When Leaders Don Their Leisure Suits

suchandra · August 15, 2007

NY Times, When Leaders Don Their Leisure Suits - Prince Albert II of Monaco reeling one in during a fishing trip with President Vladimir V. Putin in the Russian republic of Tuva. At right, the Russian leader strikes out on his own. (Photos: Dmitry Astakhov/AFP - Getty Images)

Oh, King Pariksit was given a seven day notice, I have not such notice - I might live for 7 mio of years...why thinking of sitting on death row?

<cite>Prabhupada, Srimad-Bhagavatam</cite> 2.3.25, Los Angeles, June 23, 1972: Our life is so jeopardized. Any moment I can die. That's a fact. If you don't take seriously like that, that "Any moment, I can die." So Parikshit Maharaja had the opportunity of hearing <cite>Srimad-Bhagavatam</cite> for seven days, so I do not know whether we'll have, I have opportunity for reading <cite>Srimad-Bhagavatam</cite> for seven minutes. So let me read it very seriously." That should be our attitude. Not that, "Seven... Oh, Parikshit Maharaja was given seven days notice. Oh, I have no such notice. I may live for seven millions of years." That is our disease. Here the most wonderful thing is that everyone is seeing that everyone is dying every moment, but the man seeing, he's thinking that he will live forever. This is the most wonderful thing. Nobody thinks, "No. He is dying, so I will have to die." No. He thinks "I'll live. He is dying."

That seriousness was there in Parikshit Maharaja because he knew it certainly that he was going to die within seven days. So "I have to finish my God realization, self-realization, with seven days." We are not so serious, because we are thinking that "We shall live for seven millions of years, so let me go slowly. Better utilize the time by sleeping." That is our position. If you have got some time, "Let me take this opportunity by sleeping, not by reading the books." So if you do not become serious, then it will take many, many years. But we should be serious more than Parikshit Maharaja. Parikshit Maharaja had at least time limit seven days, but we do not know whether we will live again seven minutes. Any moment your heart can failure. You do not know. You are going to the street... Just like the two boys were coming. They did not know that they were going to be killed. So our life is so jeopardized. Any moment I can die. That's a fact. If you don't take seriously like that, that "Any moment, I can die." So Parikshit Maharaja had the opportunity of hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam for seven days, so I do not know whether we'll have, I have opportunity for reading Srimad-Bhagavatam for seven minutes. So let me read it very seriously." That should be our attitude. Not that, "Seven... Oh, Parikshit Maharaja was given seven days notice. Oh, I have no such notice. I may live for seven millions of years." That is our disease.

Here the most wonderful thing is that everyone is seeing that everyone is dying every moment, but the man seeing, he's thinking that he will live forever. This is the most wonderful thing. Nobody thinks, "No. He is dying, so I will have to die." No. He thinks "I'll live. He is dying." This is the most wonderful thing. He does not think that "I have seen. My father has died, my mother has died, my brother has died. So everyone has died. So I'll die. So what I am doing before death?" They're not serious. Not at all serious. But death is... "As sure as death." And we do not know when that death is coming to take place. So how much serious we should be. We should be very serious. Labdhva su-durlabham idam bahu-sambhavante. We have got this human form of body, human consciousness, advanced consciousness, after many, many births, after through the evolutionary process. Many millions of years we have passed through many species of life. Ashitim chaturash chaiva lakshams tañ jiva-jatishu. Ashitim chaturah, eighty-four lakhs or 8,400,000's. Bhramadbhih purushaih prapyam manushyam. In this way, going through so many species of life, we have got this human form of life.

tad apy abhalatam jatah

tesham atmabhimaninam

varakanam anashritya

govinda-charana-dvayam (Brahma-vaivarta Purana)

In this valuable life, it will also be spoiled if we don't surrender to Krishna. Krishna is canvassing personally,

sarva-dharman parityajya

mam ekam sharanam vraja

aham tvam sarva-papebhyo

mokshayishyami ma shucah [bhagavad-gita 18.66]

Krishna personally comes to canvass. Because we are all Krishna's children, He's very sorry that we are in this miserable condition of life. He's very sorry. But we are so fool, we do not know that what is the condition of our life. We are thinking we are very much happy. This is called maya. He's suffering, he's kicked by the shoes of maya every moment, and still, he's thinking "I am very happy. Why shall I go back to home? I shall remain in America." But you cannot be allowed to remain in America. You are thinking, "All right... You are born of a very rich family, a rich nation, you have got opulence. You have... Your roads and your houses are very nice, but who is going to allow you to live here? Why don't you think like that? You may live for fifty years, or sixty years, or utmost 100 years; then you'll be kicked out. But they do not know that life is eternal.

When I am kicked out, then what life I am going to accept? They are in oblivion. There is no education in the university. This is going on. So this Krishna consciousness movement is a boon to the human society. You should take it very seriously and utilize your human form of life to understand it and be happy. Thank you very much. [pause] Why not begin immediately?

theist · August 15, 2007

Vladamir sure knows when a camera is on him. He is in good shape as is president Bush an athletic guy in his own right. Putin is a top level Judo practioner. Both of them have so much power and are big big players on the world stage and they know it.

Unfortunately this is just maya setting them up for the big surprise which humbles us all equally...death. The inevitable moment when we are kicked out of this body and ripped apart from all our wordly attachments. This is the pain of death. There is no pain involved in the soul exiting the body other then this.

The solution is obvious to the thoughtful. Attain detachment to the material concept before death arrives. This is dying before death, a necessity to achieve eternal life which is a consciousness of our unending self.

Only then will the soul arise from it's grave (martya-loka) in blessed resurrection to reclaim it's eternal svarupa.

suchandra · August 15, 2007

Vladamir sure knows when a camera is on him. He is in good shape as is president Bush an athletic guy in his own right. Putin is a top level Judo practioner. Both of them have so much power and are big big players on the world stage and they know it.

Unfortunately this is just maya setting them up for the big surprise which humbles us all equally...death. The inevitable moment when we are kicked out of this body and ripped apart from all our wordly attachments. This is the pain of death. There is no pain involved in the soul exiting the body other then this.

The solution is obvious to the thoughtful. Attain detachment to the material concept before death arrives. This is dying before death, a necessity to achieve eternal life which is a consciousness of our unending self.

Only then will the soul arise from it's grave (martya-loka) in blessed resurrection to reclaim it's eternal svarupa.

Thanks theist, yes, at that time ISKCON was quite unchecked by scandals and this kind of shocking-reality-tour-preaching caused lots of people to join, because it is just true. Just no one except Prabhupada could articulate. Unfortunately the preaching today is not any more so agressive because of all those many scandals.

Kulapavana · August 15, 2007

Thanks theist, yes, at that time ISKCON was quite unchecked by scandals and this kind of shocking-reality-tour-preaching caused lots of people to join, because it is just true. Just no one except Prabhupada could articulate. Unfortunately the preaching today is not any more so agressive because of all those many scandals.

You can only accept so much in good faith. Promises are nice and the present day leaders are experts at promising. But when they fail to deliver there is reality check.

What did we deliver from the promises we have made? Not much. That is why so many devotees left, and why so few people join nowadays. The brave new word (aka varnashrama) failed to materialize, many of the big leaders run off with money and women. Some who stayed are just enjoying a good ride. It is hard to inspire people with this record.

In case of Putin, he delivered a lot of what he promised and that is why he is so popular among his people. Bush simply delivered lies and failures and that is why he is despised by so many Americans.

It is not that complicated. People vote with their feet because they know failure when they see it. Yet the failed leaders always blame somebody or something else for their problems - it is downright a signature of a failure, when you dont even have the guts to face your own problems.

theist · August 15, 2007

Thanks theist, yes, at that time ISKCON was quite unchecked by scandals and this kind of shocking-reality-tour-preaching caused lots of people to join, because it is just true. Just no one except Prabhupada could articulate. Unfortunately the preaching today is not any more so agressive because of all those many scandals.

Vishnujana preached that way. That is how he got so many people to just drop what they were doing and join his bus and festival caravan. That combined with his sweet loving nature was practically irresistable and then resistable only by the foolish and unfortunate like myself.

This is where the power of this philsophy lies. Straightforward facts of life that strike deep into the conscious of those that listen.

I remember on one old lecture tape of Siddhasvarupananda's he mentioned how when he went to New Zealand? a reporter was interviewing him and asked "What message do you have for the people of New Zealand". He answered "You are all going to die." LOL:D

The reporter couldn't handle that and asked for something else. I guess he want to hear some 'lotus flower' message that would make the readers feel good for a second or two but what he got was a straight forward reality check.

And it is this same message that we who are still bound up in samsara need to hear daily and pound it home. :smash:

Krsna in the Gita tells us what is knowledge. One of the items listed is the perception of the evil of birth and death. Every second that great final exam gets closer. If we fail it yes we get to take it again but that is bad news as well as good. It entails another womb, birth, parents, childhood adulthood ,old age and death with various disease states and other assorted miseries intertwined throughout.

Personally I am frightened by my prospects. I don't feel that I can take much more of this nightmare.