As more and more people deviate from following the laws of nature and the laws laid out by God Himself, the burden that Mother Earth carries by the consequent ravages of the materialistic culture is immense! In his commentary on a Srimad Bhagavatam verse, Srila Prabhupada notes that the earth has become overburdened due to dharma-glani, or irregular discharge of the Lord's desire. Fortunately, whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, and a predominant rise of irreligion, the Lord Himself advents or sends His empowered representatives. Krishna’s pure representative whose only desire is to fulfill and assist the Lord in His mission travels to the darkest regions of material existence and takes on the immense burden of purifying the conditioned souls. Although, it may appear to be a huge burden, these pure souls do not consider this service (of extending Krishna’s mercy to fallen souls) a burden at all. Rather, they consider it a burden of love and a source of pleasure.
We were extremely fortunate to have such a pure devotee of Lord Krishna - HH Romapada Swami Maharaja’s divine association here in Boston from April 12-16 2010.
April 12 2010 – Home Program As soon as Maharaja arrived at our home around 3.30 p.m., he immediately began his services. One of the devotees expressed the thought that Maharaja is a 24 X 7 Krishna’s servant! No matter where he is or what the circumstances are, nothing can stop him from his service to Srila Prabhupada. We have practically experienced how it takes a few hours or even days to get settled in a new place and to resume our duties and commitments. As a sannyasi (renunciant), Maharaja constantly travels and he finds himself in a new place every 3-4 days. Still, he is always in the mood of service regardless of the circumstances.
At the home program, Maharaja initially spoke on Srimad Bhagavatam 3.3.10. Then, he narrated stories from the Mahabharata. It was a wonderful experience to hear Maharaja speak on these literatures. Maharaja also expressed his view about how wonderful it was to read and hear Mahabharata at night. He described and relished the various pastimes of Lord Krishna such as the ‘killing of the evil Jarasandha’, ‘the deliverance of King Muchukunda’ and others. Maharaja mentioned that Muchukunda had never seen Krishna before but had only heard of Him. Just by hearing, he got purified. Maharaja also mentioned how Krishna gave Bhima a difficult service to kill Jarasandha and how Bhima happily accepted Krishna’s plan.
One of the important messages from the lecture was about how Uddhava, a confidential associate of the Lord Krishna, understood Krishna’s heart and served the Lord accordingly by giving perfect advice when requested by the Lord to do so. In another recent lecture by Maharaja in Chicago, he had shared a detailed explanation of this important principle – rendering service knowing the heart of the master. One devotee later requested Maharaja to explain Uddhava’s relationship with Krishna. Maharaja nicely elaborated the confidential relationship between Krishna and Uddhava. He said one difference between Arjuna and Uddhava remembering Krishna is that when Arjuna remembers Krishna, he gets immense strength to carry forward with his duties; but, when Uddhava remembers Krishna, he feels more the intense pain of separation.
Although the program went so late, Maharaja did not forget to give the Prasadam of Sri Sri Kishore-Kishori’s (the presiding Deities of ISKCON Chicago) to each and every devotee who was present. We all happily accepted Krishna’s mercy.
April 13 2010
In the morning lecture, Maharaja continued to speak on Srimad Bhagavatam 3.3.11-13. This section talks about how Krishna was not happy to see Duryodhana lying on the ground unconscious after struck by Bhima. Maharaja explained that Krishna is constrained to chastise the living entities – not by some mundane laws, but, by His own affection toward them. Maharaja then elaborated on the principle of correction. He also talked about how Duryodhana’s envy towards Pandavas was checked many times because he was not following religious principles. Then, Maharaja explained one important principle, about how envy can be checked by religious principles, but can be eradicated ONLY by devotional service.
Maharaja also read from Mahabharata how Duryodhana got corrupted by the ill advice of Karna, Sakuni and others. He said that even good persons can be corrupted by bad association. So, he warned that we not discuss some confidential subject matters with envious persons. To a devotee’s question on how to not misuse the power that one may gain by practicing devotional service, Maharaja, mentioned that humility and mood of service can eradicate all abusive tendencies.
You are what you eat, Tufts university At Tufts University, Maharaja spoke on the importance of following a vegetarian diet and more so, eating Prasadam or sanctified food. I felt very inspired when Maharaja shared the importance of cooking and eating in proper consciousness. Although, I have heard this message several times before, I still continue to be mechanical while cooking and honoring Prasadam. For some of us, eating Prasadam is the time when we try to catch up with the phone calls, emails etc. But, we practically saw Maharaja’s example that no matter how much work he had to deal with and no matter the delay in taking Prasadam (esp. dinner after late night programs), he always honors Prasadam with such care and love and while hearing Srila Prabhupada’s lectures. We also felt that Maharaja really lives what he speaks and speaks what he lives. Thus, he touches and transforms so many hearts. April 14 2010
In the lecture the next day on Bhagavatam 3.3.14-16, Maharaja woke all of us up by requesting us to share some important messages from the previous class. We all tried to scratch our memories to share some points as Maharaja carefully listened and edited our messages. He talked about ‘Burden of beast’ Vs ‘Burden of love’ in this lecture. He said that burden of beast relates to those who do not follow the religious principles and whose actions cause burden to the earth and the Lord. But, he said that burden of love is a source of pleasure. He compared the two to the burden of suffering and happiness. To help us understand, Maharaja cited a few examples of burden of love given by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarthi Thakur - the burden of love husband feels for wife, burden that mother feels for her child and the burden a young girl feels while wearing ornaments for the pleasure of her lover – all of these are sources of happiness.
Meditation on Sacred Sounds, North Eastern University At North Eastern University, Maharaja gave a wonderful talk-cum-workshop on Meditation on Sacred Sounds. It was very well received by the audience. After the University program, he came home very late. Some of us had come home little earlier to prepare his dinner. We were very tired at that late hour and were waiting for Maharaja’s arrival. But, when Maharaja arrived, he looked so fresh and entered our home with a loving smile. For a moment, I thought how much sacrifice Maharaja is taking for all of us. Tolerating and transcending inconveniences, he is constantly serving Guru and Krishna. We reflected that if we followed his example, we too can become better servants than worrying about our personal inconveniences and problems. April 15 2010
This morning, Maharaja spoke on Srimad Bhagavatam 3.3.17 which talks about how Krishna protected Maharaja Parikshit in the womb of Uttara. He explained Krishna’s omnipotence and how He is always present everywhere. He shared with us the two-fold purpose the Lord had while saving Parikshit Maharaja – to protect the child and also to give His own darshan to His pure devotee. To a devotee’s question on how to help others who think themselves as a burden to others, Maharaja gave a wonderful answer - he said that we can help others by becoming Krishna conscious.
Why bad things happen to good people, MIT At MIT, Maharaja gave a talk on ‘Why bad things happen to good people’. One attendee asked Maharaja why he chose to follow Krishna consciousness. Maharaja mentioned two reasons – purity and philosophical clarity. The following is feedback from students who attended the talk. 1. The teachings are very beneficial and I should practice it. The talk was very kind and penetrating. For a future talk, can you talk about "overcoming daily material temptations"? 2. I like the idea of being detached from circumstances of life and maintaining the equanimity of mind. Talk was very good. 3. It was a pleasure to listen. Would want to listen forever! 4. Talk was amazing. I love the way the mundane examples from mundane books were connected to the Hare Krishna philosophy. Please keep coming to MIT.
April 16 2010 Maharaja continued to speak from Srimad Bhagavatam 3.3.18-19 - “Conversations between Uddhava and Vidura.” We heard how Maharaja Yudhisthira ruled the entire world and how he was an ideal monarch because he was a constant follower of Krishna. Maharaja mentioned that when we abide by religious principles, we will be provided with all resources. Then, Maharaja talked about ‘Knowledge and Detachment’ in detail. The real detachment is the detachment from the spirit of enjoying matter and when we have the knowledge that, “I am a servant of Krishna”. Thus, Maharaja said that one should be very clear of sambanda-jnan (the knowledge of relationships). One devotee asked how one can obtain this knowledge through chanting. Maharaja answered very expertly how chanting can remove all contaminations from our heart so that we can read and hear transcendental knowledge without filters. He made it very clear that understanding scriptures is not merely an academic exercise.
After the morning lecture, Maharaja spent extensive time with three devotee couples. He actually had a very important conference call. Still, he made time for all of us. We felt inspired by Maharaja’s commitment to his relationships with the devotees. Something that really touched us was recognizing how much Maharaja values this relationship with all of us. Maharaja carefully considers the nature of a person and their values and convictions. It would be easier for him to provide some quick-fix solution. But, he always values and considers our nature carefully and empowers us to make the final decision. Although, this whole process takes a lot of time in clarifying each other’s understandings etc. Maharaja values relationships more than just solving issues. We also sincerely hope that our attention goes to our relationship with Krishna and His representatives and not just on finding a solution to a particular challenge.
There were also many occasions where Maharaja would look at us and would smile or give us some service. We were very happy, not so much because he smiled, but because of the training we were receiving, we knew he loves us even otherwise. We were happy more so for receiving such opportunities to feel his love from our heart.
Finally at around noon, all of us accompanied him to the airport where he was to fly to his next place of service – Chicago. As Maharaja swiftly walked through the check-in counter and then to the security, we all stood speechless and our hearts were crying in joy thanking him for all the wonderful gifts he had lovingly extended over the last week.