![68
GURU 6 - Wasp
arrest the heart stops pumping blood
to the brain, and so a patient should
be totally unconscious. Yet twenty-
six of the thirty-two patients reporting
out-of-body experiences during
cardiac arrest were able to give fairly
accurate visual accounts of their
resuscitation. And the remaining six
gave extremely accurate accounts
of the specific resuscitation techniques,
matching confidential hospital records
of their operations.
The results of Sabom’s study, detailed
in his book Recollections of Death: A
Medical Investigation (1982), convinced
him of the reality of out-of-body
experiences. He concluded that the mind
was an entity distinct from the brain and
that the near-death crisis caused the
mindandbraintosplitapartforabrief
time. Sabom wrote, “Could the mind
which splits apart from the physical
brain be, in essence, the soul, which
continues to exist after the final bodily
death, according to some religious
doctrines? As I see it, this is the ultimate
question that has been raised by reports
of the NDE [near-death experience].”
STORY 4
As she was pulling into the school
parking lot, school bus driver Laura
Geraghty began having sharp stomach
pains. She was able to park
her bus, but she kept feeling
worse. The pain “went right
up my arm and into my
chest, and I said, ‘Uh-oh,
I’m having a heart attack,’
“ she said. She remembers
watching the scene unfold -
as if from above. “I floated
right out of my body. My
body was here, and I just
floated away. I looked back at it once,
and it was there.” Geraghty says she saw
deceased loved ones, her mother and
her ex-husband. “It was very peaceful
and light and beautiful. And I remember
like, when you see someone you haven’t
seen in a while, you want to hug him
or her, and I remember trying to reach
out to my ex-husband, and he would
not take my hand. And then they floated
away.” Next, she says,
she was overwhelmed by
“massive energy, powerful,
very powerful energy.”
“When that was happening,
there were pictures of my
son and my daughter and
my granddaughter, and
every second, their pictures
flashed in my mind, and then
Icameback.”WhatGeraghty
had was a near-death experience, fairly
common in people who go into sudden
cardiac arrest. Geraghty was down for
57 minutes. No blood pressure, no
pulse, no oxygen, no blood flow. She
was shocked 21 times before she finally
came back with tales of the afterlife.
worse. The pain “went right](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/guru061315-151024100511-lva1-app6891/85/Guru06-13-15-8-320.jpg)
Guru06 13 15
- 1. GURU 6 - WaspGURU 6 - Wasp 61 THE LESSON LEARNT ABOUT THE WASP Once a wasp forced a weaker insect to enter his hive and kept him trapped there. In great fear the weak insect constantly meditated upon his captor, and without giving up his body, he gradually achieved the same state of existence as the wasp. Thus one achieves a state of existence according to one’s constant concentration. The following question may be raised: Since the weaker insect in this story did not physically change his body, how can it be said that he achieved the same state of existence as the wasp? Actually, by constant meditation upon a particular object one’s consciousness becomes filled with its qualities. Due to extreme fear the smaller insect was absorbed in the characteristics and activities of the large wasp and thus entered into the existence of the wasp. Due to such meditation, he actually took the body of a wasp in his next life. THE LESSON LEARNT BY THE AVADHUTA BRAHMANA From the weak insect who assumed the same form as the peasant wasp, the Avadhüta brähmaëa learned that the living entity, under the sway of affection, hatred and fear, attains in his next life the identity of that object upon which he fixes his intelligence. Similarly, although we are conditioned souls, if we absorb our consciousness in Lord Krsna we can become liberated even before giving up our present body. If our intelligence becomes steady on the spiritual platform by understanding that Lord Krsna is everything, then we can give up unnecessary consciousness of the external body and absorb ourselves in the spiritual pastimes of Vaikuntha. Thus even before death one can raise oneself to the spiritual platform and enjoy life as a liberated soul. Or, if one is a stubborn fool, then even in this life one can become just like an animal, such as a hog or a dog, constantly thinking of eating and sex life. But human life is actually meant for understanding the science of consciousness and the future results of our meditation. The Theme - Reincarnation 1/2 60 mins 120 mins GURU 6 - Wasp
- 2. 62 GURU 6 - Wasp SLOKA RECITATION Let us learn a sloka from Bhagavat Gita which teaches us something about the above theme. Before teaching the verse 6, the teacher should begin the class by chanting all the verses of the 24 Gurus with the children all together. Chant the sixth verse of the 24 Gurus again. Tell the children we will learn the sixth verse and also understand it. Learn the sixth verse. (The teacher recites the sloka line by line and makes the children repeat and memorize the sloka) BG 8.6 yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà tyajaty ante kalevaram taà tam evaiti kaunteya sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù TRANSLATION Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunté, that state he will attain without fail. LESSONS FROM GURU – THE 6 BY’S 1. By intuition 2. By Logic 3. By common sense 4. By scripture 5. By near-death experiences 6. By Past life memories The teacher can explain to the children, the lessons which the wasp teaches us. The abbreviation “6 Bys” makes it convenient for us to remember what the guru wants to teach us. The teacher can write down on the board the below abbreviation and ask the children to note it down and learn it. In this session, after explaining the meaning of “6 Bys“, the teacher will be able to narrate a few stories. The remaining stories can be continued in the next class. Let us learn a sloka from Bhagavat Gita which teaches us something about the Before teaching the verse 6, the teacher should begin the class by chanting all Chant the sixth verse of the 24 Gurus again. Tell the children we will learn the Learn the sixth verse. (The teacher recites the sloka line by line and makes the
- 3. GURU 6 - WaspGURU 6 - Wasp 63 The following 6 are the ways of concluding that reincarnation exists: 1. By Intuition The first method is by intuition. Intuition means instinctive knowing (without the use of rational processes). When we talk about our hand we say “This is my hand” or about our head we say “This is my head” or about our body we say “This is my body”. When we say anything is mine, that implies that the thing and me are two different things. Which means that I am not my head and I am not my hand and also I am not my body. If my body and me are different, then naturally I am not the body in the same way as I am not my clothes. Therefore this intuitively indicates reincarnation. 2. By Logic The second method is by logic. This is also called the Cause & Effect. ANALOGY 1 - WITH CHANGING BODY Have you seen your own photograph when you were born, when you were a young child, and now. Are they same or are they different? If you ask yourself, you may not be able to identify. But if you ask your mother who has seen you in all these changes, she will tell you that it is the same person. It is only the external appearance that has changed with time. The body goes through the changes, not the soul, which remains the same throughout these changes. ANALOGY 2 - WITH CAR AND DRIVER When car is moving, we know for sure that there is driver within the car who is maneuvering the car. Car is compared to this body and driver is compared to the soul situated within this body. The car is a tool to accomplish a mission determined by the driver. Without driver car really is not helpful. The driver can exist independent of the car, but the car without the driver is just an inert piece of metal. This body similarly is useless without the presence of soul. The important thing to concentrate is on the activity of the soul, not the body. my hand my leg my body my head GURU 6 - Wasp
- 4. 64 GURU 6 - Wasp ANALOGY 3 - WITH BIRD AND CAGE Just like in a nice cage, in a golden cage, there is a bird. If we don’t give any food to the bird and simply wash the cage every day very nicely, the bird can never be happy, rather it will suffer starvation. Similarly, the material body is the cage of the soul, and if we simply care for the body, the soul can never become happy, but suffer spiritual starvation. Foolish persons take care of this cage, not the soul and all their activities are turned towards the upkeep of the cage or this body. Whole world is missing the point that they are not these bodies. The body is the encagement, and we are accepting sometimes-golden encagement and sometimes iron encagement, and sometimes silver encagement and wooden encagement. We are thinking that by changing the encagement, we will be happy. Real happiness comes when we identify ourselves with the soul not the body. ANALOGY 4 - WITH RESIDENT AND APARTMENT Just like whenever we see some apartment or house we can understand that there is a resident or proprietor of this house. Similarly, we can understand, this body, there is some proprietor within this body. Therefore the body is working. If we see one house, nicely cleansed, there is light and everything is in order, we can understand there is resident. Similarly, when the proprietor of the body is there, the body is healthy. Just as we are not our apartment but rather the owner or resident of the apartment, we are not the body but rather the owner of the body. ANALOGY 5 - WITH THE GLOVE A person wears a glove in a workshop to perform various operations. Glove protects the hand. When glove wears out, it is thrown away and discarded, but the hand is still fine. Soul similarly remains, even after the destruction of this body, which is temporary and discarded at the time of death. At the bottom of the pond little worms were crawling around. They were wondering what happens to their m e m b e r s who climb up the stem of the lily and never come back. One worm said to another: “I wonder what it’s like up there.” STORY 1 - THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT LIFE Just like in a nice cage, in a golden cage, there is a bird. If we don’t Just like whenever we see some apartment or house we can understand another: “I wonder what it’s like up
- 5. GURU 6 - WaspGURU 6 - Wasp 65 3. By Common Sense When a person dies, we say, “He has passed away.” Who has passed away? The body is still there. Actually, THE SOUL HAS PASSED AWAY. 4. By Scripture There are many slokas in the Bhagavad Gita that hint and talk clearly about reincarnation. Some of them are as follows: BG.2.22 väsäàsi jérëäni yathä vihäya naväni gåhëäti naro ‘paräëi tathä çaréräëi vihäya jérëäny anyäni saàyäti naväni dehé As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. They agreed among themselves that the next one who is called to the surface would surely come back. The next little worm that finds itself drawn to the surface by nature, crawls up the stem, out on the surface on the lily leaf. It was really bright up there. It had been so dark and murky down below. The little worm couldn’t believe this. Suddenly, something begins to happen. The worm begins to open out. The worm spreads out two huge beautiful colored wings and becomes a beautiful dragonfly. It never imagined that this could have happened. It had thought it would remain a worm forever. Now, it flew back and forth across the pond and could see other worms in the pond below, but they couldn’t see it. It realized that there was no way it could go back. Moreover other worms would not recognize such a beautiful creature as ever having been one of them. They agreed among themselves that the the stem, out on the surface on the lily leaf. It was really bright up there. It had been so dark and murky down below. The little worm couldn’t believe this. colored wings and becomes a remain a worm forever. Now, it flew back and forth across the pond and could see other worms in the pond below, but they couldn’t see it. It realized that there was no way it could go back. Moreover MORAL - If in this world a small worm could change into a dragonfly in the same life, why can’t we believe that after this life we change our bodies? GURU 6 - Wasp
- 6. BG2.13 dehino ‘smin yathä dehe kaumäraà yauvanaà jarä tathä dehäntara-präptir dhéras tatra na muhyati As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change. BG 8.16 yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà tyajaty ante kalevaram taà tam evaiti kaunteya sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù “Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his present body, in his next life he will attain to that state without fail.” Now, first we must understand that material nature is a display of one of the energies of the Supreme Lord. BG 8.5 anta-käle ca mäm eva smaran muktvä kalevaram yaù prayäti sa mad-bhävaà yäti nästy atra saàçayaù And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.anta kale ca mam eva Puanarapi jananam punar api maranam Punarapi janani jathare shayanam Eha samsare bahudustare Krpayadapare pahi murare. Repeated birth, repeated death and repeated lying in the mother’s womb – this transmigratory process is extensive and difficult to cross. Save me Oh destroyer of Mura,through your grace. 66 GURU 6 - Wasp
- 7. GURU 6 - WaspGURU 6 - Wasp 67 5. By Near-Death Experiences Ajämila was a resident of Känyakubja (the modern Kanauj). He was trained by his parents to become a perfect brähmaëa by studying the Vedas and following the regulative principles, but because of his past, this youthful brähmaëa was somehow attracted by a prostitute, and because of her association he became most fallen and abandoned all regulative principles. Ajämila begot in the womb of the prostitute ten sons, the last of whom was called Näräyaëa. At the time of Ajämila’s death, when the order carriers of Yamaräja came to take him, he loudly called the name Näräyaëa in fear because he was attached to his youngest son. Thus he remembered the original Näräyaëa, Lord Viñëu. Although he did not chant the holy name of Näräyaëa completely offenselessly, it acted nevertheless. As soon as he chanted the holy name of Näräyaëa, the order carriers of Lord Viñëu immediately appeared on the scene. A discussion ensued between the order carriers of Lord Viñëu and those of Yamaräja, and by hearing that discussion Ajämila was liberated. He could then understand the bad effect of fruitive activities and could also understand how exalted is the process of devotional service. Thus we see how Ajamlia experienced this near death incident in his life where he was so close to being taken to the abode of Yamaraja and he himself witnessed the Visnudutas save him from claws of death by giving him another chance. STORY 1 - AJAMILA STORY 2 In 1982, George Gallup, Jr., published a book called Adventures in Immortality, which contained results of a survey on American beliefs about the afterlife, including near-death and out-of-body experiences. Sixty-seven percent of the people surveyed said they believe in life after death, and fifteen percent said they themselves had had some kind of near- death experience. The people who reported a near-death experience were then asked to describe it. Nine percent reported an out-of-body sensation, and eight percent felt that ‘a special being or beings were present during the near- death experience.’ Dr. Michael Sabom, a cardiologist at the Emory University Medical School, undertook a scientific study of such reports. He interviewed thirty-two cardiac-arrest patients who reported out- of-body experiences. During a cardiac STORY 3 GURU 6 - Wasp
- 8. 68 GURU 6 - Wasp arrest the heart stops pumping blood to the brain, and so a patient should be totally unconscious. Yet twenty- six of the thirty-two patients reporting out-of-body experiences during cardiac arrest were able to give fairly accurate visual accounts of their resuscitation. And the remaining six gave extremely accurate accounts of the specific resuscitation techniques, matching confidential hospital records of their operations. The results of Sabom’s study, detailed in his book Recollections of Death: A Medical Investigation (1982), convinced him of the reality of out-of-body experiences. He concluded that the mind was an entity distinct from the brain and that the near-death crisis caused the mindandbraintosplitapartforabrief time. Sabom wrote, “Could the mind which splits apart from the physical brain be, in essence, the soul, which continues to exist after the final bodily death, according to some religious doctrines? As I see it, this is the ultimate question that has been raised by reports of the NDE [near-death experience].” STORY 4 As she was pulling into the school parking lot, school bus driver Laura Geraghty began having sharp stomach pains. She was able to park her bus, but she kept feeling worse. The pain “went right up my arm and into my chest, and I said, ‘Uh-oh, I’m having a heart attack,’ “ she said. She remembers watching the scene unfold - as if from above. “I floated right out of my body. My body was here, and I just floated away. I looked back at it once, and it was there.” Geraghty says she saw deceased loved ones, her mother and her ex-husband. “It was very peaceful and light and beautiful. And I remember like, when you see someone you haven’t seen in a while, you want to hug him or her, and I remember trying to reach out to my ex-husband, and he would not take my hand. And then they floated away.” Next, she says, she was overwhelmed by “massive energy, powerful, very powerful energy.” “When that was happening, there were pictures of my son and my daughter and my granddaughter, and every second, their pictures flashed in my mind, and then Icameback.”WhatGeraghty had was a near-death experience, fairly common in people who go into sudden cardiac arrest. Geraghty was down for 57 minutes. No blood pressure, no pulse, no oxygen, no blood flow. She was shocked 21 times before she finally came back with tales of the afterlife. worse. The pain “went right
- 9. GURU 6 - WaspGURU 6 - Wasp The teacher should begin the second session of this Serpent Guru with the recitation of slokas first. SLOKA RECITATION The teacher should begin the class by chanting all the verses of the 24 Gurus with the children all together. Chant the sixth verse of the 24 Gurus again. BG 8.6 yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà tyajaty ante kalevaram taà tam evaiti kaunteya sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunté, that state he will attain without fail. MORE LESSONS FROM GURU 6. By Past Life Memories 69 GURU 6 - Wasp 2/2 60 mins 120 mins The teacher should begin the class by chanting all the verses of the 24 Gurus Chant the sixth verse of the 24 Gurus again. SCRIPTURAL STORY 1 - BHARAT MAHARAJ 1. Bharat Maharaj as a king. 2. Bharat Maharaj as a deer. 3. Bharat Maharaj as Jada Bharat. 1. Jada Bharata in the life of King Bharata King Bharata was the son of Lord Rishabhadeva. King Bharata was the emperor of the whole world. Bharata Mahäräja performed various ritualistic ceremonies (Vedic yajnas) and satisfied the Supreme Lord by his different modes of worship. Being ordered by his father, Bharata Mahäräja married Pancajani, the daughter of Visvarüpa. Bharata Mahäräja begot five sons in the womb of Pancajani, and he named the sons Sumati, Rashtrabhirta, Sudarsana, Avarana and Dhumraketu. 2. Maharaja Bharata as a deer While wandering like a madman after the deer, Bharata Maharaja fell from a high cliff. While quitting his body, he was absorbed in thinking about the deer and as a result he acquired the body of a deer in his next life. the deer, Bharata Maharaja fell from a GURU 6 - Wasp
- 10. 70 GURU 6 - Wasp REAL LIFE INCIDENTS Lesson- This is an example of good birth for the revival of previous transcendental consciousness. A transcendentalist gets repeated opportunities for complete perfection in Krsna consciousness. 3. Maharaja Bharata as a brahmana ‘s son – Jada Bharata Thus when Bharata Maharaja’s life as a deer ended he was born as a spiritually advanced human being, son of a very pure brahmana. In this human life he was known as Jada Bharata (dull Bharata). SCRIPTURALSTORY 2 - RAVANA REMEMBERING RAMA AT THE TIME OF DEATH - Due to his lusty desires, he stole Mother Sita, but he could not recognize the Supreme Lord Rama who incarnated as a human being as the son of Dasaratha. Although he killed him, he could not understand that this was the infallible personality and could not be attached to Him. At the time of death, he saw Lord Rama, but his consciousness was that here is a great human being. After being killed by the infallible personality of Godhead Rama, Ravana took birth as the son of Cediraja as Sisupala and achieved unlimited imperishable wealth and did not like to recognize the Supremacy of the Lord. Due to his previous activities, and demonic nature, he always envied the Supreme Lord. I first heard of Ratnavali in July 2002. My wife and I had met our good friend Kishore at a wedding in Scarborough. It was a hot day and after the reception we decided to go for a paddle and walk along the beach. As we made our way back from the beach to the promenade Kishore asked if I remembered the accident he’d been involved in 1973, in which a devotee had been killed. I replied that I did and that I’d known the devotee (whose name was Dave) and that we were pot-washing buddies. I was living in the bramacari ashram at Bhaktivedanta Manor at the timeandIrememberBhajahari making an announcement one morning that devotees from the Edinburgh temple had been involved in a collision with a lorry and that one devotee (Bhakta Dave) had been killed. Kishore then narrated the tale of a young 27-year-old girl, currently at the Soho Street temple in central London, who believed that she was Bhakta Dave in her previous life. This girl, whose initiated INCIDENT 1
- 11. GURU 6 - WaspGURU 6 - Wasp 71 name is Ratnavali, grew up in a Hindu family in London and although she has a female body her mood is more like that of a bramacari. She feels internally male, has a bramacari mentality, is renounced and likes to play drum on harinam, which is her daily activity. Kishore explained that Ratnavali had approached him after he’d spoken at Tribhuvanath’s funeral in October 2001. He’d mentioned the accident and Ratnavali, who was sitting nearby felt that she remembered Kishore’s face. She told me later that when he mentioned a devoteedyingintheaccidentshe’dwanted to call out ‘No I’m here, everything’s okay.’ She felt that she could see the pain in his face and wanted to tell him not to worry and that everything was all right. When Kishore narrated this story on Scarborough beach he repeatedly referred to Dave as Raghava. I hadn’t known him by that name and when I mentioned this Kishore explained that Dave had received his initiation letter on the morning he was killed and that Prabhupada had given him the name Raghava. In the early 70s, Kishore was a bramacari with a reputation for being hardworking and enthusiastic. Everyone knew that he pushed himself hard and as temple commander of the Edinburgh temple he was busy from morning ‘til night. At the time of the accident Kishore was driving the devotees to Glasgow for book distribution. He fell asleep at the wheel and the temple van veered across the road and collided with an oncoming lorry. Some of the devotees were thrown from the vehicle on impact, while Dave who’d been asleep in the back was killed instantly. He’d been lying exactly where the lorry hit and his body was almost cut in two at the waist. Kishore, who was only around 24 at the time, left the movement shortly afterwards. There was no counselling in those days and Kishore’s life all but collapsed under the weight of guilt, depression and addiction. He worked through these issues years later, but his life was completely overshadowed by this terrible event. Kirtana Rasa and I were amazed by Kishore’s tale – that a devotee could die, come back thirty years later and tell the person responsible that everything’s okay – which must be the ultimate closure. It sounded more like a fantastic tale from the Mahabarata than something you’d expect to find happening around London. and the temple van veered across the INCIDENT 2 Our eldest son Yaduvamsa was plagued by past life memories from the age of three. I describe them in the negative because although they are amazing to look back on now, twenty five years later, we found them quite disturbing at the time. No parent wants to hear his GURU 6 - Wasp
- 12. 72 GURU 6 - Wasp or her child speak repeatedly of death in a forceful and anxious way. We were devotees and liked to hear of such things when they were rationally explained in a Bhagavatam class, but vivid memories of past lives are not always recalled in the same calm and philosophical manner. Yadu was sometimes distraught by these memories. On one occasion he called out anxiously from the back of the car as we drove out of Belfast on a December night in 1982 just before his 5th birthday. He kept saying that he remembered dying. ‘I remember what it was like to die,’ he shouted again and again. ‘And, I remember living before.’ I was tired. I’d had a long, hard day and didn’t want to deal with it. I was also scared by the frantic tone of his voice and it was probably made worse by the fact that it was dark and cold. But I thought that the best way to put an end to these episodes was to let him talk about whatever it was he was experiencing. ‘Okay, what was it like to die?’ I asked him reluctantly. ‘You feel pain in every part of your body at the same time’, he replied. ‘Do you remember where you lived in your past life?’ I asked. ‘In England.’ ‘Where in England?’ ‘On Barry Island.’ Actually, Barry Island is in Wales. But as a four year old he could not differentiate between England and Wales. I asked Yadu whom he’d lived with. He replied that he’d lived with his grandparents. I then asked what he called them. ‘I used to call them mum and dad,’ he said. Then he became confused and said, ‘But why would I do that?’ What Yadu did not know when he said this is that I had a brother who’d died the year before he was born. He was 19 and had been killed driving to work on a bike one morning. Yadu was only a child and he’d grown up in Krsna Consciousness, living in the temple. We didn’t see my family very often and had no reason to tell him about my brother’s death. My brother also saw Prabhupada at the London Rathayatra in 1973 and as a child Yadu frequently dreamt of Prabhupada at Rathayatra. On our next visit to my parent’s house in Wales I took Yadu into a room that had a photo of my brother taken just a few days before he died and asked Yadu if he knew who it was. Immediately he replied, ‘That’s me.’ I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Over the following couple of years he remembered a number of things about his earlier life as my brother, such as the bikes we had for Christmas in 1963 and the shed at the top of the garden that was taken down years before Yadu was born. But everyone in our family now accepts that Yadu was my brother in his previous life, even his personality and interests are exactly the same. A few days after speaking with Kishore at Scarborough I got a call from Ratnavali and we had a long chat about everything. I saw no reason to doubt what she was telling me even though they were not from vivid remembrances. And, I noticed a similar trait. Ratnavali had the same overwhelming need to talk and make sense of her situation as Yadu when things were coming up for him. Shortly on a bike one morning. Yadu was
- 13. GURU 6 - WaspGURU 6 - Wasp 73 INCIDENT 3 Another mother in Dallas told me that her daughter remembered many previous lives as a child and I heard of a young woman who recalled living in New York and seeing Prabhupada there in the 60’s. She was later murdered and took birth in Croatia where she became a devotee. I now believe that past life memories can manifest in a number of ways – as direct recollections as Yadu experienced or through subtle impressions: emotions, feelings and dreams as in Ratnavali’s case. Like most devotees I’m accepting Ratnavali’s story in good faith, only she knows what she is remembering and feeling and we have no way of proving or disproving it. But it should be of no great surprise that we return to be with the same people we knew before as we become connected karmicly. So in this way, through a combination of desires and reactions we are drawn back to be with those we love (and hate) again and again. It is only those we are indifferent to that we may be sure of never meeting again. These are straight- forward spiritual truths. Everything in life / nature rotates – planets, atoms, ages, seasons and us along with it all – from life to life. Krsna says in Bhagavad Gita that we’ve been taking repeated birth and death since time immemorial. It’s just that his lessons are not always confined to a book. afterwards I posted an article on a devotee internet site asking if anyone had similar stories. I had several replies. One told me of a three year old girl who told her parents she was a babaji living near Radha Kunda. Waking up crying one night she asked for a book they’d never heard of. The book turned out to be written by one of the Goswamis and dealt with the intimate pastimes of Radha and Krishna. theentirePrabhupadapranatiandalsothe Hare Krishna Mahamantra. For a person who has Alzeimer’s disease to remember so much is surprising. Thus we can understand from this episode that, if one focuses his intelligence on Krishna consciousness, then one is unaffected by the external circumstances and be absorbed in the internal. INCIDENT 4 There was an old woman, who was simultaneouslysufferingfromAlzeimers disease as well as from paralysis. She was not able to remember anything in her life. But due to Krishna’s arrangement the only word in her vocabulary was Krishna. One day a Sanyasi who was also her spiritual master decided to call her up. When he spoke to her she was very happy. She immediately recognized him and she said, “Hey Maharja!” Then she chanted GURU 6 - Wasp
- 14. 74 GURU 6 - Wasp You are walking down the stairs of your house and suddenly you slip and start tumbling down. In such a circumstance what are your thoughts and what is the first word you utter? Video showing pastlife memories and Reincarnation. 1. Video of Dalai Lama – reincarnation 2. Video of Shanti – reincarnation 3. Video of Turkey reincarnation CONTEMPORARY STORY 1 Once a man came to the court of King Akbar and declared boldly to him that no one can recognise his mother tongue. Akbar called all his court ministers and asked them to find out correctly his mother tongue. Unfortunately that time Birbal was not in town. All the ministers tried but he was good and perfect in all the languages. He even knew some foreign languages. No one could find out. Then finally Birbal arrived in the court and took up the challenge. Birbal told him that next day in the morning he would tell them the language. At night Birbal went to the room of the man and threw water on his face, then the man got up and started firing abusive words in Marathi. Birbal quietly left his room and next day in the court declared that the mother tongue of this man was Marathi. The man accepted defeat. This basically tells us that at the time of troubles only that which is deep in our consciousness manifest outside.
- 15. GURU 6 - WaspGURU 6 - Wasp 75 Conclusion HOW IS IT RELEVANT IN MY LIFE? The insect while leaving was remembering the wasp out of intense fear and also at the time of death, its consciousness was filled in thoughts of that insect. But even while it was living it was so much in remembrance of the wasp that he was practically thinking of the wasp continuously. Similarly, when we remember the Lord in our lives, at the time of death it will be easier to remember at time of death which is the final examination. The perfection of life is to remember the Lord at the time of death. Krishna tells in Bhagavat Gita that at the time of death whatever consciousness you have you will attain a body accordingly in your next life. Therefore what we think and meditate on in our lives is what will come out at time of death. Therefore we try to increase to get Krishna in every aspect of our life, so that our remembrance becomes natural. But even if somehow we are not able to remember Krishna at the time of death, Krishna makes a promise, in the Varaha Purana: yadi vätädi-doçeëa mad-bhakto mäà na ca smaret ahaà smarämi mad-bhaktaà nayämi paramäà gatim “If My devotee is not able to remember Me at the time of death because of the great disturbances felt within the body at that time, then I shall remember My devotee and take him back to the spiritual world.” This is the hope for a devotee. Unlike the insect the effort of the devotee is not one sided, his effort is pushed up by the Lord himself. GURU 6 - Wasp