As we all step into the new year 2018, Radha Krishna Temple of Dallas extends warm wishes to all the devotees. At the Radha Krishna Temple, we started the new year with Akhand Kirtan, singing and chanting the holy names of Shree Radha Krishna. On this beautiful occasion, Swami Mukundananda ji sends us this divine message
NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM SWAMI MUKUNDANANDA JI
“Kripalum Vande Jagadgurum”
Divine Souls,
The essential ingredient for making life a success is inspiration. It is the fuel that energizes us to exert our physical, mental, and intellectual faculties to the utmost. It generates the enthusiasm that creates the vital edge in our performance. Inspiration is thus the elixir of champions and the tonic of geniuses. It enables us to wade through difficulties like a knife cuts through butter. When we are inspired, we naturally lift our thoughts from the mundane to the sublime.
The chance to top-up our fountain-source of inspiration to the brim has again presented itself in the form of New Year’s Day, 2018. God has sewn a garland of 1.5 million priceless minutes, each studded with sixty jewellike seconds, and offered this necklace to us. That is a lot of opportunities coming our way, for thinking wonderful thoughts and performing noble acts!
To enable us to make the most of the year ahead, God will empower our lungs to breathe 18 million times, while our heart pounds 40 million times and the blood in our arteries traverses 4.2 million miles. Life is His gift to us; what we make of it will be our gift to Him. Let us resolve to put in our very best efforts to please Him by rising above our frailties and developing divine virtues.
Like the year 2017 that went by, it is only natural to expect that the year to come will also bring a mixed bag of experiences. As we go through 365 day-and-night cycles, we will also ride the roller coaster of victory and defeat. But through these diverse experiences, one item will always remain independent of the external situation. And that is the attitude we choose to harbor within towards the circumstances around us. Let us then choose to focus on solutions instead of problems. Rather than waste priceless time and energy asking “Why?”, we will focus on “How?”, for that is the way to progress. If life sends us a lemon, we will not be bogged down by the question “why” this happened to us. Rather, we will think of “how” we can make a lemonade from it.
The way we think will make all the difference, for thoughts are the precursors of actions. Let us resolve that in the coming year we will harbor noble and sublime thoughts, while rejecting debilitating and demeaning ones. We will think positively, as that is the way of surrender to God and Guru. We will thank the Lord for all the sweet victories that encourage us forward, and also for the bitter experiences that reveal our frailties to us. We will be indebted to Him for the joys in our life, and also for the hardships that force us to exert and improve. And in doing so, we will gradually master the art of becoming a better person.
Best wishes for the New Year 2018! Happy Bhakti Diwas! May this be the most fulfilling year of your life yet.
Your ever well-wisher,
Swami Mukundananda
GET INVOLVED WITH RADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE
We, at the Radha Krishna Temple, wish all our readers a year filled with devotion and service to the divine. There are various ways to get involved with this beautiful abode for the divine. Depending upon what area interests you, you can become a part of any of our dedicated teams – our kitchen team, reception team, team of musicians, decoration team, our amazing teaching staff etc. or you may simply chose to spend your time visiting and admiring the beautiful deities of Shree Radha Krishna and fill your hearts with devotion and serenity! Happy new year! Do not forget to pick up the beautiful Radha Krishna Temple 2018 wall calendars!
