Archive for July, 2001

New Ekachakra Dham Meditation On

Dhanurdhara Swami July 18th, 2001

New Ekachakra Dham

Meditation On Humility VI
Pure devotional service is causeless. If there is some reason or motive for what you do, like prestige or fame, your actions are not pure devotional service because there is a cause. I pray to be happy with anonymity or, if I’m praised, give all credit where credit is due?to guru and Krishna.

?If you examine me you will see no good qualities. Your mercy is all that I am made of.? ?Narottama dasa Thakur

?My enemies flatter me.? ?Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur

?I am in not in this for name and fame.? ?pure devotee sadhu grafitti artist in Vrindaban, when asked to pose for a picture for BTG

New Ekachakra Dham Meditation On

Dhanurdhara Swami July 17th, 2001

New Ekachakra Dham

Meditation On Humility V
I understand what humility is, but have I realized what humility is? Am I humble? It is definitely something to strive for. I am trying by devotional service and by reading about Krishna and transcendental knowledge. Real knowledge?knowledge of Krishna?does not make one proud, but bends him with that knowledge like the supple branch of a tree over-laden with ripe fruits

Without humility there is no bhakti. Bhakti, or devotion, begins with the experience of Krishna’s grace. Unearned kindness naturally invokes a sense of unworthiness making us humble.

Grace also requires a humble mood as a conduit because mercy can only flow downward. A pauper can never be kind or merciful to a millionaire in terms of his wealth. Since only the humble man can experience mercy, only the humble man can attain bhakti.

Narada had many qualities. He was renounced, well-behaved, and sober, but those qualities alone were not sufficient to attain the mercy of the Bhaktivedantas. He received the mercy of pure devotional service from the Bhaktivedantas because he was poor and humble and attracted the mercy of these great souls, who were dina-vatsalah?kind to the poor.

It is not that being poor makes one humble, but if it creates within one a realization of ones dependence on God, one?s poverty is an asset. God can make us poor to help us be humble, but he can also give us the world to make us feel undeserving.

New Ekachakra-dhama Meditation On Humility

Dhanurdhara Swami July 16th, 2001

New Ekachakra-dhama

Meditation On Humility IV
A humble person doesn’t necessarily denigrate his abilities or opulence. Even though he might recognize them, he sees them as God’s to be given or taken by His grace. Therefore, despite recognizable talents, a humble person feels insignificant and dependent on God’s mercy.

A humble person also does not lack personal confidence or initiative as he is dependent on Krishna, the Supreme Powerful, and confident in His shelter, protection, and empowerment.

Although our position is infinitesimal, we should not be discouraged that our potential for happiness is infinitesimal, since humility and dependence allow one to possess love, the greatest happiness, which is the essence of God’s pleasure potency. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu tells us this in his Siksastakam?anandam buddhi vardhanam?that the infinitesimal living entity can experience an unlimited ocean of happiness by purely chanting the holy name of Krishna.

Boston Meditation On Humility III

Dhanurdhara Swami July 15th, 2001

Boston

Meditation On Humility III
Krishna Kaviraja prayed that ?I am lower than a worm in stool.? A question arises: What’s the difference between humility and low self-esteem?

Humility is a lack of false prestige. It doesn’t, however, necessitate condemning oneself. Our constitutional position as servant may be cosmologically very small, but it is not worthless, as it has relation to God.

A truly humble person may still feel unworthy and in need of God’s mercy, but it is not a psychological aberration. It is an expression of one’s deep realization of God as unlimited and fully independent, and one’s deep realization of the self in relation to Him as infinitesimal and dependent.

On the other hand, people with low self-esteem may desire prestige. They feel unworthy in relation to the status of others, not out of a revelation of their position in relation to God. As their unworthiness is not a product of realized knowledge it still fosters our material illusion and causes duality and pain.

Boston Meditation On Humility II

Dhanurdhara Swami July 14th, 2001

Boston

Meditation On Humility II
We are constitutionally infinitesimal. We are thus not the controller and not independent. It is a tough pill to swallow, but to accept this willingly is humility. Humility therefore means to realize and be satisfied with the self. It’s not just an intellectual understanding, but a realization of one’s cosmic insignificance.

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