KC Nectar Pages - September 14

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances.  All glories to Srila Prabhupada ! 

I was pretty shaken by the senselessness and brutality of the whole incident … Tuesday morning I was talking to my manager over the phone (who was watching the news) discussing business and suddenly she shouted, Oh my God, a plane just crashed into the World Trade center. Then just declining it as an accident, we went back to our conversation only to come back a few minutes later with her shouting again in disbelief … Another plane crashed into the other building … and there're flames all over … people are going crazy … they are jumping from the buildings.

Thinking about it … The first thing that comes into my mind is the exercise HH Ravindra Svarup Prabhu did in one of his lectures. With all sitting down, he asked the audience to draw a circle around each of us with our finger. With people sitting pretty close by, the circles intersected. He then explained that's what happens with our current state of consciousness. We put ourselves at the center and act in a way thinking the whole world is revolving around us. And when that happens, naturally there is some overlap and it results in disharmony … claim of territory. But spiritual consciousness is to have one center. To put Krishna in the center and build our lives by drawing circles around Him. With one central point, naturally the disharmony disappears and the environment is in harmony.

Another lecture by HH Radhanath Maharaj comes to my mind. He says "We are living in the age of Kali yuga. Kali yuga means the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. Quarrel means I want my way. You want your way. Iam this body and those in relationship with it are mine. I am thinking the same thing and you're thinking the same thing. And pretty soon there is a conflict. This is the power of the potency of Kali yuga and this is all pervading. Influencing people to be disunified in quarrel. And it is very difficult to overcome this tendency because it is everywhere in the atmosphere. 

Therefore we should know that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the yuga avatar who has come to overcome the influence of Kali Yuga. He has come to bring unity and love and purity in place of quarrel and hypocrisy. And how has he come to do that … with this verse … trnad api sunicena, taror api sahisnuna. amanina manadena, kirtaniya sada hari. To chant the holy name of Krishna, in a humble state of mind. In a tolerant state of mind. Offering all respects to others and expecting none at all in return. 

To the degree we expect respect, to that degree we will become quarrelsome. Because sometime people will not simply give it to us. They will treat us in a way that is not according to our expectations. They will treat us in a way that is not according to our idea of what our position is. In this way there is quarrel. And this quarrel leads to envy and enmity … criticism and blasphemy … And then we do not even want to work together. We want to ignore each other and criticize each other behind our backs and we become contaminated by the age of Kali."

So the only way to cure this ill is by spreading the benediction moon of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And to be able to do that we should first become ourselves free from the effects of Kali. "Purity is the force". And the only way to become pure is to follow the four regulative principles and as Krishnadas Kaviraj Gosvami says, we should take the verse "trnad api sunicena, taror api sahisnuna. amanina manadena, kirtaniya sada hari" string it with the holy name and wear it around our neck and constantly remember it and take protection from it. 

And if we don't do that we are, as Jaya Govardhan Prabhu said couple issues back, "Actually our position in this world has been sadly compromised. And by not executing our daily sadhana we are sabotaging ourselves."
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3 types of relationships - from HH Sacinandana Maharaj

FROM: Manoj Kalava <mkalava@manh.com> 
DATE: Fri, 13 Sep 2001 20:03:13 EDT 
SUBJECT: 3 types of relationships

There is no greater happiness than the happiness which comes from affectionate relationship with others. Among all the miseries we can feel … miseries due to the bad weather, misery due to bad health … so many miseries... among all those the greatest misery is the misery due to human beings that comes to us.

Human relationships are the source of greatest happiness. But if they are not so well maintained, they can be the source of greatest misery.

Narada Muni explains in the Srimad Bhagavatam that if a human being can learn just 3 kinds of relationships, then all the miseries of material world will go and great happiness is there. 

First type of relationship is when we see someone who is more qualified than us. Usually at that time when we see someone higher, more superior to us, with material conscious, we become very envious and very disturbed. Oh … this person is better than me ... Total misery. But when we see someone who is more qualified than us, we should become more happy. Oh finally … I've met someone who is more qualified than me. This is so wonderful. Let me serve this person. Let me be close to this person. In this world I've met someone with good qualities, how wonderful. This is a source of happiness.

When we find someone who is at an equal level as we are, when we are in material consciousness, we immediately try to lord over them and say, I have very good qualities. In other words, materialistic reaction is to immediately lord it over him. But if you want to be happy, when meeting with someone equal - make friendship with that person. Have a heart to heart talk. Try to become close and friendly related to this personality.

When we meet someone who is not so qualified, someone young and new at something materialistic reaction is ... Oh I am very much better than this person. Let me put him down and show him who is the lord of this particular area of expertise. When we see someone who is less qualified than us, we should be compassionate towards him and help him.

If we can learn these 3 types of activities, i.e. when we meet someone who is more qualified, let us serve him and praise him. When we meet someone who is our equal, let us make friendship. When we meet someone who is not so qualified, let me help him and show compassion.

If we learn these 3 types of relationship, all the miseries of material world will leave far away like the fog when sun rises in the morning. This is from the 4th canto. Those who are interested in good relationship and nice relationship should follow this teaching. There is no greater happiness than the happiness which comes from affectionate relationship with others. 
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