What is Hard to Break???
Date: 2010-03-02 Author: Sri Purushottama Krishna das
Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept our humble pranams. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev.
What is it that's hard to break ??? Diamonds are hard to find but not hard to break. What is the hardest thing to break then? The answer is: HABIT! If you break the H, you still have A BIT. If you break the A, you still have BIT. If you break the B, you still have IT! After you break the T in IT, there is still the 'I'. And that "I" is the root cause of all the problems that we are all facing. We just recalled reading this verse in one of the emails.
How do we overcome the "I" and all the dirty habits that we have accumulated for the last 84, 00,000 species of life. The Lord very nicely explains in Bhagavad-Gita verse 5.26.
kāma-krodha-vimuktānāṁ yatīnāṁ yata-cetasām abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ vartate viditātmanām
Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.
If we remember the acronym FAD and DRP - to be "Freed from Anger and Desire" and be Self Realized, Self D isciplined and constantly endeavoring for Perfection then liberation is guaranteed. What an irony the meaning of FAD is also craze, we are really crazy of our dirty habits and DRP in business terms means Disaster Recovery Plan. We have really commited a disaster to ourselves and have landed here, the only Disaster Recovery Plan that the Lord has created for us is to be Disciplined, Realized and strive to be Perfect. Even if we think that liberation is too long a way to go, if we follow Krishna's instruction, even our materialistic life can be perfect.
Srila Prabhupada has beautifully explained in this purport that
darśana-dhyāna-saṁsparśair matsya-kūrma-vihaṅgamāḥ svāny apatyāni puṣṇanti tathāham api padma-ja
By vision, by meditation and by touch only do the fish, the tortoise and the birds maintain their offspring. Similarly do I also, O Padmaja!
The fish brings up its offspring simply by looking at them. The tortoise brings up its offspring simply by meditation. The eggs of the tortoise are laid on land, and the tortoise meditates on the eggs while in the water. Similarly, the devotee in Krishna consciousness, although far away from the Lord's abode, can elevate himself to that abode simply by thinking of Him constantly by engagement in Krishna consciousness. He does not feel the pangs of material miseries; this state of life is called brahma-nirvaana, or the absence of material miseries due to being constantly immersed in the Supreme.
Just like how in internet connections, we have different types of connection like dial-up, broad band, satelite connections etc, we just need to connect to Krishna, the speed would always vary but the connection should remain intact. Over a period of time, Krishna would upgrade us, but at least the first step should be from us and the best way is to remember Krishna in every thing we do and by always chanting the Maha Mantra Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev, Sri Purushottama Krishna das and Sharada devi dasi Bangalore