How is spiritual time different from material time?

Harris,
From Mauritius

Answer:
Hari Bol Bh. Harris.

Thanks for your question. Material time wears everything down and finally the material universe is annihilated when Lord Brahma dies. Then it remains unmanifest, along with the living entities who have not attained liberation, within the body of Maha Vishnu, until the next creation.

Spiritual time is eternally going on with newer and newer pastimes being enacted within it. It is never unmanifest.

I hope this finds you in a happy serving mood.

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami

Last Sunday there was a lecture in the temple about yagnas. It was about Bhakti-yoga and material world. I have four questions:
1. Is Bahkti-yoga a form of sacrifice?
2. Is Bhakti -yoga in the mode of goodness or beyond the modes?
3. If it is beyond, does it mean it is transcendental?
4. Does transcendence have any features?

Thank you for your patience and answer.

Answer:
1. Yes Bhakti Yoga is a sacrifice to please the Lord. There are nine items of Bhakti Yoga, beginning with hearing, chanting, and remembering. We can sacrifice our time, our words, our money, and our life for pleasing the Lord.

2. Pure Bhakti Yoga is beyond the modes. However we begin by practicing Bhakti Yoga according to the modes we are in, so we may find Bhakti Yoga being practiced in the mode of goodness, passion or even ignorance. However we should have a determination to raise ourselves to practice in the mood of goodness, from that mode we can come to the transcendental platform.

3. Yes, pure Bhakti Yoga is transcendental.

4. Yes, the transcendental world is full of variety wherein we will find full aspects of form, activities, and wonderful spiritual features.

Thank you for your nice questions.

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami

Your servant,
victor. clearwater .fl

Answer:
Dear Victor,

It is very kind of you to appreciate my feeble attempt to dance for the pleasure of the Lord. By the mercy of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrila Prabhupada I did get some inspiration to dance on his holy appearance day. I hope this finds you in a happy serving mood.

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami

Hare Krishna.
Your insignificant servant Dhanvantari das

Answer:
Dear Dhanvantari Prabhu,
Please accept my prayers for your advancement in Krishna consciousness.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Pure love for Lord Sri Krishna will manifest in our heart when the Lord is please to bestow it to us. That can happen immediately or it may take many life times. Similarly the six enemies such as lust, greed etc., will no longer have any influence on us when Lord Sri Krishna is please to shower His mercy on us.

Everything depends on Krishna’s mercy. Fortunately we know that Krishna is Bhakta Vatsal, very kind to his devotee. If we are fully convinced about this then we can easily surrender to Him by becoming His devotee and thus rid our selves of these six enemies and on the positive side develop pure love for Him.

Of course we also learn that Krishna is more pleased when we please His servant then He is if we try to please Him directly. Srila Prabhupada is the recognized servant of the Lord so if we cooperate to please him then we can be sure that Krishna will be pleased.

I hope this finds you in a happy serving mood.

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami

Thank you very much Swamiji.
Your servant Dhanvantari das

Answer:
Dear Dhanvatari Prabhu,
Please accept my prayers for your advancement in Krishna consciousness.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thank you for the question. Half the population of the world are women so naturally a male devotee won’t be able to avoid preaching to them. However there are certain guide lines that should be followed. First of all be honest with yourself. The first principle is that we have to save ourselves, otherwise how can we save others. Also there is a principle of “butter and fire”; so if we realize that preaching to this women is causing us to become agitated then we should cut it short and just try to give her a book and move on.

Another point is that it is better if we can find a women devotee to preach to new women who come to the temple. On the street, of course, we will have to speak to everyone if they approach us in a humble way. In general the book distributors are advised not to spend too much time talking with anyone. Better to let the book do the preaching, of course that doesn’t mean that we should be mum but just to remember that there are others to approach so as not to spend too much time with one person.

I hope this helps.

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami

Thank you for considering my queries.
your fallen servant (missing your association)
Gopala Acarya dasa

Answer:
Dear Gopala Acarya Prabhu,
Please accept my prayers for your advancement in Krishna consciousness.
Allglories to Srila Prabhupada!

My understanding is that these reactions that Indra distributed were given in general to this various things but not to any particular living being. In other words the land, water, trees, and women would have these disadvantages but henceforth it would be the individual karma of each living entities who got these forms, as a tree or a women.

“In the purport Srila Prabhupada has stated that when the bubbles appear in the water it cannot be used for any purpose. Does it mean we should refrain from drinking the sparkling mineral water?”

I am not in a position to give a definitive answer to this question. Please consult with you local GBC man regarding this, and kindly let me know what he says.

I hope this finds you and your good wife in a happy serving mood.

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami

Hare Krsna!
Thank You.

Answer:
Question 1: “What is your adhikari?”

Hare Krsna!
Srila Prabhupada wanted us to become Madyama adhikaries. The Madyamas make four distinctions: (1) the atheists (who they avoid), (2) the innocent (who they preach to), (3) the devotees (who they associate with) and (4) the Lord (who they worship).

Of course within the category of Madyama adhikari there are some who are higher and some lower. Hopefully I have gotten enough mercy from Srila Prabhupada to be listed as some kind of Madyama.

Question 2: “What is your level of advancement?”

Usually we don’t ask these questions of devotees. The reason being is that a devotee is naturally meek and humble and knows that he is very fallen. This is not false humility but is a fact. We embodied souls have all been ensnared by Maya since time in memorial. We are in this conditioned state because of our misuse of independence. Without always keeping this understanding a devotee may become proud and thus fail to get the mercy which is coming down from the superior devotees and the Lord.

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami

Answer:
Hare Krsna!

My firm conviction is that Srila Prabhupada is ready to reciprocate with any of his followers if they approach him with a humble service attitude.

This is his special power as the recoginized Founder Acarya for Iskcon for the next 10,000 years.

That relationship is one of service, if we are actually anxious to assist Srila Prabhupada in his mission then surely he will reciprocate with us to the degree that we are sincere about rendering that service.

I hope this finds you in a happy serving mood.

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami

Answer:
Srila Prabhupada was once asked if we were hippies… he responded by saying, “No we are happys” Yes this Bhakti Yoga is the best process for reviving our original joyful nature. Ananda maya byasat, means our nature is full of bliss. The direct means of connecting to this nature is by chanting Hare Krishna. I personally find that chanting in the kirtan with as many devotees as possible is the best way of getting out of depression. Of course chanting on our beads is also blissful.

Serving the devotees and the Lord, remembering the devotees and the Lord, praying to them any of the nine processes of devotion can lift us out of our material consciousness or ignorance. Please read Srila Prabhupada’s books carefully and associate with his followers and I am sure you will gradually become enlivened in your constitutional position of happiness.

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami

Yours sincerely,
Trivikrama Swami