How can I be good to others in my life? How can I give up self-centered thinking? How can I become good for my parents? How I can become a good human being?

526184

Jayapataka Swami: Well, if consider that you are a devotee of Krsna, you develop all the good qualities of the devas. So it is easier to try to be a devotee. And if you learn to serve Krsna, naturally you give up being materially self-centered. And as a service to Krsna if you learn how to take care of your family, how to help them; if you feel grateful because of the help your parents gave you and you also want them to get back to Godhead. The best thing is that you can help your parents to get back to Krsna. So for us the easy way is to try to be a better devotee. Ultimately being good is a relative thing. Ei bhāla ei manda, saba manodharma: ‘This is good; this is bad, this is all mental concoction’. Caintanya Caritamrita says that sometime what we think is good, may be good in one person’s eye but in someone else’s vision, it is not good. But if we are good in Krsna’s eyes, in Krsna’s vision, then that’s absolutely good. And then from there we can behave nicely with everyone. So the Krsna devotees develop all the qualities of a sadhu.

HH Jayapataka Swami
Melbourne, January 2008