Page 26 - Powerful Feminine Qualities

feast. A local grocery shop owner had made several inappropriate exhortations to Laxmiamaal for enjoying her
intimate company. She approached the grocery store owner, and promised to satisfy his desires in return for his
immediately giving her all the groceries and fresh vegetables she needed to feed her guru and his disciples. He agreed
eagerly.
She returned home and quickly prepared a feast imbued with love and devotion to her guru. Later, when her husband
arrived and saw the amazing arrangement his wife had organized, he was perplexed. She explained all that happened.
He simply accepted his wife’s sincere endeavor to please their guru, Ramanujacarya , and did not fault her. They
consulted with their guru Ramanujacarya and he advised them to go together to see the grocer and offer him some of
the remnants of the guru’s Prasadam. They proceeded to the grocer’s house with prasadam of Ramanuja and some of
the water used in washing the feet of the revered guru.
When the grocer saw the husband and wife together at his door, he was uncomfortable. The husband greeted him
cordially and began to explain how the grocer was very fortunate because his guru had sent him the remnants of his
holy prasadam. The grocer ate the prasadam and drank the water. He was transformed miraculously. He begged the
couple to take him to see Ramanujacarya . The grocer fell at his teacher’s feet, and asked for his mercy and
benediction to accept him as his disciple. Ramanujacarya consented.
The secret of success in spiritual life is pleasing the spiritual master(s) and the highest perfection of spiritual life or
Krishna consciousness is renunciation of the material conception of life. What is the material conception of life?
“isvaro ‘ham aham bhogi | siddho ‘ha, balavan sukhi ||– I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect,
powerful and happy.” (Bg 16. 13-15) An atheist assumes that this world is for the enjoyment of the living entities and
that they are the purusas – the causes, controllers and enjoyers of the material energy.
The proof that one has become Krishna conscious is that he has lost all inclination for material sense gratification,
although the desires are present. This is only possible by the mercy of the spiritual master(s) as in the story above of
the grocer and Ramanujacarya . The Brahmana’s wife had no desire for sense gratification. Her only desire was to
please her guru. Therefore, she was protected by Krishna and her guru’s mercy. Always remaining engaged in Krishna
conscious activity without expectation of sense gratification is the highest transcendental quality of work. Such pure
service attracts the attention of Lord Krishna. Through His representative, the spiritual master(s), one receives His
mercy to withstand the allure of temporary sense gratification, and instead engage the senses in the eternal service of
the Lord.

Lord Krishna can only be understood by pure devotion
It is not possible to understand Lord Krishna by mundane academic knowledge; nor is it possible to understand
the Lord by becoming a learned scholar in Vedic knowledge. One can only know the Lord by pure devotion. Krishna
emphasizes this essential point several times in His conversation with Arjuna. He says:
“One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is
in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Bg 18.55)
“My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus
be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.” (Bg 11.54)
“I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore
they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.” (Bg 7.25)
In the Srimad Bagavatam, Lord Brahma explains that mundane scientists and empiricists cannot understand Lord
Krishna because His infinite energies are always expanding and are infinite.
“O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O Supersoul, O master of all mystery, who can calculate Your potency and
pastimes in this world? You are always expanding Your internal potency, and therefore no one can understand You.
Learned scientists and learned scholars can examine the atomic constitution of the material world or even the planets,
but still they are unable to calculate Your energy and potency, although You are present before them.” (SB 10.14)The

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