Guru Maharaj:
Dear devotees,
My affectionate greetings from Berlin. We are here, trying to do the services here in Europe. Everyday the Srimad Bhagavatam gives us big enthusiasm with its revelations. Many devotees from Berlin wish the deities Radha Govinda Sundara to be installed. I'm praying that Srila Prabhupada gives us that mercy, or maybe we need to be more prepared.
Today is the appearance day of the Bhagavad-Gita. Yesterday we were seeing prabhu Jiva's paintings for the Bhagavad-Gita. Jiva prabhu is making a very interesting and magnificent work, and with that we can do many things. That material will help a lot to many people will take consideration again of the Bhagavad-Gita.
To send the message of the Bhagavad-Gita is the most auspicious, because the lord Himself spoke the Bhagavad-Gita. My idea is to present all the verses of the Bhagavad-Gita with a graphic. It is an attempt to give new life to the study of Bhagavad-Gita. Moreover, we can join it with all the idioms of the world, and sound in which it is read the verse of each image with a background sound. It is a very substantial work, imagine 700 images! But it also facilitates the study of the Bhagavad-Gita like never before. Seminaries and courses can be given in difference places. There is a Bhagavad-Gita in internet where you can listen to it in many languages.
I'm very enthusiastic to preach the Bhagavad-Gita’s message in this way, since the Bhagavad-Gita was the first book that brought clarity to my life. First I read a little edition in German, but sincerely I couldn't understand it. I was entangled of the fact that it was spoken on a battlefield. After that, a friend told me that the message of Bhagavad-Gita is against the battle and that I had not understood anything. Very thankful I took the Bhagavad-Gita again, but that time I was very fortunate to get the blue Gita of the Mac Millan company, the Gita of Srila Prabhupada. There was everything different, because at that time I was living in a temple. And more, I used the Bhagavad-Gita to learn English. Only many years later Bhagavad-Gita was published in German language.
So this book was my companion for many years. In the Vrinda mission I wanted to have a Bhagavad-Gita to introduce this message to everyone in the most accessible way as possible. Of course I did not want to overshadow the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by my spiritual master. I just want to create a sincere desire in people to read Bhagavad-Gita As It Is completely.
In a trip from Santiago to Sao Paolo, along with Gurudev Atulananda, we started this job, giving basic meditations to understand the verses in the line of thinking of Srila Prabhupada. When we arrived to Santa Fe (Argentina), we missed the bus and we stayed for a long time at the bus station. It was there where it was born, Bhagavad-Gita, the Supreme Science. I think that this is the most distributed Bhagavad-Gita in South America till today, since the price of it has always been very accessible. To produce that book was one of our attempts to take the message of our sacred Krishna to people, a revolutionary message for a hopefully revolutionary people. Revolutionary against the world of abuse and indifference, against the exploitation of this world, because you know, with the message of the Bhagavad-gita one can die peacefully.
This morning I talked to a very dear godbrother of mine, Janaraj Prabhu from Belgium.
He is in a health condition that he could leave the body at any moment. We talked a lot, we talked about the devotees and the holy books… And he as a great sage realizes everything that our spiritual master has given to us. He is so fixed in Krishna consciousness that I admire him. He is one of the tests in Bhagavad-Gita, alive in front of me, realized in front of me, because death when perfection reaches its climax after having been living the perfection. In this way we always should live, to die in Krishna consciousness. Live to die. Die to live. Die to live with Krishna, and to live to kill the false ego which leads us away from Krishna.
The transcendental philosophy is really the best, because it transcends the material and relative and superficial. At the moment of death diplomacy, status quo and false ego are all useless. So brother, why such madness? We need what is real and not to remain fanatic or sentimental. We are invited to a final reunion with the creator of the immortal being. Dynamism motivates His love and dynamism expands His fervour. He plants in every living being a longing which can be satisfied only in the loving union with their creator.
Expert men, to the unimaginable, have achieved domains of uncontrolled dimensions, entire countries, wealth, sensualities. But inside they feel like paralyzed. Helpless for not knowing where to turn. What more they can see is, that all their experience cannot touch their soul. They don’t know what to do. They repeat their mistakes. They take drugs and lose their human life. Instead of glory they reap infamy and instead of love everything is just envy. They shamefully try to beautify their old bodies through disgusting surgeries or artificial disguises. They are not prepared to die in peace, thinking of God and making their souls perfect. Day by day their agony increases, while a devotee who accepts his task with pleasure and devotion, already transcends the limitations and attains forgiveness for his mistakes.
Srila Prabhupada, ki jay!
Ekadasi, ki jay!
Srimad Bhagavad-gita, ki jay!
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Guru Atulananda:
Jay, dear devotees! Sri Sri Bhagavd Gita, ki jay! Gurudeva Paramadveti, ki jay!
Today is a very fortunate day to glorify the Gita. So beautiful to speak about it on an Ekadasi day. Bhagavad-gita always helps me in my spiritual life. I saw that Srila Prabhupada in his preaching always appeal to quote it and with its slokas he defeated everybody. Thus I realize that if I study the Gita I could preach fine. I have found that it is the most solid base of our philosophy.
Once I thought with great admiration that there is really no other scripture in the world in which God Himself talks to us. I invite you to hear the poems of the Gita, sung by our Patita Pavana.
In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna very mercifully explains us all, and it is a true invitation of love to come to him. He concludes saying that there is nothing apart from this. But this sweet treasure of the Bhagavad-gita was given to us by our Srila Prabhupada, because only the Vaisnavas can give us this sweet essence which captures the heart.
Sometimes I feel the desire to glorify the Gita in thousand ways… we have recorded a rock Bhagavad-gita and another Andean Bhagavad-Gita, and we made two versions of the Bhagavad-gita in verses. And it always comes more ideas in my mind to make more things with this so beautiful book.
One devotee told me that when he read the Gita for first time, he thought immediately that he had to live it. This caught my attention, because I felt the same. I remember that I ask my brother that we should read it, and that he was Arjuna and I was Krishna. This was before knowing Srila Prabhupada and I had a Bhagavad-gita in which the author, Ramacaraka, said that the Bhagavad-gita was like a piece of drama. But reading it filled me with enthusiasm. From Bhagavad-gita we can get not only spiritual comprehension, but also strength for the sublime life. Imagine, it is the Song of God! How many times should we listen to it? How many times you listen to the song of your favourite artist? Therefore it is a tireless song, because Krishna sings to our soul which is afflicted by this samsara. He is giving us all the solutions for our life.
Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita that the Bhagavad-gita strengthens our intelligence, it gives us intelligence. When I was young I felt that I wanted to have more intelligence, but I realized that there was no way to have more. But now I know the way. That intelligence is given by Krishna, it is not coming from us. If we want to have intelligence separate from Krishna, we become more foolish. Thus is very important to keep full fidelity to the scripture which is Krishna’s wisdom. Thanks to that wisdom we become sages, and we can never be this in a separate way. But in order to appreciate and relish this, humility is fundamental. Humility is the key to bhakti. When the mayavadis take the Bhagavad-Gita, they can reach only the level of karma yoga and jnana yoga, but not bhakti. This happens because their pride inhibits them. Only the humility gives access to the charming aspect of the truth, because the very soul is not nectar if is not with Krishna.
Imagine, not even on the level of a pure soul there is satisfaction if there is no loving service to the Lord. That is why the mayavadi, like the rest, travels around the universe of the objects and the universe of the thoughts and even that of the spirit, but without getting satisfaction. This satisfaction is given by Krishna to His devotee. But only the humble bhakta can get the honey of the Bhagavad-Gita. The rest remain entangled in the leaves of the flower, licking karma, jnana, dyana, but no bhakti.
Reading the Bhagavad-Gita with attention, we can find so much grace coming from Krishna. That is why that brahmana, who met Mahaprabhu, only cried seeing the Bhagavad-Gita. He cried seeing how much love Krishna has for us.
Jay Bhagavad-Gita! You are our philosophic fundament at excellence. Trough Your discourse You strengthen and encourage the intelligence of Your devotees. Thanks to You the devotee is never defeated, and You and dissipate his doubts. You encourage him to go on and to surrender to Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada taught us that a religion should be based on an illuminated philosophy, and that philosophy is Bhagavad-Gita. The more you read it, the more illuminated you will be. Let us read it with commitment, with the desire to put it into practice. This is fundamental to us.
And this is what makes the difference between a devotee and a theologian. He first practices the Bhagavad-Gita, and then just study it to brighten his knowledge. And to practice Bhagavad-Gita means be in the mode of goodness and from that to go upwards.
It is very important to have this of the gunas, the qualities present. We must work with ourselves, we must force ourselves to change, this is also a part of our service that we should do together with the chanting of the name. It is not just to chant the name. The chanting should come together with the work with the personal analysis and the continuous self correction. In this way our advance will be more effective. Otherwise we will get further away from the pure name, because if we do not correct ourselves, we will continue chanting with offences, maintaining material attachment or neglecting the orders of the guru. There are many things we must change, things that we should correct in ourselves, but we are going to get everything by this grace that we are receiving. Just put into practice this wisdom which is there to change our life, to give you a revolutionary change. The human being should move towards the divine, and this divine word by Krishna is what will make this change within us. May Bhagavad-Gita more and more enter our heart. Let us read it daily.
Did you know that prabhu Vaisnava en Puerto Rico is learning it by memorizing it in Spanish! This I like very much. Actually I had thought to do it myself, at least memorize some parts and then represent them. This would be very nice! An excellent meditation! This prabhu is very good in telling stories. I hope he goes forward with his studies and thus encourage other devotees to do the same. It would also be very nice if the children memorized parts of the Bhagavad-Gita. I think it would be the most fundamental thing, and we would give them a gift for the rest of their lives. Because Bhagavad-Gita is a fundamental instruction to fortalice us before the adversities in life and to know to take things with perseverance and wisdom. It is a wise observation of everything and an invitation to take refuge in the Supreme, in order to better come to sense the concept that Krishna will give. As I said before, there are different ways to worship the Bhagavad-Gita
Well, I hope you are very well. Thank you and good luck all of you. I feel very fortunate that I can share this with you, admirers and strugglers of the Bhagavad-Gita.
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