SANKALP CAMP : Session 6 : Heart Transformation by Association (Mrigari drama)

An interviewer asked Prabhupäda

by his behavior. , "that's
all... Therefore, I prohibit my disciples to eat meat. I prohibit illicit sex life. I prohibit
intoxication. I prohibit gambling."
The interviewer asked whether there was a
place for women in the religion. Prabhupäda replied that women and men had the
same rights and followed the same principles.

Test of assimilating Knowledge – Heart Transformation

Our human form of life is meant for changing the platform of activities.
The animals, they cannot change their platform of activities. They just
keep quiet after eating, sleeping, mating and defending. By coming to the
platform of goodness (happiness, wisdom) from the platform of ignorance
(oversleep, laziness, intoxication) and passion (lust, anger, greed), our life
can be made successful. Thus all education and learning is meant to lead
one to wisdom about oneself, God
and the ultimate goal of life which
is to awaken our love for God and
love for all.

Every student needs to be trained

to become an ideal example — by education, by behavior, by character and by dharma (eternal
occupation) to achieve this goal.

(Eg) Srila Prabhupada writes in his book Nectar of Devotion : We can experience that even
a young boy in Kåñëa consciousness is unattached to cinemas, nightclubs, naked dance
shows, restaurants, liquor shops, etc. He becomes completely freed. He saves his valuable time
from being extravagantly spent in the way of smoking, drinking, attending the theater and
dancing. Simply because he is engaged in Kåñëa consciousness he automatically gives up all
this nonsense and develops a high character. One develops the highest character by becoming a pure devotee of
Kåñëa. One who is not in Kåñëa consciousness usually cannot sit silently even for half an hour. The
conclusion is that no one can truly have any good qualities if he is lacking Kåñëa consciousness.

Learning to love Lord and Lord’s children

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brähmaëa, a
cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]. [Bhagavad gita, 5.18].

A Kåiñhëa conscious student does not make any distinction between living
beings of different caste, color, nationality, specie etc. Because all living
beings are children of the same Supreme Lord, a devotee student sees that
one soul is wearing a cow’s dress, another goat’s dress, another chicken’s
dress, yet another a human dress, but ultimately the driver of all the
material bodies is a spirit soul, who is accompanied by Supreme Lord in His
form of Supersoul.

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ACTIVITY : Education should bring about heart transformation in the practitioner by instilling values.
Now draw lines to Match the following HEART TRANSFORMATION exercise :

How do you feel when you see cocks and chickens stuffed in small
compartments in a truck and carried for slaughter? How do you feel when a butcher is dragging a
cow to slaughter her, despite her resisting to go and wailing loudly out of fear of her throat being
cut? If we are human beings, we can think what is more important for us : to satisfy our taste buds
by slaughtering these innocent creatures who are Lord’s children or to see them live happily as we
wish to live happily. In the same manner, in our human life, let us learn to give up our lower natures
and experience a heart transformation by chanting Hare Krishna and elevating ourselves to a higher
nature. Please match & fill boxes below :

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1. Lust (a) Selflessness

2. Arrogance (b) calm and cool-headed
3. Cruelty (c) Adaptability
4. Revengeful (d) Satisfied and contended
5. Duplicity (e) Respectful
6. Envy (f) Humility
7. Selfishness (g) Abundance mentality
8. Rigidity (h) Love
9. Judgmental (i) Forgiveness
10. Angry (j) Valuing individuality
11. Greedy (k) Simplicity
12. Belittling (l) Compassion

In the previous lesson, we learnt from the story of Kailash, how a human being should not carelessly
waste one’s human form of life in eating, sleeping, mating, defending, earning money, enjoying sports,
watching movies etc postponing spiritual life and missing the chance to awaken our relationship with
Supreme Lord; rather one should be attentive to practice of Krishna consciousness, get liberated and go
back home back to Godhead. In the current lesson, we learn that one should give up violence and
cruelty towards other innocent creatures; otherwise one will prepare a way to ghastly hell in future.
By the slight association of a devotee like Narada, one can be freed from the clutches of mäyä. A pure
devotee is niñkiïcana; he has no material desire to enjoy the material world; instead his only desire is to
engage everything and everyone in service of Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna. One has to take shelter of
such a pure devotee in order to attain his sublime qualities. The pure devotee is always free from the
clutches of mäyä and her influence. Also by a pure devotee's association one can obtain the loving
service of the Lord.

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Story of Mrigari, the hard-hearted hunter who became a humble-hearted devotee
Once there was a hunter in the forest of Prayäga who was fortunate
enough to meet Närada Muni when the great sage was returning from
Vaikuëöha after visiting Lord Näräyaëa. Närada came to Prayäga to bathe
in the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunä. While passing through the
forest, Närada saw a bird lying on the ground. The bird was half-killed,
being pierced by an arrow, and it was chirping pitifully. Further on,
Närada saw a deer flopping about in agony. Further, he saw that a boar was
also suffering, and, in another place, he saw a rabbit twitching in pain. All this made him very
compassionate, and he began to think, "Who is the foolish man who has committed such sins?"

The Passionate and the Compassionate :

Devotees of the Lord are generally compassionate upon the
miseries of living entities, and what to speak of the great sage
Närada? He became very much aggrieved by this scene, and
after proceeding a few steps, he saw the hunter engaged in
hunting with bow and arrows. The hunter's complexion was
very dark, and his eyes were red. It appeared to be dangerous
just to see him standing there with his bow and arrows,
looking just like an associate of Yamaräja, death. Seeing him,
Närada Muni entered deeper into the forest to approach him.
As Närada Muni passed through the forest, all the animals
who were caught in the hunter's traps fled away.
The hunter became very angry at this, and he was just about to call Närada vile names, but, due to the
influence of saintly Närada, the hunter could not utter such blasphemies. Rather, with gentle behavior,
he asked Närada: "My dear sir, why have you come here while I am hunting? Have you strayed from the
general path? Because you have come here, all the animals in my traps have fled." "Yes, I am sorry,"
Närada replied. "I have come to you to find my own path and to inquire from you. I have seen that there
are many boars, deer and rabbits on the path. They are lying on the forest floor half-dead and flopping
about. Who has committed these sinful acts?"
"What you have seen is all right," the hunter replied. "It was done by me."
"If you are hunting all these poor animals, why don't you kill them at once?"
Närada asked. "You half-kill them, and they are suffering in their death
pangs. This is a great sin. If you want to kill an animal, why don't you kill it
completely? Why do you leave it half-killed and allow it to die flopping
around?"
"My dear Lord," the hunter replied. "My name is Mågäri, enemy of animals. I
am simply following the teachings of my father who taught me to half-kill
animals and leave them flopping about. When a half-dead animals suffers, I
take great pleasure in it."
"I beg one thing from you only," Närada implored. "Please accept it."
"Oh, yes sir, I shall give you whatever you like," the hunter said. "If you want some animal skins, come to
my house. I have many skins of animals, including tigers and deer. I shall give you whatever you like."

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"I do not want such things," Närada replied. "However, I do want something else. If you kindly grant it to
me, I shall tell you. Please, henceforth from tomorrow, whenever you kill an animal, please kill it
completely. Don't leave it half-dead."
"My dear sir, what are you asking of me? What is the difference between half-killing an animal and
killing it completely?"
"If you half-kill the animals, they suffer great pain," Närada explained. "And if you give too much pain to
other living entities, you commit great sin. There is a great offense committed when you kill an animal
completely, but the offense is much greater when you half-kill it. Indeed, the pain which you give half-
dead animals will have to be accepted by you in a future birth."

Heart Purification in Association makes the Hunter a humble devotee :

Although the hunter was very sinful, his heart became softened, and he
became afraid of his sins by virtue of his association with a great devotee like
Närada. Those who are grossly sinful are not at all afraid of committing sins,
but here we can see that because his purification began in the association of a
great devotee like Närada, the hunter became afraid of his sinful activities.
The hunter therefore replied: "My dear sir, from my very childhood I have
been taught to kill animals in this way. Please tell me how I can get rid of all the offenses and sinful
activities which I have accumulated. I am surrendering unto your feet. Please save me from all the
reactions of my sinful activities which I have committed in the past, and please direct me to the proper
path so that I can be free."
"If you actually want to follow my directions, I can tell you the real path by which you can be freed from
sinful reactions."
"I shall follow whatever you say without hesitation," the hunter agreed.

ACTIVITY : Choose the correct Answers :

1. Although Mrigari was a cruel hunter, why did he not call bad names at Narada?
(a) He was afraid that Narada, being a sage might curse him.
(b) He was not used to uttering any blasphemies in the past.
(c) He preferred gentle behavior with all people despite being a hunter.
(d) He could not call illnames due to saintly and spiritual influence of Narada.
2. Mrigari was grossly sinful before; then Why did he become afraid of committing sins now?
(a) Narada induced such fear in him by displaying the deadly hell that awaited Mrigari.
(b) By holy company of Narada, his heart got cleansed; therefore he became afraid of sins.
(c) Because he understood that he was causing great pain to poor and innocent animals.
(d) He had accumulated huge amount of sins and was afraid of the terrible reactions that awaited
him, due to fear of the pain that awaits him in future.

Break the bow of sinful life; Lord will maintain you

Närada then told him to first break his bow; only then would he disclose the path of liberation.
"You are asking me to break my bow," the hunter protested, "but if I break it, what will be the means of
my livelihood?"

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"Don't worry about your livelihood," Närada said. "I shall send you sufficient grains in order to live.'

The source of our income is not actually the source of our maintenance. Every living being—from the
great Brahmä down to an insignificant ant—is being maintained by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Eko bahünäà yo vidadhäti kämän. The one Supreme Being, Kåñëa, maintains everyone. Our
so-called source of income is our own choice only. If I wish to be a hunter, it will appear that hunting is
the source of my maintenance. If I become a brähmaëa and completely depend on Kåñëa, I do not
conduct a business, but nonetheless my maintenance is supplied by Kåñëa. The hunter was disturbed
about breaking his bow because he was worried about his income. Närada Muni assured the hunter
because he knew that the hunter was not being maintained by the bow but by Kåñëa. Being the agent of
Kåñëa, Närada Muni knew very well that the hunter would not suffer by breaking the bow. There was no
doubt that Kåñëa would supply him food. [Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhyalila 24.257]

Initiation into Spiritual life by Guru :

The hunter then broke his bow and fell down at the feet of Närada. This is
the process of initiation. The disciple must surrender to the spiritual master,
the representative of Kåñëa. The spiritual master, being in the disciplic
succession stemming from Närada Muni, is in the same category with Närada
Muni. A person can be relieved from his sinful activity if he surrenders to the
lotus feet of a person who actually represents Närada Muni. Närada Muni gave instructions to the
hunter after the hunter surrendered. [CC Madhyalila 24.258]
Närada got him to stand up, and he instructed him: "Just go to your home
and distribute whatever money and valuables you have to the devotees and
the brähmaëas. Then just come out and follow me wearing only one cloth.
Construct a small thatched house on the river bank and sow a tulasé plant by
that house. Just circumambulate the tulasé tree, and every day taste one
fallen leaf. Above all, always chant Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa,
Hare Hare/Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare. As far as your livelihood is concerned, I
shall send you grains, but you will only accept as much grain as you require for yourself and your wife."

From Grihasta Ashram to Vanaprastha Ashram :

Närada Muni advised the hunter to adopt the vänaprastha stage and leave home. This is the process of
renunciation at the stage of vänaprastha. After enjoying householder life for some time, the husband
and wife must leave home and distribute their riches to brähmaëas and Vaiñëavas. One can keep his
wife to assist in spiritual advancement.

Krishna supplies all material necessities for one who takes to Krishna consciousness :
When a person takes to Kåñëa consciousness, there is no need to care for material necessities. Kåñëa
says, yoga-kñemaà vahämy aham: [Bg. 9.22] “I personally carry all necessities to My devotees.” Why
should one be anxious about the necessities of life? The principle should be that one should not want
more than what is absolutely necessary. Närada Muni advises the hunter to accept only what is
absolutely necessary for him and his wife. The devotee should always be alert to consume only those
things that he absolutely requires and not create unnecessary needs. [CC Madhya 24.262]
In any condition, any man can live in a small cottage, plant a tulasé tree, water it in the morning, offer it
prayers, and continuously chant the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra. Thus one can make vigorous spiritual
advancement. This is not at all difficult. One simply has to follow the instructions of the spiritual master
strictly. Then everything will be successful in due course of time.
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As far as eating is concerned, there is no problem. If Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
supplies everyone with eatables, why should He not supply His devotee? Sometimes a devotee will not
even bother to construct a cottage. He will simply go to live in a mountain cave. One may live in a cave,
in a cottage beside a river, in a palace or in a big city like New York or London. In any case, a devotee
can follow the instructions of his spiritual master and engage in devotional service by watering the tulasé
plant and chanting the Hare Kåñëa mantra. Taking the advice of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu and our
spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé Mahäräja, one can go to any part of the world and
instruct people to become devotees of the Lord by following the regulative principles, worshiping the
tulasé plant and continuously chanting the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra.
Närada then relieved the half-dead animals, and, getting freed from their dreadful
condition, they fled away. Upon seeing Närada execute this miracle, the dark
hunter was struck with wonder. After taking Närada to his home, he bowed down
again at his feet.
Närada returned to his place, and the hunter, after returning home, began to execute the instructions
Närada had given him. In the meantime, news spread amongst all the villages that the hunter had
become a devotee. Consequently the residents of the villages came to see the new Vaiñëava. It is the
Vedic custom to bring grains and fruits whenever one goes to see a saintly person, and since all the
villagers saw that the hunter had turned into a great devotee, they
brought eatables with them. Thus every day he was offered grains
and fruit, so much so that no less than ten to twenty people could
have eaten there. According to Närada's instructions, he did not
accept anything more than what he and his wife required for
sustenance.
Srila Prabhupada writes : “It is the duty of the public to present a gift to a
saintly person, Vaiñëava or brähmaëa when going to see him. Every
Vaiñëava is dependent on Kåñëa, and Kåñëa is ready to supply all of life’s
necessities, provided a Vaiñëava follows the principles set forth by the
spiritual master. There are certainly many householders in our Kåñëa
consciousness movement. They join the movement and live in the society’s
centers, but if they take advantage of this opportunity and do not work but
live at the expense of the movement, eating prasädam and simply sleeping, they place themselves in a
very dangerous position. It is therefore advised that gåhasthas should not live in the temple. They must
live outside the temple and maintain themselves. Of course, if the gåhasthas are fully engaged in the
Lord’s service according to the directions of the authorities, there is no harm in their living in a temple.
In any case, a temple should not be a place to eat and sleep. A temple manager should be very careful
about these things.” [CC Madhya 24.266]

ACTIVITY : Choose the correct Answers :

1. What does breaking of the bow by Mrigari denote?
(a) Stopping of killing of animals which he used to do before.
(b) Stopping all sinful life and surrendering to guru.
(c) It represents the process of initiation.
(d) It means anybody like Mrigari can be relieved from his sinful activity if he surrenders to
a representative of Närada Muni.

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 2. What does accepting in charity as much grain as one requires for oneself and one’s wife indicate?
(a) It means one has become dependent on society and has become a parasite.
(b) It means that one has taken to Sannyasa order and renounced the world.
(c) It means that one has become old and invalid and has to live on others’ money.
(d) It is the process of renunciation in the stage of vanaprastha.

3. From the following statement, what do we learn? : Sometimes a devotee will not even bother to construct a cottage.
He will simply go to live in a mountain cave. One may live in a cave, in a cottage beside a river, in a palace or in a big
city like New York or London. In any case, a devotee can follow the instructions of his spiritual master and engage in
devotional service by watering the tulasé plant and chanting the Hare Kåñëa mantra.

(a) A devotee of the Lord should accept a simple mode of life, but focus on guru’s order.
(b) Watering tulsi and chanting Hare Krishna is primary; living in whatever condition, simple or
opulent is immaterial.
(c) A devotee should not even construct a cottage, but should live in open sky near river; such is the
austerity of Lord’s devotees.
(d) A devotee needs to live in cities like New York or London, because there one can live in a palace
and practice Krishna consciouseness.

Narada muni is glorified by Parvata muni as touchstone :

After some days had passed, Närada told his friend Parvata Muni: "I have a disciple. Let us go to see him
and see if he is doing well."
When the two sages, Närada and Parvata, went to the hunter's home,
the hunter saw his spiritual master coming from the distance, and he
began to approach him with great respect. On his way to greet the
great sages, the hunter saw that there were ants on the ground before
him and that they were hindering his passage. Thus he slowly cleared
away the ants with his cloth. When Närada saw that the hunter was trying to save the lives of the ants
in this way, he was reminded of a verse from the Skanda Puräëa: "Is it not wonderful that a devotee of
the Lord is not inclined to give any sort of pain to anyone, not even to an ant?"
Although the hunter formerly took great pleasure in half-killing
animals, since he became a great devotee of the Lord, he was not
prepared to give pain even to an ant. The hunter received the two
great sages at his home and offered them a sitting place, brought
water, washed their feet, took water to them to drink, and finally both
he and his wife touched the water with their heads. After this, they
began to feel ecstasy and began to dance and sing Hare Kåñëa, Hare
Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma,
Hare Hare. They raised their hands and danced with their clothes flying. When the two great sages saw
this ecstasy of love of Godhead manifest in the body of the hunter, Parvata Muni told Närada: "You are
a touchstone, for by your association even a great hunter has turned into a great devotee."
There is a verse in the Skanda Puräëa which states: "My dear Devarñi [Närada], you are glorious, and by
your mercy, even the lowest creature, a hunter of animals, also became elevated to the path of devotion
and attained transcendental attachment for Kåñëa."
Srila Prabhupada comments : When a touchstone touches iron, it turns the iron to gold. Parvata Muni
called Närada Muni a touchstone because by his touch the hunter, who was the lowest among men,

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became an elevated and perfect Vaiñëava. Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura said that the position of a
Vaiñëava can be tested by seeing how good a touchstone he is—that is, by seeing how many Vaiñëavas
he has made during his life. A Vaiñëava should be a touchstone so that he can convert others to
Vaiñëavism by his preaching, even though people may be fallen like the hunter. There are many so-
called advanced devotees who sit in a secluded place for their personal benefit. They do not go out to
preach and convert others into Vaiñëavas, and therefore they certainly cannot be called sparça-maëi,
advanced devotees. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu advised His followers to increase the numbers of
Vaiñëavas.
yäre dekha, täre kaha ‘kåñëa’-upadeça ämära äjïäya guru haïä tära’ ei deça (Cc. Madhya 7.128)
It is Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s wish that everyone should become a Vaiñëava and guru. Following the
instructions of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu and His disciplic succession, one can become a spiritual
master, for the process is very easy. One can go everywhere and anywhere to preach the instructions of
Kåñëa. The Bhagavad-gétä is Kåñëa’s instructions; therefore the duty of every Vaiñëava is to travel and
preach the Bhagavad-gétä, either in his country or a foreign country. This is the test of sparça-maëi,
following in the footsteps of Närada Muni.
At length, Närada inquired of the hunter-devotee: "Are you getting your foodstuff regularly?"
"You send so many people," the hunter replied, "and they bring so many eatables that we cannot begin to
eat them."
"That's all right," Närada replied. "Whatever you are getting is all right. Now just continue your
devotional service in that way." In this way Närada blessed his disciple to continue his Krishna
consciousness and went on his journey ahead with his friend, Parvata muni. Lord Caitanya recited this
story in order to show that even a hunter can engage in the devotional service of Kåñëa by the influence
of pure devotees.
śuśrūṣoḥ śraddadhānasya vāsudeva-kathā-ruciḥ
syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt
SB 1.2.16: O twice-born sages, by serving those devotees who are
completely freed from all vice, great service is done. By such service, one
gains affinity for hearing the messages of Vāsudeva.
Some important points from Srila Prabhupada's purport :
• The servants of God come to propagate God consciousness, and intelligent people should cooperate
with them in every respect.
• By serving the servant of God, one can please God more than by directly serving the Lord. The Lord is
more pleased when He sees that His servants are properly respected because such servants risk
everything for the service of the Lord and so are very dear to the Lord.
• By serving the servants of the Lord, one gradually gets the quality of such servants, and thus one
becomes qualified to hear the glories of God. The eagerness to hear about God is the first qualification
of a devotee eligible for entering the kingdom of God.
We not only get affinity to hear the messages of Vasudeva but we also get the strength to act on what we
have heard. Rendering service to liberated devotees gives neopyhtes the strength to resist their lower
conditioned nature and to stick to the higher, pure ideal of pleasing the Lord. Devotees who neglect to
keep the company with superior Vaishnavas , however, are unable to control their lower nature, and
their impure faith leads them away from the path of pure devotion to the Supreme Lord.

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