This morning giving class, Sripad Bhakti Kusum Ashram Maharaj advised us to pray that we ourselves are not an impediment to our spiritual life. We can be our own best friend, and also our own worst enemy.

And how can we stop harming our own spiritual progress and benefit?

trnad api sunichena
taror API sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih

A few days ago, Sripad Bhakti Sudhir Goswami Maharaj spoke about how humiliation is one of the most intense forms of consciousness, giving us a clear awareness of our own present position and how finite and insignificant we are in front of the Supreme Infinite. It helps us to feel humility and accept our finite position.

Yesterday Srila Gurudev was commenting on the service of Yudhamanyu Prabhu Seva Vikram and said: “I have no qualification, but by the grace of my Guru Maharaj I have many devotees and friends who are very qualified.” This is how our Srila Gurudev speaks, and he is the Acharyya, teaching us by his example.

What can we say for ourselves? By his mercy we have gained a connection with the higher plane, and we have seen and heard that any connection we can get with that plane is infinitely higher than us. In this line we can see that any service we can get, no matter how small it is, is far higher than ourselves.

Nevertheless it seems extremely hard to convince the mind that our present conditioned position is not the right one; to correct the angle of our vision and redirect all our energy to the Centre. We must remember that Krishna is the Centre, and everywhere there is Centre and nowhere circumference. Srila Guru Maharaj says that given our present position, there will be some difficulty in adjusting ourselves because of our previous tendencies. And we should also remember that Maya is doing her seva when she adds to our difficulties.

But if we keep full faith in our Guru and try to use ourselves in his service, then our attachment for the higher will naturally grow, and as Srila Gurudev says, this will be for our ‘Super Benefit.’