july 10 akincana prabhu 1

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July 10, 2010

The topic is discussed here is from Chapter 3 text No 4 of the Bhagavat Gita which goes

…Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by

renunciation alone can one attain perfection. Many people assume that when one comes

into the Bhakti movement, one has to renounce all activities and further think that Bhakti

is a sort of passive process which requires little use of the faculties of Action. When the

Lord asked Arjuna to engage in the Yoga of Knowledge, Arjuna immediately pre-empted

that now he would be asked by the Lord to withdraw from the battlefield and ask him to

undertake some sort of mental process which would abdicate him from the battlefield.

Arjuna’s dilemma is not uncommon in the context of even the modern man. The modern

man also assumes that a person who is God conscious is a person rid of all activity and is

fundamentally a recluse and a liability to society.

They assume that a person who has taken up to the process of Bhakti is basically a lazy

person and that he is trying to escape the activities of the world out of fear to face

tribulations head on. There is a real life example where a brahmachari’s cousin, who

appeared for the 12th

Class examination, flunked miserably. The parents of the cousin,

looking at the brahmachary, exclaimed, “We really wish that our son also takes up your

profession and this will be a great relief to us”. The parents of the boy were under the

wrong notion that a brahmachary is basically one who has a relaxed life and if one is not

fit for anything else, should go as a priest. One should understand that the topics of the

Gita are contemporary and addresses the problems of today’s complex world. Today’s

people are fighting court cases, settling disputes on land and property. How are these

problems different from problems in Dwapara Yuga where Cousins had taken to the

battlefield, disputing their stakes on the Kingdom of Hastinapura. Basic nature of human

beings remains the same since eons. Mentalities of People have not changed. Costumes

and Hair dos may change but human tendencies, fundamentally, remain the same.

Considering this, the teachings of the Bhagavat Gita are applicable not only to today’s

Devotional Service is All Action - 1

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H o u s i n g S o c i e t y

C o m m u n i t y H a l l

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world but will continue to be relevant throughout the coming years. Let us understand

that the fundamental activities, a human being engages in are eating, sleeping, mating

and defending. There is no other activity outside of this vicious ambit. One can gloss the

above activities with superficial mundane activities; however the four basic activities do

not change. One can find the answer to one’s problem by simply reading, understanding

and applying the import of the Bhagavat Gita. The Gita is the summum bonum of all the

scriptural knowledge. It not only contains the knowledge contained in all scriptures but

also much more. The word Sanyaas means eternal renunciation.One who has eternally

renounced material life so as to engage oneself in the service of the Lord is a Sanyaasi.

There is an anecdote from the life of Srila Prabhupada; it was during the time when the

Vrindavana preaching center was being built where the current Krishna Balarama temple

stands. There was one particular devotee who was asked to manage the Temple

construction activity. This devotee was not very happy with the task assigned to him by

Srila Prabhupada. He had actually joined the movement anticipating that he would be

just chanting the Lord’s name. This was his concept of service to the Lord. Now he was

expected to count the bricks, count the cement bags, supervise the workers and attend

to the facilitation of running errands at the site. This brahmachary was not in a state of

mind to accept such menial work which appeared to be unconnected with the Lord. This

got him to approach Srila Prabhupada and reject the given activity. However SrilaPrabhupada told him that this particular activity as good as chanting the Mahamantra.

One has to just chant sixteen rounds of the Mahamantra and then further engage in the

activities of the temple. The construction of the temple happened to be an activity that

was as good as chanting activity was what Srila Prabhupada explained to the rebelling

brahmachary.

This disconcerted the brahmachary and he called it quits to the movement. He later

assumed the position of a travelling mendicant and chanted many rounds of the

Mahamantra under trees and other places which were conducive for chanting.

Everybody was surprised to see his dedication and he was commended by the society for

his dedication to chanting. It so happened that one day he disappeared from the scene

and was not to be found in the vicinity where he would normally be found. Some of the

devotees found a familiar face in one of the Gas filling stations. It was the same

brahmachary who had deserted the movement so that he could perform intense

chanting. When asked about his newly assumed role in society as Gas filler, he replied

that he had chanted enough number of rounds that would suffice for over ten years.

Thus disobedience to the Guru cost dearly to the brahmachary. He had not understood

the real meaning of Bhakti and his adamancy in defining Bhakti in his own way took him



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very far away from true Bhakti. One need not give up any worldly activity that one is

pursuing for the sake of performing Bhakti.

There are students who have been attached to the Krishna Consciousness Movement

and who have achieved good ranks in examinations. These are students who attribute all

their success to the Krishna Consciousness movement. Such students attract a lot of

people to the movement by setting great examples.

There was a certain student of the Indian Institute of technology who used to attend the

satsang programs at the institute’s campus. An eve before the examination, he would

invite the other students to attend the program. Most of them would jeer at this student

and would not pay heed to the invitation. The devotee student believed that one should

not compromise on Krishna Conscious activity even if a great examination was hovering

round the corner. Anyway, some students joined the satsang program. When the results

of the examination were disclosed, this devotee student topped the class. The one who

secured the second position was nowhere close to the grades of the said devotee

student. When the other’s inquired about the secrets of success, the student replied that

if one regularly attended the Satsang program, success was rest assured. After this

episode, all the students of the hostel ensured that none of them missed any satsang

program held in the campus. This is the effect of leading a Krishna Conscious life. The

rationale that the students deduced was that if such an intelligent student were to be a

devotee in Srila Prabhupada’s movement, there must be something extraordinarily

special about the movement that they should take advantage from.

Srila Prabhupada’s movement is not a whimsical attempt designed to misguide youth! To

be a brahmachary, the basic material qualification that a student should have is a

university degree. He should also be well versed in English and should have great

communication skills. There is a lot of brilliance required to be able to contribute to the

movement and attract people. One has to have a Guru and one should abide by the

instructions of the Guru. There is a lot of stress on a university degree which will be to

the advantage of the bramacharis because in case for any reason the individual decides

to quit the movement, he will be at least eligible to get a job outside.

-----To be continued--------

july 10 akincana prabhu 1

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