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My dear devotees, first my dearest reverences to my spiritual masters and also to Srila Harijan Swami. I also want to offer my reverences to Srila Atulananda Acarya who always is connected and blessing our efforts. A special greeting to all the devotee artists, members of the School of Conscious Art. They have a great responsibility. Before Krishna, all servants have the same value and depend of the heart of the servant. However, the artists as preachers, when they grave their preaching, have the advantage that what they made once, will continue to sound in many places afterwards. And to tell you nowadays the message that is sung, reach people easier; people who are not used to read books, neither to endeavour to grow spiritually.

Of course, it is my dream to teach people well in Krishna consciousness, because education is what forms our consciousness, and at the moment of death, it is the only thing we will carry with us. Because material education we forget the same, but the maturity that we acquire when we study Vaisnavism, is our nourishment for the way to eternity.

Here from Vrindavan I can report that yesterday came a spiritual brother, who collects to improve in Vridnavan, with the surprise that he had a man who wanted to donate 5000 dollars for the restoration of Brahmakunda. I took him to the executive minister of Vrindavan to connect him with Vrindavan Ecocity, and it seems that very soon they will start with the repairing of the sacred Brahmakunda, which was my desire since long time. For the rest, we had some calm days here with grand news to establish the House of Wisdom here in Vrindavan.

Here I am surrounded by sannyasis and that makes me very happy. Vrinda Kunja is more and more beautiful each time. We can also notice the restoration of some old temples here. Suddenly people get aware of the valuable thing they have. Of course, if someone today would like to get a temple like Vrinda Kunja, it would be worth a fortune, and equally, there is a lot of interest.

But what makes me happier is that we are making something so nice in Varsana, it is like an old dream that has become alive in my life. A great mercy of Their Lordship Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Vajesvara who make me part of building a new temple together with you, a yoga planetarium for our Istadev. Combined with the other idea to make Varsana what it always was - a centre for leaders in Krishna Consciousness.

We are also very thankful to the devotees of Peru for having made the yoga planetarium there, because with this example we can see that we can make a temple and we should. Really, I do not like big temples very much, but something like the yoga planetarium is not so big - it is simply too beautiful and capture much attention from people. And let's hope it makes many devotees, and that they carry Krishna in their hearts. And of course to make a second yoga planetarium is easier than the first one.

Anyway, the landscape is so different and the material as well, and it should have its own originality. It is a completely new experience and the devotees from other cities can also get inspired. When I think that I Ecachakra, I can only think of something extraordinary. A spiritual community is a great gift to the world, but in the end everything depends on the head of the spiritual master and his genuine representatives. In Kali yuga the tendency of the organizations is that they do not work very well. There is too much poor interests in this terrible world. In the same way I have the hope that some of these tirthas, like Varsana, will be visited by all devotees in the future, and also and that all devotees will be respected there.

Sannyasis or other leaders of the preaching, have to start new projects after the departure of their guru. Not that they reclaim to be the proprietors of something that was built between them and many of their spiritual brothers. Because the danger is that when they begin to have a number of disciples that accept everything they say, they can consider their spiritual brothers, who often expose their own opinions, and they can argue them as less desirable in the project, and therefore try to replace them with their own disciples.

Srila B. Raksaka Sridhar M already pointed out this problem. In fact, it does not matter who is the spiritual master of a project. The most important is that he is pure in his purpose. And pure are those who are brave, empowered and renounced, and tender with everyone. Next year we will celebrate 20 years in the Vrinda family. 20 years since the liberation from the confinement to the institutions. A situation where the process, descending from the mercy, had been substituted by the calculated and restricted process by the bureaucracy, managed by devotees who were not capable to respond to the local responsibilities. It was Krishna's mercy that Srila Harijan M and I could follow our ideals, even though this meant, in certain form, a new start, and a period of incomprehension from many spiritual brothers. It was not easy, no doubt about that. But I recommend anyone to do the same, if you feel that you cannot do a good service to your spiritual master, that you cannot represent your Gurudeva, and not advance spiritually in the environment that is created. Of course, one always want to maintain what the spiritual master created, but in the end, Krishna has many plans, and Krishna knows very well how to use the resources of His devotees.

The first criterion for a disciple is that the essence of what his Gurudeva gave him, continuously is preserved for people who come as new souls, and to guarantee this, in each temple, or rather in each project, there should be a great enthusiasm for their leader. There enters the sukriti, Mercy. In the marriage there is enthusiasm, but only after one becomes aware of to whom he is married. Of course, one could study the behaviour and much more in a leader, but if there is no enthusiasm for him, he cannot accomplish the task to lead a spiritual community. Such is life.

And imagine, as the answer of our prayers, we had the mercy to meet Srila Prabhupada, and after praying again, we received Srila B.R. Sridhar Maharaj. So for sure, this mercy exists. So prepare for the rest of your life, to serve a Vaisnava full of confidence and help him to maintain the tirthas of the Spiritual Master. Trust that Krishna will always protect you. Reject always what is not favourable for your spiritual advance and fight for purity, without hurting anyone. And do not get attached to the bricks, even though we build temples. When the form and the essence distinguish, always keep to the essence and not to the form. Of course, the first attempt is always to connect the form with the essence. You know, Srila Prabhupada taught us to live as if each moment were the last, and therefore I tell you these things that are not of great importance now, but in some moment in your life it can give you information and principal orientation. Because, at the moment of leaving this world, the only important is to have the mind absorbed in the substance, and not think of the problems that others have, fights for control of bricks or something like that.

Once when the disciples of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur were fighting for the use of a property, Srila Prabhupada said: it is better to take out the marble, sell it and print books to distribute. Besides this, since Krishna is the supreme controller, He will always bless His sincere devotees with the necessary resources so that they can expand Krishna consciousness and make others happy. And as you know, Lord Vishnu is married to the Goddess of Fortune and does not have problems with resources. This is the experience I have had infinite times in this short life. The purity is the essence, and goodness and truthfulness is the fundament in a Brahmana.

But specially what refers to the intercourse with other Vaisnavas, be sure of that the goodness and truthfulness have to be the criterion to make us enthusiastic, but to free you from any doubts, I will tell you a little story:

When Srila Prabhupada was in Montreal, in the beginning of the movement, there was a newly opened temple, and although there were more than 20 devotees, they didn't have one dollar. The leader despaired so much that he called all the devotees and said: "Go out on the street, and do not come back until each one of you has got 5 dollars!" Afterwards he was worried and went to Srila Prabhupada and told him what he had done. Srila Prabhupada congratulated him!

Without pushing the devotees, sometimes of pure goodness, they don't even want to move. LIE! This is not goodness. This is tamaguna, laziness, passivity, and lethargy. The first thing a devotee asks is: "What has to be done here for the things to go better? Where do they need me? Count on me! I came here to help you to solve the problems", etc, etc. Srila Prabhupada loved us very much, and he continues to love all. He loved us so much that he didn't wan us to rest in some laziness. Neither did he want us to gratify with the results of our efforts, that is to rest in the victories of the past, whatever it is. Therefore Srila Prabhupada said: "Improve the service. Duplicate the result."

A spiritual master wants to take his disciples to the service of Srimati Radharani, and she is demanding, because she only wants the best for Krishna. It is not acceptable to offer something mediocre, in the same way as you would not take your children to someone mediocre to take care of them. You would worry that the mediocrity of those persons could incommode your children, your dear ones. You have to understand this principal, because it is a natural symptom of love. It is not a discrimination against anyone. And Srila Prabhupada gave the best example. He never failed until his last moment on this planet. He is the general, whom we are trying to follow.

Sometimes in my travels and rhythm, I cannot follow an exemplary sadhana, and this makes me sometimes feel afflicted, especially when I see that in some temples it is not very good either. I refer to the sadhana of getting up, go to harinam and assist the classes, etc. But to accomplish with the itineraries and daily programs, one of the dilemmas is that one cannot find time for oneself. But all of you should know that getting up early is necessary for spiritual life, and if one does not go the classes for many days, a speculation is soon coming up in the head. Help me therefore to take care of the sadhana in the temples. And do not eat heavy food in the night, that makes you incapable to get up early in the morning.

I know in the case of some grihastas, that they find it very difficult to maintain everything strictly. But do not discourage in the fight, and support the preachers and Brahmacaris in the temple who carry the banner of the sadhana bhakti high. And be humble. Because the worst that could happen is to be lazy and proud. Well, one must not be strict and proud either, because pride comes definitely before the fall. But lazy and proud, who will rise you after that?

I know that our family has more and more souls to take care of each day. And as I wish that each one of you reached maximum perfection, I hope that a lot of preaching will go out when they are coming to us, esvery day, more and more. And this will definitely require that many of you become pure devotees. I have full faith in the Holy Name of Krishna that this is possible.And more, I see the spiritual purity in so many of you, this beautiful fight for Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Of course, which ones among you who will be the natural and powerful leaders of the future in our sampradaya, this Krishna has to reveal. Nobody could imagine that this Abhay Caran would become the foremost preacher in the history of Vaisnavism. Srila B. Thakur saved Vaisnavism in his epoch; he raised it from a position where the Vaisnavas in some parts even had a bad image. Imagine, our mission has had to face many circumstances of bad image, left by Iskcon in the world. In other words, the integrity and the sacrifice of each preacher once and again, have to be transparent. It has to be a great inspiration. It has to make growing the refuge for the needing souls.

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