Sato Vrtteh
by Svami Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti
Following in the Footsteps of Previous Acaryas
CHAPTER ONE
PREACHING AND OTHER CHALLENGES
Real Love of God Can Never Be Cheap
Srila Puri Maharaja, Srila Sridhara Maharaja and Srila Prabhupada showed us this. Srila Prabhupada made an incredible remark when he reached the United States. He prayed to Krsna in such an intimate way. He asked his dear Krsna for help in his tremendous effort, and he warned Krsna that Srimati Radharani otherwise, would not be very pleased with Him. We can understand that this is a devotee who’s revealing some very confidential thoughts. But on a general platform he was telling us, “You are not this body, but a spirit soul. Accept reincarnation as a reality and take this human life form very seriously, or you might end up in the body of a plant or animal.” Be careful because we tend to be very naughty, and we very easily slip away from the shelter of the guru because of bad association. Banish the television from your home because it is filled with a lot of garbage. Become a serious reader of the Holy Scriptures. Chant the maha-mantra from the deepest part of your heart and pray to learn how to become an instrument of love.
Sadhana-bhakti and raganuga-bhakti are two branches, two appearances of the same transcendental gift, and they reveal in accordance to what a person is ready for. We should never participate in any competition of who has achieved the ‘highest bhakti’, but we should really become more eager to serve and please our spiritual master, so that his divine grace will descend upon us. Also the gap between preaching and practicing can only be brought together by the instruction and guidance of the spiritual master. Those who say that only preaching is important, while they neglect the practice, will not have the best result. And those who say practicing spiritual life in private is the best, while neglecting to give help to others through preaching, won’t reach perfection either.