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By B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami http://www.vrindavan.org
chat with Guru Maharaj on Mother’s Day, 9th of May, 2004, from Hawaii
Hari bol!
Srila Prabhupada and all pure devotees, ki jay!
Sri Guru and Gauranga ki jay!
I hope everybody is fine. Dandavats and blessings respectively. It is a joy to be here with you.
Mothers' Day is very blessed. Our Lord eternally worships His different mothers in different incarnations. To give thanks to our mothers, and rather to all mothers of the universe, is a natural duty that should be incorporated in the behaviour of a good person.
The Vishnupriya ashrams, ki jaya!
Mothers in Krishna consciousness, ki jay!
The renounced mothers, ki jay!
The service of all mothers, ki jaya!
The mothers of the small Vaisnavas everywhere, ki jay!
The mother of devotion, ki jay!
Mother nature, ki jay!
Mother earth, ki jay!
Mother Veda, ki jay!
Mother cow that nourish us with her miraculous milk, ki jay!
Sradda devi, ki jaya!
Motherly patience, ki jay!
Tulasi Maharani, ki jay!
On this day, from me to all mothers who make part of my life, starting with her who gave light to this body: an unlimited thanksgiving and the wish that it will go very specially good in this life, and that after this you will see the lotus feet of the Lord of the heart Himself.
The position of the mother
The mothers of the Vrinda mission are the protectors of the tenderness and of the protection, with the gift of forgiveness of our family. On one hand it is not easy to have a female body in this era of Kali, but on the other hand it is the souls in female bodies in this era, who represent religiosity and fortune. Who could imagine a positive society where the women are put in anxiety? You are our Laksmis, and it is a joy this day to exclaim your glories.
Our compromise among all members of the family is to attend your well-being; it is a sacred duty and we accept it with happiness. Everywhere the male devotees should watch carefully that nothing is lacking in the Vishnupriya ashrams. So brave they are, the mothers in this world. They receive their children will all their affection, they adore and take care of them, despite that the children, by their egotism, very often ignore their mothers. The mother suffers very much in this world from the moment she gave birth to, and began to take care of, a demanding baby to attend thousands of roles.
The mother has the great virtue to accept her dharma very naturally and from her breast; since from her breast comes the mercy with her milk that nourishes the recently born as the best that exists. This picture of the milk-giving mother is sacred.
Who would be able to put them into anxiety?
Who would be able to put them into anxiety? Well, this world of heavy karma has everything. It even exists mothers who deny receiving their children, etc. But this is the product of an immense and very regrettable degradation. It is the shame of our cruel society and only by the mercy of Srimati Radharani we can be saved from this world.
To forget the importance of the mother is like entering immediately to the domain of exploitation of our obscure life.
So, the mothers are the light in this life, for letting us serve the Divine Couple with this body that the mothers have given us. In the world of consumption, Mother's Day is the day of buying things and give presents of material pleasure. But the mother only wants to see the well-being of her children. This is the best gift that her child can give. If you want to give something very great to your mother, give her a dedicated devotee, consecrated to purity. The unconditional well-wisher of your son or your daughter - the mother - is in ecstasy if she sees her child full of love for God. Jay Sri Krishna.
Nobody can imagine Krishna without Yasoda or Radharani and the Gopis. Krishna lila would not exist without all of them; it is rather they who are predominant where they appear. In vatslya rasa, Sri Gopalji feels supremely happy in the strong arms of His very beloved mother Yasoda. There is no better place for him. And for the two of them, this is the supreme union. We worship this picture.
The infinite power is in the lap of the mother of the universe, the mother of the Supreme Lord, who loves Him so much that she completely forgets His celestial position. The conjugal love is a part of the supreme opulence, since everything, without exceptions, is born therein, and thus the feminine part is manifested like Hladini sakti, the supreme giver of pleasure to Krishna. She is our eternal master and protector of bhakti in Herself. We worship Her like the supreme mother in our faith on the way of Radha Dasyam, where the male vanity receives its definite slap in order to be able to enter to serve Radharani in the rasa dance. So our mothers are also gopis in potency, and the men who are purified and surrendered to the sweet will of the Supreme, can also become gopis of Krishna in Vrindavan.
Such is the revelation of the spiritual bodies of our acaryas. We worship the purity given by Srimari Radhika. Eternally. Krishna Himself worships like this, and if she gets angry, Krishna comes very, very humble to apologize. It is rather that without her, Krishna does not feel good at all. These lilas are very complex and filled with sweetness, where the mother is the one who commands. Thus, together with Krishna we worship this original mother and her different expansions that come to test our real surrender. Our compromise with the truth.
The compromise between brothers and sisters
The gift on this day should be a grand consideration of the well-being of all mothers. In the bandha raksa ceremony, the brothers and the sisters annually promise to always make the case and protect each other in whatever it may be. This compromise also exists between the female and the male devotees in a Vaisnava family. You know that I prefer thousands of times to call our efforts "the Vrinda family" and not the "Vrinda institution". Because in an institution the things are artificial, while in a family they are natural. There will always exist persons who only see the big ego and therefore ignore their loving family that surrounds them.
Who could sing or hear about Krishna or eat prasadam, if it were not for the unlimited mercy of the supreme mother? We are receivers of the grace at every moment, and we are so capable to be ignorant that we do not take notice of all of this, and we behave ruthlessly. It is a delicate task to protect the mothers, or rather to worship them. We were made by their mercy, and they are given from all the heart to the Supreme Lord, under the command of the Supreme Servant, Srimati Radharani.
In Vrindavan in a dispute about the royal monarchy in Vrindavan, there was a conflict; the gopas wanted that Krishna were accepted as king of Vrindavan, but the gopis said no; they said it was not so. They stated that Radharani was Vrindavanesvari, and the supreme monarch of Vrindavan. The issue resulted in a fight, and that day, which is celebrated even today, the gopis took sticks and chased away the gopas all the way to Nandagram, establishing that whom definitely was commander in Vrindavan was Srimati Radharani. Gaura Premananda, Hari bol!
In holi, during one week, this lila is repeated everywhere, even in front of our Vrinda Kunja. Vrinda Kunja holds this festival annually, a part of the feast.
The mothers in the Vrinda family
So we do not have to fight anymore, it is simply established that one must support the mothers - especially in the Vishnupriya ashrams - and make them happy, making them thousands of loving services for Krishna. Very talented they organize the different frames of their services.
In Colombia I have seen some nice dances for Krishna by the mothers. The same in Arequipa; there is a drama group called Gopesvara, where the mothers train to preach with traditional dance. There are our pujaris, like mother Radha Tulasi, who is the faithful servant of our Istadeva and who gives her unselfish service since long time ago. And there is mother Rupa Manjari, who always endeavours to protect the things of Krishna especially in Colombia, and who does not permit any injustice. Well, at least she tries.
And in Berlin there is mother Seva Kunja, the brave mother from Cucuta, who is doctoring in psychiolgy, preaching and fighting against her cancer, while guiding her three children to Sri Krishna and makes book Sankirtana without ending. The sacred mothers with their children at home are so many, that there is no way for me to give personal honours to each one of them. They support their husbands to continue like devotees and maintain the sacred atmosphere at home.
There we have mother Bhakti. Really the great mother of Peru, who always accompany her children in Krishna consciousness and who is the guardian of Chakra y Mar. And our reverences to mother Hladini, who recently was named president of Vishnupriya Ashram in Buenos Aires. She also is professional and has her devotee daughter and her heart with Radha Madan Mohan. There are so many brave mothers, that our book about them would take many volumes. I just select those who come to my mind in this moment, and all the others, we glorify them too.
So many extraordinary mothers in many places
There we have mother Caitanya Priya, recently initiated and sister of Prakasanandaji. She is mother of a devotee and is fighting, since her body is very sick, but her soul is dancing with joy. Mother Syama Mohini, who lives on the Farm in Germany, and who always has a second home for the devotees. She is a natural medicine doctor and has her children so loving towards Krishna, that other parents could envy her.
Again in Argentina we have our mother Vrindavanesvari in person. She has all her children very devoted and she is director of our mission of the farm and my efforts in Argentina. Her love includes everybody and she is the force of everyone that knows her. And as Gurudeva Atulanandaji said: without mother KrishnaLekha, the temple in Argentina would no longer exist. Al mother, counter, designer of web pages and other services, she fights against the bad economical situation like a lioness, sending workers, even sannyasis and her husband.
Then we remember these silent devotees like mother Radha Caran, who maintains our Vaisnavi.net with such dynamic and many other pages; she is my big help. She just finished to train the new generation of devotees in a seminary about web pages, with nice results of web pages from the new generation. From Medellín she always tries to find ways to serve everyone and only asks for collaboration with news and e-mail addresses to send her nectar of yoga inbound to people.
And the very brave great mother Manah Siksa from Sweden. Being mother of three children, she has time where there is no time. She helps many, always maintaining our pages in Swedish, the art page, and is never missing the translations of the chats every Sunday. She has a big heart for everyone and is a conscious artist also. Poet, flutist, mum, and thousands of more qualifications… It is incredible the example the mothers give, isn't it? And there are brahmacaris who only complain. They do not want to learn English. She speaks three languages in her service. Mainstays, they are.
We continue to mother Dhanistika in Switzerland. She recently came to me to initiate her mother at a home for the aged, and she is a great artist and preacher. Her job in the hospital consists in accompany dying people, and with 30 years of experience. Really, she always helps in everything and writes a lot of devotional poems. In her Vishnupriya ashram she has Gaura Nitay and Giriraj Maharaj.
Not only the senior mothers are our protectors. Many young mothers are mainstays, doing nice things. Sita Thakurani in the Seva (Colombia), is preparing the web page of the seva and is soon getting online with the responsibility. Following the steps of her grandmother, the pujari of Gauranga Radha Vrajesvara.
Mother Yamuna is a pioneer without stopping; her days as a mother are already accomplished, and she visits her grandchildren and support different projects like the last one of Manvantara Prabhu.
Mother Ajita, who in Santa Marta maintains this Vishnupriya ashram, despite that she sometimes has to be alone, made there a refuge place that really is very extraordinary, since the coast is hard to run a temple. She is a singer and composes songs for Krishna, a sankirtanist and a good friend of my trio Prisni, Mohini and Tulasi. The three of them, from the same mother, are pillars in the preaching in Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. Always ready to serve. They even made their father chant the holy names. Something similar to the family Padmarani, Madhurya, Ujjvala and many more brothers and sisters in the Vaisnava family in Peru, from Chiclayo. Pioneers in the mission in Peru.
And in Ecuador we have the trio of the mothers Kunti, Gargi and Mahamrita, who always protect the Quito temple with a lot of enthusiasm in whatever. Preaching mothers, counters, cooks, defenders, artists and technicians of the best. You see that it is no theory, the position of the mother in this family, and in all families it is something extraordinary. There is nothing they cannot do.
Mother Rasarani runs a school from children in Cali; a Vaisnava Academy, a restaurant, she makes devotees and is a mother as well. Mother Silvia sings her most wonderful compositions for Krishna, and renounced her meat restaurants, receiving a weekly program on TV by the grace of Krishna, to present folklore music in Medellín and continues composing her second CD for Krishna.
Mother Vrinda, our pioneer in Costa Rica, is always fighting to maintain our family alive there. She encourages many people to compromise with spiritual life, she is a brave mother, a sankirtanist without stopping. Together with her husband she built a temple for Krishna in Costa Rica and has animated he sister in the USA to help people there. I visited her in LA. She came to USA with three children without father, without money, and managed to build up two enterprises, bring up her children nicely and buy a special house and only wants to know how to serve Krishna better. So there are more extraordinary mothers in many places.
Such are the mothers
Very often, ignored and despised, they tolerate much and never stop being well-wishers even to the abusive. Such are the mothers.
Mother Gauri. She came as 14 years old with the dear Kadambini in Lima, to the ashram of Mother Mahanta Sakti, at that time a very nice farm in Lima. A young preacher, brave founder of the Vishnupriya ashram in Javier prado, and then continuing her roles in Germany to lead the mothers ahsram there, and then to India to lead the ashram Vansi Kunja, where the mothers can listen to the flute of Krishna coming from the side of Vasni Vat and the bells from the Gopesvara temple. She helps many devotees to export things from India, and manages better than who knows how many brahmacaris on a mental plane. Of course, forgive me, there are also Brahmacaris of a similar grade of dedication.
Mother Srinkala, from La Pax, mother of two children, artist, and at her husband's side she helped to open a nice Vaisnava restaurant where I always preach on my visits in La Paz. Mother Hari Lila, from Buenos Aires, who is always informed about the temple, and being a mother, she has also accepted the mothers of the temple in her family.
In memory of mother Gayatri, who since many years was a great preacher in the temple in Quito. Famous astrologist in Ecuador, and was always incredibly hospitable. Mother Lalita from La Serena; she is mother and helps her husband to have a temple full of conscious art and joy, as well assuming the task of a mother of all the devotees there.
Mother Rohini, who in Mexico leads the Vishnupriya ashram. She is one of the important saviours of this temple. Together with other mothers, like mother Radha Kunda and mother Siromani, they always help me to make the mission in Mexico. Mother Radha Kunja Bihari from Panama… With her voice that Krishna gave her, she sings on the last CD of Vrinda nice bhajans and has like a project to sing accompanied by Prabhu Ran Ganath all the Vaisnava song book.
Mother Saranagati, our secretary in Miami, is mother of two children. During 5 years she has taken care of her grandmother who has Alzheimer. Simultaneously she took a difficult graduation of midwife and always takes care of my tickets from Miami, where I organize my travels. She is the physical accountant of the temple and of the Laksmi that I manage to maintain Vrinda Kunja. Mother Sandhini, who maintains Prabhu Pancatattwa working... She is also the mother of two children and she is always a big help at the computers.
Mother Dayarupa, with her two jewels Sukadeva and Devayani, from Chakra y Mar. Responsible and capable, a mother who always wants to make the things better as should be the disposition of every devotee, without stopping. So she is very important for the retreats and the professionalism on the farm. Not to forget Rasa Dhari, important in many areas, and mother Damodara, who leads the education of the children in Chakra y mar. Vaisnavi, the little devotee of the farm and her mother and brothers, making austerities to improve my pioneer project...
Sincerely, this list has no end, and there are mothers who are so brave, so extraordinary, who have made such great services that one must take this list just as some small examples of how great the spiritual woman is. And they are all willing to work Therefore goes the family. They are ready to sacrifice for a family who has its roots in Krishna and its destination in Krishna, because we will not bring our body with us when we leave from here.
On Mother's Day we greet all those who continues forward bravely, who do not despair for lack of culture of the modern man. You represent the religion and have been examples in everything.
Honestly, few are the cases where women let fall into drugs, robbery or ignoring their sacred duties. There they bring the prize, rather 108 times. So our compromise with the mother is to serve them in their grand task to take care of the society and a happy family. We are indebted and we know that when truly surrendering to the Divine Couple, under the guidance of our Spiritual Master, and accomplishing as good devotees, we can also have Their blessings.
Here I end the chat on Mother's Day, the Day of each day in the Vedic Culture.
Take good care. A big hug from my heart.
Always your well-wisher,
B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami
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