Manonatha Dasa (ACBSP)

Photo Isvari, Janmastami 2006

We made abhisheka to our Dieties, Sri Sri Radha Govinda, Nitai Gauranga, Gopaladeva and Srila Prabhupada, made a bhajan and took prasadam.

I spent several hours writing.

Also I saw the new service of Google, the spreadsheets. Very useful for service.

Today in Kadaca there was the record of entrances. An awesome peak of people. Thanks for appreciating our modest service.

Jay Sri Krishna Bhagavan. Thanks to have come in this planet to destroy demons, to protect the devotees and to speak the Bhagavad-gita.

It was a happy Janmastami.

2. How to develop firm faith in Sri Guru,
sastra and sadhu

There are not authomatic mechanisms for this. If we want to develop faith in a particular dimension of life, we have to live it. Like if you want to have feelings for the holy places in India, you have to go there for some time. Just hearing about will not do.

If “you live” guru, sastra and sadhu, cent percent you will develop faith. It doesn’t take time, it takes the strife to live in their world, with them. By applying the instruction of Guru, you will see the positive results, and this will convince you, and faith comes. By reading sastras, you heart and intelligence will be so satisfied that you will be convinced, and faith comes. By associating with real sadhus you will see how nice they are and you will not tolerate to live away from them. And faith comes.
Also if you live with people who have this faith, to develop it yourself will be so easy… Sanga is the soul of spiritual life. Very very difficult to make advancement without sadhu-sanga.

1999

3. how to be unconditionely surredered to
Sri Guru and Krisna - this is for me very difficult

Surrender is not the begining. This stage is for advanced devotees. Atma-nivedanam is the ninth of the processes of worship, not the first, which is hearing.

You should not worry seeing you with partial surrender. You should not make exhagerated efforts to surrender; spare mental energy for practizing those disciplines who will give you natural surrender. Gaudiya Vaishnava surrendering is transcendental love, not forcing of ourselves or of others.
When you love, your surrender is so easy. It doen’t take efforts. You do not ask “how can i love you?” If love is there, it comes out. If you go on with your Krishna consciousness, you will see that things will come naturally.

year 1999

3. Are we not one big family, and can be sad guru
“put” in institution, or is he transcendental?
So why is so much misunderstanding?

We are a big family, yes, but in which sense? The thesis that we should mege all Gaudiya Maths and become one, is not acceptable.

In history we see that even bonafide insititutions had they separate organizations. Acaryas have many differences between themselves; they differ in mood and teachings even in very basic principles. Even nowadays we see bonafide spiritual masters teaching very differently from how Srila Prabhupada wanted things to go. This is very true. On this point, ISKCON GBCs are right.

Bonafide istitutions and suddhabhaktas personalize different rasas. Merging everyone in one means to loose identities, which is a great treasure. We see in history how avataras and great great devotees were very different one another. Narada Muni does not have the same mood than Mother Yashoda; Sri Narada travels and preaches, seeing the Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, while Yashodamayi trains Sri Krishna to be a future good man, without having consciousness who is trying to train up.
Can you imagine what a jam if Narada would start to sing the glories of Krishna as Narayana while Mother Yashoda rubukes Him? And if Narada starts to do the same as Yashoda, we loose Narada Muni. We want Narada and Yashoda. Both are important.

So institutions must remain separate to keep their spiritual characteristics, but should not hate each other. They should love each other, as Narada do not hate Yashoda because she binds the belly of his Lord of the universe. In this way we can have many and at the same time one Hare Krishna Movement.

year 1999

The Vedas are saying this from thousands years. There you find information of people having lived for millions years and still living.

More to come on the subject matter…

http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i10/10a01401.htm

______________________
Manonatha Dasa (ACBSP)

> I am very, very happy that I finely found (by Srila
> Prabhupada’s mercy) someone who wants to help. This
> situation frustrate me very much, I was losing my fate
> in Gurudeva, I was thinking that something is wrong
> with him, and plus all this we have no contact with
> him (I know, caitya guru is in heart) but when I have
> doubts I want to that my gurudeva help me to clear
> its.

> Now, I am desperet and thinking to take siksa guru
> with whom I can talk. I know that guru is not doctor
> for mind, but I also have question about sadhana and
> so on… Who can I ask about this, I have no trust in
> anyone here.

Answer:

Your problem is not a new one. Everyone desires association with advanced
devotees. We also had very little personal association with Srila Prabhupada
and even during his lifetime we were forced to learn the following lesson:
that the guru does not mainly express himself by physical appearance but
through his instructions. This is Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy.
If we rely too much on his phisical appearance, what will happen to our
spiritual lives when the pure devotees will not be anymore present amongst
us? But his instructions and the noble mission to preach Krishna
Consciousness will alway be with us. This is real asssociation. If we
associate with pure devotees but we dont preach, then that association has
very little spiritual value.
So you have Prabhupada’s books and also your Guru Maharaja books, tapes and
rememberances; you have a lot of devotional service to perform, worship of
dieties, association of devotees there in your country, Harinam and so many
other connection with the spiritual world.
Please appreciate what you have, which is sought after even by Devas. Dont
risk to loose that also because of underestimation.

If you need phylosophical explanations and the devotees near you are not
very expert, then read Srila Prabhupada’s books more attentively. And if you
dont find specific answer to you questions, then there are so many older
devotees who will be happy to answer to your questions. Personally I am
always available, if you think i can be of any help.

But if your problem is the quality of association, then the only solution is
to go to live where are more advanced devotees. There are so many centers in
India, for instance, where you can live happily in Krishna Consciousness.

Dear Manonath Prabhu:
PAMHO AGTSP. Thanks for answering ***’s questions. I was with him when he received your answer and we were both very appreciative of your writing. Thanks for been so diligent in studying our vaishnava philosophy and thanks for your dedication to preach it to poor souls like us.

Next question: Is there any spiritual benefit for the soul of a person who has died to have Radha Kund water sprinkled on the corps before the burial? This person was not acquainted with Krishna conciousness during his life. Is there anything that can be done for his soul?

Gracias anticipadas por tu contestacion.

Ys, ***

sept 05

Risposta

Dear *** Prabhu,

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

Thanks for allowing me some association with all of you through epistolar exchange.

When in a human body, the soul keeps a type of relationship with the body which is closer respect to other forms of life. This is because of exercise of superior intelligence that, when misused, develops superior specific attachment. This is so true that it is said in the shastra that after death the soul stays for some time near the dead body. This happens because of attachment and the ignorant soul dreams to go back there again and tries to supervise his old business so that everything may go for the best.

Out of foolish material identification, he stays around his family and business for some time.

The human body and the soul have a stronger karmic relationship. At the moment of death this is not immediately severed and even when the soul enters into another body some type of relationship is still there, so much so that the Vedas instruct the relatives to perform purificatory cerimonies (like pinda for instance) for years after his death and the effect is there.

Therefore putting Radhakunda water or other purificatory elements on the body of the deceased is effective and should be done out of mercy for the soul who wasted his human life searching for irreal dreams.