HOW WILL WE FIND PEACE? by Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Vamana Gosvami Maharaja In this world our hopes and desires are endless. We are advised to limit our hankerings, because they have caused us to be afflicted by multifarious problems. If we do not control them we are not safe. In today’s world, it is indeed we who generate our own feelings of scarcity. We are at the root of our own vociferous complaints. Upon reflection, we see that we no longer feel the level of satisfaction we felt twenty or twenty-five years ago. Rather, our sense of scarcity has increased a million-fold. The sastras (scriptures) inform us that we will only attain peace when we put an end to this imagined sense of scarcity. But how will we find peace when this world is filled with restlessness? Sastra has provided a clue: eva saranam gaccha sarva-bhavena bharata tat-prasadat param santim sthanam prapsyasi sasvatam Bhagavad-gita (18.62) O scion of Bharata, surrender fully to the Supreme Lord in every respect. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode. Bhagavan (God) is instructing His devotees “tam eva saranam gaccha – surrender unto Me.” Until a person does this he will never attain peace. As long as we think we can solve our own problems, we will be unable to discover a solution. Wherever we find a solution, we should embrace it. Bhagavan has given us instructions on “complete surrender” through the medium of the Gita, Bhagavatam, Vedas, Vedanta and so on, so that these teachings never escape our memory. The world’s unlimited problems, such as lack of food, clothing, accommodation and education, can be solved if we lead our lives by properly maintaining a focus on the original centre. This means establishing our trust in Bhagavan and our faith in and devotion to Him. Who is that Bhagavan? Is He devoid of form, qualities and variety? No, he is not devoid of potency. He has everything. He is saktiman, the possessor of all potency, and He has form and attributes. His form, which is composed of eternity, knowledge and bliss, is that of Syamasundara. Sri Krishna is indeed that Bhagavan who is the embodiment of love. He can give love to unlimited jivas (individual souls) and He knows how to receive love from them. Only when we, the minutely conscious jivas, try to love Bhagavan, is it understood that our actual perception of ourselves (atma-darsana) has awakened fully. At that time we are able to execute our duty admirably and properly. Only by accepting the instructions of the arya-rishis (saints) and arya-sastras (scriptures) can all the problems of the world be resolved. ~ From a speech delivered by Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Vamana Gosvami Maharaja on the 1st September 1983 at the Sri Meghalaya Gaudiya Matha, in Tura, India
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 18:13:06 +0000
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