Govinda Madhava dasa
Most Respected Guru Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
“There has not been, there will not be, such benefactors of the highest merit as Caitanya Mahaprabhu and
His devotees have been.” – Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
I am more and more appreciating the truth of this statement. One of the misconceptions I had was that spiritual life means renouncing family, friends, society and becoming a sannyasi. I was fortunate to see the example of a trained devotee practicing devotional service nicely, while discharging so-called materialistic responsibilities diligently. This is what gave me the impetus to start practicing Krsna consciousness. While Srila Rupa Gosvami enunciated yukta-vairagya, it is the great mercy of Srila Prabhupada and His followers to show how we can practically apply it in the modern context.
As Srila Prabhupada described devotional service to be a razor’s edge, so is the application of yukta-vairagya principle. There is a fine line between sense gratification in the name of Krsna consciousness and proper application of yukta-vairagya. Srila Prabhupada writes:
“The human beings, by long material association, life after life, have a natural inclination, by practice, to lord it over material nature” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.15 Purport).
Naturally, striking the right balance by ourselves is very difficult for conditioned souls like us.
We really need personal and close guidance of a genuine vaisnava, who has no agenda and who is dedicated to the service of the parampara. Only when we feel the genuine love and shelter of such a dedicated Vaisnava and by acting in relationship with him, we are able to strike the right balance. Then grhasthaasrama, working in the society, moving among materialists are actually not a problem. Rather, it is glorious and it is like padma patram ivambhasa.
I know you are so eager to create and support programs where such training can be given. You yourself have been working so hard to create genuine devotees through college preaching programs. You gave your whole hearted blessings and support to Sir for starting the IIT program. It is my greatest fortune to have been picked up by him and for having received such close guidance from Sir and I can see how I have been transformed. On your Vyasa-puja day, I would like to express my gratitude to you for the mercy that is flooding our lives. I seek your blessings to always be grateful and be of some service to Lord Caitanya’s mission by faithfully following the teachings of our preceptors.
Your aspiring servant, Govinda Madhava dasa