Symptoms
of Love: When
we love someone we are anxious to please them. We demonstrate
that by offering them gifts, taking them to places they enjoy,
or cooking their favorite meal. When we love someone
we also tend to thing about them all the time and cherish
pictures and items that remind us of them. The Hallmark
Greeting Cards Company built an entire business from these
very normal human expressions of affection. So demonstrating
our love doesn't require great expense or elaborate arrangements.
It can be done with very simple gestures. Even the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna indicates that He
is pleased when someone offers something as simple as a blade
of grass to Him devotionally!
patram
puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam asnami
prayatatmanah
"If
one offers Me with love
and devotion a leaf,
a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." -Bhagavad
Gita As It Is, Chapter 9 "The Most Confidential Knowledge",
Text 26.
LINK:
http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/9/26/en
In
most cases what we call love in today"s world is often
just a tacit business agreement for mutual sense gratification!
In other words, people use the word love to announce that
they have agree to do things for each other that they hope
will bring them mutual happiness. More often then
not, if the happiness doesn't come, then one of the two parties
cancels the "love" contract by walking out, divorcing, and
even sometimes aggressively attacking the person they formerly
"Loved" with aggressive law suits and hateful propaganda.
We
all have a sense that real love isn't something that gets
turned off and on like a stovetop, and yet there seems to
be a lot of confusion regarding where a more fulfilling alternative
is to the usual "hot-n-cold" relationship. This is where
some people find themselves allured by the higher non-physical
type of spiritual love we hear about from the saints, prophets,
and avatars who drew strength from non-temporal sources.
The Six Gosvamis of Vrindaban were some of those rare souls.
Although they were very successful by any material standard
in regards to economic stability and social status they completely
renounced those accomplishments in a way that is very similar
to the more well known Saint Francis of Assisi.
Their relationship with the Supreme Lord fully matured and
from that elevated state of consciousness they confirmed what
the Maha-jnanas (Great Personalities) have declared for millennia:
"When
one develops an unflinching sense of ownership or possessiveness
in relation to Lord Visnu (God), or, in other words, when
one thinks of Visnu and no one else to be the only object
of love, such an awakening is called bhakti [devotion] by
exalted persons like Bhisma, Prahlada, Uddhava and Narada.
(Maha-jnanas)
The
Six Gosvamis provided written descriptions to help us all
understand the path the conditioned soul will follow as it
evolves from the narcissistic material consciousness to a
fully restored deeply loving relationship with the Supreme
Lord.
kona
bhagye kona jivera 'sraddha' yadi haya
tabe sei jiva 'sadhu-sanga'
ye karaya
"If,
by good fortune, a living entity develops faith in Krsna,
he begins to associate with devotees.
sadhu-sanga
haite haya 'sravana-kirtana'
sadhana-bhaktye haya 'sarvanartha-nivartana'
"When
one is encouraged in devotional service by the association
of devotees, one becomes free from all unwanted contamination
by following the regulative principles (of devotion) while
chanting (God's holy name) and hearing (about God's pastimes.)
anartha-nivrtti
haile bhaktye 'nistha' haya
nistha haite sravanadye 'ruci'
upajaya
"When
one is freed from all unwanted contamination, he advances
with firm faith. When firm faith in devotional service awakens,
a taste for hearing and chanting also awakens.
ruci
haite bhaktye haya 'asakti' pracura
asakti haite citte janme krsne
prity-ankura
"After
taste is awakened, a deep attachment arises, and from that
attachment the seed of love for Krsna grows in the heart.
sei
'bhava' gadha haile dhare 'prema'-nama
sei prema 'prayojana' sarvananda-dhama
"When
that ecstatic emotional stage intensifies, it is called love
of Godhead. Such love is life's ultimate goal and the reservoir
of all pleasure."- Sri
Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya Lila Chapter 23 "Life's
Ultimate Goal; Love For Godhead", Text8-1.
LINK: http://caitanyacaritamrta.com/madhya/23/8/en
The
process of awakening ones dormant love for God described above
in the Madhya-Lila is also cited in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu
(1.4.15-16), (The Nectar Of Devotion) as follows:
"In
the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization.
This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with
persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one
becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under
his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of
devotional service. By execution of devotional service under
the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from
all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization,
and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality
of Godhead, Sri Krsna. This taste leads one further forward
to attachment for Krsna consciousness, which is matured in
bhava, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of
God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional
stage of life." In the prema stage there is constant
engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
So,
by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance
of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest
stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the
fearfulness of one's individual spiritual personality,
and from the frustrations that result in void
philosophy. Then one can ultimately
attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord.
-
Where Is Your Love For God? -
by
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The
following conversation between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada and some of his disciples took place on an
early-morning walk in April 1974 in Hyderabad, India.
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: How do you instruct
the people in general?
Devotee: I
try to follow what Lord Caitanya taught, and what is taught
in all Vedic literature: that people should understand their
relationship with God, learn how to act in that relationship,
and know that the goal of life is to come to the stage of
pure love of God. So we acquaint people with the principles
of devotional service and tell them how they can practice
it.
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But people will say,
"We have not forgotten God. We go to church regularly. So
how have we forgotten God?"
Devotee:
Well, we don't encourage them to change their religion --
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: No. Your charge
is that they have forgotten God. They will answer, "We have
not forgotten God. We are going to church. How have we forgotten
God?"
Devotee:
Because they're not actively serving Him. We see that some
people say they are theists but they don't do any practical
service for God.
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But what is the meaning
of service?
Devotee: Service
means acting in a relationship of love. But people are simply
serving their stomachs --
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: "But if I haven't
got love for God, why am I coming to church?"
Devotee: We
are educating them about who God is. They go to church, but
they don't know who God actually is.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: "Whatever He may
be, when I offer my prayers I remember God. I don't have a
clear idea, but I have my own conception of God." So, what
is the answer?
Devotee:
But there are symptoms of service to God. We don't discourage
Christians from worshiping God in church, but if they're actually
serving God they should show symptoms of developing love of
God.
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Yes. That is already
answered: "If I haven't got love for God, why am I coming
to church? I could use the time I spend in church to earn
some money."
Devotee:
But love is not based on sentimentality. Love is practical.
We can judge how much a man is developing love for God by
what his activities are.
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: "So what have you
found in me that lets you conclude I have no love for God?
What have you seen in me?"
Devotee:
You go to church for only one hour all week.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami:
"That may be --
Devotee: The
rest of the time is not spent serving God.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami:
"But that does not mean I do not love God."
Devotee: We
are spreading love of God all over the world to people who
have not developed that love, so if you have love for God
you should willingly support this work.
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But the Christians
are also preaching. The Christian "missionaries will say,
"We are going all over the world. We have made so many Christians.
So why do you say that you are better than us? We are doing
the same thing as you."
Devotee:
If a person has love of God, though, his love is not simply
confined to his own work. God is one, so why not help us?
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: "No, no. We are already
preaching Christianity all over the world. The number of Christians
is greater than the number of Krsna devotees. Our preaching
is better than yours."
Devotee:
We are only requesting you to chant Hare Krsna.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami:
"That is only a process. You are requesting people to chant
Hare Krsna; we are requesting them to pray: 'Give us our daily
bread.' Your process is chanting; ours is prayer. So, there
is no difference."
Devotee:
But when we chant Hare Krsna, we are praying to God, "Please
let me serve You."
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami:
"That is already settled. We are also serving: we are preaching
Christianity."
Devotee: But
we are serving twenty-four hours a day.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami:
"That may be. You may be engaged in serving God twenty-four
hours a day, and I may be engaged eight hours a day. But that
does not mean I have no love for God."
Devotee:
It has already been predicted in the sastra, the Vedic scriptures,
that this method of chanting the holy name of God will be
accepted by everyone.
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: "That may be in your
sastra, but we follow our Bible. We go to church and sing
hymns."
Devotee: The
fact is that you do not know who God is; you do not know how
God works.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami:
"No. I know in my own way."
Devotee: They
may give all these arguments, but we see that most Christians
do not even follow the teachings in their own Bible.
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Here you have come
to the real point. If you love God,
then why do you disobey Him? Your disobedience
means that you do not love God. Jesus
Christ says, "Thou shalt not
kill." Then why are you killing so many millions of cows in
the slaughterhouses? "This is the charge
I give to the Christians".
Devotee:
But they say, "We are allowed to kill animals. Besides, I
accept Christ as my saviour; therefore I'm saved. I'm following
Christianity closely."
HDG
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: No, no. If you love
God, then why are you disobeying His order? There is an open
declaration by Jesus Christ: "Thou shalt not kill." But you
are deliberately disobeying him. So where is your love
for God?
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