“Generally, the wealth of misers never allows them any happiness. In this life it causes their self-torment, and when they die it sends them to hell.” (Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11.23.15)

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The aspiring yogi gets some good news in the Bhagavad-gita. If they don’t succeed in perfecting the consciousness in the current lifetime, the progress doesn’t get erased. It is not as if they perish like a riven cloud; the analogy used by Arjuna when questioning Shri Krishna.

“O mighty-armed Krishna, does not such a man, being deviated from the path of Transcendence, perish like a riven cloud, with no position in any sphere?” (Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 6.38)

The opportunity renews in the next life, with a few possible circumstances at the time of birth. Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, uses the word shrimatam. This references shri, which can mean…

“Transcendental subject matter is so nice that no one becomes tired of hearing or speaking. Others, who are not devotees, may think, ‘How can people devote so much time simply to talks of God?’ But devotees are never satisfied or satiated in hearing and speaking about the Supreme Personality of Godhead or about His devotees. The more they hear and talk, the more they become enthusiastic to hear.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.13.1 Purport)

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Friend1: I need you to reveal some secrets again.

Friend2: Alright, I admit it. It was me.

Friend1: Huh?

Friend2: I intentionally placed that tape into that kid’s hood in the store so that when he walked out the alarms would go off. It was an innocent prank. I’m not perfect.

Friend1: Wow, that is funny. This was in high school?

Friend2: Maybe a year or two after?

Friend1:…

“She has fully absorbed her body, mind and life in Lord Jagannatha. Therefore she was unaware that she was putting her foot on My shoulder. Alas! How fortunate this woman is! I pray at her feet that she favor Me with her great eagerness to see Lord Jagannatha.” (Lord Chaitanya, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Antya 14.29-30)

Question: “Though Lord Chaitanya is often considered the most merciful incarnation of Godhead, I cannot find references in the scriptures to His inclusion of women. How did Lord Chaitanya’s mercy extend to women? ”

Answer: Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is considered the most merciful incarnation of Godhead by those who have associated with Him in one form or another. This opinion is reinforced by the fact that His divinity is only hinted at in a few scriptures, thus keeping His fame and glory limited. This was the wish of Lord Chaitanya, for He wanted to give…

“Within a very short time, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ate enough for a hundred people. Then He asked Govinda, ‘Is there anything more left?’” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Antya 10.127)

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Friend1: Going to try to relate two things here.

Friend2: Relate?

Friend1: Sorry, I meant connect. One from ordinary life and the other from spiritual life.

Friend2: Nice.

Friend1: Let’s start with the spiritual. There is the famous verse in the Bhagavad-gita where Shri Krishna says that He accepts offerings made with love and devotion.

Friend2: They don’t have to be elaborate, either. A flower or some water will suffice.

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

Friend1: Devotion, bhakti, is the key. If there is no devotion, He won’t accept the offering.

Friend2: Correct. He is not a beggar…

“O friend. Sita now wishes to give to your wife a pearl necklace, a string of gold and a girdle. O gentle one, please take them.” (Lord Rama speaking to Suyajna, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 32.7)

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hāraṃ ca hemasūtraṃ ca bhāryāyai saumya hāraya |
raśanāṃ cādhunā sītā dātum icchati te sakhe ||

“Happy wife equals happy life.” That is the saying, but it’s easier said than done. For any person, finding true happiness is difficult since desires always change. One day I want to eat pizza for dinner. If I eat the same thing day after day, the enjoyment might fade. Then it’ll take something different to make me happy.

The eternal consort of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as the goddess of fortune. She is Lakshmi Devi. Since good fortune tends to come and go, she is also known as…

“Not only does a devotee become one in quality with the Supreme Lord, but he sometimes becomes the father, mother or master of the Lord. Arjuna also, by his devotional service, made Lord Krishna his chariot driver; he ordered the Lord, ‘Put my chariot here,’ and the Lord executed his order. These are some examples of how a devotee can acquire the exalted position of conquering the unconquerable.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.12.42 Purport)

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Achyuta. This Sanskrit word means “one who does not fall down.” In its use for addressing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the meaning doesn’t have to be taken literally. What goes up must come down. Rise and fall. Heat and cold. Happiness and sadness. These are conditions of duality in the material world. When the Supreme Lord appears in that world, He goes through the different experiences.

He is…

“The maha-bhagavata, the advanced devotee, certainly sees everything mobile and immobile, but he does not exactly see their forms. Rather, everywhere he immediately sees manifest the form of the Supreme Lord.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 8.274)

In Sanskrit the term ishta-deva means the “deity of choice.” The deity is that which is worshiped. The ishta-deva is the deity you most prefer to worship. You have a choice in the matter, as since you are a servant at heart, there are so many objects which can accept your service. There is an original source of all objects, and He has many non-different expansions. He also has many separated expansions that serve in the godly capacity. This leaves so many choices. Since the original is complete, worship of it automatically brings appreciation for everything else.

It doesn’t work the other way around, however. For instance, water comes from the original person. Water is…

“Dressed in a single yellow garment, made of the best cloth, but which was in a bad condition, covered with dirt and without any ornaments, she resembled a lotus pond devoid of lotuses.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 15.21)

pītena ekena samvītām kliṣṭena uttama vāsasā |
sapankām analamkārām vipadmām iva padminīm ||

Ordinarily, to roll around in the dirt is considered strange behavior, as unless you are a child and don’t know any better, what reason would you have for soiling your clothes and getting clay all over your hair and such? But for devotees swooning in the ecstasy of separation from their beloved, the practice is not out of the ordinary. For one woman in particular, the separation anxiety was too much to bear, so even though she had the most beautiful piece of clothing for a dress, at one time it was not spotless in its appearance. The comparison…

“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.28)

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Friend1: In the Bhagavad-gita it says that persons who have rid themselves of sinful reaction, papa, take up bhakti, or devotional service.

Friend2: Yes.

Friend1: Pious in both this life and previous ones.

Friend2: The latter is key. It explains why some people fall into the bhakti culture, almost by chance, while others remain far away.

Friend1: They received sukriti, or meritorious credits, from something they did in the past.

Friend2: Exactly. It could be something as simple as holding the door open for a saint to pass. It could be hearing and smiling at the chanting of the holy names: Hare…