New Devotees

sudhaya · April 6, 2004

I am new devotee, and Finding other new devotees acting like they are advanced, or they ARE advancing, well which is it? How do I know?

Please Forgive me If I don't respond immediately to your posts.

theist · April 6, 2004

Should we be surprised that a new bhakta can't properly assess their position and so assume they are higher then they are?

Rare is the long experienced practioner that is willing to accept the position of being lower than the straw in the street.

Advancment in this path is opposite that found in the world. Here the lowest positon is actually the highest. We advance downward to get to the top.

sudhaya · April 6, 2004

Thats a good answer, I like it. Haribol. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

krsna · April 6, 2004

Advancment in this path is opposite that found in the world. Here the lowest positon is actually the highest. We advance downward to get to the top.

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Now here is the topmost siddhanta of Mahaprabhu's devotees.

Thank you theist for giving such wonderful description of attaining spiritual humility.

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Learning humility, from a dog.

Excerpt from a home program lecture by

H.H. Indradyumna Maharaj:

When we first arrived here, there was sign about a dog at the entrance. It said "Beware!"

As we were driving in, a ferocious looking animal approached us, drowling with foam at his mouth. But actually he was very very friendly.

I was thinking this is the result of association with Vaisnavas. Prabhupada mentions it in a purport that association of Vaisnavas and the chanting of the holy names can change a heart which is as hard as stone into one that is as soft as butter.

In the pastime of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as Mahaprabhu was going through the Jharikhanda forest on the way to Vrndavan he was with one servant and the servant was very much afraid, because it was a jungle and there were real tigers and real lions. Ferocious animals. But he witnessed a great miracle. Through Caitanya Mahaprabhu's chanting of the holy name, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, even the lower species of life, the animals, Prabhupada said they gave up their envious nature and they began chanting the holy names of the Lord and they gave up their animosity and embraced each other. They were kissing each other. The tigers were kissing the deer. The lions were kissing the chip monks.

Animals usually have a very envious nature, very angry nature. Lower species of life ... The lower modes of nature are very predominant there. But through kirtan of the holy name, they were delivered.

Prabhupada, drew on this when he came to America and said, I think it was on one album, Prabhupada says "even a dog can chant the holy names of the Lord".

So as I was getting ready to greet this "ferocious dog", which I was warned about, I saw this completely tame German shepard come and offer his obeisances to all the vaisnavas. He was actually coming out in a very humble state of mind. He had every right to be envious and angry. Usually people keep dogs for that purpose. The dogs don't identify strangers. They just identify with the masters and few of their family members. But this dog, because of Giriraj's mercy, because of the master of this house and his good wife, the children of the family, and prasadam, and always hearing the holy names, he is of another nature now. Just like how Mahaprabhu transformed the animals of the Jharikhanda forest.

And we can learn from that dog as well. I know when he came out, everyone ignored him. Because he is animal and is considered not very clean and we are taught in our custom that way ... specifically when we are going to see the Deity and take darshan.

Everyone was avoiding him. I was marking his good qualities. He was very humble. He could have chased every single one of us away flying away if he wanted to ... if he showed his real nature. He could have made sure that we were back in our cars and back in Alachua in 30 seconds. But he came down ... He was stooping low, wagging his tail. He was very friendly. If you looked closely, you could see a smile on his face ... He was coming up to get the mercy of the Vaisnavas. He wasn't coming in an aggressive way. He was coming very humbly.

Like Chanakya pandit says, one should be ready, if one is intelligent, to take gold even if it is found in a filthy place. One should marry a girl even if she is from a lower family, if she has good qualities. If she manifests good qualities, by dint of devotional service, no doubt, you can accept her as wife, even if she is from a lower birth. And you can take genuine knowledge, even if it is from the mouth of a fool.

Here is an example of taking gold from a filthy place. Animals are not very clean. But he was manifesting the quality of humility.

It is actually a part of Srimad Bhagavatam, where one devotee is taking different lessons from different aspects of material nature, from different living entities. He is seeing Krishna consciousness in different living entities.

So here is a dog, who is manifesting some humility. Dog make very good servants. There is something we can learn. Like from roosters. Roosters are up, at the crack of dawn. They don't sleep in. Here is a good lesson, that we can take from a stupid little animal like a rooster. The bees ... they are always going to where the nectar is. Not like the flies. The flies are always going to the sores and the bees are going to the honey. So Bhagavatam says, we shouldn't look for the bad qualities for others and we should appreciate the good qualities.

So in the dog today ... I was thinking, this is very nice demonstration of humility. If he wanted to, he could have asserted his power and scared eveyone. But he was humble. This quality of humility is the crest jewel, the supreme ornament, which should be worn by all the vaisnavas and that was given to us by Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

trnad api sunicena

taror api sahisnuna

amani namana dena

kirtanya sada harih.

That the yuga dharma is chanting Hare Krishna. But there is a quality to that chanting, which must be there for the full benefit of the Maha mantra to manifest. It is not just the chanting. Prabhupada said that you could chant this maha mantra for thousands of births and you will not make any advancement. But if you could chant this mantra, one time sincerely - Hare Krishna - you could go back to Godhead in a second.

So there is a quality to the chanting and that quality is referring to the humility with which one chants the holy name. One should chant the holy name thinking oneself humble than a straw in the street; more tolerant than a tree; devoid of any sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others. Humility is very important. Bhakti siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said that this verse we should wear as a garland around our mind. We should never forget.

All the siksastakam prayers we should know. But this verse in particular. We should know that we are actually aspiring devotees. Aspiring to become Vaisnavas and it is so important to cultivate that humility. That humility we saw so nicely in that dog. I was thinking how humble this animal is. No one is respecting him. Even the owners were a little embarrased. Everyone were going away. But he wasn't expecting any respect. He was coming and just greeting everyone. He was coming, sniffing and greeting ... coming out and wagging his tail. For us that would mean Haribol ... not challenging "what are you doing in our house!".

So humility without desiring any respect from others. We should learn. We should chant with humility, not desiring any honor ... Iam a great chanter, I sing great kirtan ... We should be thinking, I am only representing my guru maharaj. On his order I am chanting the holy name to please the Lord. On his order I am speaking this bhagavat philosophy for his pleasure, to glorify the Lord.

Prabhupada gave another nice example about dogs. He was walking on the beach in Bombay one time. If you ever walked on the beach outside the Juhu temple ... there are a lot of dogs. Everyone is outside walking. Some take their dogs out. Prabhupada noticed, you see the dog over there ... And the devotees looked - and a man had a dog on a leash. A big fat pedigreed dog from the west. He was fat and fluffy, bright eyed and bushy tail. Leaping and jumping around. On the beach and so happy. Prabhupada said, you see the dog ... And you see the dogs over there ... there were dogs who were skinny ... wounds all over them ... diseased. What is the difference between the fluffy dogs and the skinny dogs.

Prabhupada said, the fluffy dog has a master and the skinny dogs don't have a master.

Similarly, if one has a spiritual master, one is sheltered ... one is protected by that spiritual master. Spiritual master is genuinely concerned with the welfare of his disciples. There is a purport in the Bhagavad Gita where Prabhupada says, the spiritual master is specially kind and merciful to his devotees. So Prabhupada said, they have a master and these dogs have no master. This is the benefit in having a spiritual master. One is protected and sheltered by that spritual master.

And I was told that Jagannath das babaji, he was in Navadwip. There were little puppies born in his ashram and one day he ordered his servants to go to the market and buy some rasagollas and was feeding them. Some people criticized and he was saying, these are dhama vasis. They are born in the dhama. Don't criticize them.

So this dog, we can learn the lesson from him on humility and not desiring any honor in return.

Hare Krishna. Srila Prabhupada ki Jay. Sri Vrndavan Dham Ki Jaya.