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Buenos Aires, Argentina
Hare Krishna dear devotees of the Lord, mothers and devotees. I hope you are well. I come from Brazil to Buenos Aires yesterday. As Prabhu Panca Tattwa told me, Gurudeva would like to talk about a very beautiful verse they read this morning in Vrindavan. I can understand that this verse begins with wishing happiness for the entire world. Only our great friends can wish that for us; only one who has true connection with the infinite love of the Lord. Krishna and His devotees want happiness for everyone. And Krishna manages to give this in His marvellous message in Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. Everything that Krishna says is a true elevation for our consciousness, enrichment for our intelligence and a dedication for our body and senses.
We do not want to suffer, but Krishna puts the suffering to serve our higher realization and our happiness. How generous the Srimad Bhagavatam is in wishing all of us to be happy. And the most beautiful of all is, that it is not only a wish, but also that in Srimad Bhagavatam there is potency, the capacity to give us that happiness. Since the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam, we can see this wish expressed in the heart of the 60 000 wise men that were gathered there. These wise men know that there exists a possibility that all can be happy, that the whole world can be that, but if some do not want, at least we can endeavour for that.
When talking about this personal happiness, we refer in reality to a happiness that is based on the attempt to make others happy. This is fundamental in the heart of a vaisnava, we can see it confirmed in Visnu Purana, Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya Caritamrta, Bhagavaf Gita; all the scriptures invite us to be like generous suns. The brahmana, the vaisnava, is like a father who wants to see all his children happy. This sentiment should be growing within us, because in the midst of the growing, our own happiness will grow. The desire for my own happiness will be the reason for my pain. To wish the good for the others will be the reason for my happiness. This is the call from Srimad Bhagavatam in this verse.
The egoism is keeping this world tied. The egoism makes us envious of God. But the desire to make others happy puts us immediately in the position of servants of the Lord. We already see that we cannot even make ourselves happy, how then can we make others happy? If I want to be the reason for the happiness of the others, I will also be the reason for their pain. Therefore it is better to leave this great task to Krishna, since we are limited and make mistakes. If I want to make others happy independent from Krishna, it means that I do not doubt about Him, that I envy Him. This is the position of the politicians in this world. Happiness without Krishna is the illusion that one can really help independent from God. Also people in love do the same. They compromise to make their partner happy, but without Krishna, and the result is that they in the end begin to hate each other.
How generous then is this verse in Srimad Bhagavatam, sarva sukhaya bhavanti, that everyone should be happy. Oh, devotees! Be like suns that distribute this happiness of the sankirtan! Sankirtan means: I want to see everyone singing and dancing. This is the call from Mahaprabhu.
Srila Prabhupada wanted us to be occupied at once with this service; to come to the people as fast as possible, without vacillating. Once some journalists asked Srila Prabhupada: Swami, what is the purpose of life? And Srila Prabhupada answered: To enjoy, but you should not do that. That is why I came to teach you. The sun knows that its task is to shine in the universe. One cannot conform to less. In the same way, the vaisnavas know that their acts are not to be limited to the provincial circle; their acts must be to show the glories of the Lord of the universe. This is universal consciousness. For a mayavadi it means to enjoy the universe, for a vaisnava it means to serve it.
The greatness is hidden in the simple and the small, like Krishna is hidden in Vrindavan. A cowherd boy from a little insignificant village destroys Kamsa; this is the power of Vrindavan. Mahaprabhu comes to meet the world with the three words of the mantra, this is His power, just like He defeated Indra with His little finger. In this way the mantra can seem to be a small thing, but as Srila Prabhupada says: "An invisible particle of poison can kill a person..." So, this mantra is very powerful for giving life, not to remove it. Well, of course it removes from a sinful life.
In this way, we think big. We try to make others happy, and therefore we must begin to be happy ourselves, why we should make a good sadhana and have a pure heart. This is our big responsibility. How can we make others happy if we are not happy? And how can we be happy ourselves? As Sridhar Maharaja says: "You must dive into reality". We must practice very seriously. We must pray till we feel the nectar in our heart. Till we feel the mantra, not only like a mere mantra, but like a true prayer that Guru and Krishna have brought for the maximum good for me.
We must practice this with extreme sincerity. Do not forget: Your happiness is your duty. For this to be possible, determination is necessary. Your effort, your dedication, your sadhana should be a firm duty. Otherwise, you cannot accomplish with your great task in this world. Krishna has given us the highest, because He expects the highest from us.
But what great things can we make without the mercy of Krishna? Therefore we always have to pray that He gives us His sakti; Krishna sakti. Krishna is very generous to give it. He gives you everything. He says in the Siksastaka: "I give you my power, I give you to know My heart. Now I am Mahaprabhu." Without this sakti we will be victims of maya-sakti. There is a big epidemic of maya and we will all be contaminated if we do not take the strong antibiotics of the nama. Nama and Seva. Narada Muni said to Dhruva: You should chant the mantra, but you should also adore the Deity by offering Him food and articles of adoration, and to follow what the mahajanas have recommended. The mantra without these things would be a hollow and empty mantra.
In this way Srila Prabhupada gave us the perfect and complete process. Mantra with seva, mantra with the immediate admission in the service to Sri Krishna, with immediate admission to the world of your happiness. And when you find this happiness, you will notice that it is good for many people, and you will see that the more people that have it, the better it is for you. Like this, paradise is created on earth.
The other day Prabhu Sacinanadan showed me a drawing where a devotee goes to Prabhupada and says: "Srila Prabhupada, the devotees are fighting", and Srila Prabhupada says: "You are surprised that they are fighting, and I am surprised that they are chanting!!!" In this way, we ought to see the good of the devotees. Even from Krishna we can see bad things if we let us carried away by our mind, but if our heart carries us away, our vision of the things will substantially change.
The verse in Srimad Bhagavatam also asked for complete bliss for all. This is the perfect combination: happiness and bliss, because happiness in this world leads to pain, but with bliss it means that we talk about divine happiness.
Sridhar Maharaja says that we should enter the level of consciousness and that from there we should progress to divine love. By this way, this happiness and bliss mean a big compromise with the Lord of our heart. Then begin to meditate firmly in that you are not this body. Try to put you in the level of the soul. But you will not be able to this without pure life; it is not possible without being detached from the pleasures that tie us from the body. Try to find your pleasure in the chanting and the seva, in the surrender to the Guru. There you will see that the pleasures are very close. Sometimes we want to look for pleasure only in the name, but that is not for us, at least not yet. Our happiness should be in relation with seva and vaisnavas. In that seva and dedication our body will pass to a second level. Our interests will also be moved, and with this the despot of the mind will stay without attention for our good fortune.
How close our bliss and happiness is!!! You find it in the sankirtan, the seva and in the prasadam, in the conversation with a vaisnava friend... You find it in your daily effort to maintain like a simple vaisnava, like a servant of the servants, not like a great figure. You scarcely try to be great in something before you are already lost. The humble and faraway position is the best for us. It is more secure and gives more peace and satisfaction. But that is not because we want to be comfortable or lazy, no! It is simply natural. We have our masters and we are servants. We like the surroundings of Vrindavan where all are our gurus. We want to be servants. This means to desire Vrindavan.
We get back to the importance to stay happy as our principal duty; therefore we should always be grateful for the grace we receive every day. Can you remember the mantra today? Thank Krishna for that, for not having forgotten His name! Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta said something that I consider very valuable and that has been a big help for me, he said: The whole world could be reduced to ashes, but you have not lost anything when you go on with the nama.
Your well-wisher,
Sripad Atulananda Acarya.
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