must first approach a bona fide spiritual master. Krishna has two energies—material and spiritual. The spiritual energy is full of eternal bliss and knowledge, whereas the material energy causes ignorance, misery and death. Although we are all originally spiritual, unfortunately we are now engrossed in the material energy. Because of illusion, however, we do not remember our real position, nor do we know how to return to the spiritual world. Therefore Krishna personally descends to this material world to attract us by exhibiting His transcendental pastimes and by speaking the message of Bhagavad-gita for our enlightenment. But Krishna returned to His abode 5,000 years ago. Does this mean we can no longer approach Him? No. In His absence, we may approach him through His representative, the spiritual master.

The spiritual master is the mercy incarnation of God. Because Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, approaching Him is difficult. But he is also most compassionate, and out of his compassion He empowers His pure devotees to bring back home, back to Godhead, the fallen souls who have forgotten Him.

Srimati Radharani, the tenderhearted female counterpart of Lord Krishna, represents His compassionate nature. Therefore he spiritual master, who compassionately appears in the material world for the sake of the fallen souls, is considered a representative of Srimati Radharani. By the mercy of the spiritual master, one can obtain the mercy of Krishna. There is no alternative means for success. Without the mercy of the spiritual master, one cannot make any progress in devotional service. This is the opinion of all bona fide authorities on devotional life.

The spiritual master trains his disciples in such a way that they can become free from bondage to material consciousness, engage in devotional service, and thus gradually develop pure love of Godhead. The spiritual master has the responsibility of scientifically engaging each disciple in a practical manner. Among the many different paths for the attainment of spiritual realization, one needs the expert guidance of a bona fide spiritual master to understand which path to follow to make actual progress toward the supreme goal.

In our modern age, the most recommended process for perfection is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Krishna and Rama are names of the Lord, and Hare addresses Hara, the pleasure potency of the Lord—Srimati Radharani. As living spiritual souls, we are originally spiritual energy, but somehow or other we have now fallen into this material world of birth and death. But when we come under the shelter of the supreme spiritual energy, Srimati Radharani, we come to our happy, normal position.

Radharani is the potency who gives transcendental pleasure to Krishna. When the mercy of that potency is bestowed upon a living entity, he develops love of Godhead and thus attains the highest pleasure—and he can also distribute that pleasure—and he can also distribute that pleasure to others. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has introduced this process of chanting to the Western countries and is spreading it all over the world. "The chanting," he says, "is exactly like the cry of a child for its mother's presence. Mother Hara [Srimati Radharani] helps the devotee achieve the Lord Father's grace, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely."

***END***

Jai Shri Radharani!

Jai Shri Krishna!

Wounded in Love?

Lord Krishna..

Love...this word evokes a myriad of reactions, my lord, in the heart .. a lot many people have been hurt in love, my lord.. We human beings.. not being complete in ourselves look for fulfillment and love from fellow human beings.. everybody wants 'love' from each other but no one has 'any' to give..The result is broken promises, unmet expectations and heartbreak.. for many of us the word 'love' evokes such painful memories and buried resentments that we just want to lock up our hearts and throw the keys in the dustbin.. Painful memories of rejection and heartbreak in love may cause one to stiffen up like a rock, proclaiming love to be a 'weakness' and branding all feelings as 'sentimentality'. Nothing is more tragic than just retreating in your shell and erecting walls to prevent getting hurt in love again...

Love is not a 'lie' and neither it is a 'weakness of the heart'.. Its true courage.. its wings that take you to places you have never seen.. sounds you have never heard.. the nectar you have never tasted.. But then what goes wrong..? Why does every 'fairy tale romance' has an end..? Why can't there be a 'happily ever after' in real life..? 

My Lord Krishna, here you come in the picture.. You are the very essence of love.. an infinite ocean of love and we beings are eternally separated drops of that ocean.. Our very purpose is to love you our Lord.. Being in your remembrance each moment, we are filled with your transcendental love..it just overflows from our heart and transfers to every person we come in touch with.. loving you our lord, makes us capable of loving others.. the true love that wants the best of every being..that recognizes the actual needs of the person..Because your love is so blissful, my lord.. we no-longer 'hanker' for love from fellow beings.. we become self satisfied.. conflicts reduce with our loved ones..heartbreaks vanish.. Its only because we look for love in material relationships that we remain frustrated and resentful forever.. we feed off our loved ones and they feed off us, leaving everybody exhausted and drained in the end.. 

Its only when we recognize the true reservoir of love.. our lord.. that made us.. that is our master, friend, father, son, lover.. everything.. that we can have rid ourselves of the dilemma to 'love' or 'not love'.. O dear Lord, you are love.. you are bliss.. and whoever associates with you basks in that transcendental aura of yours..Bless us lord.. that we love you more and more each day.. n that we may never forget you even for a single second..


Your humble maidservant, always..

*Male and female are the designations of the temporary material body.. According to Vedic literature, all souls are considered to be 'feminine' and the Lord is the lone 'man'. The soul's purpose is to love the lord eternally..For more details please read our spiritual master Prabhupada's translation of the Vedic Literature*

Jai Prabhupada!

Jai Shri Krishna!

Eternally yours, My Lord

Lord.. I have entangled myself in a lot many worldly problems, my lord.. where ever I look, lord, problems and difficulties haunt me.. I have fallen in some of the traps of my own creation.. lord, whenever I have desired some benefit for myself from somewhere.. in that thing itself I have got trapped..I am feeling helpless, lord.. with my poor foresight I'm unable to differentiate between the what to partake in and what to leave..
Lord, please cleanse my heart of all these unholy desires for acquiring power, assets and fame and propensity for sense enjoyment. Help me Lord to fix my mind always on the sweet vision of your lotus feet.. My intelligence in always finding ways to please you and my body in executing your plan in this world.. I give myself wholly to you my dear lord Krishna... My mind, heart, body, soul.. everything is yours my lord.. you may do anything from me .. Let me just become an instrument my lord for executing your plan in this world..You are so kind my lord.. you gave us free will..a being can act independently of you if he likes.. but lord I don't desire any independent existence from you my lord..I want to be always in your presence... and executing your wishes.. 

Your humble maidservant..always

Jai Shri Krishna!

Madness in love

Chaos of life blurring away

O my dear lord Krishna,

The more I contemplate on you, my lord.. the more attached I'm becoming to you everyday.. It is like my lord.. the background of my life is getting more and more blurred each day and my focus turning to you.. O lord.. in everything and in every person and in every situation I search for you..Those things O Lord which don't carry your fragrance, I'm inclined to reject right away..

Prabhupada praying in temple

I'm especially desirous of associating with your pure devotees my lord.. Nothing is better than their association..In my present circumstances, the only way to physically associate with your devotees, my lord, is to go to your temple..opened by the ISKCON.. lord..great are your devotees..giving this chance to come to you to every person..but going to the temple is many times not convenient.. that leaves me with the company of His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's books and the kirtan (Congregational chanting of the lord's holy name) recordings on my cellphone.

Mirabai singing the lord's glories

Maybe that explains my dear lord.. why I'm increasingly becoming enamored by your devotee of the highest order..Mirabai.. Again and again Lord.. I read her many compositions.. trying to understand her love for you my lord.. but it seems almost impossible.. for she herself proclaims...it is not possible for anyone to understand her except for the person who is in her shoes..i.e. with a love for you my lord that matches the intensity of hers..her love is pure madness.. although colloquial wisdom proclaims that people do become a little mad in love.. being sport for things they never favored earlier..enjoying life as it unfurls.. If the love affairs of the mundane world can produce such marvelous changes in a person.. what to speak of divine love, where the object of love is not a flesh and bone human being, but you my lord yourself..and its never a one-sided love affair.. o dear lord.. its just pure bliss when you reciprocate.. you blow my breath away.. your ways are as miraculous as you are..

*If this sounds like fiction to you.. I urge you to put aside your misgivings and give it a try.. faith can be the greatest asset of a person.. if you have faith in thy lord.. you have everything.. Let us pray to the lord to keep our faith steady.. and never let it waver..*

Now hear it from Mirabai.. ..in this transcendental composition..

I am mad with Love
I am mad with love
And no one understands my plight.
Only the wounded
Understand the agonies of the wounded,
When the fire rages in the heart.
Only the jeweler knows the value of the jewel,
Not the one who lets it go.
In pain I wander from door to door,
But could not find a doctor.
Says Mira: Harken, my Master,
Mira's pain will subside
When Shyam comes as the doctor.

- Mirabai

*Here Harken and Shyam refers to Lord Krishna, and are among a few of the many names used to address him*

Jai Mirabai!
Jai Shri Krishna!

Jai Prabhupada!

My guru.. my teacher.. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: Founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).. if I'm honest with myself.. If today I am so attached to my lord Krishna and crave his presence each single moment of the day, its all because of Prabhupada's books and his English translations of important vedic literature like the Bhagavad Gita As it is, Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Brahma Samhita,  Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta and many more. Moreover he had the ability to distill the great wisdom in those books into few palatable drops of his public lectures.. Blessed are the people fortunate to hear him or read the great books he left behind...
His ultimate message was just to instill  love of Godhead in every human being as evident from this lecture...

Lecture by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada given at Los Angeles, July 5, 1971
Prabhupada: ...He (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) was traveling in South India. He saw one brahmana reading Bhagavad-gita. And persons who knew him, that "That man was illiterate," it was not possible for him to read Bhagavad-gita... But still, he was trying to read it, and crying also. So while others were criticizing, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to him, "Brahmana, what you are reading?" So he could understand that "This person, He's not come here to criticize me. He's serious." So he talked seriously, "Sir, I am reading Bhagavad-gita. Unfortunately, I am illiterate." Now see. He is illiterate and he is reading Bhagavad-gita. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inquired that "How is that, you're reading Bhagavad-gita and you say you are illiterate?" He said, "Yes, actually I am illiterate, but my Guru Maharaja asked me that 'You should read every day eighteen chapters.' So what can I do? (laughter) I have to carry out the order of my spiritual master. So I have simply taken this book. I am seeing it." Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, "Oh, you are not seeing it, simply. You are crying also." "Yes, Sir, I am crying also." "Then if you are not reading, how you are crying?" "Sir, I am not reading, but I'm feeling." "What is that?" "As soon as I take this Bhagavad-gita in my hand, immediately I feel Krishna and Arjuna sitting on the same chariot, and Arjuna is ordering Krishna that 'You drive my chariot between the two soldiers,' and Krishna is driving. So I am simply feeling how Krishna is nice, that He can work as a servant of His devotee. When I feel like that, I cry, how Krishna is so kind." Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately embraced him, that "You are really studying Bhagavad-gita." So unless we develop our love for Krishna, there is no meaning of reading. And if we can develop our love for Krishna just like this brahmana, even without reading any book, that is wanted. Mayy asakta-manah. Therefore Krishna also confirms, mayy asakta-manah, "Simply by increasing attachment for Me." Mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-asrayah. Mad-asrayah. Mad-asrayah means "under the direction of Me or My representative." So one who performs this yoga system, how to increase love for Krishna, that's all, then you understand everything. The Vedas, they confirm it.
Yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavanti.
If you simply understand Krishna, then everything will be understood. Because Krishna is everything, God is everything. To understand Krishna, simply this attachment... Mayy asakta-manah. Asakti means attachment. So our, this Krishna consciousness movement is... We are teaching people, our students especially, how to increase attachment for Krishna. Why this temple? They are feeling that "We are sitting in Krishna's presence. Krishna is so nicely dressed. I am dressing." Otherwise, from atheistic point of view, you see that "Why these people are bothering like this? They have taken a brass idol and wasting time after it?" They can say like that. Because they have no love for Krishna. But one who has love for Krishna, he sees, "Krishna is so kind. He's accepting my dressing. I am crowning. I am garlanding." That is a feeling. So the whole process is to increase our feeling of love for Krishna. That is required. Not anything else. Just (like the) gopis. They were not Vedantists. They were not scholars. They were village girls, and also low class. Brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, the third class. The fourth class is the shudra. They were neither brahmana nor kshatriya. Vaishya.
Krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam
vaisya-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.44].
Vaishyas, they have to take three kinds of profession: agriculture, trade, and cow protection. As the kshatriyas were meant for giving protection to the human being, the vaishyas are understood to give protection to the cows. Go-raksya. Go means cow; raksya means protection.That is their business. So these Vrindavana people, they were... Nanda Maharaja, he had 900,000s of cows, and he was a big man amongst the agriculturists. So they were ordinary men, agriculturists, taking care of the cows. They were not Vedantists, not philosopher, not scientist. Ordinary. But what is their credit? The credit is nobody could love Krishna excelling them. That was their credit. Therefore Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recommended,
ramya kacid upasana
vrajavadhu-vargena ya kalpita
"There is no comparison of the method of worship which was adopted by the damsels of Vraja." Unalloyed love for Krishna. No bargaining: "By loving Krishna, I shall become a big man, I shall become a great philosopher, or great scientist," or "I shall improve my material condition." These are anyabhilasita. And bhakti begins when one is devoid of all these material considerations. Anyabhilasita-sunyam
[Brs. anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama
"One should render transcendental loving serviceto the Supreme Lord Krishna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service." Bhakti- rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.111.1.11].
Sunyam means when one makes zero all these material desires.Jnana-karmady-anavrtam: [Cc. Madhya 19.167] even uncovered by the resultant action of philosophical speculation and fruitive activities. Everyone is working to get some result. That is called fruitive activities. So a pure devotee has no such desires. Anukulyena krsnanu-silanam. Their only business is how to please Krishna. That can be done by everyone, if he wants. Take, for example, if you want to please me, it does not require high education or great amount of riches or knowledge or beauty. Nothing. It is your business how to love me, how to please me. That you will know. So if we want to love Krishna, Krishna will let us know. Krishna is within you. Simply we have to decide that we shall love Krishna only. That is wanted Then everything is there.
Aradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim, naradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim [Narada-pancaratra] .
The kim word is used: "What is the use of?" That is kim. So the shastra says that if you have learned how to love Krishna, then what is the use of these books? There is no use. You can avoid anything, all this reading. But if you have actually developed your love for Krishna... And after reading all these books,philosophy, science, if you cannot love Krishna, then what is the use of it? Both ways. Useless. If you do not love, do not develop your love for God or Krishna, then what is the use of your philosophizing and scientific knowledge? This is all useless. And if you actually have learned how to love Krishna, or God, then there is (no) need of philosophy or science or books.So therefore the main point is how to develop. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recommends this. Prema pumarth mahan. Our greatest success of life is how to love God, Krishna. That is greatest success. Now you can do it. But there is prescribed method, given by great acharyas. Just like in this temple we are doing. We are timely giving. The atheist will say, "Oh, these are so foolish that they are taking so much labor for preparing food and offering and wasting time. Best thing would have been to go to some club and enjoy wine and playing cards." They'll waste time in that way. We are not wasting, but they say we are wasting time. They will criticize. You see? They are prepared to waste time in a brothel, but if people are sitting nicely in a temple and talking of Krishna, serving Krishna, they will laugh. That is our position. So we have to become callous to all these criticisms. We have to go with our business, Krishna consciousness.
That's all.
Thank you. (end)


*Nobody could have articulated this better than Prabhupada, our guru. *

Jai Prabhupada!!
Jai Sri Krishna!

Aag ka Darya

"Yeh ishq nahi aasaan, bas itna samajh lee jiye
Ek aag ka darya hai, Aur doob ke jaana hai"

This Love, it ain't easy; one needs to understand, it is an ocean of fire (Aag ka darya) and you can only drown in it to cross it
- Daagh Dehlvi

Every time I read this famous quotation it gives me chills.. O lord Krishna people are afraid of coming to you...surrendering to you my lord..afraid to be dependent on your mercy alone... They would rather rely on themselves.. they would rather work themselves to the bone for the things of the material happiness... they are afraid to commit to you lord... afraid to be consumed in your love.. for one who tastes the nectar of your love.. never comes back to this material world..he is gone forever my lord..he becomes mad with your love.. the mundane things of this material world no longer hold any fascination for him.. outwardly he may look a loser by the worldly standard of today... but he has what no one else has.. that priceless gift that cannot be bought..the nectar of your love.. the vision of your lotus feet..

Nobody could have expressed this better than Mira in this poem..

Strange is the Path of love

Do not mention the name of love,
O my simple-minded companion.
Strange is the path
When you offer your love.
Your body is crushed at the first step.
If you want to offer love
Be prepared to cut off your head
And sit on it.
Be like the moth,
Which circles the lamp and offers its
body.
Be like the deer, which, on hearing the
horn,
Offers its head to the hunter.
Be like the partridge,
Which swallows burning coals
In love of the moon.
Be like the fish
Which yields up its life
When separated from the sea.
Be like the bee,
Entrapped in the closing petals of the
lotus.
Mira’s lord is the courtly Giridhara.
She says: Offer your mind
To those lotus feet.
- Mirabai

O lord .. my dear lord.. Please shower your mercy on me dear lord .. Mirabai was a devotee of you my lord of the highest highest order.. if I am able to love you with 1/1000 of her intensity my lord, I would consider my life to be a success.. My heart is hard hard stone my lord, only your mercy can help melt it.. I pray to thy lotus feet my lord, i pray...

Jai Mirabai!
Jai shri Krishna!