Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 02.01.2018 evening, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Friday)

May I ask a question to you? What do you like in Krishna?

Manoram: He is everything. In Bhagavad Gita it is said that He is the taste of water, He is the A in the alphabet and He is everything.

Swami Tirtha: So, you like this divine all-embracing presence. Others? What is your preference?

Comment: The unconditional love.

Prem Prasad: That He loves us and we love Him.

Swami Tirtha: That’s a real mystic answer. It’s not an official answer, but real. I like it so much! You are wise. And wisdom means the practical application of love. Others?

Manjari: I like His sense of humor.

Swami Tirtha: Sometimes killing, other times bitter… But so sweet, even if it is bitter. It is so sweet that we cannot give it up. This is attraction. Others?

Comment: I like the most that He is the all-attractive and the most beautiful. And when I brought some Christian, he said: “Wow! What an altar! What singing, dancing and food. The Christians cannot compare with this.” And he started to visit.

Swami Tirtha: Yes, in Mahaprabhu’s Mission full satisfaction is guaranteed. All your senses will be engaged. Your hearing, your vision, your smell, your taste, your touch – everything.

Once I heard about a very tricky yogi. He engaged his audience in dancing in a very special way. He started with talking about acupressure. And he said: “You know, on your soles there are very special points. And if you activate these points you can pay much more attention on my words. And the best way to activate these special points on your soles is dancing.” You see, yogis are sometimes very tricky. Engage you in dancing on some theoretical platform. But I think this is very much true, because also in the Chaitanya Charitamrita it is said that if you dance in front of the altar and the deities with raised hands, jumping in kirtan, then all the karmic reactions, all your burden is just thrown out. You get rid of your burden.

So, ‘What is your practice for your karmic purification?’ ‘I am dancing.’ Those who don’t understand – don’t mind them. Dance! Go on dancing! And I am really very serious. Because you cannot theoretically dance, right? You can only dance when you are invited. And when this mood comes, this all-attractive charming mood, then automatically you start to express yourself: by movement, by words, by singing, by tears, etc. Because the Bulgarian people are very emotional. Only the Italians are more emotional. What to speak of the Japanese? Hungarians are an exclusion; they are stone hearts, block heads. And two Hungarians mean three different opinions. We don’t have too much chance in Mahaprabhu’s mission. But He came for the fallen ones, right. So, maybe on this platform, due to this reason we might also have some small chance.

(to be continued)