.....it works !
October27,2007 Filed in: Living
with Devotion
Namaste.
Many years ago, before personal computers were the norm or even available, I worked implementing computerized accounting systems by replacing an office full of typists, accountants and secretaries with computers that spit out fancy invoices and kept tract of everything with the push of a button. As you can imagine good software was had to find in those days, and a majority of my time was spent looking for good accounting software that worked without (major) bugs. Eventually I found one very wonderful software product that did it all, and did it with style and elegance. Interestingly enough the developers had a strange sense of humor, every time you quit their program a simple message was displayed on the screen
.......it works !
In those days, when computer technology was in its infancy, that simple statement was worth its weight in gold for often programs would abruptly halt with nothing but a senseless stream of illegible characters incessantly rolling down the screen.
That very same simplicity and succinctness lies at the heart of this Krishna Consciousness movement, ......it works ! However hard our conditioned mind and senses may work at convincing us otherwise, the truth of the matter is “just chant Hare Krishna and your life will become sublime.” Not only that, but the lives of anyone and everyone who participate in the spreading of this movement, no matter how small or insignificant their contribution may appear, will become ultimately successful. Yes, thats right, ......it works !
It behooves us to keep the realization of this simple truth firmly fixed in our minds. You may even have to remove a shoe in the morning, or grab a stick in the evening to convince the contrary mind, but do not let the day to day hassle, hustle or bustle of life cast aside this simple realization. The consequence of our forgetfulness of this simple understanding ......it works ! can wreck havoc on our spiritual advancement. Believe me I know, I’ve been there, done that and its not a pleasant journey.
Of course those sages of culture and elegance will rightly point out that what I am speaking of is faith, and they would quote the appropriate verse to solidify their point. But I am going to take a less refined approach to our divine philosophy in this blog, and I humbly beg my readers to tolerate this approach, understanding my desire to reach a broader audience and to tell you the truth, my lack of good memory.
So back to my point, what was that, ahhh yes, the unpleasant journey, that consequence of not remembering ......it works ! Well first off, the wicked mind immediately rushes forward with its host of alternatives to our regulated spiritual practice...
--------------- Hey there! yea you! sitting like a yogi acting so majestic in your lotus pose caressing those japa beads, I just glimpsed an ad for a new movie we should go see, you can finish those rounds later, come on, lets go.
---------------- What are you doing ? ? ? standing in front of that mirror placing tilok on your nose, we don’t need to go to the feast today, our favorite team is playing on the tele, you want to miss the game - for what ? ? ?
You get my drift. We put off those spiritually nourishing engagements with justifications like, I’ll put my nose to the spiritual grindstone tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, when I get old, when ...................... whoops another life wasted, I forgot ..........it works ! I can become fully Krishna Consciousness in one lifetime if I simply follow the instructions of the spiritual master.
Worse still we judge Krishna’s sincere devotees, forgetful of the rapid progress they are making in spiritual life, unmindful of their ever increasing spiritual qualification and transcendental realization because we forgot .........it works ! This unfortunately leads to our allowing our minds to see devotees the way they were back when, "I remember he used to...", "I saw her do that once". Oh no, who is that I see over there in the corner, can’t miss him, whoa he’s big, that beast determined to trample the little creeper of devotion that has sprouted from the seed planted by Krishna’s pure devotee in my heart. The mad elephant of offenses, an offense at the lotus feet of Krishna’s devotee.
Anyway, thanks for giving me a moment of your valuable time. This whole blogging thing is new to me, but I will try my best to make it increasingly interesting and worth the read. And falling at your feet I beg, always remember ......it works ! And when --you know who-- tries to tell you otherwise, you can always reach for that shoe.
_/\ò_
Dulal Chandra dasa
Many years ago, before personal computers were the norm or even available, I worked implementing computerized accounting systems by replacing an office full of typists, accountants and secretaries with computers that spit out fancy invoices and kept tract of everything with the push of a button. As you can imagine good software was had to find in those days, and a majority of my time was spent looking for good accounting software that worked without (major) bugs. Eventually I found one very wonderful software product that did it all, and did it with style and elegance. Interestingly enough the developers had a strange sense of humor, every time you quit their program a simple message was displayed on the screen
.......it works !
In those days, when computer technology was in its infancy, that simple statement was worth its weight in gold for often programs would abruptly halt with nothing but a senseless stream of illegible characters incessantly rolling down the screen.
That very same simplicity and succinctness lies at the heart of this Krishna Consciousness movement, ......it works ! However hard our conditioned mind and senses may work at convincing us otherwise, the truth of the matter is “just chant Hare Krishna and your life will become sublime.” Not only that, but the lives of anyone and everyone who participate in the spreading of this movement, no matter how small or insignificant their contribution may appear, will become ultimately successful. Yes, thats right, ......it works !
It behooves us to keep the realization of this simple truth firmly fixed in our minds. You may even have to remove a shoe in the morning, or grab a stick in the evening to convince the contrary mind, but do not let the day to day hassle, hustle or bustle of life cast aside this simple realization. The consequence of our forgetfulness of this simple understanding ......it works ! can wreck havoc on our spiritual advancement. Believe me I know, I’ve been there, done that and its not a pleasant journey.
Of course those sages of culture and elegance will rightly point out that what I am speaking of is faith, and they would quote the appropriate verse to solidify their point. But I am going to take a less refined approach to our divine philosophy in this blog, and I humbly beg my readers to tolerate this approach, understanding my desire to reach a broader audience and to tell you the truth, my lack of good memory.
So back to my point, what was that, ahhh yes, the unpleasant journey, that consequence of not remembering ......it works ! Well first off, the wicked mind immediately rushes forward with its host of alternatives to our regulated spiritual practice...
--------------- Hey there! yea you! sitting like a yogi acting so majestic in your lotus pose caressing those japa beads, I just glimpsed an ad for a new movie we should go see, you can finish those rounds later, come on, lets go.
---------------- What are you doing ? ? ? standing in front of that mirror placing tilok on your nose, we don’t need to go to the feast today, our favorite team is playing on the tele, you want to miss the game - for what ? ? ?
You get my drift. We put off those spiritually nourishing engagements with justifications like, I’ll put my nose to the spiritual grindstone tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, when I get old, when ...................... whoops another life wasted, I forgot ..........it works ! I can become fully Krishna Consciousness in one lifetime if I simply follow the instructions of the spiritual master.
Worse still we judge Krishna’s sincere devotees, forgetful of the rapid progress they are making in spiritual life, unmindful of their ever increasing spiritual qualification and transcendental realization because we forgot .........it works ! This unfortunately leads to our allowing our minds to see devotees the way they were back when, "I remember he used to...", "I saw her do that once". Oh no, who is that I see over there in the corner, can’t miss him, whoa he’s big, that beast determined to trample the little creeper of devotion that has sprouted from the seed planted by Krishna’s pure devotee in my heart. The mad elephant of offenses, an offense at the lotus feet of Krishna’s devotee.
Anyway, thanks for giving me a moment of your valuable time. This whole blogging thing is new to me, but I will try my best to make it increasingly interesting and worth the read. And falling at your feet I beg, always remember ......it works ! And when --you know who-- tries to tell you otherwise, you can always reach for that shoe.
_/\ò_
Dulal Chandra dasa