Srila Prabhupada paid his last visit to Melbourne, where I was living, in April 1976.
We all knew he was already experiencing ill health. His secretary had sent news that he required use of an elevator rather than flights of stairs when travelling to his various centres. Knowing the steep staircase up to his rooms in the Melbourne temple, I wondered if he would actually come.
He did come, and spoke every night in the temple. I can still recall one talk wherein he began to explain how generally when we cannot understand God, we come first to His Impersonal feature - we learn first how to see God in nature.
To me this subject was important. I still need to work on this because without this understanding we take life as what we want from it.
Perhaps we all need to reexamine how we view the world. Mostly we "see" through what we learn at school. Quite naturally we see through the "eyes" given to us by worldly authorities.
But we cannot see God in that way!!!!!
For seeing God, you require the help of Godly authorities!
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During this visit to Melbourne, Srila Prabhupada spoke, trying to enlighten us, by using the example of the sun.
"We see practically that the sunshine is the cause of this universe. Within the sunshine all the planets have grown, and on each planet, because of the sunshine, the vegetables are growing. When there is no sunshine, the leaf falls down. As soon as sunshine is there, the colourful fruits and flowers and leaves come out. Everything is due to the sunshine."
Srila Prabhupada explains God to us by first using the sunshine. He explains the greatness of the sun, then he continues to show us how to relate this natural phenomena to a personal God.
"While we were coming here the other day, we saw the sun is rising. Within a second the sun arose from the sea. Immediatly the whole world is illuminated. This illumination is the expansion from the sun.
If a material thing can be so powerful, just imagine how spiritually powerful God is, for He can expand Himself all over the universe.
This is a thoughtful consideration.
The supreme sun is Krishna. God has his effulgence - the shining of His body"
Using Vedic authority, he is speaks about God's effulgence - something I never learn in school - trying to convey how powerful God really is.
"The same example: The sunshine is everywhere, so originally the sunshine is the cause of everything. Similarly God's effulgence is the cause of all material things also."
Hearing that God pervades everything, a doubt may come to mind. If God is everywhere and everything why specifically worship Him? Prabhupada anticipates this question and replies...
"If God has expanded into everything, then whatever I worship is worshipping God? No you cannot take it like that.
The same example: The sunshine is not different from the sun, but when the sunshines in my room it does not mean the sun has entered.
God is everywhere, but still He is not everywhere. This is His powerful position.If we worship His name and form and qualities then we can understand that God is a person, and that He has all the propensities that we have. Whatever propensity we have, where is it coming from? It is coming from God. Everything is emanating from Him. The difference is that God is unlimited and we are small, but the qualities are the same."
This thought excites me - Understanding God through proper understanding of myself and nature. In other words, seeing the world properly. A mighty challenge for someone indoctrinated by worldliness! Srila Prabhupada concludes his talk
"If we understand this philosophy it is not difficult to understand God and to reestablish our relationship with Him. And if we act accordingly, our life becomes successful."
When trying to follow Prabhupada, we have everything to gain!!!
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