Saturday, February 10, 2007

Mercifully Answered Prayers

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(this post is under construction)

My attempt here is to thank my Lord Sri Krishna, for His causeless mercy and love upon me. My life is His mercy and His mercy is my life. It is never advised to take birth in this ocean of miseries- material world. But still, due to our desire to lord over and be the controller we had to take birth in this terrible place. We are lucky- both you and me- since we both got human birth. We have been supposedly endowed with Higher intelligence. What makes it higher is the fact that we have a mind which can distinguish between right and wrong, religion and irreligion. In one way we can even assert that this power to be religious- is what clearly demarcates intelligence and higher intelligence- taste and higher taste.Are you wondering if I am stretching and extrapolating it too far? If we consider any other aspects which is supposed to be achievement of man alone- we will be amazed how crude we are. If we think moving swiftly is a great establishment- a cheetah can run very very swiftly without petrol or electricity. If we feel flying is the achievement- small sparrows fly better. As regard of a government- animals too have their own form of election of chief( without corruption) and obeying of strict social customs and norms- some species even have very precise distribution of labour in their community. So we can clearly conclude that every other aspect of human achievement is present in lower species also , except religiosity. Now comes the question -what is religion? Dictionary describes as ''relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity''. Let us put it in simple words- that which makes us devoted and engaged in loving service of Supreme Lord is called religion. And it is in this regard that I try to write this blog- regarding religion and more precisely, the Supreme Lord.

I was not sure if i should write about my experiences of Lord's mercy- it should be something between me and my Lord. But then i met many people who are intelligent and good- yet unable to have faith on Divine mercy. I have seen followers of many sectarian beliefs spreading their faith- on the basis of some divine interventions. I deeply appreciate their efforts- because seeing their experiences many others are encouraged to take up devotional service. Vedas- the most ancient books known to man- clearly declares who the Supreme Lord is. Sri Isopanishad boldly states

īśvarah paramah krsnaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kārana-kāranam

Krsna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.

If i try to quote about Krsna's supremacy - I can spend a life time doing that. So let us try something which is comparatively easier- Lord Krsna's mercy upon me, on someone who has no qualification whatsoever to be loved by the Lord of all worlds and yet is loved and protected with at most mercy. I will keep on adding to this page and its my request to the reader to please add incidents from your life where you have felt Lords mercy on you. Let us spread the word in whatever meek way we can- to Glorify the sweet Lord and to make everyone luckier to be the beloved of the Supreme Lord- Sri Krishna. I should rephrase the sentence- 'cos Krishna is always bestowing His Love upon all of us- but we are unable to receive it. So let us try to tune everyone to receive His love and mercy , by developing faith in Him and Love for Him.

Let me give a small introduction about my infancy , childhood and teenage to illustrate the situation I grew up in. In terms of scriptural studies and philosophical understanding of Krishna Consciousness- I had no experience. Krishna was in my life cos I found Krishna attractive. As my mother was working- I grew up with my grandmother. And near our house we have a Sri Krsna temple. Though my grandmother is more inclined to worshiping Mother Goddess, somehow or other from whatever description she gave me of Krsna made me interested in Krsna. He seemed to be more personal- I felt other Gods ( read demigods) about whom she spoke about, were giving things, taking things, killing enemies- but I did not find anyone sharing a personal level of interaction in Their leelas (pastimes). I was a reserved child when i was small ( i more than made up for it when as I grew up ;-) ) and Krsna fitted the picture of a friend who was always approachable- Who would listen to me, who I could go to at any point of time. I also got a deity of Krsna- and I am still very attached to that deity. I used to offer Food to Him,sleep Him, bathe Him.Many many instances I saw whenever I asked Him something- I don't even have to ask- by just wishing they would materialize. By repeated display of Him answering the prayers , I never got a chance to doubt Him even as I grew up and lost innocent trust. Whatever faith I have in Krsna is sheerly because He gave it- I am a rascal who might have doubted, but my Merciful Lord never gave me a chance. In this article I would talk about few of the instances when I felt Lords mercy on me- there are many- but let me be selective. Its not arranged chronologically- just a random recall of memories.


# 1 #

Exam Wonder

This is something that happened in 2005. I was in India, doing Bachelors in Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery. My second semester exams were going on and simultaneously I had to attend a class by '' The Art of Living'' foundation. I used to have some complaints in breathing and my mother had enrolled me in the program in the hope that I may get better. Incidentally it so happened that my semester exams and this course coincided. My mother was adamant that I should attend the course and I had no option but to obey her. I had been almost negligent throughout the semester and so was not at all up to date with my portions. Everyone considered me as a good student and it mortified me to just think of letting their expectations down. Initially I had practical and theory viva for Materia medica and Organon of medicine ( homoeopathic subjects) and it was not so tough. But then I was to have Physiology and Biochemistry exam! We did not have any leave between exams- it was continuous and by the time i got back from the place of my course ( after college) it would be well past 10.30 pm or 11. I was so tired. I just prayed to Krsna to please help me out of this soft spot - and I slept. Next day morning I woke up, got ready and left to college. Upon reaching college I was so tensed and was practically in tears. Our Physiology and Biochemistry was taught by 4 teachers. So for this exam we were to be questioned by 2 teachers on the portions covered by 4 teachers. I randomly opened 3 pages ( from about 150 pages of portions) and read. When my turn came other than few questions which i knew- and the questions exclusively from the 3 pages i read. I got the highest score in my class for that paper.

I was in distress, I called for Lord, acknowledged my incapability and depended He would take care- He just Did!!!

# 2 #

My tryst with Arthritis


I had been a sick child- probably because I was not given breast milk, mother being away- or to be really correct- because of my previous Karma. While I was in my 9th grade in school and we were having a vacation Lord inspired me to learn to write with left hand- I am a right handed person by nature. So I spend 1 month learning this art- by the time vacation finished I could legibly write with left hand. I started my 10th grade and 2 months into the term I fell sick. I had problems with my joints especially on right hand side. I got so sick that my joints became painful and rigid to the extend that I could not even hold a pen. At this time I could use left hand to write, which was not as much in a bad condition as my right. My Lord had inspired me and prepared me to take this crisis on- valiantly. I did well in my 10th exam, especially considering that everyone thought I would not be able to write the exam. With Lord as my guide, I knew not what limitations were!!!



If I number and write my experiences of Lords mercy there are just too many- and many of them involve third persons. And I do not want to bring in others name in this public blog page. Also many of the mercy I received are not readily distinguished as mercy by everyone- Everytime I prayed for something I have received, but when I was not sure of what to ask Lord took best decisions for me. I have been perplexed, i have been confused about why and how things were happening- I have wondered if this is in best interest- but Lord have always guided me right. My requests whenever foolish , were denied. And I have always realized later how those denials were the most merciful giving.


I wanted to Love Lord but was trapped in monistic philosophy from all sides and Lord send me an angel to show me right way. Later,I came to US- leaving an incomplete Bachelors degree, in the hope of meeting devotees in US- and my first sunday in Florida- I was in temple attending my first sunday program, being in Kirtan , seeing a Sannyasi lead a Kirtan for the first time in my life.


Krsna is wonderful and there is no one more wonderful than Him- I am reiterating what many great men have said millions of times- still I feel its ever new..... As every moment of life unfurls, inspite of all the strife, discord and confusion- I still see my Lord's wonderful smile, and can't help but to be lost in His Charm!



...... to be continued