Below is an essay question/answer from my Bhakti Sastri studies:

Generic question:Sastra Caksu/Realization

Give an example from personal experience where you forgot about sense enjoyment due to feeling happiness in Krsna consciousness. Relate your experience to verse 2.59 and the purport and draw the conclusion.

Hints for the answer:

Verse 59 – experiences and realizations: the higher taste and fall-down.

Recall and apply verses appropriate to situations in which you find yourself.

Demonstrate the correct Vaishnava attitudes and perspectives towards situations.

Explain your own realization of sastra, relating it to your own experience and demonstrating integrity of thought, word, feeling and action.

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Although I cannot say I am even remotely free from the influence of sense enjoyment or close to being constantly on the transcendental platform I can say that there have been innumerable times in my years of attempting to practice Krishna consciousness where I have felt that there is nothing in the world that I’d rather be doing then what I am doing right here, right now.  These glimmers of Krishna consciousness are factual proof that the pleasure to be derived from sense gratification is simply insignificant. Yet at the same time, these rare instances help me to understand that spiritual happiness is not something to be taken for granted or enjoyed per say but rather to be given back by using this enthusiasm and happiness in Krishna’s service. The more you give the more you get.

Many times when I am doing service or out on sankirtan I fall into this zone, where sense gratification simply doesn’t matter anymore. I forget about eating, I forget about sleeping, the thought of pulling myself off the street and taking the bus back to the ashram doesn’t want to even enter my mind. It gets to the point, where it’s like, “okay one more book and I will go”. Another hour passes and pretty soon the time approaches where if I don’t pry myself off the street and unto the bus, I will be subjected to the not-so-nice nightlife that exists after 8.30pm on 6th street (the bar district).

Its not to say that these times come without endeavor, as many of these days it so happens where the day will begin with 3-4 hours of no books going out or even a week or more will go by where getting some one to even stop appears to be a Herculean task. Krishna tests our determination, our detachment and our willingness to do a little tapasya for him. If we stick it through His reciprocation is amazing. Even with out perceiving this transcendental bliss still His reciprocation in the form of even allowing an insubordinate soul like me to engage in such service is unbelievable.

During the above stated times when no books are going out, the climatic conditions are not the greatest or the future devotees I am approaching appear to be more on the side of demonic then that of god-like there are a few slokas I chant to ease my mind and keep me out on the street. They are as follows:

matra-sparsas tu kaunteya
sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah
agamapayino ‘nityas
tams titiksasva bharata

O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed. (BG.2.14)

sukha-duhkhe same krtva
labhalabhau jayajayau
tato yuddhaya yujyasva
naivam papam avapsyasi

Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat–and, by so doing, you shall never incur sin. (BG.2.38)

Tat te nukumpam susumiksamano

Bhunjana evatma krpam vipakam

Tad vag vapurbhir vidadhe namas te

Jiveto yo mukti pade sa dhaya bhak

“My dear Lord, one who earnestly awaits You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him. All the while patiently suffering the reactions from his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances from the core of his heart. Is most certaintly eligible for liberation for in fact it has become his rightful claim. ” (SB 10.14.)

To relate this back to BG 2.59 namely…..

“The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.”

I would like to think that it is glimmers of the higher taste which I described above which keep me fixed in practicing Krishna consciousness despite the fact that I still have a strong attraction for sense gratification. These times are practical experiences that prove what all the great acaryas are saying is indeed true. I cannot say that I have fully experienced the higher taste, as if that were the case I would not continuously run after maya in her various forms on a regular basis, yet I can say that these glimmers of Krishna consciousness are enough to inspire me to get back up and try again after each failure.

6.August.2007

From: En Route to Austin, Texas, USA

My Dear Radhapriya,

Please accept my blessings.

All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Preachers have to be tough in their determination. They have to be willing to face almost constant rejection without being discouraged. Some will take a book. Some will not take a book. A devotee is not disturbed by this duality. He tolerates it and goes on to the next person to again try to bestow mercy.

Chant your 16 rounds, attend the morning program, do your prescribed duties, study the books. But always remember that mastering the art of sankirtan yajna is the topmost sadhana.

I hope this meets you in the best of health and in an ecstatic mood.

Always your well-wisher,

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

“I am very sorry to hear that the devotees did not want to go on harinam sankirtana. This is shameful. Everyone who is physically able should be eager to go on hari nama sankirtana and sastra sankirtana.”

~His Grace Sriman Sankarshan das Adhikari , letter 4.January,2008

The experience and testimonies of devotees selling Srila Prabhupada’s books
describe a special taste, distinct from the happiness young men might
ordinarily experience by stumbling upon a sales technique and finding
themselves on the verge of making a lot of money. The difference is that the
devotees’ book distribution, being devotional service to Krsna, produces an
ecstasy that is transcendental, an ecstasy far beyond even the greatest
material happiness.

Ordinary business and the business of selling Krsna conscious literature are
as different as material life from spiritual life. And anyone observing
spiritual life from the material point of view will not understand it.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati has compared such empirical attempts to understand
the ecstasy of Krsna consciousness with attempts to taste honey by licking
the outside of the bottle.

The young men and women beginning to distribute books in America knew that
Srila Prabhupada, by giving them Krsna consciousness, had saved them from
hellish life, and they wanted to help him give Krsna consciousness to
others. And such preaching, by distributing his books, was ecstasy,
spiritual ecstasy.

(from Srila Prabhupada lilamrta: Please Distribute Books)

If you preach you will become strong, and all these teachings will be in the
proper perspective. When we stop our preaching, then everything becomes
stagnated, and we lose our life.

(from Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta)

Our Bhaktivinode Thakur Sankirtan Festival begins today with a Harinam procession in downtown Palo Alto, here is an excerpt from an email that Vaisesika Prabhu sent out to inspire everyone for the upcoming festivities.

It is anreally amazing glimpse into the heart of a vaishnava, I am very grateful to be connected to such a wonderful personality

Dear Highly Esteemed Team ISV devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Our stated mission at ISV is to show kindness to all living beings by vigorously promoting public hari nama sankirtana performances and the massive distribution of transcendental literature.

We also maintain a temple at which we worship the Lord in a spiritually surcharged, friendly & welcoming atmosphere, encouraging devotees of all levels in the process of Krsna consciousness through systematic training, and by regularly offering access to the practice of the nine direct methods of Bhakti Yoga, following the mood and process of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our Founder/Acarya.

Silicon Valley is already rife with organizations and opulent buildings that are filled up with workers.

So, what do we have to offer that’s special? What shall be our distinguishing quality that will attract the people of the Bay Area and beyond?

Is it our ability to collect money, to build or maintain properties, or to perform detailed rituals?

Probably not. (And if so, there are others who do it much better than we.)

Rather, I contend that we will and should become most known for qualities that are not “things” and that are in extremely rare supply in the modern world: generosity, mercy, and kindness.

Somewhere in the mad rush to expand technology and catch the illusive “American dream,” masses of people have been left behind and have lost contact with each other and with themselves.

People are oppressed by demanding work that pays them barely enough to live; old people often become “shut-ins,” isolated in their own homes; family farms are being steadily replaced by giant “agribusiness”; instead of friendly local commerce and “mom and pop” stores, impersonal “big box” enterprises now dominate local neighborhoods; corporations unceremoniously lay off workers with little or no thought of their ultimate welfare . . .

In this environment, people are starving for more personal attention offered with a real sense of service.

The day my mother died, some kids up the block from her house happened to walk by when her body was being carried out. These kids came back two hours later with warm cookies — that they had personally baked — a bouquet of flowers, and a note expressing sympathy for our loss.

Such a simple act of thoughtfulness was of course, deeply touching to my family and me.

Are these acts important or is it merely the bottom line that counts?

I am arguing here that people of the world are starving for these loving exchanges and for pure kindness.

I know that I am.

Fortunately for us, we have based our mission at ISV on these very ideals. With such a solid basis for our existence, we can expect to be successful in every way.

After all, when we strip away everything else, we’ll find that this is what people really want. It is what we want. And, in fact, this is what Krsna wants.

In the Bhagavad Gita Krsna directly speaks about the qualities in a devotee that please Him:

“One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego . . . is very dear to Me.”

“My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being—he certainly comes to Me” (BG 11.55).

These qualities are not only valued by Krsna but are also universally pleasing.

Our success will come by focusing on them.

To do this requires that we think of ourselves as humble servants and that we scheme how to assist others.

When someone comes into our group, it is our duty, (and privilege) to make sure that we attend to their needs. For instance, when someone enters the temple room, we should all feel eager to see that they have a place to sit, a book stand in front of them and that they know which page we are on.

We should make new people feel welcome and learn their names, greeting them with warmth. At big festivals, we must go out of our way to make sure that everyone gets what they need: some personal attention.

Preaching outside the temple we should leave each person feeling that he or she has just met a saintly person. Saintly means generous, friendly, happy, kind . . .

We should honor our existing members as the rarest souls in the universe who have all come to ISV due to the Lord’s divine arrangement. About the devotees who had assembled in ISKCON by 1972, Srila Prabhupada wrote: “The devotees of Krishna are the most exalted persons on this planet, better than kings, all of them, so we should
always remember that and, like the bumblebee, always look for the nectar or the best qualities of a person.”

ISV members are family members. Let’s make sure that they feel included and that they are getting the spiritual and material support they need to thrive.

Generosity and kindness: without these, our so-called mission would become yet another stale religious institution in which properties, money and rituals out weigh the importance of the Vaisnava (or even human) spirit.

How careful we must be to regularly examine our motives and methods! For if we compromise our ideals for the sake of expediency or out of pride we will lose what is most valuable.

So called devotional practice that neglects showing kindness to other living beings — who are Krsna’s parts and parcels — is useless. Srila Jiva Goswami compares these efforts to offering ghee on ashes instead of into the sacrificial fire.

To achieve these lofty ideals we must surrender, maintaining our own commitment to our sadhana.

Those who are surrendering, putting aside their personal interests and agendas, become free to take up the interests and agenda of the Lord and his representatives, the great Acaryas. Such devotees can join the Sankirtana Party of Lord Caitanya Mahapraphu and spread His mission. They can serve others wholeheartedly.

There is no greater privilege; nor can the reputation of one who does so be matched by any one in creation.

Of those who have achieved this status in life, Lord Krsna in Bhagavad Gita says:

“There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than” he, nor will there ever be one more dear.”

Therefore, as aspiring members of such an exalted mission we must become aware of these principles and practice them.

Our ISV mission is not confined to 951 South Bascom. 951 South Bascom is one place we meet up to worship the Lord and serve His devotees.

Rather, we must carry the spirit of our mission everywhere: to our homes, workplaces, and into our interactions with all kinds of people and living beings.

Real temple building begins in our own hearts and lives.

This ideal was personally illustrated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Whose cleansing of the Gundica temple was a metaphor for cleansing our own hearts.

Srila Prabhupada writes:
“By His practical activity, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu informed us how to cleanse our hearts. Once the heart is cleansed, we should invite Lord Sri Krsna to sit down, and we should observe the festival by distributing prasadam and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra . . . Thus the cleansing of the Gundica-mandira was conducted by Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu to let us know how the heart should be cleansed and soothed to receive Lord Sri Krsna and enable Him to sit within the heart without disturbance..” (Cc 12.135).

In Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Siva also affirms this principle thus:

tapyante loka-tapena
sadhavah prayaso janah
paramaradhanam tad dhi
purusasyakhilatmanah

“It is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone’s heart.”

To realize and work steadily in this spirit is our real mission at ISV. And those who do so will please the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus attain the ultimate goal of life, love for God. There is no religious principle higher than this.

NOTE: This post was taken from Gauranga Kishore Prabhu’s blog.