Sharanagati

What is the life of the devotees? Discussing about Krishna; and they are not speaking ordinary words – they are singing all the time. They are not making ordinary steps – they are dancing all the time. They are not drinking water – they are taking pure nectar all the time. In this way you can forget about all the limitations of the material nature. Time, space, body – limitations are there. But by the spiritual power you can overcome the limitations. Yogis usually practice self-control. It is so difficult! But if naturally, from the natural instinct of your heart, you just forget about yourself and you forget to eat and sleep – then this is the result of the spontaneous devotion. Even eating and sleeping are limitations of the body. Very few times you forget about this. Every day, many times we are reminded: “O, I am hungry, the body is hungry, I am tired!” We are limited by the body, but if the children can forget about eating when they are playing and the mother should take care: “O, you should come, you should take your meals, otherwise you will not be strong enough to play next day!”, in the same way we have to dive deep, forget about everything else if we practice some spiritual path. “Ah, it is already four o’clock in the morning! I was chanting whole night long! Why should I go to sleep?! It is time for the morning arati. Very good, we can continue.”

Meeting with others and taking consultation, taking advice from each other – this is also life of the devotees. Because by this spiritual exchange realizations will grow. Krishna says in “Bhagavad-gita”: “While they are talking about Me and while they are discussing My topics, they feel unlimited happiness.” But our talk, our conversation should not be some gramya-katha, some worldly talk. We had enough of that. Many years, many lifetimes we have been devoted to gramya-katha, talking nonsense – which does not help spiritually. If you cultivate what has been cultivated materially for a long time it will not help you. Chewing the chewed – nothing will come out from this. You should chew the fresh fruit of prema-bhakti. It is not only pure, but ecstatic! Then the taste will come, then the essence will come. We use a juice-pressure to extract juice, but this is only technical equipment. But our spiritual equipment is our japa-mala. And please, do nоt quote me Bhaktivinodа Thakurа that “O, I аm in so much ecstasy that I can hardly hold my japa-mala.” Just like the babajis – they were so much trembling with ecstasy, that even the malas were just falling off from their hands. This is our way, this is our method to churn the nectar of the ocean. So take the holy name very seriously to your heart. You have to find the essence of that process. But all the other things that are mentioned here – meeting the devotees, discussing, visiting holy places – will help us to churn this nectar.

And even if the kirtan and the bhajan and the discussion stops from the outside, it should go on in our hearts. Please, always try to go on with this kirtan in your hearts and then your life will be sublime.