miércoles, 30 de mayo de 2012

Upakhyane Upadesha - Sastra Reading


MUNDO

VAISHNAVA


juancas

Upakhyane Upadesha - Sastra Reading

Creado por juancas  del 30 de Mayo del 2012


Sastra Reading

A Lesson on Geometry




There was once a poor widow who, through great hardship, was struggling to bring up her only son. As she realised that he was her only hope for the future, she appointed a tutor for him although she would sometimes have to borrow the money to pay for the tuition fees.

Once, after being promoted to class VII, the boy was being taught Geometry by the teacher in English. As soon as the boy read out loud, “Let ABC be a triangle”, the boy’s mother rushed into the classroom and screamed at the teacher thus :

“This boy is supposed to be advancing in his studies after being raised to class VII, but you are still teaching him ABC - he learned all this when he was an infant - and to think I am paying you 10 rupees a month! From today you are no longer required here. You are only fit for teaching a primary school if all you can teach is ABC!”

The widow’s outburst was so violent that it left no scope for the teacher to argue and he was compelled to leave the place.

PURPORT

The arguments put forward by persons desiring other than Krishna consciousness, along with the karmis, jnanis, yogis, ascetics and the like, including so-called religious communities, are similar to those expressed by the widow. They say, “We have become totally worthless through serving all the time in this world”. This sort of slave-like mentality is the root cause of all troubles. If we were to accept servitude even after entering into the domain of religion, and to serve Godhead in complete servitude even after liberation, then how will we advance? Only when we are ignorant, and conditioned under illusion, then our slave mentality is intensified. But upon liberation, the realisation “aham brahmasi” that “I am Brahman” should be developed. Upon listening to such an argument, pure devotees will argue that devotion or service to Godhead is the eternal position of all conscious living entities. Such devotion, when cultivated through different stages of performing devotional service (sadhana bhakti), ecstatic devotion (bhava bhakti), and loving devotion (prema bhakti) , confirms verily the eternal utility of devotion itself.

Servitude to Lord Krishna while performing devotional activities is known as sadhana bhakti (performing devotion), whereas intimate servitude or service to Shri Krishna, after liberated realisation, is prema bhakti (loving devotion). Service to Godhead in the liberated stage is irresistible service (apratihata seva).

A,B,C,D or ka-kha-ga-gha may be practised while learning the alphabet on the elementary level; then again even after becoming the topmost man of letters, one has to cultivate the variegatedness and artistic delicacy of that very alphabet.

Those who are impersonalists, speculate just like the widow as narrated in this story, advocating that A,B,C,D should only be practised by children in the elementary level and that these letters are of no use to any learned person.

It is not that servitude to Shri Krishna should be offered only during devotional performance, but it must be renewed even upon attaining perfection through liberation as service to Lord Krishna is our eternal profession. Servitude or service offered to Lord Krishna is our eternal profession. Servitude or service offered to Lord Krishna after attaining the stage of liberation is to be considered as real and the most perfect form of service. Servitude to illusion (Maya) and servitude to Lord Shri Krishna should never be considered equal.

The Exploding Frog





There was once a frog that lived in a pond. One day, her son happened to see an elephant near a tank. The baby frog returned to it’s mother and enthusiastically told her, “Mother, today I saw a huge animal!”
The mother frog asked, “Really? How big was the animal?”
The baby frog replied, “Oh, it was much bigger than you are.”
The frog puffed up her body and asked, “This much bigger?”
The baby replied, “Oh no, much bigger.”
The mother puffed up her body more and asked, “Even this much bigger?”
Her child replied, “No, no mother, much bigger than that.”
In this way the mother frog gradually puffed up her body more and more and each time the baby-frog would continue to tell her, “much bigger, much bigger”.

Finally, while trying to puff up her body beyond limit, the frog’s belly exploded with a big bang.

PURPORT

The insignificant living entities who consider themselves as “para-brahma” (para = supreme, brahma = Absolute Being), or as if nothing is equal to or greater than themselves in spite of the fact that they’re simply misconceived insignificant entities constitutionally engaged in devotional service, take a fancy to be equal in perfection with a liberated soul. They are usually destroyed like a puffed-up frog due to their false ego.

Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said :

“There are many philosophical speculators ( jnanis) belonging to the Mayavada school who consider themselves liberated and call themselves Narayana. However their intelligence is not purified unless they engage in Krishna’s devotional service.” (Chaitanya -charitamrita - Madhya Lila 24.29)

“The Lord is the master of the potencies, and the living entity is the servant of them. That is the difference between the Lord and the living entity. However, you declare that the Lord and the living entities are one and the same.” (Cc - Madhya Lila 6.162)

Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately exclaimed, “Vishnu! Vishnu! Do not call Me the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A jiva cannot become Krishna at any time. Do not even say such a thing!”

“A sannyasi in the renounced order is certainly part and parcel of the complete whole, just as a shining molecular particle of sunshine is part and parcel of the sun itself. Krishna is like the sun, full of six opulences, but the living entity is only a fragment of the complete whole.”
“”A living entity and the Absolute Personality of Godhead are never to be considered equal, just as a fragmental spark can never be considered the original flame.” (Cc - Madhya Lila 18.111-113)

“A foolish person who says that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the same as the living entity is an atheist, and he becomes subject to punishment by the superintendent of death, Yamaraja.” (Cc - Madhya Lila 18.115)

(By narrating this fable of the exploding frog, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada used to instruct that it is better to be a good man than to be a big one. “I am Brahman,” “I am siddha” , “I am Vaishnava” , “I am pandita” , “I am self - realized” - this sort of false ego is the root cause of the fallen entities’ bondage. One who is enlightened with pure devotion for Shri Hari, never conceives himself to be the lord of this material nature or the enjoyer of this material world, as a great worker, a great preacher, and the like. Such a person should realize himself as insignificant as eternal dust-particles under the feet of his spiritual master and of all the Vaishnavas. He possesses a very candid humility all the time in his heart. A living entity can never be para-brahma, just as Ravana can never be Lord Shri Ramachandra.)
 — con Ohene Djan.


The “Golden” Stone Pot




A wealthy landlord called upon a goldsmith in his village and requested him while giving him a lump of pure gold, “You are to make a nice pot for my milk with this gold. You should not make it in any way impure by mixing any kind of alloy in it.”
The goldsmith agreed, “Yes sir”, and went away with the gold-lump.
Thus getting a lump of pure gold in his possession, the goldsmith was tempted to steal it. However, he apprehended that he would be punished by the landlord if he cheated him entirely, so he made up a plan to prepare a stone-pot and gold-plate it so that he would not be accused of stealing the gold.
When the goldsmith took the gold-plated stone pot to the landlord, the landlord asked him in great astonishment, “What is this thing you have brought?”
The goldsmith replied, “O sir! This is a golden pot. I have made it with hard labour.”
The landlord said,” Are you joking? This is a stone pot!”
The goldsmith told him, “O sir, this is a ‘golden’ stone pot.

PURPORT

Those who consider casteism among the Vaishnavas, classifying them as brahmana-Vaishnavas, ksatriya-Vaishnavas, vaisya-Vaishnavas, sudra-Vaishnavas, or as candala-Vaishnavas, simply indulge in a speculative inference as "golden" stone pot. Either one should be considered as `Vaishnava', or as brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, or sudra. Either one should call it a `golden pot', or a `stone pot.' Mango-cake (amsatva) must be prepared from mango itself, and no one can call something `mango cake' if it is made of `jackfruit' (knathaler amsatva). Similarly, it would be wrong terminology to ascribe the quality of a sudra to a Vaishnava. Whenever one is accepted to be a `Vaishnava', then it is confirmed that he does not belong to any mundane social classification such as brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra or low-born candala and the like, nor even Hindu or non-Hindu. Any terminology such as `Hindu-Vaishnava' or `Yavana-Vaishnava' is utterly absurd and also offensive.

"“Yes, No, Very Good”




A simple villager picked up some English through listening. He memorized only a few English words, such as `Yes' and `No', and `Very good'. But he never attempted seriously to understand the application of these words in the proper context. He only knew that a sort of respect for an `English-speaking' person could be attained by using those words in front of people.

Once a few dacoits made a plan to commit a murder and then escape making it look as if that villager had been the culprit.

When the villager was brought to the law court, the judge asked him in Bengali, "Did you commit the murder ?"

The foolish villager thought that if he could speak some English in front of the judge, then the judge might have great respect for him, considering him to be a follower of Western culture, and thus he may be relieved from the allegation of murder.

Contemplating thus, the villager replied to the judge, "Yes!"
The judge asked, "Was there anyone else with you?"
Promptly the villager replied, "No!"
Then the judge said, "Do you realise that you will have to go to jail?"

Now the villager thought that he should put forth his protest against such an injustice by applying his last resort. In order to confirm that he was a perfect gentleman, and that he did not commit the murder, and that he should never be thrown in prison, he replied to the judge's question, saying, "Very good!"

PURPORT

Even in the field of devotional service, many people often deliver a lot of scriptural quotes in a parrot-like fashion, without proper understanding of the instructions, religious terminology and the injunctions that they receive from the pure devotees. They simply hanker for respect from the people in that manner.

But eventually their position becomes similar to that of this villager. In the case the scriptural quotes and authoritative injunctions are not properly assimilated and digested, the righteous community never appreciates them. It is also not possible to be released from the clutches of `maya' or illusion through such a parrot-like verbiage.

It is often observed in pubic meetings, assemblies and popular mundane literature that many so-called "men-of-letters of modern civilisation deliver such ludicrous verbosity on the subjects of devotion, devotees, and the Supreme Godhead. Pure devotees simply consider those deliberations similar to those of the villager mentioned above, who did not realize anything beyond `Yes, No, Very good. ‘Those persons are ultimately destined to suffer imprisonment under the merciless clutches of `maya'.

Honey and the Foolish Bumblebee




Once a bumblebee saw a transparent glass bottle full of honey, and it wanted to enjoy the contents. Without realising that the honey was covered by the glass bottle, the foolish bee tried again and again to relish it.

Sitting upon the bottle, the bee concluded finally that it had relished the honey. In fact, it could not even touch the honey, not to speak of relishing its sweetness. The bee was simply self-deceived. 

PURPORT

The materialistic persons and commonplace so-called vaisnavites believe that they have relished the nectar of devotion. In fact, they can not even discover the source of transcendental mellows of devotion, Lord Krishna.

In modern times, some people while listening to chanting and performing musical recitations of the compositions of such stalwarts like Candidas, Vidyapati and the like on the pastimes of Lord Shri Krishna, believe that they have relished the transcendental mellows of love from Lord Shri Krishna. In fact, they never reach the province of Lord Shri Krishna's pastimes or His transcendental mellows.

Some awful religious renegade and turbulent heretic like Kalapahadh, the notorious iconoclast, may think that they can demolish and destroy Deities and temples of the Supreme Godhead, or some egotistic so-called preachers may boast of finding out quite a good number of faults and discrepancies in the holy scriptures like Shrimad Bhagavatam and Shrimad Bhagavad Gita!

Even Ravana, the great king of demons, intended to abduct Sita Devi with an idea of enjoying her. In fact, they could not even have a look at the object of their lust and desire, not to speak of touching them. Ravana simply deceived himself by abducting only the shadow-form of Sita Devi and failed in his attempt to enjoy her.

If anyone tears up a map of India in anger and jealousy, and thinks that he has destroyed the entire state of India, then it is nothing but his foolishness. Similarly, people who are inclined to go against Shri Hari and the spiritual masters including all Vaishnavas, under the illusory materialistic knowledge, simply expose themselves as the most foolish entities on this earth.

Shri Chaitanyadeva has said:

aprakrta vastu nahe prakrta gocar /
vede puranete ei kahe nirantar //

"Spiritual substance is never within the jurisdiction of the material conception. This is always the verdict of the Vedas and Puranas."
(Cc.Madhya Lila 9.195)

--Upakhyane Upadesha--
 — con Ohene Djan.

"Seeing the Sun in the Night"


 
 

A fanciful landlord once became very anxious to see the sun in a new-moon night sky. The flattering sycophants of the landlord said, "When you, our lord, desires, it must be fulfilled. We should set up in this world such an exemplary deed so that everyone will glorify you and follow the same example."

Flattering thus, one of the sycophants brought in a huge lantern and held it up towards the sky, saying, "Look here, my lord, can you see the sun?"

Two other sycophants then pleaded, "The sun cannot be seen in such a little amount of light from one lantern. Let us arrange for ten crores of candle-power lighting."

So even that was arranged for, as the landlord desired. Some of the scientific-minded friends of the landlord made an attempt to show the sun to the landlord with the help of powerful electric lighting arrangement. But all such efforts made by the scientists concerned were simply in vain.

Then a considerate person who was present there explained to the landlord that he could never see the sun in the night even if all the electric lighting arrangements in the world were assembled together -it would simply be a wastage of power, money and time. So, he must wait till sunrise to see the sun. Only with the help of sunshine can one see the sun. The sun can never be seen with the help of any other artificial light.

PURPORT

Similarly, every attempt of the materialistic scientists, archaeologists, and other people under illusion, to see and realize the eternal form of the transcendental Supreme Lord, full of bliss and knowledge, with the help of so-called mundane knowledge acquired through material senses and speculative reasoning, is only self-deceiving.

As the sun can never be seen in the night even with the help of hundreds of artificial lighting arrangements, similarly, the constitutional form of Lord Shri Hari and the spiritual master and the Vaishnavas is never visible through hundreds of attempts with the help of so-called mundane knowledge acquired by the material senses of the living entities.

As the sun is visible only in the sunlight, realization of the truly constitutional forms of Lord Shri Hari, guru or the Vaishnava, will only be possible under their mercy. The spiritual master can not be assessed through a slighted understanding. Any living being conditioned under illusionary mentality can not make a proper assessment of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Controller of illusion and of the real Vaishnava who is conversant with Krishna Consciousness.

--fom the Upakhyane Upadesha by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura--
 — con Ohene Djan.

A Family for the Gita




Once a renounced spiritual master presented his disciple with the copy of the holy Gita, advising him to study the book all the time. The disciple started study of the Gita sitting inside a cave on the Vindhya Hills.

A small mouse in the cave started eating the pages of the Gita everyday. Thus being extremely perturbed with the mischief caused by the mouse, the disciple brought a kitten from a nearby village. Then milk was required for the maintenance of the kitten.

Considering all the related problems of acquiring milk everyday, the need for keeping a cow was very strongly felt by the disciple. By the grace of the Lord, a kind-hearted person gifted one cow. Now an anxiety for maintaining the cow loomed large in the heart of the disciple. So that the cow might stay safely and comfortably, the renounced disciple built a barn with much labour and effort.

Thereafter came the anxiety for day-to-day care and maintenance of the cow, providing her with regular fodder and water. Over and above this, the renounced disciple was very much anxious about spoiling his devotional performances while caring for the cow, and as such he decided to appoint a cowherd.

The cowherd took charge of maintaining the cow. But then, who was going to feed the cowherd, and look after his duties regularly? So, after much deliberation finally the anxious sannyasi got married.

Gradually, his family swelled up. He acquired vast property, manpower and a big place. The sannyasi thus became an out-and-out family man, leaving aside his study of the Gita.

After a long lapse of time, his spiritual master, trying to find out his disciple's whereabouts, happen to come to the front of the disciple's place. Looking at the material opulence, and the host of family members of the sannyasi, he asked him, "What is all this ?"

Then the disciple submitted everything with folded hands in front of his spiritual master, "O master, this is the family I had to build up for the sake of your Gita, you remember ?"

PURPORT

A truly Krishna conscious person should not increase the magnitude of his wants and requirements to the name of `yukta-vairagya' (proper renunciation). A living entity engaged in devotional service should never consider himself to be equal in status and position with a perfectly liberated great soul.

One who is engaged in devotional service, either as a sannyasi or as a grhastha, must adhere strictly to the scriptural injunction which prescribes thus: `yavannirvaha pratigraha' - he should endeavour only for that much which is essentially required in favour of worshiping Shri Hari. His material activities should neither be excessive, nor very scanty as either of them leads to diversion from spiritual upliftment.

Persons undertaking the rigors of celibacy (brahmacarya), seclusion (vanaprastha), and renunciation (sannyasi) as their ways of living (asrama) and so staying in a secluded holy place such as a math, away from home for engrossing themselves in the devotional services to Lord Shri Hari, might also find themselves entangled in such a `family' for the sake of the Gita, in case they become enchanted with the thoughts of daily wants and requirements, thus deceiving themselves in the name of favouring devotional services to Lord Shri Hari. So, an honest person must be careful. he must not fall under the clutches of illusory energy (maya) while pretending to acquire favourable objects for devotional services to Sri Hari. The material senses are always thirsty for objects of sense gratification.

Pretending to attain perfection through carefully listening and adhering to myriads of injunctions from great liberated souls, our wicked, mischievous, uncontrollable, extroverted mind along with it's propensities, endeavours to acquire gratifying objects falsely ascribing them as favourable to devotional service to Shri Hari, while taking recourse to hypocritical diplomatic demeanours.

Many of us become highly attracted to material knowledge. In the name of studying scriptures or learning erudition !

We become much attached to physical comfort and to our dependant wife and children through self-deception of undergoing family life with a plea to observe `yukta-vairagya' (proper renunciation) and offering devotional services to Lord Shri Hari simultaneously.

Even after becoming a sannyasi, a bramhacari, a Krishna conscious grhastha or a vanaprastha, many of us desire to attain material reputation and fame and we try to lord it over everything. This will cause us utter spiritual destruction.

It is therefore most essential to pray for the mercy of pure honest devotees, constantly keeping ourselves in their uncontaminated association with complete loyalty and allegiance and thus exposing before them all our misgivings so that we may be blessed with their inestimable guidance.

"There Runs The Thief"


 
 

There was once a village that was plagued with constant theft. The villagers were unable to detect the thief in spite of all efforts. Whenever the people were alerted, the thief would run away. A hue and cry would be raised by the people, and the villagers gathered only to be disappointed. 

Finally, the headman in the village called for all the victims of the theft individually and questioned them in confidence. Upon a through inquiry, he discovered that one particular person was found to be present and anxious to find out the thief every time there had been a crime. 

The village headman became suspicious at this coincidence. Therefore he devised a plan and advised the village guard to keep an eye on the suspected person at his house from midnight and report his movements. The headman himself was also carefully watching the guard and regularly supervised his duties.

One night the guard saw the suspect coming out of his house at about 2 o’ clock, hiding a burglar’s tool for house-breaking under his shawl.

As the guard followed him, making sure that he was hidden from view, he observed the suspected man breaking through the wall of a villager’s house with the help of a burglar’s tool. After a while, the house owner started screaming, “Thief, thief!!”, and the guard watched as the suspected man came out of the house with the stolen goods and hurriedly entered into the nearby jungle.

When the villagers gathered as usual after the house owner started screaming for help, the suspected man came out of the opposite side of the jungle and innocently joined the crowd of villagers inquiring about the incident. He was just pretending to look for the thief and running up and down in all directions. Thus coming across the village guard patrolling nearby, he caught hold of him and started shouting, “Here is the burglar, here is the burglar!”

Attracted by his screaming, the people gathered around them and started jeering at the guard, taking him to be the burglar. Some of them were preparing to beat him.

Luckily, the village headman appeared on the spot and appeasing them, he took the guard to the side and asked him to give a complete report on the incident. He advised some other villagers to observe the reactions of the man who was the real culprit.

Thereafter, he proceeded towards the jungle as directed by the guard, along with other people, while the thief repeatedly asked them, “Why on earth are you going into the jungle for the burglar? On this dark night, that snake-infested jungle is most dangerous. No burglar can hide himself in there, for sure!”

When everyone was walking into the jungle, disregarding his constant grumbling, the man started gradually backing away with the idea of running off. It appeared from his face that he was greatly frightened.

Eventually, the jewelry box which the thief had taken from the villager’s house was found in the jungle along with the burglar’s tool. It was then crystal-clear to everyone present that the man complaining was the burglar himself, and so the crowd ran out of the jungle and started chasing him. As he was running away, they all shouted out, “There goes the thief. there goes the thief!”.

The cunning thief also started shouting while running, “There goes the thief, there goes the thief”, and pointing to all the innocent passers-by, he got away by creating an utter confusion.

PURPORT

There is no dearth of such mischievous atheists among the people. they constantly malign the real protectors of the society who are like watchmen, and harass those great souls who are truly and selflessly benevolent to common people, only to tarnish their reputation by a vile attempt to prove those saintly persons as `thieves’ and the like.

In all Vedic literature, Gita, Bhagavata, Upanisads etc., it has been specifically advocated that this material world belongs to the Supreme Lord, he is the proprietor of everything, and one who does not offer everything to the Supreme Lord for His satisfaction through preaching His glories and the holy name, simply devours His property for one’s own sense gratification, and as such, he is a thief.

Such a thief is always endeavoring to indicate that any person who is preaching the holy name of the Supreme Godhead, and going from door to door in order to wake everyone up from their illusory state of living, is only worthless, idle and a thief of social wealth. This is just like the motivated tendency of a thief who points to a sadhu as if he is running away from a burglary.

This is the normal practice we find in this age of Kali. The famous poet Tulasi das wrote long ago thus: 

“The real thief is released, the saintly person is tied up, and the passer-by is hanged - all glories to Kali yugas, such is your great joke that creates pity as well as laughter.”

Some traders who deal in so-called religion, holy scriptures, Gita, Bhagavata, and the Deities of Godhead as their economic profession, try to equate selfless preachers of the holy name of Lord Hari and the preaching of real saintly persons as an illicit greed for money like a professional person.

They used to say mischievously that one should not only condemn materialistic persons when even the saintly persons need money. In fact, this is just like branding a watchman as a burglar.

Money collected by saintly persons for the welfare of the entire world in favor of preaching the holy name of Lord Sri Hari, is not meant for spending on maintenance of family members like a professional family-man, or for indulging in some illicit misdemeanor, or personal sense gratification.

Real saintly persons collect money and use it wisely. That money is very carefully spent in preaching the holy name and opulences of the original proprietor and the Lord of the goddess Laksmi in order to ensure eternal welfare to all atheistic, conditioned living entities of this material world.

In fact, persons who try to steal the wealth of the Lord of Laksmi, make an attempt to confuse common people by creating a false hue and cry by pointing at real saintly persons and showing - “There goes the thief, there goes the thief!” The envious impersonalists only make an attempt to hide themselves with their innate polluted character by shouting out at the saintly persons, “thief, thief!”

--from the Upakhyane Upadesha--

"“All Glories to Balam Rice and Cow Ghee!”




There was once a landlord in whose house no servant could ever continue to work for long. The landlord used to appoint new servants frequently and they would leave the job only after a few days. The landlord was much perturbed at this. It was almost impossible for him to maintain the household work without any servants.

One day he was lamenting to one of his friends, “How unfortunate I am! Not even a single servant could stay! What’s the solution?”

Then the friend advised the landlord, “If you follow my advice, then your servant won’t leave you even if you want to get rid of him. You recruit any servant and feed him with a fine variety of Balam rice with cow ghee twice a day. After maintaining him in this manner for six months, then you can give him any kind of job you desire.”

The landlord did as his friend advised. After relishing Balam rice with ghee for six months, no other variety of rice was palatable to his servant. Then the landlord, after the lapse of six long months, started pressuring the servant with all sorts of rigorous jobs. The servant thereafter started making complaints to the assistants of the landlord, “I’m going elsewhere if so much pressure is continued to be put on me.”

In this way whenever there was a little more work to do, the servant used to say, “I won’t stay here any longer.”

One day the landlord told him, “Go wherever you want!” the servant looked for some alternative job elsewhere, but he could not have the satisfaction of fine variety Balam rice and cow ghee.

At last he came back helplessly to the houses of the landlord and continued to stay for a long time. But whenever there was some additional workload, he used to go elsewhere for relief, but as soon as he remembered the satisfaction of Balam rice and cow ghee, he would immediately return to the landlord’s house and used to say that he had developed a sentiment for the landlord and that’s why he was unable to stay anywhere else in peace.

After a few years, when the landlord happened to meet his friend, he shouted out in great joy, “All glories to Balam rice, and cow ghee!”

PURPORT

This anecdote gives us a moral about the influence sense gratification, money and reputation, for which people are desirous. It is very difficult to find a person willing to offer causeless devotional service to Lord Hari in this world. Not a single person wants to stay steadfastly in the devotional institution of Lord Sri Krishna’s family environment. Only motivated with material sense gratification and mundane desires for a few days, some would like to pretend to offer services in Lord Krishna’s family and then would revert to different aspects of material gain, position, and reputation, religion, wealth, fruitive work or liberation to satisfy their thirst for sense gratification.

With a view to attracting such persons by all means, and to enlighten them of their latent potential, all benevolent spiritual masters arrange for Balam rice and ghee to feed them. In other words, spiritual masters make every attempt to retain those persons within the family environment of Lord Krishna by way of providing various sorts of position and reputation for them. In the beginning such persons may often play truancy by going away from Lord Krishna’s family, but when they continue to receive some award, prestige, position. honor etc. in the form of Balam rice and ghee or the like, then some of them pretend to show up some sort of soft sentiment towards the landlord or the spiritual master. 

Thereafter such persons are not likely to go away even if they are asked to. Therefore, all glories to Balam rice and cow ghee!

The earnest enterprise on the part of the landlord for the performance of his essential services is paramount to the earnest desire of a spiritual master or a sincere devotee to satisfy Lord Sri Gauranga, whereas the servant is very well comparable to all sorts of servitors who pretend to serve their spiritual masters in a firm attitude, and Balam rice with cow ghee may rightly be thought of as a servitor’s desire for position, honor, and reputation.

"Lalu and Kalu"




A grocer had two sons - Lalu and Kalu. He wanted them to learn basic measurements on a weighing scale and as such, he entrusted his boys to a tutor.

The boys were so unruly and naughty that a number of tutors proved themselves unable to impart this minimum instruction to them.

Finally, the grocer had to declare that he would give away a half of his grocery business to anyone who could educate his two sons in numbers up to one hundred at least.

Those two boys were, however, full of so many vices that they became addicted to smoking even though they were still infants.

A poor old brahmana, being allured by the lucrative offer, undertook the job of teaching them. Their father made a very stringent arrangement so that the boys would always stay with their tutor.

One day, Lalu and Kalu went out for a stroll along with their tutor. As they were walking, they came across a cow and the tutor asked Lalu, “Could you say how many legs this cow has ?”

Lalu started counting the cow’s legs - one, two, three ..... All of a sudden, Kalu stopped his brother by closing his brother’s mouth with his hand, saying, “O brother! Don’t count - he will try to cleverly teach you numbers.” Lalu therefore stopped counting as he could realize the crafty teaching method of his tutor.

Another day, Lalu and Kalu were taking rest in one room, along with their tutor. Both of them started snoring as if they were in deep sleep, so that the tutor may take them to be in deep slumber.

Their tutor, noting that his pupils were asleep, decided that he would also take rest. After a while, Lalu and Kalu began trying to ascertain if the tutor was asleep and being assured, they got up, and went outside to smoke to their heart’s content. After finishing their cigarettes, they returned to the room and pretended to be sleeping again.

After a while, when the tutor woke up, he smelt a strong odor of smoke inside the room. Immediately he roused the boys from their “sleep” and started inquiring about the smell. His suspicions were confirmed when he smelted their hands.

Lalu and Kalu continued to defend themselves, crying, “O sir, we fell asleep before you, we are just waking up now. How could we be smoking, sir? But it’s possible that some rascal was smoking with the help of our hands without our knowledge while we were fast asleep.

PURPORT

Those who are determined to accept no advice or instruction for their self-development, are reflected in the mode of character as revealed in these two cunning boys, Lalu and Kalu. Quite often, many of us do not like to pay any heed to the messages and injunctions in our daily activities, only because of our apprehension that they might lead us to a domain of peace and welfare.

Just like Lalu and Kalu, the majority of common people never accept the way to real welfare and happiness - they would prefer a pretension of keeping the association of saintly persons while continuing their activities of sense gratification in wealth, women, and wine.

It is because we are unable to give up our hypocrisy and sense of foolish individualism and independence that saintly persons fail to lead us to real wisdom. 

Whenever our spiritual master sees our inclination to such unworthy activities, we make an attempt to defend ourselves with a false plea that we are not really interested in such activities and that it is merely that some unscrupulous religious or social leaders have forced us to become engrossed in them.

By nature, all mischievous persons act like this and they put all the blame upon others in order to conceal their faults. they try to project their thirst of sense gratification onto honest persons.

--Upakhyane Upadesha--
 — con Vimlesh Prakash.

"Rowing Along the Wind"




A landlord once had a sycophantic servant, who was only interested in grabbing something for hid own sense gratification by flattering his master.

One day the landlord asked the sycophant, Could you tell me what kind of vegetable is the potato?

The sycophant replied with an uneasy gesture and folded hands before the landlord, O Lord! I pray that your honor may please narrate the nature of potato. Please let us hear your wise words on this matter.

Then the landlord said, Potato is the most delicious of all vegetables in this present age.

Even before the landlord could finish his statement, the sycophant butted in, Yes, my Lord! Really delicious! Excellently delicious, pleasantly delicious, highly tasteful and dainty! It is said that this round potato - boiled in rice, boiled in water, fried, mixed up in a subji, put in a soup or dahl, either in pickle condiment, or in rich gravy, or kofta - everywhere in every recipe, this round potato is omnipresent! Is there any other vegetable comparable to it? It is simply second to none, - unparalleled!!

Then the landlord rejoindered, Whatever you say, I should like to assert that potato is very agitating and very dull, in spite of the fact that it is tasteful.

Immediately the sycophant blustered, O yes lord, for sure. It is a really agitatingly agitating vegetable, very hot, excessively passionate, very difficult to cool down. My lord! We are being plagued by a new wave of unknown diseases nowadays! These are all due to this round potato. All sorts of flatulence, cholera, diarrhea, diabetes, phthisis are resulting form this round potato - do you know, my lord ? Potato is certainly the root cause of all these troubles.

The landlord then asked his fawning servant, Well what is your opinion of eggplant?
The sycophant replied, O lord , let us first hear you, please. What is eggplant like?
The landlord began, There is nothing bad about an eggplant! As far as I know, eggplant is a nice vegetable.

Again the servant spoke, Yes lord! Let us look at it; there is hardly another beautiful vegetable like it. What else is required when we get two pieces of fried eggplant? Then even butter is not comparable to it! When one has nothing else in the house, only one piece of eggplant could serve the purpose of maintaining prestige of a householder - you can roast it, fry it, cook it in a subji, prepare a chutney - any way you like - that eggplant proves itself somewhat extraordinary among all vegetables. Still among all varieties of eggplant, take lapha eggplant - an excellent creation of the supreme godhead indeed!

After hearing all this, the landlord replied, Anyhow, there is no nutritious value in an eggplant.

The sycophant said, O my lord ,off cause! That's why it is called be-gun which means no value at potential value, but began, the eggplant is much more inferior to that. An eggplant gives more itching trouble in the mouth than any wild turnip or kocu root! Eggplant is the root cause of so many troubles. Eggplant carries eternal bad luck. That's why it is often roasted before serving!

The landlord then retorted saying, You are a very strange fellow! When I say Potato is good you also repeat, O Yes, potato is very good, and when I say it is bad, then you also start pleading that it is very, very bad. When I said , Eggplant is good, then your appreciation for eggplant knew no bounds. When I said, Eggplant is bad deprecating it as if it should never be considered as a vegetable. Don't you possess any personal integrity?

With folded hands and faltering voice the sycophant explained, O my lord! Please have mercy, please forgive my offences. But, to be truthful, I am not a servant of a potato, nor of an eggplant - I am simply your servant, my lord! Whatever you say, my lord, I must say likewise. Potato will not provide me with a wage packet every month, and eggplant is not going to give me a job for my livelihood. I am your servant, so my lord's voice should be my voice.

PURPORT

Some people always row with the wind for their own advantage, and express their concocted opinions only motivated by their own selfish desires for gaining reputation. Sometimes they pretend to be devotees of Lord Sri Caitanya, or patriots, social leaders, or simply unmindful lovers, or many other disguises. Basically they are impersonalists, or in other words, they do not believe in the eternal holy name, form, qualities, associates and pastimes of the Supreme Lord.

Any appreciation or eulogizing of Lord Sri Caitanya expressed by such persons is simply their verbal expression, as they are anxious to pose themselves as devotees before the common people.

Many such persons eulogize Lord Sri Caitanyadeva with an ulterior motive of attracting some sort of honor and respect from a large community of Vaisnavas. But they are not at all interested in relishing the nectar of true instructions bestowed by Lord Sri Caitanyadeva who deprecated such renowned ideologies as Buddhism, Sankaracarya philosophy, and the doctrines of fruitive work, mundane knowledge and meditational yogic philosophy. Those motivated persons do not accept Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's advice to worship Lord Visnu only and to consider all other forms of demigods and goddesses as subordinate to Lord Visnu. Nor can they endorse wholeheartedly the devotional practices of religion, wealth, lust, and liberation.

This only happens because as there are many followers of Lord Sri Caitanyadeva, similarly there exits a number of fanatics in the line of Sri Sankaracarya, Buddha, Madhvira Jina, Kumarila Bhatta, Kapila the atheist and the like, who preached non-devotional doctrines among the people.

In this event, all motivated persons consider it beneficial to their self-interest of earning name, fame and reputation to preach the doctrines of other communities than those of Sri Caitanyadeva, since these non-devotional communities command a wide  populace.

Those who are devoid of the real urge for inquiring into the realm of eternal and absolute truth will always hush up the basic doctrines as propagated by Lord Sri Caitanyadeva. These people are neither sincere followers of Lord Sri Caitanyadeva, nor of Sri Sankaracarya. In fact they are basically opportunists trying to gratify their senses.

These opportunists are of the opinion that all doctrines are good, but their real nature is exposed whenever it is clearly proved that the love for Lord Sri Krsna can never be equated with the non-devotional practices for gaining positions in the fields of religion, mundane wealth, material enjoyment, and liberation from the cycle of birth, death, old age and disease.

Any attempt in synthesizing all doctrines irrespective of their intrinsic merit is a hypocrisy. this was very boldly expressed by Lord Sri Caitanyadeva, with reference to His reflections on one of His own devotees.

Lord Caitanya said : Whenever that rascal (Mukunda) goes to the mayavadis , he becomes like them, talking according to their theory. Whenever he studies the yoga-vasistha with Advaita Acarya, he dances in ecstasy holding straw in his teeth.

And going to other sampradayas (mayavadis), when he speaks, not only does he neglect bhakti, he always attacks bhakti. One who says there is something better thanbhakti, is beating Me. (Caitanya Bhagavata M.10.188-191)

The person has made offences to devotional service and due to this he will never attain Krsna.

Most of the professional narrators of scriptural and mythological stories, speakers, writers, authors etc. Try to entertain common people through their deliberations and performances only to attract some sort of material gains and fortunes. In fact, their expositions of devotional scriptures, are not truly expressive of their real love and devotion for the Supreme Lord.

"Kite-playing on an Unwalled Roof"




A dull headed boy was once happily flying a kite from an unwalled rooftop. He became so engrossed in playing that he lost his awareness. His playmates were also encouraging him very much. The boy got so carried away that he failed to notice that one of his legs was hanging over the edge of the roof. None of the other boys alerted him to this peril; rather they simply continued to encourage him to fly the kite.

At that critical moment, a wise man happened to pass by. He saw that the boy was in imminent danger of falling from the roof. He immediately rushed up to save the boy although the others saw no danger. He pulled the boy away from the edge, tore off the thread of the kite and took away the spool of thread.

But the foolish boy and his friends, rather than feeling thankful, began to curse the well-meaning gentleman. They called him a thief, rascal, trespasser, gunda, hooligan, ruffian and other such names. They even threatened to take the gentleman to court after complaining to their over-indulgent parents. Some even tried to physically assault him. Bearing all this, the kind-hearted gentleman saved the boy from imminent death.

PURPORT

Materialistic persons embrace their certain death by accepting whatever is apparently palatable to them. By no means are they prepared to accept anything which is apparently bitter but ultimately pleasant. Many of our so-called friends in this material world also encourage us in sense gratificatory activities that lead us to certain death and destruction.

By chance if one comes across a benevolent saintly person, he preaches to us out of his sheer mercy some real truths although in an unpleasantly stern exposition (like a dose of strong medicine) in spite of our unwillingness to accept it. Therefore we should accept all good sermons from saintly persons delivered in the cause of our eternal welfare, even if those words appear utterly bitter and heart rending.

The Physician’s Knife




Amar was a village boy who had been suffering so much from a boil on his back that he attempted suicide. His mother and close relatives were all trying to alleviate his pain by using hand-fans or even by orally blowing on the swelling boil.

One of his neighbors advised that the boy should be given some anesthetic drug to save him from such unbearable physical agony. Still another person recommended that it was better to relieve him eternally from such a painful experience. His argument was that the boy has been suffering terribly because was alive, so, if he were dead he wouldn’t be in pain anymore. The result would be complete solace to both the disease and patient.

Unnerved by such advice, the wise father of the boy immediately sent for an experienced physician, disregarding his son’s so called well-wishers. When the physician advised that a minor surgery be performed on the boy, the relative including the boy’s mother, grandmother and others started weeping all in a row. The ignorant boy also started abusing the physician in the most vulgar words, saying, “You have come to kill me. Leave me alone right now, or I must send for the police to arrest you! Why don’t you strike the knife on your own body? Would you go and lynch your own son? I would rather take a dose of poison before I surrender myself to your hands for certain death.”

Turning a deaf ear to the boy’s delirious outburst, the physician held him tightly while he pressed and executed the surgical operation on the boil. After a while, the boy was completely relieved of all agony and gradually became well within a few days.

PURPORT

Just like a real physician, quite often the real spiritual masters and saintly persons also dissect some of the knots in the obstinate mind of living entities by way of apparently distasteful injunctions and instructions varying on the degrees of entanglement. But the suffering entity is hardly inclined to agree with such injunctions and instead, misapply a lot of harsh words to those saintly persons blaspheming them as their enemies and extremely merciless executioners.

So-called relatives and friends of such suffering entities strongly advocate against such a surgical operation to avoid the apparent pain and uneasiness. Some such pseudo-friends even in the name of impersonalism advise one to commit suicide to get rid of the rut.

In fact, none of these ways can be fruitfully undertaken for eternal welfare of an entity. The constitutional position of a living entity is only realized after disentanglement from all unworthy mundane attachments with the help of saintly injunctions sincerely followed. This enables one to enter into the province of devotional service which is the only way to eternal bliss and peace of mind.

--Upakhyane Upadesha--


Kastvam, Khastvam



Once there lived a brahmana-pandita in a village who was very proud of his family tradition of scholastic distinction. In course of time, however, successors of that family became averse to academic pursuits that they used to while away their time in playing cards, dice, chess etc. To earn a living they would go to householders to worship their Deities, but in fact they were simply cheating the householders and the Deities by chanting inaccurate mantras. Yet they boasted everywhere that scholarly persons such as themselves were rare in this world, because their bloodstream carried the heritage of erudition and the acumen of many ancient panditas.

One of the virtuous local people, who was a determined champion of truth, once decided to invite a truly erudite personality to his village with a view to smash the vain attitude of those so-called panditas.

As the learned personality came and entered the village, all those false panditas felt extremely nervous and rushed immediately to their village chief asking his advice to overcome such an averse situation. The village thief was popularly known as Dada Thakur among all the villagers and had also earned wide fame as the greatest of all the panditas. Assuring all the villagers, he said, Don’t worry. With the heritage of our ancestors running in my blood, I will certainly defeat this newly-arrived pandita. I will have a conversation with him in Sanskrit, this will certainly make him silent. 

Then he won’t be able to assess anything else or make any further attempt to criticize us in any way. He’ll have to leave this village in disgrace.

Upon his arrival in the courtyard for the debate, the learned personality found the pandita sitting on a high pedestal. The learned person then began by asking the pandita in Sanskrit, Kastvam? or Please introduce yourself. Who are you?

In reply, the village pandita Dada Thakur blurted out, Khastvam,, gastvam, ghastvam, castvam, chastvam, jastvam, jhastvam, nastvam, nhastvam, tastvam, thastvam, dastvam, dhastvam,..........ksastvam!

The learned personality realized immediately that it was of no use to continue any more dialogue with such a blatant pandita, the sooner he could leave that place the better for his own dignity. He offered his obeisances from a distance and when the said learned dignitary was about to go away from the place, the disciples and followers of Dada Thakur began to laugh loudly and shouted, Just see! Our Dada Thakur is such a great pandita! That learned fellow couldn’t even open his mouth in front of him! There must be hardly anyone in this world who could talk to our Dada Thakur in Sanskrt! How fluently he can speak in Sanskrt!

PURPORT

Boasting about their traditional family heritage of brahminical erudition and successive association with Lord Visnu, Vaisnavas, saintly persons and scholars of eminence, some people speculate that there must have been an acute dearth of real Vaisnavas of the regular line of heredity, completely surrendered unto the Supreme Lord through performance of perfect devotional service. Mad with such material vanity, these people audaciously have a challenging attitude towards pure Vaisnavite injunctions and maxims with the help of their abecedarian pedantry.

Whenever they are confronted with a question from a true Vaisnava, Kastvam? or Who are you?, What is your true constitutional position? - then such persons with their materialistic vanity and gross intelligence, considering their bodies as their selves, pretend to conquer the Vaisnavas by throwing out a materialistically - oriented pedantic reply based on their mundane knowledge and unfounded speculations. These sorts of pedantic deliberations sound simply delirious.

In response to the question, Kastvam? - Who are you?, a real scholar should say, gopibhartuh padakamalayor dasadasanudasa or I am the servant of the servant of the servants at the lotus feet of the Lord Sri Krsna, Lord of the Gopis.

--Upakhyane Upadesha--


juancas

LISTA DE REPRODUCCIÓN - PLAYLIST






  1. JESUCRITO I - viernes 13 de enero de 2012
  2. Mundo Religioso 1 - miércoles 28 de diciembre de 2011
  3. Mundo Religioso 2 - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011
  4. Mitología Universal 1 (Asturiana) - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011
  5. El Narrador de Cuentos - UNO - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011
  6. El Narrador de Cuentos - DOS - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011

MEDICINA NATURAL, RELAJACION

  1. Medicina Natural - Las Plantas Medicinales 1 (Teoría) - miércoles 28 de diciembre de 2011
  2. Medicina Natural - Plantas Medicinales 1 y 2 (Visión de las Plantas) - miércoles 28 de diciembre de 2011
  3. Practica de MEDITATION & RELAXATION 1 - viernes 6 de enero de 2012
  4. Practica de MEDITATION & RELAXATION 2 - sábado 7 de enero de 2012

VAISHNAVAS, HINDUISMO





  1. KRSNA - RAMA - VISHNU -  jueves 16 de febrero de 2012
  2. Gopal Krishna Movies -  jueves 16 de febrero de 2012
  3. Yamuna Devi Dasi -  jueves 16 de febrero de 2012
  4. SRILA PRABHUPADA I -  miércoles 15 de febrero de 2012
  5. SRILA PRABHUPADA II -  miércoles 15 de febrero de 2012
  6. SRILA PRABHUPADA III -  martes 17 de abril de 2012
  7. KUMBHA MELA -  miércoles 15 de febrero de 2012
  8. AVANTIKA DEVI DASI - NÉCTAR BHAJANS -  miércoles 15 de febrero de 2012
  9. GANGA DEVI MATA -  miércoles 15 de febrero de 2012
  10. SLOKAS y MANTRAS I - lunes 13 de febrero de 2012
  11. GAYATRI & SHANTI MANTRAS - martes 14 de febrero de 2012
  12. Lugares Sagrados de la India 1 - miércoles 28 de diciembre de 2011
  13. Devoción - PLAYLIST - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011
  14. La Sabiduria de los Maestros 1 - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011
  15. La Sabiduria de los Maestros 2 - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011
  16. La Sabiduria de los Maestros 3 - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011
  17. La Sabiduria de los Maestros 4 - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011
  18. La Sabiduría de los Maestros 5 - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011
  19. Universalidad 1 - miércoles 4 de enero de 2012

Biografías

  1. Biografía de los Clasicos Antiguos Latinos 1 - viernes 30 de diciembre de 2011
  2. Swami Premananda - PLAYLIST - jueves 29 de diciembre de 2011

Romanos

  1. Emperadores Romanos I - domingo 1 de enero de 2012

Egipto





  1. Ajenaton, momias doradas, Hatshepsut, Cleopatra - sábado 31 de diciembre de 2011
  2. EL MARAVILLOSO EGIPTO I - jueves 12 de enero de 2012
  3. EL MARAVILLOSO EGIPTO II - sábado 14 de enero de 2012
  4. EL MARAVILLOSO EGIPTO III - lunes 16 de enero de 2012
  5. EL MARAVILLOSO EGIPTO IV - martes 17 de enero de 2012
  6. EL MARAVILLOSO EGIPTO V - miércoles 18 de enero de 2012
  7. EL MARAVILLOSO EGIPTO VI - sábado 21 de enero de 2012
  8. EL MARAVILLOSO EGIPTO VII - martes 24 de enero de 2012
  9. EL MARAVILLOSO EGIPTO VIII - viernes 27 de enero de 2012

La Bíblia





  1. El Mundo Bíblico 1 - lunes 2 de enero de 2012 (de danizia)
  2. El Mundo Bíblico 2 - martes 3 de enero de 2012 (de danizia)
  3. El Mundo Bíblico 3 - sábado 14 de enero de 2012
  4. El Mundo Bíblico 4 - sábado 14 de enero de 2012
  5. El Mundo Bíblico 5 - martes 21 de febrero de 2012
  6. El Mundo Bíblico 6 - miércoles 22 de febrero de 2012
  1. La Bíblia I - lunes 20 de febrero de 2012
  2. La Bíblia II - martes 10 de enero de 2012
  3. La Biblia III - martes 10 de enero de 2012
  4. La Biblia IV - miércoles 11 de enero de 2012
  5. La Biblia V - sábado 31 de diciembre de 2011






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