I joined a new Hare Krishna class this past Wednesday. It's a Bhakti Vriksha class and each week, they teach one verse from the Bhagavad Gita and we study it in depth, and have a discussion about it. It's really a fun class and it would be especially useful to understand the verses I don't fully comprehend. The teacher there and the rest of the devotees were very very nice to me. They were so warm and welcoming. They were just wonderful devotees who were so inspiring. We first sang the Damodar Aarti, and then one of the devotees explained Chapter 12. Guys, I swear to you, Krishna is alive. During the group japa session, I was dazing and I was not concentrating. I was chanting rather inattentively and my faith wavered.
Why was I bothering with chanting, why couldn't I just pray normally? Krishna, are you real? Are you the True God of this Universe? Is this the True religion of the world? Or is it another religion? All these questions were running through my mind. After the japa, one of the devotees began to show us slides he made explaining Chapter 12: Devotional Service. That chapter starts with a question:
"Arjuna inquired: Which is considered to be more perfect, those who are properly engaged in Your devotional service, or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?"
Arjuna asked the question I had just asked Krishna a few minutes ago. Most other religions are monotheistic and worship God in His impersonal form. And I was comparing other religions with Krishna Consciousness, and asking Krishna if this movement is filled with truth, and what if another religion was true and real, instead. Arjuna was asking the same question. And Krishna answered him and thus He answered me, through that thorough explanation of Chapter 12. By "chance" (actually, divine intervention), Chapter 12 was one of the topics that day, my first class, and my doubts were lifted, just like Arjuna's doubts were lifted on the battlefield 5000 years ago. At the end of the class, I told the teacher about this interesting reciprocation that Krishna so mercifully bestowed upon me. Prabhu then told me about an incident where Krishna had reciprocated with him. It was during a festival celebration and there was a kirtan going on, with pictures of the Lord in His different forms were projected onto the wall, one by one. Then the crowd began to sing 'Jaya Jagganath' and Prabhu sang along, but he thought to himself, "Where is Jagganath?! I cannot see Lord Jagganath! Where is He?!" and just then a picture of Lord Jagannath was projected on the wall! Haribol! What a wonderful reciprocation!
I then told Prabhu about another experience I had. I also openly told him that my faith is very weak and I look for a lot of stories of miracles to make me feel like yes, miracles DO happen in Krishna Consciousness. I haven't heard many of them which makes me wonder if they exist or not. And while they have happened to me and I have experienced them first-hand, somehow it's never enough, sadly. I understand it's very materialistic and shallow, but I can't help it, especially when I keep hearing about so many miracles happening in other religions and they experience such dramatic, life-changing ones. Like someone getting healed of a critical illness. I told all of this to Prabhu and so, he told me about a miracle. He told me that in Bahrain, there was a devotee who was pregnant. The doctor found that she also had a tumor and while the baby was growing, so was the tumor. The doctor advised her to have an abortion otherwise it would prove to be fatal, but she did not want to. So she consulted her guru maharaj (I think Jayapataka Swami) and he instructed them to recite a prayer very faithfully and in devotion everyday. The prayer was from Scripture, said when Parikshit Maharaj was in the womb of his mother and Krishna saved him from death from Ashvattham's bramharastra. So the devotee recited those few verses everyday with strong determination and faith. Soon, the doctors saw that now, as the baby was the growing, the tumor was shrinking. The doctor was baffled and the devotee had a healthy delivery, by the mercy of the Lord.
Another Prabhu also mentioned that he recently heard of someone healed of an illness as well, but he could not recollect the entire story. Either way, just knowing that such instances happen and that Krishna is healing and looking after His devotees just strengthens my faith immensely.
Yesterday, I was feeling terrible about myself and the mistakes that I keep making. I apologized to Krishna, like I have a million times before, for the same mistakes. That night, I read a very nice poem by a devotee blogger, 'In Love With Krishna', that mirrored my feelings exactly! It was just spot on. I was simply amazed that another devotee was feeling the exact same thing I was, and Krishna had given me something I could relate to 100%! I could apologize to Krishna but I wasn't even convincing myself with those apologies anymore. While I could apologize as much as I wanted, I should just surrender unto Krishna and let Him take charge of the entire situation. 'In Love With Krishna' re-enforced this in her poem, which only made it more significant, and made the way out of this mess a whole lot clearer. On her blog, I narrated an incident that had occurred to me some time ago. I'll just copy paste it here:
"Once I needed a cab and I was feeling downright awful because of myself. What I asked for later was quite silly, but I needed a sign. So I needed a cab and I thought if I get one immediately as I reach the main road, on MY side of the road (it was a 2-way road), I would understand that Krishna has forgiven me.
But there was no cab on my side of the road. There was one on the opposite side and my friends called it and it turned and the taxi stopped right in front of us. At that time, I realized Krishna's mercy knows no bounds. There are always taxis on that road, and there is always a huge line of taxis on the same road, but that day, when it was right there when we arrived, and he u-turned and stopped in front of us, I realized Krishna was giving me the sign I asked for. Just before that day, I read an article about a woman who was going to pass away and devotees had come to sing the Hare Krishna mantra to/with/for her. The writer mentioned that the Holy Name had come to the dying woman, re-enforcing something that the writer saw in a dream. And that day, I felt like Krishna was coming to get me, He was there for me, and He had forgiven me. The taxi took a little u-turn and came to me, and it made me think that Krishna would come to get us, if we ever drown."
I also had a dream last night, which is a rather usual type of dream. I dreamed that I was in a sea and it was a dark and scary night. I had to go from under a tree which was so low and its branches were almost touching the water. I was terribly, terribly frightened. I just called out to Krishna again and again to save and protect me and I passed from under the tree with no harm done to me. Soon enough I woke up. I have many dreams where I call out to Krishna to save me, and even in my dreams He protects me. Last night when I logged onto the Facebook, there were many articles about Krishna. One that caught my attention was, "Supersoul never leaves you". That just spoke to me. It made me realized Krishna had forgiven me yet again, though I was completely undeserving.
Krishna is magnanimous and He is far more forgiving than we believe Him to be. We just need to surrender to His will, and try hard to learn from our mistakes and avoid making the same mistakes again and again. If some of you are looking for His forgiveness, I would like to ask all of you to go before Krishna in all humility and submission, and ask Him for it. You can ask Gaura-Nitai, who are the embodiment of mercy and forgiveness. You can ask Radharani who is our mother. Just ask for it. Pray for it. They will not deny you of their forgiveness because they are all-loving. My own experience has taught me that even when I make the same mistakes again and again, without learning much from it, Krishna still forgives me. I don't mean to encourage anyone to commit the same mistakes again and again, thinking that Krishna will forgive us, no matter what. We must definitely try to avoid making mistakes to our best ability, we should learn and not make the same mistakes again and again, we should seek Krishna's blessings always, and when we apologize we should be completely sincere. Krishna and His love must not be taken for granted. Krishna is forgiving but when we abuse that, we are at the risk of offending Krishna greatly, and causing pain to the Lord who loves us. So ask the Lord for His mercy. He always showers His mercy on anyone and everyone, just like the rays of the sun reach everyone, without discrimination. Our Lord does not discriminate. Do some service for Him and He will never forget it. Call out to Him and He will definitely come lift you out of the storm you might be in. Prayer. Simply prayer.
Readers, if you have any stories or personal experiences you would like to share, please go ahead! I'd love to hear them!
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The Tale of The Two Wolves
A grandfather is talking with his grandson and he says there are two wolves inside of us which are always at war with each other. One o...
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Here are true stories of miracles and profound experiences that have happened to me, my friends, my friends' friends, and devotees all ...
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sarva-dvarani samyamya mano hrdi nirudhya ca murdhny adhayatmanah pranam asthito yoga-dharanam "The yogic situation is that of detachme...
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Yes, yes, I feel your pain. If you're a vegetarian that doesn't eat eggs or fish, please, stay away from Maggi noodles! I live in Du...
Wow!!!
ReplyDeleteHow can He continue to talk through the BG, especially since He said it like thousands of years ago? :))
Perhaps, coz there are devotees like us, always wanting to hear from Him, desperate for His guidance.
Drainpiper, i actually was amazed when you told me you were feeling the same way. Because, i never imagined anyone can stoop as low as i had.
So, to hear about your experience was wonderful.
It's so nice we could heal together from those problems, by a common medicine- just surrendering unto Him.
What is irking me now is the mental potrait of someone smiling His beautiful killer smile, and mocking at us from somewhere, perhaps maybe just next to us.
About your doubts, that miracles DO happen in other relegions, you may want to read this verse from the BG:
"Even if they have faith in a particular form, know this, Arjuna, that even that faith was bestowed by me."
There! We don't say you go to hell for not realizing Krishna, coz you don't.
You come back on earth, and for real devotees, seperation from Him is by itself hellish.
But coming back to the point, Krishna tests people's faith.
And, if they are faithful enough, He blesses them.
Not just with what they ask for in that life- but also with a chance to understand Him, truly ie a birth where they understand Krishna.
You are already blessed by Him to love Him, to serve Him, to sing His glories...
And when you HAVE with you the taxi-driver (ParthaSarathy) to save you "if you ever drown", why worry about other things?
I knooowwww! It was such a strange occurrence, wasn't it? How likely was it that both of us would be feeling the same thing at the same time, and my experience showed you that you're not alone in feeling like this, and yours gave me support and reminded me that all I should is just surrender! What mercy!
ReplyDeleteI'm familiar with that verse. Thanks for reminding me of it! And I love what you mentioned about hell. It's one of the things I absolutely love about Krishna, and Hinduism in general. What you said about testing our faith reminded me of the popular teaching that Krishna reciprocates with His devotees according to their own desires and their own faith.
Today I was listening to a lecture by Bhakti Tirtha Swami and even he was talking about miracles. The funny thing is that even yesterday I was listening to the same audio but I was in a noisy place and I didn't hear much of it. And today I replayed it and when he began talking about miracles, I kept thinking what great timing it was! Krishna just doesn't stop. AND I LOVE IT! :D
And when you HAVE with you the taxi-driver (ParthaSarathy) to save you “if you ever drown”, why worry about other things?
RIGHT ON! I will definitely keep that in mind next time I start doubting again!
Thanks so much for your comment. It was really nice to read!
Hare Krishna :)
More miracles?
ReplyDeleteSee Mannivannan Sadasivam's comment on my blog, with regard to your comment.
And, a wonderful realization stuck me yesterday, by the grace of Krishna.
i would post it here, but am in a hurry. Please check out the comments section of that same poem. i really want your views on that.
I was JUST reading it! I'm going to reply to it now :)
ReplyDeleteI love krishna from my breath, mind, soul, heart!
ReplyDeleteBut recently he took my test. very very very tough test. And I think I failed. During the test I cried cried and told myself, "Krishna will come to meet, krishna will come to meet! he has to come".
I told myself,"I will wait Krishna, I know you will come." "I have no one else Krishna."
i cried and said to myself," Everybody came to meet me after my terrible accident, but my friend Krishna hasn't yet."
on my birthday I went to temple looked at divine Krishna and said, "Krishna I thought I can win over you by deep faith pure faith. But you are truly unconquerable!"
I failed , I think I failed. My Krishna took very dangerous test and I failed. I would hate me, he wont come to meet me. :(
I am alone now. I dont know how many births I would have to take more. I dont know when I will meet my krishna again. :(
Yogesh Prabhu, Krishna is right there in your heart! Don't worry, He keeps testing His devotees sometimes. Even I feel like I am being tested a lot these days. Today I was thinking, Krishna does not love me because He is putting me in such difficult situations. Then I thought that if I behave like this, and doubt Krishna in this way, maybe Krishna will think that I do not love Him because I do not trust Him and believe in Him to help me!
ReplyDeleteSo don't worry, keep your faith strong in Him. He will come to you. And He really can be conquered - only with love! Through these tests, Krishna is trying to purify us. So let's deal with these things positively and let Krishna help us to grow. We really have no one else except for Him, so if we don't count on Him, there isn't anyone else to count on.
Just keep Krishna in your thoughts always and fall in love with Him. He's waiting for you to turn to Him. Trust Him and lean on Him - He will hold you :)
You have already received this great opportunity to know Krishna in this lifetime. This is His blessing. Don't turn away from Him and let this opportunity go to waste. Make FULL use of it! Spend more time with Him, Yogesh Prabhu. He would really like that, I'm sure :)
Hey, I also want to shar my 1 of the greatest experience of what do u call "Krishna Reciprocal", actually some time ago I had a fatal accident , n some how I survived, n sooner become a devotee of Lord Krishna, then 1 day after some time I was watching B.K Chopra's Mahabharata episode, in which Arjun was not fighting properly with Bhism Pitamaha, this made Krishna angry n he said to Arjun "That kill that person, he isthe enemy of the society as he was sitting quite during Draupad's wastra haran,n suporting Kauravas in the war "and he further said "If he is society's enemy than he is my enemy, If you are not going to Kill haim then I will kill him myself", on that very moment I asked Lord "What about rascals n miscreats in today's time, when r u going to kill Terrorists like Osama?,Don't u exist now?" the time was around 1 a.m. in night,
ReplyDeleteNext day I went to my office aroun 10 a.m. And as soon as i switched on my P.c., opened Yahoo to check mails , and it was on the headlines "That Osama died"!
Damn, I don't yet understand either it was my Law of Attraction or My intuition or Krishna's answer "that Son I'm here only, just wait for my perfect timing, I'm aware of everything", now some of u may think its a Co-incidence, but I don't believe, I also had some similar other personal experiences that I can't share right now,
Jay Shree Krishna!
HARI BOL!! it great to hear such wonderful experiences from all great devotee. Please pray for me that I too can start becoming a devotee. I am trying to be a devotee, attending classes at ISKCON. My life has greatly changed. I used to crib earlier for whatever bad was happening to me & my family. After attending classes my view n attitude changed. Now I try to submitt myself to our beloved RADAH MADHAV & amazingly he listens. There have been a time in my life where he created way for me, when there was practically no way, professionally. I am now sure he is there n listining n reciprocating, but I am a fool not able to grasp it. Request to all devotees here I & my family now in difficult time, maybe testing time plz pray for me that no matter whatever happens our love for Lord Krishna should not decrease. I do not want to doubt but situation is such that for no reason we are going through rough time, mentally {no material problem}. Will update this micracle too how Lord saved us from our current situation too, I m sure. HARE KRISHNA to all.
ReplyDeleteHare Krishna!
ReplyDeleteSo pleased to read about your strong faith in Gopinath. I pray for the Lord's protection and guidance in all matters of your life, as well as your family's :)
may KRISHNA protect your UNFLINCHING faith!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHARE KRISHNA. TO All great devotess, Thank You so much for all your sincere Prayers n Good wishes. As I thought again Lord created way out for my family, the problem that we were facing gone in thin air without making much of our effort {a serious issue which could permanently damage the reputation of my family, completely}. The only guilt I had that at some point I was shaky & stated lost faith. But experience n teachings of ISKCON class prabhuji made me surrender to Lord Krishna. The day I humble said looking at the sky "that now if it is UR will to fininsh us we will get finished but we completely submit ourselves to you", trust me, same day evening the problem got solved without our making any effort for the same. THANK YOU SO MUCH lord to care about a person who in no way is near to becoming a devotee {one who keeps failing in all Ur TESTs but U keep giving me grace marks n make me pass".
ReplyDeleteREQUEST to All never give up faith in our Lord because HE never lets his devotees down in any moment, any circumstance. THANK YOU ALL for creating such a blog. HARI BOL!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing that! Yes, surrender is very important. I have often experienced it myself - the moment I surrender fully to Krishna, He swoops in and saves me. Isn't that Draupadi's story as well? When she was being humiliated in front of so many people, she raised her arms and surrendered to Krishna. Guess what he did? He added infinite yards to her sari! :)
ReplyDeleteHow many Jaapas of maha mantra you do daily DP?
ReplyDelete