(Below is an
excerpt of the lecture given by Sripad Bhaktivedanta Paramarthi Maharaji (picture below) on his
recent visit to Malaysia.)
Have Full
Faith in the Holy Names
“We must
have strong faith in the holy names. The holy names will protect you and will
give you bliss. Srila Bhakti Ballabh Titha Maharaja once related this story.
There once
was a lady devotee who wanted to attend a temple function near her house. She
dressed up very nicely, putting on beautiful ornaments as well. She then, got a
rickshaw to the temple. Seeing such beautiful ornaments on the lady, the rickshaw wallah
immediately took another route.
For the entire
day, nobody heard from the lady. Everyone was really worried about her
whereabouts as she was to be at the temple for the function. Soon there was a
search party. People searched everywhere. Soon enough, some people heard a very faint
voice in a deserted place. It called out, “O Gopal, O Govinda!”
The lady was calling out Lord Gopal's name throughout her ordeal.
When the
search party approached to where the voice was coming from, they saw an old
well by the forest. On top of the well was a snake circling around the top edge
of the well. And beside the well, was the rickshaw wallah, dead.
They saw the lady
was inside the well and was constantly calling out the Lord’s name. She was
soon rescued.
So you see,
if you have full faith in the holy names, there is no need to fear”
(Below is
another excerpt from Sripad Bhaktivedanta Paramarthi Maharaja’s lecture)
Trying to
Change Providence
We always
think that by hard endeavour, we are able to change our sorrowful situation. Each
and every one of us is governed by providence to receive what we are supposed
to get.
There was
once a very great astrologer in a kingdom. Whatever he says, will surely come
true. The king did not have any children yet at that time. But according to the
astrologer’s calculation, the king will have a daughter. If that daughter grows
up and marries, the astrologer’s son will be blind and he (the astrologer) will
become blind and deaf.
The
astrologer was devastated. He thought out a plan. So, he went to the king and
told the king that whomever the young princess sets her eyes upon; she must
marry that person in order to receive all auspiciousness. The king listened to
the astrologer as he was always correct in his predictions.
When the
princess grew up, she was put in a closed box, with only some holes for her to
breath. On the cover of the box, there was an inscription that read, “Who ever
opens this box, will marry the princess and will have the kingdom.”
The
astrologer planned it so well, that the box should float in a river and at the
opportune time, his own son will open the box and marry the princess. And
if the son becomes blind, he will be taken care of as he will be married to a
princess. As for the astrologer, he too will be taken care of as he is the
father of the new king.
And so the
princess inside the box was put in the river and the box floated. But it so
happened, a heavy thunder storm came and the box floated taking another course
along the river.
At the same
time, there was a young prince in another kingdom. He was exasperated with his
siblings as they were always squabbling for the throne. He thought he had
enough of that and he decided to go on an adventure. He was a playful prince as
well. He took along with him his pet monkey and bear in a boat, looking for an
exciting voyage.
Soon enough,
the prince’s boat came across the box with the princess inside, floating in the
river. The curious prince decided to see what was inside the box. As he came
near the box, he saw the inscription that read, “Who ever opens this box, will
marry the princess and will have the kingdom.”
When the
prince opened the box, he was delighted to see a beautiful princess. The
princess was delighted to be rescued. They fell in love and decided to go back
to the princess’s kingdom. But there was one problem though. The prince’s boat
did not fit in the monkey, bear, princess and the prince. So, the prince
decided to put his monkey and the bear inside the box and close it. He hoped that
they would find their way somehow.
In the
meantime, the astrologer was getting agitated. According to his calculation the
box should have floated at its designated place. He was losing his patience,
when he finally saw the box floating by.
He quickly
got his men to take the box and bring it home to his son.
Once home,
he told his son to open the box. When the boy did so, an agitated monkey sprang
up and gave the boy a swipe across his face causing him to become blind. And
the equally agitated bear sprang up and pounded the astrologer’s head and
swiped him across the face, causing him to become deaf and blind.
So you see,
no matter how hard the astrologer tried to save himself and his son, he could
not fight providence. What is written for you is what you will get.
But if you
chant the holy names, follow Sri Guru’s instruction, and then, by their mercy
you will be saved.”
Comments