Mercy From Guru

Through the mercy of my spiritual master, I have been able to take a deep look at my life. I can now see that I am very much attached to this body and the senses. When one is too much absorbed in the body and sense gratification, one is very far from the Lord. The proof of spiritual advancement is freedom from materialism. This is a very basic understanding that is talked about in all of the great religions.

In Chapter 2 of Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna makes it very clear that one who is bewildered by sense enjoyment and the opulences of this world can not enter deeply into samadhi (devotional service to the Lord.) The first instruction in the science of self realization is that we are not this body. We are spirit souls.

I have to constantly adjust my consciousness by asking myself, how deep do I really understand these spiritual truths? Do I focus more on my material designations or put myself first as a servant of God. For three days in a row, I listened to a class by His Holiness Radhanath Swami where he talked about the miracles that took place in his life. I have been dwelling on how intense his determination was to reach God. He cried and prayed to the Lord with such sincerity. I then look at my life and see how I'm so distracted by the things of this world. I'm trapped in false sense of comfort that keeps me from crying out to the Lord.

But, by associating more and more with Krishna through the scriptures and the Holy Name and my guru through his lectures, slowly I'm seeing what I must do to be properly situated as a lover of God. Not in a theoretical way but in the most practical terms.