I was in the middle of my service when the phone rang. I looked at the phone and saw the name of a friend I hadn’t seen for a long time. I could not pick up at that moment. A few hours later, he called again, and I was still in service. Later, once I completed my tasks I called him back, wondering why he called.
After our initial exchanges, I asked how I could serve him, to which – to my surprise – he replied, “I wanted to hear some Krishna katha from you!”
“That’s all?” I thought to myself. Surely there must be some problem he is facing or help he requires. With each minute passing during our conversation, I understood that he called me only to hear and speak about Krishna Katha.
“That is a real friend”, I thought to myself. Someone who reminds you of Krishna, be this by hearing or making you speak. It works either way. After thirty minutes of discussion about Krishna, before ending the call, we promised each other we would meet in person very soon.
Later that day one of my mentors came to the temple for service. After speaking with him about my services at the temple, we took a few minutes to discuss some verses from Srimad Bhagavatam.
“What is your secret?” I asked him. “How have you managed to remain so humble and sincere in your practice despite all the pressures from the responsibilities you have in life?” His reply was very profound.
“I focus my life on three D’s, namely Deities, devotees and Dham (temple).”
He explained that he had dedicated his whole life to serving Krishna, his devotees, and the temple.
He concluded by saying, “any good qualities that I possess are only because I served these three D’s.”
We often endeavour with difficulty to find new ways of practising spiritual life and hope to discover new methods to advance faster, but the process is simple. We will achieve perfection in our spiritual life by regularly associating with devotees, hearing from them, serving the Deities, and visiting the temple.
It is that simple—so simple that we may miss it.
Krishna book chapter 90: With any devotee who loves Kṛṣṇa with his heart and soul, Kṛṣṇa reciprocates in such a way that the devotee cannot but remain attached to Him.
Ananta Gopal Das
04.12.2024
Bhakti Wisdom 