2007 - New Years Resolution/The Revolution Continues

Hare Krishna Everyone!

Please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Just over three weeks into the year of 2007, we are now at a good point to gauge as to whether we have kept to our New Years resolutions or not.....so have we? Even if we have I think this is the right time where as a group we can add something special to our independent spiritual lives, that will benefit us all as a family!

In 2007, we as members of ISKCON Pandava Sena are going to have more commitment to becoming Krishna Consciousness and more enthusiasm to giving Krishna Consciousness!

1) 'We should always remember that our body is not for sense gratification; it is for Krishna’s service only. And to render very good sound service to Krishna we should not neglect the upkeep of the body.'

2) 'If by the tongue you chant Hare Krishna mantra, and by the tongue you taste prasadam, you will be perfect, simply by executing these two things.'

3) 'We should learn to forget and forgive minor incidents because whenever there are two men in a place, there is always some misunderstanding.'

Quotes from his divine grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Before embarking on our Krishna Consciousness journey in 2007 I would like us to read these three quotes. Srila Prabhupada always stressed the importance of health, sadhna and service, in that order. The quotes I have chosen are in relationship to this order. In this year of 2007 it will be wonderful if we can all work together to serve Krishna in all these areas of health, sadhna and service!

1) The first quote relates directly to health. Often, as devotees we forget we need to take care of our material body. We are busy, enthusiastic doing service however we forget that the body we are in requires good maintenance through a good balance between exercise and rest. Without our health it will be very difficult to focus strongly on our sadhna. We have all been ill at one point or another and know how helpless and reliant on others we become. Luckily in Iskcon we have several Ayurvedic doctors who can give us good advice based on our personal diet and condition. So, we must take care of our health to the best of our ability so we can focus on our sadhna.

2) Sadhna includes: chanting of the holy name; hearing the holy name; hearing about Krishna and his past times in classes; reading about Krishna; attending of morning programs; and eating prashadam. Sadhna is the most important part of our spiritual life, it is our spiritual fuel and energy. There is an analogy that relates to this aspect of our lives. When we have a car full of fuel, we are able to drive it everywhere we want to do service! In this example the car represents us. However, once the fuel runs out, no matter how physically fit or how determined and enthusiastic the car is it is not possible for it to move until it is re-fuelled. The fuel in this example represents our Sadhna. The analogy shows we must have good Sadhna so that our enthu and drive to serve Srila Prabhupad and Krishna can be fulfilled effectively. Our Sadhna is our spiritual fuel, it is what allows us to be engaged in service in the right mood and with the right attitude. Without it, eventually we will run out of energy.

3 ) We have now looked at examples on both health and sadhna. The final aspect of our lives to look at is service. We are constantly trying to be enaged in devotional service. It is important to know what mood we are doing service in and how we are co-operating with other devotees around us to do the service. During the visit of His Holiness Radhanath Swami he gave a very POWERFUL class on Leadership in relation to service. In this class HH Radhanath Swami gave some of the most valuable instructions on how we can make our service more devotional, focussed and effective. I am going to share with you a few of these that I felt we can all apply and practice.

First of all HH Radhanath Swami explained the difference between 'High' and 'Low' service. Often we feel that a service that has more responsibility is higher service, however he explained that 'High' service is service that his done in a humble state and a 'Low' service is service that his done with pride and ego. Often in service we see it is difficult to get along with everyone around us, or that if something goes wrong we get distracted and feel less confident. HH Radhanath Swami explained we must 'accept headaches for the mission'. HH Radhanath Swami also explained we must have the 'willingness to adjust and put the higher principle above the current passion'. As Srila Prabhupada has said above we have to learn to tolerate. He understood that mistakes will always occur however devotee's of the lord live with Vaishnava qualities, no expectations. HH Radhanath Swami explained we should all be striving for the qualities of tolerance, humility, sincerity and forgiveness.

Here are a few more quotes from his classes that I believe we can meditate upon that can better our service:

'Don't worry what people think of you, the way they treat you. Worry about the way you think of people, you treat people.'

'Come to SERVE! Don't come to BE served.'

'If you are criticising people in a lower social, economic or Krishna conscious position YOU HAVE MISSED THE POINT'.

'Accept HEADACHES for the mission'

'Leaders must COMMAND respect not DEMAND respect'

I read this particular quote below, from His Divine Grace, A,C, Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada and felt, we are so fortunate. We must take this opportunity to try and perfect our health, sadhna and service. Sometimes we forget what we have, we're so lucky because we're constantly reminded by Krishna, Srila Prabhupad and all the devotees around us!

'Everyone is being controlled by God, but a devotee is so exalted that Krishna says, “I wish to be controlled by you.” This is Krishna’s position.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!