Enthusiasm without Passion and Gratefulness

The service of Radha Giridhari is amazing. They are so incredibly

compassionate that it is impossible to even attempt to describe. They

transform one’s enjoying spirit into the spontaneous service mood of Vraja!

When I joined the Krishna Conscious movement in 1971 I desired to escape

from this material world as I clearly could see the truth of Krishna’s

statement in the Gita about the nature of this world.

Shortly after joining, that desire to escape left me, and I began to really

relish the nectar of Krishna consciousness; looking forward to all the

varied activities that are part of the nine fold processes of bhakti. Still

I was thinking of my pleasure in Krishna consciousness.

Now, I can glimpse the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, the Pancatattva, the

Vaisnavas, and Radha Giridhari in the changes my heart has gone through.

Krishna consciousness is real-it works! One can transcend the modes of

nature. One can dissolve the anarthas in the heart. The goal is tangible,

and attainable.

I am on traveling Sankirtana now with Radha Giridhari (my best friends), in

an attempt to serve Govardhan. I have set some goals for myself in this

regard. What are interesting in this respect are not the goals but rather my

mood towards them.

When we deal with material goals for material purposes we oftentimes have to

deal with discouragement or lack of enthusiasm for a variety of reasons.

Perhaps others have discouraged us or we don’t seem to be progressing as

rapidly as we would like. Sometimes this discouragement comes from

attachment to results (or proprietorship of the results), sometimes from our

concept of ourselves as the doer, lack of dedication, or even lack of faith

that goal is worthwhile.

When striving for Krishna, one has the assurance of Krishna that the success

potency is built into the order of Krishna and Guru, plus one is successful

just to be engaged in service. That in and of itself (to be fully engaged)

is success.

So as I am traveling on this mission for Govardhan, some people say things

to me that could be considered discouraging, but when I hear these words my

enthusiasm increases tenfold. So-called discouraging words encourage me to

further take shelter of Govardhan.

Last night I was looking at Radha Giridhari before taking rest. I was not

praying for success, but rather I was thanking Them for engaging me in Their

service. I was so happy to simply be allowed to serve Them that even though

I am convinced Their goals will be achieved-my main focus was on the

relationship with Them.

Later on as I was getting sitting in bed getting ready to sleep, I decided

to look at movie I have on my Ipod (yes, I am into gadgets for Krishna

too!). It was a movie about Govardhan that was made by my godbrother Bhakti

Caitanya Swami. Seeing Govardhan and the residents there I began to cry

praying to Krishna to give me an eternal residence there and feeling really

intense feeling of separation from Govardhan.

These feelings are the impetus for my continued service for Radha Giridhari.