Just Drop It - Part 1
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Just Drop It - Part 1 Date: 2011-07-12 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble pranams! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev! The following is the transcription of the wonderful class by our beloved God brother HG Devakinandan prabhuji on 28- 04-2011 in Abu Dhabi on Aila Gita. Maharaj actually touched on Aila gita for two to three weeks. Maharaj did very intense study and spoke very intensely on this particular episode in Srimad Bhagavatam known as Ailagita and it speaks about the story of King Pururavas and Urvashi. When Maharaj was recovering from his stroke in London, for one month, he spent time studying third canto, ninthchapter which is Brahma’s prayers for creative energy and then he spent a lot of time on Aila gita. This Aila gita appears in the 11th canto 19th chapter. But it has its beginnings inthe ninth canto and then it continues in the 11th canto. So it is a wonderful story - wonderful episode and it means so much because Maharaj studied this and revealed so much. Solet us try reading couple of verses from it. SB 11.26.19-20: pitroḥ kiṁ svaṁ nu bhāryāyāḥ svāmino ’gneḥ śva-gṛdhrayoḥ kim ātmanaḥ kiṁ suhṛdām iti yo nāvasīyate tasmin kalevare ’medhye tuccha-niṣṭhe viṣajjate aho su-bhadraṁ su-nasaṁ su-smitaṁ ca mukhaṁ striyaḥ One can never decide whose property the body actually is. Does it belong to one's parents, who have given birth to it, to one's wife, who gives it pleasure, or to one's employer, who orders the body around? Is it the property of the funeral fire or of the dogs and jackals who may ultimately devour it? Is it the property of the indwelling soul, who partakes in its happiness and distress, or does the body belong to intimate friends who encourage and help it? Although a man never definitely ascertains the proprietor of the body, he becomes most attached to it. The material body is a polluted material form heading toward a lowly destination, yet when a man stares at the face of a woman he thinks, "What a good-looking lady! What a charming nose she's got, and see her beautiful smile!" These two verses ask a very important question. The question is whose property is the body? This is very important. Who actually does the body belong to? In this material world, as a devotee, the standard answer from us is, the body belongs to Krishna. But the truth of the matter is, we behave in such a way very often it looks as if the body actually does not belong to Krishna. It actually appears to belong to us. All our problems start because of "I and Mine". The whole basis of our entire problem, even when we are in devotional service, it begins and ends with "I and mine". The moment I think, "this is my program" or "this is your program" or "this is that group's program" or "this is these people's program", Maharaj said it comes down to "I and mine". It comes down to an extension of our bodies and because we are so greedy to consume more than we can hold, we are not satisfied stopping with our body. Maharaj gave the example, when a man is young, he decorates himself very beautifully. Today even if people are old, they decorate themselves very beautifully, because in their eyes, they are always young. But in everybody else's eyes, they are actually deteriorating but when they come to a stage when they realize that they cannot look nice anymore, then what they do is, they turn to the small children they have. Maharaj said, "What do we do? We buy them the best clothes. We make them look very nice. We decorate them with cosmetics them and when they look very nice, we make sure they learn all the slokas, they do Bhagavad gita, they know how to do arati. At the end of it, when someone comes and tells us, "your son is doing nice arati", "your son looks very nice", "your daughter is a good devotee", then what we feel is that, "This is very nice. By saying all these things the actual credit does not go to my children because I am the one who is training them." So we feel that, "Oh! If they are praising our children, actually speaking it reflects on what great parents and devotees we are. And that is very nice." Maharaj said, "We pat ourselves on the back. We actually have no real intention of making our children devotees." Very powerful statement. Maharaj said, in the core of the core of the core of our hearts we just want to make them look good because they are part of "I and mine". It is an extension of who we are. Do you get insulted when someone says, "Oh! Your child did this. Your child didn’t do that." More than insult we should be worried about our child. Sometimes the insult over raids the worry for our child. Maharaj says when that is coming and we are feeling that, then we must know that we have extended our "I and mine", to our children. Then we extend it to our property. As devotees, we have renounced all these things. As devotees, we are very careful to show that we do not have "I and mine" philosophy. Whatever we have, we say it is part of Krishna. But the moment someone does something which is going to affect the "I and mine", then "everything belong to Krishna" philosophy is put outside the door and we become upset. We become hurt. We become extra sensitive. All this is happening because, Maharaj said, this question is not answered properly. Whose property does the body belong to? Arjuna was told by Krishna in Bhagavad gita 11.33 that, "You please remember one thing. You can wake up. You can take the kingdom. You please run the kingdom. You please enjoy the flourishing kingdom because you have earned it, because it is part of your duty. But after you do all this, you remember one thing - "mayaivaite nihataah purvam eva" - please remember that by My arrangement, everyone is being killed. Whoever you have shot an arrow has not died because of you. Whoever you have shot an arrow at, has actually died because I have arranged prior to the shooting of your arrow. So if that is the case, then what value do you have?" Actually speaking we have no value and that is the starting point to answer this question - "Whose property is the body?" Factually speaking we should genuinely believe that except for Krishna and guru, this body has no value. These properties have no value. Whatever we think belongs to us, is all valueless, but if we believe that, then we should remember the last line of Bhagavad Gita 11.33. He says, "become nimitta maatram" and He purposefully calls Arjuna as savyasaachi. Savyasaachi means one who is expert at shooting the arrows. So Arjuna is being told by Krishna gently, he is being reminded by Krishna, "My dear Arjuna, you may be very powerful. But please remember one thing. You may be the best person to shoot an arrow. The arrow will find its mark, but your capacity and your ability is borrowed." It is loaned out because it is coming from Krishna. So if Krishna does not sanction, Arjuna may be the best Savyasaachi but it has no value. So actually speaking, whatever capacity you and I have, that capacity is coming from Krishna. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita verse 7.8 - paurusham nrshu - "I am ability in man." So if Krishna is the ability in man, everything that belongs to man, is Krishna's property. This is what Krishna is telling us. Maharaj said, "As devotees, we may have given up many gross things, but the subtle capturing of, 'this is my property', and 'this is to my credit', that will kill our devotional service because it is a subtle form of "I and mine". This identification is dangerous." Prabhuji went on to explain the result of this identification leading to dissensions amongst us and the same shall be transcribed and offered in the next mail Krishna willing. Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Vaijayantimala devi dasi, Abu Dhabi Just Drop It - Part 2 Date: 2011-07-13 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble pranams! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev! The following is in continuation of the transcription of the wonderful class by our beloved God brother HG Devakinandan prabhuji on 28-04-2011 in Abu Dhabi on Aila Gita. In the last offering, we saw that the most important question in our lives is whose property is this body? Because of the concept of "I and mine", we think that everything belongs to us and this results in dissensions amongst us. As devotees, the reason why we become very upset with each other is because we are working on the "I and mine" principle. Srimati Kunti says, bhutaanaam yan mitah kalih. She says, there is only one reason why living beings have dissension. Why we fight? We fight because of social intercourse. Social intercourse means I and you appear to behave like devotees, but the moment we speak, the moment we act, we do everything and anything except how we should be as devotees.