The gigantic Bhakti Sangam Festival in Ukraine is truly the most amazing event within the three worlds. It is so unique and unparalleled - simply out of this world! Nothing can compare to it.....!
More than 8.000 devotees came together in Koblevo - a holiday resort on the Black Sea just outside of Odessa. We welcomed twelve Sannyasis and seven more preachers, who all offered seminars in six venues parallel throughout the day. And there were more kirtaniyas for the evening kirtans! This year we had several guests who attended for the first time: HH Sacinandana Maharaja, HH Subhag Maharaja, HH Krishna Ksetra Maharaja, and Deena Bandhu Prabhu was also there. All others were regulars. And as always, HH Niranjana Maharaja was the most affectionate and caring host of the whole event. His humility, affection and devotion was permeating the entire atmosphere and created an outpour of selfless service mood. This spirit of selfless sevice could be perceived on all levels - everybody seemed to be "infected" by it: the devotees eagery attending the seminars and kirtans, the devotees taking care of the VIP's, the guest speakers giving their time and energy to uplift everyone, and so many devotees serving in various capacities - truly creating "Vaikuntha atmosphere" within this material world. In order for the whole event to take place, it requires around one thousand devotees who are fully absorbed in service - otherwise such festival cannot take place. Many devotees already came to the venue ten days earlier in order to help setting everything up: the cooking arrangements (for 8.000 devotees!), the huge pandal and stage for the morning programs and evening kirtans, the arrangements for the VIP's, etc, etc. And so many other back-up services were required, which necessitates a strong mood of cooperation - for the sole goal of making pleasing arrangements for Krishna's devotees. Simply amazing!
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On my arrival when entering the prasadam area for the VIP's to take lunch, HH Niranjana Maharaja greeted me by emphatically exclaiming: "You look so healthy!" And he repeated it a few times in great amazement. It was a fact - one would never guess that I had just gone through Chemotherapy. And I could sense that many other devotees shared the same amazement. I indeed felt back to normal, all the while remembering that it was less than a month ago that I had concluded my treatments in Bangalore. And deep gratitude flooded my heart, being once again allowed to be in the wonderful association of so many great Vaisnavas and sincere devotees....
I offered the seminar "From Grhamedhi Life to the Grhastha Ashram" over five days, which was very well attended even though I was scheduled parallel to Sacinandana Swami and four other Maharajas. I guess the topic was of practical relevance to many.
It is always sobering to remember that what we call love in this material world is nothing else but emotional attachment and lusty feelings towards a person. Pure love is free from the desires for sense gratification, and it is to be experienced in our relationship with Krishna. Ironically, in no other relationship in this material world do we have as an intense expectation for sense enjoyment as in the man-woman relationship, and thus it is the furthest away from pure love. Prabhupada often told us that the mother-child relationship is the closest to pure love, since it is governed by a strong mood of service - the mother has to serve, 24 hours a day, whether she likes it or not. The more we can serve selflessly, the more pure our love becomes.
A non-devotee enters marriage with the expectation of romance and sense gratification, which turns family like into grhamdehi life, whereas a devotee has a very different attitude to marriage: it is an ashram - a place for cultivating pure devotional service. The relationship is meant to keep our mind and senses peaceful, so we can whole-heartedly assist and support each other in serving Hari, Guru and the Vaishnavas. Of course, there also has to be emotional attachment and attraction, otherwise the family will not stick together. But it is not the main and foremost foundation. There has to be a deeper spiritual compatibility, so husband and wife are a suitable combination to practise spiritual life. The grhastha ashram is entered with a very firm committment, seeing each other as Krishna's gift - as His perfect arrangement to give us what we need for our purification. There is no question of divorce. In order to have such attitude and vision we need firm faith in Krishna, seeing every situation in our life as His divine arrangement in order to teach us something valuable. If this is not there, we still are tending towards the attitude of grhamedhi life. Then our main expectation is sense enjoyment, and before signing the marriage contract we want to try each other out, how much fun it will be. Therefore people want to have a long period of association: we want a guarantee for sense gratification - only then we are willing to enter the contract. And as soon as things are not to our liking and expectation, we are ready to quit and get divorced. This is the mood of grhamedhi life. In grhastha ashram, there is no room for divorce - it does not exist. Prabhupada gave permission for a couple to live separately, if they cannot cooperate, but there is no need for divorce since strictly speaking there should also be no plan for re-marriage.
Obviously it requires a deeper transformation to have the mood and attitude of a true grhastha. We have been taking it for granted that as soon as we take up the process of Krishna consciousness, we can call our family life grhastha ashram. However, it is not such cheap and easy thing. We have to transform our desires, attitudes, visions and approach to family life. During the seminar the participants had an opportunity to assess themselves, where we are on the broad spectrum between grhamedhi life on one end, and the grhastha ashram on the other. According to how firm our committment is to go through all ups and downs together - whatever Krishna will arrange for our purificationm - and according to how deep and unflinching our faith in the Lord is, we are closer or further away from being a true grhastha.
A non-devotee enters marriage with the expectation of romance and sense gratification, which turns family like into grhamdehi life, whereas a devotee has a very different attitude to marriage: it is an ashram - a place for cultivating pure devotional service. The relationship is meant to keep our mind and senses peaceful, so we can whole-heartedly assist and support each other in serving Hari, Guru and the Vaishnavas. Of course, there also has to be emotional attachment and attraction, otherwise the family will not stick together. But it is not the main and foremost foundation. There has to be a deeper spiritual compatibility, so husband and wife are a suitable combination to practise spiritual life. The grhastha ashram is entered with a very firm committment, seeing each other as Krishna's gift - as His perfect arrangement to give us what we need for our purification. There is no question of divorce. In order to have such attitude and vision we need firm faith in Krishna, seeing every situation in our life as His divine arrangement in order to teach us something valuable. If this is not there, we still are tending towards the attitude of grhamedhi life. Then our main expectation is sense enjoyment, and before signing the marriage contract we want to try each other out, how much fun it will be. Therefore people want to have a long period of association: we want a guarantee for sense gratification - only then we are willing to enter the contract. And as soon as things are not to our liking and expectation, we are ready to quit and get divorced. This is the mood of grhamedhi life. In grhastha ashram, there is no room for divorce - it does not exist. Prabhupada gave permission for a couple to live separately, if they cannot cooperate, but there is no need for divorce since strictly speaking there should also be no plan for re-marriage.
Obviously it requires a deeper transformation to have the mood and attitude of a true grhastha. We have been taking it for granted that as soon as we take up the process of Krishna consciousness, we can call our family life grhastha ashram. However, it is not such cheap and easy thing. We have to transform our desires, attitudes, visions and approach to family life. During the seminar the participants had an opportunity to assess themselves, where we are on the broad spectrum between grhamedhi life on one end, and the grhastha ashram on the other. According to how firm our committment is to go through all ups and downs together - whatever Krishna will arrange for our purificationm - and according to how deep and unflinching our faith in the Lord is, we are closer or further away from being a true grhastha.
The festival was a busy time for me - an opportunity to reach out to as many devotees as possible and serve them by giving inspiration and guidance, and at the same time recharge my own batteries and receive spiritual nourishment by attending classes and evening kirtans. One evening HH Sacinandana Maharaja lead an unforgettable kirtan, and I also attended HH Niranjana Maharaja's lectures. Once again it was wonderful to be able to bathe my heart in all the transformational and uplifting association......
On the 9th of September I flew off to Zagreb/Croatia.....
Your servant, Devaki dd
Please visit www.theholynameretreat.net
www.therootsofspiritualculture.net
https://www.facebook.com/instituteforspiritualculture/
On the 9th of September I flew off to Zagreb/Croatia.....
Your servant, Devaki dd
Please visit www.theholynameretreat.net
www.therootsofspiritualculture.net
https://www.facebook.com/instituteforspiritualculture/
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