In2-MeC

Belgrade, Yugoslavia
27 June, 2003

A Godbrother, who will remain nameless, writes:

America is the only hope for the world. America has the inherent potential for doing good for the whole world, if it will just follow its original principle, which is God consciousness. America was originally founded by the Pilgrims, who started a religious commune. America began as a cult. Please take the time to learn about our President's policies at
www.bushcartoon.com/bushisms.html

Learn more about Area 51 at www.ufomind.com/area51/

Yes. Well then, Hare Krsna, prabhuji, and hoo- hoo- ray for the USA. I'm not in America now, I'm in Belgrade. Have a look at the apartment I'm staying in.

The altar to Nila Sudarsana.  When I am staying only briefly at a place, 3 days or less, I do not unpack the shaligrams and Giriraja shila.  I worship Them by worshiping Nila Sudarsana; this worship is through a yajna performed with mudra and mantra

Yes, I am working on Part Four of Essay Two of Transcendental Psychology! "Psychoanalysts spend enormous energy studying the question of assessment and diagnosis. On the other hand, they spend thousands of hours in their practice studiously ignoring the same."

Here is Dhanurdhara Prabhu, Belgrade devotee, blissfully cooking a big lunch in the smallest kitchen in ISKCON. It's the size of a closet. Sometimes he cooks for 100 persons in it.

The Belgrade devotees are so blissfully progressive! "Progressive," in the New Improved Dictionary of Transcendence, means "to accept everything as an impetus to advance in Krsna consciousness." The Belgrade devotees used to have a temple; now they have none; there used to be many devotees here; now there are few. Are they defeated? No! A progressive devotee's knows there is a supreme sanctioning power over everything that happens in life, and that power is Krsna; therefore nothing takes place without His sanction. Krsna is all-good. Whether you truly accept Krsna to be all-good, that, you see, is the major test of faith. Lord Krsna is all-good. His only plan for this world is to reclaim the conditioned souls and bring them back to Godhead. Therefore whatever happens in our lives is good for us.  Everything we face in life is meant to help us return to Godhead. Do you accept it?

Of course you say you do.  But...you know and I know very well that this consciousness is not always easy to maintain.  This consciousness is what makes a progressive devotee. On the other side, a regressive devotee is entrapped by pessimism. 

Everything has two sides, black side and bright side. We are interested with the bright side. Black side we can point out, but anyone who is sincere, he'll take the bright side. Sajjano gunam icchanti dosam icchanti pamarah. There are guna and dosa, fault and good qualities. So those who are sajjana, they take the good qualities, give up the bad qualities. Then there, gradually things will come out. But if we accept God, "God is all-good," then all good qualities automatically manifest. Yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah. All good qualities manifest. If you remain with the fire, you become warm. The quality is acquired. If you remain in the sunshine, you become warm. Because sun is warm. So you acquire the quality. So if we remain always with Krsna, then we acquire the qualities of Krsna. So God is all-good. Therefore I become good, by association with God. (Srila Prabhupada, London, 12 July 1973)

A great devotee must be a progressive devotee. That is what makes him great.  Some sort of falldown in devotional service is certain. We see that misfortune and humiliation make their appearance in the lives of
even the greatest devotees. The Pandavas were cheated of their kingdom and were forced to live in exile for 12 years and incognito for 1 year. Even Lord Ramachandra was exiled to the forest for 14 years. So that we may return to Him, Krsna makes us losers.

It is said by the Lord: yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih. The Lord told Yudhisthira Maharaja that His special favor is shown to His devotee when He takes away all the devotee's material opulences.  (Bhag. 4.22.36p)

In the same way, Lord Krsna seems even to act against His own interests. He wiped out His own family, the Yadu dynasty. Why?  Because He wanted them to come back to Him.  His devotee Maharaja Pariksit, whose presence on earth was holding back the Kali-yuga, was cursed to die in 7 days.  If Krsna is all-good, why did He allow the world to be engulfed in sinfulness?  But Pariksit became the hero of the
Srimad-Bhagavatam.  He died a glorious death in spite of being cursed by an agent of Kali. We are all under Kali's curse right now.  If we follow Pariksit, our death will similarly be glorious. That is the advantage of this age. For a little hearing and chanting, one succeeds so much. 

Consider this fact: success is measured by failure. In order to have great success, there must be great failure. Look at the course of Srila Prabhupada's own life. Krsna glorifies His devotees and exhibits their superexcellent qualities by setting them against the background of adversity and ordeal.

The question remains, and only you can answer it for yourself: do you believe it?

If you are cynical (Wenn Du ein Zyniker bist), then leave this website immediately and go to: www.i-cynic.com/

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