Srila Prabhupada Marathon Message
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · London · 2019
Chapters
Invocational prayers and marathon greeting
Namah oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine Namaste sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracārine nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaḥ ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhupāda Nityānanda Śrī Advaita Gadādhara Śvāsādi Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Dear devotees for taking part in Śrīla Prabhupāda's December Marathon in London and Great Britain. Uh I'm very happy that I have a chance to address uh all of you.
The slogan of this marathon is: "Tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanam", and it indicates that all jivanam and it indicates that all the living entities in this material world are uh in the scorching fire of their desires.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the prayers of Prahlāda Mahārāja, he calls it Kamanalam, the fire of lust, insatiable fire of lust.
And he says, madhulā vai sometimes this fire of lust is being somewhat reduced by the small drops of honey of sense gratification.
But then after this small drops of honey, the fire of desire, fire of insatiable lust becomes even stronger than before. And that's why everyone is suffering.
It's very interesting that people think that the desire is the cause of their happiness, but the reality is totally contrary to this. The desire is the cause of everyone's suffering. And there is no solution to this.
One can take different drugs or try to satisfy the desires in many different
Relief found through reading spiritual books
ways, but there is no solution except for tava-kathāmṛtam. When people come in contact with books of Śrīla Prabhupāda, the first effect is of course uh extreme happiness when
the message of Śrīla Prabhupāda becomes clear to them. They feel relief that there is no death, there is no old age, there is no disease because we are spiritual living entities, not subjected to this.
But then the next very important result is that gradually, gradually, the fire of material desires becomes less and less and less.
And Śrīla Prabhupāda knew it perfectly well. He knew that people are desperately trying to find solutions to their sufferings, but there is no solution.
The material life simply does not provide any substantial solution to the real problems of life.
Compassion as an expression of love
And therefore, as a compassionate devotee, Śrīla Prabhupāda came to the West and, therefore, he told his followers to spread this message far and wide.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that the compassion is a manifestation of love, nothing else.
It's the same emotion which the great devotee feels towards Kṛṣṇa when it is addressed to the living entities of this world, it takes form of the compassion.
So we may or may not have real compassion uh proportionately to our uh love towards God. It may not be real in the beginning stages of devotional service where we are all in.
But we know for sure that love of Śrīla Prabhupāda towards Kṛṣṇa is genuine and so his compassion towards the living entities.
Book distribution as highest devotional service
And as much as we are trying to become the slaves or servants of love of a pure devotee and ultimately servants of love which unites Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. We should also become the servants of compassion of a pure devotee.
By distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books we fulfill this ideal and we bring this ideal into our life that we are serving the genuine compassion, which means serving the genuine love.
And therefore, book distribution is not just a practical activity or sometimes people say it's a rūpānuga-bhakti. No.
This is the svarūpa-śakti, the real devotion towards the Lord because we are serving directly the love of a pure devotee.
Because we are trying to fulfill the order of the pure devotee, that's the first reason, and because by doing this we are serving his love manifested as compassion. That's the next reason.
So during this time we can be engaged in the highest form of devotional service by fulfilling the orders of Śrīla Prabhupāda and moreover by serving his immense, unlimited compassion towards the conditioned living entities in this world.
Thank you very much and I wish you very successful and enthusiastic marathon and a lot of mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda as a result of it, Hare Kṛṣṇa.