Travel Journal#6.9b: Belgium and Holland

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 6, No. 9b
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2010, part one, section two)
Belgium and Holland

(Sent from Munich, Germany, on June 1, 2010)

Insights from Lectures

Prahladananda Swami:  SB 04.27.27_Old Age Modern Choice_2010-05-01

“Here we find a glorification of old age. This is rare. Why is this? It is an impetus for spiritual life.

Some say reason comes with old age, but for some, old age comes by itself.

As new devotees we thought we were transcendental, so we did not worry what we ate or how much we ate. Then at age forty, we realized the importance of our body, and we started taking care of our health, and for some, it became a fulltime service.

On the way back from a doctor’s appointment, Srila Prabhupada saw a movie theatre with a film entitled, “Is There Sex After Death?” Srila Prabhupada spoke about it in his morning class. “Tell them they do not have to worry. There is sex in 8,400,000 species of life. If they know that, they would not have to worry.”

Researchers fed rats a breakfast cereal to test its nutrition value. The rats, however, ate the box and not the cereal.

People are eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, and in the past, they were eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, and I can predict, as an ISKCON astrologer, that in five billion years, people will be eating, sleeping, mating, and defending.

Srila Prabhupada said, “Do you see that tree?” I said, “Yes.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Do you see the bird in the tree?” I didn’t, but I took his word for it. He then continued, “The bird knows tomorrow there will be worms to eat, and he has his female bird, so he has no anxiety. He knows everything will be taken care of. Why then are you in anxiety?”

Old age makes us more serious.

Srila Prabhupada said that there is a television in our heart whereby we can see the activities of the spiritual world. But unfortunately it is broken. Our movement is a transcendental TV repair movement.

Q (by Sacinandana Swami): I am intrigued by how Srila Prabhupada says the bird was carefree. I find as I age, I have more anxiety. Tell me about how the devotee is free from anxiety.

A: We are confident that we are going back to Godhead, so for us there is no anxiety. Without that transcendental realization, we can try to be peaceful, but that will not be substantial.”

Lilasuka Prabhu:

Hearing from Srila Prabhupada personally, Prahladananda Swami realized that what Srila Prabhupada spoke and what he wrote in his books is the same.

taken from Krishnamonk.blogspot.com