Once, a man religiously performed austerities to please Yama, so that he could avoid death. Although aware of the man’s intentions, Yama appeared out of his compassion and informed him that death is inevitable. To this, the man replied, “If death is certain, at least let me know beforehand when my life will come to an end.” Promising him to inform of his death in advance, Yama instructed, “As soon as you receive the message, you must set about making preparations.”
Many years passed by, the man with the confidence of receiving a message from Yama, gave up all his austerities and started enjoying life’s sensual pleasures and delights. However, suddenly one day, the Yamadoots came and took him to Yamalok. Enraged, the man questioned Yama why he had failed in sending him a message ahead of time.
Yama with a smile replied, “Your desire for pleasures made you blind. I sent you four messages – years ago, when your hair turned gray that was my first message, when your teeth began to fall out that was my second message, my third was when your eyesight failed, and the fourth was when you became paralyzed.”
God gave us this precious human form and endowed us with the intellect and knowledge, to make a difference in our life. We are not here for a mundane, humdrum existence performing commonplace activities – eating, sleeping, defending, and mating – just as the animals, birds, insects, etc., do. Our scriptures repeatedly proclaim that we are here to serve our eternal Father lovingly; not because He needs our service or love, it is because we need to cleanse our heart to experience His unlimited bliss. Therefore, the human body presents us a golden chance to reach our goal of God-realization. The Kathopanishad warns:
इह चेदशकद्बोद्धुं प्राक्शरीरस्य विस्रसः ।
ततः सर्गेषु लोकेषु शरीरत्वाय कल्पते ||
iha chedaśhakad boddhuṁ prākśharīrasya visrasaḥ |
tataḥ sargeṣhu lokeṣhu śharīratvāya kalpate ||
(Kaṭhopaniṣhad 2.3.4)
“If you do not strive for God-realization in this life, you will continue to rotate in the 8.4 million species of life for many births.”
This is the biggest peril we face – we may not get the human form in next life; instead, we may go into either lower species of life or to the nether regions. On the other hand, if we start our spiritual journey right away, even though we do not complete the path in this life, our benevolent Father grants us the human birth again, to enable us to continue from where we had left off. That is why Shree Krishna compassionately assures us:
मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु |
मामेवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवमात्मानं मत्परायण: ||
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru |
mām evaiṣhyasi yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ||
“Always think of me, be devoted to me, worship me, and offer obeisance to me. Having dedicated your mind and body to me, you will certainly come to me.”
Radha Krishna Temple inaugural ceremony is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to worship Him and offer Him special sevas by becoming a Yajman or sponsoring the consecration poojas. All proceeds from your sponsorship go towards temple construction. When you contribute towards the construction of the temple with a deep devotion and love for Him, although you do not desire for any material or spiritual benediction from the Lord, you will outshine this life and receive eternal blessings, affirms Yama Dharmaraj:
प्रतिमाकृद्विष्णुलोकं स्थापको लीयते हरौ ।
देवसद्मप्रतिकृतिप्रतिष्ठाकृत्तु गोचरे ॥
pratimākrud vishnu lokam sthāpako līyatey harou |
devasadyaprati kruti pratiṣṭha kruttu gocharey ||
(Agni Puran)
“The one who contributes towards establishing God’s pratima attains God’s abode, and the one who contributes towards the construction of the temple and establishes the pratima will live there forever”
Therefore, to avail Radha Krishna Prān Pratiṣṭha sponsorship opportunities, contact 469-524-8887 | [email protected]
For the details of the soul-elating, 8-day program and for FREE registration, see the Radha Krishna Temple Inaugural Ceremony.
