Radhanath Swami on purification

I am the king, you are the subject, do you not understand the king is the representative of God? You must die! The King was about to order his death. He was so angry. Jada Bharath just stood there. He was not disturbed or elated by the king's actions. He was simply seeing it as the divine arrangement of Krishna. Finally, King Rahugana said "say something". Then Jada Bharath thought here is an opportunity to preach. He began to speak. My dear King you are thinking that you are the king and I am the servant. But this is all an illusion because in the next birth I may be the king and you may be the servant. Who are you? This is all a great illusion that you are thinking you are the body and you are thinking I am my body. We are not these bodies. This is all a mental concoction. The greatest enemy is our own mind. In fact our mind is our only enemy. Because our mind is constantly accepting (sankalpa) one thing and rejecting (vikapla) another thing on the basis of bodily concept of life for sense gratification. Therefore the purpose of human life is to become purified of the mind's tendency for enjoyment.

In every stage of life, we should be striving and struggling for purification. We should not be concerned with the external appearance of how things work out for us in this world. We should only be concerned with how we are being purified by whatever circumstance comes into our life. Whether there is failure or success, happiness or distress, honor or dishonor, pleasure or pain, a devotee simply sees every situation as an opportunity to become purified. He is not so concerned with how things work out from the sensual perspective. He is only concerned with the purification that takes place from that circumstance and the purification takes place to the extent we accept every opportunity as an opportunity to serve Krishna and serve His devotees.

sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaḿ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaḿ bhaktir ucyate

CC Madhya 19.170; BRS 1.1.12; Narada Pancharatra

That the same mind and senses that are now causing us due to mental concoction and attachment so much entanglement the same mind and senses when engaged in Krishna’s service, Hrishikesh's service, becomes the very basis of our purification. Therefore the devotee’s only purpose in life is to engage in the service of the Lord for his purification. A devotee is not concerned what my occupation is and what my occupation is not. What this person thinks about me or what this person does not think about me. A devotee does not think how much money I have and how much money I do not have. A devotee is simply thinking in terms of how I can best purify my life. Without purification even if you are very materially successful in this world, your whole life is wasted. All of your endeavors are simply creating a deeper more miserable condition of bondage. Therefore every stage in every circumstance of life from the time of conception to the time one’s body is put on the fire of cremation the human being should always be striving and struggling to purify his mind and purify his senses and he should have really no other objective in life other than that. And the most sublime and powerful means of purification is always think of Krishna; to always think of Krishna and always do the will of Krishna.

The will of Krishna is coming down through disciplic succession, through the spiritual masters, through the great acharyas. When they speak to us we can understand they are speaking the will of Krishna and we learn to always think of Krishna by acting according to their instructions. Sometimes the great souls tell us so many duties we must perform or they tell us through their representatives they are telling us so many duties we must perform. Understand that by performing these duties properly by both internally and externally we are being trained to always think of Krishna and in this life and in the time of death if we can learn in this proper service attitude to always think of Krishna then we return back home back to godhead. You see unless you have a humble service attitude you cannot always think of Krishna. Thinking of Krishna is simply not based on your ability to control your mind. No!

Krishna says in the Gita

sarvasya cāhaḿ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaḿ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham

BG 15.15

He within the heart is the source of remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. We can only remember Krishna when it is Krishna’s desire to manifest Himself within your mind. It is not by your endeavor and Krishna manifests Himself to the humble devotee who is in the proper service attitude. One may be very scholarly and always be talking about Krishna but if he is proud and does not have a proper service attitude at that time of the greatest need Krishna will not be there. At the time of death when your whole body is full of pain and full of bewilderment and endless distractions all around you and within you it is not possible to think of Krishna unless Krishna reveal to you at that time and Krishna reveals Himself according to the humility of our attitude to serve.

H.H.Radhanath Swami