All Glories to Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj

Question of the Week

February 2, 2005

Soquel, California

Every Wednesday a class is held at the Soquel Seva Ashram for young and new devotees. The idea is to provide an open envirnoment in which they can feel comfortable asking each other questions and expressing their realizations about Krishna consciousness. After the class, everybody chats and takes prasadam. This brings us an opportunity to ask everybody a question.

The question for this week is: "What inspires you to do service?"

Ratikantha Prabhu, a visiting resident of the Soquel Seva Ashram:



"Srila Gurudev."

Kalindi Devi Dasi, a permanent resident of the Ashram:

"We want to please our spiritual master and try to progress. If we get the mercy to do service and humbly follow the instructions of our Gurudev, in due course of time, we will get some purification and the nectar to do devotional service. I am no so capable in many things, but I try to be useful in anyway I can to do my share. It's a blessing to have the opportunity to serve under His sweet guidance. That is very inspiring to me."

Krishna Charan Prabhu, a new initiate from Oregon:

"The opportunity to please Krishna and His associates and to serve my Gurudev."

Chinmoy Prabhu, a visiting resident and ready for service:

"The devoteees inspire me, and I know that service is the path I need to take to progress in spiritual life."

Annapurna Devi Dasi, a member of the community:

"When you find a service that helps a Vaisnava, and they give you some indication that what you're doing really is helping them, then you know you are serving your Gurudev. Serving the Vaisnavas is serving Gurudev. When I serve the cooks here, I find the happiness that I get from serving a Vaisnava."

Nowla Kishor Prabhu, an Ashram resident:

"Krishna, Guru, and the Vaisnavas give us service. We don't do anything; that's impossible. Real service, Srila Gurudev says, is to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra. Krishna will reveal himself in your heart. Serve Guru, Vaisnava, and worship them. It means that no other thoughts will exist in the mind."

Jasmin, a regular participant in the youth class:

"What inspires me to do service is seeing other people doing service without hesitation or question."

Lalita Devi Dasi, a visiting devotee from Mexico:

"It feels nice to please Srila Gurudev and the devotees."

Gaurasundar Prabhu, visiting from Mexico:

"I should do service because I don't have any more time to waste."

Satyabhama Devi Dasi:

"Knowing that every little thing you do improves the temple just a little bit."

Istha Devika Devi Dasi, a recent initiate:

"One of the things that inspires me to want to do service is looking around and seeing so many dedicated devotees doing service constantly. This makes me want to serve as well."

"In the course of traversing the universal creation of Brahma, some fortunate soul may receive the seed of bhakti lata, the creeper of devotional service." (Caitanya-Caritamrta, Madhya 19.151)

"The material world is a place of confinement for the living entities who are by nature anandamaya, pleasure seeking. They actually want to be free from the confinement of this world of conditional happiness, but not knowing the process of liberation, they are bound to transmigrate fron one species of life to another and from one planet to another. In this way the living entities are wandering throughout the material universe. When by good fortune one comes in contact with a pure devotee and hears from Him patiently, one begins to follow the path of devotional service. Such an opportunity is offered to a person who is sincere...If by fortune one takes advantage of this opportunity to engage in devotional service, the path of liberation immediately opens" (The Nectar of Instruction p.30).