May 2010 A Newsletter from His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami is the cause of all sufferings of the living being, otherwise 1 I Am Now Happy the living being is eternal; he is never born, nor does he ever by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada die. Foolish persons forget this problem. They do not know at all how to solve the problems of life, but become engrossed 2 Dealing with Anger in temporary family affairs not knowing that eternal time is by His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami passing away imperceptibly and that their measured duration of life is diminishing every second, without any solution to the big 3 The Importance of Association problem, namely repetition of birth and death, disease and old by His Grace Karnamrita dasa age. This is called illusion. 4 Devotee Spotlight: Her Grace Indrani devi dasi But such illusion cannot work on one who is awake in the devotional service of the Lord. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja and his brothers the Pāṇḍavas were all engaged in the service of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and they had very little attraction for the I Am Now Happy illusory happiness of this material world. As we have discussed by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada previously, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was fixed in the service of the Lord Mukunda (the Lord, who can award salvation), and “I am now happy; I have everything therefore he had no attraction even for such comforts of life in order; my bank balance is quite as are available in the kingdom of heaven, because even the enough; I can now give my children happiness obtained on the planet Brahmaloka is also temporary enough estate; I am now successful; and illusory. Because the living being is eternal, he can be happy the poor beggar sannyāsīs depend on only in the eternal abode of the kingdom of God (paravyoma), God, but they come to beg from me; from which no one returns to this region of repeated birth and therefore I am more than the Supreme death, disease and old age. God.” These are some of the thoughts -Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.17 which engross the insanely attached householder who is blind to the passing of eternal time. Our duration of life is measured, and no one is able to enhance it even by a second against the scheduled time ordained by the supreme will. Such valuable time, especially for the human being, should be cautiously spent because even a second passed away imperceptibly cannot be replaced, even in exchange for thousands of golden coins amassed by hard labor. Every second of human life is meant for making an ultimate solution to the problems of life, i.e. repetition of birth and death and revolving in the cycle of 8,400,000 different species of life. The material body, which is subject to birth and death, diseases and old age, Sukadeva Gosvami Instructing King Pariksit 1 8 next Dealing with Anger activities, becomes excessively angry, such a person will lose by His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami some of these spiritual credits. One of the greatest dangers at this point for the practicing spiritualist involves the false ego and such a person must remain vigilant to keep the false ego in check. In this way, he or she will progress nicely in using their Question: Sometimes a spiritualist hands, head, and heart uniformly and consistently in the service may be very strict in the execution of of the Supreme Lord for the genuine benefit of humanity. Such their spiritual practices but still act very a person who is conscious of his or her behavior and who is harshly towards the rest of the world. In constantly opening up the heart will easily finds ways to relieve spite of all their devotional rituals and him or herself from the predicament of negative emotions. prayers, they still seem to harbor anger within their hearts. How can one on the Question: You described a lack of forgiveness as one of the spiritual path maintain anger since it symptoms of anger. When someone hurts us, it can lead to directly opposes the purpose and goal feelings of anger and an inability to forgive. Forgiveness seems of pursuing love of God? And how does easier to apply if the other person changes their behavior and a person in this predicament find relief from such negative possibly acknowledges their hurtful behavior. However, such a emotions? change may not happen immediately so how do we relinquish anger and forgive a person who may even continue to repeatedly B.T.Swami: There are many people embarking on the spiritual hurt us in the present without feelings of remorse? journey who very nicely engage in all the rituals and external trappings of the religion but who lack sufficient knowledge. B.T.Swami: Forgiveness does not mean that we turn ourselves Most importantly, such people often lack deep realizations. into a punching bag so that others can continuously throw blows When someone serves mechanically, it might look like the at us, nor does it mean that we become a doormat for others to genuine activity but it is not. As a matter of fact, the proper walk over and wipe their feet. People should certainly remove activity performed with proper knowledge will give us a greater themselves from a position in which they function as the target chance to receive the benefits. However, if a person wants to of another’s attacks. receive the highest benefits from proper activities, he or she must even go beyond the platform of jnana or knowledge Forgiveness does not mean the following: and must connect with vijnana or realization. Proper spiritual activities are based on behavior, which involves the hands; • We feel that the person or people who hurt us should be intellectual understanding that involves the head; and deep allowed to continue. emotional, loving realizations that involve the heart. Many • We feel that what they have done was not really so bad after spiritual practices will involve the hands and some will involve all. the head but few involve the heart. • We suggest that we were actually wrong instead of the other When a person undergoes austerities, he or she will person. normally gain strength and power, but if the heart is not opening, • We have forgotten the wrong. such strength and power will be misunderstood and also abused. • We are totally free of the pain. If the person does not develop deeper realizations, it is only a • We are ready to act as if nothing has happened. matter of time before this misuse of power occurs. This explains • We are ready to associate fully with the person. how a neophyte spiritualist can very nicely engage in executing spiritual practices but still act very harshly. The mechanical Forgiveness does mean the following: activity as well as the possession of knowledge will surely help, but such activities will not fully transform one’s personality. • We are not going to allow the person who hurt us to con¬tinue Austerities, sacrifices, and penance fall into the hurting us by constantly holding onto them or their actions. The different modes of material nature, which the Bhagavad-gita more we hold onto the anger associated with the event, the more describes as the mode of ignorance, the mode of passion, and we allow the person to repeatedly assault us. the mode of goodness. Religious practices under the mode of • We no longer want to keep living in the past. ignorance will actually degrade the individual as well as the • We are ready to live in the present by making healthy choices environment. Religious activities in the mode of passion can that are not clouded by past negative influences. be very insensitive to the needs and well-being of other people, • We are ready to be loving always, not only when someone else and religious activities performed in the mode of goodness will acts favorably. benefit everyone but will still fail to connect very profoundly with the heart which is the door to the soul. Transcendental In other words, forgiveness is something we mainly do for activities actually function as the key to open up the door of ourselves so that we can personally free ourselves from various the heart so that one can nourish the soul. When the spiritualist, stagnations because because such stagnations can affect us who has acquired all kinds of credits from previous spiritual 2 8 next physically, psychologically as well as spiritually. If another for the material is the greatest entanglement of the spirit person chooses to be continuously obnoxious, we do not want soul. But that same attachment, when applied to the self to allow their nonsense to impose itself upon us in any way. realized devotees, opens the door of liberation.” [spoken We want to be fully free to act in the spirit of love in spite by Lord Kapila to Shrimati Devahuti, SB 3.25.20] of the environment or the person’s actions. The spirit of love entails knowing what is actually best for us as well as knowing “Dust from the lotus feet of pure devotees is conducive what is best for the other person’s spiritual well-being. When to devotional service, while service to the Vaishnavas we hold unhealthy anger, it normally means that we want to retaliate or we want to see the person hurt. Consequently, we is itself the supreme perfection and the root of the must ask ourselves, “How much harm or pain must the person tender creeper of divine love.” [Sharangati prayer: experience before we can release them from our psyche?” Shuddha bhakata 1, by Thakur Bhaktivinode] Their feelings of remorse or lack of remorse should not really dictate or impose upon our own life.