Happy Kartika: Even A Mouse Get’s Mercy

“In a temple of Lord Visnu, there lived a mouse that daily ate the ghee from the extinguished ghee lamps, which had been offered to the Lord. One day when the mouse felt hungry, she tried to eat the ghee from a lamp that was not yet extinguished. While nibbling at the lamp, the cotton wick got stuck in her teeth. Since the ghee wick was still ablaze, the mouse, feeling the heat, started jumping up and down on the altar in front of the Deity; soon afterwards she died from the fire.

The all-merciful Lord Sri Visnu seeing the mouse jumping before Him with a lamp, assumed that she was offering Him aratik. Out of gratitude, He rewarded her with and exalted human birth in her next life from which she made further progress and then went back to Godhead.”

So, who will neglect the great opportunity to make progress in spiritual life, when even an insignificant mouse becamethe recipient of the Lord’s mercy by inadvertently offering a flaming ghee wick to the Lord?

During the month of Kartik, observed from October 5th to the 3rd of November, anyone who invests a few moments of their valuable time to worship Lord Krishna by simply offering a ghee lamp, becomes the recipient of tremendous blessing.

Please consider this auspicious time for making a sacrifice towards the ongoing construction of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium in Sridhama Mayapur, the most important of all ISKCON projects. Consider a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sponsor one or both of the Chakra abhisheka’s during Their installation ceremony on February 7th, 2018. Read more here.

In the Skanda Purana, it is said :

“Text 99 ~ “When one offers a lamp during the month of Karttika, his sins in many thousands and millions of births perish in half an eye blink.”

Text 100 ~ It is further said : “Please hear the glories of offering a lamp during Kartika which is pleasing to Lord Kesava. O King of brahmanas, a person who offers a lamp in this way will not take birth again in this world.”

Text 101 ~ “By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one attains a pious result ten million times greater than the result obtained by bathing at Kuruksetra during a solar eclipse or by bathing in the River Narmada during a lunar eclipse.”

Text 102 ~ “O Tiger of sages, for a person who thus offers a lamp burning with ghee or sesame oil, what is the use of performing an asvamedha yajna?”

Text 103 ~ “Even if there are no mantras, no pious deeds, and no purity, everything becomes perfect when a person offers a lamp during the month of Karttika.”

Text 104 ~ “A person who during the month of Karttika offers a lamp to Lord Kesava has already performed all yajnas and bathing in all holy rivers.”

Text 107 ~ The ancestors say : “When someone in our family pleases Lord Kesava by offering to Him a lamp during the month of Karttika, then, by the mercy of the Lord who holds the Sudarsana Cakra in His Hand, we will all attain liberation. Narada, no sin exists anywhere in the three worlds that will not be purified by offering a lamp to Lord Kesava during Karttika.”

Text 108 ~ It is further said : “By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one burns a way a collection of sins as big as Mount Meru or Mount Mandara. Of this there is no doubt.”

Text 111 ~ “A person who offers a lamp during the month of Karttika attains a result that cannot be obtained with even a one hundred yajnas or one hundred pilgrimages.”

Text 112 ~ “Even a person addicted to all sins and averse to all pious deeds who somehow offers a lamp during Karttika becomes purified. Of this there is no doubt.”

Text 114 ~ “A person who offers a lamp to Lord Krishna during Karttika attains the eternal spiritual world where there is no suffering.”

Text 120 ~ “As fire is present in all wood and may be extracted by friction, so piety is always present in the offering of a lamp during the month of Karttika. Of this there is no doubt.”

Text 121 ~ It is further said : “O King of brahmanas, when someone offers Him a lamp on the full moon day of the month of Karttika, Lord Krishna, finding that He does not have sufficient money to repay that gift, gives Himself in exchange for that lamp.”

In the Padma Purana it is said :

“One who offers a steady lamp to Lord Hari during the month of Karttika enjoys pastimes in Lord Hari’s splendid spiritual world.” In the month of Karttika, one should worship Lord Damodara and daily recite the prayer known as Damodarastaka, which has been spoken by the sage Satyavrata Muni and which attracts Lord Damodara.”

Sri Hari Bhakti Vilasa 02.16.198

And don’t forget to always chant: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare