English
Date: 7 August 2024
Speaker: HG Amogh Lila Prabhu ji
Topic: How to balance health, sadhana and service
HG Amogh Lila Prabhu Ji
Hare Krishna!
Maharaj is the best example for today topic. Maharaj is extraordinary in his sadhana. Always good in service, always absorbed in chanting, walking more than 300000 miles while building temples in Noida and in other places by doing padayatra.
How can we balance our health and sadhana and then seva?
Health is very important. As if we are healthy then we can do good sadhana and good service. Srila Prabhupada said, “one materialistic thing we can ask from lord, that is good health. Srila Prabhupada was very health conscious. He would sleep only 2 hours, have morning walks and 2 hours massage with mustard oil in the noon. Two hours of sleep, may not be sufficient, but Srila Prabhupada has to do the translation, so he started the morning walk for two hours. Srila Prabhupada once showed a devotee how to do push ups as the devotee was a little weak. Srila Prabhupada showed him practically and told him this will make your core stronger.
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati would make his healthy disciple to do fast so they can be lean and thin. Grihasthas look good when they are healthy. But Brahmachari should be lean and fit. If someone has any hormonal disbalance, then it is an exceptional case. You can see Maharaj’s picture in his younger days, he was very fit and lean like the six Goswamis. Srila Prabhupada was very conscious about the health of devotees.
We have 5 elements in our body: earth, water, air, fire, and ether. We should eat all elements.
We have earth so for this we should eat our food, like chickpeas, chapati, rice etc. We have water then we should have some liquids. We should take at least 3-4 litters. We should eat like the water and food should be chewed so much so that it become liquid. Then we will have not had constipation which creates gas and that makes us sleepy. So, they sleep while chanting and in class.
We have fire in us that is through the sunlight. We should do early morning chanting with thin clothes or less clothes, so we get good sunlight. Fruits also have fire element in it.
The air element can come through Pranayama. Our six Goswamis would do pranayama before chanting Gaytri.
Ether is obtained by fasting. We usually eat so much before fasting, then on fasting they eat all fasting foods and then next day they eat again. This is not good. Today they do intermittent fasting. They don’t eat after 6 pm till 9 am next morning. If we follow this, we may get rid of many diseases. We can take some water in between. We keep snaking every day, you never see fungus on biscuits as even fungus know that there is no nutrition in these. This is a dead food. We can take Jwara Chapati for fibre. We should take more vegetables as compared to grains.
We should take all elements. As we age, we should lessen our earth intake. So, eat less and nutritious food. Early morning, we should take alkaline food, like coconut water or coconut milk. We should drink milk, when we have exercised. Milk with ghee helps in building bones. But if you sit all the time then milk won't digest and cause harm.
We should also care about sadhana. Once a devotee asked to give him the toughest service. Srila Prabhupada said to him that to attend the entire temple program from morning to evening. He was thinking that may be Prabhupada would send him to Africa, Australia or Pakistan for preaching as a toughest service. But to attend the entire temple program is most energizing and most difficult task. Once Kripalu Maharaj came to Mayapur, someone asked him how are the Iskcon people so successful even after Srila Prabhupada has left. He said the first thing is they do Guru Vandana everyday and second thing is they chant and hear Bhagavatam every day. That’s why Iskcon is successful.
Once Srila Prabhupada asked a devotee that why he is not coming for Mangala Aarti? Devotee replied he can’t as he is in Maya. Srila Prabhupada said, “Ok! So, bring Maya with you to attend Mangala Aarti. But you must come.”
Once Srila Prabhupada was asked when we are allowed to not to come for Mangala Aarti. Srila Prabhupada said, “ When you are dead.”
So, the sadhana of the devotee what makes Iskcon great. Srila Prabhupada said we should always come to mangal arati only they are excused who are dead. The challenge is not getting up early but going to bed on time. Look at our politicians, like Narendra Modi, who sleeps only 3 hours. Even actors are now days getting up early.
Srila Prabhupada said you should sleep less and eat less, but you should chant 16 rounds every day. If you are not chanting then you are in the spiritually diseased condition.
Another thing is reading books now. We are always on phone, not discussing and reading. Few years ago, there was pleasant scene, everyone was reading. Devotees used to sit in groups here and there in the temple to read the books. Recently we move our fingers horizontally to flip the pages of the books. Now we are using our finger vertically on the mobiles. That is why we are not getting Krishna Prema.
Because of not reading, we can’t preach. We just tell people to come to temple what else we can say. Because we never read or hear. Reading and chanting is sadhana.
We should take care of our sadhana, then comes seva which helps us digest all our sadhana. Srila Prabhupada has defined bhakti as devotional service. One lady would bring water every day from Yamuna to Radha Damodar for abhishek. Srila Prabhupada said just by this one service daily, she can go back to godhead. Spioritual master will be pleased by serving Krishna.
Once Srila Prabhupada came at an airport, he was nicely welcomed but he asked for Jayananda Prabhu, who was cleaning the car for Srila Prabhupada. He said Jayananda knows my heart.
So, we should do service every time. We go to the temple there is always service one who want to serve will find service.
Once Shrutakirti Prabhu ji saw that everyone is crying on seeing Prabhupada. How much the devotees loved Prabhupada. But I don’t have that Love for my Spiritual Master. So, he confessed Srila Prabhupada that I don’t have such tears. I am serving you from more than two years, but why don’t I have that feeling for you?
Prabhupada replied, “They have tears in their eyes because they have seen me after a long time. But the privilege of that tear is to get some service to do. That is more important.”
The knowledge digest by render service. So, we must render some service.
We can’t do 64 rounds daily. So, Srila Prabhupada had set the parameters of 16 rounds and some service.
A grihastha should come to the temple at least on weekends and do some service. A devotee who wants to do service always find a way to do service. Like one devotee came and asked is there any service? All service was allotted. So, he went in the Tulasi garden and tended to them, watering them. He brings dry cow dung and put it in the roots of Tulasi plants. By this, the plants of Tulasi are fructify so nicely in some days. Then he brings paint and painted all the pots. So, there is always service.
When all the service was taken by Sita and others. Hanuman didn't have anything to do. He becomes so sad. Lord Rama asked him what happened. So, the lord said, “whenever I yawn, you can click your fingers.” So, he started doing that. Mother Sita was amused to see his serving attitude.
Some time we have to balance our service and sadhana. We should take care of our diet also. If one has done the course of Bhakti Shastri by staying in Vrindavan, then he must do some service or preaching after returning from there. So, we should always balance our health, sadhana and service.
Hare Krishna!
