Hare Krsna,
I have found tremendous value in deeply studying our weekly Srimad Bhagavatam lessons, meditating on the forum topics, and writing to share my realizations. I am not a natural and good speaker; however, writing come naturally to me. I always write the forum posts as an offering to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krsna. I write to PLEASE them. Writing helps me meditate deeper on the lessons we studied and reflect on the practical application of the lessons learned.
While meditating and writing the forum topics, I meditate on the following themes:
- Connect with Krsna: I meditate and write to connect with Krsna deeply. Krsna is non-different from His name, form, pastimes, qualities, etc. By trying to connect with Krsna, we are saved from the miseries of the material world. Krsna promises in BG 4.9:
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”
- Pleasing Srila Prabhupada: Srila Prabhupada advises us to write whatever we have understood.
Srila Prabhupada….”Just read from my books and try and explain the meaning in your own words.” (Letter, 73-01-26)
“You must all study all of the books so that when the need arises you can repeat in your own words their purport.” (Srila Prabhupada letter, 72-01-06)
“The process is that you should memorize the purports of my books and then speak them in your own words.” (Srila Prabhupada letter, 75-11-15)
“By writing according to our realization we become more and more convinced and all doubts are destroyed.” (Srila Prabhupada letter, 75-11-15)
- Practical application: An important aspect of studying and writing about scriptures is to apply the teachings in our lives. Study and application of the teachings from the scriptures such as Srimad Bhagavatam must be underwent with a goal of spiritual progress and character development. I, therefore, try to meditate on how to practically apply the teachings into my daily life.
“Spiritual knowledge must be developed by a combination of theoretical and practical knowledge, and that is the guaranteed way for attainment of spiritual perfection.” (SB 2.3.22 P)
- Lessons: I meditate on what lessons I can draw from the materials we studied. Each pastime has multiple lessons to be imbibed. Writing helps me go deeper into the lessons.
- Examples: What I really appreciate about Srila Prabhupada’s writings is his ability to connect the topics of Srimad Bhagavatam with examples from daily lives. This helps me to relate to the subject matter better. Therefore, whenever I write I try to draw relevant examples from the world around me. This helps me to understand the subject matter clearly and deeply.
- Analogies: Meditating on analogies helps me understand the subject matter better. For example, Srila Prabhupada always explained the three features of the Absolute Truth (Brahman, Paramatma, Bhagavan) with analogy of the sun (sunshine, sun planet, sun god).
CC Adi 16.86, Translation: “Poetic skill used with due consideration is very pure, and with metaphors and analogies it is dazzling.”
- Sastric Connection: To substantiate my writing, I try to support my statements with references from other books of Srila Prabhupada such as Bhagavad Gita, CC, etc. This proves the point that there is a common theme that runs across the writings of our acaryas. Their writings never contradict with each other. Whenever I struggle to understand a subject matter, I try to refer to other scriptures. For example, the Vedic Cosmology described in Canto 5 is very hard for me to understand. Therefore, I refer to other books on the same subject matter where the topics are elaborated more deeply and clearly.
- Realizations: I write to test my understanding and realizations of the subject matter we studied. Srila Prabhupada wrote the following about realizations and writing:
“Realization means you should write, every one of you, what is your realization. What for this Back to Godhead is? You write your realization, what you have realized about Kṛṣṇa. That is required. It is not passive. Always you should be active. Whenever you find time, you write. Never mind, two lines, four lines, but you write your realization. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam, writing or offering prayers, glories. This is one of the function of the Vaiṣṇava. You are hearing, but you have to write also. Then write means smaraṇam, remembering what you have heard from your spiritual master, from the scripture. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ: (SB 7.5.23) about Viṣṇu, not for others. Don’t write any nonsense thing for any nonsense man. Useless waste of time. Viṣṇu. Write about Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa. This is cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Hear, write, remember, try to understand. Don’t be dull, dull-headed. Very intelligent. Without being very intelligent, nobody can have full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is for the most intelligent man. So that intelligence will come if you try to understand Kṛṣṇa. We have got so many books. Always try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Then you are liberated. Simply by… You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa in full. He is unlimited; our knowledge is limited. But as far as you can, try to understand Kṛṣṇa. These are the items.” (Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Verse 32 Excerpt — Los Angeles, August 14, 1972)
- Prayerful Mood: I am incapable of understanding everything in Srila Prabhupada;s writing because of my limited mental faculty and intelligence. Secondly, it is not possible to understand Krsna fully and glorify Him. Whenever I encounter ‘writer’s block’, I pray to Krsna to give me the necessary intelligence to glorify Him. And He always reciprocates. This is my personal realization. Sometimes it feels like my typing is controlled by a higher power, where thoughts and realizations flow effortlessly. Krsna is the doer; I am not.
BG 10.10: To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
In conclusion, writing and sharing the forum realizations increased my faith in Krsna, helped me transform from impersonal to personal realization of Krsna, and helped me connect with the Holy Name better. Whenever my minds get diverted to sometime else, I try to meditate on how to write the forum topics of the week. This helps my sadhana better.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 