©1997-2004 VNN
|
EDITORIAL  Born - Again "Hindu" BY ROBIN EDITORIAL, Jul 27 (VNN) — This is the story of a man, who opened my eyes, and probably that of many others to the joy that is "God consciousness" or the transcendental reality that Lord Sri Krishna, is the supreme Lord and master of all entities, both in the material Universe and the spiritual Universe. It is really incredible as to how little, contemporary Indians do know about their ancient "Sanatan Dharma", and to how materialistic we Indians have become, in the present decadent age of "Kali". How often do we hear other Indians castigate Americans or other Westerners for being "materialistic" and other related derogatory terms, where the fact of the matter is that, Indian society is basically epitomising these very behaviours. From Bollywood movies, to the drinking culture that the current generation of youth are adopting, to the "free-sex" lifestyle that is now prevalent in India, Indian society is now a far-cry from the ancient Vedic times. But how are we to even understand this, as in our text - books "The Vedic culture and period" are just regarded as the fictitious imagination of nationalists, who have fabricated the epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata for national aggrandisement. However, through this article I shall tell you, how I was saved by a great devotee of the Lord, born in Sweden, who in my eyes, opened my eyes through the futility of "Mayavadi philosophy" to the transcendental reality of pure God - consciousness. Citing the term "Born - Again Christian", would it be right to term myself as a "born - again Hindu", but I had to first understand the aeons of history behind the meaning of this word "Hindu". As a young student leaving India for western shores, I was your typical young - youth, and used the usual "Mayavadi" hackneyed definition of Hinduism, that it is a religion that states "You are God, I am God, We are all God", thus impressing other more agnostic youth, who are very frequently attracted to this interpretation of divinity thinking it to be most "democratic" or maybe "liberal " would be the right word. My grandfather, was a great believer in Lord Sri Krishna, and for that matter, through personal experience I am convinced that it is impossible for one, not to believe in the quintessential divinity of the source of the Gita, Lord Shree Krishna if one is unbiased in his previous philosophical orientation. I for one, think that there is no spiritual literature that can rival the Bhagavad Gita, in any measure. The earlier few paragraphs shall give you more or less an idea of my background, coming from an upper middle-class family in India. Then one day, I met three interesting people, chanting the names of the supreme Lord, at Nordstan, the largest mall - complex in Gothenburg, Sweden. Actually, I had been feeling some kind of a vacuum since some-time and from far I heard the beautiful sounds of the mrdangas, and followed the sound to its source, encountering the three blissful souls, lost in passionate chanting of the Lord's name!I was drawn to them, like a moth to light, on a moonless night! Approaching, the gentleman Shree Mukunda Dasa, on that fateful day, I apprised him of the fact, that I hailed from India, and I still remember the glow in his eyes, that if I am honest scared me at first. In India, most materialistic Hindus, who have been firmly interwoven with Mayavadi philosophy, see such transcendentally situated human beings as fanatics or deluded individuals, and in t! he beginning I too thought of him as some kind of a frustrated Swede, who like all such people found a fetish, to spend his time with. When I saw such people, I felt a nationalistic pride, that here there are some Western people adopting Indian culture (and not vice-versa), but at that time I did not realise the facts that Vedic culture is not just Indian, but existed all over the inhabited world in ancient times (as archaeological evidence shows), that these people were following the ancient knowledge of the Vedas, that are meant for all man, and not just Indians, and the "quintessential truth" that these people were not just merely worshipping a Hindu God called " Krishna", but they were submitting every aorta of their spiritual entity to the loving service, of the transcendental "param brahman", who resides in "Goloka Vrindavan", that supreme Being, who is repeatedly referred to as the supreme Personality of Godhead (Param-brahman), Lord Shree Krishna, who is not merely so! me historical figure, not merely some "Hindu God", not merely the God of the residents of this earth planet, he is the Lord of all entities, and the source of all entities and manifestations, that not only abound the material creations, but the entire creation, both material and spiritual. God - consciousness is to know, that Lord Sri Krishna, the 'Param - Brahman', is the creator, master, maintainer and destroyer of all. At times, he manifests his activities by his plenary expansions, other demigods (that we Hindus also refer to as Gods), but the fact of the matter is, that he is the source through which we all derive all our energy. I still remember the passion, in the eyes of Mukunda, when I met him! I still remember the glow in his bright blue eyes, when he stared into my eyes! Infact, I can now understand the fear in my heart! When disease becomes part of the consciousness of a diseased individual, and that individual comes face to face with the cure of the disease, then he becomes scared to face - up to the cure. We are so intertwined into this web of maya that manifests by rooting ourselves firmly to the world of materialistic pleasures, that when we come face to face with the devotees of the Lord, who through their transcendental prowess can immediately and efficaciously severe these bounds. Every person, who comes into genuine contact with the true of Vaishnavism, at some point or the other, have that moment when the truth starts to "hit" them, and that moment is a very powerful moment, that metamorphosizes their consciousness, and their life from that point on. Mukunda Dasa, re-awakened the spiritual consciousness, that awoke my eyes to the true knowledge of God, Sri Krishna, who is the Supreme Lord and purveyor of all! Mukunda travels the length and breadth of Sweden, preaching altruistically to school students, the general public, and every moment of his life, is spent in the service of Lord Krishna. For a long time, I have wanted to write something, about this great soul, but I have been procrastinating in the fear that I fail to express adequately his selfless service to mankind, but today I realised that it is not possible to manifest into words the altruistic actions of such great men, especially my mere mortals like me. Valmikiji, meditated for 60,000 years in order to reach the echelon required to enunciate the past-times of Lord Shree Ram. I just want to express my ardent gratitude to him, for having opened the door to Krishna Consciousness, and I pray that he continues to shower his mercy on me, and all other devotees, so that we may be saved from this repeated cycle of repeated birth and death! Recently, Shree Mukunda Dasa was blessed with a son, and I beseech all the Vaishnavas here to pray that his son, grows up to be as great as his father, if not greater. I also offer my humble obeisance, again and again and again and again, and a million times over at your lotus feet, Shree Mukundaji, for the saviour that you are! How glorious is this Sankirtana movement that Lord Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu started. As an expat Indian, I would like to apprise all Indians, that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (an incarnation of Lord Sri Krishna, as his own devotee) had predicted that we Indians would travel a lot, which is now becoming true, as millions of Indian IT engineers travel to the west. We shall all bring the glorious name of Hari, Krishna and Rama to the west, and spread the name of the Lord, in any way we can. Shree Mukundaji, had told me that I should utilise any opportunity that I get to preach the names of the Lord, and I urge all devotee to do the same. My obeisance's at the feet of my saviour Shree Mukunda Dasa. All glories to his Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, My obeisances at the lotus feet, of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shree Krishna. A grateful servant aspiring to make spiritual advancement Contact VNN about this story  Send this story to a friend
NEWS DESK | EDITORIALS | TOP |
