'Power of Positivity

Hare Krishna! A Very good evening everyone. Very sincere gratitude to all of you for kindly coming
this evening to the chetana festival. The purpose of this festival is not to convert but to enlighten.
The youth of our country are our future leaders. Real leadership that leads the world in a direction
that can bring a true enlightenment and prosperity is based on values in character. It is not based on
power and money. Today’s subject is “The Power of Positivity”. We’ll start with one small
experiment. I’ll ask a question, everyone has to answer. “HOW ARE YOU?”…………….. Why do you say
good, fine, nice……? These days, “How are you” is more of a courtesy than a question asked in
genuine interest. If you’re doing well, your friends, family, colleagues, etc. usually want to hear
about it. If you’re not doing well, they usually don’t. Else, many give the appearance of not wanting
to hear about it, which is much the same, from the recipient’s perspective. Thus, people often
respond with “ok” or “fine” because it satisfies the other person’s desire for a response without
baring your soul to someone who, most likely, lacks the time/inclination to provide you with the
basic level of support that you would otherwise seek from a friend or relative.

Keep your face always towards the sunshine – and

shadows will fall behind you-Walt Whitman
"If you fail, never give up because F.A.I.L. means "First Attempt In Learning". End is not the end, if
fact E.N.D. means "Effort Never Dies." If you get No as an answer, remember N.O. means "Next
Opportunity", So let's be positive." – APJ Kalam

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, an Indian scientist and the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007, has
faced many problems in his path to becoming the leader of a Nation. Dr. Abdul Kalam was born in a
Tamil Muslim family; his father Jainulabdeen was a boat owner and his mother Ashiamma was a
housewife. Dr. Abdul Kalam hails from a poor family and started working at an early age to
supplement his family’s income by distributing newspapers after school to financially contribute to
his father’s income. In his school years, he had average grades, but was a hardworking student with
interest in mathematics. Even during his senior class project while in college, the Dean was
dissatisfied with the lack of progress and threatened revoking his scholarship unless the project was
finished within the next three days. He then worked tirelessly on his project and met the deadline,
impressing the Dean. From there on, Dr. Kalam joined Aeronautical Development Establishment of
Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as a scientist and went on to head the
organization.

Once there was king with whom the people of the kingdom were happy and satisfied. Whenever the
king would go for visiting places, all the people would salute him and they were very happy. But the
king had two disabilities. He could see only from one eye and in both the legs, his one leg was
disabled. But he was not really worried about this. However, one day when he was walking along the
gallery of while going to his palace, he noticed that the photographs of his forefathers are hung in
the gallery. They were very beautiful and they had posed very nicely. He was proud and happy
seeing them. So he thought that after many years, when his children, grandchildren walk through
this gallery, they will be proud by seeing my photograph also. But he realised that his photo is not in
the gallery and also felt sad that my photograph cannot be this beautiful because I’m a disabled
person. However, after reaching his palace, he asked all the painters to come to court the next day.
Next day, when all the painters assembled he asked that who will make a beautiful painting of him.
Now, all the painters were confused because how can they make a beautiful painting of a disabled
person. And also they were afraid that if the painting doesn’t become good and motivational, the
king may punish them. So, none raised their hands. However, one painter raised his hand and
accepted this challenge. The king said that he will get a handsome reward if makes a beautiful
painting or he may get a punishment also. Hearing this, the painter went to his home. After many
days, he returned to the court with his painting. All were surprised seeing the painting and the king
was also awestruck seeing the painting. He was ecstatic seeing the painting. The painter had painted
the king as sitting on the horse and holding a bow and arrow and aiming at something. Such that
only one leg was visible and one eye closed while aiming. All the other painters were only focussing
on the disability of the king but this painter was focussing on the things which are present and how
the painting could be made beautiful. By this story we understand that once we have positive
attitude, we do all positive things. The same is true for a person in front of you. That person may be
having many negativities and many positivities. We should always focus on the positivities only for
our life to be better.

One day a professor entered the class and asked the students to prepare for a surprise test. They
waited anxiously for the test to begin. The professor handed over the question papers with the text
down as usual. Once he handed over all the question papers, he asked his students to turn the page
around. To everyone’s surprise, the paper was blank with only a single black spot in the centre of
the paper. Seeing the confused faces of the students, the professor told them that he wanted them
to write whatever they see on the paper. At the end of the time, he collected the papers and started
reading all their answers. All of them had written about the black dot like its position in the centre
etc. After all the answers were read, the classroom was silent. Professor said I will not grade you on
the basis of your answers. I just wanted to give you something to think about. Everyone has focussed
on the black dot and nobody has written about the white paper. And the same happens in our lives.
We have a white paper to observe and enjoy but we always focuss on the dark spots. Our life is a gift
given to us by Krishna with love and care . we always have a reason to celebrate, nature renewing
itself everyday, friends around us, job that gives us our livelihood. But we focus on that black spot
like health issues which bother us, money matters, complications in relationships with family
members, disappointment with friends. These dark spots are very minute compared to the white
paper but these are the ones that pollute our mind. Take your eyes away from the black spots in
your life. Each one of your blessings, each moment your life gives you be happy and live your life
positively. This little story tells us that Life is a bag full of positives and negatives. Concentrate
greater on the positives to live a healthy and happy life.

Radhanath Maharaj quotes a story of a friend of his, Matsya Avatar Das that how he helped a family
in Italy who were only acquainted with him. So he says…..

Some years ago a very dear friend of mine made some serious choices of his life, how they affected
him and how they affected others is quite educating. His name is Matsya Avatar Das. He lives near
Pizza in Italy. He is an Italian man, a graduate in art and is a furniture designer by profession and
really dedicated himself to the spiritual welfare of others. There was a man, who served at the
temple in Italy fro several years. He was unacquainted of Matsya Avatar. Not a family member. He
was from a very different background and a simple man. He was dying of cancer. He had no income
and there was no one in the position to help him. So Matshya Avatar was under no pressure but by
his free will, he gave all the expenses for medical attention to this person and when he was at his last
stages, he sent this man with a medical assistant to Vrindavana, where he was surrounded by the
devotees chanting the names of god in the holy atmosphere of Vrindavana. Matsya Avatar Prabhu
arranged, managed and paid for all the expenses, so that he could leave this world in a grateful
enlighten state of consciousness in the land of Krishna.

Sometime after that his wife had cancer; she was on her death bed. Matsya Avatar Prabhu provided
all the funds and all the help so that she could leave comfortably as possible in a completely spiritual
environment. When she was very close to the inevitable time of death Matsya Avatar asked her,
how I can serve you? Please remember he is not a family member, he is not necessarily a very close
friend but actually the mess is she was close to his friend and she said, “Because I believe in Krishna.
I know I’ll go to Krishna. I know He is waiting for me”. She said, “I have no fear of death, whatsoever.
In fact I am looking forward to whatever service Krishna has for me after I leave this world but I do
have only one anxiety in my heart. I have a small son, I think he is only about six years old or seven.
There is no one proper to take care of him. I want him to be a devotee and love Krishna. If I send him
away somewhere else I do not know what will happen to him. This is my only anxiety on life”.
Matsya Avatar said to her, “I promise you. I’ll personally accept your son as my own son and I vow to
you that your son will never think that I am partial to my own children over him. I’ll take care of him,
until he grows up and a necessary for his whole life”. She trusted his words. She smiled and said,
“Now I have taking care of all my responsibility in life on the happiest person in the world. I am ready
for Krishna to take me, whenever He wants to take me”.

She left this world in grateful and happy state with devotees surrounded her with chanting the holy
names. That’s the positive outlook in life to see death as a wonderful opportunity, to see death as a
glorious step forward, rather than the bitter inevitable end. Her positive outlook inevitable brought
her to Krishna to life’s perfection. In regard to Matsya Avatar this was some years back he took care
of that child along with his own two children as his own son. In fact when I go to his house, if I would
talk to his own children he would very very concernedly tell me, “Please whatever time and energy,
you talked to my children, spend more with this child. He should never ever feel a trace that he is
less than my own children or that he is never loveless”.

Now the boy is in college and he is very happy and completely protected. Form the point of view of
Matsya Avatar, taking care of this child, disciplining him, when necessary. The whole burden of the
finances of the paying for his food, for his clothing, paying for his college and his education in the
Western World. You may see it is a burden. But he does not see it is a burden. It is one of the
greatest joyous in his life because he sees that he is serving a devotee. He sees that he is maintaining
his promise and His vow to two wonderful people, who he promised at the time of their death. It is a
joyful fulfilling and enlightening experience for him, why? Because he has a positive outlook.

We are all spirit souls, part of God according to Bhagavad-Gita and Krishna is svarat. That means He
is completely independent and as parts of the supreme Lord, we also have independence. People
can take away, your money, material nature can take away your health, time will take away your
years, everything is taken away from us inevitably but there is one thing that there is no power in all
creation that can take away from anyone in this human form of life and that is our free will. This is all
important. Life is about, how we choose to use our free will at every moment. According to how we
use our free will, we become conditioned to think that way to see the world in that way and to
acting that way. We become conditioned by whatever we associated with.

Just gross example. If one uses one’s free will to smoke cigarettes. No one can force it to do it but
the association you keep could severely influence you to do it. When you start it taste horrible but
by your free will you keep doing it until your free will is so much conditioned to surrendering to that
experience that you become addicted and then it practically seems that you do not have a free will
anymore. By this addiction, you are practically being forced and crushed that I have to do it and I
have to do it. I must do it. I cannot live without it. Alcoholism is same thing, drug addiction is same
thing. You use your free will, you do it enough times and soon you become so conditioned by the
modes of nature that you willingly surrendered to that. It appears that you lost your free will. But in
fact, you haven’t. So whatever our consciousness is, whatever our way of thinking is, we should
understand it is not our nature eternally, it is our acquired nature. It is the nature of the
characteristics that we have created ourselves according to what and who we choose to we
associate with in our lives, in this life and in our previous lives.

According to Bhagavad-Gita, when we take birth according to the characteristics we have acquired,
we have a particular state of consciousness in this life. Some people are very dynamic. Yes, we have
seeing. Some people they are just really lazy and lethargy. It is not that I am just born that way, what
can I do. It is through choosing lethargy in this life may be in previous lives that that becomes your
nature to be lazy. Some people by nature they just cannot stop complaining about everything and
everyone. Have you ever met anyone like that? They just love to complain. In fact they may not love
it, they cannot stop it. It is through complaining and complaining and associating with complainer
that you develop that aptitude and that attitude.

Similarly when we associate with people who are positive and when we choose to engage in a
positive perspective with positive activities then we reconditioned ourselves in that way. But this is
the special virtue of human life is we always have a freedom of choice. You may not be able to
control the environment but you do that full controlled of how you are going to respond and react to
the environment.

If you are on a boat, you may not have control over which way the wind blows but you do have
control over how you want to control the sails of your boat. How you are going to respond? You
have a choice. When very unpleasant things or unfair things come upon you, you can either choose
to be a victim or you can choose to learn a lesson. You can choose to complain and bring everybody
else down. Misery likes company. Or you could choose to see what the positive opportunity is in this
apparently miserable condition.

Human intelligence is properly utilized, whatever situations come upon us instead of simply reacting.
We made an intelligent choice of what is actually the highest virtue that I can achieve. “Seek you
shall find” it is said in Bible. “Knock the door will open”. Every situation is an opportunity. It is said,
when opportunity knocks most people complain about the noise. Vision is to see the invisible. To see
the positive possibilities in every situation that comes upon us. This whole world as far as perception
is a mirror of our own consciousness. Nobody sees the same thing in this world in the same way.
Whatever and whoever we come in contact with, we are going to see according to our own state of
consciousness. Yes the world is just a mirror of our own attitudes.

One person sees that look at this Rose bush. It is full of thrones, grumbling about the thrones on the
rose bush. Another person rejoices look at the throne bush has a rose. So that they are seeing the
same thing. But are they seeing the same thing? No. if you have rose colored glasses, everything will
look rose colored. If you have yellow colored glasses, everything will look yellow. If you have green
colored glasses, everything will look green. If you have cleared colored glasses, you see everything as
it is. So yes, according to our state of consciousness, we have certain attitudes and we will perceive
reality, according to our acquired attitudes. How we choose, what attitude we choose to adapt an
situations is what is going to determined our consciousness and our whole perception of the world.

In one of the lectures of HH Radhanath Maharaj says that happiness or unhappiness cannot be
determined by any event but how do you interpret that event. It is not something which has
happened is very good and you are happy or something which is bad you are unhappy. No, it is how
you interpreted that event decide that event whether it is happy or unhappy. Ralph Emerson, He
explained the mind in this way. He said that the mind is such a thing that it could make hell into
heaven and heaven into hell. So just like today, for some of you this is like heaven being in Krishna’s
temple, so nice and hot and what is the heat? The heat is so many sincere wonderful devotees
because we are crowded together is creating wonderful auspicious purifying heat. You can see it that
way and rejoice and we are hearing nice subject. Someone else may be thinking, it is hot and I am
tired and god I came here to eat the something nice, why is this lecture so long? So it is just a matter
of attitude. The prasadam is there. Plz, be patient. We could make hell or a heaven or heaven out of
hell, with our own mind.

I’ll tell you a story, once there was king who asked all his ministers and citizens that I need a solution
which can work in any situation, at any event, any place and at any time. He wanted one solution for
everything. All the citizens and ministers were thinking. Finally, an old man came and said I have a
solution for this and showed a small chit and I’ll give it to you but the only condition is you shouldn’t
open it now. Whenever there is a difficult time in your life at that time only you should open this
one. the king had a big diamond ring , he put that chit in the ring. Sooner, the neighbouring kings
attacked the king without any notice, so he lost the battle. He was running for life in the forests, he
reached a valley. But he could hear the sounds of horses, soldiers. He thought that it was the end of
his life. He was really worried and he was scared. That time he remembers his diamond ring. He
opened the ring, took out the chit and opened it. What was written in it? “THIS SHALL ALSO PASS”.
The king started reading this statement “THIS SHALL ALSO PASS” again and again and started
thinking about it. He imagined how he was a king and enjoyed with good citizens, good queen and
obedient children and now that event has passed. So likewise this event also will pass but I need to
have patience. He was waiting patiently

Compassion means having a very positive attitude. If a doctor does not have a positive attitude
about curing a patient will he even try not with his heart, may be for some money, he may cheat
them and say “I cure you” but he know he won’t. But an honest doctor sees the potential to cure this
person. So compassion means to see the potential good in someone even if they are in a difficult
miserable situation and actually out reached to help them. That is a very very positive attitude, even
in this world. If it was not for people with extremely positive attitudes, what we take for granted
today would not exist. We are just speaking on a very relativistic platform. I just came here on an
airplane and in fact we had to circle around Bombay few times because the airport was over loaded
with planes. There was so many airplanes in the run way. How many airplanes do you think take off
and land in the world everyday? May be next Prerana Festival, I’ll research you to find out. But it is
tens and thousands.

What is the said about faith? With faith you can see the invisible, you can believe the incredible and
you could receive the impossible. We have so many light boards and we are sitting in the light. We
take it for granted. Who discovered light? Thomas Edison. You want to hear his story. One day, as a
small child, Thomas Edison came home from school and gave a paper to his mother. He said to her,
“Mom, my teacher gave this paper to me and told me only you are to read it. What does it say?” her
eyes welled with tears as she read the letter out loud to her child. “Your son is a genius. This school
is too small for him and doesn’t have good enough teachers to train him. Please teach him yourself.”
His mother did just that, until she fell ill and passed away. Many years after Edison’s mother died he
became one of the greatest inventors of the century. One day he was going through some of her
things and found the folded letter that his old teacher wrote his Mother that day. He opened it. The
message written on the letter was “your son is mentally deficient. We cannot let him attend our
school anymore. He is expelled.” Edison became emotional reading it and then wrote in his diary:
“Thomas A Edison was a mentally deficient child whose mother turned him into the genius of the
Century.” A positive word of encouragement can help change someone’s entire life.

Thomas Edition has such a positive attitude, there are different explanations but what I have read is
almost nine thousand times, he failed in experiments in making the light board. Now would you
persists, after twenty times, fifty times or thousand times. Nine thousand times he tried and failed
and do you know something? In everyone of those times he failed and they did not work, he was
never disappointed, he was never depressed and he was enlivened. It is just the matter of your
attitude. Thomas Edition’s attitude was not that I failed. Thomas Edition’s attitude was “This is
fantastic. I have learned one other way it does not work. This is stepping stones of success. You can
see the half empty glass and you can see the half full glass. It is the matter of your attitude.

In this type of positive thinking that gives people the inspiration to carry on, even against all as and
succeed. We are driving all these cars, Bombay is a mess may it would been better if they did not
invent a cars. But some how or others we used them. We take them for granted. But back in the late
19 the century and early 20th century in America, when Henry Ford and these other people were
trying to make everyone was driving in horses or some people even had bicycles. Bicycles were
invented by Leonardo Da Vinchi in Italy a long long back about five hundreds years ago. So people
riding bicycles and they were riding horses and they did not go anywhere. So many experiments and
they were doing anything and do you know what people used to say? When they see Henry Ford
trying they said, “Get a horse. Why you are wasting your times with this nonsense, just get a horse.
Be reasonable, be practical. Do as possible”. But they have positive attitude.
Practically everything we live today as far as modern technology was a people who born a particular
vision a particular perseverance and an attitude that they did not give up”. Now modern
psychologist they approach the attitudes of human beings based on the idea that a human being is a
biological mental being. Therefore they psychologically try to help people to have a positive attitude
accordingly to help people with their physical and emotional conditions. This may be helpful. But it is
incomplete. If they are not understanding the spiritual dimension of life. Srimad Bhagavad-Gita
especially teaches about the spiritual dimension of life and its relationship with the mental
intellectual egoistic and gross of matter. It is the greatest and deepest science of reality. Krishna tells
in Bhagavad-Gita

“bhümir äpo ‘nalo väyuù

khaà mano buddhir eva ca

ahaìkära itéyaà me

bhinnä prakåtir añöadhä”

Bhagavad-Gita 7.4

There are eight basic material elements. There is earth, water, fire, air, and ether. There are basically
24 material elements. The five basic gross elements and then the knowledge acquiring senses, the
working senses, the object of the senses, then there is the mahatvatva in which everything is
contend and there is three subtle material elements the mind, the intelligence, and the ego. Then
Krishna explains in the next verse

“apareyam itas tv anyäà

prakåtià viddhi me paräm

jéva-bhütäà mahä-bäho

yayedaà dhäryate jagat”

Bhagavad-Gita 7.5
Besides these inferior elements there is a superior nature which is the spirit soul, the conscious life
force within all living beings. We are the soul the atma. We are the consciousness and what is the
nature of the consciousness. What is the nature of my self?

“na jäyate mriyate vä kadäcin

näyaà bhütvä bhavitä vä na bhüyaù

ajo nityaù çäçvato ‘yaà puräëo

na hanyate hanyamäne çarére”

Bhagavad-Gita 2.20

Krishna tells in Bhagavad-Gita for the soul there is no birth, death. The soul is eternal and ever
lasting primeval. It cannot be moistened by water. It cannot be brunt by fire. It cannot be withered
by the wind. The soul is indestructible. The soul is sachidananda, eternal full of knowledge and full of
bliss. That is us. What is the relationship with the true self with the mind, the intelligence, and the
ego? This is the fundamental basic understanding of truth. What is the relationship between the
soul, the mind and the body and material nature that surrounds us?

Bhagavad-Gita teaches us, “How to have a positive blissful attitude in every situation that could
come upon us even death”? To understand how the modes of material nature are working and what
is our relationship, is knowledge. Bhagavad-Gita was staged on a battle field for very very symbolic
reasons. Here is Arjuna, he was on a battle field and he was against his own will confronted within
insurmountable perplexity in his life. He was a good man. Why do bad things happen to good
people? That is a common question. There is a reason for everything. But a really good person does
not see anything is a bad. He sees good opportunity even in the bad.

if we objectively look at the world we will not true be very depressed, if we have a heart or we can
be like ostrich. Everyone knows, how the ostriches deal with the crises. When the lion comes to eat
the ostrich the ostrich runs and when he sees the lion coming up behind him, he digs a whole in the
ground and puts his head in the ground and think now I am safe. Rabbit, when the fox is coming to
eat the rabbit just his ultimate weapon, he closes his eyes and he just forgets the fox is there. But
the fact is the tiger is about to eat the ostrich and the fox is about to eat the rabbit, closing your eyes
of seeking your head and hold in the ground is not change situations. So people in the world today,
either they just do not wanted hear about the problems of the world adjectively or they just dig their
hole in the ground in the form of television or some sport event, whatever just forget it all.
Television is very very popular. Sporting events are very very popular. Do you really think, people
care so much about who hits the ball or what’s happening tube those just flashing lights? People
take those things so seriously because they just want to forget the perplexities and the complexities
and the frustrations of life. It’s a way of sticking your head in the ground or closing your eyes.

Arjuna, when he was faced with the severe perplexity, he could not close his eyes or stick his head
on the ground. He had to face the reality as it was and he became severely depressed. If a clinical
psychologist will read Bhagavad-Gita and see the symptoms of Arjuna, he would say, this man really
needs some medications. He was shacking. His bow fell from his hand and he turned white. His dark
complexion turned white. His mouth was dried up and tears were bring me from his eyes. He was in
a hopeless state. He was depressed. Then he decided, “He wanted Nirvana”. What does that mean?
He decided Krishna “I am not going to stay in this battle field. I am not going to face this crisis. I am
going to the mountains. Better I just renounced everything and negate the problems all together.
Then I’ll be nirvana, peace”. But negation of the negative is not the best solution. What does Krishna
teach Arjuna in Bhagavad-Gita? He taught him bhakti. What is bhakti?

Bhakti is the combination of Gyan and Vairagya. He told Arjuna that does not be depressed, do no
just artificially close your eyes and escape the problems of life. Do not run away and negate them.
See the positive opportunity that you have in this situation and work accordingly. That is the
teachings of Bhagavad-Gita. Do your work for the welfare of others in a spirit of compassion to
others with consciousness of your relationship with god. That is what Bhagavad-Gita is all about.
Developing a very positive attitude. Not on the basis of just physical and emotional but physical,
emotional and spiritual. The depth of our positive attitude is very much determined by how much
we have knowledge of our spiritual self. You could be very positive about various opportunities to
make money and very positive to never give up even despite so many failures to invent something.
You can work hard, so hard all your life. Even against all as failure after success.

One famous person says, “Success means one who goes through failure after failure after failure and
does not loose enthusiasm”. Another person said, “The only time you fail is the last time you try”. So
in that sense somebody who just works really hard and does not give up his hope in what he or she
can do that’s positive thinking. But what happens when old age start taking away your facilities and
beyond your control people you love start turning against you. It could happen. There is a famous
lady in America, who was so famous, everyone knew her name, everyone brought her products. She
was in the top of the world in fame and fortune. Now she is imprisoned. I am not going to judge
whether she is right or wrong. But one thing we can see objectively is she won’t want to go to prison
but somehow or other no matter how good you do, no matter how great you succeed things could
turned against you. I remember, when I was a little boy, I saw an article in news paper about one of
the son of the – who died a horribly – death, eaten alive by -. He was a -. They were living in New
York City but he took a trip for some sociological Phd research on the – of New Ginny. Somehow or
other he became the object of food for the object of his study. I remembered reading in the paper,
here is the most powerful wealthy man in the entire planet saying, “I’ll never find another again in
my life because my son has dead”. So inevitable circumstances can come upon us then we are
completely not according to our plan in life and ultimately everyone whoever we are has come
closer to death.

A positive attitude based on emotional and biological considerations will not really help you to
succeed through that crisis. It is only knowledge of the eternality of the soul. Bhagavad-Gita teaches
the detachment in this sense that whatever may happen we should simply be grateful for the
opportunity to server in that situation and find happiness, knowing that ultimately “açocyän
anvaçocas tvaà” that every living entity is eternal that really is no such things is death. For a
materialistic person, when their loved one dies, it is the end of that person’s existence that’s very
hard on the heart, is it not? This person seeks to exist, my own child, my lover, or my parent. But
Bhagavad-Gita teaches the positive attitude which is not based on sentiment. It is based on truth
that there is no death for anyone. We could do something. If our loved one dies, we could do
something for them. We could pray for them. We could perform pujas and do service to god in a
spirit of compassion to them and their souls will get the benefit.

The tradition of India is, there is sraddha and panda for the departed ancestors but in essence when
we perform devotional service to the lord, in Srimad Bhagavatam it is said that one who surrenders
to Krishna 21 generations of all relatives past and future get liberated. There something positive that
we can do to show our love even for the departed souls. Otherwise, you know, we just burnt a
candle and cry because they are dead and gone. So Bhagavad-Gita teaches how there is a positive
opportunity in every situation and however bad the role may be as far as all kinds of corruption and
pollution and ego, we can always look for the good. We know about the bad. We do not just hide
from it. We know about it. We are conscious about it. But we look for the good. We fan this sparks
and we try to act as instruments of god’s compassion in this world according to our capacity and that
brings us tremendous positive fulfillment in life.

Some people say that when you take to the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita or you become a devotee of
Krishna you are escaping the world but that is the most ridiculous misconception. We do not want to
escape, we want to face it for what it is. But we want to see it in such a way that we see the
goodness, we deal with the badness, we see the goodness, we see the bad but we see the
opportunity of how we could try to do something wonderful according to our capacity and that
brings us bliss. To know we are trying to actually help brings us inner and true satisfaction and that
takes a positive attitude based on knowledge. As long as we are attached to being the enjoyer of this
material energy, as long as we have selfishness, greed, envy, and pride within our heart, there is
going to be so many frustrations because we are trying to exploit. The actual liberated state is the
service attitude. We do not want to posses, we do not want to exploit, we do not want to control but
we want to serve. Now if we can serve by controlling our motive is to serve that attitude is free from
selfishness is liberating. It is the actual supreme most positive attitude to serve in all situations with
complete faith in God. Faith in the goodness of god and the potential in every possible situation and
how does that state of consciousness come through association. If you are associates with negative
people you will become very very negative.
In fact I was speaking to a very very high level managing consultant and he said that even in a
company, one person who seriously negative can spoil the whole operation. Just a bad apple could
make all the apples turned bad. It is depressing to be with somebody who is negative and
complaining. Is it not? But even in difficult situations when we see somebody is hope full and
enthusiastic, it brings life. It brings enthusiasm. It brings hope and happiness, to associate with those
people and to associate with those free choices that bring us closer to god that increase our faith in
god and simultaneously raise our values in life that will transform our hearts.

I’ll give a couple of examples. Our beloved guru maharja Srila Prabhupada, he had such incredible
positive thinking based on faith. Many of you know the story, he left India when he was 70 years old,
crossing the Arabian sea on a cargo ship named “N V Jaladuta”. He had two heart attacks, sea
sickness and still he had to cross Africa, the Suez Canal, and the entire Atlantic ocean. When he
arrived some short stay he was in Butler, Pennsylvania at some stranger’s house and then he was
living in the bowery a gate way of New Your. Living in the esteem of the highest saint and around
him where drunkards, prostitutes, drug addicts and criminals, the lowest gate way in America in
those days was bowery. He had no other places. Someone just let him stay on his floor. He had such
a positive attitude. If you read his diary, somebody gave him a tape recorder and he taped himself
chanting “Hare Krishna”. Then he taped not only Kirtan but some little speech along with it. He had a
program in somebody’s apartment and only about three four people came and he play the tape.

Srila Prabhupada writes in his diary that they came, they could not understand the words, they could
not understand what I was saying, but three four people they seemed interested. He writes “Now I
know that Haridas Thakur’s prophecy that there holy name will convert and transforms the hearts of
people all over the world, will come true”. How many of us, if Goura Gopal prabhu or Gauranga
Prabhu travel all across the world and there was some little gate way apartment and three four
people came and they could not even understand what they were saying, are they see this is a sign
that the mission of Krishna is going to spread all over the world and be ecstatic about it. Most people
would be very depressed.

But Srila Prabhupada was positive out look. Any little thing is he saw is Krishna’s sign to encourage
him to go on. Any little thing. He would report to his god brothers, what were going on and they
were saying back in India, they would just saying “Forget it just come back, it is useless”. Nobody
else could see it. He had the positive outlook and then some John Paul invites him to stay in his
apartment. It was on the 5th floor dark stairway to get up there. It was just the s loft. It is just the
small place that is used for ware houses back in the 19th century, when that had not developed.
They are just practically condemn buildings and poor people just make those warehouses into their
home. It is the one room, no partition. In that room, the kitchen, the bath room, the bed room the
living room, the dinning room, the exercise room and everything. But Srila Prabhupada writing, “We
have a temple now in New York City”. He was writing to his God brother, “Come, come, now we
have a temple. Now our mission to teach the pure lesson of Bhagavad-Gita. We actually have a
center now”.
Now most of us in that place, we would live and think, is this temple. This is a center and few days
later that boy Paul got intoxicated with some kind of LSDL threaten to kill Srila Prabhupada and
kicked him out of his house. He accused Srila Prabhupada using his soap and actually want to kill
him. So Srila Prabhupada was homeless in the streets of New York, why did not even he return? He
still saw with the positive attitude that things are unfolding. A little later he writes in his diary,
“Today according to the Vedic Calendar it is Gaura Purnima. The appearance day of Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. All my god brothers, they are in Vrindavana and Navadvipa celebrating with kirtan and
with katha and the association with so many wonderful loving people. He said, “I am all lone in New
York City, there is not another vaisnava within ten thousand miles. But I am happy because I am
doing the work of my spiritual master. I have no personal self interest, whatever I am doing is in
their service. The mission of their compassion. So a situation, where most anybody would be lonely
and depressed and what I am doing in this place. On that day, it was snowing and he had no warm
cloths. It seems very difficult. But he was in ecstatic. He was happy. He was seeing positive
opportunity, “I am selflessly doing. This is a servant. I do not care, whatever inconvenience. I do not
care, whatever success or failure may be coming. I am doing this as a service. Because I know I am
pleasing Krishna, that’s all that matter. I know I am trying to do good for humanity that’s all that
matters.

Then sometime later he was just staying at someone’s bowery flat and they got him a little
storefront, in the lowery sides. Some well wishers paid for the first month rent and said, “Swamiji,
we won’t be able to help you after this. Anyone would not come, he had no support and he had
nothing. He call some well wishers together to registered an religious organization within America,
with the government. They called it “The International Society for Krishna Consciousness”. Then few
little well wishers who are becoming just barely becoming devotees, just a few people who had no
money at all. They said, “Swamiji, Interenational. We do not even know we have money for the next
month for this little tinny storefront in the lowery side. What is this internations?” He said, “No no.
We have temples all over the world. We have millions of books being distributes. We have farm
communities. It is only separated by times” That’s the positive attitude.

Then he did it because with that positive attitude, which was based on his complete faith in the
teachings of Bhagavad-Gita, complete faith in Krishna. Krishna told Arjuna “When you fight this
battle, whether you win or loose, it is not important. Whats’ important is you are doing it for the
right purpose. You are doing it to please me, it is your success. Srila Prabhupada wrote in his prayers
to Krishna on that cargo ship that Krishna everything up to you. I am only your puppet. I am coming
to do your will and the will of my spiritual master, my guru maharaja, whatever success or failure is
in Your hands”. He had that faith. He had positive out look, years later he came back to India and
what kind of difficulty he had in this building of the temple in Juhu beach. There was nothing but
aggression, persecution and opposition against him on every level. He was just one small swamiji
with a few devotees who are totally inexperienced in any of these things of against political parties,
wealthy industrialists. What chance do we have? Materially he had no chance. But he had a positive
outlook born of his faith and his service attitude. He took the deities of RadhaRasa Bihari and put
them in a little straw hurt for them and told the deities this is for you. I am doing this for you, please
allow me to build this temple for you. It is against all and it is impossible. Srila Prabhupada had a
regular saying that you used to teach us on a regular basis. “Impossible is a word in a fool’s
dictionary. Nothing is impossible with the grace of god”.
Impossible is a word in a fool’s dictionary. Nothing is impossible with the grace of god. There are
many things impossible for you and me but with the grace of god nothing is impossible. Now we see
Radha Rasbihari temple, so many tens and thousands of people go there. It is a beautiful temple.
Even Srila Prabhupada’s own disciples completely gave up all faith in the possibility of building that
temple. In the middle of this difficult conflict they gave up and said, “Srila Prabhupada it is
impossible. We are wasting our time”. Then Srila Prabhupada said, “Impossible is a word in a fool’s
dictionary”. He persevered.

I wanted to tell you something else. “Association is contagious”. Srila Prabhupada had such positive
attitude, due to faith in Krishna and his desire to show compassion to others, we have here of
example of a person who was an instrument of Srila Prabhupada’s enthusiastic positive attitude. His
name is Shyamsundar prabhu. Can you please stand up Shyamsundar Prabhu? He won’t stand up
and because he is my older god brother, I can only touch at his feet. Please listen to this story. You
are all about to the age or older then he was at this time. He was a twenty five year old boy. We are
not going to his background before he met Srila Prabhupada. But he did not know much about
Bhagavad-Gita or Srimad Bhagavatam or any of these things. But he met Srila Prabhupada in hate
aspire district of San Francisco. He saw Srila Prabhupada’s enthusiasm. He saw that Srila Prabhupada
saw that everything is possible. If we are working in a spirit of compassion and love for god and
humanity. He saw with his own eyes, how Srila Prabhupada came to New York and began with
nothing. How he came to San Francisco with nothing? How he was so much enthusiasm and so much
hope and so much faith? He was contagious.

I’ll end the class with another story, which really move my heart, of one of my god sisters. Her name
is Kuntidevi. Through the course of this story, you will find how Srila Prabhupada gave her a suitable
name. She was a devotee of mother of two children. Her husband left her. She remained faithful.
She was never a big leader. She was never a person that people honored and respected as being a
person of high position. She was a simple mother and very very dedicated devotee of Krishna. Those
who know her will, honored her but there were not so many people who knew her will. Then she got
cancer of breast. That cancer spread, viciously spread and enter into her spine and her organs and
was just crippling her. It was such ferocious case of cancer that the doctors said, “This is absolutely
nothing that anyone can do. You have six months to live maximum”. At that she was working in
trying to support her children in -. But she loves to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. She loves to chant
“Hare Krishna”. She had complete faith in Krishna. She was an American Lady. At that time she was
in her 40s, I believe. She was practically paralyzed from the waist down. She was in a wheel chair.
According to the medical analysis, she was racked with pain and she was always smiling and always
encouraging and making everyone happy. It was so phenomenon. How blissful she was, how positive
she was that the local television station heard about it. They met her and they never had seen
anything like this in their life.

The deterioration of our body, the doctor’s diagnosis, her physical symptoms, everything was utterly
hopeless and miserable except one thing, “Her consciousness”. She was just telling everybody, how
beautiful life is, how beautiful Krishna is, how fortunate she is, and how fortunate in everything that
happens? I saw the television show. It was incredible. The master of ceremony “The Hostess” was
just praising her. It was a half hour program about her, I believe. They just showed her, kirtan, there
devotees were chanting, and she was just smiling and chanting and praying. She was talking to
people and giving lectures to people about the beauty of life and the beauty of bhakti and the good
fortune of anyone who has Krishna. They were interviewing her. The hostess asked, “How could you
just so happy, when you are in such a condition”? She said, “Because I know I am the soul. I am
eternal. This body is just a temporarily situation and this situation is bringing my soul closer to god.
Therefore I am rejoicing and I am happy”.

Now you can say just theoretically in that situation. She was living, what she was speaking. Even just
ordinary materialistic people could see that and they were on the television station praising her and
glorifying her. She was a Hare Krishna devotee and because of her personal qualities. Later she came
to our community and she was in such a state that I’ll just tell you few stories. It is very worth
hearing. Even though she was in such a condition and everyone around her is young and strong and
full of life and she is giving encouragement and hope to everyone. She could not eat the regular diet
of the community. So with her wheel chair she went into cook for herself and she invited anybody
else, who wanted to come and she cooked so wonderful. Soon she was cooking for about twenty to
thirty people a day. They did not want any food, except hers. So weeks and weeks she was cooking
for everybody and she was happy in serving them in a wheel chair. She can hardly move. The disease
progressed and she did not even get on and she had to just lay down. She did not even have the
strength to pick a book. Some people let her use computer because all Srila Prabhupada’s books are
on the Folio on a computer. Where she, instead of lifting a book, she could just press fingers on the
buttons on any page of books, she could access. She was laying there like this.

I went into her room and she was smiling. She was glowing with bliss. Kuntidevi told me “Some
people are feeling sorry for me. They think I am in unfortunate condition but I am so fortunate. I am
not on my death bed. For me this is not just a death bed. I am on the bank of the Ganges. Just like
Maharaja Parikshita, listening to Sukadeva Goswami speak through my spiritual master Srila
Prabhupada. In my desperate condition I am by reading this message of the scriptures, I am hearing
these words like I never heard them before. I feel that Gurudeva and Krishna are directly and
personally speaking to me with each word. I never experience this before. If this is what it takes to
hear that is a small price. I would not trade the position I am in today with anyone else in the entire
world. This is a blessing. This is god’s grace”.

She was grateful and crying in gratitude. At a certain point, her health when really bad and she
practically fell unconsciously and brought her to a hospital. When she came out of her unconscious
state, some devotees went to try to encourage her. What do you do when a person is dying in a
hospital? You try to encourage them. But as soon as she came to consciousness, she was smiling and
encouraging everyone else. One man, in his fifty’s went to cheer her up but he was having all kinds
of problems. Ended up, she was telling him how to have a positive attitude towards his problems by
having faith in Krishna and being detached from the results and having a service attitude and he
came out of the room and said, “I came to help her and she just solved my problems”. That’s in the
verge of death.
I happen to have the fortune of being at her bedside, when she left this world. She was surrounded
by loving devotees, chanting the holy names and she just lovingly just gave her heart and her life to
Krishna in a totally positive grateful and happy state. Now you cannot get that consciousness. Even
from the best psychologist or psychiatric. They can to their work and they can do good to a certain
extent but a real true and deep positive attitude in life. That’s to come by knowledge, realization of
the eternal blissful nature of the soul, the all attractive all merciful beautiful nature of the god, our
relationship and the beautiful and wonderful opportunities to serve god at every moment.

Sukadeva Goswami says, better one moment of full consciousness than on whole long life of just
very ordinary relativistic mundane consciousness. Human life is meant for quality and what is
important to achieve that quality of real good character is we must have positive attitude. We must
never give up. We must understand what is really valuable in life and cultivate the faith through
proper activity and association in which we could live by that idea and that will betray that idea. A
great person is a person who lives within integrity. To be truthful with others is honesty. To be
truthful to you is integrity. To be truthful to god to be honest and without hypocrisy before god is to
be truthful to you. That is real integrity. Proper association, hearing positive enlightening spiritual
subject matter, cleanses the heart and awakens a positive out look that comes from the very depth
of the soul. Actually that is the reason we chant the God’s names. It is not just they superstitious,
ritualistic religious activities. The chanting of the God’s names is a scientific process of cleaning the
heart, of hypocrisy of darkness, of envy, greed, pride, lust, and illusion. Actually accessing the
beautiful spiritual qualities of our original nature and to live with such a positive attitude through
accessing our very essence through the chanting of the holy names. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.