Madana-gopāla Dāsa

START WITH THE BASICS

WHO ARE YOU?

Investment Banker? Husband/Wife? Parent? White? Indian? 48 years old?

So what happens when you get divorced? or retire or laid-off? Grow older? Children grow up, move out and do not need you? Life challenges us, because of our “false identification” with our body and these roles we play. Why false?

Our body and roles we play have changed throughout our life. Both these can be taken away without any notice (e.g., car accident, layoff from job etc.) and therefore are temporary. Basing our identity and happiness on something temporary is like building a house on unstable ground with no foundation.

So what’s permanent? Its Lord Krishna - the supreme personality of god head. His infinitesimal portion resides in us as “atma” - and that NEVER dies. Just like we discard clothes (or cars) at the end of their useful lives (or when we get bored, and they no longer serve our needs)... the atma discards bodies. Just what you’d say a child who gets too upset when his favorite toy breaks or is lost, you need to say to yourself, when you get too invested in losses connected with your the false identity - your job, your possessions, your relationships, your own body...

CHANGING BODIES...

This is Madhav and me from 2003 - he was a toddler, and I was a young man...

Fast-forward to 2024, and I just got him settled for his post-graduate medical school in Michigan, while juggling responsibilities of my day-job in a global bank

My relationship with him has evolved, as has my body - and his... but what has remained the same during these 20+ years is the “atma” within him and me. In this incarnation, he is my son, and I am his father... maybe in a previous one we were brothers, and a in different one, I was his daughter.

The key is not to get attached to any phase in this short life of ours, knowing that its just one of the 1000s of births we will take - till we realize our true goal - that is to return to Krishna - the supreme personality of god head.

WHY KRISHNA?

A Quick 5 minute answer

A drop of water... insignificant by itself... but when part of a mighty ocean, its incredibly powerful... All of us individual “atmas” - if we try to make it by ourselves - by “our job”, “our car”, “our children”, “our home” - we remain isolated, fragmented - like that drop of water... but the minute we realize our true purpose and connection to Shri Krishna, we get energized by his power... like when that drop becomes part of the ocean!

“Although crocodiles are very fierce animals, they are powerless when they venture out of the water onto land. When they are out of the water, they cannot exhibit their original power. Similarly, the all-pervading Supersoul, Paramātmā, is the source of all living entities, and all living entities are part and parcel of Him. When the living entity remains in contact with the all-pervading Vāsudeva, the Personality of Godhead, he manifests his spiritual power, exactly as the crocodile exhibits its strength in the water.” SB 8.18.13 Purport

VERIFY THE ACCOUNT FIRST!

A person accidentally gave an incorrect account number for his salary credits. Then when he went to withdraw the money, there wasn’t any... That’s why all funds transfer applications like ACH, Zelle etc., ask you to verify account...

- False identification is like using an incorrect account number...
the excessive amount of time we spend in earning money, maintaining our relations, beautifying our body - is all spending effort on a “temporary” account which will end one day, we cannot take any of it when we pass on!

- So then, what is the correct account?
Realize that you are “atma” who is just in this body, has these relations and possessions for this lifetime - much like a car that you have leased. So yes, by all means you will take care of the car you leased, change its oil, fill quality gas, drive it safely - but you will not get too attached to it, as one day you’ll upgrade.

Therefore, make investment in the correct account i.e. benefit of the eternal - Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of God Head and your atma... in the following pages I will show you how!

Chant Hare Krishna
and Be Happy