"We must follow the service mood of Lalitadevi...."

By His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj

...Continued excerpt from 'Divine Guidance'

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"...the super-position comes by the mercy of the associates of Srimati Radharani. If we have super-hankering, then it will come to us. Who has some special quality of hankering - hankering for Madhura-rasa - he will get it. It is true. Only hankering after that lila can give us a little chance."

"Oh Arjjuna, son of Kunti, whichever action you perform, whether general or scriptural; whatever you eat; whatever you offer in sacrifice; whatever you give in charity; and whichever austerity you perform or vow you keep, all that you perform should be as an offering unto Me."

When from the upper level causeless mercy comes and touches a fallen soul, he can understand: "Something is touching me, and that thing is very exalted and auspicious." An example is that if an ant is running past me and I touch it, the ant can understand it is being touched. All is under my control, not his. When I lift my finger he then thinks, "Oh, whatever came and touched me has now gone away." In this situation he has no possibility to exert his personality, he has no free-will to control the situation.

Krishna is like that. When that Transcendental Knowledge Himself comes down and touches us, at that time, we can understand it, otherwise there is no possibility for us to understand. It is not mechanical. One possibility is there - yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas if we take shelter with our full unalloyed devotion to the lotus feet of Sri Krishna, then Krishna must be merciful to us; and that gives us some hope. It is up to the sweet will of Krishna, but in this way we can gain some position and enter into the transcendental world.

Why are we doing other types of activities such as worshipping, etc.? It is our practice for devoting everything, including ourselves, unto the lotus feet of Krishna. In this way we are trying to practise.

But Krishna said in Bhagavad-gita:

sarvva-dharmman parityajya, mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarvva-papebhyo, moksayisyami ma suchah
   (Bhagavad-gita 18.66)

"Totally rejecting all kinds of religion, take shelter of Me exclusively. I will liberate you from all kinds of sins. Do not despair."

yat karosi yad asnasi, yaj juhosi dadasi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya, tat kurusva mad-arpanam

"Oh Arjjuna, son of Kunti, whichever action you perform, whether general or scriptural; whatever you eat; whatever you offer in sacrifice; whatever you give in charity; and whichever austerity you perform or vow you keep, all that you perform should be as an offering unto Me."

There are many slokas like this. Another one is:

daivi hy esa gunamayi
mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante
mayam etam taranti te

"This other-worldly, supernatural, external potency of Mine composed of three modes of nature most certainly is difficult to cross. However, those who take shelter exclusively in Me alone, and who completely surrender unto Me, they certainly are able to surpass this almost insurmountable illusion."

Krishna wants full surrender unto His lotus feet, and if we do this He will take our full responsibility, and when He takes us our bodies will become transcendental.

diksa-kale bhakta kare atma-samarpana
sei-kale krsna tare kare atma-sama
sei deha kare tara chid-ananda-maya
aprakrta-dehe tanra charana bhajaya
   (Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta, Antya-lila 4.192 & 193)

When the conditioned soul takes shelter unto the lotus feet of Sri Krishna, Krishna takes him and provides for him whatever he may lack. He gives to him whatever is necessary, making him complete in that transcendental position. The main thing is devotion. A fully surrendered soul has no responsibility for himself.

manasa, deho, geho, yo kichu mor
arpilun tuwa pade, nanda-kisor
sampade bipade, jivane-marane
day mama gela, tuwa o-pada barane…
   (Saranagati)

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur says, "Whatever I have, everything I am offering unto the lotus feet of Krishna. I do not know what I have, but whatever it may be please take that for Your service, from this day on I have no responsibility for myself. You may maintain this body or not, this is Your matter not mine. I shall only try to serve Your holy lotus feet."

When the conditioned soul takes shelter under the lotus feet of Krishna, Krishna takes that conditioned soul as His own property.

raksa karabi tuhun nischaya jani
pana karabun ham yamuna-pani

Bhaktivinoda Thakur said in Saranagati, "You must save us. It is your duty, I know, so what fear can I have? I can jump into the polluted waters of the Kaliya Lake without fear - I can do anything."

Here we can see the main thing: faith in Krishna. The faithful world, that is the real transcendental world. In that world, faith is the very ground - the very foundation. When we live there with our full faith, we will attain the highest result of highest benefit in life.

One example you may have heard. If a police officer chases some thieves but mistakenly kills someone, all liability for his actions, even his mistakes, goes to the government and not to the police officer. His responsibility is only towards capturing the thieves - that is his duty. This is the main point.

After self-surrender, the result of what we do goes to Krishna and does not come to us, but that surrender must be perfect. This is the first quality of the conditioned soul. After that, everything depends on Krishna; and only He knows in which way He will take the charge of the conditioned soul.

Through the Pastimes of Krishna and His devotees you can understand what is the will of Krishna, and what is not. If you try to gain that knowledge and maintain your devotion within that environment, you will have no fear from anywhere.

This advice comes within the category of our primary and secondary education. But the super-position comes by the mercy of the associates of Srimati Radharani. If we have super-hankering, then it will come to us. Who has some special quality of hankering - hankering for Madhura-rasa - he will get it. It is true. Only hankering after that lila can give us a little chance.

 

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