American Hindu writer (1950-2005)
Bhakti Tirtha Swami (February 25 1950 – June 27 2005), also known as Swami Krishnapada, was a prominent scholar, Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu teacher, and religious leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the Hare Krishna Movement. He was the disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
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We must allow every day of our lives to represent healthy closure now! When we live for love, this is most natural because all of our associations will be quality associations in which we share our compassion, determination, and realizations, and receive the same from others. This is the technology of how to celebrate life now and live with proper preparation and detachment, so that we will master the science of dying before dying so as to connect with the should and its home-the spiritual world. After all, death is to remove all that is false and secondary. I am that lowly beggar who is desperately trying to die before dying.
Life is full of meaning and opportunities for growth. When we are mindful of the beauty and accomplishments of the past, even when the present or future is not exactly what we would like it to be, we will not be disturbed. We will still be excited about the past and appreciative for the present. In this way, the future will be even more auspicious because we create our futures by how we have dealt with the past and how we are dealing with the present. Being always refl ective, mindful, and grateful allows us to never forget how much the Supreme Lord is sending His love in different ways.
My mentor continued: Selflessness doesn’t mean to give up pursuing adventurous goals, but rather to attach ourselves to transcendental goals. Actual selflessness means we must genuinely access humility and submissiveness. This can be very scary, because we normally identify humility and submissiveness with low self esteem.
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Immediately I felt the weight of my deficiencies, and realized how polluted my consciousness had become. The voice continued speaking, giving me a welcome distraction. “Despite your many deficiencies, I have been drawn to you by the intensity of your greed and desperation for transcendence. In fact, I have been sanctioned by higher authority to reveal your shortcomings to you. I therefore beg you to listen closely, for this is a rare opportunity that may not come again for many lifetimes.” “I braced myself for a rude awakening…”
Now, my dear Lord, I am completely confused. I have tried to attract You, but I see I have nothing to attract You with. I am a pretender. I want Your kingdom, without You. I am a criminal who has tried to plead innocent, and now I have nowhere to hide, no presentations to make. What am I to do, dear Lord? Then I heard the Lord say: “You have always been, and always will be dear to Me, but you do not believe it. Therefore you separate us by being an enemy to yourself. Come on, My child, and experience what it is to be fully dear to Me.”
We see that the spiritual world is characterized by an atmosphere of selflessness and of the animated love of dynamic association. There is an intense mood of appreciation and caring that creates the dynamic synergy of devotees working together on different services which are perfectly Krishna-centered. If we are blessed by Srimati Radharani, it is guaranteed that we will gradually be able to re-enter the land of pure love. If we do not receive Her blessings, it is guaranteed that we will remain disqualified.
The worst thing that can happen to advanced devotees who are fixed in Krishna consciousness is that they will go back to the spiritual world. Thus, they are enabled by calamitous situations to go back to Krishna more quickly. It is a part of the process of devotion that from time to time everyone must be tested in various ways. When we take to devotional service we are declaring war against Maya. We are on a battlefield, engaged in our own battle of Kuruksetra. We shouldn’t read the Bhagavad-gita and think that it is merely some fascinating ancient history and philosophy. We should also understand that Arjuna is representing every person who is trying to take shelter of Krishna. Arjuna had to undergo bewilderment and serious choices, but Krishna was present to protect him.