Clutches of Maya (Letters)
Correspondence
1947 to 1965 Correspondence
1967 Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
1969 Correspondence
1970 Correspondence
You have written one interesting line, that Maya seems to have a special interest in you. So it appears that you are intelligent enough to detect the tricks of Maya; that is very nice. We should always remember that Maya or darkness and Krsna or the Light are existing side by side. So if we keep ourself always in Krsna Consciousness or in the Light of Krsna Sun, hardly there is any chance of being covered by darkness or Maya.
But a little inattention may cause our falling down into the clutches of Maya. The path of Krsna Consciousness is compared in the Vedas with a sharpened razor blade. If you carefully manipulate it, the blade helps by clean shaving; but a little inattention causes a bloody cheek. So this example we should always remember and carefully manipulate the blade of Krsna Consciousness.1971 Correspondence
1972 Correspondence
1973 Correspondence
So I am so much pleased upon all of the boys and girls in Los Angeles and all over the world who are understanding and appreciating this unique quality of our transcendental literature and voluntarily they are going out to distribute despite all circumstances of difficulty. By this effort alone they are assured to go back to home, back to Godhead. In order to change this materialistic society and prevent them from gliding to hell, first thing is to educate them. All decent men want to give service to humanity, only thing is they do not have information really what is that service. Hospitals, feeding the poor, Red Cross, these are service to the bodies only, not to the man. Service to humanity means jnana. By giving people knowledge, jnana, that is the highest service to humanity. So we are performing the actual welfare work of society by informing everyone through our literatures who is God, who they are, and what is the relationship. In this way everyone who hears our message gets the opportunity to fulfill his actual position as human entity and become delivered from the clutches of maya. So you may understand it that by disseminating our Krsna consciousness propaganda anywhere and everywhere, by selling books, by making publicity, newspapers, television, so many ways there are to spread Krsna consciousness information, you may know it that by utilizing our energy in this way to give everyone access to the Absolute Truth, that is the real understanding of desire to serve humanity.
Understanding is one thing, and practical application of that understanding is another. But as devotees of Krsna, being engaged in the practical work of spreading Krsna consciousness, that is already the highest realization. That's all right, that is our real mission, to deliver the world by preaching Krsna's message to others, but even higher realization, the highest realization, is to save oneself.- kaumara acaret prajno dharman bhagavatan iha
- durlabham manusam janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam
- [SB 7.6.1]
1974 Correspondence
These things can be avoided when one is very much advanced in Krsna Consciousness. Krsna's Name is Madan Mohan, the conqueror of lusty desires, or the cupid. Unless one is very much attracted with Krsna one cannot give up or avoid attraction of Cupid. Those who are fixed in chanting Hare Krsna Mantra and always reading the books and following the regulative principles they can be saved. Otherwise, there is no question of being saved from the clutches of Maya. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14].
To you my advice is, because you are very intelligent and educated girl, you forget your relationship with Gaurasundara. Now you become mixed up in Krsna business and live like a chaste Hindu widow woman. There are many ideal young Hindu widows who do not dress nicely at all, do not comb the hair, and who take bath three times daily in the Ganges, wear white sari and are engaged 24 hours a day in chanting Hare Krsna Mantra. The vivid example is Visnupriya devi, Lord Caitanya's wife. When Lord Caitanya left home accepting the renounced order of life, sannyasa, at that time Visnupriya was on the summit of youth, 16 years old, but when her husband became sannyasi she also became greater than sannyasa. She was chanting her rounds on the beads and after one round she was collecting one grain of rice. In this way all day and night, as many rounds as she could finish, that many grains she would cook and eat. Just she how much austerity she underwent! Visnupriya is the incarnation of the Goddess of Fortune but to teach us how much austerity and penance she underwent, I think you should follow the footsteps of Srimati Visnupriya.Page Title: | Clutches of Maya (Letters) |
Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Namrata |
Created: | 24 of Nov, 2008 |
Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=25 |
No. of Quotes: | 25 |