Skip to main content

CAN'T IMAGINE A WORLD...


The recent passing away of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Maharaj has put devotees worldwide in a state of shock. He is yet another disciple of Srila Prabhupada who is no longer present with us now. I was remembering all the disciples of Srila Prabhupada who have in the last few years left this material world to join Srila Prabhupada in the spiritual world. With every departure of these treasured Vaishnavas and Vaishnavis, my heart is left a little more pained. Having grown up in ISKCON seeing all these inspiring figures, I just can't imagine living in a world without these personalities. Yet we know that the rules of this world is not going to change however we may wish for it to. 

The fact is that in a few years from now, we will all be bereft of the association of the disciples of Srila Prabhupada, our fatherly, motherly figures. We know that on the spiritual plane, there is no separation. These personalities will ever be there to assist us, guide us and bless us. But on a physical plane, there is separation. Therefore, we need to cherish the rare association of these great stalwart souls as long as they are present on this planet and value each moment of theirs. These personalities strived hard, giving their sweat and blood to serve Srila Prabhupada and push on this great movement. It is up to us, the next generation, the grand disciples of Srila Prabhupada to protect and grow this movement in an united spirit as was desired by Srila Prabhupada. It is up to us, to not let down the sacrifice of these great souls. The baton is in our hands. Let us all make a solemn vow to give our very existence in carrying out the desire and dreams of these great souls in a spirit of cooperation and love and in this way show our gratitude to what they have done for us.

- Achyut Gopal Das

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE JOURNEY OF EXCELLENCE TO EXCELLENCE

" We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. "   - Aristotle I generally don't like to speak about myself, I am a very shy person in that sense. But here, I would like to share a small story from my life just to make an important point. You see, most lessons we need to learn are stored in our past, we just need to visit it once in a while to refresh the lessons learnt without getting caught up in it. THE EXPERIENCE OF EXCELLENCE I started chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra and became committed to spiritual life, towards the end of my 11th std. This was way back in 1999. During this time, there were few dozen devotees in ISKCON, all over Goa. When I entered 12th std, I decided to focus fully on my studies and top the college. I thought, this would be the best way to preach to all my friends - by showing them how spiritual life helps one achieve success in life. And, it was also the best way to protect my spiritual life ami...
Post a Comment
Read more

SIMPLE LIVING & HIGH THINKING or SIMPLY LIVING & HARDLY THINKING

I came to stay in our ISKCON Vasco ashram for a while. I bought only one pair of dhoti - kurta other than what I was wearing thinking that I will keep going back and forth to our Panjim ashram, where I usually stay. But, it so happened that I didn't get any chance of going to Panjim for the last 20 days and somehow, I didn't find the need for it too. I guess, I have learnt to happily manage with just two pairs of dhoti - kurta. It was quite a revelation for me - that it is possible to be happy with less. Life is actually so simple but we unnecessarily complicate it with "unnecessary wants" which we think are "necessary needs ". Simple instances like this, makes us realize the meaning of the above statement. Many years ago, I had heard a saying which goes like this - reduce your wants and feel like a King or increase your wants and feel like a beggar . Isn't it so true and meaningful? Life is meant to be lived in such a way that our material necessitie...
Post a Comment
Read more

WHO IS YOUR DEAR DEER?

"Oh Lord, please transfer the attraction I have towards the objects of this world to You." We all know the story of King Bharat from Srimad-bhagvatam who became attached to a baby deer, so much so that, he forgot to perform devotional service to The Supremely Dear Lord. Thus, his attachment and attraction to The Dear Lord was replaced by his newfound attachment and attraction to this deer. This deer became his dear deer. The result - in his next life, he was born as a baby deer. Lord Krishna explains in Bhagvat-gita 8.6 yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ "Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kuntī, that state he will attain without fail." Krishna in this verse explains that our next life depends on the object that is dear to us in this life. Or, in the context of the example of King Bharat, our next life depends on who is our deer in t...
Post a Comment
Read more