"He likes to hear."
--Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur
Several of my friends over the years have requested that I write a book on the subject of how devotee couples can stay peacefully married. I have been working on this book now for a number of decades, and I am nowhere near finished. I needed a fire lit under my derriere, and Krsna gave me the perfect incentive. He inspired my dear friend Narada Priya to suggest that I put my book on the internet as a blog. I started doing that, and His Grace Raya Nitai Prabhu of OneISKCON.com read something off my blog. He asked me to make my blog public and allow him to add a link to my blog on OneISKCON.com. I prayed about it, asked my husband's advice, and felt that Krsna was telling me to go ahead. I've heard of people turning blogs into books, but my book is turning into a blog.
This blog is titled "Where There is No Fighting" because it's directed toward helping married couples live together peacefully with minimal quarreling. Of course, because this is the material world and because it is Kali-yuga, there will never be complete peace in a marriage, no matter how compatible the husband and wife are. In my own personal experience over the last thirty-one years of marriage, I have seen that refraining from fighting with my husband has been one of the greatest keys to the treasure-house of marital peace.
This blog is titled "Where There is No Fighting" because it's directed toward helping married couples live together peacefully with minimal quarreling. Of course, because this is the material world and because it is Kali-yuga, there will never be complete peace in a marriage, no matter how compatible the husband and wife are. In my own personal experience over the last thirty-one years of marriage, I have seen that refraining from fighting with my husband has been one of the greatest keys to the treasure-house of marital peace.
This blog is specifically written for ladies who are already familiar with the philosophy of Krsna consciousness and are willing to do whatever it takes to have peaceful, Krsna conscious marriages, virtually free from the painful element of quarrel.
After seeing my blog for the first time, a friend asked me the other day, "When did you write all those articles?" My answer is that I've been working on them for thirty years. Being an aspiring Vaisnavi, a full-time housewife, mother, and an assistant to my husband in business as well as on our small farm, my schedule has not lent itself very well to finding hours of time every day for writing. But I heard long ago that Srila Prabhupada repeated the old proverb “drops of water wear away a stone.” When his disciples balked at his order to publish seventeen volumes of Caitanya-caritamrta in two months, he told us that “impossible” is a word in a fool’s dictionary. So it's not impossible for a busy person to find time to write a book. Or a blog.
Srila Prabhupada accomplished much in his few short years with us. It’s practically mind-boggling to think that he published almost eighty books in the last twelve years of his life. He slept and ate little, and worked on his books mainly during the night. I personally have not been very good at giving up sleep in order to make time for writing. But I try to apply the motto “utility is the principle” by using opportune moments during my waking hours for running to the keyboard to peck out an idea, or if I am too far away from the computer, grabbing a quick second to jot down on paper a thought that pops into my head. By being disciplined in this way, I have found that I can make a little time each day (well, almost every day!) for writing. After all, didn’t Srila Prabhupada recommend to all his disciples that we should write every day? “Two lines, four lines, write your realizations.”
For those of you who are old friends, "Haribol" again. And for those of you whom I haven't met before, I am happy to be meeting you in the pages of this book. Please accept my humble pranams.
Hare Krsna. Here is one of my favorite Hindi blessings for those of you who are already married: Akhanda saubhagyavati bhava! I pray that your marriages be continually blessed with all auspiciousness. And for those of you who are still looking for a husband: Tumi accha vaisnava varmile! May you marry a good Vaisnava!
But the greatest blessing I can pray to Krsna to bestow upon you, my dear readers, is this: I pray that you transcend the bodily concept of life and return home to resume your eternal service at the lotus feet of the Lord. This shruti-phala is inspired by a dream I had years ago when I first started writing about the subject of marriage. In the dream, Srila Prabhupada appeared to me in a very serious mood. He did not speak to me by moving his lips, but rather, in a more subtle way. I could "hear" his words as though he were speaking from his mouth, though his mouth did not move. He communicated to me that if I were going to write about marriage, I should make sure that my readers transcend the bodily platform and return to the spiritual world. Now THAT'S a tall order! After that, he disappeared and I woke up. I was stunned. I have thought about this instruction many times over the years and wondered, "How can I fulfill this instruction of my beloved spiritual master? I have no qualification, nor am I ready myself to transcend the bodily platform and return to my eternal service in the spiritual world. So how can I help others to go back home, back to Godhead?
I feel that enthusiasm for hearing the holy names and for hearing transcendental subject matters is the key. Srila Prabhupada taught us that enthusiasm for hearing the holy names and scriptures like Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita daily can purify us and empower us in Krsna's service. Srila Prabhupada several times mentioned that his own Guru Maharaja Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura noted how our Srila Prabhupada, his beloved disciple, liked to hear about transcendental subjects. "I have noted him. He likes to hear." Our Srila Prabhupada pleased his spiritual master by his enthusiasm to hear, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in fact became so pleased with him that he blessed him and empowered him with incomparable shakti. Our Srila Prabhupada was thus able to perform unparalleled service at the lotus feet of his Guru Maharaja, and is responsible for the return of thousands of souls to their rightful place at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna, their eternal shelter.
Hare Krsna. Here is one of my favorite Hindi blessings for those of you who are already married: Akhanda saubhagyavati bhava! I pray that your marriages be continually blessed with all auspiciousness. And for those of you who are still looking for a husband: Tumi accha vaisnava varmile! May you marry a good Vaisnava!
But the greatest blessing I can pray to Krsna to bestow upon you, my dear readers, is this: I pray that you transcend the bodily concept of life and return home to resume your eternal service at the lotus feet of the Lord. This shruti-phala is inspired by a dream I had years ago when I first started writing about the subject of marriage. In the dream, Srila Prabhupada appeared to me in a very serious mood. He did not speak to me by moving his lips, but rather, in a more subtle way. I could "hear" his words as though he were speaking from his mouth, though his mouth did not move. He communicated to me that if I were going to write about marriage, I should make sure that my readers transcend the bodily platform and return to the spiritual world. Now THAT'S a tall order! After that, he disappeared and I woke up. I was stunned. I have thought about this instruction many times over the years and wondered, "How can I fulfill this instruction of my beloved spiritual master? I have no qualification, nor am I ready myself to transcend the bodily platform and return to my eternal service in the spiritual world. So how can I help others to go back home, back to Godhead?
I feel that enthusiasm for hearing the holy names and for hearing transcendental subject matters is the key. Srila Prabhupada taught us that enthusiasm for hearing the holy names and scriptures like Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita daily can purify us and empower us in Krsna's service. Srila Prabhupada several times mentioned that his own Guru Maharaja Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura noted how our Srila Prabhupada, his beloved disciple, liked to hear about transcendental subjects. "I have noted him. He likes to hear." Our Srila Prabhupada pleased his spiritual master by his enthusiasm to hear, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in fact became so pleased with him that he blessed him and empowered him with incomparable shakti. Our Srila Prabhupada was thus able to perform unparalleled service at the lotus feet of his Guru Maharaja, and is responsible for the return of thousands of souls to their rightful place at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna, their eternal shelter.
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