Serve with humility and gratitude

Lecture:

http://audio.iskcondesiretree.info/02_-_ISKCON_Swamis/ISKCON_Swamis_-_R_to_Y/His_Holiness_Radhanath_Swami/Lectures/01_-_Theme_wise/Gratitude/05.Serve_with_Humility_and_Gratitude-Concluding_lecture_IDesireTree.mp3

To come together in a holy place to hear, chant, pray and worship the Lord is not an ordinary thing. It is only after millions and millions of birth one gets contact with a Vaishnava. When that association is the seed of bakti that awakens the heart. There is no greater priority of our life than nourishing and protecting that seesd of bakti. Everything else will perish and everything else is an Illusion.

When the great Vaishnava Kuresh was asked for his vision to be restored, he did not want to see anything in this material world. It is all distraction, his only interest was to see the Supreme Lord, beautiful form and form of his spiritual master Sri Ramanuja charya.

In this world, life is about endless distraction, endless oppurtunities to forget our relationship wiht God. The world is created for this purpose. However Lord Brahma as explained in Srimad Bhagavatam, in the process it is essentially only suffering. Krishna says the pleasures of this world is the source of pain.

Maya promises happiness in such a way that breeds egotism, greed, lust, anger, pride and illusion. The vast majority of the population in the age of Kali are like the puppets to the three modes of nature. It is only possible to overcome the repetition of birth and death by receiving the mercy of Krishna through the Vaishnava.

Srimad Bhagavatam says the entire ocean of material creation is reduced small to one who surrenders to the Lord.

Who is really a Vaishnava?

One who considers hell and heaven to be the same. Vaishnava does not concern enjoying and suffering. His concern in any situation of life is immersed in ones consciousness, words, actions to the service of the Lord.

Story of Lord Sunder Bahu- He invited the followers of Ramanuja charya to come and eat his Maha prasad. The followers were enthusiastic and grateful to come. But Sundera Bahu noted that the disciples of Mahapurna did not attend. He asked them, they said you have called the followers of Ramanujacharya they are grand disciples of Maha purna and did not consier appropriate. The Lord Sundera Bahu explained to them that Ramanujacharya is not an ordinary devotee.

Although he is formally disciple of Mahapurna, Mahapurna himself worships Ramanujacharya . Once Mahapurna paid prostrated obeisances to Ramanujacharya and Ramanujacharya accepted it. The devotees were confused. How can a guru offer obeisances to the disciple Sripad Ramanujacharya. With humility revealed his heart. He said I may be the humble servant of Mahapurna who is the beloved of Yamunacharya, the guru of our life but he sees me as the representative of his guru. From his heard it pleases him to pay his dandavats to me. I accepted his obeisances simply for his pleasure as his servant.

Tulasi devi is the eternal servant of the Lord. Her eternal longing is to find her leaves at the lotus feed of the Lord. However we see in some or many temples of Narayan finds great pleasure in putting Tulasi on his head. Tulasi is very willing to be on Lords head if it pleases the Lord.

The formalities of Vaishnava etiquette are very very important to follow as a devotee.

What we learn from this story is what is the essence that everything the devotee does. It is our only duty or aspiration is to please the Lord. The purpose of all the rituals and the mantras, the purpose of everything in a spiritual or religious system is simple to please Krishna.

What please Krishna the most is pleasing the devotees. Etiquette is about pleasing the heard of the vaishnavas. If following strictly if we offend vaishnavas and we offend the heart of the devotee then we have undermined the whole purpose of what we are trying to do. The essence of all vaishnava ettiquette is humility. Humility is not the stereotype way of acting and speaking. Real humility is the spirit that arises from the intention of our heart to support ourselves to please Krishna and please devotees.

To be a compassionate of Krishna's mercy to the people of this world. Lord Chaitanya offered us his beautiful prayer

Trinad api...

If we want to chant the holy name which actually pleased Guru and Krishna that we must adopt in that spirit, feeling oneself as humble as the blade of grass. Having the tolerance, forgiveness more than the tree, eager to offer all respects to others and expect none in return sometimes when you dont want respect you get respect and it will be poison to our false ego, when it comes, we must immediately pass on to someone else otherwise it will cause spiritual death. However if you offer it to Guru and Vaishnavas of Krishna there is no danger.

Rishab hill ist he place where Lord Chaitanya met Paramanda puri who is his Guru's god brother. Lord Chaitanya honored and worshipped Paramanda puri. Paramanda puri honored Lord Chaitanya as the supreme personality of god head. But yet Lord Chaitanya offered his obeisances to Paramanda puri. He accepted his obeisances, he lifted Lord Chaitanya embraced him and blessed him.

Sandipani Muni knew Krishna is the Lord same Vishwamitra Muni knew Ramachandra is the Lord. They accepting Lord massaging the feet and Lord is doing minimal chores for them because it pleases them. Sometimes our Srila Prabupada would ask devotees to give class in his presence. Srila Prabupada said it will please me.

According to scripture to speak Siddantha in the presence of a Vaishnava is an offense. But neglecting the order of spiritual master is a bigger offense. So the devotee took class. He was not able to connect sentances and grammer. Everyone thought that was the worst class. Srila Prabupada said that was the wonderful class since he was trying to please the guru. It is not the matter of how skilled we are it is the matter of how sincere we are.

Lord Chaitanya at Rhysab hill visited da Paramanda Puri begged and asked him to stay with him in Jagannath Puri. Paramanada Puri said he will come to Puri just to please Lord Chaitanya. It is the parallel example we saw with Mahapurna and Sripad Ramanujacharya. Srirangam, Tripati, Sudara Bahu temple are the three most important temples of Sri Sampradaya.

It is said long ago Yamaraj was cursed and he came to perform tapasya and that form of the Lord appeared to be his worshipable diety. Sundera bahu said let the earthy devotee worship diety. Sundera bahu said let the earthy devotee worship me throughout the say and you can come every night at midnight to do the Puja. He is the worshippable diety of Yamaraj. If we worship this diety Yamaraj will lock the door of hellish planet and meet us in Vaikunta.

Sundar Bahu is also known as Sunderraj he is very special he holds 5 weapons- Conchell, chakra, club, swords/knives, bow and arrow. After Kuresh was blinded by Kulathunga first. He came to Sunder Bahu's temple. By Kulothunga orer the followers of Ramanujacharya were not allowed in Ranganath's temple one of the guards would let him in because of good qualities he possessed. Kuresh told the guard that whatever good qualities he has is by the mercy of guru therefore I will not come into the temple if you dont accept me as the disciple of Ramunajacharya. He came ot Sundera Bahu and worshipped him for 14 years.

He prayed to Sunderabahu that nobody else prayed for, he prayed to leave the diety. He worshipped the diety bue prayed please reunite me with my Guru Mahraj in Sri Rangam where he wants to live. This temple was constructed by Viswakarma at Satya yuga by a brahmins order. This was worshipped by Prthu Mahraj, Ambarish Mahraj and later by Vallaba Dev. Couple more pastimes of Sundarabahu temple where Kanyadhan of Meenakshi getting married to Lord Shiva. In the presence of Lord Krishna as her elder brother.

Ramanuja charya offering sweet rice (payasam) on behalf of Aandal since she could not visit that temple and later Aandal accepting Ramanujacharya as her elder brother.

Whatever experiance we have received we must be grateful. Grateful for Lordship, grateful for the pleasures and pains and grateful to each other and Srila Prabupada who is made it all possible.

Grateful heart is the heart where the seed of bakti grow. An ungrateful heart is like dry, unfertile soil. Even the best seed will struggle and practically die in that place. As it is said there is no sin greater than ingratitude.

The greatest help is those who support and help our Krishna Consciousness. Srila Prabupada was grateful to his neophyte devotee because they were helping his Guru Mahraj and he was eternally grateful.

How we should see each other if Prabupada was grateful to everybody if Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami is taking the dust of brand new devotee and what is our position with each other.

We are not coming to yatra to satisfy our own selfish ambitions. We are coming to become purified to please guru and Krishna to serve and more people more intimate yatras are not vacations to enjoy. They are experiances to internalize Krishna Consciousness. Standing in line in heat, body is aching and hungry is a good oppurtunity to pray to the diety. What ever situation comes upon us it is arranged by the Lord to go into deeper prayer deeper submission and deeper surrender.