



Extra English Issues issues
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 07.05.2018, Rila)
(continues from the previous Monday)
On this occasion, I think we had many different inputs. For example, philosophy, right? And then theology, right? And then when we were lost in the maze of theories – some guidance from our masters. Also, if you remember what Shrila Shridhara Maharaj said, that lies poison the air and the water around – when we were up there in the mountains and we were singing and chanting and praying, that sound purifies the air, that sound purifies the water that is running down.
And sometimes we want to understand and study the holy name, so we take big books like this and we connect to the Internet to find out everything about the holy name. Sorry, my dear ones, when we shall pass, we shall leave all this theoretical stuff here. We don’t need the theories about the holy name. We need the blessings of the holy name. And if you have that firm faith that through this mantra, through this chanting, through this calling out for God by the name ‘I can win, I can cross the ocean of samsara’, then you are safe. Because there are many different ways of how people express their religious feelings. And there are different religious, even spiritual practices. But we need to find that very specific contribution that we can give to this picture. And therefore our prayer, our mantra, our japa should be the holy name – with this firm conviction and hope.
Let me quote some of Gurudev’s teaching about the chanting. You know, when Gurudev was present, somehow for us it was very difficult to open up and to feel too relaxed. And some devotees were even chanting in a very reserved way. So Gurudev was sitting in one room and outside one lady devotee was chanting. And she was very humble, so she was chanting very softly. Then Gurudev told her to stop this hissing and to pronounce the holy names properly. And he said, “Because this will change your life.” So he didn’t give a very high and very elaborate explanation on this, but he pointed out, “Do it properly, because this will change your life.”
So, to accomplish the many pieces of information that we have collected during these days and these lectures, please remember this advice. Somehow, due to the holy association and the blessings and the holy name, the change will start in our life.
Feb
9
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 07.05.2018, Rila)
(continues from the previous Monday)
I wish I were a newcomer. Because I have always wondered, if this was the first time for me to associate in that manner, what would I see. Or what would I hear, how is it, what is the impression? You know, if you repeat sadhu-sanga thousands of times in your life, and this is the 108th Janmashtami celebration you participate in, and this is the one millionth mantra that you chant – it’s very difficult to really see the profound meaning of this. But when you come for the first time, you see everything. Because you come with a very sharp vision. You want to check all the mistakes. This is a very healthy approach.
Well, it’s my fantasy. So, if I entered this room for the first time, I’ll say: ‘Wait a minute, this is weird. in the evening time these guys jump and shout. Morning time they sit in darkness and murmur. I wonder if this is for me. Then, during the day, they talk too much. Talking and talking, without an end. Is this for me? And then on certain hours they come together to listen to one guy sitting on a high place. They respect him like a demigod. Everybody is frightened when he enters the room. And he starts with some very strange language which I don’t understand. And his message, again, is so complicated. I don’t get any point. And then they eat. Every second hour they eat. Strange! It’s very unusual. But charming. A little strange, but charming.’
This is what we have to preserve. ‘But charming’. The ‘strange’ will happen anyway, you don’t have to work hard to maintain that. But to preserve this: ‘They are strange, but nice. It is strange, but charming’ – for this, we have to work very hard.
Otherwise… I would like to say something which is not very pleasant to hear. The life of a devotee anyway is a survival. Because this is not our prime goal – to stay here and to enjoy it here, and to have our perspective here on this planet Earth. No, we have a different goal. So, even if we are successful sometimes, or we fail other times, we are happy or we are depressed – it doesn’t really matter, because this is not our ultimate reality. Only 60-80 years you have to survive. You can tolerate that. At least half is gone already.
But you know I try to be life-pro. So, as long as we are forced to stay here on this planet Earth, let’s do something nice. I hope that this is a point that we can agree on. Anyway, we are forced to be here. Why should we waste our time with some stupid activities? Why should we waste our time with being sad? Why not join something that is unique, that is nice, that is helpful for us and maybe good for others? So, always try to have a more elevated, a more spiritual, divine perspective. If from the top of the mountain you look down and some people are moving down there, they are insignificant. Observe your problems and realities and shortcomings of your life from that perspective – it’s insignificant.
So, in my dreams, I want to be a newcomer. And I hope that this strange company will accept me. I don’t mind your habits, I don’t mind your mornings, I don’t mind your evenings – please accept me. Can we sing together?
(to be continued)
Feb
2
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 07.05.2018, Rila)
Ramvijay: Somehow these Rila melas are very special for me. Maybe because I like this place a lot, this is my most favorite place in Bulgaria. But of course this is not to mislead us. Because the whole thing can happen due to the divine mercy and because of a person who is hiding really well – this is our Gurudev. But from time to time we need to show him and to see that actually he is here. Now I cannot say that I’ve known him for 17 years, but I’ve been in touch with him for 17 years and I consider this – not only for me, but for everybody who has been in touch with him – the greatest blessing that can happen in life. Of course, it is offensive not to follow the advice that we have received, and I don’t follow it… But even in this offence I feel blessed. Because of this association. And I’m absolutely convinced that everybody will benefit from this association. So, my deepest dandavats to our Gurudev.
Swami Tirtha: Well, I’ve been associating with this same person a little longer than you. No doubt, this company could be much worse. But we are beggars. I think during these 17 years you have learned that it’s very much necessary to differentiate between the personality cult and the personal culture. We try to follow the second one, because that is the safe path. And what does it mean personal culture? Culture means something that you cultivate, you practice; and person brings the theory in touch with us. In that respect all of us have the divine spark inside us. On the tree of our body two birds are sitting – one is the soul and the other is the Supersoul. And the only question is: how much have we realized that? The thinner the outer covering is, the more divine radiance is emanating. And if someone helps us to remove some of the coverings, this is for our benefit, no doubt.
But if I may paraphrase your words – I know for you personally it looks like 17 years; for some of you a little longer, some of you a little less time – but personally I feel blessed in your company. So, I’m ready to open this competition – who feels more blessed. I feel very much blessed! And this is not just a joke. You will understand this later. Mahaprabhu said to one of His devotees: “If I had one more wing like you, I could fly.” Very beautiful! Mahaprabhu’s dear devotees are His wings. He has the desire to fly; but the wings – these are the devotees. I think this is a very sweet secret of sadhu-sanga.
(to be continued)
Jan
26
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 06.05.2018, Sofia)
(continues from the previous Monday)
Question of Bhagavat Prasad: Lately, I’m trying to see the things that happen to me as God-sent. And this led me to inner experience, thoughts, feelings, some weaknesses. Because to the soul, they are as much external as what happens in the room, for example. And I started to see them as a gift from God as well. Even further – not only as a gift, but as a manifestation of Him. And when I feel some weakness or some vice raising its head, I say: ‘My Lord, I recognize this is You, but I want to see a more beautiful face of Yours.’ And usually it works very, very well, they are evaporating. I feel that it’s correct, it’s logical, and also useful. But I feel somehow it’s offensive, because these are not beautiful things. My question is whether I am on a right path or not.
Swami Tirtha: It is suggested in the tradition that for example if somebody has a passionate desire, he should remember his worshipable deity, the beautiful form of his worshipable deity. So, usually we don’t consider passion as very elevating in spiritual practice. But to compensate or to overcome this passionate wave, if you remember your beloved Supreme Lord, then you are safe. So, I think your technique is totally in harmony with this advice. This is the purifying power of Krishna. So, maybe you can work out a new psychotherapy. Maybe it will be very successful. Why? Because sometimes all of us are in darkness. And we all need the light to come. And faith or the divine connection brings the light to people’s life. So I think it’s proper.
Sanatana: On this seminar we are speaking about how Krishna is revealing Himself to us, how we are searching for Him. If I could share some of my understanding: I think that He is revealing Himself in everyday life, even though we don’t know that He exists. For example, in my life, three years back, something happened to me that pushed me to go and find Him, even though I didn’t know about Krishna at that time. In the light of this day, I understand that even then, when I didn’t know that He exists, it was Him who pushed me and pulled me. And when we turn back and see the mountain, it’s again Him. And when some of the senior devotees has some remarks to you – this is also Him.
So I think that He is revealing Himself at any place, at any time for our good, even though we don’t think that it’s for our good. Our duty and our goal is not to wait until He reveals, but to do what we need to do. To cultivate the garden. And He will reveal Himself always, even though we think that this is not for our good, that He is missing, why it this happening to me, etc. Even we can deny His existence. But there will come a moment that we will understand that He was always by our side.
Swami Tirtha: So be it.
Sanatan: And the important thing is that we know that with our daily stories, with our practices, we are getting closer to the moment when we will see these manifestations everywhere. There are many spiritual paths, we have chosen this one, and it is important to know that while doing our everyday practices, we are getting closer to this moment when we shall see Him everywhere.
Jan
19
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 06.05.2018, Sofia)
(continues from the previous Monday)
Question: My question is in regard to how to turn theory into practice. We know that if we look at the altar and we see the murti, the murti is the eternal Godhead. But very often we speak as if the eternal Godhead is not present and we can’t see Him. And this is from a rational point of view. From a personal point of view, it’s a bit emotional. You go to a program and the first thing the bhaktas there do – they give you a cushion, so that you may sit comfortably, and they give you water or prasadam. You go to other program and you see some very smart bhaktas, they speak very inspiringly and a lot of bhaktas listen to them… How can one develop the attitude to want to be like the bhaktas that offer a cushion rather than the bhaktas who are smart?
Swami Tirtha: You have the eye to see properly. Once in Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada’s time there were some very knowledgeable and very eloquent speakers, all big sanyasis. And they were giving lectures about the Shrimad Bhagavatam – very brilliant, brilliant lectures. There was a newcomer, a young intelligent man, and he thought, ‘Wow! I want this! I want to be as smart as these lecturers’. So he went to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur and said, “Maharaj, I want to learn the Shrimad Bhagavatam”. Then Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who was a sinha-guru (guru-lion) – that means when he shouts, all the materialists start trembling – he asked, “You want to learn the Bhagavatam?” And our friend said, “Yes, yes, I want to learn the Bhagavatam”. A second time he asked, “The Bhagavatam you want to learn?” “Yes, yes, the Bhagavatam I want to learn”. A third time he asked, “Is it the Bhagavatam that you want to learn?” Harer nama, harer nama, harer namaiva kevalam – three times, do you remember? When something is repeated three times – then this is utterly important. He said, “Yes, yes, I want to learn the Bhagavatam”. “All right,” said Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. “We have this Ramdas Prabhu, he is the gardener. Go to him.” Our friend was stunned. But anyway, ‘If acharyaji, the highest, most powerful and all-knowing guruji tells me that I should go to the gardener, all right, then I have to go to the gardener.’ So, he went to this person. He was a very simple, very humble guy, always doing this and that in the garden, nothing else. Our friend asked, “Prabhuji, are you this Ramdas Prabhu?” “Yes, yes, I am Ramdas, the gardener.” “Oh, very nice. Guruji told me that I should come to you, so that from you I can learn fully everything about the Shrimad Bhagavatam.” “No, no, no, that’s a mistake. I am not that person. I know nothing about the Bhagavatam.” “Then what to do? Guruji told me that I have to study from you, then… please, instruct me.” Then the gardener said, “Listen, I don’t know anything about the complicated philosophies. But I know something: that this garden belongs to the temple, and this temple belongs to my Lord. And I know that if I cultivate this garden nicely, my Lord is happy, and then Guruji is also satisfied. This is what I know. All else I don’t know.”
So, this was his ‘pillow’. And actually this shows the beauty and the grandeur of our process. We believe in descending divine mercy. Our faith is not in the complicated, brilliant human intellect. No. Of course, even your brilliant intellect can be purified, if it glorifies Krishna. But if we are intelligent, then definitely we have to take a humble service position. Therefore, a suffix is added to our name – ‘das’. But use it only for yourself. Others are Prabhus, and ‘Prabhu’ means ‘Lord’. So, don’t say, “Kripadham das.” He is Kripadham Prabhu. And I am a das. So, you don’t say, ‘I am Sanatana Prabhu.’ No, ‘I am Sanatana das.’ You identify yourself as a servant, and you respect others as lords or masters – beautiful!
So, the other part of your question, whether Krishna is close or far? He is close. He is close. There are two concepts of Godhead, of divinity. One is the transcendent God, somewhere in the clouds, somewhere in the faraway spiritual sky. And the other is the immanent God, here with me. So, knowledge separates you from divinity, it makes the distance greater. While bhakti, prema, bridges the gap. It brings Him closer; or brings us closer.
(to be continued)
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 06.05.2018, Sofia)
(continues from the previous Monday)
Question of Kripadham: You said that one may chant his whole life and Krishna still wouldn’t appear. And He can reveal Himself wherever He likes. But what I have understood is that to the sadguru, Krishna definitely reveals Himself. My question is, if we listen to the chanting of the sadguru, does it mean that Krishna reveals Himself to us as well? Or is it an invitation for us, because a guru usually speaks to you, but talks to somebody else? Sometimes it happens: he talks to someone, but sends some message to somebody else also.
Swami Tirtha: Therefore, to associate with sadhus is very complicated. ‘Don’t associate with them, you will be perplexed. No, it’s not good – then I don’t know what is what. Now at least I know. I am fully in illusion, so I know what is what. If I am exposed to something else, my whole concept will crumble.’
Well, just the other day I read one discussion very similar to your question – whether Krishna would reveal Himself to a pure devotee or not. And the answer was: maybe not. But if a pure devotee has all the qualities of a pure devotee, we must consider him a pure devotee. Irrespective of Krishna revealing Himself to him or not. Do you like that upgrade to your question?
So, maybe He is there, maybe He is not there. This is their business – of Krishna and the pure devotee. My business is to follow them. This is the difference. It’s not my task to judge, to investigate, to see. It’s their private business. It’s a very intimate connection whether He comes or doesn’t come. But my duty is to follow the advice nicely.
If my hero commits himself to the service of the Divine Couple, then what can I do? If my personal savior, my full life example is doing this, then what can I do? If my ideal guru is walking in the rain, what can I do? Stay inside? Wait until the rain stops? No, I will walk in the rain with Him. Because I have an invitation: “If you come with me, I will go with you.” And then, what is the destination? What is the end of this journey? Where is the end?
The revelation is their private business. I know my place. I know where my eyes should see. And this is the footsteps. That’s enough.
So, if a person has all the symptoms and all the qualities of a pure devotee, we should consider him a pure devotee. I think we can accept that. Because sometimes Krishna reveals Himself in a very secret way. Do you know mimicry? Mimicry means that you are present in such a way that nobody notices you. There is also an inverse mimicry – when you are absent, everybody will miss you.
But as this is a descending process – yes, by following the footsteps of the great ones, we shall also come closer to our goal. Why? Because our moon wanderers, our examples, are going ahead of us. And they know very well that there is a difference between the full moon and the finger pointing to the full moon. And they are not satisfied with the finger. They search for the full moon. And if we follow their search, then we are also searching for the full moon.
(to be continued)
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 06.05.2018, Sofia)
(continues from the previous Monday)
Question of Prem Gopal: A practical question. How would you comment if, for example, while chanting you do something else, for example walking or listening to a lecture?
Swami Tirtha: Well, it depends on the vision. Because we can say that while you are walking, you are chanting. It is not that while you are chanting, you are walking. So what is the prime engagement? The prime engagement is to be connected to the chant, right? To pray. And meanwhile we have to live as well. Somehow to maintain our life.
But the best is if we can give our full attention. Therefore it is very much recommended that everybody find some time in the morning, sit, light an incense, read one verse from the Gita and chant a few rounds until this incense burns out. It’s 20 minutes – you can find that much time, everyone. For eternal life, at least that much, a 20 minutes sacrifice – we should be able to do this. If you forget to eat and sleep, alright, then you can give up your sadhana. Usually we don’t forget to eat and sleep. ‘But I have no time for chanting my rounds with full attention.’ Come on! That’s a weak argument.
So this is my humble request: find your time for your very concentrated spiritual practices. Which is yours; it’s not that I force this on you or something forces it on you. No, ‘this is my practice, I want to do this’. Then nobody can take it away from you.
Otherwise, Shrila Prabhupada used to say that the holy name is just like the light of the full moon. If you are a traveler, the light of the full moon will accompany you, come with you. We are walking, but the light of the full moon is coming with us. That means whatever activities we do, whatever happens in our life, if the holy name is present, then we are safe.
So everything depends on the mood, on our attitude to our chanting. Therefore, it is a must to find a little time, at least a little time, when we can do it very concentrated, very pure, very much focused. Other times you can be a wanderer with the moonlight.
(to be continued)
Dec
29
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 06.05.2018, Sofia)
(continues from the previous Monday)
“Sounds, sounds, sounds,” – His Holiness repeated slowly. “Sounds, catch hold of the sounds. Seize the sound waves travelling within the ether and your happiness is assured in spiritual life. One rishi has explained in his sutra that massive epidemics are due to the contamination of ether by impure sound. When the lawyers and pleaders in court begin to tell lies in the name of justice, these sound vibrations contaminate the ether, which in turn contaminates the air and water which people breathe and drink. An epidemic is the result.”[1]
And this speech was given about 40 years ago! Just think how much more our environment is overloaded with bad vibrations today. Therefore sometimes we come up to the mountains to enjoy pure vibrations. Where the air is pure, where the water is pure. Where the word is true. ‘I tell the truth, I tell what is true. I tell the true word.’ That is what the real vibration means. That will purify us.
Then Shrila Shridhar Maharaj goes on explaining that Krishna appears in the world of sounds as the holy name. So for Him sound is like a universe, sound is like a layer of existence. The world of sounds. That means that in the world of forms Krishna comes as the deity. In the world of emotions, He comes as Govinda. All the different worlds, all the different realms of the universe are pervaded by His presence. He will reveal Himself somehow, in some manner. Our skull is a microcosm. You think in this world Krishna cannot reveal Himself? In your heart? These are different worlds. So we need to have the eye so that we perceive His presence.
There was a question the other day how the purifying power of the holy name works. I think during all these days and all these discussions we could catch something about this purifying power. Because Krishna is like the sun. And ignorance is like the darkness. Where there is sun, there is no power of darkness. And the sun has a very special quality. It can dissipate or disinfect all dirt on the planet Earth without being contaminated itself. This is the purifying effect of Krishna, or the holy name. It can clean the dirty environment without being contaminated.
We are part of a descending process. Therefore we respect our superiors. And we respect those who come after us as well. So pray for the descent of the holy name. And you can read the further article yourself.
This is our answer to the original problem – how can we come in contact with the Supreme, with the divine reality? By its revelation. If it reveals itself to us, then we are immediately embraced by it.
(to be continued)
[1] The quotations are from The descent of the holy name by Shridhara Maharaj
Dec
22
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 06.05.2018, Sofia)
(continues from the previous Monday)
“Sadgurudev utters ‘Hare Krishna’. Our material ears hear some sound that resembles the transcendental name of Krishna. Our eardrum moves the liquid of the inner ear, half water and half air, which vibrates the ethereal element and touches our mind. At this point, soul has still been untouched and there has been no genuine spiritual experience. By hearing with the mind’s impressions, we enjoy the sound of the cymbals, the beat of the chant, the pleasant company and effect of listening and hearing. But it doesn’t stop here.”[1]
As there are four different states of consciousness – the awake, the dreaming, the deep sleep and the turiya, enlightened state – in the same manner sounds also have four layers of effect. The first is physiological – it’s the vibration. The second is the cognitive – because the sound vibration will bring some information, that you can understand. The third one is an emotional feedback. And the fourth, the power of sound vibration, is the spiritual one. How to understand that? If I say ‘mango’, the sound waves will hit your eardrum – this is the physiological effect. Then your mind and intellect will start to work and you’ll say, ‘Oh, mango! This is not apple, not pear, but mango. It’s something different.’ And then if you like mangoes, your emotional feedback will also say: ‘Mango! Yes, I like it.’ But if you remember that Krishna also likes the mangoes – that is the spiritual plane.
So, are you satisfied with the physiological sound vibration? Most probably not. Let’s go further. One step further is to understand what is what. One more step further is to have an emotional agreement: ‘Yes, I want this’. And the topmost level is when you melt by remembering Krishna’s taste. In the same way, bhajan is not simply enjoying the music, because this is only the physiological aspect. We have to understand that this is a spiritual practice – which is our intellectual understanding. And then we must like it – give our heart, give our emotions, like it, love it, do it enthusiastically. And finally the ultimate level is when the holy name reveals itself and when our offering is accepted by Radha-Govinda.
“Piercing the mind, the original sound uttered by guru, moves our intellect and we consider the Krishna conscious philosophy. For millions of years, sages chanted this on the banks of the holy rivers. Ideas flood everywhere around the possible effects of the mantra. This, while being quite blissful, is not spiritual revelation in the true sense. Beyond the intelligence of the spiritual element, there is soul, myself. That sound, having cut through all my senses, including the mind and intellect, now vibrates the finest sentiment of my own real existence. This is the perception of the holy name on the spiritual plane with my spiritual ear. Then the soul, inspired, recapitulates, sending vibration back into the intelligence, mind, etc. out to my external tongue and we say, ‘Hare Krishna’. That Hare Krishna is He. And we dance in ecstasy.”
So, if the holy name dances on your tongue, then you will also dance. Of course, maybe this is a little complicated. But to put it more simply: if you receive the holy name from a pure source, then it will enter your ear, penetrate to your heart, purify the heart and then it will resonate back and reveal itself on your tongue. This is what we need: take it from a pure source and let it work over you.
(to be continued)
[1] The quotations are from The descent of the holy name by Shridhara Maharaj
(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 06.05.2018, Sofia)
(continues from the previous Monday)
It is very simple to understand: in order to exchange something, like this small little ball, we need two partners. And if you give and receive, everybody is happy. You are happy to give, the other side is happy to receive. This is a much higher philosophy than ‘nothing exists’. Sorry, there is a ball at least. If we don’t believe that we exist, the ball is there, right? And it makes us happy.
If we don’t forget about ourselves, if we find our real identity, then we will find God as well. Therefore it is said: self-reflection, to understand yourself, is necessary to understand the Supreme. If you see Him, you will see yourself. And if you understand yourself, you will conclude that there must be a source, there must be something higher.
“There are channels by which the Infinite descends. He is all power, glory, beauty, knowledge, wealth and renunciation. He is dominant, all-extending, free and autocratic. The Infinite cannot be contained in a limited sphere, but if He is really Infinite, then He has the power of making Himself known in all His fullness to the finite mind. When, out of His own prerogative, He takes the initiative and reveals Himself to the devotee, there is actual perception of Godhead, self-realization, transcendental revelation. By the channel of transcendental sound He comes, by vibrating the spiritual tongue of the pure devotee, representing Him to the world. The spiritual element vibrates the spiritual tongue of the sadguru’s audience, which have hitherto never been vibrated.”[1]
You see, it goes side by side – the self-realization and to realize our connection to the Supreme. And as Krishna and krishna-nam are fully free, nothing limits them, they can show themselves, reveal themselves to us, even to the limited human being. Shridhar Maharaj says many times that all rights are reserved by Krishna. You know, in the business world people think that they can reserve any rights – like intellectual property or how is it called? Copyrights and trademarks… All rights reserved by Krishna. He comes on His own initiative, when He wants. Not when you want. ‘My dear God, now it is seven in the morning, please come. Because I meditate over You, so You please come.’ Maybe He will come, maybe not. All rights reserved by Him.
Now you laugh. But if you have spent one whole lifetime in deep meditation and He doesn’t come, will you laugh, will you be happy about that? All rights reserved by Him. It is a very serious thing. We cannot force divine mercy. And sometimes you see that your brother or sister is not very serious about his or her spiritual practices. Yet Krishna comes and embraces him or her. And then you complain: “Hey, hey! But I was always cooking, not him! Why him? Why not me? I was doing the service and he was enjoying.”
We can never know. It comes by its own desire. Rather, it is said, if you want to chase Radhika forcefully, She will escape. The more you chase Her, the more She will run. Because this is again the ascending method – ‘I want to achieve’. So then what do you do? Invite Them, pray. And then it is not the material tongue and it is not the material ear that will chant and listen to the holy name. The spiritual element will vibrate the spiritual tongue.
(to be continued)
[1] The quotations are from The descent of the holy name by Shridhara Maharaj
