Divine Destiny

Verse 1
There was a girl who dreamed of fire,
A sacred bond, a love much higher.
She heard a voice inside her soul,
A flame that promised to make her whole.
Verse 2
He prayed with her but never held her hand,
A holy mask, but a heart of sand.
She gave her all, yet it wasn’t returned,
Through pain and loss, the lesson she learned.
Pre-Chorus 1
A woman needs more than a bed, more than vows,
She needs warmth, she needs truth, she needs arms somehow.
But wolves in the temple wear sheep’s disguise,
They attack the soul to force it to rise.
Chorus
No one on this earth can be my perfect flame,
Only Heaven’s heart can know my truest name.
Through shadows and trials, His voice called me out,
Now I stand in the fire of His love, without doubt.
Verse 3
I see now His design, mysterious and wide,
The pain was a guide, the betrayals a tide.
Even the one who broke me played a part,
A servant of God, to awaken my heart.
Pre-Chorus 2
He learns as I learn, we are mirrors in strife,
Two souls in a world that teaches through life.
The empath will rise, the narcissist may see,
Both drawn by God’s light, to who they can be.
Chorus
No one on this earth can be my perfect flame,
Only Heaven’s heart can know my truest name.
Through shadows and trials, His voice called me out,
Now I stand in the fire of His love, without doubt.
Verse 4 / Bridge
I walked away, my heart in His hand,
Trusting my child to His perfect plan.
Tears may fall, but faith will remain,
From caterpillar to butterfly, we break every chain.
Chorus (Final)
No one on this earth can be my perfect flame,
Only Heaven’s heart can know my truest name.
Through shadows and trials, His voice called me out,
Now I stand in the fire of His love, without doubt.
Outro
The lesson was hard, but the victory is true,
We can see His hand in all that people do.
Even those who wounded me can receive His love
God will embrace us all and bring to earth what is above

Preaching Without Permission: Charlatans in Devotion

 Unless you can see Krishna in the hearts of others, you are not qualified to preach. You cannot help. You will simply invoke envy. Stop dealing with the material energy. Just keep quiet. Asat sanga tyaga. Don't gossip or talk about anyone or anything other than Krishna.

Just surrender. Ask the guru, I don't know who I am, I have no right to preach. I am confused about how to engage in service. Please instruct me and engage me in devotional service so that I can progress on the path of pure loving devotional service. This important information is given in Satam Prasangan, the book written by disciples of Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja by compiling his lectures.

Kaitava Varnasrama Dharma and Daivi Varnasrama Dharma

 When religion is observed for ulterior motives, it is kaitava Varnasrama Dharma. But at least the people acknowledge God, chant His names, apply tilak, go to the temple, donate, observe Vaishnava Festivals, and try to follow the regulative principles as far as possible and remaining united despite struggles. That's not bad because it is not outright sin but within the purview of religious life. But it's not perfect. Because Krishna may seem to be in the center, but that is actually not true. There is partial, conditional, or temporary surrender, but not full, continuous, unconditional surrender. And Bhagavatam is above and beyond such cheating religion, devoid of real surrender to Krishna. Reading and hearing Srimad Bhagavatam gives rise to Love for Krishna because hearing about Him awakens that love through giving pleasure to that part of Him in us that wants to hear only about Krishna, that part of us that loves Krishna, that part of us which becomes dormant when we indulge in anything that takes us away from Krishna.

Perfect dharma is where every fully surrendered soul takes up a role-play as per how they can best serve and everything is arranged with Krishna in the center.

How the Name gives Shelter

 I did remember having had the realization that surrender is to simply chant instead of asking "how can I serve in this moment?" That is implied. Krishna knows what I want, need, and what my motivation is. I don't need to explain to Him. I simply need to vibrate the Mahamantra and guidance will come or I will be correctly directed without even knowing it.

Maharaja mentioned in his final words at Sadhu Sanga to remember to take shelter of the Holy Names. And I actually did not hear it, but Sachinandana Swami caught his words and told the audience "let's remember that."

This process of surrender is so simple that one can miss it: to simply curiously, eagerly and in a mood of helplessly taking shelter, just chant the Mahamantra. And at each moment, this chanting helps us make a right choice in the right direction. There is no other way to surrender than this.

Mirror of the Mind

 Shri Prahlad says that the smoke covering fire analogy explaining tamas describes the mind covering the soul and causing it to be distressed by this black smoke of doubt, illusion, fear, and not knowing one's true identity. It fluctuates like an unsteady fire, due to the disturbance of desires and habits. Fire is unsteady when the wood is wet or there is a wind. And unsteady fire produces thick heavy smoke. The unsteady mind is not able to decide one thing over the other.

The dust covered mirror analogy describes the intellect covered with the dust of not knowing who we truly are. It is corrupted by the mind to attend to the needs of the mind and body at the cost of planning properly for the long-term.

The embryo in the womb analogy describes the false ego covering the soul, disallowing the identity of the child within the womb to be revealed. This false ego causes the soul to identify with the body, mind, intellect, and a variety of upadhis, keeping it from establishing itself in truth.

Chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra attentively and eagerly can expedite the process of quickly discovering the sat cit ananda soul within these coverings. From that position, the soul is able to live a life based on fearlessness, knowing its true identity beyond the material coverings.

However, Shri Prahlad seems to indicate that the ego and other elements still cause the soul trouble, but with the help of the truth, the mantra, the soul can resist the urge of the ego for the many things it wishes to control. The perception of others, concerned with honor and dishonor, etc.