Spiritual Gentleman E-Book

Yaśomatīnandana Dāsa

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 50

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

In this book a path is presented from a problematic position to a solution that lasts eternally. One might be afflicted with negative desires, lust or bad habits, but the Bhagavad-Gītā has a solution to become problem-free, gentle and a truly wise human being. It has always worked, so Kṛṣṇa, the perfect person, states in the Bhagavad-Gītā (4.10): "Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me – and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me". This book is designed to build a bridge between mundane and spiritual. A perfect Gentleman was Śrīla Prabhupāda, who expertly shared the ancient wisdom with world. We take refuge in him and learn to understand what we have forgotten, how to be a true gentleman. "Gentleman means he must be sober, learned, and thoughtful. That is gentleman. But nowadays, gentleman is different—simply by dress."

Leseprobe

Spiritual Gentleman

A Guide on Personal Development with Bhakti-Yoga By Yaśomatīnandana Dāsa (Jan Wolter) Disciple of His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami

© YOGA PLUS (freelance Yoga instructor) 2024

www.linktr.ee/YashomatinandanaDasa

Travel, Learn, Grow book series (2013-2023) compiled during world travel: Soul Searching

Travel, Learn, Grow

Where We Will Wænder

Overall Balance

Homecoming

Wisdom of Veda & Yoga: Learning the Art of Spiritual Travel Peace Love Union (2022)

Eternal Journey (2022)

Be Bliss! (2022)

Blissful Bonds (2022)

Green Living (2022)

Atmārāma - the source of all bliss (2022) Minimalism - Simplicity in Yoga (2022) Spiritual Traveler: Books for Inner Freedom Travel + Freedom: Storytime (2015-2022) Spiritual Traveler - Seven Acts Drama (2023) Little writings - Essays on God consciousness (2023) The Art of Spiritual Travel (May 2024) Inner Revolution Poetry (October 2024) Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Basics

Teachings of Saints, Holy Places and the sacred texts.

Four Principles of Freedom (January 2024) Via Medium (February 2024)

Arcana - a taste of Deity Worship in Sridhama Mayapur (March 2024) Śraddhā - Beyond Faith & Blind Trust (April 2024) All One, yet Different (Summer 2024) Monk's Minimalist Mindset (November/December 2024) Journals: Personal Diaries of a spiritual Traveler Bhakti (Autumn 2023)

Bhajan (Winter 2023)

Pada Sevanam (Summer 2023)

Prachar (Spring 2023)

Join the Party (Spring 2024)

Dedicated to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupāda,

Founder-Acharya of the

International Society for Kṛṣṇa

Consciousness

Foreword

“You are perfect gentleman, means that you say that "I am imperfect." That is nice. But our point is that from imperfect man, imperfect knowledge is received.”

(Srīla Prabhupāda in Conversation with Mr. Wadell --

July 10, 1973, London)

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please consider my humble words based on the timeless teachings of the Vedas, revealed by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who happens to be my great grand spiritual master in the discipline of bhakti-yoga.

I'm nowhere near a perfect gentleman, but by the mercy of the world-class teachings of Swami Prabhupāda I was able to transform from an ignorant young man, into a more gentle and compassionate one. Still subject to change, in the last decade of traveling around the world and learning about various religions, traditions and lifestyles, I started following a transformational practice, called bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-Yoga is an ancient teaching given by the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa, for a conditioned soul to establish a perfect gentleness and receptivity to eventually realise the Absolute Truth. As a clueless and disoriented youth, I picked up the practice and was surprised about the immense change taking place. My ears opened, interest sparked and heart enthused, I became acquainted with Srīla Prabhupāda and his disciples. It was the first time I heard about Hare Kṛṣṇa

and the process of bhakti-yoga, which was naturally appealing to my heart and tongue. The food was called mercy, the music was mantra, and the monks were just sweetly serving one another and the community.

Altogether, it was wonderful to see the Hare Kṛṣṇa lifestyle and state of mind, called Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

After searching for a decade all over the world, I was sure that this is the path to a happy and fulfilled life.

Fasting forward to the present day, a lot has changed, especially the haircut. My long hippie hair is now a bald head, my robes are flowing and my socks are washed with care. The daily schedule is filled with activities in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. I entrusted myself to a spiritual teacher to learn as a student what a perfect life means.

‘Spiritual’ is explained as free from death, fear and suffering. Spiritual means sat in the language of spirituality, or Sanskrit. Sat describes a state of eternal life, where one can become wise (cit) and fully happy (ananda). The wisdom texts called the Vedas explain that one's original nature is essentially sat-cit-ananda, endless knowledge and bliss. The problem is that one has forgotten this origin, along with our spiritual identity and values.

People are generally biased towards enlightenment, careful with esoteric practices and especially shy about their own eternal blissful nature, but what to do?

Everyone just wants to be happy, isn't it?

When growing up, one might look for happiness, maybe by getting a good job, finding a match and building a happy family life. Most people consider this the perfection of human life, but for me it never was and

never will be. It seemed all too good to be true, a sort of mirage in the desert, and the scriptures confirmed: Don't take this illusionary image of the world to be true happiness, rather look within for eternal bliss and a lasting relationship.

A life of renunciation lead me on the path of yoga, finding Ishvara, or God in the form of Kṛṣṇa, a blooming youth who likes to play the flute. This connection, called yoga, with Kṛṣṇa intrigued me and helped me to become a better person, a more gentle and conscious one.

Personal development is something natural, but it must be valid and authorised. Too much hocus-pocus, unscientific and money-begging advice is being delivered to the innocent masses, even though the ‘real thing’ was given already 5000 years ago, time-tested and ever-fresh. Specifically, the Bhagavad-Gītā captured my heart and allowed me to understand what personality means and how a man is supposed to act in this life. Everything in the Bhagavad-Gītā is absolutely true, because it is spoken by the perfect person, Kṛṣṇa.

Due to the nature of Kṛṣṇa and His word, it is spoken in such a way, that everyone can understand it, irrespective of time, place and circumstance. However, people have a difficult time reading the Gītā due to lack of devotion and faith. Thus, we again and again need to build bridges for a modern audience who are inclined to understand the Absolute Truth and learn what it means to be a perfect and wise human being.

In this book a path is presented from a problematic position to a solution that lasts eternally. One might be

afflicted with negative desires, lust or bad habits, but the Bhagavad-Gītā has a solution to become problem-free, gentle and a truly wise human being. It has always worked, so Kṛṣṇa, the perfect person, states in the Bhagavad-Gītā (4.10):