Walking with a Saint 2008 (Morning Walks and Conversations with Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja)

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Item Code: NAK825
Author: Srila Narayana Maharaja
Publisher: Gaudiya Vedanta Publications
Language: English
Edition: 2014
ISBN: 9781935428268
Pages: 448 (20 B/W illustrations)
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 8.5 inch x 5.5 inch
Weight 600 gm
Fully insured
Fully insured
Shipped to 153 countries
Shipped to 153 countries
More than 1M+ customers worldwide
More than 1M+ customers worldwide
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
23 years in business
23 years in business
Book Description

Foreword

 

For whatever we aspire to become, it is inspiring to associate with a master. This holds true for those of us who dream to be great athletes, musicians, artists, or businessmen.

 

Moreover, nowadays many of us are waking up to an understanding that we are spiritual beings; somewhere along the path of realizing that the purpose of human life is more than just survival and material accomplishments. We are beginning to see that we are souls, not just mechanical bodies. We see all around us the allure of material life, but our hearts are yearning for a deeper, richer, fuller experience. We want to taste God. We want to be whole and fulfilled, not for five minutes or five hours, but forever - and for that attainment, inspiring masters are also available.

 

These days we are very fortunate, because we have so much access to information through books and the internet. We also have access to the Vedas, the ancient scriptures, a vast opus compiled thousands of years ago in India by great sages in order to benefit mankind to progress along the path of self-realization.

 

However, there is such an enormous diversity of information available from these timeless books of wisdom, with so many interpretations, that choice can lead to confusion. Thus, we become like starving children entering a sumptuous restaurant. There is so much available, but what would be good for us to eat What will really nourish us?

 

With our hearts yearning for truth in a world offering a myriad of solutions, the spiritual master, the sadhu, or saint, plays an essential role. The word sadhu is derived from the Sanskrit word sat, or sattva, which means the 'ever-existing Supreme Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.' The sadhu is fully surrendered to that Absolute Truth, and is in essence a manifestation of that Truth, who is revealed in the Vedic scriptures as Sri Krsna.

 

It is stated in the Vedas: "The symptoms of a sadhu, or saint, are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime."

 

The sadhu is tolerant, without being disturbed. For example, Lord Jesus Christ was tolerant. Even when he was being crucified, he prayed to God, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." Another example is the child-saint Prahlada Maharaja.

 

Prahlada's demonic father tried to torture him in many ways: by hurling him off a cliff, at the feet of a wild elephant, into a fire, and in a pit of snakes; but Prahlada was never disturbed. His father forced him to drink poison, and he drank it, but he was not at all disturbed.

 

We learn that part of the core process of progressing in God- realization is sadhu-sariga, which means 'association with a sadhu,' and which the ancient Vedas tell us offers unfathomable benefits: "If a person gets the chance to attentively hear from elevated saints about the activities and character of Sri Krsna, which are like a flowing river of nectar, he will forget the necessities of life, namely hunger and thirst, and become immune to all kinds of fear, lamentation, and illusion" (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.29.40).

 

And further, "Association with wise devotees makes what was empty full. It turns death into immortality. It turns calamity into good fortune" (Vasistha-sastra).

 

The great self-realized soul, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who lived in India in the nineteenth century, explains in a poetic song that there is no one in this entire world more dear than a sadhu. Worldly fathers, mothers, and other relatives are dear, but not as dear as that sadhu. These worldly relationships may sometimes bring us suffering, but a sadhu takes away all our sufferings. For this reason the scriptures tell us that by even a moment's association with a pure sadhu one can attain all success.

 

The sadhu of This Book

 

After rising as early as three a.m., uttering mantras and prayers and chanting the various names and glories of Krsna, it was a part of Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja's morning practice to take a brisk walk for up to one hour. This was a time when those seeking his association could walk with him, and also hear from him, for at times he would stop and spontaneously share his realizations.

 

A sublime and elevated personality, his relationships and interactions with people on a one-to-one basis are intimate and sweet. Hundreds of thousands of people take his association, and yet he is always able to tailor his communication for the person who asks a question, even if that person has never met him before. To one inquirer he might express himself with joking irony, to another with gravity, to another in a playful way, to another with sternness, to another with a tone of sympathy, to another with subtle philosophical intricacies, and to another with deliberate simplicity. Sometimes what he says is applicable for the moment, and sometimes for eternity. Sometimes his replies apply to a specific individual, and sometimes to the entire audience, but in both cases his words enlighten all.

 

He personally replies most of the time, and on occasion he calls on a sannyasi (renunciant) or other senior disciples to reply. Sometimes he expresses appreciation for his disciples' replies, and sometimes he corrects them. There is a saying in India that a mother teaches her daughter-in-law by teaching her daughter. In other words, the mother will most readily give corrective instruction to her own daughter, but that instruction will apply equally to the less accessible daughter-in-law. Similarly, on his morning walks Srila Maharaja trains his disciple/preachers to speak and understand with great precision and clarity the established truths of Vedic philosophy; and by this he also wants to inspire all people of the world, all of whom he considers as his spiritual children. He wants to inspire them with the understanding that correct philosophical thought elevates one on his or her path to perfection, whereas a philosophical misunderstanding can derail one from the path and keep one chained in the darkness of material and spiritual confusion.

 

In 2008 his eighty-seventh birthday was celebrated, yet he not only walked briskly but with great elegance and refinement. One could not help but be struck by his warmth, ease, compassion, and gravitas, and one was struck by even a slight sense of his unconditional, ever-fresh love and affection for all.

 

We learn from spiritual masters that whenever a saint speaks, atoms of prema (transcendental love of God) emanate from his glance and from every pore of his divine body, and these atoms fall upon all those who are fortunate enough to be in his presence. Everyone starts somewhere, and he accepts all with an unfathomable open heart.

 

We wish we could put a video of these morning walks and darsanas on each page of this book so that you would be able to see his sweet smiles, hear his laughter, and hear his voice full of unending care and compassion.

 

The Making

It was in Odessa, Ukraine, in September of 2008 that Srila Naravana Gosvami Maharaja first requested his followers to publish transcriptions of his morning walks, "So that in the future everyone will be able to know all the established truths we have discussed." He requested a series of books, each year of discussions becoming a book.

 

His new publishing team began collecting the sound-files (audio and video) for all of his walks and darsanas of 2008 - the first year's book and then they wrote to devotees they knew in each country, asking for more.

 

They recognized most of the voices on the sound-files, but some they didn't. So they asked their spiritual brothers and sisters in each city to hear the walks or darsanas and fill in the missing names. In the rare instances where they were unable to get names, the page will say 'Devotee' or 'Guest.'

 

As more and more walks and darsanas were edited, some of the editors began to consider removing the names of Srila Maharaja's spiritual daughters and sons, as well as the names of others, including institutional and political leaders, who were corrected or chastised by him. They were worried that these persons would be embarrassed by 'public exposure:' and worried that, imitating him, his followers might also feel free to criticize and chastise. In response to their concerns, Srila Maharaja personally directed them to be transparent and not omit anything. He said there was no need for adjustment of the text; his correction or chastisement of his own disciples, or of others, would be beneficial for those individuals as well as for the world. He added that those who are not self-realized souls must not find fault with others, however, because "They have no power to do so.

 

Contents

 

Foreword

I

Auckland, New Zealand

1

January 4 - darsana

2

January 5 - morning walk

4

January 5 - darsana after the walk

8

January 5 - darsana

8

January 6 - darsana

12

January 8 – darsana

20

January 9 - morning walk

25

January 9 – darsana

27

January 9 - airport darsana

29

Lautoka, Fiji

31

January 11 - morning walk

32

January 14 – darsana at the home of Nitin Punja

35

January 14 - darsana at the home of jagadisa dasa

36

January 15 - excerpt of a darsana at the home of Srimati Gaurimata dasi

37

January 15 - ground breaking ceremony for the new temple

38

January 16 - airport darsana

39

Murwillumbah, Australia

43

February 4 - morning walk

44

February 5 - morning walk

45

February 6 - morning walk

47

February 7 - morning walk

52

Pui O, Hong Kong

57

April 9 - darsana

58

April 11 - darsana after the morning walk

58

April 11 - darsana for the Philippine devotees in the late morning

62

April 13 - morning walk

65

April 14 - morning walk

67

April 14 - darsana

69

April 14 - meeting with the Sri Team

71

April 15 - morning walk

72

April 16 - morning walk

74

April 16 - airport darsana

79

Vancouver, Canada

87

April 17 - evening darsana at the home of Sriman Ragbhir dasa

88

April 19 - morning darsana at the home of Hemanta dasa Adhikari

89

April 27 - airport darsana

91

Toronto, Canada

95

April 22 - morning walk

96

April 23 - morning walk excerpt

97

April 23 – darsana

100

Alachua, Florida

103

April 28 - darsana with Gurukula alumni

104

April 29 - morning walk

115

April 29 - darsana

119

April 30 - morning walk

128

May 7 - morning walk

136

May 2 - darsana after the walk

144

May 3 - morning walk

146

May 3 - darsana after the walk

153

May 4 - morning walk

154

May 5 - morning walk

160

Miami, Florida

173

May 13 - morning walk

174

May 14 - morning walk

177

May 15 - morning walk

180

May 17 - morning walk

182

May 18 - morning walk

184

May 19 - morning walk

186

May 20 - morning walk

187

May 21 - morning walk

196

May 22 - morning walk

200

May 22 - darsana after the walk

207

May 23 - morning walk

208

May 24 - morning walk

211

May 25 – darsana

217

May 26 – darsana

218

May 27 - morning walk

221

May 28 - morning walk

230

Houston, Texas

237

May 30 - morning walk

238

May 30 darsana

239

May 31 - morning walk

241

June 1 - morning walk

247

June 4 - morning walk

248

June 5 - morning walk

250

San Francisco, California

253

June 7 – darsana

254

June 20 - morning walk

260

Badger, California

265

June 13 - morning walk

266

June 13 - darsana

276

June 14 - morning walk

279

June 14 - darsana after the walk

293

June 14 - darsana

294

June 15 - morning walk

299

June 16 - morning walk

308

June 17 - morning walk

316

June 17 - darsana after the walk

328

June 18 - morning walk

330

Verbania, Italy

345

June 29 – darsana

346

Istanbul, Turkey

351

September 14 – darsana

352

September 16 – darsana

355

Odessa, Ukraine

361

September 20 - morning walk

362

September 20 darsana

364

September 22 - morning walk

368

September 23 - morning walk

377

September 24 - morning walk

385

September 25 - morning walk

392

Cebu, Philippines

399

December 26 - darsana

400

December 27 – darsana

401

December 28 – darsana

405

December 29 - darsana

409

December 29 - darsana

411

Appendix

415

Glossary

417

Contacts and Centers

440

 


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