vaishnava life
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In most living beings the tongue, the stomach and the genitals fall in the same line. Ironically the process of self realization very much depends on how we control these three organs. When it comes to the tongue, we always want to express our feelings, and in that process we speak more than what is required. We speak things that are not just un-necessary but harmful also. We must take utmost care to use our tongue only to the extent it is required. We should always keep our tongues engaged in chanting the glories of the Lord.

 

We also have to take care about what we send into our stomach for our livelihood. We should be compassionate towards all living beings, and we should restrain ourselves from meat eating.  We must also give up all such foods (like onions and garlic)  that rise rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance) as they hinder our spiritual progress. We must also take care about the quantity of food that we accept, we should not accept more than what is required for normal health. More importantly, we should be dispassionate towards food, this we can achieve by gathering all the foodstuffs and cook food only for the satisfaction of the Lord. We should only accept the prasadam(holy remnants) after the food has been offered to the Lord. The prasadam of Lord is all purifying and can destroy the roots of material modes in us. In this way, we can control our stomach also.

 

By following the Brahmacharya, grihasta, vAnaprastha and sanyAsa orders of life as per their strict regulations, one can control the genetals. We should restrain from hurting (physically as well as mentally) anybody, especially vaishnavas. We must not think of any other deity (other than srImAn nArAyaNa)  as our savior (as there is no other deity is equal or superior to Sri Hari) , nor should we ask the Lord for any material opulence.

 

The main thing for us to remember is that we are eternal relatives of Sri Hari and Sri Lakshmi devi. Being dependant on them for our very existence, our only business is to serve Their lotus feet. We can serve them in their deity forms, by bathing, by clothing, by offering food preparations, fruits, flowers and incense, by glorifying their activities and chanting the mantras as ordained by the Guru. We must take care that we perform all the stipulated services on daily basis, and on special occasions like festivals, we must perform special services. We must serve the feet of the guru who has initiated us into prapatti marga. We must always try to engage ourselves in service of other devotees of the Lord. We should wear the tilak (signs of Hari) at the 12 parts of the body. Most importantly, we should develop the nature of utter dependance on the Lord for everything. We must educate ourselves and others about Hari-katha (knowledge of Hari) by reading scriptures in line with the Sri AchAryas’ commentaries.  We should always try our best not to transgress the orders of our guru.

athAto "brahma" zignAsA - Then thereafter be inquisitive to enquire about "the Absolute"