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Dear devotees, mothers and friends,
Please accept my blessings.
First of all, a successful new year 2004 with joy and enthusiasm to maintain Srila Prabhupada and his love in sweet memory.
The days of Christmas are always of much occupation also to take care of our families. The devotee for Lord Krishna is detached in some certain form of the mundane family things, but at the same time, by the influence of Krishna consciousness one begins to love one's family much more than before when one was on the platform of selfish enjoyment. Your love towards Krishna and the Spiritual Master intensifies, thinking of the family members that possibly also can receive the great gift of Krishna consciousness, as certainly also as is said: "A saint at home one makes no miracle." Or also: "Nobody is a prophet in his own land." Equally, through the affection for the family members, many people approach to learn about Krishna consciousness, and the devotee is the natural well-wisher of his parents and the other family members.
One should thank a lot one's parents for having given him this human body, with which one got the chance to meet one's spiritual master and know about the wonderful love message of Lord Krishna. And what about giving your parents the CD of Mother Silvia for Christmas present, homage to the holy India and other similar things? Because thankfulness should be accompanied with a very happy attitude; grateful and also communicating with one's family members. The detachment that the devotee wants to develop should be the detachment of the selfish gratification.
In many occasions I have spoken about the topics of affection when one impart instructions, and even with that, once more I feel inspired to elaborate something around this topic, because daily I can meet with persons who have received some instruction on part of some devotee, but instead of getting enthusiastic with the instruction, they have come to feel depreciated or their ego felt attacked.
Obviously, one can know the truth, have good principles, have good intentions, but at the time to practice, one does not know to impart it in a tender and enthusiastic way. I will give an example: When the women have their period, it is preferable they do not make the service to the deity, neither to cook. Of course, there are exceptions, for this are also at certain emergencies, but normally one should try to maintain it this way. The word that is used in the popular vocabulary is that the woman is "contaminated". The other day a lady came to me crying, she didn't know the philosophy but likes very much the devotees. Then in some moment, someone had told her that she was contaminated when she had her period, and she was broken-hearted, thinking that she in a female body from the point of view of Krishna consciousness would be considered as a contaminated person. Obviously, the devotee, that instructed her this, didn't have that intention to create this discouragement in her, but due to lack of care, for too much insensibility in the conversation, this bad impression was created.
Well, since we are in the era of Kali Yoga, there are bad understandings, and all the time the leaders have to be super prudent that the new devotees and the friends of Krishna consciousness are taught with the same affection and tolerance that Srila Prabhupada had with all of us. All the world can grumble or show someone that he is fallen, as in Kali Yuga there are many faults, but this is not what we are looking for. We look for someone who can reprove, encourage, harmonize in the community and in mind of each one with the incentive that the great Acharyas has left in their nectarean contributions.
In each temple one must look for the most expert devotee, very dedicated and disposed to carry out the reproving measures. Like for instance in the past, in the famous program of the Bhaktas, it was only the Director of the Program of the Bhaktas who had the right to impart orders to them, or to correct them, because many times there are neophyte devotees who think that they know to correct all the world, and more; they do it with an air of superiority that does nothing but discourage.
Even a good instruction, if it does not manage to be perceived with certain gratitude on part of the informed or reproved person, lacks value. Parents who are very quarrelsome, and that maintain the discipline of their children to the point of fear, will never gain their hearts. Quite contrary, the children will think of how to get away from there.
As instructors of daily classes, academies, conversations and letters on Internet, etc., we have the compromise to become experts to make others happy. It s logical in many occasions that in order to maintain or to carry standard, one has to take corrective measures. In some cases when certain individuals simply become abusive, it is also necessary that there appears an apt person to give a word of authority.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur said: "How can you expect that an ignorant person stops to act ignorant?". We are all ignorant and only the light of devotion of a Vaisnava will take us from the ignorance. Therefore it is also logical that in the temples, where each time new devotees come, there continuously also appear faults. Do not forget the famous example from Srila Prabhupada's hospital. But who are medical experts to give diagnosis to the sick and give them the adequate prescriptions?
In Ayurveda, each patient receives a distinct medicine according to the constitution he has, and in a similar way raises the consciousness in different persons, so the instructions really should be expert, and which is the criterion that they are experts? Because they can not be chatterboxes that tolerate stupidities, that to maintain a devotee smiling they let him sleep as much as he wants and do whatever he likes. Because the experts are those, who are very good examples in their own behaviour, and who are loved by the other devotees. It is those who feel compassion for people and who have patience to instruct over and over again. With other words, "IN EACH TEMPLE AND IN EACH COMMUNITY ONE SHOULD CHOOSE A MAGISTRATE OF STANDARD AND PEACE", who assures that the entire world is happy and that at the same time everything ascends. That devotee should be a supervisor for all relations and projections of the community and if a person in the community sees that some person who is conducting in a contra producing way, inclusive if he would be a senior devotee, he should immediately report to this person of peace and love, so that he can take the corrective measures in his loving hands.
“The devotees must take very much care that their contribution really increase the desire to serve within the persons who are instructed”. I cannot repeat this phrase sufficiently often. Every opposite instruction to this, except for being a waste of time, becomes one more break on the successful way towards the transcendental life, individually as well as collectively.
Everyone wants to see his community growing. Everyone wants to se plenty of devotees singing and dancing on the feasts. We want, all of us, to see old happy devotees and new happy devotees. But do not think that this is something that happens automatically without a good effort. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur said that one has to pour 20 gallons of blood to get a new soul that wants to serve Krishna. Because everyone wants to enjoy at any cost and rarely a soul accepts that she is destined to serve. There are also many that already live in the community, but that do not yet accept well that they are there to serve, but they maybe only ran from the agony of the suffering in the material world. Now the only thing that can change the consciousness are nice chanted rounds, nice conferences from loving devotees and a lot of service, because the life in the temples, as we know, should be with sweat on one’s forehead, and not sweat on the neighbour’s forehead.
Of course, many people come from the world outside and think: this is a nice ashram, the food is very tasty… maybe I can spend some long holidays here. Remember that when people go for holiday, they are determined to not want to work, with other words - they are tourists. So in the temples we always have some of those tourists and even worse, the tourists generally do not have a single dime in their pocket and think that the devotees are so kind because they can finance their holidays. When someone wants to convince them that the temple is not for vacations, they try to bother. For this reason the loving devotee that is in charge of correcting the contra producing situations and the erroneous attitude, really has a titanic task. Something as for instance to penetrate the Chinese wall with pure mantras, because the false ego and the laziness have created a wall all around the heart of the conditioned souls. And that is the reason why we are suffering so much.
Therefore it is really a miracle that Srila Prabhupada managed to inspire so many of us with enthusiasm to get purified with the Maha Mantra and the maul of the sastras. Sastra means that which cuts the ignorance. The Sastras often gives us a slap, there are parts in the Sastras that puts the finger on the pain of the errors of men, women, sudras, fallen brahmanas, hypocrites, smarta brahmanas, with other words: there is a slap for everyone. But on the other hand, the Sastras also encourage us very much, they talk about the divine mercy, about the power of the holy Name, to overcome our conditionings and to become free from the reactions from the past. It talks about criminals who became saints. It talks about devotees who preached with all love to the most fallen and took them out of the dusk or tells us about the salvation of Jagay and Maday.
In other words, everything has to be very balanced, the maul should also to be balanced and maintain the proportion of carrying the spirit. See how Lord Krishna instructs Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita. In some moment Krishna calls us ignorant, in other moments Krishna describes all the demoniac qualities, making the audience to tremble. Another moment, Krishna speaks about his sweet love with his devotees that always think of Him and who never are lost. Krishna also talks to Arjuna about the free will and that he personally has to decide what he wants to do, based on the knowledge that Krishna just imparted.
Of course, for someone to be successful in spiritual life, he has to accept his Spiritual Master above his mind. This is what it means to have a spiritual master; the spiritual master is not a companion of your mental plans, or a colleague that offers other ideas. The Spiritual Master and the Sastras are exactly the stars above our limitations, and they guide us on the way when the mind cannot do more. So also in a Vaisnava community; if there exist principles, there exist rules to draw us away from maya. But to apply the law, one must be driven by love, because love is more worth than the law, and the devotee is more worth than the rule. The goal is more worth than the details. It requires a devotee who is very loving to know how to tune with the reality of each one to know how to give enthusiasm for the attachment to the regulations of a community in the individuals.
In the past there were people who awaked the bhaktas with pouring water in the sleeping bag (of course in case with absolute sleepy-heads) but that method was painful, it is not what we are looking for, even if personally I would prefer that before I forget Krishna, someone poured water on me. And more, one always has to consider the famous of time, place and circumstances. Not even the sadhana or the temples are the same everywhere. The circumstance in a temple with restaurant with a few devotees, are different from a yoga-monastery, where there are not much costs and all the energy dedicated to train the devotees to become good practitioners of monastic life. But one thing is sure, and you can write it in your note books, put it in a paper in your office or if you want to write it behind your ear:
"Never go back, never fight."
Fights and schisms, complaints and sadness should be reported to the loving harmoniser who is chosen for such effect by the whole community and of course an intimate representative of the Spiritual Master. Let’s hope that in each temple there are many qualified devotees to accomplish to this role. Because all leaders, in essence, must have the same quality.
The rules of each temple must exist in written form and they should be presented very lovingly in all temples so that any new devotee comes to know them from the beginning when he or she enters the community. If you in your Temple do not have this list of regulations in written form, do write it already today! This will help, because the new devotees, before getting involved in something, at once will know what they have to hold to.
In practice, in the temples, personally, I am tolerant when some person still do not get up regularly to Mangala Aratik, since getting up at 4.30 is very recommended but not easy for many persons that recently come and sometimes even not for old devotees. The rules should be applied with love and not with whip and torment, but regarding coming to the morning class, my patience gets enough. Because one who does not listen to a conference from Srimad Bhagavatam in the mornings, will surely be in maya all day. Pure mental platform and then after many days without a class his/her devotional principles are already suspended on a thread, and we are only waiting for maya to come with scissors and plup! The thread is off. Therefore the conference in the community, the reunions with the senior devotees, are what means spiritual family; without this the thing transforms to a student residence or in some cases of persons without roof.
Community consciousness is something one has to learn. People many times come to this, they are fixed on their own families, they mistreat and abandon. So it is nothing strange that people take a very quarrelsome air and not understand themselves that the sacrifice for the good of the ashram is the greatest nectar that will bring them definite changes to their lives and their karmic situation.
As you see, this is the same points as always, it is not the plan of each day, it is the chat of each day. But effectively there are methods to improve the things. And one should apply very carefully, because the upstarts will be all of you and all future devotee aspirants that will come to the temples.
For sure: Better the quality than the quantity. But the quality should not be in such a way that one can also not attend a quantity. Because quality that only cares about its own well and not makes itsef accessible for the quantity of new devotees results finally not to be much of quality.
So my Spiritual Master, Srila Prabhupada, gave us the quality of his heart and attracted a quantity of souls to the altar of Lord Caitanya. He made us dance and taught us with all patience. Imagine, he still follows us with patience. May you not be the one who loses the patience, because “Those who forgive will be forgiven”, and those who judge and punishes, will surely be judged and punished. If a senior devotee of quality, not of antiquity, serve the others, imparting reproving measures to save and guard the harmony and the individual and collective progress, take it for sure that he receives the greatest quantity of blessings from Krishna.
So do not fear to support your community with this function that assures that there is no one in the community, neither internally or externally, who has a real reason to be sad because of others or a reason to withdraw from the devotees and the devotional practices.
This is the war against the real illusion; our prescribed duty, our joy, our way to self-realization. I hope that you take these instructions once more to your heart, so that when I leave this world, you can continue to exist in loving Vaisnava communities based on our intention to serve Srila Prabhupada. And meanwhile I am still here; that our temples may be loving and inexhaustible sources of inspiration were everyone can feel that his or her place is there. The temple as a spiritual home - sweet home - Would that be possible? It depends on you, my dear companions!!!!! You have the baton in your hands. I am nothing but a poor pilgrim; a beggar for love.
Try to remember the beautiful that you have heard and impart it in the ones who want to hear it. I pray to my Spiritual Master that you do not make so much harm and that you can correct when you make something wrong. So, go forward, because there is no other direction. Everyone waling towards the door where we have to pass all of us, the door where everything that we have done in this life, will be valued. So without any doubt, it is in our great interest to become faithful to Srila Prabhupada.
When one fights with determination it is also sure that Krishna will give nice support and the preaching will grow.
Always your well-wisher,
Swami B.A.Paramadvaiti
México Yatra
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