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| Srila Prabhupada in Sweden during Gurumaharaj's years as temple president here. Gurumaharaj to the far left. |
June 22 2014, Spain
My dear devotees. I am very happy to share with you today's chat. First off, I want to offer my humble obeisances to my spiritual master, Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in whose place I am speaking here, because I know if he were here, we would all be listening. Srila Prabhupada planted many seeds of love in many places and it is a great joy for me to see every day how my spiritual master impacted the lives of so many people so deeply.
Sure, intervening in the lives of the people who came to him in that way was his normal nature. When someone asked him something, Srila Prabhupada would at once give that person all the love he had and showed that person that there was something very precious and supremely beautiful in life and that was the power of love. Surely the human being is blessed with this great power but saying this is not to say that only humans have this ability. This power is in the soul and the soul is present in every living creature, that means in animals too. They also have the ability to love. Thus, it is not a blessing just for human beings.
If we think that animals do not have such a blessing, then the more reason for man to love them because they have that capability. However, the current reality is different. The way you treat animals reveals how much love you have. If we realize that this is the reality of our life then it is time to cultivate our love, develop it and grow it. Feed your love.
How do you nurture love?
Even the muscles can grow if you want to. Your intellectual abilities. You can become an expert in any area of life. There are no limits. Even in the temporal you can go far. Imagine in no time. That is the transcendental. Your capacity for love has no limits. You can even include loving the temporal and non-temporal.
Often young devotees come to me with the desire to study a temporary science, often encouraged by their parents to have some financial security. They think I am against science or against studying. I am against the false values and the big business that is behind the so-called "education". Why am I going to send my child to a place where they repeatedly tell him that God does not exist, that life has no goal, life has no values, and we enjoy the world? Besides ignoring the wisdom, faith and transcendental sciences.
So Srila Prabhupada was adamant in saying: College is a slaughter house of the soul. And he even said that in a college where he was invited to give a conference. He was not afraid to say so. But what alternative do we have today in that situation? We are trying to establish a college of ancient wisdom to learn the true sciences. The science of Ayurvedic medicine, the science of conscious nutrition, the science of pedagogy with values, the science of how to develop our ability to love, the science of how to become a spiritual leader.
Who says that the east has no science or that the ancestral knowledge of the past is not scientific knowledge? Whoever said that the east has no scientists? Whoever said that the past did not have enough scientific knowledge and isn't applicable to today? Who says that it is no longer valid? It was definitely scientific. We are witnessing the amazing legacy that has been left to modern man such as buildings, art, etc.
There are even things that modern man with his science does not know how to repeat or explain. I myself was inspired by mercy to be an instrument of a deep study on the power of faith. This came to me and in my service of wanting to spread what I learned from my spiritual master I found that people suffer from lack of faith. People who have strong faith can confront the difficulties of life better. You can develop your faith, you can feed your faith, you may become very strong in your faith and see the results yourself. That is science.
Even the muscles can grow if you want to. Your intellectual abilities. You can become an expert in any area of life. There are no limits. Even in the temporal you can go far. Imagine in no time. That is the transcendental. Your capacity for love has no limits. You can even include loving the temporal and non-temporal.
Often young devotees come to me with the desire to study a temporary science, often encouraged by their parents to have some financial security. They think I am against science or against studying. I am against the false values and the big business that is behind the so-called "education". Why am I going to send my child to a place where they repeatedly tell him that God does not exist, that life has no goal, life has no values, and we enjoy the world? Besides ignoring the wisdom, faith and transcendental sciences.
So Srila Prabhupada was adamant in saying: College is a slaughter house of the soul. And he even said that in a college where he was invited to give a conference. He was not afraid to say so. But what alternative do we have today in that situation? We are trying to establish a college of ancient wisdom to learn the true sciences. The science of Ayurvedic medicine, the science of conscious nutrition, the science of pedagogy with values, the science of how to develop our ability to love, the science of how to become a spiritual leader.
Who says that the east has no science or that the ancestral knowledge of the past is not scientific knowledge? Whoever said that the east has no scientists? Whoever said that the past did not have enough scientific knowledge and isn't applicable to today? Who says that it is no longer valid? It was definitely scientific. We are witnessing the amazing legacy that has been left to modern man such as buildings, art, etc.
There are even things that modern man with his science does not know how to repeat or explain. I myself was inspired by mercy to be an instrument of a deep study on the power of faith. This came to me and in my service of wanting to spread what I learned from my spiritual master I found that people suffer from lack of faith. People who have strong faith can confront the difficulties of life better. You can develop your faith, you can feed your faith, you may become very strong in your faith and see the results yourself. That is science.
In the same way: your health is primarily a result of what you eat. If you eat poorly you become sick. That is science. So we have the science of vegetarianism as the science of healthy eating but universities do not teach that at. Most colleges teach eating meat, and then from there one can began to distrust such institutions because what science could they possibly have if they do not practice something as basic as vegetarianism?
Well yes, vegetarianism is a basic science. It is the first course. Srila Prabhupada mainly teaches all of us about this from the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. I ask the devotee to make okis whenever Srila Prabhupada talks about it. You will be surprised how many times Srila Prabhupada emphasizes that science. And from there one can start to develop the ability to love. Start loving your younger siblings.
Many people talk about love but when it comes to eating then they run. And with children there is much talk about the traumatic experiences of children but there is no investigation into the trauma of eating our brothers from a very young age. For many it is a trauma to realize that we have to feed off of our brothers. No child wants to see a calf put into pieces and then eat it. Therefore in terms of scientific observation it appears as though scientist fail to observe that. And if they do observe it then they are disinterested in watching it because it can bring down their business or affect their contract with the meat industry. All science works for trade.
So we need to be concerned scientists. But it is difficult to graduate as a conscientious scientist in an unaware University. There is much useful and practical knowledge. For example the science of agriculture, science or technology to serve the welfare of the community; for example the science of compost, composting toilets, the science of recycling, the science of water protection, etc.
There are many sciences that can also help today. For example, I have a group of conscious lawyers in Colombia who are fighting to defend the rights of nature. We want governments to include in their constitutions the rights of nature, including animal rights. There are many proposals but I saw one where clearly the life of an animal is respected. In many places there is some implementation of animal rights, if you mistreat a dog, a cat. That's quite an achievement but there is still plenty to be done. Bu what is exactly missing for that to happen? Love. The goals are achieved in proportion to the amount of love you put to achieve them. Srila Prabhupada set a goal: To establish Krishna Consciousness in the West, and he did. A senior man, materially speaking, an elderly man coming out for the first time from his country to a distant place. But with a giant-sized love for us. And a love to please his Guru.
His Guru was no longer physically present on this planet but nonetheless he remained in Srila Prabhupada's heart. That's a great example of developing love, levels of love far beyond comprehension, give evidence to and prove nowadays. We are invited to experience this love. And I also was struck by the love of my spiritual master, and I can not help but tell you all who come to me because of Srila Prabhupada's love.
So, I ask you to please speak about love of Krishna, to speak about Srila Prabhupada's love, educate your brothers in the science of love and be faithful to your convictions in your practice and in preaching. Acar and Pracar, practice and preach. In our life we have acar, behavior, and pracar is preaching, or what we communicate to others. We must be excellent in both. But principally in acar. We must be pure and transparent in our actions.
Love for your spiritual practice, love for japa, love for morning meditation, love of Srimad Bhagavatam, awakening love and appreciating each of your brothers who are with you. For those living in a temple that is a great blessing to see so many devotees and mothers every day. Likewise it is a blessing for grhastas to wake up and see their spouse and kids. It is an ashram similar to the ashram temple. Your husband or wife is your spiritual brother/sister. And a lot of problems arise when you forget your spouse is foremost a child of your spiritual master, which he gave you and only you to personally care for. You are not just receiving a love from the person accompanying you, but you receive Guru's love in the form of a great gift that your Guru gave you, out of trust, to care for your spouse. One naturally loves everything that Guru has given. Everything that one gets from Gurudeva is prasadam, mercy. Then your husband, or your wife, is Gurudeva's mercy.
This understanding is true love and so the practitioners will not have problems in their relationships. This spiritual love between brothers is real and is learned in the field of devotional service. Therefore it is important to train in a temple. Some say, why should we live in the temple? I can live in my house and practice Bhakti yoga there. The answer is: Where are you trained to love your brothers, to study and practice bhakti in a community, to sing and worship the deity? There we learn to love the deity and we see the manifestation of another's love. And you fall in love more and more with His devotees and in turn it inspires your love. So our life is filled with more and more love. And that love will then transmit to your children if that is your practice.
A sannyasi sees devotees as a father sees his children. The renunciate renounces a personal family to give his love to everyone and then see everyone as his children. Someone in the renounced life inspires others with their love for Krishna, and for a grhasta it is a blessing to be able to associate with a renounced devotee who can nourish your love even more. Love is an ingredient that unites us all and unites us with God. So do not hesitate to enroll in the college of love to learn the science of love and be an expert in loving everyone. An expert like Srila Prabhupada.
Seeing Srila Prabhupada, one fell in love at first sight, as he walked, as he spoke, as he worked, and ate, etc. Every detail of Srila Prabhupada you fell in love with. And you still can fall in love with every meaning of the Srimad Bhagavatam because Srila Prabhupada is still alive there, and he is present through the devotees who serve him, he has never left. He is always with us, love is the force. And that's what we want, for our children and future devotees to investigate and learn. Learn something current and enlivening, not a dead science. The masters of the past live through the sound of their words and are present in devotees today. The masters of the past are with us all the time, their desire to flood the world with love is still there, still alive, and it is what we see in the present. They have not left, nor have they abandoned their ideals. On the contrary, they are guiding the devotees in helping them to realize their projects.
So we always ask for the blessings of the acaryas. That's why we worship them at the altar. Therefore it is very important that they are on the altar. And it is important for parents to teach their children the contribution of each acarya. The true heroes. Therefore it is very important that heroes are well identified in the life of a child. Children must identify them on the altar because that is where the acaryas are worshiped.
With these words I leave the chat today glorifying our great hero: Srila Prabhupada and all acaryas who teach the science of love
Srila Prabhupada ki jay!
Your always well wisher,
Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti
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