What can be more enlivening than to collect flowers
for Krishna and His pure devotees and make beautiful garlands and bouquets of
them with love and devotion? Radhanatha Swami explains in his lecture (Krishna accepts flowers 20.5.2009) that
so simple service as making a garland for Krishna can give us the highest
perfection if we do it purely. He tells that every flower that we string on the
mala should be an offering of our love, our devotion to Krishna. Not that we
will collect flowers and make garlands mechanically or with impure thoughts,
but we should give our whole heart for the process. Our only purpose should be
to give pleasure for Krishna just like Krishna’s close associates are doing in
Goloka Vrindavan. Srimati Radharani, the most beloved associate of Lord Sri
Krishna, is picking flowers and making garlands for Lord Krishna every day for
all of eternity. Who can love Krishna so much than Radharani? Our love is
nothing compared to that, but still by the mercy of Lord Krishna and His pure
devotees, Krishna can accept our sincere efforts to serve Him, and on that way
give us the greatest benediction. It is stated in The Teachings of Lord Kapila (7.12) that ‘’When a devotee with all his
heart and soul serves Kṛṣṇa, dresses Him in nice
garments and gives Him a flower, Kṛṣṇa smiles. If you can get Kṛṣṇa to smile upon you just once, your life’s goal is fulfilled.’’ Flowers are indeed often said to
be the smile of the Lord.
In his lecture Radhanatha Swami nicely compares
devotees with the garland flowers. Just like all flowers are unique, all
devotees are also unique. Just like all flowers are precious, all devotees are
also precious. All flowers have their special fragrance, color, and form, and
all have their own place and role in the garland. All devotees also have their
special places and roles in the service of the Lord. Not that some devotees are
better or more important than others in absolute terms. No. Everybody is
important and everybody appreciates and supports the value and greatness of
others. That is what is pleasing Krishna. Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan mission is
like a universal garland, which reconnect all living beings in the service and
glorification of Lord. It helps everybody to get reconnected with the Lord and
become His pure devotees. Lord Caitanya taught in His Śikṣāṣṭaka (3) the
pure method of chanting: ‘’One should chant the holy
name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the
straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all
sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others." This
mood will give sankirtan garland the utmost color and flavor.
Satsvarupa Maharaja writes in his
article ’’Wild Flowers’’ (23.3.2010)
that many wild flowers are growing in Vrindavana, and some of them, like kadambas
and karnikara, are unique only for Goloka (more about Vedic flowers: http://www.flowersofindia.net/mythology.html).
Satsvarupa Maharaja points out that all flowers remain always fresh and sweet
smelling in Vraja, and that this distinguishes them from the flowers in the
material world. This is an important remark, because everything in this
material world is temporary and is destined to suffer from the threefold miseries. In other words the miseries arising from the body and the mind, miseries arising
from dealings with other living entities, and miseries arising from natural
disturbances. Just like human
beings, also flowers are destined to suffer these kinds of miseries. One can
feel sorry for plucking flowers. They may be much happier in their natural
environment, or they may feel pain when they are cut or plucked with their
roots. Anyway all flowers that are collected for Krishna are very fortunate,
because on that way they can best serve Krishna in their material constitution.
Out of many millions flowers, just those flowers that are collected, can get
this kind of benediction. Once one devotee, Sanka Das, asked from Srila
Prabhupada, "What benefit will all these flowers get when they're are
offered to you?" Srila Prabhupada replied, "Every flower that you
offer to Krishna or the spiritual master, the plant that produced the flower
becomes a human being in his next life.’’ (The
Prabhupada Connection, memories #75). This proves how auspicious it is even
for flowers to serve Guru and Krishna, what to speak about us. Collecting and offering
flowers to Guru and Krishna can be compared to our surrendering to Guru and
Krishna. First it can feel painful due to our deep material roots and
attachments, but eventually everything is for our ultimate happiness and
ultimate happiness of Krishna.
