255 - Contact with God, Success & A Good, Well-Trained King (Light of the Bhagavata, texts 42-45)

Published: April 21, 2021, 3:29 p.m.

Without love of Godhead there is no meaning even to direct contact. During the presence of the Lord there were thousands and thousands of men, but because they were not in love of Godhead they could hardly realize the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we must first activate our dormant love of Godhead by following the prescribed rules and by following in the footsteps of the authorities who are actually fixed in love of Godhead. The gopīs provide the highest example of such unalloyed love of Godhead, and Lord Caitanya at the ultimate stage of realization displayed the viraha worship in the mood of the gopīs. [...] A devotee, therefore, should execute his devotional services with full energy, endurance, and confidence. He should perform his scheduled duties, he should be pure in heart, and he should serve in association with devotees. All six of these items will lead the devotee to the path of success. One should not be discouraged in the discharge of devotional service. Failures may not be detrimental; they may be the pillars of success. One must have good faith in the regulative principles followed by the self-realized souls, and one should not be doubtful about the ultimate result of such devotional service. Rather, one must go on executing his prescribed duties without hesitation, and one should never be influenced by unwanted association. We should not consider going back to Godhead a plaything. We must take it seriously, as enjoined in the scriptures. For a strict follower, the result is sure and certain, and when the time is right the result will come of its own force. [...] In a so-called democratic government, corruption is even more rampant than in an autocracy or monarchy. Men who want to flourish in the guise of servants of the people do not want a good king at the head of the state. They are like the kumuda flowers, which do not take pleasure in the sunrise. The word ku means "bad," and mud means "pleasure." Persons who want to exploit the administrative power for their own self-interest do not like the presence of a good king. Although professing democracy, they want to be kings themselves. Thus they compete for votes by bad propaganda and take pleasure in having politics but no king. Thieves and dacoits also take no pleasure in the presence of a good king, but it is in the interest of the people to have a well-trained king as the head of the state. ••• links where to read the book: biglink.to/lightofthebhagavata & photos of all the illustrations are here www.sravanamdiaries.com/light-of-the-bhagavata/ & please follow our facebook.com/sravanamdiaries and instagram.com/sravanamdiaries pages for paintings per episode and more interesting posts