(THE TRANSMISSION STARTED ABRUPTLY)
If you have any questions, philosophical, then you can present them. Also, those who are on internet can send their questions by internet. And if you have any trouble understanding anything I am saying, then please send the same up, and we will have the voice therapist train me how to say those words better.
This morning I did not have physical therapy. (There was a failure of sound here) Hello! Can you hear? So we had a meeting of the TOVP Exhibition and Planetarium wing and that went up to 10 o clock. People were participating from the USA, UK, India, Australia. So for people in England, it was 2 am. For the people in the USA it was night, but still reasonable and in Australia it was afternoon. In India it was morning. So then this evening my voice therapist Dr. Prakash came by and he dedicated extra time to stay till 1.30. Then this afternoon I cycled 905 cycles! That is our record I think. Any questions?
Question: Vijaya Radha devi dasi: When we feel that Krishna or the devotees are saying something how can we be sure it is not our mind?
Guru maharaj: Vijaya Radha devi dasi! While the guru is present, you shouldn’t feel any doubt. You can always ask the guru if your idea is correct or not. I asked several times about different things like this, and somethings he said, they are sent by Krishna, somethings not. So to be sure, that is why we have a guru, because we cannot connect directly with Krishna in our conditioned state. Hare Krishna! Thank you Vijaya Radha devi dasi!
Question: How to overcome attachment, fear and anger? Haridhwani devi dasi
Guru maharaj: Attachment, fear and anger, how to overcome? There is a verse of this in the Bhagavad Gita and some advice is given there. But in a nutshell, we want to dovetail everything with Krishna consciousness. Instead of being attached to the material world, we are more attached to Krishna and His service. Instead of being angry, because our ego is being pinched or because someone is not giving us the sense gratification we want, or because someone is criticizing us unnecessarily, unconstructively, then if we get angry that is material. But if someone offends a devotee or Krishna, if we get angry that is Krishna conscious. So anger, we try to use it for the right reason, and anger for the wrong reason, we renounce. And since Krishna promises He will protect His devotees, name bhakta pranashyati – My devotee will never be destroyed. So why should we have any fear? Fear is the part of the material world, and fear means that we take it as a caution. But we don’t actually fear absolutely because we depend on the mercy and protection of Krishna. But if He tells us in our mind, that going to this place is dangerous now, we take that also as a warning by Krishna. Just like now, I saw the news that in Louisiana some people were killed in Baton Rouge. So if you live on the border of Louisiana., she does, she lives in New Talavan, she lives on the border of Louisiana, in Mississippi, in Picayune, if Krishna warns that you should not go to Baton Rouge, it is maybe because people are shooting there.
Question: How to develop tolerance towards everything? Radhashri.
Guru maharaj: Radhashri. How to develop tolerance for everything? It is very hard to tolerate the absence of Krishna and the absence of Prabhupad. So that is called vipralambha bhaav or feeling separation. That is something we don’t have to tolerate. We can cry. But all these false ego things I was talking about before, we tolerate those, because we know that they are not constructive. So unless we can do something for Krishna, we tolerate it and we don’t do it. So as we develop more attachment for Krishna, it is easier to tolerate material things. So what we should do as a human being, is learn more about Krishna. And to develop our affection and attraction for Krishna. And then it is very easy to tolerate all the other things.
Question: Mathura Lileshwari devi dasi from Gita Nagari: How do we draw the line between constructive criticism and fault finding. Even if we are clear in our mind that we are giving constructive feedback the person may not view it that way and because of that we often refrain from saying anything. What should be the right approach?
Guru maharaj: I did not understand the middle half. (Repeater said: She is saying how to we draw the line between constructive criticism and fault finding, even if we are clear in our mind that giving constructive feedback, the person might not view it that way?). First of all, constructive means that you are telling the person how they can improve. But this telling the person how they are wrong is not constructive. The rule of thumb is that we don’t tender any advice constructive, or otherwise, to the senior devotees. Rather senior devotees, we ask a question. But we always have a right to ask a question, and you can get your point across, even though it is put as a question. Say that somebody a senior devotee, is not behaving the way what you think is correct, and we say that prabhu, I look to you as an example to follow, and you have always told us we should do like this. I saw that you are doing like that. So there must be some reason why you are doing, so please can you illuminate me? So if the person illuminates you or if they don’t that means you have caught them doing something wrong. If they are broad minded, then they will apologize and say that, that activity is not something to follow. Prabhupad once went to see Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Prabhupad Thakur’s brother, and since he was the brother of his guru, he accepted him as a senior devotee, and had the good fortune to be with him at that time. He had previously discussed about developing the birthplace of Bhakti Vinod Thakur, but this time he refused. So Prabhupad asked a question, isn’t it sinful, if somebody cannot develop the birthplace of Bhakti Vinod Thakur and someone who can, is not given a chance? Isn’t it sinful? So technically that is a question. Isn’t it sinful? But he got the idea across. So technically even if he may not have liked it, it was not an offence because he asked it as a question. So that is the principle, we should ask as a question, if someone who is senior to us. If someone is under our care, then we can offer them constructive criticism, or if someone is a peer, equal, depending on your relationship, you can offer constructive criticism, or you can ask a question. Hare Krishna!
Question: Madhuri Mamti mayi devi dasi: If a devotee shares about what he doesn’t like about another devotee, highlights few shortcomings of the devotee, is that an offence on the part of the speaker or listener?
Guru maharaj: It can be an offence. If it is presented in such a way that we respectfully say that this particular thing should not be followed, the devotee otherwise is very good but this particular habit is something that we do not follow. If it is presented in a very constructive way – like Prabhupad in the 12th chapter of Adi Leela CC Has given the details of the Gaudiya matths break up, and failure to maintain the instructions of the founder. So Prabhupad gave those details to warn us, that we should not do the same thing. So some of the Gaudiya matth leaders asked us to take out the 12th chapter. But we said that we don’t have the right to take out Prabhupad’s writings. So depending on how you do it, if it is to warn someone, not to follow this example, then it maybe alright. You see Prabhupad was talking about his god brothers. If one is a junior devotee who is talking about someone who is very advanced or more senior, it maybe, what you call, mariayaada ullangana, transgression of seniority.
Last question.
Question: How to tolerate pains from the body, and at the same time do devotional service enthusiastically? Sureshwar Nimai das.
Guru maharaj: Well, if you can do that, it is a sign of being very advanced. Usually when we are suffering, it is hard to render devotional service enthusiastically. But some devotees are able to do so, and that depends on how grateful you are to the guru, or how you are attached to Gauranga or Krishna. Also how bad is the material suffering you are going through?
Repeater said, 200 people online.
So, are there any questions from the devotees physically present here? So, I thank all the devotees on the internet, who have come tonight. Thank you.
Jayaraseshwari devi dasi
27 January 2019
PLEASE NOTE, *THIS DOCUMENT IS AT DRAFT STAGE, FURTHER NEEDS PROOF READING BEFORE PUBLIC CIRCULATION.*