We have to cultivate this humblest position as well. It is question of our consciousness. Are we doing it for our own recognition or are we doing at his service? In the neophyte state we r doing it for both purposes. We have to chant and we have to pray and we have to desire to give up this ego. If we desire to give this ego, gradually through this process u will give up ego. But if u desire to serve your ego, then ultimately Krishna will smash u, he will smash u very hard. Just to show u that u are not the one, he is the one. But in any case, we must perform his order, we must strive internally to do it, with this understanding that we r completely depending on his mercy. We cannot give up our service that is false humility.

What Is Real Humility and False Humility?

So, why do we take medicines? We are depending on Krishna, but he gives us body that is subjected to disease; ultimately Krishna can work through the medicines or not work through the medicines. And when Srila Prabhupada was sick, he called doctor Kaviraj and even if it int work, He would say ‘a blind uncle I better than no uncle at all.’ It is just a ritual of this world that when you are sick, you have to take medicine. But he was depending on Krishna but still, you have to try. When Kamsa was about to kill Devaki, ultimately it was in Krishna's hands whether Devaki lives or dies but still Vasudev did everything within his power to protect her. That was his duty. He made so many philosophical arguments, so many social arguments, so many promises. He was a pure devotee. So, a devotee must be ideal in example and devotee must live exemplary within society.

Are We Going to Become Inefficient If We Depend Completely on Krishna?

The example is given here of watering the root of the tree. Automatically whole tree is nourished. In that same verse from Bhagvatam it is explained that if you feed food to the belly automatically every limb of the body is nourished. If you simply give food to the stomach, then your whole body will be nourished. Your hands, your legs, your eyes, your brain, your feet, your lungs everything. But can you approach your belly directly? Is it possible? You can only get food to your stomach through your mouth. Krishna is the belly. His dear devotees are like the mouth. Unless you offer to them, unless you please them, unless you satisfy them, whatever you do will never reach Krishna. ‘yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto 'pi’ So, it is this type of determination is resolute purpose that is necessary. Krishna consciousness is achieved by the mercy of the Lord. Only when we want that state of love, when we want that state of service to the Lord through his devotees more than everything and anything else in the world, if there’s anything that you consider more important or a priority to Krishna, you will never see Krishna until you finally realize that Krishna is everything all in all.

Service of The Lord Should Be the First Priority

Bhakti is Inherent / SB 3.25.37

Three goals of life surpassed by a devotee / How bhakti is inherent and inherited / It all comes from the mercy of devotees

#35 Bhakti is Inherent

Maharaj Pariskhit could have done anything his last seven days, but he chose to think of Krishna, to chant and hear His glories. So, let us make our life a beautiful, a wonderful, a meaningful life. A life that is no longer subject to fear or anxiety, a life that is constantly devoted to remembrance of the all beautiful, all merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead, by remembering Krishna we become purified from within and without and for the pure soul, there is only the mercy of God that he sees in every step of his life and therefore he is always peaceful, he is always in a state of love, of compassion. He is always tasting the ultimate beauty of life and that gift is available for you today if you accept it. How to accept it? It is very simple, by surrendering to Krishna, by chanting His name, by following the words of the great souls, that is all Maharaj Pariskhit did, he simply heard from Sukadeva Goswami and followed his words and chanted the name of God, that same benediction is yours.

A Devote Never Subjeccted to Ordinary Material Karma

“Who is attracted?” / The Jeweled Bhakti Garland - Part 7 / SB 4.20.27 

The Lord likes the simple devotees more than anyone else / Akbar the Great’s Queen Taj Bibi / Krishna attracts those with a mood of service

#37 “Who is attracted?” / The Jeweled Bhakti Garland — Part 7

"Krishna Sends Help" / The Jeweled Bhakti Garland — Part 8 / SB 4.24.28

The Lord sends help to the serious / The thief whose hands weren’t burned / The six aspects of transforming the heart

#38 "Krishna Sends Help" / The Jeweled Bhakti Garland — Part 8

Prabhupada writes “of Lord Chaitanya’s associates.” Prabhupada writes it that “Swarup Damodar Goswami never came to Vrindavan. He is Lalita sakhi. And Gadhadar Pandit who is Radharani never came to Vrindavan. He wanted to come with Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanya, but Lord Chaitanya said no you have given your vow of kshetra-sanyas to serve Gopinath in Puri, you cannot come with me. So many of the top most, Ramananda Rai never came to Vrindavan. But their hearts were in Vrindavan. Wherever they went they manifested Vrindavan.” So Prabhupada was explaining and not only did he speak it but he lived it, that really being in Vrindavan is serving the holy dham which means serving the will of Radha and Krishna.

VRINDAVAN Is The State of Consciousness

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Radhanath Swami is a Vaishnava sanyassi (a monk in a Krishna-bhakti lineage) and teacher of the devotional path of Bhakti-yoga. He is author of The Journey Home, a memoir of his search for spiritual truth. His teachings draw from the sacred texts of India such as The Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, and Ramayana, and aim to reveal the practical application of the sacred traditions, while focusing on the shared essence which unites apparently disparate religious or spiritual paths.
Born Richard Slavin, on December 7, 1950, in his teens he came to confront a deep sense of alienation from suburban Chicago life and the civil injustices of mid-century America. At the age of nineteen, while on a summer trip to Europe, his internal struggles culminated in a commitment to search for God wherever it might lead him. Meditating on the Isle of Crete, he felt a supernatural calling and the next morning set off alone to find spiritual India. The Journey Home documents his odyssey as a penniless hitch-hiker though Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and finally India. There he lived as a wandering ascetic, first amongst the forest dwelling Himalayan yogis and later amongst a wide variety of gurus and spiritual practitioners throughout India and Nepal. Ultimately, he was led to the holy town of Vrindavan, where he found his path amongst the Bhakti-yogis.
In Vrindavan he found the teacher he was searching for in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and representative of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, (the Krishna-bhakti tradition stemming from the 16th century mystic avatar Sri Chaitanya). In choosing Bhaktivedanta Swami, as his guru, Radhanath Swami felt compelled to shear his matted locks and reenter Western society with a mission to share the sacred wisdom he had received. This return exemplifies the form of devotional yoga which is at the heart of Radhanath Swami’s teachings, a spiritual practice expressed as tangible action meant to bring about personal fulfillment and benefit the world.
At the the age of 31 he took the monastic vows of a Vaishnava sanyassin and became known as Radhanath Swami.
Today Radhanath Swami travels regularly throughout India, Europe and North America, sharing the teachings of Bhakti-yoga. He resides much of the year at the Radha Gopinath Ashram in Chowpatty, Mumbai. For the past twenty-five years he has guided the community’s development and has directed a number of acclaimed social action projects including Midday Meals, which daily serves more than 260,000 plates of sanctified vegetarian food to the children of the slums of Mumbai. He has also worked to establish missionary hospitals and eye camps, eco-friendly farms, schools and ashrams, an orphanage, and a number of emergency relief programs throughout India.


A Devote Never Subjeccted to Ordinary Material Karma

Radhanath Swami

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