Rūpa Goswami says, "Just as young boys are naturally attracted to young girls, and young girls are naturally attracted to young boys"—if you unload a busload of teenagers in front of the Grand Canyon, they won't see the Grand Canyon because they're in samādhi. He said, "In the same way, may my mind be drawn to you." So when Prabhupāda said, "This is a feeling festival, the Ratha-yātrā," there is a story behind it, a love story. But it's THE love story; it's not any love story, it's THE love story. It's the ādi-rasa that gets perverted in this world as what's called āhlāda-tāpa-traya—the love affairs of this world that end in misery and strife and difficulty and complications. Of course, there are complications in the love story of the spiritual world, but they're all ānanda. And this Ratha-yātrā is so remarkable because what we have here is an apparently ordinary parade, but we're pulling the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and not just an image of God. And we say, "God is great, and we're all small and we're all servants," but there's this very specific story of Lord Kṛṣṇa meeting again the residents of Vṛndāvana, and the depth of their separation from him, which is never broken, because true love is never broken. Even Shakespeare says that. And that's all encapsulated within the Ratha-yātrā festival.

So brilliant was Prabhupāda to bring it out to the world that both aspects are there: kevalānanda-kāṇḍa—the bliss of the chanting, the prasādam, the display of booths, and "Here's Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you'll get inner peace." But beyond that, there's the most esoteric of all stories that highly advanced paramahaṁsas relish again and again, and tell over and over again, which they go into the details of again and again, and relish it unlimitedly. So we're part of that legacy to bring Ratha-yātrā to the world, and along with the Ratha-yātrā, we may also distribute Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. For anyone who has such an intervention in his or her life by seeing the Ratha-yātrā and then receiving transcendental literature, what to speak of prasādam and the association of devotees, can then take to the path of devotional service.

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Māyā gives combinations and permutations of apparent enjoyment to every soul to exhaust that person's idea that "I can enjoy separately from Kṛṣṇa."

Queen Kuntī says: 'janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhir edhamāna-madaḥ pumān

naivārhaty abhidhātuṁ vai tvām akiñcana-gocaram (SB 1.8.26).' We should be very, very humble, because Māyā can sneak into our lives at any time, and one of the ways she sneaks in is through the door of pride. There are some attitudes that we can be very careful about and avoid, like "My preaching is better than everybody else's," or "In general, I'm just better than other people," and become proud. Another one is, "I'm liberated. Why am I liberated? I'm in ISKCON. I'm initiated. I'm beautiful. I'm smart. I'm a Brahmin." I may also justify cheating: "Although there are these principles, I've been here a long time, I've seen many things. Give me a break. I know these things, and I am okay. I'm liberated, I'm entitled."

So pride opens the door for Māyā, and then justification allows her to stay inside. It's like, "It's okay, because I'm liberated. It doesn't matter. Who are these people? Mangal Arti, going 16 rounds. Who do they think they are? I know everything. And laxity—being lazy, lazy about following the regulative principles, not strict.

Here's a way to close the door on Māyā: "I am not liberated." Say that, "I'm not liberated." "I am a servant of the servant of the servant a million times removed." Prabhupāda says, "When you think, 'I'm the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant, a million times removed,' then you're liberated." But always say, "I'm not liberated." Always say, "I'm not liberated." And also, we shouldn't justify, and don't be lazy. Be careful. Prabhupāda says that besides practicing the rules and regulations in devotional service, you should also be careful. And we should also fortify ourselves by very strong sādhana. Prabhupāda writes in the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta that if we don't read all the books, then we'll fall down.

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There are various ways in which we can organize our lives so that we elevate our consciousness. Now, the first and most important is to take an inventory of what we call the soundscape, or the soundtrack, of your life. Do any of you have a soundtrack in your life? If any of you have ever been to a movie, they have soundtracks. That's what defines the era of the movie, isn't it? Yeah, you look at a movie, you can also understand from the very beginning, after the opening credits, when the movie comes on, you can tell if it's a comedy. If it's kind of whimsical music. "Oh, this is going to be funny." If it's very—there's a dark "uh oh, somebody's getting killed here"—mystery. You know, this is all defined by the soundtrack.

And so there's a way in which we also have a soundtrack in our life. And Sūta Goswami addresses this. He's talking about elevation of consciousness, and then he describes a series of practices, or one practice, that evolves our consciousness. One practice that sounds simpler, doesn't it? Technically, it begins with meeting somebody who has a better soundtrack than we have. So he says, and I'll quote what Sūta Goswami spoke to the sages:

śuśrūṣoḥ śraddadhānasya

vāsudeva-kathā-ruciḥ

syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ

puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt

(SB 1.2.16)

That means, if you can meet somebody who's spiritually awake and their taste in hearing is transcendental sound vibration, they like it. They're absorbed in it. What's more, they've been around others who like it, and they've evolved their consciousness. So he says, if you can get around such people, high-minded souls, and do some sevā—means, try to assist them in their life, in whatever they're doing. If you do that, that rubs off on you. It's a technique that Kṛṣṇa mentions in the Bhagavad-gītā also about getting knowledge from a wise person. He says, "Tad vidhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ."

When you want knowledge, approach a person who already has it, but do it in a mood of submission. Don't go there saying, "Yeah, I heard that before, yeah, I know that." It'll close the person down. Just be really open. Don't say, "I already know that," ever. Then also render some service. Back when I was a kid, it was cliché that you would bring the teacher an apple. I don't know if they have that here in New York. Are you supposed to bring your teacher an apple? Did you know that ?

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Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad Gītā asked us to manage our expectations, and he tells us that the material world is a place of suffering. I know this is a family show, and I don't mean to bring a downer to everybody, but it's just a fact. It's there in the Bhagavad Gītā, where Kṛṣṇa says, "duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam." "Duḥkha" means what? Duḥkha, misery, and "ālayam," it's a place. So duḥkhālayam is the place where you go to get misery. So if you manage your expectation and you know that this is a place of misery, when various inconveniences come to you in your life, you won't be so disappointed, because you'll know that's what happens here.

So there's a way that we deceive ourselves, and we say that when my circumstances change, I will become happy. When my circumstances change. What kind of circumstances need to change in order for me to be happy? (Audience: job) I've got to get a different job. What else, to be happy? I've got to have more money or less, because if it's less, see me afterwards, I can help you out. What else? (Audience: Weather) If the weather, if the weather changes, then I'll be happy. What else? (Audience: clothes) If I just had the right clothes, I don't have the right clothes yet. (Audience: car) I need a new car. Yeah, to be happy, I need a new car. I need to be immortal, yeah, then I'll be happy.

The problem is the circumstances are always changing, and from moment to moment, when I depend on the circumstances, then my fortune changes and my mood and attitude change. So here's the healthy outlook. Would you like to hear the healthy outlook? Okay, only half of you said yes. The rest of you, cover your ears. When I purify my heart, I'll become happy. You can say that, it sounds nice. When I purify my heart, I'll become happy.

Here's a limited outlook: The world is an opportunity for my enjoyment. It's a very limited opportunity. Here's the unlimited opportunity. Are you ready? The world is an opportunity for service. Yes, so devotees learned from reading Bhagavad Gītā that every circumstance is an opportunity to improve my devotion to to Kṛṣṇa. And this is possible because we're human, to make changes in our life, to adjust. So we have voluntary life changes versus forced life changes. Have you ever been forced to change something in your life? Were you happy about it? Not so much, maybe. But you can make your own list and say, "These are the items that I'd like to change in my life so that I can be on the right track." And these are called voluntary life changes, or VLCs, or there's reactionary life changes, which means

This is the sensitivity of the heart of a Vaiṣṇava—that he or she will see within everyone the good qualities. What to speak of a dog who wants to join the party, and he considers him part of our group and Prabhupāda had such quality, he would invite people to stay. Of course, he said it is not a hotel for lazy people, the āśram, but there were some devotees who were slightly dysfunctional, and devotees would complain. And Prabhupāda was very tolerant because he said, "They have not understood the mercy of Lord Nityānanda."

So we can remember Śivānanda Sena and how accommodating he was. We don't know what is inside people, what that flame is for devotional service that we can fan, that can grow into something. And that's one of the great exhibitions of life, is to see that grow within somebody's heart.

We can always make a facility to give people something so they can be connected. Prasādam is very nice. Distributing books is the heartbeat of our Sampradāya. Chanting the holy names everywhere is very important. Writing articles on science and producing short presentations to give people an idea of how to interpret various scientific theories, to understand the context of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Braja Rasa Bhāvana Prabhu has done a presentation on the big bang that was well received. He followed the footsteps of Sada Puṭa Prabhu and put together a nice presentation. I haven't seen the second one, which was about Darwinism or Darwinian evolution, but I heard that was well received also. These are important presentations. People are aimless or misguided, and all of you have a great opportunity as young people who are Kṛṣṇa conscious and also highly educated to give guidance to people all over the world.

So please remember that the Vaiṣṇavas are welcoming of every living entity, and that the more you give yourself to Kṛṣṇa, the more He takes care of you. He takes care of you anyway; He takes care of all animals and everyone. But it's a very personal duty for Kṛṣṇa, a duty of love, to take care of His devotees.

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I took some devotees from a faraway land who visited California into a forest called Muir Woods, and it's got a stream going through it. One day, when we were walking through, we saw a ranger in there pulling out something: these long tongs, in gaiters on boots that go up to your hips. And so, we stopped by to talk to the friendly ranger. That's what you should do: always talk to a friendly ranger.

And we asked him, "So, what are you doing?" And he said, "I'm taking micro trash out of the river." And I said, "What's micro trash?" He said, "You know how people open a pack of gum and that little piece that's left over somehow blows away in the wind and ends up in the water? Or somebody else throws pennies in because they think it'll bring them good luck? Everything everyone does ends up in the water, and it disturbs the sensory perception of the fish. And the fish are an important part of the ecology here," he said.

And then he told us the story of the Coho Salmon who lived there. He said, "They're born here in this little area, and then they migrate downstream from the fresh water all the way to the ocean. And they swim around in the ocean for thousands of miles for several years, and then they come back to the very stream in which they were born. Not only do they do that, but they also swim upstream to find the very pond where they were born."

And I said, "How do they do that?" And the ranger—and rangers know stuff—he said, "It's by smell. They can smell their way back. Of course, there are various theories, but that's a prevalent theory," and he presented it to me that day.

And when I walked away, I was thinking, "Aha, this is our process too! Not by smell, but by hearing. We can hear the spiritual world. Golokera Prema dhana Harinama Sankirtana." When we chant Hare Krishna, and we can hear that, the sound of "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare" doesn't sound like anything else in this world. When your ears become so sensitive that you realize this is a different sound that comes from the Spiritual World, and you listen to it, the more you listen to it, the more you're drawn naturally to the spiritual world. It compels you. It changes your heart. 'Ceto-darpana-marjanam' – it cleanses the mirror of your mind, all at once, because Krishna is wonderful, and He's all-powerful, and He loves us. And if we chant His name over and over again and listen, then we will be drawn to the spiritual world.

So we're endeavoring for this, and we know that if we're minding our own business, one day, Krishna came and knocked at our door, and we opened it, and He said, "Let's go right now, back home, back to God." He puts out His hand. Would you go?

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We don't have to be envious because Kṛṣṇa is so opulent that if you just have your own bhajan, it's enough, because Kṛṣṇa gives everything to everyone, all at once. You don't have to worry that somebody got more fame than you do, or they can sing better, or they have better association. We all have an eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, who's the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And there's no lack ever—that feeling of, "Oh, I didn't get it," or "Somebody else is better than me," or something. We don't have to have that; it's not necessary. We can just be sincere and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and take shelter of Kṛṣṇa and be very, very, very grateful. And I see the devotees who are most advanced: they're joyful when they see other devotees advancing, when they see others that have shining qualities, they become gleeful. And that's real life. There's no end to the happiness that we experience when we feel grateful for devotees. And we love devotees because they're loved by Kṛṣṇa. That's real life.

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Kṛṣṇa does admit in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta when He meets Gopā Kumāra, He says, "I made special arrangements for you, although I'm neutral with everybody. I made you take birth in Govardhan, and I came personally. That spiritual master that you met, that was Me. I came personally because I've been waiting too long." So there are ways that Kṛṣṇa tries to bring us back to Godhead, and especially when we take a step towards Him, then He takes license to pull us further. I love this whole section.

There's a story I heard from H.H. Girirāja Mahārāja about how in Bombay (Mumbai), when he was the temple president, there was a young man who was helping with the translation for the Marāṭhī Gītā. And he would come to see Prabhupāda regularly to check the translation and ask him philosophical questions. I don't know if Prabhupāda spoke Marāṭhī, but his father would come with him because he his father wanted to get some darśana with Prabhupāda. And the father had a habit of smoking, and he was ashamed of it. So Prabhupāda knew that, and after a few times visiting and knowing that the man was ashamed of it, and Prabhupāda asked, 'Are you still smoking?'" And he said, "Yes," very ashamed. He said, "I need your special mercy to give this up." And Prabhupāda said, "Yes, you can get Kṛṣṇa's special mercy, but it means that you become so miserable that you'll be forced to give it up." Then he said, "Would you like special mercy?" And the man said, "No, no, no, no, I'll do it myself. I'll volunteer." So there's a little push-pull going on. You can do this—they used to say—you can do this the easy way or the hard way. If you want to do the easy way, just make up your mind: sarva-dharmān parityajya, "that's it, I surrender."

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Sometimes, devotees can try to be more Catholic than the Pope. Prabhupāda had certain ways; he had a certain mood, and it wasn't fanatical. We were fanatical, a lot, and a lot of times we amplified certain things Prabhupāda said and just took that as all in all. We think that by being more and more austere, physically punishing our senses and so forth, that we become more advanced. It was in youthful energy like that; it's not sustainable. It can even make the heart hard. I'm not saying we should not be austere to some degree, but we should observe how Prabhupāda was. He was austere for the right reasons, but not just for the sake of it. Like when he went to Kumbha Melā, he went there to preach. It wasn't like he was after some benediction from the Kumbha, you know, Kumbha Melā, right? You're supposed to bathe at the right time, get some benediction from Lakṣmī. Prabhupāda didn't care about that. He wanted that we go there and distribute books and prasādam.

Prabhupāda went here, there, and everywhere. His mission was always the same, and he was always aligned with the same principles that his spiritual master taught him. And if we stay aligned with the mood and mission of our guru and the Guru-paramparā very clearly, then we can navigate through life. The decisions we make are based on what's the main thing: the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. (27:31)

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Well, maybe we can just give a quick definition of this word: surrender. It also sounds a slightly intimidating from the word itself: surrender. Somebody says, "Surrender your passport," or something, or there's an image of somebody getting chased by police in a car and trying to run away, and then finally they surrender. It can be applicable to us, but śaraṇāgati and the path of taking shelter of Krishna can be more comprehensible in the sense that it describes six methods of taking shelter of Krishna. Śaraṇāgati means that path.

So, the first one is to accept everything that's favorable. When there's something favorable to your devotional service, you accept it. That's a kind of surrender. And then, giving up things that are not favorable. When somebody points them out to you that these things won't help your bhakti, you may not be able to give them up right away, but when it becomes your intention, and then you work at it, you finally give them up. That is surrender. Another is that you develop the awareness that The Lord is your maintainer, nobody else. You may have some source of income (briefly inaudible) is to be humble. And then finally, ātma-nivedanam, or offering yourself to Krishna that "Krishna, I'm yours. Everything I have is yours. Even myself is yours."

So, does that sound doable? Yes? Then no problem. You're doing it. By the way, you're already doing it. It's a process. If you can have a good strategy for your life, try to have your midlife crisis as early as possible, and then use the last part of your life, or whatever part. Don't even have a midlife crisis, just keep doing what you can to be Kṛṣṇa conscious throughout your life. You'll get more and more favor from Krishna, and you'll also develop more determination and steadiness and everything else. So you have a way better than equal chance of having complete success. So don't worry. Mā śucaḥ.

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#vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose