ISKCON of Silicon Valley: Art of Cooperation - HG Vaisesika Prabhu's Lecture Excerpts

Date: March 13th 2013

Topic: The Art of Cooperation

Speaker: HG Vaisesika Prabhu

Location: ISKCON of Silicon Valley

The word ‘Cooperation’ means ‘to work together’.
Cooperation is highly valued in this material world. In spiritual life also there is a high premium for cooperation.
Cooperation for serving Lord Krishna is very pleasing to Lord Krishna.
When we suspend our egoistic needs and are willing to cooperate, Lord Krishna is pleased. Example: Cooperation between Precatas. “The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear sons of the King, I am very much pleased by the friendly relationships among you. All of you are engaged in one occupation — devotional service. I am so pleased with your mutual friendship that I wish you all good fortune. Now you may ask a benediction of Me.” - SB 4.30.8
Real Unity is the unity of the individual souls attempting to satisfy the Supreme Lord.
Those who remember the Precatas every evening of every day will become friendly with their brothers and with all other living entities” - SB 4.30.9

Ability to cooperate in order to please Lord Krishna is synonymous with Bhakti!
We should be independently thoughtful and also cooperate with other devotees
Cooperation is automatic when there is trust
"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." – Henry Ford
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." Harry S Truman
If at least one person in the team has the deep desire to cooperate in order to please Krishna, that attitude is the starting point towards success.
The cycle of cooperation = dependence->independence->interdependence . This is usually seen in the lives of some devotee kids who are raised in Krishna consciousness since birth.

amanina mana dena - Look for one better quality in others & appreciate that quality. This was the assignment given to Duryodhana by Dronacarya, and he could not do it – finding somebody who is superior to him in some way. Duryodhana could not find anyone higher than him. Yudhistira on the other hand was told find somebody who is inferior to him. He also came back empty handed. Drona said "you are fit to rule the world."
yena tena prakarena,manah krsna nivesayat - First of all, think about Krsna, the rules come later.
anandamayo abhyasat - If we feel loved, then we feel happy. If we give love we feel even more happy.

Our real designation

Foundational principle of ISKCON is LOVE & TRUST
Renounce the anartha to get credit and notice how Lord Krishna reciprocates in a real big way.
If we are aware of the fact that Lord Krishna is the witness for all our activities, then who cares if others notice our service or not.
If someone is in a leadership role, then one should take credit for the sake of service. (Eg:HH Bhaktisiddhantha Saraswati Thakur Pastime in which he accepted glorification & Srila Prabhupad emphasizing himself as the Founder Acarya of ISKCON)
By cooperation with stomach all the parts of the body are nourished & happy otherwise they will be weakened.
Do not expect that in the Krishna Consciousness Society there will be Utopia. Visesha or variety is the wonderment of Lord Krishna’s creation. Everyone is an individual.
Our real designation is that we are neither the creator nor the enjoyer, but a cooperator.

“When there is fire in a house, the inmates of the house go out to get help from the neighbors who may be foreigners, and yet without knowing the language the victims of the fire express themselves, and the neighbors understand the need, even though not expressed in the same language. The same spirit of cooperation is needed to broadcast this transcendental message of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam throughout the polluted atmosphere of the world.” - Srila Prabhupad’s purport to SB 1.5.11
In gardening, HG Vaisesika Prabhu observed that different species when planted next to each other thrive. The more we are challenged during preaching, the more we become eager to hear, chant & associate.
Every organization needs a leader. Though it is a very difficult task for a Vaishnava to accept praise, he takes it as a service on behalf of his spiritual master. Vaishnava leader’s mood is like that of a viceroy who is honored as good as the king but he perfectly understands that every honor belongs to the king and it actually goes back to the King.

If we are living in an environment where everyone has a different goal then we should have open communication to understand the commonalities. For example, even if everyone in the family are not aiming to please Lord Krishna, the common goal could be to stay together to be safe and raise good children etc.
Unless we communicate we lose the cooperative spirit.
Take time of understand people.
Look for commonalities even if your mind always tends to look for differences.
Try to find the commonalities at a level where you can harmonize.
Cooperation for mutual benefit is possible when there is open communication and we try to understand the other person.
When we give up the selfish desire for recognition then there is a sense of freedom.
If we consciously give up selfish motive then we will naturally love others.
Selfless cooperation is not based on neglecting your own needs, but it is based on making a conscious choice to voluntarily cooperate at a higher level.

The highest principle of cooperation

Lord Caitianya’s advice is to associate very intimately with like-minded devotees who are more advanced than oneself.
Narada instructed the principles of cooperation to Dhruva in SB 4.8.34 - “Every man should act like this: when he meets a person more qualified than himself, he should be very pleased; when he meets someone less qualified than himself, he should be compassionate toward him; and when he meets someone equal to himself, he should make friendship with him. In this way one is never affected by the threefold miseries of this material world.” .
Ultimately, the highest principle of cooperation is Sarva dharman parityajya – surrendering to the Lord.
A fanatic is simple minded. But a mahatma sees the nuances and still appreciates on spiritual level. Lord Krishna is not a religious fanatic who says , “you surrender otherwise no option”, He gives choice.
Deeper cooperation means intense love.

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