Technology - Blessing or Curse?

Technology - Blessing or Curse?



“Technology … the knack of so arranging the world that we don’t have to experience it.” – Max Frisch, Homo Faber



We live in the age of technology. We commute by automobiles and airplanes and communicate by emails and mobiles. The media and the Internet provide us the latest information from all over the world. Movies filled with hi-tech special effects entertain us. Air conditioners and room heaters keep our life comfortable despite climatic inconveniences….The list goes on. Technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives. Of course, a few of us may have concerns about the pollution and environmental problems that technology has led to. But overall most people feel that technology has benefited us immensely.



But, as per the above quote, that precisely is the expertise of technology – to not let us experience the reality of the world. Therefore let us go deeper to analyze the effects of technology on our society:



Technology harms more than it benefits

How many people can afford a car? Not everyone. But how many people have to breathe the poisonous exhaust of the car? Everyone.

How many people enjoy consumer products? A few. But when the industries manufacturing these products release toxic effluents into the rivers, how many people suffer? Everyone.

How many people have benefited from fertilizers, insecticides, terminator seeds, and other artificial techniques for increasing agricultural production? Some people for a generation or two. But how many people are troubled by the soil infertility and the resulting ever-increasing prices of essential food grains? Everyone for many generations to come.

Who benefit from cell phones? The vendors and the users. But who are exposed to the harmful electromagnetic waves that fill the atmosphere? Everyone.

Whom does nuclear technology help? Mainly a few power-hungry politicians. But whom does it endanger? Everyone.

Who are benefiting from extensive technological advancement? A few developed countries. But who will suffer from the global warming they have caused in the process? All the coastal countries of world.

Technology offers luxuries to a few, but strips millions of their necessities in the process. In other words, technology heals in retail and kills in wholesale.



Technology creates a worldview which makes its misuse natural



Often the proponents of technology argue that the misuse of technology is to be condemned, not technology itself. They liken technology to a knife; in the hand of a murderer it kills, but in the hand of a surgeon, it cures. Similarly, the argument goes, technology cannot be blamed if mavericks threaten to, say, misuse nuclear weapons.



The analogy is good, but does it apply to technology? Technology does not just create machines. It also creates the worldviews of the users of those machines. In a technology-centered world, multitudes of gadgets promise control and enjoyment. Consequently people develop, consciously or unconsciously, a worldview that everything is meant for their enjoyment if they can just get the means. Technological education, being secular, teaches them nothing about any higher spiritual purpose of life. Having no knowledge or opportunity for finding inner fulfillment, people consider material enjoyment to be the only goal of life. Further the media, using the most sophisticated technology, fills their minds with lust for enjoyment and greed for possessions. In a world of limited resources and unlimited desires, frustration of lust and greed is inevitable. This frustration soon erupts as anger. And whey people are given no knowledge of karmic justice, what is going to stop them – impelled as they are by lust, greed and anger - from misusing technology, their most powerful resource, while pursuing pleasure?

Once I saw a jazzy billboard announcing an upcoming beauty pageant. Below the lewd pictures read a note: “The proceeds from this contest will be used to treat AIDS patients”. I couldn’t resist commenting to my friend, “I don’t know whether any people will be cured of AIDS by this, but I know for sure that many people will get AIDS due to this.”

In many reputed educational institutes, students are provided with high-speed broadband Internet connections to facilitate their research work. But what is the main search object for most students? Pornography.

Do we ever see ads promoting rice, vegetables and other essential food items that nourish our bodies? Rarely. But how often do we see ads that seduce us to smoke and drink and destroy our bodies? Everywhere all the time.

What is the main purpose for which almost all the countries use technology? Defense. Not supply of food or other basic necessities.

Where does most of the funding for technological research globally come from? Either the defense industry or the consumer industry. Both of these cater, not to the basic necessities of life of everyone, but to the lust, greed and anger of the powerful and the wealthy.



These few examples indicate a general pattern: technology is used far more for the selfish pleasures of some than for the selfless good of all. Going back to the knife analogy, imagine giving a knife to a person who we know is blind and mad. What is he going to do with it other than misuse it to harm himself and others? As discussed above, the technological worldview makes people spiritually blind and materially mad. When such people – whether they be scheming politicians, cunning businessmen or misled masses - are given technology, what will they do other than misuse it for gradual or sudden MAD (mutually assured destruction)?



Technology creates, not progress, but an illusion of progress

In the past people would leave the doors of their homes open and still be fearless. Now we moderns lock, bolt, chain and buzzer-alarm their doors and are still fearful. Is this progress?

Most moderns are proud of their posh houses, fast cars, smooth roads and skyscraper offices, but they can’t even sleep without a pill. Can a society be considered progressed if it makes its people struggle to get the simple and essential pleasure of sleeping, a pleasure that the “primitive” villager gets effortlessly?

The technological worldview being materialistic gives rise to selfishness, competition and exploitation. Most moderns, despite the show of romantic love, can’t trust their own spouses - what then to speak of parents and children or bosses and colleagues. Do alienated, suspicious people comprise a progressive society?

In the past, the main occupation for most people was farming. People would work around eight hours daily about four months a year during the sowing and harvesting seasons. That would provide them enough for the whole year. Then came the industrial revolution and we “progressed” from fields to factories. And people had to work for eight hours throughout the year. As we now enter the information age, people have to work almost twelve hours a day throughout the year. To have to work more and more for the same basic necessities of life – is this progress?

In fact, we proud moderns go through far more anxieties - job insecurity, stock market crashes, political instability, scandals, crimes, to name a few - to get our necessities than our ancestors. And despite the entire struggle, what we get is substandard – no fresh food, clean water or pure air! To go through greater anxiety to get life’s necessities of a poorer quality - is this progress?

Industrialization – an outgrowth of technological advancement - has led to factories replacing fields as the main workplace and machines replacing humans at the workplace. Result? Factories mostly provide hazardous, unhygienic or monotonous jobs that make humans slaves to machines. Even the office jobs being sedentary cause health problems. And mechanized factories can never offer as much employment as the farms did in the past. So a large number of people have to suffer or fear unemployment. For subsistence some of the unemployed turn to begging and others to crime. And overall the modernized industrial environment is so agitating to the mind that self-destructive addictions become the only solace for most people. Are these – unemployment, hazardous or unhealthy employment, criminality and addictions - indicators of progress?

Technology provides comforts, but the high-speed technology-centered lifestyle takes away the peace of mind necessary to enjoy the comforts. A software engineer has an AC in his office, but still he sweats - not due to heat, but due to tension. Thus technology makes us comfortably miserable.

Medical technology may have eradicated a few diseases and may offer cures to some more. But far more people need medical attention today than in the past due to unhealthy congested city living, sedentary lifestyles and polluted air, water and food. A greater number of hospitals is a sign, not so much of better health care as of worse health. Moreover many of the sophisticated medical treatments, unlike the traditional herbal cures, are prohibitively expensive.

Most moderns can hardly imagine life without television, movies and myriad other forms of hi-tech entertainment. And they pity the ancestors who did not have all this enjoyment. But people in the past knew how to find joy in the simple things of life - like sharing and caring in joint families, observing and learning from nature and hearing and chanting the names and glories of God. Consequently they did not find life boring. On the contrary it is we who have divorced ourselves from simple natural pleasures by our infatuation with technology. And so, despite our much-touted entertainment, we still find ourselves constantly bored. The entertainment industry may use sophisticated technology, but is the dependence on entertainment - and the serious inner emptiness that it symptomizes – a sign of progress?

Technology intoxicates us with the feeling of being the controller. Just by pressing a switch, we can cause huge machines to perform complex actions. Just by clicking a key, we can summon information from any part of the world. By constantly working with machines, we become habituated to controlling them – and expect everything and everyone to be similarly controlled. When people refuse to be controlled like machines, we end up with all sorts of relationship conflicts ranging from cold wars to marital ruptures, from quarrels to murders. And in life when things don’t go the way we want them to, we end up suffering from a wide range of mental problems, from depression to addiction, from stress to suicide.



Technology represents a tragic misuse of the human intelligence



Imagine a doctor who prescribes only a painkiller to a seriously sick patient. The patient is happy because he gets relief. The doctor is happy because he gets his fees. Happy end of story, isn’t it? The problem is - the story doesn’t end there. The patient’s pain is not cured, but covered. Soon it will recur and worsen.



All of us are like the seriously sick patient. From the moment of birth, we have a death sentence on our heads. Time forces us to helplessly grow old, get diseased and die. Along this doomed journey from birth to death, miseries from our own bodies and minds (e.g. fever, indigestion, stress, depression), miseries from other living beings (e.g. mosquitoes, competitors, superiors, relatives), and miseries from nature (e.g. extreme heat or cold, floods, earthquakes) periodically torment us.



The Vedic texts explain the root cause of our suffering. We are spiritual beings entrapped in material bodies. We belong, not to this temporary and miserable material world, but to an eternal and blissful spiritual realm, where we live forever in loving harmony with God. Due to our desire to enjoy independent of God, we are placed in this world, which is an arena for experimentation and rectification. Our advanced human intelligence is meant to recognize our terrible predicament here. For such intelligent humans, the Vedic texts offer a systematic spiritual path that enables them to re-harmonize with and return back to God.



In our modern times, this intelligence has been used, not to advance spiritually, but to develop technologically. Technology gratifies our senses, inflates our ego and makes us feel comfortable and proud. However, technology provides entertainment, not peace; comforts, not happiness; medicines, not health; cosmetics, not youth; life support systems, not immortality. Thus technology is like the painkiller that deadens us to the suffering of material existence. It creates an illusory sense of well-being, which makes us feel that a spiritual solution is unnecessary. Technology, by its false promises, deprives us of the opportunity to attain everlasting happiness and condemns us to stay on and suffer in this world of birth and death.



Srila Prabhupada succinctly states the superficial and futile nature of technological advancement, “The intelligence that is meant for solving your problems permanently is misused to convert a castor oil lamp into an electric lamp.” (paraphrased)



Make the best use of a bad bargain



“Do we have to give up technology and return back to village life?” That is not undesirable, but it may not be practical for most of us.



We don’t have to give up technology; but we do have to give up the illusion that technology can make us happy. As spiritual beings our happiness lies not in material acquisition, but in spiritual realization. When by spiritual knowledge and practice we find happiness in loving and serving God, we can use technology in His service, for spreading His message and mission.



Some of you may be feeling a sort of double standards in this article – it condemns technology, using technology. Srila Prabhupada would often give an example to clarify this:



Suppose a gang of thieves robs a bank and flees in a car at a speed of 80 mph on a road with a speed limit of 40 mph. What should the police van chasing the thieves do – stick to the speed limit and let the thieves escape or break the speed limit, go faster than the thieves, arrest them and retrieve the stolen wealth?



Similarly just like the thieves breaking the traffic rules, technological advancement is against the purpose of the material world. Yet when people’s spiritual knowledge is being stolen away by the propagation of godlessness and materialism through technology, what should the spiritual guardians of society – the devotees of God – do? They use the same technology to vigorously propagate God consciousness and spirituality. They thus try to save the innocent people from being misled into needless suffering in the name of technological progress.



In fact Srila Prabhupada envisioned an East-West synthesis of Indian wisdom and Western technology. He knew that this alone could usher in a new global era of harmony and happiness. He compared the coming together of Vedic spirituality and modern technology to the coming together of the proverbial blind man and the lame man. But for this synthesis to take place, the technologically advanced West has to recognize that it is lacking in spiritual vision. And the materially crippled India has to recognize its wealth of spiritual knowledge. If we acknowledge our respective endowments and deficiencies, we can become pioneers in bringing about an international spiritual revival, which is the only hope for our disastrously misled modern world. Are we ready?

 

ANGER = SELF POISON

Did you see that Zidane Head butt in world cup final. Only if he would have controlled his temper at that point in time he would have made sure that France would have won as it would not have lost any penalty shot, he being a specialist, and he would have become French God. Here is an article you all will like to read

ANGER = SELF POISON


England lost its place from the World Cup and one of the reasons is that they lost their star Wayne Rooney because the dynamic striker was red carded.

There is, they say, a scorpion found in South America which when angered, becomes so furious that it stings itself with its own poison and dies. This is a fitting climax to anger, because anger is, indeed SELF poison.

I was reading a column in one of the dailies and it is quoted that Wayne Rooney is guilty of losing his cool quite too often. The paper also quotes that he seems to be also attending counseling skills on anger management.

For time immemorial, from the times of the first recorded wisdom, we�ve all been advised to control our emotions.

How many of us are guilty of SELF poisoning ourselves with anger?

The ancient Greek philosopher, Pythagoras quotes, Anger begins in folly and ends in repentance.

Is this what the LTTE is doing by being apologetic about the assassination of our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi?

Modern psychology would add that, while anger often is openly and vehemently expressed, the repentance which follows usually repressed and festers in various forms of self-guilt and subconscious.

The back lash of our anger usually whips against our own feverish flesh and leaves scars which the future may never heal and which regret may never hide.

As John Webster said, There is not in nature a thing that makes a man so deformed, so beastly as does intemperate anger.

A little story to illustrate this point (Anonymous).

There was a young boy who lost his temper very often. One day he asked his father what should he do to control this.

The father went straight to the attic and brought with him a pound of nails and a hammer. He gave them to his son and told him, every time you feel like getting angry take a nail and go and hammer it on the gate.

The boy listened to his father and every time he would get angry he would go and hammer a nail into the gate. In a few days the gate was full of nails, but his anger still remained. He went back to his father once

again and told him that the gate has been filled with the nails he had hammered whenever he got angry. The father asked him begin removing the nails this time whenever he got angry.

The boy listened to his father once again and did so.

In a few days all the nails from the gate were removed, and the boys anger was gone. He ran to his father and told him about this good feeling he had inherited because of the exercise.

The father led the boy to the gate and expressed his happiness, however showed him the scars that were left by hammering the nail and then removing them out.

The father summed up, Every time we get angry on someone we leave as many scars.

Coming back, anger hurts the one who possesses it even more than the one on whom anger is directed. And this is nothing but SELF poison. But let us not overlook the certainty that our anger also hurts others. And, in hurting others, we might make them turn hostile and in turn aim their anger against us.

The psychological need to conquer is as false as it is ineffective. It is much safer to reconcile an enemy that to conquer. A reconciled enemy may not be an enemy any longer, but a conquered enemy remains an enemy still, and is all the more vindictive.

You can assign most of your duties to the others but only you can forgive your enemies.

So even if you can't love your enemies, do not hate them. Being adversaries, they exercise your initiative and develop your strength. Being provocateurs, they challenge your discipline to keep cool.

And by keeping cool, you keep control over others control over circumstances..

That is the condition worthy of your continuing efforts. It is the QUIET MIND.

Hope you will get to listen to this some time before it is too late, because an angry leader is a poor leader.

In his time Bjorn Borg was called ice berg but many do not know that when he was a kid he broke a racket after losing a match, and his mother promptly packed his tennis kit and told him to give up his tennis. It took a lot of pleading apology and coaxing that changed his mothers thinking on letting him continue with his tennis career, but not before the mother asked Borg to promise to her that he will never ever

lose his cool on and off the court. No wonder he became a legend. No wonder his clashes with John McEnroe were legendary too as they were temperamentally poles apart and more often than not Borg emerged victorious.


Do preserve yourself & others while evolving continuously...



AJ AY KUMAR DHIMAN


 

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Choosing To Forgive

Choosing To Forgive
By Mahatma das

Last year I forgave four devotees who were responsible for causing great
pain and frustration in my life. Actually I didn’t forgive them of my own
accord. I was asked to forgive them - for my own benefit. First I focused on the ways these people hurt me. Then I was asked to look at them in a
different light; to consider that they were just doing the best they could
in the particular situation they were in. Next, I was asked if I would be
willing to forgive them, not with the hope that they would ever change, but in order to free myself from the negative effects this resentment was having on me. I went along with it because I realized there was no point in holding onto the bad feelings I had for these devotees. Then something wonderful happened. The moment I let go of those feelings I actually felt cleansed,uplifted, energized.

Three of these people were former gurus who fell down and left Iskcon. I had dedicated tremendous amounts of my youthful blood, sweat and tears building up temples they reigned over. When they left, those temples were severely
affected. On three different occasions in three different temples I stood by
and watched my hard work crumble because one person did not have the self
control, dignity, perseverance, and humility- the very qualities they
demanded of others - to save themselves and remain faithful to their vows
and service to Srila Prabhupada.

And there was one other devotee I forgave who did not fall down. He is a
wonderful devotee, highly respected, very dear to Srila Prabhupada, sincere,and very Krsna conscious. But unknown to him he made my life difficult at times by undermining my management, albeit not maliciously, in a way that created some serious problems in the temple I was managing. Sometimes these problems even resulted in devotees turning against one another and turning against me. Was it difficult for me? Was I frustrated? Was I miserable?

That’s putting it mildly. All these experiences took their toll on me. As a
result I decided I would never again manage another temple.

I had built up enough resentment inside of me that I had become reluctant to give myself fully to Iskcon any longer. I started to lack the enthusiasm I used to have. I was more cautious. I was becoming more concerned about my well being than Iskcon’s. I moved more to the sidelines. I was being held back by a lot of pain, hurt, frustration and anger. I was afraid to step too far forward again. I had enough.

Yet when I forgave those devotees my enthusiasm came back. I immediately realized that I allowed the hurt to control me. I allowed the behavior of these devotees to hold me down. I allowed these past experiences to determine my future. I had played the victim and not taken responsibility for my own situation.

As my enthusiasm increased, it became more obvious to me that many devotees are still in the same position I was in i.e. blaming Iskcon, blaming leaders, holding grudges. Or they have been hurt or betrayed by a another devotee and can’t get over it. I used my resentment to justify why I was not as Krsna consciousness as I could be. Yet deep down I knew that at the time of death if I had to convince the Yamadutas that the reason I am not Krsna conscious is that so and so Swami fell down or that Iskcon mistreated me, the Yamadutas were not going to buy it. Certainly they weren’t going to say something like, “Oh, I am so sorry to hear that Mahatma, you poor thing. We totally understand what you went through and we have decided to give you a break.” But rather they would say something like, “Who cares. Now come with us, your next body is waiting.”

The sastras are full of stories of forgiveness: Ambarisa forgiving Durvasa,
Parikshit forgiving Sringi, Narada Muni forgiving Daksa, Prahlada forgiving Hiranyakasipu, Haridas Thakura forgiving the guards who beat him, Nityananada forgiving Jagai and Madhai, Parasarama forgiving those who stole his family’s kamadhenu cow. Srila Prabhupada forgave anyone who came to him to serve Krsna. And of course Krsna forgives all of us no matter how sinful or blasphemous we were.

Sastra implores us to forgive. The Srimad Bhagavatam lists forgiveness as one of the qualities of civilized human beings. And Srila Prabhupada asks us to be forgiving so we can cooperate to spread the movement. Yet despite the examples of devotees demonstrating incredible acts of forgiveness, despite the sastra telling us to accept suffering as a token reaction of our karma, despite Prabhupada’s plea for us to forgive, and despite the cleansing it can do to our hearts, forgiving is difficult for many of us. Devotees often say, “I was so deeply hurt that I just don’t know how I can forgive.”

My realization now is that saying “I can’t forgive” ultimately means “I am
choosing to not forgive.” That sounds harsh or heavy, but the reality is
that ordinary people have forgiven others for the worst offences and abuses imaginable.

We need motivation to forgive. Sometimes the only thing that will motivate us to forgive is a self centered attitude- to do it to relieve our own suffering. This is what I did. Yet this propelled my devotional service. It got me out of the “I can’t” mode. The technique was not transcendental, but the results were.

So even if you don’t really want to forgive others, you just have to want to
let go of the resentment, the hurt, the pain from your heart. If you are
willing to do this, Krsna will help you move to forgiveness without any
further effort.

But our ego is fighting this battle. It is saying that you should stay
offended and hurt and you should continue to fight. The ego wants to be
right. But the reality is that we are only hurting ourselves. Holding onto
resentment never makes anyone happy. Remaining offended is a weed in the heart, and it keeps us bitter about something or someone. But a devotee is not bitter; a devotee is joyful.

One lady described unforgiveness like going into labor but not letting the
baby come out.

It can help to write a letter of forgiveness. The letter need not be sent,
neither should we ever expect that person to change or should we necessarily desire a better relationship with that person – or any relationship at all.

The letter is simply written to cleanse our hearts. Or we may have a friend play the person we wish to forgive and tell them how they hurt us and then tell them that we forgive them. For our own sanity we need to do something to release the resentment.

As I mentioned, I was helped to learn that that the person who hurt me was just trying his best. One devotee relates that her daughter was so seriously hurt that it not only impacted her daughter’s life, but her life as well. When she found it impossible to forgive the person who offended her daughter, her husband asked her to consider how she would have acted had she been in the same situation as the offender. As she considered this she realized it was possible that she might have reacted the same way. And this enabled her to forgive. Understanding the situation a person was in when they made the offense or committed the abuse, as well understanding what that person has gone through in life that may have contributed to their actions, can reduce or release the resentment. “Hate the sin, not the sinner.” Or if you are up to it, “Hate the sin and love the sinner.”

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had a transcendental method to
release resentment. Whenever a disciple would come to him to complain about another devotee, he would say, “Does that devotee have any good qualities?”

When the disciple would point out their good qualities, he would say, “So
focus on those qualities.” This is an amazingly powerful tool because
resentment will not reside in a heart where there appreciation. This is
because what we focus on expands. When we focus on the good, the good
expands in our minds, and this purifies our heart. When we focus on the
resentment, it just gets worse. If we can bring ourselves to see the good in
those who hurt us – and certainly there must be some good in them – this acts miraculously to dissipate resentment.

Although hard to appreciate, especially when going through difficulty, Srila Prabhupada says that either benefit or loss is God sent and thus it is God’s grace. If we see things this way and try to learn from every experience, we can gain much even from the most painful experiences. A devotee counselor related the story of one of her clients. “I was able to forgive my attacker because if it hadn’t been for him I would have been on a collision course to hell. He gave me a giant wake up call. This experience really opened my eyes. I could see that this man was truly desperate and sad. I began to have compassion for him; not for what he did to me, but for him, the person. I pray that he can get the help now.”

This is amazing. Who would have thought that a person could become more compassionate after being attacked? Somehow she learned so much from this experience. I have spoken to many others who have had similar experiences. Normally, at first they only saw the negative side and they remained hurt and angry. But after some time many were able to see things in a different light and either take some responsibility for what happened or see something good in what happened.

In relationships we often get instant karma (reactions) for something we do or say. When I was in charge of one temple, there were two devotees that lived there that couldn’t stand me. I thought they had their own issues to deal with (this is what everyone said about them) and it really had nothing to do with me. After all, other devotees didn’t hate me. So I built up a lot of resentment towards them because they were making things difficult for me.

Twelve years later I was asked to take responsibility for their feelings
towards me and look at what I might have done to make them feel the way they did. Rather than blame them for their actions, as I had been doing, I decided to take responsibility. Doing this helped me realize that I said many things to them that naturally caused them to resent me. I could then see that if someone treated me the way I treated them, I would hate them as well. Once I understood this, twelve years of resentment for them immediately vanished.

How often are we ready to blame others and hold ill feelings towards them when they are only reacting to things we said or did to them? As it is said, “Communication is the result you get.”

Had I not taken responsibility for my actions, I believe I would have
carried my resentment towards those two devotees to my death bed. They were never going to apologize to me. Why should they when they were the ones who were offended? Yet twelve years later I was still hoping I would receive an apology. Why was I so anxious for an apology? It was because the resentment I had towards them was poison in my heart and I desperately wanted to rid myself of it. Unfortunately, I thought the only way this was going to happen was for them to apologize. And twelve years later I was still waiting for that apology. What a fool I was. I had thought that I could not forgive them without getting an apology from them. So for twelve years they were holding my ability to forgive them in their hands. So if you are waiting for someone to apologize before you can forgive, you don’t have to. But if you plan to wait, you will most likely be carrying your resentment for them to your grave.

But what if an actual offence is made against us. We see in the example of
Ambarisa Maharaja that he did not take offence when Durvasa Muni mistreated him. Durvasa was told by Lord Visnu that he committed an offence against Ambarisa Maharaja and would have to ask his forgiveness to be relieved.

Ambarisa Maharaja forgave him although he considered that he actually
offended Durvasa. He forgave Durvasa for Durvasa’s benefit. Without
forgiving him, Durvasa would have been killed by the sudarsana chakra. This shows how a devotee does not want to see the offenders suffer for their offences.

Forgiveness reaches it’s highest level when we wish to bless or help the
offender. Prahlada Maharaja not only forgave his father but prayed to the
Lord for his liberation. Haridas Thakura prayed for the guards that were
trying to kill him. Nityananda Prabhu desperately wanted to save Jagai and Madhai, even after they tried to kill him. If we give mercy, we get mercy. The great souls never stop giving mercy.

Don’t think that great acts of forgiveness are only reserved for the great
souls. We can perform them as well. Here’s a wonderful story. Once a girl
got so angry at a boy who was making passes at her that she ended up
stabbing him to death. As a result, the girl went into a state of deep
depression and remorse. She needed help and the most unlikely person decided to dedicate her life to helping this girl – the mother of the boy she killed. Great acts of forgiveness cannot only be done by great souls;
average souls like you and me can do them as well. And this will make us
great souls.

Many of us have been mistreated and are now hurt. After being hurt we become angry. As that anger builds up (and we often don’t realize how much is there) it does more harm to us than the initial act that caused the
resentment. We have no control over whether or not the persons who offended us will ever change or apologize, and the odds are not in our favor. But we do have control over our choices. We can forgive them if we choose to. We are the ones who can remov e the pain from our own hearts.

When devotees tell me that so and so hurt me so deeply that I just can’t
forgive them, at least not completely, I say, “Okay, how about forgiving
them totally for one day, or one afternoon, or one hour or five minutes -
just to get some relief from the pain. Remember, no thought lives in your
mind rent free.

Sadhana means practice. We practice the activities and behavior of pure
vaisnavas. Practice means we do things which we may not feel like doing, and by doing them we develop an attraction for them. Once Prabhupada said that if we don’t feel like dancing we should dance anyway. Then we will feel like dancing. Similarly, we need to practice forgiveness, even if we don’t feel like it. As we practice forgiveness, it becomes easier to forgive and enables us to forgive on a higher level, perhaps even coming to the point that we can bless or help the offenders.

I encourage you to honestly examine the resentment you may still be
harboring in your heart. Who has hurt you that you have not forgiven and how is that playing out in your life (when devotees feel hurt by Iskcon it boils down to being hurt by someone). Or maybe you don’t feel resentment for anyone, but there is one thing that someone did that you just can’t forgive?

Ask yourself, “What is it about me that won’t allow me to forgive?” And then ask, “Could I somehow or other let it go?” If Nityananda Prabhu, Prahlada Maharaja, and Thakur Haridas could forgive those who attempted to take their lives, can you not forgive those who hurt you? This is what Prabhupada asks of all of us. It is a liberating and purifying experience and will unleash increased enthusiasm for devotional service.

Or do you wish to hold onto your resentment and carry it with you, say
another five years, when you think you might be ready to forgive? How will it feel to carry that in your heart for another five years? How will it help you? And what if in ten years you are unable to forgive? Is this something you really want to carry with you that long? What about carrying it for another twenty years? How will holding on to the hurt that long affect your life?

Are you ready to practice forgiving those who have hurt you? Are you ready to follow in the footsteps of the pure devotees and forgive right now, to simply let it go, to just chant and be happy? Ask yourself, “Would I be willing to let go of my resentment for so and so? Could I do it? Would I be willing to do it right now?

It’s important that you understand that letting go doesn’t mean you are
making a wrong a right. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you are letting a
criminal off the hook. It means you are letting yourself off the hook.

If you are not willing to let it go now, ask yourself these same questions
tomorrow, next week, next month - until you can let it go. You are not the
hurt or resentment. These are your feelings and you are different from your feelings. You are not the body. You are not your feelings. Because you are not your feelings, you can drop them. You can renounce them. You can become detached from them. You can control them.

So let me ask you again, Would you be willing to let them go right now?
Would you do it for your self? Would you do it for your own spiritual life?
Would you do it for the benefit of Iskcon? Would you do it for Prabhupada? Would you do it for Krsna?

If you say “I can’t,” what do you think it is about you that will not allow
you to forgive? And how does that play out in your other relationships. And does that play out even play out your relationship with guru and Krsna?


*********************************************************************************

nice article with many good motivational points and tools to consider.

It might be possible to forgive things which have happened to us in the
past, but once burned twice shy. In the future each of us will learn not to
be so open with each other, so naive, and we will keep our distance from
each other, so we don’t get hurt again. We learn to build walls to protect
ourselves in all relationships.

For me, my experience was always as a foot-soldier in the army of ISKCON, with a big mouth. Whoever was in charge was always, in my eyes, public enemy #1, and I always made sure they knew it. We have to remember the saying though “a happy crew is a complaining crew, but as soon as there is silence mutiny is coming”. It’s good to tolerate dissent within our ranks and not snuff it out. Unless we know what people are unhappy about and address those issues, history often has a tendency to repeat itself, making the same issues come up again, until a resolution is found.

I was married within ISKCON, went out into the work force, and eventually started my own small business, which I have managed for 29 years. Everyday, rain or shine, thick or thin, I have to show up and produce. I am always totally responsible for my own success and failure, which makes me very God-fearing. I can be snuffed out at any time, which makes me dependent on the protection of Lord Krishna. At the same time I have to work very hard to succeed, with no promises or guarantees of success. I also know Lord Krishna can do with me as He likes, because He is neutral to all of us, and doesn’t favor one party over another.

Now I am in the position of managing foot-soldiers who disrespect my
command, disregard and disobey my instructions, and who treat me at public enemy #1, so I deeply empathize with the leaders of our society, forgiving them, and understanding the difficulties which they must face each day. For them it must be a low-paid, thankless task to be in charge of our society, especially during these trying times, and more a labor of love.

There is a major push at this time, by the youth of our movement, to change and shake-up the establishment, not unlike how we ourselves were in our youth. My question to each of them is: do you really know what you are getting yourselves into? Will you do a better job, while at the same time, not compromise our principles?

I have had many devotees rip me off in the past. I hated them and cursed
them for it, but in the ultimate issue I had to forgive them all, because
Lord Krishna has given me plenty and has taken care of me. If I demand that they pay me back, I might have to take another birth for that to happen, which is another great reason to forgive.

Hare Krishna,
Suresh das

HH Radhanath Maharaja’s Sunday Feast lecture given on June 4, 2006, at the ISKCON temple of Washington DC,

[What follows is the transcript of HH Radhanath Maharaja’s Sunday Feast lecture given on June 4, 2006, at the ISKCON temple of Washington DC, located in Potomac, Maryland. The transcript is not entirely verbatim]



HH Radhanath Maharaja:

Hare Krsna. I am very grateful to have this chance to be with all of you in this auspicious temple of Sri Radha Madan Mohan. Srila Prabhupada personally named these deities?
Anuttama: Krsna first came and Radha came later. . . . [unclear]
Maharaja: Radha Madan Mohan, haribol. Madan is the name of Kamadeva or in Western terminology, Cupid. His arrows are exceedingly sharp and when they pierce the heart they make people mad for personal enjoyment. But Krsna is Madan-mohan which means that his beauty and charm, his love, is so spiritually sweet that even Cupid is bewildered.
There is a place in Vrindavan on the parikrama marg known as Madan Tila. There Kamadeva, it is said, wanted to attract Krsna. So he stood close to a tree and drew his bow with his most formidable arrow to pierce the heart of Krsna. But as he saw the beautiful form of the Lord, Madan Mohan, he fainted in ecstasy. Therefore Krsna is Madan Mohan.
Because everyone is looking for pleasure, anandamayo ‘bhyasat, it is the constitutional nature of every soul to want to be happy. The insignificant insects are looking for pleasure; the greatest conquerors of the world and the universe are doing so many things in the pursuit of happiness. It is the inseparable condition of every living being that he is thirsty for pleasure and fearful of what may interrupt that pursuit. That is why people have such fear of disease, death, poverty, loss of family members, as it interrupts our pleasure in life. We seek pleasure—if there is life, there is the search for pleasure.
The origin of our nature, the nature of the soul is as a part of God longing for the pleasure of receiving his love. Krsna is the supreme object of everyone’s love. The Absolute Truth or God has many aspects which he reveals according to time, place, and circumstance. He may appear as a stern father who showers fire and brimstone on sinful people, or he may appear in various incarnations to attract particular people. He is the supreme judge that takes note of our every thought, word, and deed: past, present, and future. But according to Srimad-Bhagavatam, the deeper and more elevated understanding of the Lord is that he is all-attractive, or Krsna, the supreme source of all beauty, knowledge, strength, wealth, fame, renunciation and the proprietor of all that exists. Krsna tells in Gita that whatever you consider opulent in this world is but a spark of my splendor.
We see to what extent people strive for, even cheat, for wealth, power, money, and fame. It is common universally that in the greed for wealth and power brothers become worst enemies, sons kill their own fathers or put them in prison. What is this driving force, the force of seeking pleasure through sexual relations, how it has infatuated like a burning fever human society. But Krsna tells whatever beautiful things you see in this world is an insignificant reflection of my beauty. He is the complete whole so as we hear and chant about him we became attracted by him directly. So Krsna consciousness is so natural. Srila Prabhupada explained that Krsna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind; it is the original, natural nature of every one of us to be ecstatic in love with God. When Srila Prabhupada came to this country he told I haven’t come to teach you something new but to remind you of what you have forgotten: that we are etertnal servants of Lord. This service is offered with love. (?)
bhaktya tvananyaya sakhya aham eva vidho ‘rjuna
Krsna tells in Gita that it is only by undivided devotional service that I can be understood as I am.
Krsna is bhakta-vatsala, the property or friend of one who offers him service with love. Lord Caitanya, when he was speaking to Thakur Haridas—who was a simple man of an outcaste family but had deep attachment to the holy name and sharing love of God with others; he was not a wealthy man materially, he was living in a cave and for some time his room-mate was a snake. Hare Krsna. Yet he had such a wealth of love that Lord Caitanya proclaimed, “I am eternally a prisoner in the heart of Haridas Thakur.”
The most esoteric and beautiful aspect of the Supreme Lord is that he controls all but accepts being controlled by the love of his devotee. He is completely independent and can do anything and everything at any time and anywhere. How many of you would like to have such power? He is acyuta, infallible.
It’s so hard to renovate our house or our temple—it can take years—but Krsna creates all the unlimited universes and all within in the universe instantly, just by his will. All it requires is that within his heart he may silently think, “Let there be creation”, and the whole thing is manifested. And then, as Mahavisnu, “Let there be destruction”, and he inhales and all is gone. That is the power of God, he is svarat, completely independent.
Here in the US, as we were speaking last night about the revolutionary war, the colonists wanted independence from the British and wrote the declaration of independence. This disturbed the King of Britain very much and he sent an army over. It was a bloody battle, so many died just to get a little independence. And really what was the independence? On the 200th anniversary of the United States’ independence, Srila Prabhupada said we want to declare our dependence on God. What is the use of this independence? Real independence is to not have to suffer the powers that force us to get old, diseased, and die. Hare Krsna.
George Washington, Sriman George Washington [laughter], was a good general and person, we know the story of the apple tree and him admitting to the father, “I did it”; he was very honest at least in that instance. We are here in Washington DC over two centuries later and thousands are going to the George Washington Monument. He conquered the British, but death conquered him. Similarly the Jefferson Monument—Thomas Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence, but he too got old and died. That is power of material nature, maya.
Krsna tells I am the controller of material nature. Everyone is under the control of God because he is all-powerful. Our free will is essentially whether we want to be under his material or spiritual energy:
nityo nityananam cetanas cetananam
There are many, many individual souls and there is one supreme soul. All are under the subordination of the one supreme soul. We could either be subject to his material energy consisting of the three modes of material nature, goodness, passion, and ignorance which create an atmosphere of change. The soul is not temporary; the soul is eternal, so he will never be happy like that. Or we can be under his spiritual energy and enter into his pastimes of love. When we awaken that dormant love within our heart, what happens is something so inconceivable. Krsna tells us that he, the all-powerful independent Supreme Lord, becomes a prisoner in the heart of a devotee who loves him.
Now to be physically strong, how long will it last? Wealth is all gone at death if not before. Mystic powers and miracles, so what? To attain liberation from suffering, for a devotee that’s worse than hell unless we have an opportunity to serve the Lord. But bhakti, devotional service, is the crest jewel of all goals as it is so powerful that in reciprocation it attracts Krsna’s heart in a stream of endless love and conquers him.
Should I tell one story in this regard? I won’t speak too long. I am sorry we were late. There are two reasons for this. One is that we left late and two is that we also had a flat tire on the way. Hare Krsna. Which of the two made us more late I will not discuss. [laughter]
Krsna appeared in this world in the Age of Kali as Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya is Krsna himself who took the role of a devotee to teach us how to be one, how wonderful it is being a devotee and pleasing God. And who knows better than God himself? Krsna spoke Bhagavad-gita and explained how to find real happiness. The science of self realization was so succinctly expounded in Bhagavad-gita, but how to practically follow that is difficult. So Krsna came in the role of a devotee to teach by his example.
And one of the things Lord Caitanya greatly emphasized is we should never strive to become God. No one should declare to be God. God is God. God is free, svarat, independent. He controls all yet by his will he is controlled by the love of his devotees. But God never comes under maya. So if anyone for even one second thinks he may be God, this is evidence he was never God and never will be. Hare Krsna. How many in this world may have come under the influence of maya? Nobody? [laughter] Prakasananda Sarasvati would be very happy. [laughter]
Lord Caitanya was so beautiful, so attractive in every way, so merciful. One time in Vrindavan when he was visiting, some learned brahmanas offered him the respect of being the Lord, Narayana. When Lord Caitanya heard this, he covered his ears and said, “Never call anyone Narayana!”
mamaivamsa jiva loke jiva bhuta sanatana
“We are all eternal servants, parts and parcels of the Lord. We are qualitatively one but quantitatively small. The Lord is very great”. He cited so many scriptures to prove, along with logic and philosophy, that the jiva is always subordinate to God.
These brahmanas agreed with this, but then they said “What you are saying is correct, but we can understand that although you are covered with this very, very beautiful golden complexion, underneath you are the beautiful bluish form of the son of Nanda Maharaja. You can take sandal or musk and wrap it in some layers, but you cannot hide the identity of that fragrant substance.”
In what was a very rare instance, Lord Caitanya manifested his opulence to them.
In Navadvipa, Lord Caitanya wanted to each everyone the simple process of love of God, sankirtana, simply by chanting, dancing, and feasting in the association of devotees, whoever you are, the goal is awaiting you.
dina hina jata chilo hariname uddharilo
tar saksi jagai madhai
And to teach the world how no one is disqualified, the power of nama-sankirtana is so unlimitedly merciful that even the most sinful of all sinners can achieve the ultimate goal if they take shelter.
Jagai and Madhai were murderers, rapists, drunkards, meat-eaters, robbers, liars. . . they didn’t do anything pious. Morality was a disgusting conception to them. Hare Krsna. Every day they had their quota of sinful murderous activities to cause others suffering. No one in this world today could compare to them, but by the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda they took shelter of the holy name and today, if you go to Katwa in West Bengal, there is the tomb of Madhai, and for the past four hundred years, the most pure saintly people go and offer respect and worship Madhai, who was the more sinful of the two. Such is the power of God’s grace. This was Lord Caitanya’s life in this world, tasting the sweet intoxication of his own names and inducing others to chant.
Once he came into the house of Srivas Thakur and manifested his opulence as God. For what purpose? To fulfill the desires of his devotees. For twenty-one continuous hours he manifested his all-attractive form as the Personality of Godhead. I will explain one section of this twenty-one hours of transcendental ecstasy.
[Child crying in the background] This child is crying for pleasure. If we could only chant with that intensity how wonderful life would be! [Deities closing] Sri Radha Madan Mohan ki jai!
Lord Caitanya is sitting on the throne of Lord Visnu and he called out, “Bring Sridhar! He is my devotee and always longs to seem me and I long to see him.”
The devotees asked, “Where is he? Who is he?”
“He lives on the outskirts of town. Go there, he chants all night; just listen and you will find him.” They went out in the darkness to find him.
Sridhar was such a simple man. He made his living by taking banana leaves and selling them. He would take the banana trunk or banana flowers and cut and sell the pieces. Sometimes he actually had bananas and would sell them, sitting on the side of the dusty road. He never had much, but whatever he got he would sell it. He was honest as Maharaja Yudhisthira. He was so honest that he was scheming how to make as little profit as possible and survive.
Tell me in the great land of America, the capital of capitalism, have you ever met a businessman like this who is scheming how to make as little profit as possible and survive? [laughter] No one ever bargained with him as the price was so low. And this was in India! [laughter] This is cultural disorientation; in India everything is bargained over.
I met one devotee some time back. He was with Srila Prabhupada in 1965 in New York City, in the Bowery. He met Prabhupada at a yoga studio and Prabhupada took him back to his little apartment and Prabhupada asked him if he wanted prasad. Prabhupada was going to cook for this boy. Prabhupada had only little money. So they went to the store together, and Prabhupada bought all the ingredients: rice, flour, vegetables. He took it to the counter and the lady keyed everything in to the register [Maharaja mimicks this], trring! “It will be 20.75 dollars. Remember this is in New York City. Srila Prabhupada said, “I will give you ten dollars”. [laughter]
So the lady said, “Sir, excuse me?”
“It’s not worth even eight dollars!”
“This is America, sir!”
Prabhupada was bargaining with her. That’s how life goes on in India!
So the lady was so charmed by his sincerity. She definitely didn’t want to take the food back from the Swami, so she reached into her purse, took out the balance cash and put it in the register. “Ok, Swamiji, you can go.”
But Kolaveca Sridhar quoted such a low price that his customers just accepted his price as final. With that little income, the first thing he did was he took half, the first half, and made offerings to the Ganga, knowing that the Ganga is the dear devotee of the Lord. The Ganga comes to deliver sins and awaken love of God if you approach her in proper consciousness. The servant of the servant is the highest aspiration for a true devotee. On the balance he and his family somehow survived, but very happily.
In earlier life, Lord Caitanya was Nimai the scholar. Nobody knew he was God. Daily he would go to Sridhar and ask the prices. Sridhar would say the price. “Shocking!”, Nimai would say. “You are cheating. I will give you half the price!” For Sridhar that meant starving. It was a significant loss. He was so poor from a material point of view that selling a banana for half price was a major loss. And then Lord Caitanya would take a whole bunch like that. “No, no! Give me the full price!” Lord Caitanya would not accept.
Then Sridhar would say, “Well, then go to some other shop, there are so many in Navadvipa!” Lord Caitanya said, “I will never go to anyone else as I know a good supplier when I find one.” [laughter] And usually what would happen is Lord Caitanya would take the produce and not give him anything at all! Daily Lord Caitanya argued with Kolaveca Sridhar for two hours! Hare Krsna. It was like his regulation to go and argue over the price with Sridhar for two hours. Why? He was the Supreme Lord, he had lots of more important things to do. But he was reciprocating with Sridhar’s love.
One time Lord Caitanya said to Sridhar, “Why do you worship Krsna, why are you always chanting his name, what has he done for you? Your house is a straw hut, there are holes in the roof and in the rainy season your whole house is flooded. And what kind of food do you eat? You are just skin and bones, how much are you eating? And you don’t have money for needle and thread, you just tie the holes in your clothes! And I can see twenty such holes in your clothes. And look at your neighbors, they have so much fine food and clothing and big houses. They are not worshipping Krsna, so why are you?”
Sridhar said, “I am happy. I don’t need anything, I have Krsna! I may not have the best clothes, but still I have clothes. And I have a house and I get enough to eat. In my years in this world I have seen there is a king with opulence and jewels, eating rich food and living in a palace, and I see common birds, their only clothes are feathers, their house is a nest. But time passes in the same way. I am happy with my life, chanting the names of Krsna.”
Then Lord Caitanya said something that really shook Sridhar in his heart:
“You are cheating everyone! You are a pretender! You are living such a duplicitous life. Everyone thinks you are so poor but you have an immense wealth that you hide from our eyes.” Sridhar was amazed. “Nimai, what are you saying? Go in my house and search!”
“No, you are hiding and cheating us, but someday I am going to reveal that treasure to the world and expose you, Sridhar!” And then he took all the bananas and left.” Hare Krsna. [laughter]
Sridhar was socially so unknown that except for his own family, no one even knew his name was Sridhar. In this world, everyone likes to have his name in lights. Everyone wants to have a good name, that his name should go down in history, people crave to have their name known in the world. But Sridhar, everyone who knew him in Navadvipa only knew him as Kolaveca, the banana-seller. “There’s the banana seller.” But Sridhar was happy.
na dhanam na janam na sundarim
Lord Caitanya taught this is what a devotee really is. Not just one who shaves or wears beads or a dhoti or sari or who has a particular type of tilaka. A devotee is a state of consciousness. And what is that? “I don’t want wealth or the pleasures of the opposite sex or fame and prestige. I don’t want liberation from suffering, my Lord. I just want to serve you birth after birth, unconditionally.”
The degree we have no motivation, to that degree we develop spiritually. The externals help focus us to that goal but the only value they have is to the extent they propel us to this most holy aspiration. All of the religions teach us that there may be different rituals and languages, practices, traditions, but all for the purpose to bring us to the point of loving devotional service. If it does not bring us to this goal, srama eva, Srimad Bhagavatam says it is all a waste of time.
This was the nature of Kolaveca Sridhar. So on this particular night, Lord Caitanya told his devotees to go find Sridhar. No one knew who or where he was. “He chants all night, listen and follow that sound.”
Kolaveca Sridhar, when he would chant all night, he would chant loudly. And as we have found in the Hare Krsna movement, the neighbors don’t always appreciate this. Especially at 4:30 in the morning. [laughter]
I remember in Bombay, in the temple, once this man came to me after mangala-arati one morning. “Why do you chant like this?” And we do soft kirtana in the morning, there is no amplification. But he said, “Why are you polluting the atmosphere with all this noise in the morning?” I was so happy as this was the exact words of blasphemy spoken to Lord Caitanya. I was very happy to hear this as this meant we are bona fide. [laughter] This man was sending us this compliment.
And Sridhar was screaming the Lord’s names at night. His neighbors were angry, “Why don’t you just shut up, Sridhar, we need sleep so we can go out and make money in the day. Why are you all night screaming? Oh, we know why he’s chanting—his belly is burning and that’s why he’s screaming in pain. He’s just a parasite!” And sometimes they would pick up a pumpkin or some vegetable and throw it at Sridhar. “Here, eat this and shut up!” But Sridhar didn’t care; he would go on chanting in happiness.
They followed the sound of the chanting and came to his little hut. “Sridhar, Lord Caitanya is calling for you!” As soon as he heard the name of Lord Caitanya, he fell unconscious. “Why is he calling me? There are so many important people!” He knew Lord Caitanya was God; this was years later. “Why me, insignificant me?”
But because he had that consciousness, the Lord was calling for him. If you’re thinking why is the Lord not calling me, you will not be called, but if when it comes, you were not expecting it, then that is the reason you were called. Mercy is not something that we deserve; it comes by the power of the kindness of the Lord. If we think we deserve it, we don’t.
trnadapi sunicena taror iva sahisnuna
Lord Caitanya told Sanatana Goswami, who was the worshiper of Madan Mohan in Vrindavan, humility alone purchases God. Without humility there is no real bhakti, and without bhakti the Lord is not concerned, he let’s you deal with your karma and material nature. Humility alone can purchase the Lord, it is an inseparable aspect of devotion. And Kolaveca Sridhar was the embodiment of such humility. He didn’t expect honor, prestige or recognition: “Let whatever happens come, I deserve worse, but I’m so grateful my Lord for your holy name.”
Recently we were discussing one devotee who passed away recently in Bombay.
This was in January. Our Madhvacarya helped this devotee in an amazing way. He was a very simple boy, kind of like Kolaveca Sridhar, really simple. He was from a village, not highly educated, he performed only menial services but he always wanted to please the devotees. If he could not please the devotees he felt bad, and if he could he felt good. He was a wonderful soul. His name was Stoka Krsna Prabhu. He got married in his early 30’s and his wife was pregnant; he was hardly 34 years old and suddenly he was diagnosed with incurable fast acting cancer. He was given only a month to live.
Now for most people, even devotees, they would likely ask, “Why is God doing this to me? I dedicated fifteen years to him! Why? I just got married, my wife is about to have a child. I’m only 34 years old, and I’m wracked with pain.” He was soon paralyzed from the waist down, he was emaciated, dying. “Why is God doing this to me now?”
He never asked that question. I believe he never even thought that. When I spoke to him he had another question: “Why, why is God doing this to me?” This is what he asked: “I’m so insignificant. Why did he give me the association of devotees? I’ve had fifteen years of such association, why would God give me that? Why such a fallen soul as me has the chance to chant the holy names? For fifteen years I’ve been chanting God’s names. Out of all the billions of people, why me? Why? Why someone so undeserving has been given so many opportunities to serve Srila Prabhupada’s glorious mission?”
This was his question, “I don’t deserve it. I have no regrets, I’m just grateful that in my life I had so many chances to serve the Lord.”
That is a grateful heart and that consciousness attracts Krsna:
tat te ‘nukampan susamiksamano
Srimad Bhagavatam declares, and Srila Prabhupada quotes again and again, who is a proper candidate to go back to Godhead? When difficulties come we respond with folded palms and grateful heart and thank God that, “I deserve worse but whatever comes is your mercy for my betterment,” and in that mood take shelter. Then we are actually guaranteed to go back to Godhead and not otherwise. The world needs living examples, and sometimes the Lord takes sweet dear souls and puts them in such situations to teach us.
In Radha Gopinath temple we have learned and renounced brahmacaris who are powerful scholars and can attract many people to Krsna consciousness. Stoka Krsna couldn’t do that, but all of these brahmacaris were weeping, thinking “This is a real devotee. Powerful grhasthas who have much wealth and influence were thinking, “This is a real devotee, just see how he is teaching us what is Krsna consciousness”. It is not about what we can do but who we are. . . .
So he passed from this world. And the night before he left he was hardly breathing so the devotees called me and I started telling Krsna’s Vrindavan pastimes in his ears. He could hardly open his eyes, but as I began speaking, he turned his head and had a huge smile. His eyes opened and lit up as he listened. Hare Krsna. That was the medicine, just hearing the glories of Krsna. And the next day the Brajabasis came from Vrindavan. They brought Tulasi and garlands and holy water from the Yamuna, Radha Kunda, Syama Kunda. This was all by chance. All this maha prasadam was offered to him. The room was filled with devotees chanting. There were hundreds of devotees gathered outside. It was Advaita Acarya’s appearance day. A glorious kirtan was going on and in that midst Stoka Krsna Prabhu gave up his life. Krsna took him.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur says that the first qualification to take to devotional service is simplicity. It is the foundation on which to make real progress. We must have no duplicity, no separate agenda, we just want to please Krsna. We’re not trying to get something for ourselves and sneaking around hypocritically to achieve that.
So Kolaveca Sridhar was crying, saying “I don’t deserve this, why is he calling me? I am just a banana seller—avataras are dancing and chanting next to him, scholars, brahmanas—why me?” Saying this Sridhar fainted. He was so humble. They had to lift him up and carry him to Srivasangam. When he came before Lord Caitanya, Lord Caitanya said, “I’ve been waiting for you, behold my opulence!” And right before his eyes, Lord Caitanya manifested his glory.
Would you like to hear what he saw? My twenty minutes has expired. My dear Godbrother Anuttama Prabhu said I have twenty minutes to two hours. My other dear Godbrother Anuttama Prabhu is also here. I am surrounded by Anuttamas. I will try to balance to respect both.
He saw Lord Caitanya transform into Krsna whose body was dark like a tamal tree, with flute in hand, with complexion like a monsoon clowd. To his right was Sri Balaramaji who was like a spring cloud. Krsna was smiling with lips like the bimba fruit, with a nose like sesame, lotus eyes, beautiful blackish hair, encircling his face which was illuminated like the moon. His beautiful neck was like a conchshell with three lines, his broad chest was decorated with the Kaustubha mani, the divine gem. He wore a vaijayanti mala, a forest garland which extended below his knees. He had a beautiful three fold bending form. His lower garment was like brilliant lightning, and on his lotus feet each nail sparkled like millions of diamonds. It was this form that smiled upon Sridhar. He saw Krsna-Balarama, and on one side was Laksmidevi offering prayers and acts of devotion, there was Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Narada, the four Kumaras, unlimited beautiful goddesses all singing the praise of Krsna-Balarama. The setting was in a forest of Vrindavan near the Yamuna with peacocks and parrots sweetly singing.
Seeing this, Kolaveca Sridhar fainted in ecstasy. It was just too much for him. Lord Caitanya revived him with his touch and said, “Sridhar, I want to offer you a boon, ask me for anything.” All the eight siddhis-there are many yoga studios in the US these days teaching asanas, yama-niyama, pranayama, meditation. From this sometimes you may get a little healthier or have less stress, but actual yogis can get the eight mystic perfections with which you can perform unbelievable miracles.
With these you can create your own planet. Hare Krsna. That’s a by-product of yoga. Visvamitra Muni and Kardama Muni could do that. Kardama created an aerial ship. He didn’t have to make reservations on United Airlines. [laughter] By his mantra om. . . ., whoosh! A beautiful ship with palaces and swans and maidservants—not airline hostesses—beautiful goddesses serving him. No seat belts or vomit bags or delayed flights. He could go anywhere in the universe!
Visvamitra Muni wanted a child, but he didn’t want to be entangled with the regular process of creating a child, so he chanted a mantra and a child was born like a fruit on a tree.
So Lord Caitanya offered Kolaveca Sridhar the eight mystic perfections. Now if you were offered that would you accept? But Sridhar said, “I have no interest in them, I don’t want anything, just to be your servant.”
“But I want you to ask me for something! It will make me happy.”
“Lord, please do not be unhappy, I don’t want anything.”
I’m not unhappy, but I want to give you something. You have all your life given me everything. I took all your bananas and leaves every day.” Lord Caitanya, he would not take a meal unless it was on the leaf of Kolaveca Sridhar as a plate. Hare Krsna. “I took so much from you for no return, so ask me for anything, great wealth, whatever.”
“I have no concern for wealth.”
“Then take liberation!”
“Why are you disturbing me? I have no concern for liberation.”
“So what do you want?”
“You are my master and I am your servant eternally.”
“Make me happy and ask!
“All right, to please you, that sweet boy Nimai who would steal bananas, let me always remember him in my heart birth after birth. That is all I desire.”
Lord Caitanya was defeated by Sridhar’s extraordinary humility. All the devotees around were weeping to see his qualities. Lord Caitanya said, “I give you pure unalloyed devotional service eternally.” He asked Sridhar to offer prayers. “I’m not educated, I don’t know any prayers.” Lord Caitanya said, “Just say something.”
To please the Lord, Sridhar tried to speak, and Goddess Sarasvati appeared on his tongue and he recited beautiful prayers: “All glories to the son of Mother Saci, Lord Caitanya, all glories to the the creator, maintainer and destroyer of unlimited universes. Only by your causeless mercy have you descended to establish the holy name which bestows liberation to all. This is the real priceless treasure of devotional service, and you agree to be defeated by that devotion.”
Krsnadas Kaviraja Goswami relates that Bhisma also defeated the Lord. Krsna promised that he would not fight in the battle, but Bhisma wanted to show the world how much he loves his devotees. So he attacked Arjuna and to save Arjuna’s life from Bhisma’s fierce attack, Krsna lifted up a wheel of a chariot and attacked Bhisma. He did this to save Arjuna. And Bhisma was so happy! First he shot arrows at Krsna, and Krsna felt each arrows as pleasing, as last night at Gauravani’s house when we put flower petals on Krsna. Hare Krsna. Bhisma said, “Thank you, my Lord, you have fulfilled my desire!” And Krsna admitted, “I have been defeated by you.”
“Yasoda, by the power of her devotion tied you like a prisoner. Satyabhama, by the power of her devotion made you act like a henpecked husband.”
Prabhupada uses this word “henpecked”. I don’t have time to go in to this exhaustive subject now. [laughter] Krsna accepted Satyabhama’s demand. He had given Rukmini a parijata flower from the heavenly planets, so then Krsna went all the way back to heaven to give Satyabhama a parijata tree. He had to fight a war with the demigods for this. See how he was defeated by the love of his devotee.
“The cowherd boys headed by Sridama would wrestle with Krsna and Krsna would lose the match.”
How is this possible? Just like some of you are fathers with little children. Your child may like to fight with you but you could just finish them in a second. That’s all Krsna has to do! Just by inhaling he destroys all the universes, so what to speak of wrestling. But the child says, “Daddy, daddy I want to wrestle!” The real pleasure. . . it doesn’t please either party if the father crushes the child, but the father lets himself get pushed down, “Oh, I give up, I give up!” And the child runs around the house, “I defeated daddy!” That pleases both of them.
Why? It is an exchange of love. Krsna is defeated, and to show his defeat he would carry the victorious cowherd boys on his shoulders, “He defeated me.” Haribol. This is the power of bhakti.
Sridhar continued, “Unfortunately I have no love, not a trace of it is in my heart, but still you are calling for me, that is your causeless mercy.”
On another occasion Lord Caitanya kept his word. I will end soon for your pleasure. Lord Caitanya had the first public harinam procession to the house of the Chand Kazi. In religious history, the greatest benedictions come when there is a crisis. In a crisis one should not be afraid, it always for your good if you respond with a grateful heart and determination. . . ? [unclear section]
Chand Kazi outlawed harinam sankirtana, he had a hundred police torturing and imprisoning. Lord Caitanya told the devotees to just go and not to worry. How many of us would do like that? When Lord Caitanya heard how the persecution is going on, he said, “I will lead the chanting tonight, I will march right to the house of Chand Kazi and he will see death personified standing before him!” Hare Krsna. It was such a beautiful scene, millions of people joined the chanting. And the ecstasies the Lord was manifesting! Chand Kazi surrendered and became a devotee.
After this most heroic victorious harinam, Lord Caitanya went to the house of Kolaveca Sridhar with a few associates. There’s his little straw hut and Sridhar is sitting there. One of his only possessions was an old iron water pot for multi purposes. He would wash his feet with it, and it was kept just outside his house. It was bent and dented, discolored. Vrindavan Das Thakur reveals to us a very wonderful truth, that even the most desperate thief on earth would not consider stealing that pot. That’s all he had. Hare Krsna. He drank from it and washed from it. Lord Caitanya, the husband of Laksmi and Lord of Vaikuntha, he saw it and picked it up. Kolaveca Sridhar said, “Lord, what are you doing!” Lord Caitanya started drinking the water from Kolaveca Sridhar’s apparently dirty iron cup!”
“Oh, I’m dead, you’re drinking from my abominable contaminated cup!” He became so ashamed that he fell unconscious. All were weeping and crying and rolling on the ground. By drinking the water from the cup that Sridhar used to wash his feet, Lord Caitanya showed the world that he is conquered by the love of his devotees. “I never tasted such sweet nectar water as this, I experience real love of God by this water!” The devotees were beside themselves, why? Because the Lord kept his promise. He revealed the treasure of Kolaveca Sridhar, that devotion, that love that even conquers the Supreme Lord.
That is real wealth and there is no other real wealth, this fulfills the heart and can endure the power of time. It is the only wealth of devotion that has the power to satisfy the soul.
prema pumartho mahan
Lord Caitanya said the supreme of all goals is love of God. Srila Prabhupada came, [Maharaja is handed a note] ah, this is a very wonderful sloka that I’m about to read: “Sorry, we need to announce a car is blocking the driveway. It must be moved or it may be hit.” Listen carefully because your car may be about to hit! “It is a Honda Accord with license plate JJ392. (?) Please move it immediately. Also, those who may need to go now as your kids have school tomorrow, we are serving prasad now.”
Thank you. I will take this as a very subtle hint to stop. [loud laughter]
Thank you very, very much. Srila Prabhupada ki jai.
This is what Srila Prabhupada has traveled thirteen times around the world to give. This is real wealth. When Srila Prabhupada was living in the Bowery, Manhattan Island, New York City, he didn’t even have money for rent, nothing. And seeing the limousines and beatiful town houses of the rich people he felt pity for them. To Srila Prabhupada they were in poverty. What Srila Prabhupada brought on the steamship Jaladuta was the ultimate wealth of creation and he shared that with all of us. This was the wealth of love of God, purusartha-siromani, and he begged us simply to accept it. That was Lord Caitanya’s mission.
And how to accept it? To make that a priority over all other situations, yes, we have economic responsibilities, domestic needs, health needs—we must be responsible in all areas—but they must be harmonized in such a way that our focus is to purify our hearts and awaken love of God and share it with others. What we make our priority we will achieve.
This is his grace, it is not just theoretical, it is practical. Take the name of the Lord seriously; it is glorified in millions of times in millions of ways in all the scriptures throughout history. However busy we may be, we should orchestrate our lives so we can please him by chanting. In the Age of Kali, there is no other way. The Lord has descended in his name. We should welcome him in our hearts and give the time to express our appreciation.
If a guest comes and you give him no time are you a grateful host? So the Lord has come and we can show our gratitude by giving the time to chant, and to chant not for any material benefit. Strive to be humble and tolerant, forgiving and honest in all ways and the Lord will be pleased. It’s so simple, but in order to do so we need encouragement, therefore the association of devotees. The attitude to serve, that is real wealth. The attitude to serve, attention to the holy Name, and association of devotees is the supreme wealth. If we take that seriously then we have understood Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and Krsna will give us himself. Thank you very, very much.
[extended loud applause]
If my lecture had any potency the Honda Accord will have been moved by now.
[laughter] Now prasad?
Anuttama Prabhu: You can take questions if you like. There will also be arati and prasada is outside.
Maharaja: I think I have already subjected them to too much. Everyone please have prasada, thank you for your great tolerance and kindness upon me. Hare Krsna.

Choosing To Forgive

Choosing To Forgive

By Mahatma das

Last year I forgave four devotees who were responsible for causing greatpain and frustration in my life. Actually I didn’t forgive them of my ownaccord. I was asked to forgive them - for my own benefit. First I focused onthe ways these people hurt me. Then I was asked to look at them in adifferent light; to consider that they were just doing the best they couldin the particular situation they were in. Next, I was asked if I would be willing to forgive them, not with the hope that they would ever change, butin order to free myself from the negative effects this resentment was havingon me. I went along with it because I realized there was no point in holding onto the bad feelings I had for these devotees. Then something wonderful happened. The moment I let go of those feelings I actually felt cleansed, uplifted, energized.

Three of these people were former gurus who fell down and left Iskcon. I haddedicated tremendous amounts of my youthful blood, sweat and tears buildingup temples they reigned over. When they left, those temples were severelyaffected. On three different occasions in three different temples I stood by and watched my hard work crumble because one person did not have the self control, dignity, perseverance, and humility- the very qualities they demanded of others - to save themselves and remain faithful to their vows and service to Srila Prabhupada.

And there was one other devotee I forgave who did not fall down. He is a wonderful devotee, highly respected, very dear to Srila Prabhupada, sincere, and very Krsna conscious. But unknown to him he made my life difficult at times by undermining my management, albeit not maliciously, in a way that created some serious problems in the temple I was managing. Sometimes these problems even resulted in devotees turning against one another and turning against me. Was it difficult for me? Was I frustrated? Was I miserable? That’s putting it mildly. All these experiences took their toll on me. As a result I decided I would never again manage another temple.

I had built up enough resentment inside of me that I had become reluctant to give myself fully to Iskcon any longer. I started to lack the enthusiasm I used to have. I was more cautious. I was becoming more concerned about my well being than Iskcon’s. I moved more to the sidelines. I was being held back by a lot of pain, hurt, frustration and anger. I was afraid to step too far forward again. I had enough.

Yet when I forgave those devotees my enthusiasm came back. I immediately realized that I allowed the hurt to control me. I allowed the behavior of these devotees to hold me down. I allowed these past experiences to determine my future. I had played the victim and not taken responsibility for my own situation.

As my enthusiasm increased, it became more obvious to me that many devotees are still in the same position I was in i.e. blaming Iskcon, blaming leaders, holding grudges. Or they have been hurt or betrayed by a another devotee and can’t get over it. I used my resentment to justify why I was not as Krsna consciousness as I could be. Yet deep down I knew that at the time of death if I had to convince the Yamadutas that the reason I am not Krsna conscious is that so and so Swami fell down or that Iskcon mistreated me, the Yamadutas were not going to buy it. Certainly they weren’t going to say something like, “Oh, I am so sorry to hear that Mahatma, you poor thing. We totally understand what you went through and we have decided to give you a break.” But rather they would say something like, “Who cares. Now come with us, your next body is waiting.”

The sastras are full of stories of forgiveness: Ambarisa forgiving Durvasa, Parikshit forgiving Sringi, Narada Muni forgiving Daksa, Prahlada forgiving Hiranyakasipu, Haridas Thakura forgiving the guards who beat him, Nityananada forgiving Jagai and Madhai, Parasarama forgiving those who stole his family’s kamadhenu cow. Srila Prabhupada forgave anyone who came to him to serve Krsna. And of course Krsna forgives all of us no matter how sinful or blasphemous we were.

Sastra implores us to forgive. The Srimad Bhagavatam lists forgiveness as one of the qualities of civilized human beings. And Srila Prabhupada asks usto be forgiving so we can cooperate to spread the movement. Yet despite the examples of devotees demonstrating incredible acts of forgiveness, despite the sastra telling us to accept suffering as a token reaction of our karma, despite Prabhupada’s plea for us to forgive, and despite the cleansing it can do to our hearts, forgiving is difficult for many of us. Devotees often say, “I was so deeply hurt that I just don’t know how I can forgive.”

My realization now is that saying “I can’t forgive” ultimately means “I am choosing to not forgive.” That sounds harsh or heavy, but the reality is that ordinary people have forgiven others for the worst offences and abuses imaginable.

We need motivation to forgive. Sometimes the only thing that will motivate us to forgive is a self centered attitude- to do it to relieve our own suffering. This is what I did. Yet this propelled my devotional service. It got me out of the “I can’t” mode. The technique was not transcendental, but the results were.

So even if you don’t really want to forgive others, you just have to want to let go of the resentment, the hurt, the pain from your heart. If you are willing to do this, Krsna will help you move to forgiveness without any further effort.

But our ego is fighting this battle. It is saying that you should stay offended and hurt and you should continue to fight. The ego wants to be right. But the reality is that we are only hurting ourselves. Holding onto resentment never makes anyone happy. Remaining offended is a weed in the heart, and it keeps us bitter about something or someone. But a devotee is not bitter; a devotee is joyful. One lady described unforgiveness like going into labor but not letting the baby come out.

It can help to write a letter of forgiveness. The letter need not be sent, neither should we ever expect that person to change or should we necessarily desire a better relationship with that person – or any relationship at all. The letter is simply written to cleanse our hearts. Or we may have a friend play the person we wish to forgive and tell them how they hurt us and then tell them that we forgive them. For our own sanity we need to do something to release the resentment.

As I mentioned, I was helped to learn that that the person who hurt me wasjust trying his best. One devotee relates that her daughter was so seriouslyhurt that it not only impacted her daughter’s life, but her life as well.When she found it impossible to forgive the person who offended her daughter, her husband asked her to consider how she would have acted had she been in the same situation as the offender. As she considered this she realized it was possible that she might have reacted the same way. And this enabled her to forgive. Understanding the situation a person was in when they made the offense or committed the abuse, as well understanding what that person has gone through in life that may have contributed to their actions, can reduce or release the resentment. “Hate the sin, not the sinner.” Or if you are up to it, “Hate the sin and love the sinner.”

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had a transcendental method to release resentment. Whenever a disciple would come to him to complain about another devotee, he would say, “Does that devotee have any good qualities?” When the disciple would point out their good qualities, he would say, “So focus on those qualities.” This is an amazingly powerful tool because resentment will not reside in a heart where there appreciation. This is because what we focus on expands. When we focus on the good, the good expands in our minds, and this purifies our heart. When we focus on the resentment, it just gets worse. If we can bring ourselves to see the good in those who hurt us – and certainly there must be some good in them – this acts miraculously to dissipate resentment.
Although hard to appreciate, especially when going through difficulty, Srila Prabhupada says that either benefit or loss is God sent and thus it is God’s grace. If we see things this way and try to learn from every experience, we can gain much even from the most painful experiences. A devotee counselor related the story of one of her clients. “I was able to forgive my attacker because if it hadn’t been for him I would have been on a collision course to hell. He gave me a giant wake up call. This experience really opened my eyes. I could see that this man was truly desperate and sad. I began to have compassion for him; not for what he did to me, but for him, the person. I pray that he can get the help now.”

This is amazing. Who would have thought that a person could become more compassionate after being attacked? Somehow she learned so much from this experience. I have spoken to many others who have had similar experiences.

Normally, at first they only saw the negative side and they remained hurt and angry. But after some time many were able to see things in a different light and either take some responsibility for what happened or see something good in what happened.

In relationships we often get instant karma (reactions) for something we do or say. When I was in charge of one temple, there were two devotees that lived there that couldn’t stand me. I thought they had their own issues to deal with (this is what everyone said about them) and it really had nothing to do with me. After all, other devotees didn’t hate me. So I built up a lot

of resentment towards them because they were making things difficult for me.
Twelve years later I was asked to take responsibility for their feelings towards me and look at what I might have done to make them feel the way they did. Rather than blame them for their actions, as I had been doing, I decided to take responsibility. Doing this helped me realize that I said many things to them that naturally caused them to resent me. I could then see that if someone treated me the way I treated them, I would hate them as well. Once I understood this, twelve years of resentment for them immediately vanished.
How often are we ready to blame others and hold ill feelings towards them when they are only reacting to things we said or did to them? As it is said, “Communication is the result you get.”

Had I not taken responsibility for my actions, I believe I would have carried my resentment towards those two devotees to my death bed. They were never going to apologize to me. Why should they when they were the ones who were offended? Yet twelve years later I was still hoping I would receive an apology. Why was I so anxious for an apology? It was because the resentment

I had towards them was poison in my heart and I desperately wanted to rid myself of it. Unfortunately, I thought the only way this was going to happen was for them to apologize. And twelve years later I was still waiting for that apology. What a fool I was. I had thought that I could not forgive them without getting an apology from them. So for twelve years they were holding my ability to forgive them in their hands. So if you are waiting for someone to apologize before you can forgive, you don’t have to. But if you plan to wait, you will most likely be carrying your resentment for them to your grave.

But what if an actual offence is made against us. We see in the example of Ambarisa Maharaja that he did not take offence when Durvasa Muni mistreated him. Durvasa was told by Lord Visnu that he committed an offence against Ambarisa Maharaja and would have to ask his forgiveness to be relieved. Ambarisa Maharaja forgave him although he considered that he actually offended Durvasa. He forgave Durvasa for Durvasa’s benefit. Without forgiving him, Durvasa would have been killed by the sudarsana chakra. This shows how a devotee does not want to see the offenders suffer for their offences.

Forgiveness reaches it’s highest level when we wish to bless or help the offender. Prahlada Maharaja not only forgave his father but prayed to the Lord for his liberation. Haridas Thakura prayed for the guards that were trying to kill him. Nityananda Prabhu desperately wanted to save Jagai and Madhai, even after they tried to kill him. If we give mercy, we get mercy. The great souls never stop giving mercy.
Don’t think that great acts of forgiveness are only reserved for the great souls. We can perform them as well. Here’s a wonderful story. Once a girl got so angry at a boy who was making passes at her that she ended up stabbing him to death. As a result, the girl went into a state of deep depression and remorse. She needed help and the most unlikely person decided to dedicate her life to helping this girl – the mother of the boy she killed. Great acts of forgiveness cannot only be done by great souls; average souls like you and me can do them as well. And this will make us great souls.

Many of us have been mistreated and are now hurt. After being hurt we become angry. As that anger builds up (and we often don’t realize how much is there) it does more harm to us than the initial act that caused the resentment. We have no control over whether or not the persons who offended us will ever change or apologize, and the odds are not in our favor. But we do have control over our choices. We can forgive them if we choose to. We are the ones who can remove the pain from our own hearts.

When devotees tell me that so and so hurt me so deeply that I just can’t forgive them, at least not completely, I say, “Okay, how about forgiving them totally for one day, or one afternoon, or one hour or five minutes - just to get some relief from the pain. Remember, no thought lives in your mind rent free.

Sadhana means practice. We practice the activities and behavior of pure vaisnavas. Practice means we do things which we may not feel like doing, and by doing them we develop an attraction for them. Once Prabhupada said that if we don’t feel like dancing we should dance anyway. Then we will feel like dancing. Similarly, we need to practice forgiveness, even if we don’t feel like it. As we practice forgiveness, it becomes easier to forgive and enables us to forgive on a higher level, perhaps even coming to the point that we can bless or help the offenders.

I encourage you to honestly examine the resentment you may still be harboring in your heart. Who has hurt you that you have not forgiven and how is that playing out in your life (when devotees feel hurt by Iskcon it boils down to being hurt by someone). Or maybe you don’t feel resentment for anyone, but there is one thing that someone did that you just can’t forgive?

Ask yourself, “What is it about me that won’t allow me to forgive?” And then ask, “Could I somehow or other let it go?” If Nityananda Prabhu, Prahlada Maharaja, and Thakur Haridas could forgive those who attempted to take their lives, can you not forgive those who hurt you? This is what Prabhupada asks of all of us. It is a liberating and purifying experience and will unleash increased enthusiasm for devotional service.

Or do you wish to hold onto your resentment and carry it with you, say another five years, when you think you might be ready to forgive? How will it feel to carry that in your heart for another five years? How will it help you? And what if in ten years you are unable to forgive? Is this something you really want to carry with you that long? What about carrying it for another twenty years? How will holding on to the hurt that long affect your life?

Are you ready to practice forgiving those who have hurt you? Are you ready to follow in the footsteps of the pure devotees and forgive right now, to simply let it go, to just chant and be happy? Ask yourself, “Would I be willing to let go of my resentment for so and so? Could I do it? Would I be willing to do it right now?

It’s important that you understand that letting go doesn’t mean you are making a wrong a right. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you are letting a criminal off the hook. It means you are letting yourself off the hook.

If you are not willing to let it go now, ask yourself these same questions tomorrow, next week, next month - until you can let it go. You are not the hurt or resentment. These are your feelings and you are different from your feelings. You are not the body. You are not your feelings. Because you are not your feelings, you can drop them. You can renounce them. You can become detached from them. You can control them.

So let me ask you again, Would you be willing to let them go right now?
Would you do it for your self? Would you do it for your own spiritual life?
Would you do it for the benefit of Iskcon? Would you do it for Prabhupada?
Would you do it for Krsna?

If you say “I can’t,” what do you think it is about you that will not allow you to forgive? And how does that play out in your other relationships. And does that play out even play out your relationship with guru and Krsna?

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comment on the above article by Suresh das

nice article with many good motivational points and tools to consider.
It might be possible to forgive things which have happened to us in the past, but once burned twice shy. In the future each of us will learn not to be so open with each other, so naive, and we will keep our distance from each other, so we don’t get hurt again. We learn to build walls to protect ourselves in all relationships.

For me, my experience was always as a foot-soldier in the army of ISKCON, with a big mouth. Whoever was in charge was always, in my eyes, public enemy #1, and I always made sure they knew it. We have to remember the saying though “a happy crew is a complaining crew, but as soon as there is silence mutiny is coming”. It’s good to tolerate dissent within our ranks and not snuff it out. Unless we know what people are unhappy about and address those issues, history often has a tendency to repeat itself, making the same issues come up again, until a resolution is found.

I was married within ISKCON, went out into the work force, and eventually started my own small business, which I have managed for 29 years. Everyday, rain or shine, thick or thin, I have to show up and produce. I am always totally responsible for my own success and failure, which makes me very God-fearing. I can be snuffed out at any time, which makes me dependent on the protection of Lord Krishna. At the same time I have to work very hard to succeed, with no promises or guarantees of success. I also know Lord Krishna can do with me as He likes, because He is neutral to all of us, and doesn’t favor one party over another.

Now I am in the position of managing foot-soldiers who disrespect my command, disregard and disobey my instructions, and who treat me at public enemy #1, so I deeply empathize with the leaders of our society, forgiving them, and understanding the difficulties which they must face each day. For them it must be a low-paid, thankless task to be in charge of our society, especially during these trying times, and more a labor of love.
There is a major push at this time, by the youth of our movement, to change and shake-up the establishment, not unlike how we ourselves were in our youth. My question to each of them is: do you really know what you are getting yourselves into? Will you do a better job, while at the same time, not compromise our principles?

I have had many devotees rip me off in the past. I hated them and cursed them for it, but in the ultimate issue I had to forgive them all, because Lord Krishna has given me plenty and has taken care of me. If I demand that they pay me back, I might have to take another birth for that to happen, which is another great reason to forgive

Hare Krishna,
Suresh das