East & West

Searching for a connection

Ajay stops by again last night; he lives just down the road with his aged parents and three siblings. Some of us come from afar in search of the truth; others come from just around the corner (abrahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino).

For those in the West who cannot come to "he who is heavier than the Himalayas," Srila Gurudeva has gone to the West twenty times — this time to London, Milan, Saint Petersburg and Moscow — to give everyone a chance to connect to the living truth (tattva-darsinah).

To connect ourselves to that transcendental knowledge (tad viddhi) we have to surrender ourselves exclusively (pranipatena) to a self-realized person who is living on that higher plane of reality (jnaninas tattva-darsinah).

That knowledge which we receive from Srila Gurudeva (upadeksyanti te jnanam) is not to be utilized for our mundane life in this plane of misconception. The truth is coming to us from a higher plane of reality, so it will only reveal itself to us only if we inquire honestly and sincerely (pariprasnena) from Srila Gurudeva, not in a mood of argument or discussion.

But our connection with that higher truth will come only through service (sevaya). We have to serve that higher world, that plane of truth, not try to get the help of that higher plane so that we can utilize that experience in this lower, carnal world of our fantasy.

We are seeking a connection with the highest plane of existence. Only through an intense desire to serve, to satisfy that plane (sevanmukhe hi jihvadau) will that highest truth reveal itself to us (svayam eva sphuraty adah).

East or West, no matter where we are or where we have come from (sthane sthitah), if we just try to hear submissively (sruti-gatam) from Srila Gurudeva, we shall achieve that which is ordinarily impossible to achieve ('jita jito).