Srimad Maha Bhagavatham : 5.7. - Swami Krishnananda.

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Monday, 10 Jul 2023.  05:30.

Discourse 5: Narada Instructs Yudhisthira on Ashrama Dharma -7.

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If you meet people, speak about That. This is called satsanga. Do not talk nonsense, such as “How are you?” “How is the climate?” Or, “It is raining.” Instead say, “How are you progressing in spiritual life? What is your meditation technique? Please tell me your method, and what obstacles you have faced. I will also tell my difficulties.” This kind of concourse among students of meditation is satsanga, truly speaking. Tat kathanaṁ: Speaking only about that. Anyonyaṁ tat prabodhanam: We enlighten each other. You enlighten me, I enlighten you. We are brothers on the journey, having the same goal, so we ask each other how we are progressing. I will tell you my difficulties, my problems, and you tell me your problems, so that we can find a method to solve them. This kind of anyo'nya prabodhana is also a part of great spiritual practice. paratvaṁ ca  Depending only on That, and depending on nobody else. “You are everything.” “Thou art all.” Or, as in the ahamgraha meditation process, we may say, “I am the all.”

This is the duty of a Sannyasin. And a Sannyasin is the benefactor of all people at the same time. The Grihastha is also a benefactor of people; he serves people, gives food to them, does the pancha tapas in various forms, feeds guests, and the pancha mahayajnas are his duty. But the Sannyasin, the true meditator, is a spiritual hero who does service to people by the thought arising from his mind. Whatever such a powerful hero thinks, it will materialise. If he thinks, “May there be peace,” it shall be there. Why not? Such is the power of the conserved energy that whatever we need will come automatically. We need not say, “Bring it to me.” It will come because the mind is identified with that which it requires. Truth triumphs always, and the truth being our identity with this total ‘I', it shall triumph always. In the beginning, we may feel we are defeated, that nothing is coming. Like the poison that arose in the beginning of the Amrita Manthana though nectar was expected, we may also have to face this Amrita Manthana experience and swallow the poison, which cannot be avoided. But we should persist and see that the treasures of life are slowly opened up through our own personality.

Sometimes many births have to be taken to achieve this goal, or to even have this idea in the mind. Even having an idea of it is to be considered a blessing, as this idea itself cannot arise in a buffalo, a donkey, or a corrupt individual. But you are devotees of Swami Sivananda and are here, hearing these things. These ideas are in your mind; you are accepting them and making them your own, which is itself a great blessing for you. You must have taken many births to come here and listen to these things, and to be devoted to the great ideals of Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj.

Though you have taken many births, and it is possible that many of you will take more births, always expect the best. When you take an exam, do not have the attitude that you will come in second. Aspire for first place, and if you do not attain it, well and good; it is left to the mercy of God. But ask for first place only. “I want the best and the highest, and I want only that and nothing else.” Perhaps your determination will mature and bear fruit. You are the maker of your destiny. You are what you are always, and nobody external will help you.

This is the Ashrama dharma of the totally detached universal being of Sannyasa dharma, all of which is beautifully described with various details and analogies by Narada to Yudhishthira in the Seventh Skandha of the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana.

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Next

Discourse 6: Sri Krishna's Vrindavana and Dvarka Lilas

To be continued

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