English
12 March 2020
STEPS IN PLANNING!
Hare Krishna !!
Today we have 440 participants. Don't you want to stop chanting? This is a good sign. If you want to keep on chanting then this is a good symptom.
kirtaniyah sada harih
One should chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
Someone said that the katha and chanting should keep on going. For 7 days, the katha program was going on in Pune. Some devotees are missing katha. Panchali mataji was saying that the temple looks empty without the katha.
I am sure Bhagavat katha must be going on in the temples. Take advantage of that. Keep on hearing katha. You can also do manan (contemplate) on what you heard. Which katha attracted your mind? Remember that. This is called manan. We keep on repeating the importance of manan. Manan means continue sravana. It's remembering what we have heard. This is called reflecting or contemplating. By this, those tattvas and siddhantas (principles) will get fixed in your mind and they will become your wealth.
I also said during this katha that if you are reading or hearing Gita, Bhagavat or Caitanya-caritamrta you must start thinking that about sharing this with your friends or counselees, like the mitra sanga is going on in Mauritius. Or you must do
yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'krsna'-upadeśa
on the weekend. If you hear with such intention, appreciating how sweet these things are then those readings will easily be remembered and retained by you. You will get a better memory, power to remember. You can preserve those kathas and incidents.
yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'krsna'-upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa
Translation
Instruct everyone to follow the orders of the Lord Śrī Krsna as they are given in Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.(CC Madhya-lila 7.128)
I also said yesterday that many devotees were appreciating and thanking me for Gaur Bhagavat Katha. The Lord and I want that people should thank you. Thus, you should do such an endeavour which will please other devotees. By doing this Krishna consciousness will spread.
New Gaurabhdha has begun with Gaur Purnima. This is the 535th year of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance. Happy New Year to you! This is New Year for Gaudiya Vaisnavas. For Christians, it is Christabhdha. For Gaudiyas, it is Gaurabhdha. You may take some personal or national resolutions for devotees, friends, counselees, temple or community as per your post, field. You may have some new plans. New doesn't mean mental speculation. Those thoughts only which are eternal or true and which haven't been presented yet and we have realised may be after hearing Gaur Purnima katha or hearing something.
Make new resolutions for the New Year like if you have understood something then you will share with others, attentive chanting, complete chanting in early morning, giving up laziness, etc.
There can be family istagostis. You can gather your family and discuss pros and cons of what to do and don't. This is also called Simhavalokan. Simha means Lion and avalokan means to overview. Lion, as king of the forest, while roaming in the forest, sees and looks around, goes back, thinks and reviews what has been done and needs to be done then goes ahead. We can't share everything as we are not lions. Other animals don't think or review their actions and just keep on jumping up and down, round and round. They just keep acting. Their life itself is crisis management. They do not go for planning.
While planning we have to think of obstacles we may face while doing something and then finding a solution to that obstacle in advance. This is called proactivity, not reactivity. We have to think what challenges we may face while executing our plans and plan how to get out of that challenge. This is called proper planning. This is just a hint and guidelines. From next year or Gaurabhdha, what will you do from a sadhana or preaching point of view, family planning or job. How can you make your job convenient for sadhana? You might be having night shift or double shift. Today youngsters keep on working hard like donkeys. They are determined to earn more and enjoy more. You have to introspect whether you are not going mad for money or you are following simple living and high thinking.
Nowadays, people preach 'Just Do it' and do not think. We don't have to work like worldly people. Think on this. A whole year has been spent. Think of the mistakes of the past year and how can they be improved. Develop vision, make a list of obstacles, make strategies to remove obstacles, look out for resources like money, time, manpower, assistance. Time is a big resource. Find out how to utilise time and money. Then drawing up a timeline or time management is there. It’s an universal formula. These are 5 steps in planning. Vision, obstacles, strategy, resources-human or capital and timeline.
Wish you a Successful and Happy New Year.
Hare Krishna !
