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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

http://sulekha.com/chpost.asp?for...ilosophy&cid=77049&show=0

A spiritual seeker felt suffocated in the world. Wanting to break
free, he renounced the world (tarke duniya). As a reward, he was
taken to heaven. It was nice and cozy up there but, after a while, he
was tired of the good things. So he renounced the heaven (tarke
ukba). As a bigger reward, he was taken to God. He liked being with
God, but a time came when he had had enough of God's company. So, he
renounced even God (tarke maula).
Now there was nothing more to renounce. Yet the freedom that he had
been seeking was nowhere in sight. After some uncertainty, he had a
flash of insight and he renounced renouncing (tarke tark). And he was
back into the world from where he had sought freedom in the first
place. Free from being free, he had come full circle.

++++

http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET0103/ET20-6670.html

The Importance Of Honesty

BY ISKCON DC

EDITORIAL, Mar 20 (VNN) — Hare Krishna !!

Recently there was quite an uproar at a prominent public figure
admitting to an illicit affair. The outcry was not really directed at
the illicit affair - in fact there were quite a few indulgent winks
and understanding nods for that. What really upset the public were
the initial denials of the affair by the person. The people were
angry and hurt by the fact that they had been lied to.

There are four legs or supports of religion. They are austerity,
purity, mercy and truthfulness. With the progress of time, purity,
mercy and austerity have greatly diminished. The first to go was
austerity or voluntarily accepting physical and mental hardships for
a higher purpose.

Purity, which is manifested by conducting all activities according to
the strict codes of morality was next to go. With an increase in
aggression against animals and fellow humans, the quality of mercy
declined. The only remaining leg of religion is honesty. It is the
last refuge of religion and must be never violated. In the incident
described above people were outraged since honesty, the only
remaining leg of religion, was corrupted.

Honesty is the essential basis of all our dealings, whether it is
with friends, relatives, strangers or with God. It is the only thread
that is keeping the fabric of civilization from falling apart. It is
the basis of any spiritual advancements we can aspire to make. In the
previous ages, aspiring spiritualists would undertake severe
austerities, extended meditation, chant intricate and exotic mantras
(hymns) or perform elaborate temple worship. All this is not possible
now. For now, the key to spiritual progress rests entirely on honesty
and truthfulness.

Honest spiritual endeavor

The first step in making spiritual progress is understanding where
one is heading. One cannot hope to reach Paris by catching a plane to
London. All paths may eventually lead to God, but not all paths are
the same and not all of them are suitable for everyone.

In the current age, chanting the holy names of the Lord is the
recommended path for making spiritual advancement. It is easy, simple
and any can do it. But chanting without understanding is like the man
who would sit in front of a king's palace and constantly chant the
king's name. One day the king noticed the man and asked him what he
wanted. The man looked at the king and shrugged, 'I do not know what
I want, I am just chanting'.

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is a plea to the internal potency of the
Lord, to be engaged in His service. Chanting with the realization
that the Lord and His names are non-different is the highest form of
service. But this realization comes by executing devotional service
for the Lord. Yet people may spend several years chanting and when
the Lord gives them the opportunity to perform service they refuse.
What is the point in chanting mechanically, without understanding its
purpose? When one does not desire to serve, then why repeatedly ask
for the service?

True humility

One of the most glorious attribute in a devotee is humility. It is an
essential pre-requisite to offenseless chanting. In the beginning
stages, humility is understanding that God is infinite and we are
infinitesimal.

As one progresses this blossoms into seeing every one and every thing
as part and parcel of the Lord and thus worthy of all respects. In
the very elevated stages one begins to genuinely feel one's own
inadequacy in serving or reciprocating with the Lord. The external
manifestations of humility should be an honest reflection of the
inner realization, not an artificial attempt to gain recognition.
True humility manifests itself as a desire to serve, with body, mind
and speech. However devotees who project humility by constantly
calling themselves as the most-fallen or the most offensive without
desiring to render service are generally far from this realization.
They either do it expecting reciprocation or simply to show case
their great humility.

Surrender

All religions stress on surrender as the key component to making
spiritual progress. Surrender is not simply a theoretical concept,
nor is it achieved through elaborate rituals or loud proclamations.
Surrender is very real and very practical. It means to surrender to
the instructions of the Lord and His representatives. One cannot
claim to be surrendered and then act whimsically, the two actions are
in complete contradiction. When one surrenders to the Lord or the
spiritual master, one is promising that 'from now on I will try my
best to understand and follow your instructions.' This is real honest
surrender, which will draw the mercy of the Lord.

No room for hypocrisy

Over time one may become expert at using the scriptures to one's
advantage. Overeating gets justified as 'honoring the Lord's
remnants.' The body becomes a 'temple of the Lord' and therefore is
given utmost care. Family responsibilities are avoided by
becoming 'transcendental to bodily relations.' Mistakes are shrugged
off as 'the Lord's desire.' Lethargy and laziness are justified
as 'not over endeavoring for mundane things.' The highest
renunciation becomes 'renouncing renunciation.' These are all
hypocritical actions. One's behavior must be consistent with one's
level of realization. God is within us as the Supersoul. He knows all
our thoughts, our desires and our intents. When we behave in a
hypocritical manner, we are only harming our spiritual lives and
bewildering the innocent.

Walk the talk

It is important that one must act and speak consistently. Preaching
is a very important service to the Lord, but it should never be done
for the sake of relishing the power of control over others. When one
preaches about surrender, one should be at least sincerely trying to
surrender. At all times there must be a consistency between one's
words and actions.

When one speaks the glories of prasadam one should not make a habit
of wasting prasadam. Simply using the scriptures to win debates,
garner praise and glory or attract followers is falsehood. One must
be careful to focus one's activities on the goal, which is reviving
our dormant love for God.

The essence of devotion

The Lord accepts the essence of one's emotions. There is no fooling
Him, for He is witness to all our internal desires and external
actions. More important than the activities is the consciousness with
which they are performed. One may sing melodious songs glorifying the
Lord, learn many verses from the scriptures, give spell binding
talks, perform difficult austerities or so many others forms of
devotional service, but unless they are executed for the pleasure of
the Lord they are simply extended forms of sense gratification and
will not yield spiritual benefit.

Developing spiritual consciousness is simple for the simple and
complicated for the crooked. The essential quality of a devotee is
being honest to everyone at all points of time. This quality must be
consciously cultivated and monitored. There are many subtle and not-
so subtle distractions in the path of devotion that may easily
distract a devotee.

However for one who is sincere, vigilant and honest the path is easy
and the journey blissful.

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