Fwd: [granthraj] Be Dear to the Vows

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

 

New year is round the corner and we usually take vows to improve the quality of our lives. Personally i have been very poor in keeping up such new year-resolutions. They last only for just few days and then just die out. But we find so many great souls in the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam like Bhishmadev, Maharaj Priyavrata, Gandhari who were very fixed in their vows through-out their life.

 

By mercy of our beloved spiritual master H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj we were listening to Maharaj's Srimad Bhagavatam class on verse 5.1.24 wherein Maharaj very nicely explains about the word 'priyavrata' in that verse. Maharaj said that, 'Vrata is very dear to us. Vrata means vows. Person for whom vratas are dear is known as priyavrata. We also have to be priyavrata. Material situations always differ. They always keep changing. That is the nature of material existence. Nobody can stop this change. It is beyond our control. But vrata should be priya to us. Ambarish Maharaj was a grhastha. Although he was an emperor of the whole planet, he had taken a vow voluntarily that he will not speak anything other than Krishna. We don't have really that much business like Ambarish Maharaj. No body forced him. Because he is devotee, he had devoted voluntarily. That is devotee. No body reuqested him. He was emperor. Nobody can order or request him. He took the vow that he will not speak anything else other than Krishna. We don't have to anything and unfortunately we speak so many other things and never Krishna. All these incidents clearly show us that our material situation doesn't come in our way, to have unflinching faith in Supreme Absolute Truth and to follow the process. Its only our mind which forces us to go this way or that way. This quality was completely absent in Maharaj Priyavrata. He was very firm in following the vows. On the contrary when we look to ourselves,we are very weak in following the vrata and to the extent we are weak we are in miserable condition. Otherwise if we go on following our vows there is no miserable condition. 'sanklesha nirvaanam ushanti naanyatha' - sanklesha means mental anguish and the resultant miseries coming out of such mental anguish. nirvaanam means to mitigate. ushanti naanyatha - There is no other way but to keep ourself very strongly in the framework of vows. 

 

Instead unlike these great personalities, we are completely entangled into the different web of material existence. This should set us thinking. Here the point is nicely described in the purport to this verse. In his brahmacari life, Maharaj Priyavrata was very renounced. In brahmacari life we should be renunciant. Else education will not be there. Education means transcendental education. If transcendental education is absent, then whichever ashram we are in, we will create havoc. Because we are not following the ashram. caatur varnam mayaa srshtam. It is coming from Supreme Absolute Truth. But our position is that we want to carry out different whims with our mind. This is mano-gataan. The concoction of our mind forces us not to follow this. Just to get up at 4'o clock in the morning is so impossible. Our mind gives us so many arguments. "Dont' do it. You have so many household duties. You have to do this. You have to do that. So take rest now." So mind will stop us to follow our vows. We are discussing about priyavrata. Vrata must be dear to us and we must do anything for us to maintain the vratha. If it is priya then we can do anything to do maintain the vrata. As soon as you are strong in vrata -whether we are in any stage of life, we will be safe. Cut your mind and throw in the ocean. Vrata must be strong. No child, one child, 2 children or ten children - these are all non-sensical excuses. Let us just learn this one word priyavrata. The determination should be strong and that is priyavrata. Drdha-nishchay and this priyavrata. These are required. Srila Prabhupada was priyavrata. At the age of 70 he travelled out of Vrindavan. He took so much pain to travel all over the world. If we really care, sit with him, his books now and follow his words. This should be our priyavrata.'

 

In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 10.2.26, the demigods pray to Supreme Lord

 

satya-vratam satya-param tri-satyam
satyasya yonim nihitam ca satye
satyasya satyam rta-satya-netram
satyaatmakam tvaam sharanam prapannaah

 

The demigods prayed: "O Lord, You never deviate from Your vow, which is always perfect because whatever You decide is perfectly correct and cannot be stopped by anyone. Being present in the three phases of cosmic manifestation-creation, maintenance and annihilation—You are the Supreme Truth. Indeed, unless one is completely truthful, one cannot achieve Your favor, which therefore cannot be achieved by hypocrites. You are the active principle, the real truth, in all the ingredients of creation, and therefore you are known as antaryaami, the inner force. You are equal to everyone, and Your instructions apply for everyone, for all time. You are the beginning of all truth. Therefore, offering our obeisances, we surrender unto You. Kindly give us protection."

 

Supreme Lord is known as 'Satya-vrata' - one who never deviates from His vow. And the demigods clearly say that we cannot receive the Lord's mercy if we remain hypocrites. So I pray at the lotus feet of Srila Gurudev, Srila Prabhupada and Supreme Lord Krishna, that I give up hypocrisy and that I remember and follow the above words of Gurudev.

 

Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Sudarshana devi dasi.