06-013 Every Moment of Your Life Count by HH Radhanath Swami

I sincerely offer my gratitude to all of you who spare this precious time to attend this evening program. There are so many alternatives of how to spend our time in

life

and this is largely what determines the destiny of each soul, how we choose to use

every

precious

moment

we have according to the bhagavad-gita and the vedic scriptures destiny is inevitable but we create ourselves because it is the law of nature for

every

action there is a corresponding equal reaction or as they say what goes up must come down is allowed It is not a question of our opinion, it does not depend on our erudition or how many volumes of literature we can write according to our opinion, but it is a law of nature, for every action there is a corresponding reaction equal and more subtle than this law applies to physics.

It is on the platform of subtle material nature the power of our fats the power of our feelings affects the world what to say about the power of our words and actions human

life

is distinguished from lower species because a human being has the power to determine the direction of life he or she who is going to travel the lower species have no such power they simply act according to the z' dictate of the nature of the particular body they live in but a human can do anything we can be morally immoral honest dishonest humble selfish we have that power and with power comes responsibility throughout history we see that people who have great power because they can bring about great good or terrible destruction with power comes responsibility the difference between an adult parent and a child small is the physical power, the intellectual power power discriminatory power therefore if you have a child you have a great responsibility to protect, care for and guide thus with the responsibility of our free will in this human life which is a great power is a lot of responsibility and Whatever we choose there will be a reaction and the accumulation of actions and words we choose to take is what determines our destiny, honey, what awaits us today is largely the effects of the decisions we have made in the past and how we respond. , how we react to what happens. coming upon us will determine our future not only in this life but also in future lives and everything is set in motion at every

moment

according to the decisions we make.

Life is so short. It is sometimes said that youth is wasted on the young because When you start to get older you realize how precious every moment is and as you get older you start to realize how precious every moment is and as As you get older, you realize that time flies and we can't hold on to it like a child's seconds take a long time to pass. Do you remember in school just waiting to read, not the bell to let you into class, but the bell to let you out of class, seemed to last for ages, but if you talk to an ADL eighty-year-old man or woman, it seems that life has passed in moments and, in fact, in the light of eternity, each moment is so precious that we are forming, we are covering or uncovering the beauty of our own Souls, hence the vedanta-sutra.

It begins with the aphorism etat or brahma jijnasa that now that you have achieved this precious human life it is time to inquire into our true and eternal well-being Who am I? Where I go? Where do I come from? Why is there suffering? What is true happiness? Who? is God and what is my relationship with that God and what is my true relationship with all living beings when we really sincerely strive to understand these questions and act according to what will answer those questions, then the beauty of human life begins to flourish. It is said that you cannot judge a book by looking at its cover.

He who has faith in the supreme beauty of God's love can see beyond the external appearances of what happens to us in life. He who sees the invisible is a person who has a great future of success which is wisdom. This afternoon I was with about 50 devotees from London having a meeting but first I will tell you why I was late for that meeting. I spent the afternoon with us embarrassed whose secular name is alfred brush ford he is the great grandson of Henry Ford who really promoted the proliferation of automobiles by creating an assembly line wherever he goes my friend of ours can go to any station television, to any newspaper magazine and say that I am the great-grandson of Henry Ford in any

count

ry in the world and they will be surrounding him with microphones and cameras.

Just a few years ago I was in Moscow and the press was informed that Henry Ford's great-grandson was coming to all the major television stations, all the MIT radio stations, all the newspapers and all the magazines. I was waiting at immigration to greet him, they were interviewing him and asking for press conferences and inviting him to their shows and he told me what did I do, all I did was be born, I haven't done anything, he doesn't even work for Ford Motor Company, but because of that connection with a famous personality, today we spent a few hours together and then these devotees came from the UK and I was supposed to talk to them, they were waiting but I just wanted to show them proper hospitality. my dear friend, so I went to the street to escort him to his car, but due to the heavy Mumbai traffic which I am sure all of you must have experienced, his car could not reach the temple because it was parked somewhere else and his secretary and the driver I was talking on cell phones.

Where are they? I'm stuck in traffic. Well, where did you park around the block? It took almost 15 minutes to get around the corner to the temple, so we waited and waited and finally we did. If you want to hear this story, the car stopped on the side of the road and passed car after car and couldn't get out of its parking spot for almost another 10 minutes, I mean, while the London devotees wait in the garden and I was trying to see him off and finally there was a little gap in the traffic and his car was about to take off and Alfred Ford rolled down his window and looked at me and said it's all Henry Ford's fault, very humble. person actually so I entered the garden and I was thinking about these wonderful devotees in London in the early 1970s two of our very dear brother God sister of God actually came to London in the late 60s yamuna devi rebel and pretend in trouble what they did It was simply amazing, they started a temple in San Francisco in 1967 and our visit to Dave Srila Prabhupada sent three domestic couples, six and a half devotees, a baby who was only months old and six adults, three married couples, the sent to London and they didn't do it.

They had no money, they had no contacts and they were supposed to start a temple there and they did. I'm Linda Brummel. He had the idea that if we reach influential people, then the common people will be influenced and being a hippie from his past is his. The conception of a truly influential person was epitomized by the Beatles, so we'll give Krishna to the Beatles and one way or another it's a long story, but he did it in a month or two. They were all living in John Lennon's house shortly after his death, even before the Bleep, the Beatles produced an album for them on a single album where Yamuna chanting the Hari Krishna mantra produced by George Harrison, ranked at the top 40 and it was the number one song in Europe, hundreds and thousands of people bought Hari Krishna just to listen to it. our sweet and loving Jamuna singing and then the fake sundar moved into the house with George Harrison and after a while they started a small temple just a couple of blocks from the British Museum on Barry Place in central London, a very nice building , but it soon became crowded. and Prabhupada, Gurudev saw the inconvenience I felt in such crowded facilities, he always thought it was okay for us to move on so that everyone would be happy, so he asked, he tried to find a bigger place, but how to find a bigger place when not even they could pay it.

The little place they lived in, so Shyam Sundar Gribble talked to us and George Harrison and he decided to buy a beautiful Victorian mansion in the

count

ry and they called it Bhakti Vedanta Manor and probably five of them made that property the headquarters of the Honey Krishna movement for all of Europe and I spent a lot of time, but it soon got crowded, so they had to look for something else, but anyway, these devotees I met today were from Bhakti Vedanta Manor, many of them were of Indian origin, there are thousands and thousands of people who come to at the temple and who are actively participating for john mazda me for almost a couple of months before the event there are up to 800 volunteers working after work every night of the week sometimes until midnight just to prepare for the festival by devotion now there were some complaints and Years ago the government decided to close the bhakti vedanta mansion from any public property because it was creating traffic congestion in the villages because there were thousands and thousands of people coming to the festivals and it was a law coming from the central government that prohibited worship.

Many people were heartbroken and they appealed the decision and lost, they appealed the appeal and lost, they started holding demonstrations, some were arrested, they joined together with other minority religious groups, others had demonstrations with thousands and thousands of people in front. of the Parliament building and the police broke it up and arrested others and this went on for about ten years and there was not a glimmer of hope of success, they were just losing all the battles, but they had faith, they had faith that they were just not they were doing nothing wrong, they were doing the right thing and ultimately it is a long story that volumes of books could be written describing in detail, but in the end not only did they win the war and were given complete freedom of worship, but they also They obtained properties. to a road connecting to the highway that made Buck David's Manor property about ten times larger than it was when they started the fight. a direct access road to a route that connects to the highway that offers parking spaces for thousands and thousands.

The number of cars and congregation has increased immensely and none of this would have happened if they had not closed us, so when obstacles arise in our lives we must know that those obstacles are not bad, whatever they are, they are bad if you perceive them. consider them bad and act accordingly, but if we see the impediments that come in our lives as opportunities to grow, opportunities to deepen our surrender to God, opportunities to cry out more helplessly for the health of the Lord and sing his holy names than what is sure because success and life is not about some external achievement success in life is about expressing the integrity of our will before God who is the witness within whom the beard borders the tourists varnasrama v ba gua sha Shan you Kedah of Mesilla some Sudhir Hari torsional whatever our occupation, whatever our field of life can be our success if we please Lord Krishna who is all attractive all loving and all merciful recently within our temple we had a wonderful devotee who passed away of this world many of you knew him stokoe krishna prabhu his passing was beautiful now this is a very esoteric concept how could death be beautiful for many deaf it means the end of life how could it be beautiful if it were the end of life it is horrible but we learn life from all the great self-realized Souls and all the great sacred books life is eternal bhagavad-gita tells the Jaya tameria Tabaka that you for the soul the source of life the animating power within us consciousness there is no birth there is no death na hanyate hanyamane a city day is not killed when the body is killed dehino smin yatha dehe kaumaram yo varam tara tatar a hunter a preparer dhiras tatra na muhyati as the soul travels through the various stages of this life from the childhood to youth and old age in the same way the soul transmigrates at the time of death and what is the general consciousness, why we accumulate the greatest attachment in our life, what determines the journey of the soul after it leaves this body, then, a person who understands this, that death is simply a state of transition, it is not the end, he who dies, he who leaves the body in a very high state of consciousness is beautiful, it is inevitable for everyone but we have our choice how we will live and how we will die Stoker Krishna had incurable cancer rapidly deteriorating but he was always smiling, he was always grateful, he was happy.

I spoke to him on the phone many times from the West and he was always just thanking God for all the wonderful opportunities the Lord gave him to serve in his life. He wasn't focusing on how. He had little time to live and cursing in frustration, rather he was grateful from the bottom of his heart for every moment that the Lord gave him the opportunity to serve to be with the devotees to hear the glories of the Lord and chant the names of Krishna. It was not just a mental disposition, it was a realization, it was an experience and even in that state he was giving so much to others, the devotees simply loved coming to see him for what they received from him and although his body washe was becoming completely emaciated breaking into pieces his organs simply disintegrating he maintained that same consciousness.

I can tell you from my observation that he was happier in that state than practically the entire population of Mumbai sitting in their cars and in traffic jams listening to music or arguing among themselves. I don't know how to go to nightlife trying to find one way or another someone to enjoy with something to enjoy one way or another enjoy but he was enjoying it more than them he was paralyzed from the waist down but he was happy, he was grateful and he was immersed in devotion to Krishna for the Lord and he left the world in that state it was beautiful what is the lesson we have our choice how we are to perceive the reality that has come upon us sometimes we are in a situation that is out of our control we get frustrated when we want to control and things get out of our control, yes, but when we accept the situation and look for the opportunity to get closer to God in that situation and grow, then there is fulfillment, there is happiness and there is not only the experience of the presence of Krishna within us and that is beautiful, so yes, this is an extreme. example, but whatever happens to us we can choose, sometimes we are honored and other times we are criticized personally or even publicly.

For someone who is honest, dishonor is worse than death, but for someone who sees a divine reason behind it, dishonor is more blissful. what an honor because life is not about being honest and dishonorable life is about how we respond to each of those situations and the observation of the Lord within the heart there can be pleasure or pain there can be success or failure there can be victory or defeat it is usually out of our control we do our best and still God helps those who help themselves we should do our best Krishna says in the Gita that we should abandon selfishness and laziness there is no place for laziness on a spiritual path There must be determination There must be enthusiasm based on faith in whatever we do that brings progress Some people think that people take the spiritual path to escape the problems of this world and live a lazy life and unfortunately it is often true, but that It is not a spiritual path those who actually face the real problems of life birth old age illness death forgetting our relationship with God and our enthusiasts determined to perform our duties in this world with that purpose getting closer to our essence in our source which is spiritual that is what Gaeta teaches for every moment we have an opportunity any moment that is lost cannot be recovered for all the wealth of creation any moment is felt wisely and the service of the Lord is an eternal investment and those who know business management Modern people are aware of how their time is managed is very critical and it is even more critical in our spiritual life how we manage our time the decisions we make yes, a situation is presented to us it may be just what we want or it may be exactly what we despise the most it may be just what we have feared will come upon us we may be praised we may be blamed but we will respond with humility or false ego when we respond with anger and revenge or compassion and forgiveness we will respond by giving up but learning a good lesson and carrying on stronger than ever and with greater determination we will respond by cursing God or thanking God that is our choice so I thank you very much here in Mumbai there are so many alternatives in small villages there are not so many jobs for natives if someone speaks from bhagavad-gita in a village everyone will come because I'm sure there's nothing else to do except sleep, but Mumbai, so many things to do, every poster or billboard invites us to so many things to do right there, Johny Walker, I think it's a type of alcoholic drink. and earth wind fire our dear friend Richard used to travel with them yeah, isn't it a small world? every hoarding in every store, practically every person you meet is announcing their consciousness, in fact, Sheila Braille pod, said that monks wear this type of robes only because if people dress in such a way to announce their consciousness if a man or a woman dresses in a very seductive way they are expressing that you know her desire to attract

your

sensual feelings if some people dress in a way to show people how richer they are or how beautiful they are, traditionally in religions around the world In the world monks cut their hair and wear these little sloppy clothes, why when people see you, whether they like it or not, they think he is a man of God, some people say he is a man of God and other people say he is a man of God.

He is a man of God, but anyway they think of God, how do they do it? We will say that there are some people who will say that it is Krishna, in others, people will say that it is Krishna, but they are thinking of Krishna, so everything whatever. what we do in life we ​​are advertising in some way by the way we talk by the way we dress by the car we drive everything is some kind of expression that affects the consciousness of other people when George Harrison asked Prabhupada if I should shave my head and put on these Robes and Probodh said no, the best way to serve God would be to be a Beatle and be like a Beatle and have hair like a Beatle, whatever that is, and with

your

influence bring the people closer. people to God and he tried to do it and influenced tens and thousands of people. people's lives in a very powerful way, that is one example among so many millions of examples, but we have our freedom in every moment, how we are going to respond to our situation, how we are going to grow, how we are going to get there. closer to God and how we are going to influence others in a very positive way sarva okay for Avanti Robert said and we quoted this in marriage yesterday this is the purpose of marriage this is the purpose of life that everyone is happy to live in such a way to make others happy happiness of the body happiness of the mind but especially the happiness of our eternal self our soul which rejoices in that connection with the all attractive supreme object of love of all the supreme lord govinda in this age of Kali proclaims that this love for God, this state of bliss in Ananda, is latent in the heart of every living being, it is not an artificial imposition of the mind, it is not simply a matter of adjusting the mind in such a way to see in a certain way. way of life. need to love the joy of love is our essence love of God knowledge of God who is all beautiful all love all compassion the person is within us everything simply must be discovered like a treasure underground so great wealth simply must be discovered from within this chanting the name of God has the most amazingly effective power to awaken that love of God within us when we were speaking at a youth festival just a few weeks ago a student asked the question that I am a scientist and I can only accept something as if it were substantial If it is scientifically proven, can your religion be scientifically proven?

Otherwise, I must reject it, so I asked the scientist what his definition of science is. He said first there is a hypothesis, then there is experimentation and then there is evidence that it is science if something fits. according to those principles it is science, but if it is only based on faith, it is not science, it is religion, but a Christian now our guru maharaj used to say that we do not profess religion, we profess science and in other times pro-pot said the essence of everything . Religion is loving God so how can Krishna consciousness or any great religious system be understood scientifically?

There is a hypothesis. The hypothesis is much broader than biological, physiological or chemical sciences or even mathematics. how many books are there? Bhagavad Gita 18 puranas 108 upanishads 100,000 verses. from Mahabharat ramayana Valmiki Muni there is the Bible, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Holy Quran and so many complementary literatures of the great religions of the world, and they all give a hypothesis that you are not this body, you are the eternal soul. and that there is a God, some describe God as a disdainful father who will punish you for your sins if you are naughty. Sometimes your father appears like this.

I remember when I was a well-behaved child, there were rare occasions that I really looked forward to. my father came home because my mother gave him good reports, but when I was a naughty boy, a really naughty boy, I didn't expect my disdainful father to come home, so God is a tabletop Humvee. Etha Krishna says I am this eternal seed. generous father of all living beings, so for those who are very naughty and participate in many sinful activities, then he is described as your mother, you do this, you will be punished like this when your father comes home, wait, yes, do you? how many of you have heard that before?

India too, but if you behave well when your father returns home, he will be so kind that he will play with you, he will do so many wonderful things that he likes to do, the best he will share with you, so says the Vedic literature. side emphasizing that side if you live in a spirit of devotion and here are the beautiful pastimes of the Lord in the spiritual world, the most loving playful Lord who will include you in the most intimate loving reciprocity forever, this is described in srimad -bhagavatam this is describes in chaitanya charitamrita and that love, that love for God, is asleep within our heart and by chanting the names of God, that love awakens one day Krishna radhe Krishna Krishna.