Tag: bhagavad gita

The Hare Krishnas are not pessimistic, optimistic, or realistic – we are simply joyful!

Are the Hare Krishnas pessmistic? Are they realistic? Why do they keep talking about death and the futility of the material pursuit? Could it be, could they be, simply… joyful?

Brajanath Das, 20th February 2017

Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances!
All glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Srila Gurudeva!

Please help me to how to explain if someone says that the Hare Krishnas are not realistic but pessimistic

your servant
Brajanath das

Bhaktarupa Das, 21st February 2017

Dear Brajanath Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

You have asked what if someone questions why Hare Krishna’s are pessimistic. You wanted to explain to them that we are realistic and not pessimistic.

One of the dictionary meaning of “pessimistic” is
“tending to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen”.

Dictionary meaning of “optimistic” is
“hopeful and confident about the future.”

If we introspect ourselves, as devotees we follow the regulative principles and chant at least 16 rounds of mahamantra every day.
Generally for non-devotees, following them every day is very austere and difficult. In fact even for devotees in the beginning it is very austere and difficult. But still why do we try to follow them strictly? If there is no benefit in doing so, why do we still do it? The fact is there is immense benefit.

A student who is serious to graduate from school, undergoes severe austerities in studying the subjects thoroughly by spending long hours, sacrificing other recreational activities like watching movies, TV, passing time in browsing internet, Facebook, whats-app, etc. which the student would have engaged in these recreational activities if not serious about graduating from the school. Such taking up of austerities by the student should be criticized as being pessimistic? or appreciate the student as being optimistic who spends time in recreational activities by neglecting to prepare for the graduation?

The sincere student who takes up austerities for graduating is the one who is actually optimistic about the life. The student sees a very bright future and enjoy bigger happiness by taking up these austerities. But the student who does not see the value of graduating from school and spends time in immediate recreational activities is the one who is actually pessimistic. Because the student is pessimistic, looks for all those things that can give immediate sense enjoyments rather than taking up austerities now for a bigger and lasting happiness in the future.

Similarly we “sadhakas” or practicing devotees, also take up austerities now because we are optimistic about our future. We wanted to taste lasting happiness, we realize that the happiness or pleasures provided by the immediate recreational activities did not give us lasting happiness, which every one of us are looking for. This is the exact same thing Lord Sri Krishna and the saintly devotees in the line of disciplic succession are teaching us. We are infected with the disease of ignorance, which hides our original identity, nature and relationships. They teach us on how to get rid of the disease and rise above and situate in the platform of pure last happiness. That process is called Krishna Consciousness. In the beginning these austerities might seem to be very bitter. But Krishna explains that happiness which is bitter in the beginning and becomes nectar in the end is in the mode of goodness. Scriptures explain that this is called “shreyas”, but that happiness which is like nectar in the beginning and becomes bitter in the end is in the mode of passion, called as “preyas”. The sense pleasures provided by the recreational activities are in the mode of passion. It will appear nectar in the beginning but it will turn to be bitter or even poison in the end.

Optimistic people take up austerities to obtain lasting happiness; but pessimistic people settle with immediate temporary pleasures, not seeing the optimistic future. Therefore the Hare Krishna devotees are not only realistic but in fact they are optimistic.

Hare Krishna!

your servant,
Bhaktarupa Das

Dra Varni, 21st February

Hare Krsna!!! Very optimistic, destination and a vehicle for departure. dra

Dra Varni

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 22nd February 2017

Dear Brajanath Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you for the question, and a rare and wonderful response from Bhaktarupa Prabhu! Thank you!

Such questions really should be answered in the same vein as they are asked – most people asking such questions about Hare Krishnas are really not serious about understanding spiritual life – why should we justify anything to anyone? We don’t owe casual askers anything. When someone is serious, then they ask questions differently, and they accompany their question with actions too, trying to do something about their spiritual progress. So we should know when to answer and when not to answer directly.

Actually, we are truly pessimistic about anyone’s chances in the material world, everyone who was born in the material world eventually dies. And everyone who tries to make some nice situation here fails, at minimum, at death, but mostly everyone fails at other times too. We challenge anyone on this point – so many empires have come and gone, so many people have come and gone, so many great people are totally forgotten – what is the value of material efforts? Zero, it all comes to nought.

And we are immensely optimistic about Krishna’s mercy, in fact, we are not just optimistic, but we are experiencing it every day, so we have got direct confidence by personal experience.

The best answer I got to such questions was “try it and see for yourself”. If someone chants Hare Krishna even just once they will benefit more than anything I can say to them for all my lifetime:

https://www.vedabase.com/bg/9/2

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ
su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed. BG 9.2

Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport:

“Generally, people are not educated in this confidential knowledge; they are educated in external knowledge. As far as ordinary education is concerned, people are involved with so many departments: politics, sociology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, etc. There are so many departments of knowledge all over the world and many huge universities, but there is, unfortunately, no university or educational institution where the science of the spirit soul is instructed. Yet the soul is the most important part of the body; without the presence of the soul, the body has no value. Still people are placing great stress on the bodily necessities of life, not caring for the vital soul.”

Then he writes: “It is said that the execution of devotional service is so perfect that one can perceive the results directly. This direct result is actually perceived, and we have practical experience that any person who is chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) in course of chanting without offenses feels some transcendental pleasure and very quickly becomes purified of all material contamination. This is actually seen. Furthermore, if one engages not only in hearing but in trying to broadcast the message of devotional activities as well, or if he engages himself in helping the missionary activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gradually feels spiritual progress. This advancement in spiritual life does not depend on any kind of previous education or qualification. The method itself is so pure that by simply engaging in it one becomes pure.”

And finally, to conclude (purport continues but for this point – this is sufficient):

“The process of devotional service is a very happy one (su-sukham). Why? Devotional service consists of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, so one can simply hear the chanting of the glories of the Lord or can attend philosophical lectures on transcendental knowledge given by authorized ācāryas. Simply by sitting, one can learn; then one can eat the remnants of the food offered to God, nice palatable dishes. In every state devotional service is joyful. One can execute devotional service even in the most poverty-stricken condition. The Lord says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam: He is ready to accept from the devotee any kind of offering, never mind what. Even a leaf, a flower, a bit of fruit, or a little water, which are all available in every part of the world, can be offered by any person, regardless of social position, and will be accepted if offered with love. There are many instances in history. Simply by tasting the tulasī leaves offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, great sages like Sanat-kumāra became great devotees. Therefore the devotional process is very nice, and it can be executed in a happy mood. God accepts only the love with which things are offered to Him.”

We are not even realistic, we are simply joyful! 🙂

Srila Prabhupada’s final words in that purport?

“Thus the process of devotional service, of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is the king of all education and the king of all confidential knowledge. It is the purest form of religion, and it can be executed joyfully without difficulty. Therefore one should adopt it.”

your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das

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Bible and Bhagavad-gita

A discussion on the similarities and differences between the Bhagavad Gita and the Holy Bible…

Kaspars, 06 August 2016

Dear devotees.
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Gurumata.

Yesterday I was reading Bible and found an amazing similarity with Bhagavad gita. Every text of these quotes, goes in the same meanings and in the same order. Further in both scriptures, devotional service is explained. What do you think about it?

Bible Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. 3 You turn man back into dust And say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night. 5 You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. 6 In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades and withers away. 7 For we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed.

Bhagavad gita Chapter 8

8.15 — After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.
8.16 — From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.
8.17 — By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together form the duration of Brahmā’s one day. And such also is the duration of his night.
8.18 — At the beginning of Brahmā’s day, all living entities become manifest from the unmanifest state, and thereafter, when the night falls, they are merged into the unmanifest again.
8.19 — Again and again, when Brahmā’s day arrives, all living entities come into being, and with the arrival of Brahmā’s night they are helplessly annihilated.

Hare Krishna
Thank you.
Kaspars

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 08 August 2016

Dear Kaspars,

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories unto Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you for this nice reflection.

There are some similarities and differences too, for example, the reference to thousand years in Moses’ prayer and thousand ages in Krishna’s precise instruction, are quite different in their meaning.

Once we read Srila Prabhupada’s books though, we begin to see all scriptures in the light of Srila Prabhupada’s purports.
I began studying The Holy Bible when I was 10 years of age, and I did a very detailed course with Q&A reviewed by teachers etc., and I have come across so many wonderful passages from the Bible over the years also.

But I understood more from all the scriptures (Vedic and otherwise) I had read after I read Srila Prabhupada’s books. And I got a very non-sectarian understanding of religion, so much so that I have begun to say whenever someone asks me which religion I follow, that “I am past the labels at this point”, which typically leads to a positive discussion in more togetherness.

Consequently now though, having seen that the Vedic scriptures are the source of all the scriptures in the world, I don’t spend time studying other scriptures, but focus my energies on studying Srila Prabhupada’s books in a deeper way.

Other devotees should contribute their reflections and perspectives to make this a rich and useful conversation.

your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das

Nikhil Mishra, 8 August 2016

Hare Krsna Kaspars Prabhu

Thats indeed a very nice comparison. And i am sure, you will end up finding many many other similarities if you research more.
Long time back, i read Paramhamsa Yogananda ji and he also compares Bible and Gita beautifully.

Srila prabhupada as well as Srila gurudeva says, essence of all religions is to know and love God .So you see , to a sincere seeker like you, lines of Holy Bible are making so much sense .

Wishing you more bhakti(devotion) and Gyan(knowledge) and begging the same for me..

Hari bol. Praise the Lord.

Nikhil

Kaspars Gulbis, 09 August 2016

Dear Mahabhagavat Prabhu.
Hare Krishna.
Athough there are difference between thousand years and thousand ages, still the way they are compared… like a one day to God, and then again, to night. Every text and meanings goes in the same order in both scriptures, and I understand from this, that Moses knew Bhagavad gita. Its obvious.

As Prabhupada said, Bible is like small pocket dictionary, Bhagavad gita and Srimad Bhagavatam is like big dictionary, where every smallest thing is explained. We now can actually understand Bible better. I think nothing bad reading Bible. With the mercy and help of our beloved Gurudev and Prabhupada, we can now understand the true meaning of scripture. As our Gurudev teaches, we can remain in our religions, and with the help of Krishna consciousness, we can be better Christians, better Muslims, better Buddhists. The universal principle of love of God still remains the same. In one of the recent Thought for The Day Gurudev declared, that he is actually a Christian, who is following the will of God, and that was especially important sign to me personally, because I want to remain close contact with Cristianity and Christians, and Jesus. Because was not Jesus, we would be nowhere. Mlechas would be nowhere. Jesus is the way. Christianity shows the way of holy life, they teach that there IS God. And from that we can ask, Who is God? I think many people then are curious, if there is God, how does He look like. And true Christians with open heart will deffinetely meet a devotee with Prabhupadas books. And I heard a story that one Cristian has actually seen Paramatma as we just know from our books. And now this Cristian would offer full dandavats if he sees Harinama party singing, even if it is raining, wet and dirty ground.

Please comment.
Everyone is welcome to say something.

Thank you
Kaspars

Chenthil Piruthu, 09 August 2016

Respected Kaspars Prabhu

Hare Krishna.

Thank you so much for your mail, your conviction is truly inspirational.

Thanks,
Chenthil.

Premananda das, 09 August 2016

Hare Krsna Bhakta Kaspars
Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Gurudeva
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Whether one is a Christian,Hindu,Muslim,Jain,Buddist etc the essence of religion is to become a lover of God.The original constitutional position of living entitiy is to be a servant of servant of servant of the servant of Krsna.Krsna has unlimited names and incarnates in many forms like Rama,Nrsimha,Vishnu,Vamana ,Varaha,etc but the original form is the beautiful form of Krsna a blusih boy with two -handed form and playing a flute.In Brahma-samhita Lord Brahma mentions that Krsna is original cause of all the causes and has an eternal body full of knowledge and bliss.He is unborn,original and maintainer of all living entities.
In Bhagavat Gita 8..14 it is mentioned Krsna has various plenary expansions and incarnations such as Rama,Nrisimha ,Varaha etc and a devotee can choose to fix his mind in loving service on any of his transcendental forms of the Supreme Lord ,such a devotee does not meet other problems that plague the practitioners of other yogas.Bhakti yoga is very simple,pure and easy to perform.It starts with simply chanting Hare Krsna.It is mentioned that the lord is merciful to all but one who serves Him with exclusive devotion without deviation is helped by Krsna.
A pure devotee can not forget Krsna for a moment and similarly the Supreme lord cannot forget His pure devotees for a moment.
This is the great blessings of Krsna conscious process that by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra-Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare one becomes freed from all material contamination and attains to his natural position as a servitor to Krsna.

your servant
Premananda Das

Kaspars Gulbis, 09 August 2016

Thank You, Chenthil Prabhu,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Yes lets try to share some inspiration when ever this is possible. May our Gurudev be pleased. I think every one of us has some story, lets share in this group and discuss..

With love
Kaspars

Kaspars Gulbis, 09 August 2016

Thank You Premananda Prabhu,

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
This is wonderful short inspirational essence explained by you, to know who we are, to know who God is, original God Krishna, in His various forms, and wonderful process of chanting His names.

Thank you
Kaspars

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 09 August 2016

Dear Kaspars,

Hare Krishna!

You are right about Lord Jesus Christ, if you recall, he helped me a lot and is helping me to this day 🙂 Srila Prabhupada mentions him as a Shaktyavesha Avataar, or empowered incarnation of God.

“Now, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, perhaps in the Third Chapter in the First Canto, you’ll find there is description of different incarnations, principal incarnations—not all the incarnations, principal, in different yugas. So in that list of incarnations you’ll find Lord Kṛṣṇa’s name also, Lord Rāma’s name also, Lord Buddha’s name also. Lord Buddha is mentioned in that list. So we, Vaiṣṇavite, we respect Lord Buddha as incarnation, incarnation. So do not think that the Hindus, they have got disregard for Lord Buddha or for Lord Jesus Christ. No. They have all regard. Anyone who comes as representative of God, or as God, as powerful incarnation, they are all welcome. According to time, according to place, according to the audience, they may speak, speak something which is, which may be different from the Vedic conclusion, but they are accepted as powerful incarnations. ” Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.154-157 — New York, December 7, 1966

Srila Prabhupada and the other Acharyas in disciplic succession from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are for everyone, including myself, who could easily be seen as worse than a mleccha (uncultured uncivilized person who does things like kill the mother cow).

I do agree with you in general, but there is no authoritative information to agree on the details at this point. For example, the 1000 ages Krishna mentions are not even a day of “God”, they are simply one day of Brahma, who is not God – God’s time scale has no days and no nights, simply the eternal ever-present. We do accept that all great prophets and teachers around the world across ages know the same Absolute Truth in varying degrees of understanding, realization, and detail.

Re “It is obvious”, we don’t argue on the basis of personal opinions in this tradition. We can certainly accept that certain devotees have certain realizations, and we don’t begrudge them their realizations, but that is not always accepted as the Parampara understanding of a particular situation.

I am not saying someone should not do this or that – you please do as your spiritual master instructs you. I was simply expressing my own situation. My spiritual master has instructed me to carefully study Srila Prabhupada’s books and share them with the whole world, and I feel that this one lifetime will not be enough for that purpose. If, during that attempt and process, I get to read certain other sacred texts, wonderful.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Jayendran C, 10 August 2016

Hare Krishna Kaspar prabhu
Dandavats Pranams

All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to the assembled devotees
I have attached an excerpt from Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava which depicts Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakuras, views on the Bible and Christianity . I hope this adds constructively to the discussion.

“Christ’s message in its pristine and fully blossomed form is included in Lord Caitanya’s philosophy, for Mahāprabhu’s gifts are of an altogether higher dimension than the acceptance of God’s existence, the promises of reward and threats of punishment, and the moral injunctions that form the basis of Christianity; and whereas Christianity expounds the fatherhood of Godhead, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava dharma goes further, to the transcendental son-hood and consort-hood of Godhead.

Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura described that to consider the Lord our parent entails “the rotten concept that He is our servitor and we the enjoyers.”. As he told the challenging Professor Suthers, “We claim to be greater and better Christians than Westerners.”While lauding Jesus as a śaktyāveśa-avatāra3who “did not teach the ‘eat, drink, and be merry’business,”
Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura clearly delineated the superior position of Gaura-bhaktas over that of Lord Jesus: In the Western countries, Christians believe that the magnanimous Lord Jesus Christ is the only guru, who appeared in this world to accept the burden of all sins of the jīvas. But associates of Śrī Gaura like Śrī Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura and Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura are unlimitedly millions of times more advanced and liberal than Jesus Christ, because they taught Vaiṣṇava prema-bhāva to benefit all people in the universe.

In Śrī Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura, selflessness by relinquishing mundane self-interest, and others’ and one’s own spiritual welfare in the form of serving Viṣṇu, are superbly harmonized. Recognizing Śrī Gaurasundara as the ultimate reality devoid of all illusion and the original Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva Datta bore on his shoulders the burden of the material disease of all jīvas—their indifference to Kṛṣṇa—and not only their sins, but superlatively more formidable, their multitudinous terrible offenses. Thus he sincerely prayed with mind, body, and words to free the jīvas from the malady of material existence. This example of compassion is far beyond the imagination of the greatest karmīs and jñānīs, not only in this world, but in all the fourteen worlds. Since the jīvas, prone to violence because of seeing differences arising from false identity due to illusion, revere and idealize karma and jñāna in the world of duality, most of them become bad karmīs and bad jñānīs. On hearing of the desire of Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura, the servant of the spiritual world, to suffer in hell for these jīvas, such persons, who are impelled by innate malice and a dualistic outlook, give him great respect, seeing him as a regular pious karmī or jñānī. But Datta Ṭhākura’s compassion for the jīvas is unlimitedly millions of times greater than that conceivable by bad karmīs and bad jñānīs. This is not highly prejudiced exaggeration or interpretation, but straightforward elucidation of the truth. Verily, the world is blessed by the coming of such servants of Gaura, by whom not just this earth, but all jīvas everywhere, have become fortunate. Eloquent speakers’ tongues reach perfection by glorifying the qualities of such devotees of Lord Caitanya. And the pens of poets and historians who have forsaken mundane research attain their highest success in describing the qualities of these mahā-bhāgavatas imbued with selfless devotion to the Lord. Such is the “greatness among greats”and “gloriousness among the glorious”of the servants of the abundantly magnanimous Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī detected the flaw in philosophically attempting either to humanize God or deify man, which albeit present in perverted Hinduism in a conceptually quite different manner, was the very foundation of Christianity. When some Christian priests proposed to him that mādhurya-rasa is also an aspect of Christianity, as evidenced by those medieval mystics who sought unity with Christ as their bridegroom, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī rejected that claim, for such esoteric endeavors were focused on the son of Godhead rather than directly on the Supreme Lord Himself. Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura shed the light of Gauḍīya siddhānta on certain Biblical teachings. He equated Jesus’ famous submission “Thy will be done,”spoken from the position of a devotee, to the similarly well-known conclusion of Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (Abandon all varieties of dharma and just surrender unto Me), uttered from the standpoint of Godhead. He cited Biblical instructions to chant the names of God as being in accord with the saṅkīrtana movement, and stated that if offered in unmixed devotion, church prayers are also kīrtana. He deemed the supplication “Give us our daily bread”as being far from true devotion, for God should not be regarded as a servitor to be called upon to provide corporal demands; rather, one should request food for the soul. He would often quote the commandment “Do not take the name of the Lord in vain”and comment that it had been misinterpreted by “pseudo-teachers”; God should not be called upon for supplying temporal needs, and thus to not take His name in vain means to chant without anyābhilāṣa (motive other than pure devotion): Pure devotees do not chant the Lord’s names to counteract sinful reactions, accumulate piety, or attain supernal pleasures, nor to mitigate famine, pestilence, social unrest, civil insurrection, or disease, nor to obtain wealth, an earthly kingdom, or any other object of personal enjoyment.

Since the name of Bhagavān is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to ask Him to fulfil our wishes is to consider Him, the supremely worshipable, our servant. This is an offense. Therefore, calling the Lord’s names for any reason other than to attain His devotional service is useless. Jesus Christ told us not to take the Lord’s name in vain, or uselessly. Yet this doesn’t mean that we do not need to chant the Lord’s names constantly—while sleeping, while dreaming, while eating, or when walking about. To chant the Lord’s name, begging for His service, is not a useless activity; it is our only duty. But to make a show of chanting for some other purpose, for actualizing our own desires, is useless. We should not take up chanting the Lord’s names in vain. We should not chant to attain dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa. Instead, we should always chant to attain service to Bhagavān. Do not chant the name for elevation or salvation, whereby you will entangle yourself instead of attaining service to the Absolute.

In Christians’ emphasis on mundane charitable works, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī perceived ignorance of the rudimentary spiritual principle of difference between body and soul. And he detected aversion to Godhead in the concept of a Beelzebub, or a rival of Godhead. He declared that hearing and chanting of Hari-kathā is the actual method for purgation of sins, and that the Western system of confession is hypocritical.He stated that through the misconceptions that there can be only one guru in the total course of history, and that the soul has only one birth, Semites had introduced many obstacles to legitimate spiritual understanding, and that such misunderstandings must be dispelled.* He also warned that if the semitic psychology, represented by the notion of an undefinable Supreme Being, was tantamount to asserting that God is formless, then it struck at the very root of all genuine spiritual activity.10 Similarly, he found a whiff of voidism in the Christian doctrine of creation ex nihilo. And in a letter sent to Saṁvidānanda Prabhu in London, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī confided that because the outlook of Westerners was based one hundred percent on sense enjoyment, their belief in God was not solid, but tenuous and blurred.

The Harmonist analyzed Christianity and mundane empiricism as concordant, inasmuch as both “justify the life of refined eating and drinking,” and also deemed: “The Bible contains some indirect references to transcendence hopelessly mixed up with precepts of mundane ethical expediency.” Further: The questions that will require to be discussed in connection with the teaching of the Bible, as it is current among the Christians of our day, will be as follows: Nebulous conception of the Personality of Godhead. Mundane and numerically limited conception of saviorship (guru). Confusion between conditioned and free spiritual functions. Overvaluation of hollow mundane morality. Confusion between so-called moral and spiritual conduct. Mundane organization of the Christian church. Superstitious rituals and doctrines opposed to philosophical and scientific experience.

Circa 1903 Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī was traveling with Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura by train from Ranaghat to Krishnanagar when a Christian dignitary, Reverend Butler, entered their coach. Seeing the japa-mālās in their hands he inquired about their identity, to which Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī replied, “Like you, we are missionaries. We are preachers of Śrī Caitanya’s dharma.”Immediately the priest challenged that the dharma of Śrī Caitanya consisted of idol worship and taking the Lord’s name in vain. After hearing Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī’s protracted response, Reverend Butler declared that previously he had discussed the same topics with many reputed paṇḍitas and religious leaders of Navadvīpa, but unlike Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī, none had been able to give an intelligent response.When told that no one in Vṛndāvana could proffer a satisfactory rebuttal to a visiting Christian priest who had accused Kṛṣṇa of flouting Vedic principles by dancing with others’ wives, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī commented that Vṛndāvana is inhabited by neophyte devotees. Christians who came in contact with Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism tended to become perplexed at how a doctrine so theistic and devotional could yet be founded on what they considered indelicate tales of the adulterous liaison between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. They invariably made the seminal miscalculation of ascribing the abysmal condition of contemporary Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava dharma to an intrinsic amorality, an opinion that modern-thinking Hindus typically dittoed. Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and his followers invested tremendous energy to refute such claims and establish Kṛṣṇa’s purity as far beyond that imaginable by mundane moralists, whose insistence that Godhead must conform to behavioral standards was actually an impertinent imposition on His absolute freedom. “

your servant,
Jayendran

Kaspars Gulbis, 11 August 2016

Dear Jayendran Prabhu

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Reading your wonderful explanation I got Perfect understanding of bad faults in so called Christianity, and understood, many good ideas how to improove in pure devotional motives, attitude, pure prayer, pure devotional actions, and many subtle details.

Thank you so much.
Kaspars

Jayendran C, 22 August 2016

Hare Krishna Kaspers prabhu,

This was one of the excerpts I distinctly remembered that we had read in our local center on the occassion of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswat Thakur’s appearance day. All glories to HH Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura and HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami who compiled all this ! 🙂

your servant,
Jayendran

Kaspars Gulbis, 23 August 2016

Dear Nikhil

Hare Krishna

Thanks for your inspiring words, encouragement and blessings, your words means so much to me.

Thank you
Kaspars

Bhakta Sunil, 23 August 2016

Hare Krishna dear Kaspars Prabhu,

Please accept my humble respects,
All Glories to Vaishnavas,

Nice points you noticed and nice answers too,

Jesus Christ is a great Vaishnava, thus we notice so many similarities between the Scriptures,

In this connection , i would like to share a very recent “thought for the day” of 2nd August 2016, via http://www.backtohome.com which helps us to understand Jesus Christ’s teachings in it’s original pure form including the knowledge which Jesus has not revealed yet :

—

Which Path to Follow?
uploaded from ISKCON Austin, Texas USA

Often times people are baffled in their attempt to understand which path they should follow. But the answer is very simple. In which scriptures has God most fully revealed Himself? In the Bible Jesus says that there is more knowledge that he has not revealed yet. But in the Bhagavad-gita 7.2 Krishna says, “

jñānaṁ te ‘haṁ sa-vijñānam
idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ
yaj jñātvā neha bhūyo ‘nyaj
jñātavyam avaśiṣyate

“I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and numinous. This being known, nothing further shall remain for you to know.”

There are no scriptures in the world in which God is more fully revealed than in the Vedic wisdom. From the Vedas we learn about His names, His qualities, His pastimes, His abode, His associates, etc. No other scriptures give us such complete information. So considering this, it doesn’t take half a brain to understand that one should obviously follow the path of the Vedas, which culminate in understanding the Supreme Lord as Krishna, if he wants to have the highest level understanding and realization of God.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Sincerely,
Bhakta Sunil

Please subscribe to daily inspirational emails from His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari (Writings and lectures archived at www.sda-archives.com), written fresh every day from his travels around the world sharing the highest spiritual knowledge with everyone. Sign up now at www.joincourse.com

There is life everywhere in the Universe (and beyond)

Can life exist in other environments? Does life exist only on this planet and exactly as we know it? Could there be life on other planets? Are there of bodies that survive in harsh (to us humans) environments?

Recently, I came across a a piece that said something like “scientists have discovered a planet orbiting a star that may have conditions favorable for life”.

There’s an implicit assumption there, which says “life exists only on this one planet that we inhabit, and only in the ways we know”. This is a very myopic understanding. Why is that, you ask?

नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।

न चैनं क्ल‍ेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥ २३ ॥

The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.

Bhagavad Gita 2.23

Because life is actually spiritual in nature, and spirit souls have no need for any specific material circumstances to exist. Only bodies do.

भूमिरापोऽनलो वायु: खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥ ४ ॥

bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego – all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.

अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् ।

जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥ ५ ॥

apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat

Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.

Bhagavad Gita 7.4-5

Souls can inhabit any type of body according to their “karmic earnings” – just like one person can afford to live in an expensive penthouse suite in a desirable location, another one in a sprawling estate, yet another in a shared apartment in a dilapidated building in an unsavory part of town, and yet another one has to just sleep on the side of the street.

Our bodies (I’m talking about human bodies here) consist primarily of water, about 50-75% water. There are also a lot of dissolved gases in there and many materials that qualify as “earth”. Our bodies take up some space, and for anyone who knows about all the amazing chemical reactions taking place inside, there is definitely “fire” inside our bodies too. But in our bodies, there is the mind, the intelligence, and the sense of identity.

And the spirit soul inhabits this body made of the material elements.

If you logically consider this, you will see that there could be bodies made predominantly of earth, very little water. There are gigantic bodies that take up a lot of space, and bodies that can hardly be seen under a microscope. Living entities can exist even where we cannot. Here is an example… deep within the earth, where there is no light, very little water, very high temperature, living entities still exist, “teeming with life” this article says. http://www.geologyin.com/2018/12/scientists-reveal-massive-biosphere-of.html

Why then would one assume that a body cannot exist without hydrocarbons or oxygen or a “comfortable temperature”? We may not be able to detect such a body ourselves with our current limited instruments, but logically, why should the presence or absence of certain chemicals or environmental conditions hinder the soul? There could be bodies made predominantly of air, or fire!

As on this earth planet we have a multivariety of living entities, we can understand from Vedic literatures that in the sun also there is a variety of living entities, but their bodies are made of fire, just as ours are made of earth

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (On the Way to Krsna)

It may seem far-fetched, that there are living entities with bodies made of fire, but how about these bacteria that survive high temperatures we cannot?

How do we get there to these other worlds? It is not possible to go there by mechanical means, because of the “karmic credit balance” and also practically because a body designed for the earthly environment cannot survive the realities of other environments for too long. A deepwater fish cannot survive in a swimming pool. A freshwater fish cannot survive in the ocean. To survive fire, one needs a body made of fire, to survive gaseous environments one needs a body predominantly made of gases. These types of bodies may be outside of our immediate direct experience, but can we at least logically accept the possibility?

Want to read more? Check this out: https://www.vedabase.com/en/ej/preface

A decaying, limiting, embarassing body made of material elements does not befit the spirit soul, instead, through a process of spiritual purification, one can acquire a body that is purely spiritual, no material contamination. Would you like to obtain a spiritual body? Let me know!

The process of quitting this body and getting another body in the material world is also organized. A man dies after it has been decided what form of body he will have in the next life. Higher authorities, not the living entity himself, make this decision. According to our activities in this life, we either rise or sink. This life is a preparation for the next life. If we can prepare, therefore, in this life to get promotion to the kingdom of God, then surely, after quitting this material body, we will attain a spiritual body just like the Lord’s.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Introduction

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What is the difference between occupational duty and prescribed duty?

What is the duty of a human being? What is prescribed? What about our ability? How to ensure that we can do what’s most important, what’s most urgent, and what’s most urgent and important? How to prioritize?

Bhakta Sunil, 06th January 2016

Hare Krishna every one,

Please accept my humble respects
All Glories to Vaishnavas

Please enlighten about occupational duty and prescribed duty , are both same or different?

Thanks in anticipation,
sunil

Prasadj dube, 08th January 2016

Hare Krishna!

Occupational duty means to attend the works of his livelihood. Prescribed duty means doing the eternal service to the Supreme Lord by devotedly chanting his name hare krishna hare krishna .

Prasadj dube

Shyamapriya devi dasi, 08th January 2016

Hare Krishna,

Thank you for this question!

The English dictionary says ‘occupation’ means job or profession and the word ‘prescribed’ means advisable or authorized.

And as per vedic understanding-

Occupational duties or Varnasrama-dharma are duties related to the four divisions of material— (namely brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra) and and spiritual life (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa).[SB 4.20.9] and

Prescribed duties or Sva-dharma mean duties enjoined according to one’s psychophysical condition, under the influence of three modes of material nature. [Bg 3.35]

Srila Prabhupada, explains more on prescribed duties as follows in the purport of Bg 3.35 :

“One should therefore discharge his prescribed duties in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness rather than those prescribed for others. Materially, prescribed duties are duties enjoined according to one’s psychophysical condition, under the spell of the modes of material nature. Spiritual duties are as ordered by the spiritual master for the transcendental service of Kṛṣṇa. But whether material or spiritual, one should stick to his prescribed duties even up to death, rather than imitate another’s prescribed duties. Duties on the spiritual platform and duties on the material platform may be different, but the principle of following the authorized direction is always good for the performer. When one is under the spell of the modes of material nature, one should follow the prescribed rules for his particular situation and should not imitate others. For example, a brāhmaṇa, who is in the mode of goodness, is nonviolent, whereas a kṣatriya, who is in the mode of passion, is allowed to be violent. As such, for a kṣatriya it is better to be vanquished following the rules of violence than to imitate a brāhmaṇa who follows the principles of nonviolence. Everyone has to cleanse his heart by a gradual process, not abruptly. However, when one transcends the modes of material nature and is fully situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can perform anything and everything under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. In that complete stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the kṣatriya may act as a brāhmaṇa, or a brāhmaṇa may act as a kṣatriya. In the transcendental stage, the distinctions of the material world do not apply. For example, Viśvāmitra was originally a kṣatriya, but later on he acted as a brāhmaṇa, whereas Paraśurāma was a brāhmaṇa but later on he acted as a kṣatriya. Being transcendentally situated, they could do so; but as long as one is on the material platform, he must perform his duties according to the modes of material nature. At the same time, he must have a full sense of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” [ Purport Bg 3.35]

From the above reading we understand that, since every living entity (in human form) has acquired a particular nature (under the influence of three modes of nature -goodness, passion and ignorance), the vedic injunction accordingly prescribes one of his duty (through the institution of varna and asrama) by which one can gradually elevate oneself to the stage of transcendence, where one is free from the influence of these three modes.

Now, coming back to your question- both occupational and prescribed duties in vedic sense mean one and the same. i.e the vedic authorities prescribe a living entitiey to take up a certain profession or occupation (as a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra) based on one’s pscho-physical condition (a consequence of three modes of nature). Along with this, it also reminds us to perform such duties not with the motive of material gain but to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead ultimately, then only can one be happy and content.

In conclusion, whatever our occupational or prescribed duties may be, the essence remains the same Jivera svarupa haya krsnera nitya dasa. The real occupation duty or Santana-dharma of a spirit soul or a living entity as prescribed by the authorized sources/scriptures like Bhagavad-gita is ultimately to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna by eternally serving Him with love.

I would appreciate if others can fill in the lacunae in the above explanation.

Sincerely,
Shyamapriya devi dasi

Guru Vandana devi dasi, 09th January 2016

Hare Krishna!

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.6, Suta Goswami says, “The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.”

Here Srila Prabhupada purposefully translates the word ‘dharma’ as occupation and not as religion. He says the word religion is misunderstood. It is taken as faith which can change but dharma or occupation is which cannot change.

When one is on bodily platform he manufactures some occupation to earn his livelihood according to his body, mind and circumstances. As a medical doctor one may have a livelihood by medical practice, as a civil servant one may serve his country etc.. But these occupations are temporary. It is finished as soon as the body is finished.

The question asked here is to describe about occupational duty. We must now inquire and understand what is our real occupational duty?

In verse 1.2.6 it is mentioned as ‘paro dharma’. Para means transcendental . Suta Goswami explains ‘bhaktih adhoksaje’. Our real dharma is -loving devotional service.

Krishna came to teach us this real occupational duty. The merciful Lord says to just give up all bodily occupation, mental occupation, intellectual occupation and surrender unto Him. It doesn’t mean these occupational duties as an engineer, lawyer, doctor, householder, etc .are not of real consideration and to be given up thinking that devotional service is executed under whatever circumstances we may whimsically decide. Arjuna performed his occupational duty not as a material obligation but as a devotional service.

Prescribed duty- Just like animals if we are simply interested only in eating, sleeping, mating and defending then there are no prescribed duties. But who wants to rise above animal life for him prescribed duties are there. According to the modes of nature Krishna has given prescribed duties in verses BG 18.42, 18.43,18.44

Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness—these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.

Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the ksatriyas.

Farming, cow protection and business are the natural work for the vaisyas, and for the sudras there is labor and service to others.

When I asked Srila Gurudeva what my prescribed duty is , His Grace replied, “Your prescribed duties are what I give you.”

Are both same or different?

One’s occupational duties are prescribed in scriptures and by Guru and Vaishnavas. So for those who are interested in real occupation both occupational duties and prescribed duties are one and the same.

your servant
Guru Vandana devi dasi

Premananda das, 12th January 2016

Thank you for the wonderful question by Bhakta Sunil and beautiful answers by Mother Guruvandana and Mother ShyamaPriya.

your servant
Premananda Das

Premananda das, 13th January 2016

Hare Krishna

My apologies for the major and very careless typo error .I had written But Krishna was married to Draupati and Subhadara.
I was referring to Arjuna.
This is certainly my fault and only due to kindness and due diligence of Mahabhagavata prabhu I am glad to be corrected.Hare Krishna

Occupational duty is the external activities people are engaged for example a traveling monk,student ,businessman,housewife etc.
Prescibed duty means to make the purpose behind these responsibilities one with the purpose of loving God (Krishna).
This becomes natural when we are in association with saintly people who are already doing that.
It means to give up separate motives.
Lord Krishna told Arjuna .”You should surrender unto me .”But Arjuna was a married man.He was married to Draupadi and Subhadra and he had eight children and even grand children.He was a warrior.After hearing Bhagavat-Gita he did not become a sannyasi, a person in the renounced order.
He performed his duty of fighting because he was a military man and he continued to maintain his family.But he did all these in the spirit of service rather than spirit of greed and exploitation .He did it as an expression of love for God.
In this way he rightly oriented his occupation and domestic situation.He did not renounce it but renounced greed,envy pride and lust .
With a pure state of consciousness and a desire to serve he aspired for the ideal love of God through the situation he was in.
In conclusion as Srimati Gurumata and Srila Gurudeva always instructs that all actives should be dovetailed in Krishna consciousness.Krishna is the Centre of all our activities.Krishna is the Supreme enjoyer and we are His servants who are enjoyed by Him.Jivera swarupa Hoya Nitya Krishna Das. Our constitutional position is that we are all servants of Krishna.In this situation only we will be happy.

your servant
Premananda Das

Dra Varni, 15th January 2016

Hare Krsna, Thanks you for all the wonderful insight. For a contribution I would say to remember “you are not this body”

drv

Bhakta Sunil, 17th February 2016

A delayed but hearty Thank you very much! to prasadj dube Prabhu , Shyamapriya devi mataji , Guru Vandana Devi Mataji , Premananda Prabhu , Dra Varni ji and every one who contributed to enlighten on this nectar which at my stage , i could not dive deeply into , and relish as much as it actually is

All Glories to your replies!

your insignificant servant,
Bhakta Sunil

Please subscribe to daily inspirational emails from His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari (Writings and lectures archived at www.sda-archives.com), written fresh every day from his travels around the world sharing the highest spiritual knowledge with everyone. Sign up now at www.joincourse.com

How many corpses have you carried?How many more do you have?

If you are reading this, you are a spirit soul. As a spirit soul, you are alive and conscious, and actually eternal, knowledgeable, and blissful.

But chances are that the body you currently inhabit is not eternal, is a network prone to ignorance, and often far from blissful

So there you are, dear spirit soul, dear “Atma”, you are carrying around a dead body. It’s heavy.

स्वप्नायितं नृपसुखं परतन्त्रमीश
शश्वद्भ‍येन मृतकेन धुरं वहाम: ।
हित्वा तदात्मनि सुखं त्वदनीहलभ्यं
क्लिश्यामहेऽतिकृपणास्तव माययेह ॥ २८ ॥ svapnāyitaṁ nṛpa-sukhaṁ para-tantram īśa
śaśvad-bhayena mṛtakena dhuraṁ vahāmaḥ
hitvā tad ātmani sukhaṁ tvad-anīha-labhyaṁ
kliśyāmahe ’ti-kṛpaṇās tava māyayeha

O Lord, with this corpselike body, always full of fear, we bear the burden of the relative happiness of kings, which is just like a dream. Thus we have rejected the real happiness of the soul, which comes by rendering selfless service to You. Being so very wretched, we simply suffer in this life under the spell of Your illusory energy.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/70/28/

Why is the body called corpselike? Well, it has no value, no use after the soul leaves it! No matter how beautiful a man or woman may have been, while millions might desire that person while they were alive, no one wants to associate with a dead body (with exceptions, there are always exceptions).

Why is that? If it was the body we really wanted, we’d have no problems associating with corpses. What we really crave for is the association with the spirit souls that animates and enlivens that corpse.

Which brings us the point – how do we get a ‘corpselike’ material body?

Material desires! What are material desires? Desire to be #1, the desire to be Lord and Master of all I survey, Desire to be the Center of the Universe, the Desire to be this, that, and other, the Desire to be what we are not.

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown

William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II, 1597

Well before Shakespeare, it was known that material desires create material bodies.

One material body per material desire, at least.

Influenced by the illusory material energy that is all around us, we’re creating our next millions and billions of material bodies right now. The desire for money, the desire for sex, the desire for fame, the desire to be powerful, the desire to have blue eyes or smooth skin or long hair, the desire to do this or that… all corpses in disguise, seductive but deadly.

But why do we want to create yet another corpse? How many have we carried already? How many do we have yet to carry?

Better to be free of this material bondage, repeated, birth, death, old age, and disease!

जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदु:खदोषानुदर्शनम्

janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-

duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam

the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/13/8-12/

A genuine spiritual practice, devoid of the trickery of material sense gratification disguised as religion leads to this perception of who I am, not this body, but a pure spirit soul, eternally part-and-parcel of God.

Not carrying a corpse in the material world, as a spirit soul, free to be me!

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Truly Great Leaders

Everyone recognizes that we need great leaders. Some aspire to be great leaders, others aspire to follow great leaders. Some quarrel about who a great leader was or not, others are leaders without followers, and many are leaders with followers or without direction. Many leaders are also misguided, having led their followers to terrible destinations.

यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः ।
स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥ २१ ॥ yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas
tat tad evetaro janaḥ
sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute
lokas tad anuvartate

Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/3/21/

So it is a fact that whenever some kind of greatness is perceived by others, they strive to follow that greatness.

Knowing that everyone has some great qualities, we can see that society is full of leaders, big or small.

Parents are leaders. Teachers are leaders. High school students are leaders. College seniors are leaders. Work supervisors are leaders. Businesspeople are leaders. Artists are leaders. Comedians are leaders. Actors are leaders. Scientists are leaders. Farmers are leaders. Policemen are leaders. Soldiers are leaders. Politicians are leaders. Doctors are leaders. Mathematicians are leaders. Corporate Officers are leaders. Practically everyone is leading someone else in some way.

In a society with so many leaders, how come so many of us are directionless, clueless, unhappy?

In the Srimad Bhagavatam, a merciless tyrant named Jarasandha captured 20,400 kings, all leaders, and imprisoned them. They were eventually freed by Lord Krishna.

They prayed as follows…

Text 10: Infatuated with his opulence and ruling power, a king loses all self-restraint and cannot obtain his true welfare. Thus bewildered by Your illusory energy, he imagines his temporary assets to be permanent. Text 11: Just as men of childish intelligence consider a mirage in the desert to be a pond of water, so those who are irrational look upon the illusory transformations of Māyā as substantial. Texts 12-13: Previously, blinded by the intoxication of riches, we wanted to conquer this earth, and thus we fought one another to achieve victory, mercilessly harassing our own subjects. We arrogantly disregarded You, O Lord, who stood before us as death. But now, O Kṛṣṇa, that powerful form of Yours called time, moving mysteriously and irresistibly, has deprived us of our opulences. Now that You have mercifully destroyed our pride, we beg simply to remember Your lotus feet. Text 14: Never again will we hanker for a miragelike kingdom — a kingdom that must be slavishly served by this mortal body, which is simply a source of disease and suffering and which is declining at every moment. Nor, O almighty Lord, will we hanker to enjoy the heavenly fruits of pious work in the next life, since the promise of such rewards is simply an empty enticement for the ears.

Text 15: Please tell us how we may constantly remember Your lotus feet, though we continue in the cycle of birth and death in this world.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/73/

The problem seems to be that almost every leader is “infatuated with his opulence and ruling power”. The parent is infatuated with the power she has over her child, the husband infatuated with the power he has over his wife… the teachers infatuated with the power over their students, and so on.

It also appears that with childish intelligence, we see the mirages in the material world as actual water. When we miss the “great” for being blinded by the “good”.

Most of our leaders are too busy fighting other leaders, over the intoxication of power, wealth, and personal fame. We hanker for that which is temporary, and slipping through our hands like the sands of time.

No matter what we may be a leader in, we need to remember that time is a most powerful force. And all the good we may do on the material level is reduced to insignificance.

But by always remembering the Lotus feet of God, we can transcend being mediocre leaders, and truly lead ourselves and the world out of confusion.

What type of leader do you want to be?

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How do I become pure and sinless?

How do I become pure and sinless? Do I fear God? What do I do to be pure and sinless? How do I avoid doing things that are sinful?

Deepak A, 25th March 2016

Hare Krishna devotees

Please accept my humble obeisances
All Glories to Srila Gurudeva
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Am not a devotee! But i believe god is there in all things.I fear for him.

I always will be correct to my conscience and do things right.

But i have did some things wrong suddenly i feel like am away from god and he is angry on me for deeds i did.

Please tell me what Lord Krishna say about committing sin and how to come out from that.

I want to be pure as god both in deeds and heart .

Please help me!!!

your humble servant
Deepak Appu

Sridhar Das, 25th March 2016

Hare Krishna Deepak!

Please accept my humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Gurudeva!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Many answers that shall fully clarify all your doubts are coming up. I however just wanted to state:

I’m sure our understanding of God is that Krishna is the Supreme Person–ality of Godhead, who is one without a second, the rest being his servants/representatives.

We must try to confirm our understanding/sentiments from Vedas to assure we’re understanding correct which you’ve done sincerely.

When we read Bhagavad Gita with the mood of a devoted learner, an aspiring devotee, we will understand what is right, what is wrong, what Krishna wants, what pleases Him, what displeases Him.

When you feel Lord’s anger for you, I wish to correct that this is Krishna’s actual nature confirmed from His statements:

samo ‘haḿ sarva-bhūteṣu

na me dveṣyo ‘sti na priyaḥ

ye bhajanti tu māḿ bhaktyā

mayi te teṣu cāpy aham

I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.(BG 9.29).

The solution to sins is:

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja

ahaḿ tvāḿ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear. (18.66)

And if one simply accepts that I’m a servant of God or Krishna and I must obediently serve Him then whether one be the most sinful person addicted to most sinful activities but if He accepts this truth, Krishna guarantees to not only forgive their sins but even remove them and liberate the person like a caring father. For such a soul Krishna says:

api cet su-durācāro

bhajate mām ananya-bhāk

sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ

samyag vyavasito hi saḥ

“Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.” (BG 9.30)

When we serve the Lord and His devotees, automatically their godly qualities descend upon us if they’re pleased.

So the conclusion is to engage in some devotional service to Krishna in association of His devotees and all your problems (not current but complete lifetime) shall be solved.

Thank you for the nice question.

your servant
Shridhar Das

Bhakta Sunil, 27th March 2016

Hare Krishna Deepak bhai,

Please accept my humble respects,
All Glories to Vaishnavas,

If one does something wrong and feel away from God, it indicates that one has to purify oneself to prevent mistakes and misdeeds which can prick the conscience,

As long one has impurities in heart, one is forced to act in a way depending on the modes of material nature which one has acquired from one’s past desires and actions,

“Bhagavad Gita As It Is” Chapter 3 Verse 5 helps us to understand this point, as follows :

Translation :

Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.

Purport :

It is not a question of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active. Without the presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is only a dead vehicle to be worked by the spirit soul, which is always active and cannot stop even for a moment. As such, the spirit soul has to be engaged in the good work of Krishna consciousness, otherwise it will be engaged in occupations dictated by the illusory energy. In contact with material energy, the spirit soul acquires material modes, and to purify the soul from such affinities it is necessary to engage in the prescribed duties enjoined in the sastras. But if the soul is engaged in his natural function of Krishna consciousness, whatever he is able to do is good for him. The Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.17) affirms this:

tyaktva sva-dharmam caranambujam harer
bhajann apakvo ’tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vabhadram abhud amusya kim
ko vartha apto ’bhajatam sva-dharmatah

“If someone takes to Krishna consciousness, even though he may not follow the prescribed duties in the sastras or execute the devotional service properly, and even though he may fall down from the standard, there is no loss or evil for him. But if he carries out all the injunctions for purification in the sastras, what does it avail him if he is not Krishna conscious?” So the purificatory process is necessary for reaching this point of Krishna consciousness. Therefore, sannyasa, or any purificatory process, is to help reach the ultimate goal of becoming Krishna conscious, without which everything is considered a failure.

Regarding your asking about freedom from sins, please read the Question-Answer taken from daily “Thought for the Day” emails , dated 7th June 2015 :

Question: Freedom from My Many Sins?

I am 23 years old. Now when I look back I can recollect many sins which I have done. The reason that I was not aware until now that this was sinful is due to my own karma from my previous birth. So even though I did not have the knowledge of right and wrong, I am solely responsible for this because it was my choice to be in ignorance. If in this birth I do good, is it possible that I may get spiritual knowledge in my next birth?

What is initiation? What is the complete process for getting initiated?

Can we live a grihastha (married) life after getting initiated?

Your reader

Answer: Surrender to Krishna Frees You from All Karma

There is no need to wait until your next birth to get spiritual knowledge and live a pure life. You can be born again right through the process known as initiation. In this way you will qualify to enter the eternal abode of Lord Sri Krishna at the time of death.

Initiation is when you take a vow to strictly follow the principles of Krishna consciousness for your entire life. This means that you agree to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day on japa mala beads and that you also agree to strictly avoid illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling for your entire life. At the time of initiation you also accept a highly advanced devotee who is fixed in Krishna consciousness as your spiritual master and you agree to always abide by whatever instructions he gives you. By becoming initiated and keeping your vow, you are a fully surrendered devotee of Krishna. The spiritual master and Krishna free you from the reactions from all of your previous sinful activities for millions of lifetimes in this material world. Initiation is essential for one who wants to attain genuine happiness.

Srila Prabhupada emphasizes the importance of initiation in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 10.2.18:

“Unless one is initiated by the right person, who always carries within his heart the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot acquire the power to carry the Supreme Godhead within the core of one’s own heart.”

He also writes in his purport to Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya Lila, 24. 331:

“As far as the time of diksha (initiation) is concerned, everything depends on the position of the guru. As soon as a bonafide guru is received by chance or by a program, one should immediately take the opportunity to receive initiation.”

Regarding your question about married (grihastha) life, many of our disciples are married and are progressing very nicely in Krishna consciousness. This option remains open to you. If you like, you can marry a nice Krishna conscious girl who is already a dedicated member our Krishna consciousness movement and raise children in Krishna consciousness.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari
www.joincourse.com

Hope this helps,

Sincerely,

Bhakta Sunil

Shyamapriya devi dasi, 30th March 2016

Hare Krishna

Actually, you are a devotee! We all are devotees. Even the trees, animals, birds, every living entity. However, we all are in a state of forgetfulness, just like a man who has lost his memory has difficulty to identify himself and where he belongs to. Then with the help of a doctor the patient is made to remember his past life (i.e. his real life) with the help of pictures, videos,etc. Slowly the patient recovers. But this is a very crude example to make us understand of our actual position.

A mango will be called a mango, whether it is at an unriped stage or at a completely ripened, sweet nectarean stage. Just like an unriped mango also has to work its way towards that ripened stage, we all devotees, slowly and slowly have to work on removing those layers and layers, heaps and heaps of dust (ignorance) covering our hearts under the expert guidance of a doctor i.e. a spiritual master to come to that mature, pure devotee stage. So if you haven’t found a doctor yet, this is a very good time to find one (from the wonderful list of spiritual masters in ISKCON and one of them, as you know, is our Srila Gurudeva) and start working your way to becoming completely pure as your wonderful desire is to be.

Sridhar Prabhu has already given well researched answer to your question.

But if you still feel to enquire further, our many experts on board are always there to help you.

Thankyou
Sincerely,
Shyamapriya devi dasi

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Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 01st April 2016

Dear Deepak,

Hare Krishna!

The scriptural references you have, and also encouragement from the devotees.

Krishna is not some mean-bully-in-the-sky type personality.
Krishna is your best friend and supreme well-wisher.

If Krishna gives you correction, it will be in the mood of a loving parent who gives some punishment to a child, not some vindictive revenge-seeker-mentality.

Anyways, you know that what you did was not right, so you are feeling some remorse and guilt, but use this to go closer to Krishna by taking up some activity that will reduce the chance of you performing similar actions again.
Guilt is useless, but if we leverage remorse to lead us in the right direction, then that is ideal. Doing something practical that uplifts our consciousness is the key:

kecit kevalayā bhaktyā
 vāsudeva-parāyaṇāḥ
aghaṁ dhunvanti kārtsnyena
 nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ

Only a rare person who has adopted complete, unalloyed devotional service to Kṛṣṇa can uproot the weeds of sinful actions with no possibility that they will revive. He can do this simply by discharging devotional service, just as the sun can immediately dissipate fog by its rays. SB 6.1.15

This is the final answer of Sukadeva Goswami to the question of Maharaja Parikshit which was as follows:

kvacin nivartate ’bhadrāt
 kvacic carati tat punaḥ
prāyaścittam atho ’pārthaṁ
 manye kuñjara-śaucavat

Sometimes one who is very alert so as not to commit sinful acts is victimized by sinful life again. I therefore consider this process of repeated sinning and atoning to be useless. It is like the bathing of an elephant, for an elephant cleanses itself by taking a full bath, but then throws dust over its head and body as soon as it returns to the land. SB 6.1.10.

The verses from SB 6.1.10 to SB 6.1.15 are a wonderful exchange. Please consider reading at http://www.vedabase.com/sb/6/1/10

Have you carefully read any of the books of Srila Prabhupada, even if it is a small book? Have you tried chanting Hare Krishna? Have you rendered any practical devotional service to the devotees?

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Deepak, 26th May 2015

Hare Krishna to all
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to GuruDev.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

My question is :- which Yajnas should be perform in this Kaliyug and how to perform it

Hare Krishna

Rathin Mandal, 27th May 2015

Hare Krishna Deepak,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji,

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

For this age only Sankirtana Yajna is recommended. For doing the yajnas that were recommended in other ages, neither do we have that much of life span, nor physical strength and not enough resources. That is why other yajnas are not recommended.

your Servant
Rathin

Sridhar Das, 06th June 2015

Hare Krishna Deepak,

My humble obeisances to you,
All Glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumata!
All Glories to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada!

You have correctly read that Sankirtan Yajna is the recommended Yajna for this age as confirmed below:

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ
 tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ
 kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

“Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.” (SB 12.3.52)

It can be performed by anyone irrespective of any past qualifications, irrespective of family backgrounds and can be chanted anytime and any place (we don’t carry beads in the bathroom though).

your servant
Sridhar Das

Please subscribe to daily inspirational emails from His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari (Writings and lectures archived at sda-archives.com), written fresh every day from his travels around the world sharing the highest spiritual knowledge with everyone. Sign up now at www.joincourse.com

Did you win last night? Did you lose?

You know, that big game everyone is talking about. Did you win? Did you lose?

As I write this, all of Canada is gripped with an intense fervour wishing, hoping, even praying for a win by the Toronto Raptors Basketball team. This is the first time the team has even made it to the finals, and they are playing against another team that is equally if not more formidable, the Golden State Warriors.

Sure, games are an exciting distraction, will this player score, will that player block? How beautifully this player ran, how skilfully that player dribbled, and look at this one’s aim! But how much should we be getting into all this?

There are the Warriors fans, and there are the Raptors fans… each “fighting” each other, either in friendly banter, or downright ungentlemanly nastiness. All because “if we lose, they win”, or “if we win, they lose”. And of course, everyone wants to win.

But in the words of one of my spiritual masters Vaisesika Dasa, “YOU DIDN’T EVEN PLAY!!!”

As embodied living entities, we identify with various designations, such as I am Canadian, I am American, I am Californian, I am Texan, I am a Torontonian, I am Rich/Poor/Smart/Strong/Weak/Minority/… And we identify with these designations so strongly that any affront to any of these designations becomes an affront to our very selves. But we are not these bodies. We are not the body, we are not even the mind. We are spirit souls.

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः ।

अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥ २७ ॥

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā

kartāham iti manyate

The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.

Bhagavad Gita 3.27

So, someone arbitrarily decides to support one team or the other, for whatever reason “I was born in Toronto man”, or “I just love California”. Or even “that player looks like my cousin”. And from that arbitrary decision, one builds up all sorts of attachments. Even ridiculous nonsense like “Everytime I get up to go use the washroom, the other team scores, so I won’t go”

The problem gets more and more acute because every designation comes with a set of other designations, and we get caught up inside a designation inside a designation inside a designation… ad infinitum. It’s almost like living inside a dream inside a nightmare inside a dream inside a fantasy inside…

So much so that we don’t even know who we are any more! If the handsomely paid players from various places around the world that happened to be called “The Toronto Raptors” win against the handsomely paid players from various places around the world that happened to be called “The Golden State Warriors”, I’m supposed to be happy or sad? Why?

We need to wake up and see how deeply we are being manipulated in each of these situations where we identify with a designation that is material. As free non-material particles with free will, that is a disgrace to us. And what is even more horrifying is that we have collectively agreed to be manipulated!

What do you identify with?

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I am Flower Bearing Spring

Do you have trouble seeing God?

It’s a famous frequently asked question, and being the recovering atheist I am, I’ve been asked the question many times, can you show me God?

A great saint, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, wrote this article to answer just that question… http://www.backtogodhead.in/how-to-see-god-by-his-divine-grace-a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/

In the Song of God, The Bhagavad Gita, God says

” ṛtūnāṁ kusumākaraḥ “, or ” of seasons I am flower-bearing spring“

BG 10.35

I had that experience recently, when one night it was still winter, and seemingly, the next morning, all of a sudden, it was spring. Some trees had fresh green leaves, others had flowers in profuse numbers, some bright and colourful, some fragrant, some both… Here are some pictures so you can see God for yourself.

Apple Blossoms, still buds yet… God’s smile, about to unfold…
Wild Apple Blossoms, in full Bloom, God’s beautiful smile…
Do you have trouble seeing God? Why not see what God says about how we can see Him? Spring anyone?
More Apple Blossoms, this time against the Brilliant Sun, also the eye of God…

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Idol Worship? Or Deity Worship?

Often, I have come across a denigration of the Vedic Culture of Worship of God as “idol worship”. “Idolatry is a sin, you are going to hell”, I have heard very often.

And because the education system I was schooled in was western in its origin, there were many subtle and not-so-subtle references to this idea that somehow or other, this worship of Deities in the Vedic temples was deeply wrong.

And of course, this early conditioning gave me fodder for my atheism, my voidism, my impersonalism, my agnosticism, and essentially held me back from pursuing a spiritual path of any kind.

What is an idol? And how can a stone or metal or wooden image be God? Or how can a message written down in any language represent God?

It’s a fact that God is non-material, and therefore cannot be perceived by material senses. But the material senses are all I have, then how do I perceive God?

First of course, the perception of God is by hearing about Him. His name, His pastimes, and His qualities. In other words, the Name of God is the Form of God.

So, a name written down, is also God. Because God is Absolute, then God is fully present in His name.

But those scriptures which contain God’s name also contain descriptions of God’s qualities, of God’s interactions with others like myself, persons of the flesh. Jayadvaita Swami, born into Judaism, writes “Whose worship is Idol Worship”…

That very same God with the Names, is also described to have a form. Not a form like mine, which suffers birth, death, old age, and disease, but a form that is Eternal, Full of Joy, and Full of Knowledge.

How may I perceive that form with my two little material eyes?

As confirmed in the Padma Purana,

atah shri-krishna-namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah

“No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, qualities and pastimes of the Lord through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, qualities and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.”

Padma Purana

Therefore, God, out of His kind mercy, appears before me in a form that I can very well perceive. But when He does, that form is non-material. That same old paint, wood, stone, and metal are transformed, just like an ordinary paper and ordinary ink are transformed with the name of God.

If worshipping a form of God according to the scriptures is wrong, then so is revering the name of the God written down or spoken even, because to utter a name in sound is to cause the form of the word to manifest.

Those who hate “idolatry” should then possess no Cross, no Qu’ran, no Wall, no Scripture, no Shrine, Nothing.

Idolatry is worship of the mundane, be it a car or a beautiful actor, be it a very knowledgeable professor of some mundane subject of the material world, or a great orator, or businessperson.

The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is described in the Brahma-samhita as chintamani-dhama, a place where all desires are fulfilled. The supreme abode of Lord Krishna, known as Goloka Vrindavana, is full of palaces made of touchstone. There are also trees called ‘desire trees,’ which supply any type of eatable upon demand, and there are cows known as surabhi, which supply a limitless supply of milk. In this abode, the Lord is served by hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune (lakshmis)and He is called Govinda, the primal Lord and the cause of all causes. The Lord is accustomed to blow His flute (venum kvanantam). His transcendental form is the most attractive in all the worlds—His eyes are like lotus petals and His bodily color like clouds. He is so attractive that His beauty excels that of thousands of cupids. He wears saffron cloth, a garland around His neck and a peacock feather in His hair.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Bhagavad Gita As It Is

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No eternal damnation

In many of the world’s religious traditions, there is the concept of eternal damnation… you know, do this, follow that, believe this, till the end of your life, or else, ETERNAL DAMNATION IN HELL FOR YOU!

That sort of fear mongering worked for some time… like with all things that are born in fear, they work on some people all the time, on all people for some time, but not on all people for all time.

People eventually tune that stuff out – with or without the help of the dogmatic religion called atheism.

The problem with eternal damnation is clear when we consider this…

  1. Our legal and constitutional systems have pardons built into them.
  2. Schools and Universities allow failed students to eventually pass.
  3. Even humans, imperfect humans, forgive.

So, something that us fallible humans can construct, police forces, courts, schools, universities… can actually be more merciful, more tolerant, more forbearing than God?

So, does it mean that God, the source of all that be, the Alpha, the Omega, the Origin of the Universe, doesn’t possess the quality of tolerance or forgiveness?

Is God some angry old man sitting around passing judgement and taking delight in making someone suffer eternally in the hellish regions? Is God a sadist?

Having been introduced to such an idea of God, would you blame a reasonable person for turning to atheism?

Nonsense! Eternal Damnation is a myth.

Let me say that again – Eternal damnation does not exist.

Once more – Eternal damnation is a tall tale, told by insecure religious leaders looking to control their flock with fear and intimidation.

But Eternal Damnation? Doesn’t exist, not true, false.

In the Gita, we find this verse:


भोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् ।
सुहृदं सर्वभूतानां ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिमृच्छति ॥ ५.२९ ॥
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati


A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is 5.29 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/29/

Could a “benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities” ever institute a program of eternal damnation, where one can never be redeemed for whatever wrongs one may have committed? Not a chance!

In fact, knowing the material sojourn to be intensely painful, this “benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities” travels with each and every individual soul as the supersoul, till the completion of their material sojourn – whether it be in the body of a bird, a pig, a plant, an insect, a vulture, a tiger or any creature you can think of, God takes His place by the side of the spirit soul, little jiva…


ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति ।
भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥ १८.६१ ॥

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā


The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is 18.61 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/61/

Yes, just see the immense kindness of God, to accompany a person who has rebelled, and left the association and service of God. How many persons even do that for one lifetime? Leave alone for millions and billions of lifetimes? No, only God is capable of that kind of infinite patience and love.

But what about damnation? There is none, there are simply correctional facilities…


तानहं द्विषतः क्रुरान्संसारेषु नराधमान् ।
क्षिपाम्यजस्रमशुभानासुरीष्वेव योनिषु ॥ १६.१९ ॥
tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān
saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān
āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu


Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is 16.19 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/16/19/

And what happens next?


आसुरीं योनिमापन्ना मूढा जन्मनि जन्मनि ।
मामप्राप्यैव कौन्तेय ततो यान्त्यधमां गतिम् ॥ १६.२० ॥
āsurīṁ yonim āpannā
mūḍhā janmani janmani
mām aprāpyaiva kaunteya
tato yānty adhamāṁ gatim


Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, O son of Kuntī, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is 16.20 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/16/20/

So how can God be advertised as the all-merciful?

This is what A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada says:


It is known that God is all-merciful, but here we find that God is never merciful to the demoniac. It is clearly stated that the demoniac people, life after life, are put into the wombs of similar demons, and, not achieving the mercy of the Supreme Lord, they go down and down, so that at last they achieve bodies like those of cats, dogs and hogs. It is clearly stated that such demons have practically no chance of receiving the mercy of God at any stage of later life. In the Vedas also it is stated that such persons gradually sink to become dogs and hogs. It may be then argued in this connection that God should not be advertised as all-merciful if He is not merciful to such demons. In answer to this question, in the Vedānta-sūtra we find that the Supreme Lord has no hatred for anyone. The placing of the asuras, the demons, in the lowest status of life is simply another feature of His mercy. Sometimes the asuras are killed by the Supreme Lord, but this killing is also good for them, for in Vedic literature we find that anyone who is killed by the Supreme Lord becomes liberated. There are instances in history of many asuras – Rāvaṇa, Kaṁsa, Hiraṇyakaśipu – to whom the Lord appeared in various incarnations just to kill them. Therefore God’s mercy is shown to the asuras if they are fortunate enough to be killed by Him.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BG 16.19 Purport

But that is reserved for the really big demons, it takes a lot of effort to get there, none of the little ones make it past correction, and time in various insect, plant, animal, bird, fish lifetimes before coming back to another human life.

I’ve been told many times that because I am not following the Qu’ran according to someone’s interpretation, or because I haven’t accepted Jesus as my savior in someone’s view, I am going to hell. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I follow the principles of the Quran better than most people who claim to be Muslims, and it is a fact that Jesus Christ led me to where I am today.

God is a loving person, and I have a loving relationship with God. I will accept all the correction I deserve, seeing it coming from the loving hand of God. But this will remain my prayer…


तत्तेऽनुकम्पां सुसमीक्षमाणो भुञ्जान एवात्मकृतं विपाकम्
हृद्वाग्वपुर्भिर्विदधन्नमस्ते जीवेत यो मुक्तिपदे स दायभाक् ॥ १०.१४.८ ॥

tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.8 https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/14/8/

So eternal damnation, it’s a myth, forget about it.

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Atheism is a religion, the religion of the mind

A little ant wants to map the world… (no ants were hurt in the writing of this post)

There is an ant in a kitchen in my apartment, and he may want to map the city I live in.

Poor little ant! I like him, I gave him a grain of sugar to eat too. He might not live long enough to map out the cupboard he is moving around in, much less get out and map out the kitchen, the living room, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, much less the yard, the driveway, the street I live on, the sub-division. Dangers exist at every step, and the average ant might live for a few weeks or a few months, if he doesn’t get in the way of something bigger than him.

As we continually expand the scale of reference, the probability that an ant might pull it off decreases dramatically. The scale and complexity of our world far outstrip the faculties of an ant, or generations of ants, for millions and billions of years. Remember, change is constant.

Fortunately there is no ant foolish enough. But there are others…

Atheists are trying to map out all of reality based on the meager faculties they possess, a puny little mind, a short lifespan, the work of others similarly puny in their faculties. We do applaud them for their valiant effort, but there’s another way to learn about the complete reality, and that is to turn inwards.

Just like a small insect, he takes birth in the evening, and from evening to morning, his birth, his marriage, his begetting children, everything is done, and in the morning he dies. There are many insects. They are called diwali pokali. At night they will throng together, in India. So for this insect, it is very difficult to understand that there is another animal which is called man, who has got this duration of his lifetime period in only twelve hours of his life. But the insect cannot go beyond that. Just like when we hear from Bhagavad-gītā that Brahmā lives such-and-such, we disbelieve sometimes. But everything is relative. With your relative body, your duration of life, your knowledge, your perception, everything is relative. So you are teeny human being. What is impossible for you is not impossible for others.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

I should know. I was an atheist once. Well-educated at the altar of atheistic assumptions right from my childhood, I know these really well.

असत्यमप्रतिष्ठं ते जगदाहुरनीश्वरम् ।
अपरस्परसंभूतं किमन्यत्कामहैतुकम् ॥ १६.८ ॥

asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te
jagad āhur anīśvaram
aparaspara-sambhūtaṁ
kim anyat kāma-haitukam


They say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control. They say it is produced of sex desire and has no cause other than lust.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 16.8 (The Divine and Demoniac Natures) https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/16/8/
  1. There was nothing, and then suddenly the singularity / big bang happened and then the Universe came into being
  2. Basic building blocks coalesced into elements, elements combined to form compounds, and basic compounds combined to form organic chemicals, which then somehow combined to form single-celled organisms, which gradually evolved into life as we know it
  3. There’s no creator, no reason for anything at all except it is the way it is
  4. All of the world’s spirituality is basically superstition, created by aboriginal tribal lore to explain phenomena that were beyond their understanding

But as I grew and studied more, I began to discover more about what we didn’t know – we don’t understand much about the Universe at all. Most of what passes for explanations is merely theory, unproven, couched in clever language that implies certainty.

There is no proof that something material can come from nothing.

I also learned that just because we can’t see something or prove its existence doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Feelings, emotions, thoughts, and the clear sense of consciousness cannot be proven to exist except to take someone’s testimony for them.

“I am feeling sad” said one. “What do you mean you are feeling sad, I can’t see your sadness, so your sadness is imaginary!” said the other.

Just because something is not observable by everyone is not proof for its nonexistence. And so is the reality of God.

God is not so cheap that He can be fully understood by just anyone!

नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः ।
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥ ७.२५ ॥

nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya
yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ
mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti
loko mām ajam avyayam

I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 7.25 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/7/25/

It’s a laudable effort for someone to try and understand the world and its mysteries on their own. But the effort is doomed to failure, because Reality far outstrips anyone’s meager faculties. Reality is not so trivial that one can agitate one’s mind and conquer it – one cannot conquer something greater than oneself, and that which can be conquered cannot be said to be greater than oneself.

It’s much better to get a guided tour from The Creator.

The instrument with which we can perceive the spiritual side of reality is a finely honed instrument called “consciousness”. Presently, our consciousness may be covered, like a dust-encrusted mirror, or like that of a consciousness of someone who is drugged, drunk, or just asleep.

But when that consciousness is awake and purified, then such consciousness perceives a vast spectrum of reality untarnished by material crud.

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
प्रजहाति यदा कामान्सर्वान्पार्थ मनोगतान्
आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते ॥ २.५५ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
prajahāti yadā kāmān
sarvān pārtha mano-gatān
ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ
sthita-prajñas tadocyate

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O Pārtha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 2.55 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/2/55/

That complete reality is my journey, destination, and experience, so stand aside all you (well-meaning or otherwise) ants!

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Love or Lust, take your pick

Radha Krishna, our Best Friend and Supreme Well-Wisher

Love, Love, Love!

Who doesn’t want to love and who doesn’t want to be loved!

Much desired, much discussed, fantasized about, hankered for, in songs, literature, poetry, even science.

Here is what a great saint says about Love:

ātmendriya-prīti-vāñchā — tāre bali ‘kāma’
kṛṣṇendriya-prīti-icchā dhare ‘prema’ nāma

The desire to gratify one’s own senses is kāma [lust], but the desire to please the senses of Lord Kṛṣṇa is prema [love].https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/adi/4/165/

Looking at it deeper, it means that whenever one desires someone or something for one’s own pleasure, that is not Love, that is Lust.

When we reflect on everything that has been given to us, air, water, this body, the ability to reflect, consciousness, the freedom to act, sunshine, food, and relationships… everything under the sun and beyond, we see that the source of it all deserves gratitude, and Love.

Krishna is the name for that Supreme Source, and Allah, Jehovah, Buddha, Rama, Yahweh, all refer to that one Supreme Soul, the Source of Everything that exists.

It is alright if you take exception to the above statement and disagree with me there. No matter what your own nomenclature for the Single Supreme Source of All is, whether it be Allah, Christ, Jehovah, Buddha, or some other name… When you try to gratify that Supreme Being’s senses, that is Love, and everything else is merely Lust.

All those love songs, all of those poems and ballads, dramas and theatre, perfumes and fantasies, they are actually of Love only when directed to the Supreme Divine, and lust otherwise.

I had a wonderful experience of this, traveling once with a sincere, loving, generous and humble saint, His Holiness Amala Bhakta Swami, from Toronto to Los Angeles, and he was clearly in ecstasy about something he was listening to. When I looked at him inquiringly, he took out one of his ear buds connected to his phone, and gave it to me… and he pressed play, I heard this song for the very first time in my life…

Unforgettable, that’s what you are
Unforgettable though near or far
Like a song of love that clings to me
How the thought of you does things to me
Never before has someone been more

Unforgettable in every way
And forever more, that’s how you’ll stay
That’s why, darling, it’s incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am unforgettable too

Unforgettable in every way
And forever more, that’s how you’ll stay
That’s why, darling, it’s incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am unforgettable too

-Nat King Cole (also performed by Barbara Streisand and others)

Think about this. While one can be forgiven for being carried away by temporary waves of emotion for our “TSO” – “temporary significant other” (phrase courtesy His Holiness Devamrita Swami), that song only consistently and forever makes sense when in relation to God. Because God stays in our heart and keeps us alive, gives us consciousness, even if we may have chosen to forget. Even though we may forget God, God never ever forgets us. I will never forget Amala Bhakta Swami Maharaja’s gift to me, in being able to relate everything wonderful and unforgettable back to the Supreme Divine, Krishna.

In fact, life after life, God travels in our heart, in His expansion as “Super Soul” or “Paramatma”

ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति । भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥ १८.६१ ॥ īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā

The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy. –https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/61/

No matter if a soul is in the body of a worm, an ant, a fish, a vulture, a hog, a dog, a camel, or an ass… or a human being, the Supreme Divine accompanies us all.

That is Love.

And to express affection back, and to render service to He who has never abandoned me, despicable me, who let my Best Friend and Well-Wisher down originally, and over and over again, but not again now, is worthy of my Love. Not “gimme this gimme that gimme gimme gimme” but “What can I do for you my dearest friend?”

Love or Lust, what will it be for you?

Love is what I seek to give, so please help me God.

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Lottery Tickets, Lucky Draws, Gambling, Casinos, etc.

Jaanvi, 28th September 2014

Dear All,

Could you please tell me if buying Lottery ticket which is mostly available everywhere organized by charitable company considered suitable and acceptable to purchase?

The purpose may be as an activity, or desire of winning the draw so as to make money with luck.

Hare Krsna.
Srivatsa Das SDA, 29th September 2014

Hare Krishna Mataji,

Please accept my humble respects

All Glories to Srila Gurudeva

Though there is no guarantee of winning a lottery, a lot of people rely on lotteries to meet their urgent material needs. The sad point here is that if we are situated in material mode, whether we win the lottery or not, we cannot come out of the miseries. The fact is other way around, the life becomes more and more miserable, by winning the lottery.

The best thing is to come out of this miserable life forever. This is possible only when we lead our life Krishna Consciously.

When we follow Krishna Conscious life and when we surrender fully to the Lord Krishna, there is no more suffering. Srila Prabhupada explains the verse 18.66 in Bhagavad gita As it is – introduction.

sarva-dharmän parityajya mäm ekam saranam vraja

aham tväm sarva-päpebhyo mokshayisyämi mä sucaù

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”

Thus the Lord takes all responsibility for one who surrenders unto Him, and He indemnifies such a person against all reactions of sins.

As per Srila Prabhupada, to fully surrender to Krishna we need to:

chant 16 rounds on japa beads daily without fail,

follow four regulative principles and

read Srila Prabhupada books.

Yesterday, I was listening to Srila Gurudeva’s recorded lecture, in that lecture, Srila Gurudeva was mentioning that we need not read so many books, (if we don’t have time) but by reading only Bhagavad gita As it is daily repeatedly, we can achieve perfection.

In short, instead of wasting our effort on accumulating material wealth and the associated miseries, just surrender to the Lord as early as possible by:

-Taking shelter of a bonafide spiritual master.

-chanting 16 rounds on japa beads

-strictly following 4 regulative principles and reading Bhagavad gita daily and understand how to surrender to the Lord and thus lead a perfect life.

Sincerely,
Srivatsa Das
Rathin Mandal, 29th September 2014

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All Glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Very nice question Mataji, and Srivatsa Prabhu has beautiful explained it.

Today there are so many organization that run on lottery, by faking as they are doing it for charity. They try to present it as a win win situation for everybody.
They allure us by saying that guys, you can’t help everyone alone. So give me your Rs.50 or Rs. 100 and I will take it to the needy. And in return you may get some prize for your generous contribution. We fall into the trap, thinking that Ok I am getting to help someone and I may get something back too. They do same with thousands of other people.
There is no way for us to know properly what they are doing with the money. Also if someone wants to help someone. Then they will use every penny donated for helping. And not for any other thing. Their employees salary, transportation, presentation, everything is covered through those donation amount. Plus they take status of NGO and get so many government benefits.

So in reality there is no charity. It is just good business.

your Servant
Rathin
Bhakta Sunil, 30th September 2015

Mataji Hare Krishna All Glories to Srila Prabhupada Regarding gambling , please view few items:

“And no gambling or unnecessary sporting. People are wasting time. So many sportings they have invented–sporting balls, this ball, that ball. You see? Human life is very short. We do not know when we shall die. Before that, we must prepare ourself for the next life. Next life means directly going back to Krsna, highest perfection.”

Srila Prabhupada Interview, 12-19-68, Los Angeles :-

“Sometimes the living entity is interested in the yellow stool known as gold and runs after it. That gold is the source of material opulence and envy, and it can enable one to afford illicit sex, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication. Those whose minds are overcome by the mode of passion are attracted by the color of gold, just as a man suffering from cold in the forest runs after a phosphorescent light in a marshy land, considering it to be fire.”

Purport: Pariksit Maharaja told Kali-yuga to leave his kingdom immediately and reside in four places: brothels, liquor shops, slaughterhouses and gambling casinos. However, Kali-yuga requested him to give him only one place where these four places are included, and Pariksit Maharaja gave him the place where gold is stored. Gold encompasses the four principles of sin, and therefore, according to spiritual life, gold should be avoided as far as possible. If there is gold, there is certainly illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. Because people in the Western world have a great deal of gold, they are victims of these four sins. The color of gold is very glittering, and a materialistic person becomes very much attracted by its yellow color. However, this gold is actually a type of stool. A person with a bad liver generally passes yellow stool. The color of this stool attracts a materialistic person, just as the will-o’-the-wisp attracts one who needs heat.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam 5:14:7 Purport

“I am also the gambling of cheats, and of the splendid I am the splendor. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong.

Purport: There are many kinds of cheaters all over the universe. Of all cheating processes, gambling stands supreme and therefore represents Krsna. As the Supreme, Krsna can be more deceitful than any mere man. If Krsna chooses to deceive a person, no one can surpass Him in His deceit. His greatness is not simply one-sided–it is all-sided.”

Bhagavad-gita 10:36

“Krsna says that “Amongst all kinds of cheating business, I am gambling.” Gambling… There is in gambling… It requires some expert brain, how to play gamble. So that expertness, that part of expert endeavor, is Krsna. So we should not think, “Oh, because Krsna is gambling also, so let us engage and devote in gambling.” No. Krsna is everything. Krsna is everything, but we have to select favorably, not unfavorably.”

Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Caitanya-caritamrta, 01-05-67, New York

“…Gambling of all description, even speculative business enterprise, is considered to be degrading, and when gambling is encouraged in the state, there is a complete disappearance of truthfulness.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1:17:38

“If one accepts a poverty-stricken position because of losing money in business, gambling, prostitution or intoxication, no one will praise him, but if one becomes poverty-stricken by giving all of his possessions in charity, he becomes adored all over the world. Aside from this, if a benevolent and merciful person exhibits his pride in becoming poverty-stricken by giving his possessions in charity for good causes, his poverty is a welcome and auspicious sign of a great personality.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam 8:20:10 Purport

“Every educational or progressive method has got do’s and do not’s. So the asuras, they do not know what they should do and what they should not do. That is asura. And a devotee, he knows what to do and what not to do. There is no illicit sex. That is “do not.” But there is “do” also, that “If you want sex life, then get yourself married according to religious principle and get a wife and beget nice children.” That is “do.” And “No illicit sex,” that is “do not.” Side by side. “You do not take intoxicants”–that is “do not.” But “You take Krsna prasadam and be intoxicated with Krsna’s love”–that is “do.” Similarly, “You do not indulge in gambling, but you indulge in gambling.” What is that gambling? That gambling is “Dedicate your life to Krsna and see the result.” That is also gambling. That is also gambling, because everyone is engaged in his own business, but if he’s advised, “You give up this business. You take to this Krsna business,” that is also gambling because he does not know what will happen.”

Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Bhagavad-Gita, 09-12-73, London

“Just like money. Money you can utilize for duskrtina and for sukrtina. You can utilize your money for drinking wine, illicit sex, meat-eating and gambling. And you can utilize your money for Krsna’s service, for offering yajnas, for constructing temple, sacrifices, push on the sankirtana movement, Krsna consciousness movement. So money is not good or bad. As you utilize it… Similarly, merit, merit also, there. You have got already merit better than the animals, but you have to utilize it for proper service. That is called Krsna consciousness. Consciousness we have got, merit we have got. Simply we have to utilize.”

Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Bhagavad-Gita, 10-10-73, Bombay

“Four kinds of sinful activities–associating with woman for illicit sex, eating meat, intoxication and gambling–are allowed for the ksatriyas. For political reasons, sometimes they have to take to these sinful activities. Ksatriyas do not refrain from gambling. One vivid example is the Pandavas. When the Pandavas were challenged by the opposite party, Duryodhana, to gamble and risk their kingdom, they could not refrain, and by that gambling they lost their kingdom, and their wife was insulted. Similarly, the ksatriyas cannot refrain from fighting if challenged by the opposite party. Therefore Prthu Maharaja, taking consideration of all these facts, inquired whether there is any auspicious path. Grhastha life is inauspicious because grhastha means consciousness for sense gratification, and as soon as there is sense gratification, one’s position is always full of dangers. This material world is said to be padam padam yad vipadam na tesam, dangerous in every step (Bhag. 10.14.58).”

Srimad-Bhagavatam 4:22:13 Purport

“Gambling is also an art. Ksatriyas are allowed to exhibit talent in this art of gambling. By the grace of Krsna, the Pandavas lost everything by gambling and were deprived of their kingdom, wife, family and home because they were not expert in the gambling art. In other words, a devotee may not be expert in materialistic activities. It is therefore advised in the sastra that materialistic activities are not at all suitable for the living entities, especially the devotees. A devotee should therefore be satisfied to eat whatever is sent as prasada by the Supreme Lord. A devotee remains pure because he does not take to sinful activities such as gambling, intoxication, meat-eating and illicit sex.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam 9:9:16-17

“Prabhupada: Yes, gambling means betting. That is gambling. People are betting. You put one dollar, and if you gain, you get ten dollars. Otherwise, you lose this one dollar. This is gambling. They’re gambling in Christian churches also, in the Western countries. So gambling is considered sinful activity. I do not know… One Mr. Bhattacarya, a barrister, he was educated in England. So he told there is some island, Monte Christo? There is gambling?
Devotee: Monte Carlo.
Prabhupada: Monte Carlo, yes. He said that there are gamblers, and one gambler loses everything, he commits suicide, immediately, and he’ll go on. That’s all. Nobody cares for him. He told me. It is a fact? So just see the gambling. They bring all their fortunes to stake and they lose everything. And then, out of frustration, takes revolver and shots himself, dies, and it is thrown on the street or in somewhere. Nobody cares. Just like cats and dogs. So there is free gambling in Monte Carlo?
Devotee: Very, very wealthy people, they (indistinct) there.
Devotee: There is free gambling in London.
Prabhupada: Oh, everywhere. Any big city. In Calcutta, Bombay, everyone gambling. When you get money, then gambling. The horse race is also gambling. Horse race. This gambling, drinking, meat-eating, these things were all unknown in India. They did not know how to drink. These Britishers introduced. There is still a lane, a street, Porterly Street. There was a woman of suspicious character. She was supplied big bottles of wine, and she used to canvass rich men’s son to take wine, and it was distributed free. In this way wine was distributed, and people began to drink, gradually. And I have seen a tea set committee. They… Advertising tea, preparing tea nicely. “You take this tea, you’ll not feel hungry, you’ll be cured from malaria…,” and so many things. And people come and take tea in this way. Now any man is taking tea. In the morning they’ll gather in the tea stall. You see. So people, they did not know what is gambling, what is drinking, what is meat-eating. So these things were introduced gradually. Still, no rigid Hindu house will allow meat cooking in the house, still. No. If you want to if you want to eat meat, you can go to hotel, but at home you cannot cook, meat-eating.
Yamuna: Guru Maharaja, in our missionary work, if we’re forced to live with (indistinct), should we just talk about that same topic or should we avoid the (indistinct) at all?
Prabhupada: No. If we can find out a suitable place; but it is difficult nowadays. That we have to tolerate. What can be done? Let others do whatever they like. We can preach that “Do not do it,” but you cannot force, because the whole world has gone in these four principles of life, this eating, meat-eating, drinking, gambling. And so our regulation is very strict. You see? If we say that “You do whatever you like,” then many people may come and join. (laughter) But we are not going to say that. We… Our principle is that better not to have any cow than to have a cow, disturb him. You see? Ekas candras tamo hanti. If one person can understand this Krsna consciousness science, in future there is hope that he can make many other persons to this knowledge of Krsna consciousness. Although it is very difficult. In Bhagavad-gita it is said, manusyanam sahasresu. But if you can deliver even one man in your life, then you’ll be doing a great service for Krsna. It is not required that you have to deliver hundreds and hundreds of men, so-called. No. If you can train only one man, that’s a great service to Krsna. You saved one man from the clutches of maya. It is so nice thing. So do it peacefully, and as far as possible. People may accept or not accept, but we shall do our duty. That’s all. But why will not accept? You have accepted it. You were also addicted to these habits, but you have accepted it. Similarly others may accept. We have to do it.”

Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam, 09-17-69, London

Sincerely,
Bhakta Sunil

Balaji Shanmugam, 30th September 2014

Hare Krishna everybody,

If I am correct real lottery system works like this. Collect money from 10 lakh people. Randomly select some 1 lakh people and pay them a prize and the lottery owner ( be it a government or a charity system ) takes the remaining cash and nobody knows what he will be doing with that money. Remaining 9 lakh people get cheated and go empty handed. For me it seems that it is not in accordance with Krishna consciousness.

If a devotee manufactures and sells comb it is a value adding activity. The person who gains money ( the seller – the devotee ) is maintaining his body by selling comb. The person who loses money ( the buyer ) actually gains something. He is able to clean up his hair with the comb.This type of work seems to be in accordance with Krishna consciousness. In the case of lottery system number of buyers lose money and doesn’t gain anything.

With best regards,
S.Balaji.
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 03rd October 2014

Dear Mother Jaanvi,

I don’t participate in such things at all willingly. Sometimes they invite me to do surveys with a chance of winning this, that, or the other, they are using people’s greed and use the contact information to bombard them with advertisements etc. So I see that I don’t have to waste time on such things.

Sometimes it is unavoidable. Once at my workplace, unwillingly I was entered into some lottery and I won. I took the entire winnings and put it into the donation box at the temple, and washed my hands off the matter. I prayed to Sri Radha Kshir Chor Gopinath that whoever had contributed towards that donation should please get some spiritual benefit. Another time a similar thing happened, I gave the entire winning to a visiting preaching devotee who was in the renounced order of life, to fund his preaching activities.

By avoiding this, I am free of much anxiety.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das
Sulakshana devi dasi, 18th October 2014

Hare Krishna Sunil Prabhu!

please accept my humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Gurumataji!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thank you for sharing all those excerpts from various lectures of Srila Prabhupada.

your servant,’
Sulakshana devi dasi
Bhakta Sunil, 20th October 2014

Mataji your sincere reading is of great value

All Glories and credit to Srila Prabhupada

Sincerely,
Bhakta Sunil
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The mind is not the brain. You are not your mind. You are not your body.

The mind is a fascinating entity. Human society strives to define what is the mind, to understand it, to make sense of what is this thing.

The subject matter of “mind” is very deep and complex, no doubt, but there is one thing we need to understand…

The mind is not the brain.

Modern science has gone in the direction of equating the mind with the physical, chemical, and electrical features of what is observed in the brain. And there has been some apparent success too, stimulating a certain part of the brain causes certain emotions, cutting off a certain part of the brain causes certain memories or abilities to disappear, observing the electrical signals in the brain gives a sense that “this part of the brain is responsible for that type of thought or activity”.

So one may be forgive for thinking that the mind is the brain.

However, looking deep into the Vedic texts, one finds that the mind is described as a subtle material entity…

Bg. 7.4
भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
अहंकार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥ ७.४ ॥
bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ
khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me
bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego – all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/7/4/

Analyzing the body itself, including the brain, all the material elements of the brain fall into the “earth, water, fire, air, which all take ether (space) categories. The mind is distinct from these, and what is interesting, is that the mind is also distinct from intelligence and the sense of identity (ego).

So how do we understand the role of the brain in the manifestation of the mind?

We can turn to modern computer science. In a typical computer, we see the hardware, the wired up silicon wafers. By themselves, they are pretty much worthless, no more useful than beach sand.

There’s also something called the “software” which is also pretty useless until it actually runs on those silicon circuits. Software is written by conscious entities, and represents their thought process. It comes “alive” when it runs on the hardware.

Going one level deeper, there is something called the “firmware”, which is the first layer of basic software which allows the silicon circuits to be able to run the software. All these of course are useless unless there is an expert programmer who can combine the right hardware, firmware, and software together to create something useful.

In the context of the body, you, the spirit soul, atma, are the driver of both your body and your mind, that is, if you don’t let the machines randomly drive you here-and-there chasing after mirages.

To those in the know about the essence of spirituality, life comes form the spirit spark that inhabits the body, the ego represents the sense of identity of that spirit spark, intelligence represents the discrimination that comes from that sense of identity, and the mind represents the actualization of the intelligence into thinking, feeling, and willing.

This makes the brain merely the subtle hardware, where the mind manifests its own workings, which then manifests in the gross hardware, as words and deeds.

But this does not make the mind simply the brain just as an electrical wire delivering power to a lightbulb is not the power generation station.

This deserves some reflection… you are not this body, and you are certainly not your mind, and contrary to what is commonly understood today, your brain is not your mind. You carry your mind with you life after life after life, until of course, you are free of the material mind, being completely pure in your spiritual identity and consciousness.

Be pure. Be free.

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Time – Insurmountable time

In School, we studied this poem. It struck me then, and it strikes me now, and has ended up being among my all-time favourites…

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert… near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings;
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Ozymandias, by Percy Shelley

This is the fate of anyone trying to leave behind a material legacy. Time spares none, and no material result is more permanent than a sand-castle at the beach. Not any amount of money, not any building, not any organization.

Time is an impersonal expansion of God, and is thus insurmountable by anyone except the pure lover of God. Such a pure hearted soul, even if externally in the material realm, lives in the eternal ever-present, with no past, no future, simply the eternal ever-present. Such a person experiences no hankering, sorrow, no anxiety, and no despair whatsoever.

However, in the material realm, for those in material consciousness, time is insurmountable. All talk of transcending time is just childish babbling. Time, in the material realm can never be transcended.

What is it that makes time so powerful?

Bg. 11.32
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो
लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः ।
ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे
येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः ॥ ११.३२ ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
kālo ’smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho
lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ
ṛte ’pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣyanti sarve
ye ’vasthitāḥ praty-anīkeṣu yodhāḥ

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you [the Pāṇḍavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/11/32/

Time is understood as an impersonal expansion of God.

No matter how powerful someone may be in the material realm, they cannot stand the test of time. In the material world, as I heard a wonderful devotee named Govind Dasa say recently, “even incarnations of God are forgotten with time, what to speak of us”. Time is the greatest of all subduers.

Bg. 10.30
प्रह्लादश्चास्मि दैत्यानां कालः कलयतामहम् ।
मृगाणां च मृगेन्द्रोऽहं वैनतेयश्च पक्षिणाम् ॥ १०.३० ॥
prahlādaś cāsmi daityānāṁ
kālaḥ kalayatām aham
mṛgāṇāṁ ca mṛgendro ’haṁ
vainateyaś ca pakṣiṇām
Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa.


https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/10/30/

And this is why we cannot understand time. We can only understand that which is inferior to us. In order to solve a problem, one has to be higher than that problem, whether it be with physical force, or mental ability.

Some intricate mathematical or philosophical concepts are beyond the grasp of untrained or incapable minds. Taxes are beyond the control of most humans. Death is beyond the control all living entities. And time, time is beyond all of us.

Is there anything at all that stands the test of time?

Bg. 14.2
इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागताः ।
सर्गेऽपि नोपजायन्ते प्रलये न व्यथन्ति च ॥ १४.२ ॥
By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one can attain to the transcendental nature like My own. Thus established, one is not born at the time of creation or disturbed at the time of dissolution.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/14/2/

And how can one do that?

After acquiring perfect transcendental knowledge, one acquires qualitative equality with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, becoming free from the repetition of birth and death.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, BG 14.2 purport

Let’s aim for this perfect spiritual knowledge, and let us live it!

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Randomness is a Myth

Randomness is a myth. Randomness does not exist. But we can learn to free ourselves from the complexities of what appears to be random

You heard that right! Yes. Randomness is another one of those things that doesn’t exist, just like nothingness. Nothing is ever random. Randomness is one of these (or a variant) in every single case:

  1. A figment of imagination
  2. A sign of ignorance
  3. A device, tool, a starting point

Randomness as Imagination – it is very tempting, for someone who wants to pretend that their actions have no consequences, or someone who does not want to take responsibility for their actions, to pretend that the Universe is random. But of course, imagination goes only so far – it is not true.

Randomness as Ignorance – If I gave you an extremely complex mathematical formula, and asked you to show someone else the results of that formula with different hidden inputs, those results can very well appear to be random. But they are not random to someone who knows the equation and the inputs, in this case, you and me. So the outputs simply appear random, they are not so.

Randomness as a tool, a starting point – In many mathematical and scientific disciplines, just like the square root of -1, “i“, to pretend that the space is populated with random values helps to “seed” certain algorithms. This process implicitly acknowledges that randomness is simply a tool, a starting point to reach a model or understanding that is not random.

So if everything is not random, then why does it appear to be? Complexity. The laws of material nature, which are anything but random, are the creation of God, who is above the laws of material nature. The laws themselves are quite simple, but when the laws interact with themselves over and over again, the complexity they generate is mind-boggling.

Take a simple example of me planting one apple seed, just one seed. Not all seeds sprout but if/when this one does, it brings forth a seedling. Not all seedlings grow to be a tree, but if/when this one does, it bears flowers. Not all flowers turn to fruit, but some do. Not all fruits have seeds in them, but most of them do. When these seeds disperse, many sprout, give rise to trees, and this process endlessly continues, as long as the material circumstances are favourable.

After just a few decades, it will be impossible for a person who didn’t witness me planting the first apple seed to detect which apple tree was the first one. It will be impossible, even for me, to tell which tree an apple came from… or to tell for sure which specific seed caused which specific tree to grow.

Which brings us to the oft-heard saying, humans can count the fruits in a tree or the seeds in a fruit, but only God knows how many trees there are inside one seed. God is infinite, and therefore, it is possible for God to know all the permutations, with vision undisturbed by time.

Karma, the law of action and reaction has been described in the Vedic scriptures many millenia ago. A more recent rediscovery of the principles of Karma is by Isaac Newton “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction“. Sometimes, people say “what goes around, comes around“.

I heard that Lord Buddha said that if one were to stack the skeletons of all the bodies one soul has inhabited, those bones will block out the sun! Every soul inhabiting the material world has had many many actions (seeds), giving rise to many many beginning to sprout (seedlings), with many different resultant symptoms (flowers and fruits). It is hard to take one particular symptom of one’s life today and try to ascertain what specific action caused it. But just because it is hard doesn’t mean that randomness is the answer.

So what is the solution? How does one get out of the dense forest of karmic actions and reactions? The Bhagavad Gita defines a particular type of action and classifies it as “akarma” – “inaction”. This inaction is not some sort of inert “do nothing / sit still / renounce all action” practiced by the immature spiritualists or lazy materialists, but it is those actions that are spiritual in nature – that which serve to reconnect spirit to the Supreme Spirit, God.

“The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is.” BG 4.17

There is no randomness, everything is actually quite ordered and structured, it is simply a matter of the choices we have made in the past. And just as our present circumstances may appear complex, we can unravel and simplify just as someone pieces together a jumbled up jigsaw puzzle, with time, patience, and determination.

aprarabdha-phalam papam
kutam bijam phalonmukham
kramenaiva praliyeta
vishnu-bhakti-ratatmanam
 
Persons who are completely engaged in the devotional service of the Lord Vishnu the Personality of Godhead—becomes completely extinct from all sorts of vicious reactions which either potential, germinating, seedling or current by a gradual process. (from Padma Purana)
 
असत्यमप्रतिष्ठं ते जगदाहुरनीश्वरम् ।
अपरस्परसंभूतं किमन्यत्कामहैतुकम् ॥ १६.८ ॥
asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te
jagad āhur anīśvaram
aparaspara-sambhūtaṁ
kim anyat kāma-haitukam
 
They say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control. They say it is produced of sex desire and has no cause other than lust. BG 16.8 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/16/8/
 
कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः ।
अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः ॥ ४.१७ ॥
karmaṇo hy api boddhavyaṁ
boddhavyaṁ ca vikarmaṇaḥ
akarmaṇaś ca boddhavyaṁ
gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ
 

The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is. BG 4.17 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/4/17/

 
BG 4.17:
The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is.
BG 4.18:
One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.

What could possibly be unknown to You, O master? With vision undisturbed by time, You witness the minds of all living beings. Nevertheless, on Your order I will speak. SB 10.64.11 https://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/10/64/11

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Misery begins when we endeavor for happiness… How?

Rao, 31st August 2015

Hare Krishna Dear Devotees!

Please accept my humble obeisances!
All glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to your devotional service!

Please help me to understand this quote with examples: “misery begins when we endeavor for happiness” .

your servant,
Rao

nuria.k, 31st August 2015

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Do you mean material happiness?
aruni

Shreyas, 03 September 2015

Hare Krishna revered K.V Rao ji,
Please accept my humble obeisances and consider the below answer,
All Glories to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada!

I am sharing what I recently heard while hearing a lecture from His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, delivered on 9th Oct ’76, Aligarh, India (SB 1.2.5):

Solution:
When mind is engaged at the lotus feet of the Lord… As it is stated in the Śrīmad-Bha…, sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor (SB 9.4.18). When the mind is fixed up in the lotus feet of the Lord, then the words are used, the vibration of the tongue used… Vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane. Then the words are utilized for describing about the spiritual world. (coughs) The spiritual world is called Vaikuṇṭha. There is no kuṇṭha, anxiety. That is spiritual world. When you become spiritualized, brahma-bhutaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54), there is no more kuṇṭha. This is the sign of becoming brahma-bhūtaḥ. At the present moment we are jīva-bhūtaḥ. Manaḥ saṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). Therefore our struggle for existence is with the mind and the six senses. But when your existence is spiritualized, then brahma-bhūtaḥ, you have no more anxieties. That is the sign. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na… Prasannātmā means na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54).

Problem (here’s the answer):
We have got two diseases in the material world. One is śocati and the other is kāṅkṣati. The things which we haven’t got, we desire to possess, kāṅkṣati. And the things which we possess, it will be spoiled, it will be lost. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that everything in this material world is temporary: smaro nityam anityatam. So when we engage our mind in these temporary things, that is śocana and akāṅkṣa. And when we are elevated to the spiritual platform, then there is no more śocana and akāṅkṣa. This is the symptom. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati, samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu (BG 18.54). At that time it is possible to re-establish samatā. We are very much anxious to re-establish our universal brotherhood, but from the material platform it is not possible. Unless we come to the platform of brahma-bhūtaḥ, we cannot expect samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). These things are there in the Bhagavad-gītā.

So there’s no harm to endeavour for happiness, as long as the source and sink is Krishna Himself. Devotional Service is satisfying upto the degree it is selfless and uninterrupted. So if my happiness is based on something other than Krishna (selfish), then that means I am putting myself in the position of “I am the enjoyer”. This naturally isolates me from Krishna whereas the natural state is we are all parts and parcels of Krishna (mamaivamso jiva loke jiva bhutah sanatanah). Misery enters here and as my spiritual master states the word misery comes from the word miser. Examples are common. My phone gets lost or cracked I feel depressed and next day I blame Krishna for it and then I feel disinclined towards chanting my 16 rounds or instead of dancing with devotees in a kirtan or arati I remain spaced out. Or maybe skip the program too. This is because my happiness was based on that phone/car/person/job/glorification, etc. and whenever I wanted to feel happy, I depended on them.

And if Krishna is my source of happiness then I would have thanked that at least my bhakti is not lost or stolen.

Of course, it’s a matter of practice as we are daily doing but as we keep getting attached to derive happiness from Krishna, misery is reduced to that degree because we are being servants not misers. It’s all about channelizing our endeavours. We can rather hanker/lament for pushing forward the movement of Srila Prabhupada than for getting promoted in a job or getting a better salary, car or material circumstances.

However, the topmost state is when our only desire is to please guru, vaishnava and Krishna. Then our only misery is how can I please them and this misery is rather source of happiness at the same time, strengthening our Krishna Consciousness.

The Thought of the day at www.backtohome.com from Sept 1 2015, stating –

“If you are not tasting unlimited bliss at every moment, you are doing something wrong because to be constantly relishing unlimited nectar is your natural constitutional position”

helps a lot as a barometer.

Other thoughts at http://www.backtohome.com from Aug 28, Aug 22 2015 and other days are also good on misery/anxiety.

your servant
Bhakta Shreyas

Bhakta Sunil, 03 September 2015

Great answer Shreyas Prabhu

 

Shivani Saxena, 05th September, 2015

Very delightful representation Shreyas Prabhu.

Shivani

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 10th September 2015

Dear Bhakta Rao,

Hare Krishna!

Thank you for your really insightful questions. In addition to the delightful answer by Shreyas, here is something from Srimad Bhagavatam, part of several verses from Prahlada Maharaja, speaking directly to Sri Narasihmadeva, along with translation and very apt purport by Srila Prabhupada…

(BTW, that entire chapter, SB 7.9 is highly nectarean, among my favorite sections from the Bhagavatam)

SB 7.9.20: “O great one, O Supreme Lord, because of combination with pleasing and displeasing circumstances and because of separation from them, one is placed in a most regrettable position, within heavenly or hellish planets, as if burning in a fire of lamentation. Although there are many remedies by which to get out of miserable life, any such remedies in the material world are more miserable than the miseries themselves. Therefore I think that the only remedy is to engage in Your service. Kindly instruct me in such service. ”

SB 7.9.24 “My dear Lord, now I have complete experience concerning the worldly opulence, mystic power, longevity and other material pleasures enjoyed by all living entities, from Lord Brahmā down to the ant. As powerful time, You destroy them all. Therefore, because of my experience, I do not wish to possess them. My dear Lord, I request You to place me in touch with Your pure devotee and let me serve him as a sincere servant. ”

SB 7.9.25

kutrāśiṣaḥ śruti-sukhā mṛgatṛṣṇi-rūpāḥ
kvedaṁ kalevaram aśeṣa-rujāṁ virohaḥ
nirvidyate na tu jano yad apīti vidvān
kāmānalaṁ madhu-lavaiḥ śamayan durāpaiḥ

Translation:
In this material world, every living entity desires some future happiness, which is exactly like a mirage in the desert. Where is water in the desert, or, in other words, where is happiness in this material world? As for this body, what is its value? It is merely a source of various diseases. The so-called philosophers, scientists and politicians know this very well, but nonetheless they aspire for temporary happiness. Happiness is very difficult to obtain, but because they are unable to control their senses, they run after the so-called happiness of the material world and never come to the right conclusion.
Purport:
There is a song in the Bengali language which states, “I constructed this home for happiness, but unfortunately there was a fire, and everything has now been burnt to ashes.” This illustrates the nature of material happiness. Everyone knows it, but nonetheless one plans to hear or think something very pleasing. Unfortunately, all of one’s plans are annihilated in due course of time. There were many politicians who planned empires, supremacy and control of the world, but in due time all their plans and empires — and even the politicians themselves — were vanquished. Everyone should take lessons from Prahlāda Mahārāja about how we are engaged in so-called temporary happiness through bodily exercises for sense enjoyment. All of us repeatedly make plans, which are all repeatedly frustrated. Therefore one should stop such planmaking.

As one cannot stop a blazing fire by constantly pouring ghee upon it, one cannot satisfy oneself by increasing plans for sense enjoyment. The blazing fire is bhava-mahā-dāvāgni, the forest fire of material existence. This forest fire occurs automatically, without endeavor. We want to be happy in the material world, but this will never be possible; we shall simply increase the blazing fire of desires. Our desires cannot be satisfied by illusory thoughts and plans; rather, we have to follow the instructions of Lord Kṛṣṇa: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. Then we shall be happy. Otherwise, in the name of happiness, we shall continue to suffer miserable conditions.

I hope this helps!

your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das

 

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How to Manage Work Life without compromising principles

Harish V Menon, 15th January 2015

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumata.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Request your guidance in managing work life. We work with various types of people with different mentalities. When working with colleagues who are having selfish intentions, back biting attitudes and doing politics, how should a person in KC react. I try to be good to everyone, but sometimes end up retaliating to their behaviors and I later repent

Please advise how to handle such type of situations

your Servant,
Harish V

 

Brhadnath dasa, 15th January 2015

Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisances

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

When I joined at a new place among unknown colleagues, I faced one typical problem, our incharge would thrust work related to other seats to me in addition to my own work. My feeble protests were brushed aside. I also approached devotees, most of them advised to refuse, but that was not my forte. One devotee told me to strengthen my sadhana, viz. attentive chanting in the early hours,devote more time to listen to lectures. I followed and also shared the nectar from the lectures with my colleagues. Within one month the whole scenario changed. Now the additional work load got offloaded, and person concerned would come to me for guidance and I started sharing Prabhupada with them, by gifting them Bhagavad Gita As It Is

I suggest, to share the concerns of your colleagues, (whatever it is), don’t go into the shell and share Prabhupada with them. their is too much scope to reform some persons. Moreover, this will help you to empower yourself to practice bhakti consistently, irrespective of circumstantial feelings

Hope I make some sense

your servant,
Brhad nath dasa

 

Sacinandana Das, 16th January 2015

Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All Glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumata.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

The more we give Krishna, the more we get Krishna. By giving Prasadam to our colleagues we are making them Krishna Conscious. We can ask them to chant Hare Krishna and taste the ultimate bliss. We also have to be careful to not let them know that Bhakti is more important to us than anything else.

your servant,
Sacinandana Das

 

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 16th January 2015

Dear Sriman Harish,

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Your question is very pertinent. Many of us face this same situation every single day.

It is important not to get too emotionally invested with materialistic persons either lovingly or in distaste, because if we do, we will be dragged into material consciousness one way or the other.

In my personal work life, I try to stick to business only, but strive to be very professional and friendly without getting involved in their activities, for example, if we have some celebration, I don’t go with the colleagues to the bar, though I will stay in the office and clap and pat people on the back for a job well done.

Not everyone is ready for spiritual advice either, in fact, you can jeopardize your broader Krishna conscious service if you endanger your job by preaching inappropriately.

So, look at this… stay away from the envious, try to gently preach to the innocent…

If we are always exemplary, people will naturally come to us when they need spiritual guidance. It is not easy to change from one day to the next, but I can say that the process of devotional service, rising early, chanting our rounds, Mangal Arati, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, taking only Krishna Prasada as far as possible, following regulative principles, etc., purifies us gradually and almost imperceptibly, but I can see many differences from years ago and today.

If sometimes, we fail, we should pick ourselves and try again without getting discouraged either.

Hopefully this helps!

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

 

Bhakta Sunil, 17th January 2015

Hare Krishna Harish Prabhu

Dandavat Pranams!

The earlier answers have provided best possible answers ,but to indulge in this topic i humbly put forth the answer in different words :

Dealing and associating are different. At work place you deal with non-devotees but do not take their association and where favorable , give your association

One point I remember about retaliating or not retaliating from Ultimate Self Realization emails , is that one choose one’s battles wisely ; if one can fight or correct then retaliate or else not to retaliate

If one is tolerant and could successfully ignore , then the back biters would get tired of the dirty politics and would soon stop. It is like test of getting agitated or not.

Regarding persons who are envious , backbiting , playing politics and blasphemous ; i remember a recent email from Ultimate Self Realization Emails as forwarded below , which I hope would help :

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:
________________________________

Question: How to Handle Blasphemers?

________________________________

What should a Krishna consciousness person do if someone blasphemes against Lord Krishna or His devotees? Please guide me on ways to handle this especially when the person is unavoidable, like at home or in the office.

There’s another religion where even the slightest blasphemy would mean ghastly acts of terror by its followers and all this killing is justified. Isn’t it wrong to resort to such violent acts if someone blasphemes God?

Regards,
Kaushik

________________________________

Answer: Defeat Them, Leave the Place, or Tune Them Out

________________________________

If someone blasphemes Krishna or His devotee the best thing to do is defeat them philosophically. Convince them they are completely wrong to say such nonsense so that they will feel remorse and apologize. If this is not possible, one should immediately leave that place, because by hearing blasphemy one’s devotion to Krishna will be destroyed. If you are stuck with them like at home or in the office and you cannot convince them that they are wrong, you should block your hears rather than be polluted by hearing blasphemy. For example you can get a headset for hearing Krishna conscious lectures and Hare Krishna kirtan. In this way by tuning into Krishna katha you can tune them out. If you cannot tune them out with a headset, you should tune them out simply by putting your mind somewhere else.

Committing blasphemy is certainly a greatly sinful act. Even though even our scriptures say that blasphemers should be killed, this should NOT be taken literally in this age. This is so because on the plea of Lord Nityananda Lord Caitanya forgave the blasphemers Jagai and Madhai rather than killing them. In this age of Kali because everyone is a blasphemer, if we were to kill the blasphemers, we would have to kill everyone. So the conclusion is that instead of killing the blasphemers, we should kill their blasphemous mentality by the wide scale distribution introduction of Hari nama sankirtan (the congregational chanting of they holy names of God) and the wide scale distribution of transcendental literatures such as the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. This will bring about the much desired peace and happiness for the world.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari
http://www.backtohome.com
———————————————-

Sincerely,
Sunil

 

Balaji Shanmugam, 19th January 2015

Hare Krishna everybody,

Please accept my humble respects.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada and Our Gurudeva.

I to faced similar problem and in my case it happened to be bit intense. So I wrote our gurudeva. The instruction given by our Gurudeva is available in the following link.

http://sda-archives.com/tftd/tftd/2004/may/tftd_051204.html#W

Hari bol,

S.Balaji.

 

Acharya Das, 19th January 2015

Dear Harish Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeiances.All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I have also faced myself such situations some suggestions from my side would be identify and be aware of these kind of people while working. Do your duty to the best of your ability and have a good relationship with your superior.Keep focusing on your task don’t react too much to there politics, back bitting etc but keep a watch on their activities. Distribute Prasad if possible but dont preach too much.

yours Sincerely,
Acharya Das.

 

Harish V Menon, 19th January 2015

​Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumata.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you all for your wonderful guidance.

Haribol!​

your Servant,
Harish V

 

Haladhar Das, 20th January 2015

Hare Krsna Harish ji,

Thank you for the nice question which definitely everyone goes through in his office life and beautiful answers given.

Just wanted to take the opportunity to add a little to already clarified discussion.

One thing is setbacks small or big, steadies or rather enhances one faith in sadhu, guru, shashtra like Lord Krsna already confirming this material world to be dukhalayam asasvatam temporary and full of miseries. And Srila Bhaktisidhanta Saraswati Thakur ji citing “This place is not fit for the gentleman”. So we should take all the negativity or unfavourable circumstances as sweet reminder to concentrate on the goal of human form of life, going back to Godhead.

e dhana, yaubana, putra, parijana
ithe ki ache paratiti re
kamala-dala-jala, jivana talamala
bhajahu hari-pada niti re

“What assurance of real happiness is there in all of one’s wealth, youthfulness, sons, and family members? This life is tottering like a drop of water on a lotus petal; therefore you should always serve and worship the divine feet of Lord Hari.”

Second thing is we have to understand and properly analyze through the eyes of scripture our favourable position vis-a-vis the position of non-devotees or materialists. We should have mercy on them and if feasible try to find out means to save them from their precarious position.

“Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature, therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.” (BG 3.5)

So having mercy on the poor souls, trying to find out the means for utilizing a unfavourable circumstance in a favourable way. Like Srila Gurudeva HG Sankarshan Das Adhikari ji says a good sailor by adjusting his sails can sail against the wind also. Or a intelligent businessman makes profit in any circumstances, when the price is low, he buys and when the price is high, he sells.

Reading Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta helps a lot in keeping the devotional spirits high while dealing in such unfavourable or so called horrible situations, as after going through it (although its not mentioning every moment), we can know what a unfavourable situation means actually.

Hope it helps.

thank you.

your servant,
Haladhar Das

Please subscribe to daily inspirational emails from His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari (Writings and lectures archived at sda-archives.com), written fresh every day from his travels around the world sharing the highest spiritual knowledge with everyone. Sign up now at www.backtohome.com

Why take shelter of a Spiritual Master

Jaanvi, 19th January 2015

Dear all,

Many people in this world have no spiritual master, but are following all the good qualities of human being, moreover, helping needy people, social service, etc. Also, visiting temple and listening to spiritual talks. Now, where will they go after leaving this material body?

Sincerely,
Jaanvi

 

Priya Sutradhar, 19th January 2015

Dear Jaanvi mataji,

Hare Krsna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga! All glories to Prabhupad!
Gu means darkness and ru means brightness or knowledge.

The person who helps us to overcome the ignorance of darkness and bring us to the light of knowledge, he is called guru. It is said in Padma purana, that the guru by his power and devotion is capable of rendering a person absolute knowledge and purify him.

And lord Sri Krsna instructs in Bhagawad Gita, if you want to come to Me, if you want to know about Me, first of all go to a bonafide Guru. And if you don’t approach a spiritual master and try to learn scriptures like Gita own your own then all your efforts will prove to be futile.

HG Sriman Sankarshan Das Maharaj explains that “in Krishna consciousness we have a tripod, the three basic legs of bhakti that will solidly situate you on the spiritual platform. They are described as follow by Srila Prabhupada in Chapter Six of the Nectar of Devotion:
(1) Accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master.
(2) Becoming initiated by the spiritual master and learning how to discharge devotional service from him.
(3) Obeying the orders of the spiritual master with faith and devotion.

All the other items of bhakti are automatically included in these three principles. So if you will simply take shelter of the spiritual master, get initiated by him and always obey him, you will quickly and easily be elevated to the transcendental platform of pure devotional service. In other words, Lord Sri Krishna will become your property”

So dear mataji, in simple words we cannot be liberated from material bandage without the mercy of our spiritual master.

Even if you cannot undergo a formal ceremony, if the spiritual master accepts you and you follow his instructions, that’s initiation. Srila Prahbupada did not get formally initiated until after twelve years after accepting his spiritual master, yet he says from the first meeting, the actual initiation took place, as he accepted his spiritual master within his heart and his instructions as his life and soul.

And as far as the good deeds you mentioned are concerned,everyone is rewarded or punished according to his karma. And if the activities are in Krsna consciousness, Lord Sri Krsna says that anyone who renders even a small amount of service unto Him, it doesn’t go in vain. In this or next life Krsna blesses Him with sufficient intelligent and also makes situation favorable for Him by letting him take birth in a high or vaishnava family so that He can attain the Supreme.

I however have no knowledge. I just made an insignificant attempt to answer and shared what I have learnt from senior devotees. Forgive for any offense.

your servant,
Priya

Yamini Narang, 20th January 2015

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances at your feet.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Guru Mataji.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Dear HG Jaanvi Mataji,

First of all, I totally agree with what Priya said just except one thing that she mentioned.

She mentioned that we are rewarded or punished because of our karma. Actually prabhupada says that we are not rewarded or punished, we get reciprocation to our own deeds. Whatever we do, we get reciprocation of that.

And coming to your question, I know a prabhu he’s actually a very good human being, always eager to help others, social services, very positive, no grudges for anyone etc. In other words a very good person. He’s my uncle and his wife is a very good devotee so once we had a programme at some devotee’s place so she asked this question to the speaker “prabhuji, my husband is a very good person but not a krsna devotee so where will he go after leaving his body?”
And prabhuji said that if you’re having a very positive attitude, very down to earth attitude,you’re very good etc. But you are not serving the Lord then after some births you’ll get to know about the Supreme or as u have a very much service attitude so may be by Krsna’s arrangement you sometime may get a chance to serve a Vaishnava, a pure soul then by his blessings you’ll for sure become a good devotee someday may be in this birth or some other. Prabhuji mentioned a quote by HH Radhanath Swami in this regard “a devotee’s anger can turn all your good qualities bad” so prabhu said the same applies the other way.. If you can serve a Vaishnava and please him his blessings can turn all your bad qualities good. So we should grab any opportunity to serve devotees with both of our hands.

In the end we all have to return back home, Back to God head, we have to go into our original identity, the eternal one. So it depends on our karmas when we get that wonderful opportunity to be able to try to go back home. We are really blessed that we got Srila Prabhupada, the savior of this world. We should follow him very sincerely. He has put in a lot of effort to revolutionize this world and we all should assist him and his wonderful disciples in spreading Lord Chaitanya’s message to the fallen souls in this world and make this Hare Krishna Movement even more successful.

I’m the most fallen soul on this planet. Just tried to share a very little knowledge I had. Please forgive for any offenses committed.

your insignificant servant,
Yamini.

 

Sudarshan Das, 20th January 2015

Hare Krishna,

Such a wonderful question and such wonderful replies!!

Priya Mataji has very beautifully answered the question. I just wanted to mention that someone without a Spiritual Master is like a dog with no master. They do not have the care and protection that a dog with a master has. So getting initiate is a must have. However for those who were not able to attain the perfection stage they are not losers. This is the beauty of putting efforts into a Spiritual goal.

Please refer to the following verses from the 6th Chapter:

Question:
Bg 6.37 — Arjuna said: O Kṛṣṇa, what is the destination of the unsuccessful transcendentalist, who in the beginning takes to the process of self-realization with faith but who later desists due to worldly-mindedness and thus does not attain perfection in mysticism?
Bg 6.38 — O mighty-armed Kṛṣṇa, does not such a man, who is bewildered from the path of transcendence, fall away from both spiritual and material success and perish like a riven cloud, with no position in any sphere?
Bg 6.39 — This is my doubt, O Kṛṣṇa, and I ask You to dispel it completely. But for You, no one is to be found who can destroy this doubt.

Answer:
Bg 6.40 — The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Son of Pṛthā, a transcendentalist engaged in auspicious activities does not meet with destruction either in this world or in the spiritual world; one who does good, My friend, is never overcome by evil.
Bg 6.41 — The unsuccessful yogī, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy.
Bg 6.42 — Or [if unsuccessful after long practice of yoga] he takes his birth in a family of transcendentalists who are surely great in wisdom. Certainly, such a birth is rare in this world.
Bg 6.43 — On taking such a birth, he revives the divine consciousness of his previous life, and he again tries to make further progress in order to achieve complete success, O son of Kuru.
Bg 6.44 — By virtue of the divine consciousness of his previous life, he automatically becomes attracted to the yogic principles – even without seeking them. Such an inquisitive transcendentalist stands always above the ritualistic principles of the scriptures.
Bg 6.45 — And when the yogī engages himself with sincere endeavor in making further progress, being washed of all contaminations, then ultimately, achieving perfection after many, many births of practice, he attains the supreme goal.

your Servant,
Sudarshan Das

 

Haldhar Das, 20th January 2015

Hare Krsna mataji,

Qs. Many people in this world have no spiritual master, but are following all the good qualities of human being, moreover, helping needy people, social service, etc. Also, visiting temple and listening to spiritual talks.

It’s a very nice question and personally I feel it’s relevant to everyone as everyone thinks himself the epitome of good qualities. Regarding visiting a temple actually and spiritual master importance, one can answer by pondering over what he was before coming in contact with Iskcon devotees and what he is now.

Some years before I got an acquaintance with such a person, who always used to talk of organizations doing social services etc. and he used to regularly donate there. I wanted to help him in diverting his energy to the source of every energy, so I became friendly with him, with time made him understand the real cause, the best welfare activity, that prevalent social service these days or such welfare activities targeting the body or the outer shirt only whereas our various welfare activities are for the eternal soul which by serving the suffering soul are serving the body automatically like Food For Life Program, Bhakti Vedanta Hospital, Gurukul Institutes etc. So gradually gradually he was convinced and somehow I get him enrolled to “Discover Yourself Course” and now he is not only a regular donor but also fortunately listens to spiritual talks from pure devotee only.

So only going to temple(which one? Following the path shown by acharyas?) does not make one devotee, it’s the motive what one has signifies his real position and regarding listening to spiritual talks Sanatana Goswami says hearing from a non-devotee is like drinking milk being touched by a serpent. So we have to see from the light of the scriptures what a good human being is. Scriptures says, human life starts from enquiring about one’s real position

By chance, I was today morning reading from Srimad Bhagvatam Canto 4th , chapter 25th and verse 5th is answering your question fully on the subject matter i.e. fruitve activities and spiritual master. So I am putting the same below for reference:

While the princes were undergoing severe austerities in the water, their father was performing different types of fruitive activities. At this time the great saint Narada, master and teacher of all spiritual life, became very compassionate upon the King and decided to instruct him about spiritual life. (So we should be compassionate also towards such people)

Narada Muni asked King Pracinabarhisat: My dear King, what do you desire to achieve by performing these fruitive activities? The chief aim of life is to get rid of all miseries and enjoy happiness, but these two things cannot be realized by fruitive activity. (we may too ask as per time , place & circumstances what do they desire to achieve by these fruitive activities)

“The King replied: O great soul, Nārada, my intelligence is entangled in fruitive activities; therefore I do not know the ultimate goal of life. Kindly instruct me in pure knowledge so that I can get out of the entanglement of fruitive activities.” (This shows that such people may be ripe for injecting Krsna consciousness in case they have not become too arrogant with doer mentality or they are doing the same in ignorance or without any ill motive etc.)

Sri Narottama dasa Thakura has sung:
sat-sanga chadi kainu asate vilasa
te-karane lagila ye karma-bandha-phansa

As long as a person is entangled in fruitive activities, he is bound to accept one body after another. This is called karma-banda-phansa, entanglement in fruitive activities. It does not matter whether one is engaged in pious or impious activities, for both are causes for further entanglement in material bodies. By pious activities one can take birth in a rich family and get a good education and a beautiful body, but this does not mean that the distresses of life are ultimately eliminated. In the Western countries it is not unusual for one to take birth in a rich aristocratic family, nor is it unusual for one to have a good education and a very beautiful body, but this does not mean that Westerners are free from the distresses of life. Although at the present moment the younger generation in Western countries has sufficient education, beauty and wealth, and although there is enough food, clothing, and facilities for sense gratification, they are in distress. Indeed, they are so distressed that they become hippies, and the laws of nature force them to accept a wretched life. Thus they go about unclean and without shelter or food, and they are forced to sleep in the street. It can be concluded that one cannot become happy by simply performing pious activities. It is not a fact that those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth are free from the material miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. The conclusion is that one cannot be happy by simply executing pious or impious activities. Such activities simply cause entanglement and transmigration from one body to another. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura calls this karma-bandha-phansa.

King Pracinabarhisat admitted this fact and frankly asked Narada Muni how he could get out of this karma-bandha-phansa, entanglement in fruitive activities. This is actually the stage of knowledge indicated in the first verse of Vedanta-sutra: athāto brahma-jijnasa. When one actually reaches the platform of frustration in an attempt to discharge karma-bandha-phansa, he inquires about the real value of life, which is called brahma-jijnasa. In order to inquire about the ultimate goal of life, the Vedas (Mundaka Upaniṣad 11.2.12) enjoin, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet: “In order to understand the transcendental science, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master.”

King Pracinabarhisat found the best spiritual master, Narada Muni, and he therefore asked him about that knowledge by which one can get out of the entanglement of karma-bandha-phansa, fruitive activities. This is the actual business of human life. Jivasya tattva-jijnasa nartho yas ceha karmabhihḥ. As stated in the Second Chapter of the First Canto of Srimad Bhagvatam (1.2.10), a human being’s only business is inquiring from a bona fide spiritual master about extrication from the entanglement of karma-bandha-phansa.

Qs. Where will they go after leaving their material body?
It’s already answered above. But we may ask them, where are you heading to (in a mood to help them)? Like Narada Muni being compassionate asking above – “My dear King, what do you desire to achieve by performing these fruitive activities?”

Thank you.

your servant,
Haldhar Das

 

Jaanvi, 21st January 2015

Dear Matajis and Prabhujis,

Thanks for sharing all your answers, very enlightening and helpful.

Sincerely,
Jaanvi

 

Sridhar Das, 22nd January 2015

Hare Krishna Mataji!
Please accept my humble obeisances!

The judging factor for whether an activity is spiritual or not, is:

dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
śrama eva hi kevalam

“The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.” (SB 1.2.8)

Social service, planting trees, feeding the poor, constructing hospitals, digging wells, etc. are great pious acts!

However, the Chaitanya Charitamrita states:

kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ
krīyatāṁ yadi kuto ’pi labhyate
tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ
janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate

“Pure devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thousands of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price — that is, intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay.” (CC Madhya 8/70)

On Jan 20th Srila Gurudeva clarified that if one accepts Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and neglects initiation, that’s committing the third offence: Disobeying the orders of the spiritual master. Initiation is must therefore!

In fact it has repeatedly been emphasized Srila Gurudeva, The tripod of bhakti from The Nectar of Devotion:

1) Taking shelter of a bonafide spiritual master
2) Getting initiated by the spiritual master
3) Following the instructions given by the spiritual master

It is IMPOSSIBLE to attain attraction for the message of Godhead without surrender to the instructions of a spiritual master. Any tasks therefore not directed towards surrender unto the lotus feet of Lord Krishna’s beloved devotee is srama eva hi kevalam, useless labor.

In fact Srila Gurudeva has repeatedly also emphasizes every now and then from the Adi Purana:

ye me bhakta-janah partha
na me bhaktas ca te janah
mad-bhaktanam ca ye bhaktas
te me bhakta-tama matah

“Those who are My devotees are not My devotees, but those who are the devotees of My devotees are My devotees.”

Reading with Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji on 20th, we also read (from SB 2/4/10 purport):

“Therefore, not only is a devotee of the Lord more powerful than the Lord, but also worship of the devotee is considered more effective than direct worship of the Lord (mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā).”

Therefore, if one doesn’t consider it important to surrender to such a surrendered devotee of Krishna, how can he be Krishna’s devotee for he is neglecting Krishna’s most important instructions? To not surrender to bonafide guru means to surrender to maya.

“Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.” (CC Madhya 19/151)

Therefore any such person should be considered unfortunate and if favourable, must be approached and offered help, having taken residence at the lotus feet of guru ourself first.

YET, Krishna is tough to be understood. As it was once pointed by His Grace Mahabhagavat Prabhu, who knows how Krishna may promote during death. But this surely is rare.

your servant
Sridhar Das

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Why do breakups happen?

Jaanvi, 12th January 2015

Dear All,

Hare Krsna

In the recent times, there have been many breaking up of family relationships, such as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, husband and wife, parent and children, etc. Now, are these happenings due to past karmic reactions, or other reasons??

Sincerely,
Jaanvi

 

Lalit, 12th January 2015

Hare krishna!

I share my learning.

Relations are nothing more than karmic account settlement.

As long as we are attached to our karma the cycle continues.

Doing karma as in duty bound without any prejudice towards result may (as i am too in search) lead to the path inside.

Hare Krishna!

 

Sudeep Manchanda, 12th January 2015

Hare Krishna,

Unfortunately, breaking of relationships is becoming more and more common these days. We have a lot technology to connect to other but still being dragged away from each other. We strive to have ‘good’ company around us. But is our definition of ‘good’ correct?

In Kali-Yuga we do not have relationships. Forget about relationship with The Supreme Personality of Godhead, we do not even have relationships on a material platform. All we do is business. This is a bitter truth! The parent take care of their child so that he/she would take care of them when they grow up.. and similarly for any relationship. We like people who would praise us and not those who would tell us the truth. We all want to be independent and do not want to told what we should and should not do. We put out offers.. I will love you and marry you if you allow me to do something something or I will leave with my parents only if they pay my expense and allow me to do what “I”want to do.

The problem is not Karmas per say. I am married to a wonderfully understanding wife so does that mean my karmas were good? And if I did not have a good wife would that mean my karmas were bad? This may not may not be true but it does become an excuse for us to run away from trying to what we should be doing. We give excuses… What can I do I don’t have a good wife because of my karmas. And what about us?

The perfection of any household (Grahasta) is to have The Supreme Personality Of Godhead, Krishna in the center. It is the responsibility of every family member to contribute to it. If we keep doing business with our family, that is wrong! If we think that this is Krishna’s family and as a part of this family I have a role to play. I have some roles and responsibilities towards ensuring that the common goal of going back to Godhead is met for all; then that is the right consciousness. And with the consciousness there would never be any difference is opinion about what should be done, there may however be difference in the methods of doing it but that can be used constructively if we respect others as Vaishnavas and have an attitude to serve them.

An important point to be noted is that one need not bother about karmas if their actions are in Krishna Consciousness.

your Servant,
Sudeep Manchanda

 

Jaanvi, 13th January 2015

Dear Prabhujis,

Hare Krsna

Thanks for your replies with understanding.

Also, it is true everyone just accept whatever situation as their karma.

Sincerely,
Jaanvi

 

Sacinandana Das, 13th January 2015

Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumata.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

It happens because Krishna is not the center of their lives.

your servant,
Sacinandana Das

 

Lalit, 13th January 2015

Hare krishna!
Karmas with prejudice, attachment and expectations are root cause of misery.
“Karmaneyevadhikaerastu maa faleshun kadachana” summarizes everything.

Be here to make others happy and not in pursuit of happiness for self.

If you have a difficult partner and if you are truly searching for the path inside then you should be thankful to HIM for making arrangements leading to detachment.

Desire or expectation do not cause misery but if both are unfulfilled they cause havoc in one’ life.

Break ups are usually result of unfulfilled expectations, impatience, prejudice and ego.

A true seeker never gives up on any relation or duty despite all odds placed against him.

Hare Krishna!
Lalit

 

Haladhar Das, 13th January 2015

Hare Krsna!

No doubt it’s a fact that with the advancement of so called civilization, people are becoming more and more self centered resulting into broken relationships. This happens due to poor guidance or training from foolish representatives, more or less we ourselves are responsible for electing them. That’s why its necessary to preach Lord Caitanya message of Krsna consciousness far and wide. Until and unless people will know at least theoretically that not only them but every species is not a body but an eternal soul, part and parcel of Krsna, these clashes are bound to happen.

na te vidhu svartha gatim hi visnum
durasaya ye bahir artha maninah
andha yathandair upaniyamanas
te ‘apisa tantraym uru-damni baddhah

“Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and engage in the service of Lord Viṣṇu ; not engage in service of his uncontrolled senses & fighting like animals. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labor, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries.”

One cannot expect peace in an animalistic society. A bunch of animals will naturally and unnecessarily fight. But if one can understand his real position and the goal of life, then disputes can be easily avoided. One should understand anyone embodied (accepting a suitable body as per his desires from the material nature) is automatically under the modes of material nature and is forced to perform accordingly. That’s why Lord Krsna says to Arjuna to become transcendental to these 3 modes of material nature (BG 2.45 nistrai -gunyo bhava arjuna)

Due to past karma’s one may be put under such situations where there is chance of dispute but by properly utilizing one’s free will and in the light of the scriptures, one can refrain from acting unfavourably resulting into future karmic reactions. By thinking that everything happening due to karmic reactions and forgetting or taking it lightly will not help, one should be aware that the way he handles the situation will result into further results. Like one may have bought a ticket from India to Japan, but how he utilizes his brief stay on the plane depends upon him. Similarly by utilizing the temporary human body for eternal gain or by utilizing the senses in the service of the master of senses, we can make best use of a bad bargain and hence avoid family, social, national, international disputes.

Hope it may help.

Thank you.

Haladhar Das

 

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 14th January 2015

Dear Mother Jaanvi,

Hare Krishna!

Relationships are complex. Still, one who has a good relationship with Krishna has a good relationship with everyone else. Even if someone’s is a devotee’s enemy, the devotee does not become their enemy. To a nondevotee, yes, everything is karma. But to a devotee, everything is a facility to increase Krishna consciousness, just like the jaws of a cat, death to a mouse, but safe haven to the kitten. So a “bad” relationship is also good for a devotee, and a “good” relationship is equally good, a devotee does not get disturbed with all these things, or even if there is temporary disturbance, the devotee comes back to Krishna consciousness.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das
Priya Sutradhar, 14th January 2015

Hare Krsna dear Jaanvi mataji. Pranam

Srila Prabhupad said Love affairs in the material world are only shadows or reflections of the real love with Krishna. If you love Krishna in any capacity, you shall never be frustrated because everything in Krishna is perfect, eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge.

your servant,
Priya

Bhakta Sunil, 21st January 2015

Hare Krishna Mataji

In this context I found the following letter of Prabhupada which states any fight between husband and wife be not taken seriously
—–
“Don’t create some abnormal condition. Please go back to your husband and live peacefully and execute Krishna Consciousness together. He will also not take sannyasa order out of frustration. You are an intelligent girl and an advanced student. You should know that our main business is Krishna Consciousness. So fighting between husband and wife is not to be taken very seriously. So if you have any respect for me, I request you not to quarrel with your husband seriously. So if you have any respect for me, I request you not to quarrel with your husband. Live peacefully, chant Hare Krishna and try to serve the cause as best as possible. I am very glad that your mother is also taking interest in Krishna Consciousness. That is very good. As you have to leave Boston very soon it is better that you go immediately to N.Y. and live peacefully with your husband. That is my order. I hope you will not disobey me.” [Letter to Ekayani Aug. 31, 1971]
——-
Hope this helps,

Sincerely,
Bhakta Sunil

 

Yamini Narang, 21st January 2015

Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisances at your feet.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Dear HG Jaanvi Mataji,
All the previous replies are really wonderful and very helpful. I remember a few teachings by srila gurudeva in this context.

(Excerpt from Srimad Bhagavatam lecture by Srila Gurudeva at Denver, Colorado, 15 January, 2005)

I remember in my brahmacari days we had one temple commander, Madan Mohan Prabhu, in Gainesville. Some of the devotees came up to him and started glorifying him and he knew they had some motives. So he directly said, “OK. What do you want?” He knew there was something up their sleeves. They were not just glorifying him for the sake of glorifying him. This is demoniac mentality. I have some motive so I’m worshiping. In the material world someone gets a position in a corporation and they are always flattering their supervisor. They don’t really like the person. It is just some game to move up the corporate ladders. They might even hate his guts, but still, they play the game, to move up. This is demoniac mentality. It is all based on the desire of prominence. This desire for prominence is the greatest defect actually. It is this desire which brought us here to begin with. We were there in the spiritual world, serving Krishna in Goloka, or in the Vaikuntha world. In every world there, Krishna or Lord Vishnu is prominent. In Goloka Vrindavan everyone is talking about Krishna. The cow herd boys come home, all wide-eyed, they say Mata Mata! You know. What happened today in the forest? This big demon came, and Krishna. Killed him! Krishna did this, Krishna did that! Krishna Krishna!! Everything is Krishna Krishna Krishna.”

So my dear mataji, from this excerpt from Srila Gurudeva’s lecture we can see that people in this material world have demoniac mentality but as prabhupada says that the only motive of our birth is to become Krishna’s servant and go back home, to our real identity, the eternal one and go back to God head. Break up of family relations have even been very frequent in our family and even now many conflicts go on but there’s a change I’ve observed in my family that since a few years the members of our family who have taken up to KC are into family conflicts and fights. So mataji, unless the center of every relationship is Krishna, center every talk, every action, every word that we utter, anything and everything we do, its center is Krishna these kind of fights, conflicts will be there. In other words, suffering will be there.
A few days back I asked Srila Gurudeva about my family members that they keep on shouting on me for nothing and I’m so sensitive that I start crying and waste my time! So Gurudeva said to me that if you are not feeling love from material relations then it is Krsna’s special mercy upon you to become detached from material relations and become more and more attached and surrendered to Him.

And recently I got to know a very sincere and senior mataji who’s a disciple of HH Loknath Swami Maharaj, she loves me like her daughter. So once I told mataji that please don’t leave me, I love you very much. So in reply she said: My dear, till the time the center of our relationship is Krishna, we’ll be together like this and serve the Lord.

So from all these I just concluded one thing. “Keep Krishna in the center, keep your focus on Krishna and serving your Gurudev and you’ll be happy.”

I’m the most fallen soul so kindly forgive me for the offenses committed by me.

May Lord bless you with His pure devotion.

your servant,
Yamini

 

Lalit, 24th January 2015

Hare Krishna!

All break up moments give you an opportunity to dive inside.

Now it’s at one’s discretion how he uses this opportunity.

Playing blame game, fault finding or plunging inside.

Lalit

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Why do Horrible Incidents happen?

Jaanvi, 15th January 2015

Dear All,

Hare Krsna

In this material world, there are so many horrible incidents happening everywhere such as innocent people being killed either by personal family or outside situation?

Now, since God is in every living being’s heart then how come he allows this to happen?

Sincerely,
Jaanvi

 

Rupa Manjari devi dasi, 16th January 2015

Hare Krishna!

Dear Mataji,

This is a common question, often the answer is difficult to digest, if one does not have a grasp on the philosophy. Srila Prahbupada explains this clearly in his books as Krishna explains it in Bhagavad-Gita, where he talks about Karma.

The truth is no one is innocent apart from the few pure souls who have descended here to save us. The materiel world is a prision house for those who wish to leave the loving service of Krishna. Due to our envy we are here trying to Lord is over materiel nature. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, a man reaps what he sows.

The naked truth is everyone gets what they deserve.

However we must be careful not to judge, just because such terrible things have not happened to us yet. We have committed many sinful activities over many thousands of lives, and though all the reactions have not yet fruitified, they may later in life or next lives. Though of course for a devotee one is only getting a token reaction, and our past karma is burnt up during initiation(hour indebted we are to our spiritual master), however we have so much ugly Karma we should be suffering for it.

Rupa Goswami explains in Nectar of Devotion there are four kinds of effects due to sinful activities
1)The effect which is not yet fructified,( the reactions to our activities that are lying dormant) 2) the effect which is lying as a seed ( which are the sinful desires stored in the heart which is a result of past activities which give us inclination to perform more sinful activities),3) The effect that which is almost mature 4)) The effect which is already mature, (The suffering we are experiencing presently).

These four effects can be immediately vanquished by one who surrenders to the Supreme Personaility of Godhead. Some forms of atonement can vanquish those reactions that have not yet fructified but only Devotional service can vanquish the desire to commit the activity again. Therefore unless one adopts the path of devotional service to the Lord one will never be fully free from the reactions of his activites and thus one must continue to suffer birth after birth.

Why does the Lord allow this to happen? Because he loves us. If a child insists on touching fire he will get burnt. He is never likely to do the stupid thing again. But of course the father tries to instruct the child first. That is why the Vedas are there, vanasrama, instructions on our to live a pious life as to minimise one suffering in this materiel world, but ultimately, no one can truly be happy here, as it not one’s true home or nature as a fish can never be happy out of water. So the Lord wants us to be truly happy, eternally happy so that is why there is temporary suffering for sinful activities. There are four types of people who begin to take up devotional service. The distress is one of them.

So we should have compassion for those who are suffering, because they do not have Krishna consciousness. Whether it is the child who is brutally murdered or the lady that just inherited a million dollars and appears happy, as in reality they are both suffering for they have forgotten their constitutional postion as Krsna’s loving servant. The child who was murdered may of burnt of that reaction and in the next life getting some temporary enjoyment and the enjoying lady in this life may be manifesting some terrible kama in her next life, but without Krishna consciousness, apparent good or apparent bad is all misery, Thus as Krishna says in Bhagavd-gita one must become transcendental the dualities of materiel nature.

So in conclusion one must give everyone in some way, some how Krishna consciousness so they can permantely escape the miseries of materiel existence.

your servant
Rupa Manjari devi dasi

 

Priya Sutradhar, 16th January 2015

Hare Krsna
Dear Rupa Manjari Mataji, you have given a wonderful answer. Thank you so much for enlightening us.

ys,
Priya

 

Sridhar Das, 16th January 2015

Hare Krishna Mataji
Please accept my humble obeisances!

Your question actually best is answered in the lecture: Unflinching faith in guru, Arrival lecture, San Francisco, July 1975 by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. It should be around 39 minutes mataji, please hear! I will however paste the following:

Just coming here from Philadelphia we were talking with the aeroplane crews, the captain, the pilot. They (were) very patiently hearing us. The question was very intelligent, question pilot made, that “If everything is created by God…” Yes. That is a fact. Janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. The Vedānta-sūtra says everything is emanated from God. Without a thing being present in God, there cannot be any existence of anything. That’s a fact. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam [Īśo mantra 1]. So his question was, “Then what is this evil?” The evil is also God’s creation.

So I explained like this, that for God there is no good or evil; everything is good. So I gave him this example that good, or piety, that is God’s frontage, and evil means God’s back side. So taking this example, the chest or the back of my body, they are equal. It is not that when there is some pain on the back side I don’t care for it; I simply take care of when there is pain in the chest. No. Although it is back side, it is as important as the front side. Then evil and good is also of the same importance? No. Evil… That I gave the example, that for God there is nothing evil. I gave another example. Just like the sun, there is no darkness. Anywhere of sun’s body, there is no darkness. But for us there is light and darkness. Just like if you keep the sun back side, you will find darkness, a very long darkness, your shadow. And if you keep yourself in front, sun, there is no darkness. So it is my business; I create darkness. As soon as I change my position—instead of remaining in front of God, I keep God back side—then there is darkness. Otherwise there is no question of darkness. But in the sun as it is, there is no such darkness. Therefore God is all good. And for us, when we forget God, that is evil. And when we are in God consciousness always, everything good. Is that example all right?
Devotees: Jaya!
Bahulāśva: Perfect.

It is untrue Mataji that Krishna is freely letting us suffer. If one accepts Krishna as Supreme then one must also accept His peace formula – BG 5.29? The reason why we are suffering is because this place is house of miseries. Question should be why are we here?
We actually wanted to be the centre of all enjoyment like Krishna, independently. Therefore Krishna gave us the independence even though we are constitutionally His dependent servants. This is His kindness
So the scenario is: We wanted to be independent enjoyers and Krishna despite being Supreme, acts as our servant, a loving Father by giving us this independence here, where we can enjoy freely. Now we are blaming Krishna that, why are you so loving? Isn’t this childish? Shouldn’t we understand that love is voluntary and not forceful? What is the use of our free will then?
On the other hand, is Krishna really so cruel? Hasn’t He provided us literatures and scriptures as instructions? Didn’t He Himself descend and instruct? Didn’t He recently send His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and other acharyas? In fact He Himself descended again and again until He gave us the easiest process of Sankirtan yajna.
Yet if we block our eyes and ears, then where is the scope of peace? Suffering is inevitable. Suffering means we cannot be independent enjoyers, but are dependent enjoyers. Therefore we must re-accept our constitutional position of eternity, bliss and knowledge by re-accepting Krishna as Supreme as per BG 5.29. We were never related with suffering. But by blocking the sunlight, darkness arises and by accepting Krishna, the sun, darkness/suffering will automatically diminish.
The suggested lecture above by His Divine Grace also is also based on BG 5.29. Please hear it and it will solve your other past queries Mataji.

your servant
Sridhar Das

jaanvi, 16th January 2015

Dear Mataji,

Hare Krsna

Thanks for your reply with all the teachings.

It may take time to digest this unacceptable truth.

Sincerely,
Jaanvi

 

Rupa Manjari devi dasi, 17th January 2015

Hare Krishna Mataji,

Please absorb yourself in reading Srila Prahbupada’ books, especially Bhagavad-Gita. Intially this conception may be difficult to digest but due to the pure potency of Srila Prahbupada one can easily realize this. When one can factually realize that one is not the body, the truth is liberating.

Sometimes quotes from Jesus come to my mind as I was raised a Christian, Jesus says, “Continue in my word and you shall no the truth and the truth will set you free,”, therefrore if one continues under the guidance of the spiritual master, continues to read Srila Prahbupada’s books and inquire from the pure devotees then very easily you will become fully realized and the truth will no longer be unacceptable to you.

I am not very advance, and perhaps my presentation of this truth is somewhat flawed. If there is still doubt in which it appears to be please inquire from His Grace Sriman Sankarshana das Adhikari, because of his purity he will be able to explains things clearly.

your servant

Rupa Manjari devi dasi

 

jaanvi, 18th January 2015

Dear Matajis,

Hare Krsna

Thanks for all your answers and explainations.

Could you tell me where can I find the. lecture of Srila Praphupada as per mentioned.

Sincerely,
Jaanvi

 

Sridhar Das, 17th February 2015

Hare Krishna Mataji!

If you were referring to the lecture Unflinching faith in guru – San Francisco – 1975 based on Bhagavad GIta 5.29, the link is shared below. Both audio and transcripts are available.

http://vanisource.org/wiki/750715_-_Lecture_Arrival_-_San_Francisco

If you were asking for the same lecture, I beg forgiveness for not looking into it soon, being entangled in personal interests.

your servant
Shreyas

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“Real Life” past the present one?

Jaanvi, 21st December 2014

Dear all,

Hare Krsna

What to tell to people who are living the present life with complete material enjoyment, and do not see the need to change to spiritual path?

They believe only in present life and even if after life all will be forgotten so they do not care?

Sincerely,
Jaanvi

 

Jagannatha Dasa, 21st December 2014

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thanks for the nice question! To begin our discussion on this important topic here are some ideas:

Establish a relationship of trust:
– Does this person know you, and vice versa? Are they a student, a professional. What are their interests? What are their fears?

Understand their interest:

– How many interests, hobbies or fields of knowledge are there in the world? There are countless ways to attract people to Krishna!

The easiest way for someone to begin Krishna consciousness is from the point that piques their interest the most. After establishing a friendly or polite relationship, gradually it becomes clear what level of interest a person lives on. Everyone has some burning interest, which is a strategy they employ in order to get a need met.

What few realize is that these needs are only actually met within the culture of Krishna consiousness, and its up to devotees to help people progressively realize this. (For a detailed analysis of levels of interest, see Krishna Book chapter 87, paragraphs 29-31 in the discussion of the four coverings of the materially conditioned living entity, and the fifth transcendent state where all one’s needs are fully met in devotional service of the Lord.)

Start the journey:

People are interested mainly in eating nicely and having some fun, so a nice foretaste of Krishna consciousness can be had by inviting them for prasadam and kirtan, (you might try “homemade dinner” and “musical meditation” if they aren’t from India). Drawing them in by the tongue can be a fun and non-confrontational way to break the ice.

Once they come over, test the waters, so to speak until they’re curious to get a book. It may not be the first day, but who knows? I had a friend who used to say “This is Krishna’s magic!”

Looking forward to hearing others’ thoughts.

your servant,
Jagannatha dasa

 

Shahvir Balaporia, 22nd December 2014

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Very resourceful reply. I believe the Lord chooses His devotees by inspiring them from within, we are just his instruments. Whoever the Lord chooses will automatically be attracted to Krishna consciousness just as bees are attracted to honey 🙂

your humble servant,
Shahvir

 

Lalit, 23rd December 2014

Hare krishna!

Let the love for krishna rise from within.

Without the hunger within even the tastiest food appears to be tasteless.

Let the hunger arise, let the desire to connect with the source arise and let the curiosity to know krishna arise.

Don’t get carried away to share your learning without the presence of a deserving patra, as this too is a dosha “maan”.

Because if one tries to explain krishna swaroop to one who is too busy with materialistic pleasures and not interested in knowing Krishna then the one sharing learning is responsible for the displeasure showered upon krishna.

He is known only by his kripa (blessings).

Hare krishna!

 

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 23rd December 2014

Hare Krishna!

Sorry, the hunger to be Krishna conscious is there in everyone, but it is manifesting as a desire for sense gratification… like the jaundiced man who tastes even sugar as bitter. Material desires are a perverted reflection of spiritual desires… no amount of sense gratification ever satisfies the spirit soul.

The devotee has been instructed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to be humbler than a blade of grass, lower than a straw in the street. Once I asked Srila Gurudeva how to approach a person who was particularly argumentative, and practically offensive, Srila Gurudeva answered “with a straw in your teeth”, which is an expression that denotes deep humility… I did so and the mood of the conversation changed.

Of course, as Bhakta Lalit said, nothing can take place without Krishna’s mercy, so our business is to beg for His mercy, because Krishna does want everyone to be back in the spiritual world, that is why He comes, that is why He sends His representatives.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

 

ratika arora, 23rd December 2014

Hare Krishna.
Dandvat Pranam to all. My humble obeisances unto all the devotees.
All Glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I just read the question and the wonderful answers given to this questions. Thank you so Matajis and Prabhujis. Even I had a same question to ask. For this I have got two point of views. The one presented here and the other is that a devotee must have lot of patience so he or she must keep on trying to convey this message of Krishna and one fine day they will definitely understand. I am a lecturer and my colleagues are very much into material entanglements they give such stupid comments when I speak to them about Krishna. So I was confused what should I do so I asked senior devotees and they told me to go for the second way which I just mentioned. And here I read this that we should see first if they are deserving or not. By asking this question I don’t mean to comment on these wonderful answers. I am asking this because now I am confused again because both the answers given to me are by such wonderful devotees. So kindly guide me what exactly I need to do. As of now I keep serving them little prasadam daily.
Pls forgive me if I said anything wrong. I am just an initial stage devotee and I am trying to do the best I can do. Hope so I represented my doubt in a correct way.

your servent
Ratika Arora

 

Nirmala Devaki Devi Dasi, 23rd December 2014

HARE KRISHNA
Please accept my humble obeisances..

Worship the Lord, whose name is like the sun, for (because) just as slight appearance of the sun dissipates the darkness of night, so a slight appearance of the holy name of Krishna can drive away all the darkness of ignorance that arises in the heart due to greatly sinful activities performed in previous lives.

Please tell me what is darkness of ignorance here??

your servant,
Nishima

 

Bhakta Sunil, 28th December 2014

Hare Krishna Nishima Mataji

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Your query is important and shows you are trying to understand this ‘king of education’ which is purest of pure and most secret

I hope the following references help in answering your query :

From “Bhagavad Gita As It Is” 10.11 : Due to the contamination of material association, through many, many millions of births, one’s heart is always covered with the dust of materialism, but when one engages in devotional service and constantly chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, the dust quickly clears, and one is elevated to the platform of pure knowledge. The ultimate goal, Viṣṇu, can be attained only by this chant and by devotional service, and not by mental speculation or argument. The pure devotee does not have to worry about the material necessities of life; he need not be anxious, because when he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided automatically by the Supreme Lord, who is pleased by the loving devotional service of the devotee. This is the essence of the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā. By studying Bhagavad-gītā, one can become a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.

From Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.4 Purport : The external energy is compared to darkness because it keeps the living entities in the darkness of ignorance. The word apāśrayam suggests that this energy of the Lord is under full control. The internal potency or superior energy is also called māyā, but it is spiritual māyā, or energy exhibited in the absolute realm. When one is under the shelter of this internal potency, the darkness of material ignorance is at once dissipated.

One homework for you Mataji : Please read Gita As It Is Chapter 14 Verse 8

Hope this helps,

Sincerely,
Bhakta Sunil

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 28th December 2014

Mother Ratika,

Hare Krishna!

Your question is relevant.

To this, I can only say that we can answer in principle, but the practical application of the principles is dependent on the specific time, place, and circumstances.

In other words, your own intelligence comes into play in how to share Krishna consciousness others, there is no single hard-and-fast-rule for this, different approaches work in different circumstances. The principles remain the details vary.

Even if someone is unqualified, the devotee’s mercy can make them qualified, this is why the devotee is actually understood as more powerful than Krishna, because Krishna considers Himself the property of the sincere devotee.

Please keep trying your best in an intelligent way – in due course of time you will gain valuable experience and insights into the art of sharing Krishna consciousness with others.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

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How can we be detached from the fruits of our actions

Vishal Puri, 13th March 2015

Hare Krishna Devotees,

Dandavats Pranam.

Can devotees help me explain the sloka 2.47 “You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.”

Before doing anything I think a lot about the results, that I become so lost and I don’t perform the my daily duties. So can you please help, how can I perform my daily duties without thinking to much.

Hare Krishna.

 

Premananda das, 13th March 2015

Hare krishna prabhu

If you analyse the verse 2.47 carefully .Krishna says to perform prescribed duty and not capricious or inaction.You can analyse yourself what activities you are performing .
Prescribed duties are of 3 types routine work ,emergency and desired work.

Routine work enjoined as per scriptures without desires in the mode of goodness should be performed as it will lead to liberation.
But work with desires will lead to bondage .
Following 2.48 verse Krishna tells Arjuna to be equiposed while performing prescribed duty and not be attached to success and failure.As it is Krishna’s concern what result to give you .
In fact Yoge means to concentrate the mind up in Supreme by controlling the ever disturbing senses.By krishna consciousness only one can give up the sense of proprietorship .
One has to become servant of Krishna or servant of servant of Krishna .
That is the right way of discharge duty in Krishna consciousness Which alone can help one in yoga.
If you can’ t beat them join them.
So rather than being attached to the results it’s better to follow Krishna’s instruction by being a servant of the servant of Krishna .Chanting the holy names and eating krishna prasadam are essential.
You can also pray to Krishna sincerely .

your servant
Premananda das

 

Bhakta Sunil, 13th March 2015

Hare Krishna dear Vishal ji

Hope you are in good mood and good health

One should do daily duties with a mindset of giving pleasure to the Lord , but not for personal selfish enjoyment

If duties are done with motive to give pleasure and not receive pleasure , then automatically one would not be anxious about results

Engage in duties which are favorable to Krishna Consciousness ( chanting , reading Prabhupada’s boolk , Darshan , Eating only Prasadam ) and avoid activities which are not favorable to Krishna Consciousness ( cinemas , mundane magazines , gossip about sports politics )

For example , if one is habituated to gossip about politics , this activity cannot be done for pleasure of Lord and so naturally one would be anxious about results to defeat one mundane argument with another mundane argument

Prescribed duties means work or occupation which suits your mode of nature or natural inclination. For example , the occupation or profession may be according to one’s abilities and talents or your hobbies. Such duties or activities are helpful to keep you fit enough to be engaged in devotional service.

One should not avoid duties due to laziness or artificialy renunciating

“Work with results becomes the cause of bondage; therefore such work is not auspicious” – Gita As It Is , 2.47 Purport

Non-participation or not doing work , is another side of attachment. Such attachment never leads one to the path of salvation. Any attachment, positive or negative, is cause for bondage. Inaction is sinful. Therefore, doing work as duty to keep fit and in activities to help serve the Lord is best , as fighting as a matter of duty was the only auspicious path of salvation for Arjuna.

Sincerely,
Bhakta Sunil

 

Nawneet Kumar, 13th March 2015

Hi Vishal,

As per our upbringing, this is a common way of thinking…We always are concerned about the results, we are motivated by results rather than the efforts …it is conditioned in that way. To come out of this pattern, need is to create a new pattern, which is more powerful. Try to find out what can be the first thing to create a new pattern, where putting efforts is more important, focus only to put our best effort and keep some rewards for doing the effort rather than the results. Hope this helps…

Chanting “Hare Krishna” mantra would definitely help.

Best regards,
Nawneet

 

Shreyas, 24th March 2015

Hare Krishna Vishal!

Reading all the answers above concludes the all perfection in essence. Before writing my conclusion I re-read all replies and its already stated by all together, just that Krishna has now blessed me to understand with what motive each has written each single line.

All have concluded to the same point at least – The problem why we are so attached is because since time immemorial we have been running after material pleasures and now our mind has been embossed with myriad material desires. This desire is a result of ” I am God” desire. So as long as we have this desire to – be the centre of all enjoyments – problem will remain.

Throwing up all garbage like newspapers, mundane movies, mundane gossips are surely cutting the source of nonsense but still within devotional service itself we will be troubled with the enjoying tendency due to attachment to results as long as we have to engage with material world. This will be manifested when we mess up in some service and our ego is bashed completely out of embarrassment. What is the solution?

As already concluded firstly by Bhakta Premal – a person who knows – “I am a complete basket case! Full of imperfections! Insignificant servant of Krishna! Immature neophyte, etc….” won’t be agitated by failures. Will he/she be? If one knows that it’s no big deal for me to commit mistakes and be offensive or egoistic or embarrassing because Srila Prabhupada and Vaishnavas already state what it means to be a conditioned soul, and I am being pointed here. If one knows that he/she is full of imperfections and immaturity and aspiring to improve sincerely, one won’t be embarrassed by failures or mistakes. Only those who are under illusion considering oneself to be a elevated God-like personality would be hurt upon failures.

So a genuine Vaishnava, the spiritual master, a pure devotee of Krishna will understand this and I must therefore take shelter of such Vaishnava, who will take compassion on my conditioned state of mind, my neophyte stage and help me rise by giving me love of Krishna. Let me search that Vaishnava and personally serve him and please him to his fullest and accept his corrections.

Of course by rising in perfection still makes one realize in reality and practicality how one is lower than even the stool on road although such devotees are worth having association of. So the ultimate question should be – “How shall I practically realize that I am servant of Krishna besides theoretical conclusion?” This inquiry will help one in ones journey towards Back to Godhead. It’s all centred on detaching mind from material sense enjoyment. This is possible only by voluntarily taking austerities in Krishna’s service under a constant senior supervision. Devotional Service is unlike ordinary service. Here Krishna corrects and guides as per our sincerity.

Lastly, the attitude of an imperfect conditioned soul has to be well applied in professional life. With constant engagement in Krishna’s service all intelligence is gradually provided as stated in BG 10.10. So the sum and substance, lets look out for constant engagement in Krishna’s service under a senior guidance and be sold to Krishna by body, mind and words.

And when we will succeed, we shall meditate not on how nicely we did but how without this Vaishnava’s mercy I would have kept weeping with my misdirected struggles due to material attachments.

All Glories to this Vaishnava! In this way in failure or success we can remain Krishna Conscious, in other words equipoised.

your servant
Bhakta Shreyas

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How can we love someone we dislike?

Yamini Narang, 20 December 2014

Hare Krishna devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances..
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Mataji….
All glories to Srila Prabhupada..

How can we love or like someone we dislike?

your servant,
Yamini

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 24 December 2014

Dear Mother Yamini,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

A pure devotee can do this perfectly. We cannot expect ourselves to be at that level from one moment to next, it is a process.

The process is following the principles of sadhana bhakti, chanting our minimum rounds, following the regulative principles, and trying to avoid offenses in chanting, deity worship, and our interactions with others, goes a long way.

Plus, as we study the scriptures, especially Bhagavad Gita, every day Krishna gives us an opportunity to practice the instructions of the Bhagavad Gita. I fall short every single day.

For example, Krishna explains that both like (raga) and dislike (dvesha) are on the platform of duality… when we say “I like”, that means that there is some corresponding “I dislike”. We ourselves can practice seeing this in our actions, and at least act in a fair manner, Srila Prabhupada quoted “satyam bravit priyam bravit”, or “speak the truth but do so in a palatable way”. In this way, even if we don’t like someone, we can act properly towards them, and in due course of time, this dislike will be replaced with a universal love as we begin to see everyone as “mamaiva amsha” or Krishna’s parts-and-parcel, we begin to see everyone in relation to Krishna. You love Krishna, and when you see everyone as Krishna’s, how can you not love them?

The entire process of devotional service, especially devotee association, helps a lot. Every day for example, I meet at least one devotee who is much better than me on a particular service, skill, task or Vaishnava attribute or quality.

These help us, I heard once that in the process of performing our service day after day after day, we may see ourselves full of faults, but others will notice how it is so much more pleasant to interact with us due to the purification we have acquired. This is one reason, for example, that why everyone wants to associate with and serve the spiritual masters, though the spiritual masters don’t see themselves as anything special.

In the meantime, have patience with yourself, trees of valuable fruits like cashew and mango take a long time to mature and yield fruit, but the wait is worth it.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Yamini Narang, 01 January 2015

Hare Krishna devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances..
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Mataji….
All glories to Srila Prabhupada..

thank you all of you for your wonderful replies.
i asked this question to gurudeva and i am sharing gurudeva’s answer here in this post..
—
From: ISKCON Adelaide, Australia

My Dear Yamini,

Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Feel sorry for them that they are not
Krishna conscious.

I hope this meets you in the best of health
and in an ecstatic mood.

Your ever well-wisher,

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

kṛṣṇe matir astu (“May you become Krishna conscious”).
—
this was Gurudeva’s reply

thanks
your servant,
yamini

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Pray to Lord Krishna or others?

Meenakshi, 03 April 2013

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Sarila Prabhupada,

After reading Gita I came to know that Lord Krishna is Supreme. Prior to that i used to worship Lord Shiva and Maa Durga. Now I am confused, I feel guilty if I stop worshiping Lord Shiva and Maa Durga  but at the same time feel very doubtful if I worship them knowing that Krishna is Supreme personality of Godhead. Please advice.

ys
Meenakshi

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 03 April 2013

Hare Krishna!

Meenakshi Mataji, please don’t worry… Lord Shiva and Mother Durga are father and mother of this material world. Loving parents are always happy to send their children to a good school, good college, good Guru, etc., in fact, parents who are in Krishna consciousness feel themselves successful if their children get the shelter of a pure devotee, and become initiated disciples of a Guru.

Similarly, it is not the purpose of Lord Shiva and Mother Durga to keep sincere devotees of Krishna in this material world. In fact, they have taken up this  very difficult task of taking charge of Krishna’s foolish misguided children. Such misguided persons are kept in the material world so that they don’t cause any impediment in the service of the pure devotees in the spiritual worlds. So, those who get the real mercy (loving mercy or in the form of kicks of Maya) of Mother Durga and Lord Shiva, then they become devotees of Lord Krishna.

So, please kindly throw away this useless feeling of guilt, and make Lord Shiva and Mother Durga very very happy and proud of you by serving Krishna nicely and going back home to Godhead to Krishna – become discharged from this hospital called the material world 🙂

For your personal situation, you can get personal guidance of Srila Gurudeva by writing the specific personal situation to Srila Gurudeva, at sda@backtohome.com. We request that personal situations should not be discussed publicly in this group as personal situation requires specific personal advice and support, and this is not possible in a public forum. Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumata will be in Vrindavan, you please make an attempt to meet them personally there.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Trivikrama Das, 03 April 2013

Hare Krishna!

Thank you for the wonderful explanation, Mahabhagavat Prabhu!

Actually, a devotee of Lord Shiva is not dear to him, but a devotee of Krishna is dear to him.

This is clearly given in the below purport.

quote
SB 4.24.28

yaḥ paraṁ raṁhasaḥ sākṣāt
tri-guṇāj jīva-saṁjñitāt
bhagavantaṁ vāsudevaṁ
prapannaḥ sa priyo hi me

Translation:
Lord Śiva continued: Any person who is surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the controller of everything — material nature as well as the living entity — is actually very dear to me.

Purport:
Now Lord Śiva explains the reason he has personally come before the princes. It is because all the princes are devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19):

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.”

Lord Śiva is rarely seen by common men, and similarly a person who is fully surrendered unto Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is also very rarely seen because a person who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Lord is very rare (sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ). Consequently, Lord Śiva came especially to see the Pracetās because they were fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. Vāsudeva is also mentioned in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the mantra oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Since Vāsudeva is the ultimate truth, Lord Śiva openly proclaims that one who is a devotee of Lord Vāsudeva, who is surrendered to Lord Kṛṣṇa, is actually very dear to him. Lord Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is worshipable not only by ordinary living entities but by demigods like Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā and others. Yaṁ brahmā-varuṇendra-rudra-marutaḥ stunvanti divyaiḥ stavaiḥ (Bhāg. 12.13.1): Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Varuṇa, Indra, Candra and all other demigods. That is also the situation with a devotee. Indeed, one who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness immediately becomes very dear to anyone who is simply finding out and beginning to understand what Kṛṣṇa consciousness actually is. Similarly, all the demigods are also trying to find out who is actually surrendered to Lord Vāsudeva. Because the Pracetā princes were surrendered to Vāsudeva, Lord Śiva willingly came forth to see them.

Lord Vāsudeva, or Kṛṣṇa, is described in Bhagavad-gītā as Puruṣottama. Actually He is the enjoyer (puruṣa) and the Supreme (uttama) as well. He is the enjoyer of everything — the prakṛti and the puruṣa. Being influenced by the three modes of material nature, the living entity tries to dominate material nature, but actually he is not the puruṣa (enjoyer) but prakṛti, as described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.5): apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām. Thus the jīva, or living entity, is actually prakṛti, or the marginal energy of the Supreme Lord. Being associated with material energy, he tries to lord it over the material nature. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7):

mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.”

By endeavoring to dominate material nature, the living entity simply struggles hard for existence. Indeed, he struggles so hard to enjoy himself that he cannot even enjoy the material resources. Thus he is sometimes called prakṛti, or jīva, for he is situated in the marginal potency. When the living entity is covered with the three modes of material nature, he is called jīva-saṁjñita. There are two kinds of living entities: one is called kṣara, and the other is akṣara. Kṣara refers to those who have fallen down and become conditioned, and akṣara refers to those who are not conditioned. The vast majority of living entities live in the spiritual world and are called akṣara — they are in the position of Brahman, pure spiritual existence. They are different from those who have been conditioned by the three modes of material nature.

Being above both the kṣara and akṣara, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, is described in Bhagavad-gītā (15.18) as Puruṣottama. The impersonalists may say that Vāsudeva is the impersonal Brahman, but actually the impersonal Brahman is subordinate to Kṛṣṇa, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.27): brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham. That Kṛṣṇa is the source of the impersonal Brahman is also confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40): yasya prabhā prabhavato jagadaṇḍa-koṭi. The impersonal Brahman is nothing but the effulgence or bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa, and in those bodily rays there are innumerable universes floating. Thus in all respects Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is the Supreme Lord, and Lord Śiva is very satisfied with those who are completely surrendered to Him. Complete surrender is desired by Kṛṣṇa, as He indicates in the last chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja.

The word sākṣāt, meaning “directly,” is very significant. There are many so-called devotees, but actually they are only karmīs and jñānīs, for they are not directly devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The karmīs sometimes offer the results of their activities to Lord Vāsudeva, and this offering is called karmārpaṇam. These are considered to be fruitive activities, for the karmīs consider Lord Viṣṇu to be one of the demigods like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. Because they consider Lord Viṣṇu to be on the same level with the demigods, they contend that surrendering to the demigods is as good as surrendering unto Vāsudeva. This contention is denied herein because if it were true, Lord Śiva would have said that surrender unto him, Lord Vāsudeva, Viṣṇu or Brahmā is the same. However, Lord Śiva does not say this because he himself surrenders unto Vāsudeva, and whoever else surrenders unto Vāsudeva is very, very dear to him. This is expressed herein openly. The conclusion is that a devotee of Lord Śiva is not dear to Lord Śiva, but a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is very dear to Lord Śiva.
unquote

Hence, Meenakshi Mataji, Please rest assured that you have taken the best decision since  The conclusion is that a devotee of Lord Śiva is not dear to Lord Śiva, but a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is very dear to Lord Śiva.

your servant,
Trivikrama Das

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What is the significance of Diwali Festival in Devotional Practice?

Bhakta Sunil, 02 November 2013

Hare Krishna

Please accept my humble obeisances
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Please tell , What is the significance of Diwali Festival in Devotional Practice?

I understand that Diwali Festival is celebrated as Lakshmi Puja. But is the festival a Vaisnava Festival?

Also the festival is Lord Rama’s pastimes , of returning to His Kingdom. Thus it is festival of Lights , to celebrate Lord Rama’s return to His Kingdom

Also please clarify about Dhan Teras
I read that Dhan Teras is celebrated to worship Lord Dhanvantari. Please tell about Lord Dhanvantari. And is Dhan Teras also a Vaisnava Festival?

I have these bewilderments regarding this festival. So I request to clarify

Regards,
Sunil

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 04th November 2013

Dear Sriman Sunil Vaswani,

Hare Krishna!

Diwali/Deepavali is in fact primarily a Vaishnava festival, but the way the materialists are celebrating the festival, that is not correct.

There are MANY occasions associated with Diwali, here are some I am aware of (there are many many more, we have a history of billions of years):

1. Damodar Leela
2. Govardhan Leela
3. The slaying of Narakasura by Krishna
4. The return of Lord Ramachandra

In all these celebrations, Krishna consciousness is increased. Celebrating any or all of the above is bona fide, and anything other than this is a waste of time meant to indirectly and directly prolong the suffering in the cycle of birth and death.

But, the modern-day materialists have turned Diwali into a gross abomination.

For example, the following activities are commonly performed during Diwali celebrations, which is a terrible nonsense:

1. The distribution of meat, fish, eggs and other unclean foods during “Diwali get-together/party/celebration”
2. The consumption of alcohol and intoxicants including tea, coffee, cigarettes during such celebrations
3. The indulgence in gambling
4. The indulgence in illicit sex in different forms, including dancing, movies, etc.
5. The large-scale excessive pollution of environment by using gunpowder-based fire-crackers, killing so many insects, birds, reptiles, etc., and causing trouble to the small children, elderly persons, sick persons, etc.
6. The increase in the general forgetfulness of Krishna
7. The flaunting (and thus disrespecting) of Lakshmidevi
8. Celebrating like followers of Ravana, not like the devotees of Rama

Lord Dhanvantari, this is who He is:
dhanvantariś ca bhagavān svayam eva kīrtir

nāmnā nṛṇāḿ puru-rujāḿ ruja āśu hanti

yajñe ca bhāgam amṛtāyur-avāvarundha

āyuṣya-vedam anuśāsty avatīrya loke

The Lord in His incarnation of Dhanvantari very quickly cures the diseases of the ever-diseased living entities simply by his fame personified, and only because of him do the demigods achieve long lives. Thus the Personality of Godhead becomes ever glorified. He also exacted a share from the sacrifices, and it is he only who inaugurated the medical science or the knowledge of medicine in the universe. SB 2.7.21

Purport:

As stated in the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everything emanates from the ultimate source of the Personality of Godhead; it is therefore understood in this verse that medical science or knowledge in medicine was also inaugurated by the Personality of Godhead in His incarnation Dhanvantari, and thus the knowledge is recorded in the Vedas. The Vedas are the source of all knowledge, and thus knowledge in medical science is also there for the perfect cure of the diseases of the living entity. The embodied living entity is diseased by the very construction of his body. The body is the symbol of diseases. The disease may differ from one variety to another, but disease must be there just as there is birth and death for everyone. So, by the grace of the Personality of Godhead, not only are diseases of the body and mind cured, but also the soul is relieved of the constant repetition of birth and death. The name of the Lord is also called bhavauṣadhi, or the source of curing the disease of material existence.

Srila Prabhupada said this about Deepavali in a letter to one of his disciples:

“Diwali ceremony can be observed in the temple by illuminating 100’s of candles, in different parts of the temple, and offering special Prasad to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya, the Kingdom of Lord Ramacandra, while Lord Ramacandra was out of His Kingdom due to His 14 years banishment by the order of His father. His younger step-brother Bharata, took charge of the Kingdom and the day on which Lord Ramacandra took back the charge again from His brother, and seated on the throne, this is observed as Diwali function. This is the original idea of Diwali, and Dipabali. Dipabali means the same thing—Dipa means candles, and bali means numerous. When numerous candles are lighted it is called Dipabali. In India, this Dipabali function is celebrated in a special auspicious occasion. This Dipabali function can be observed on 21st October, and Prasad can be distributed on the 22nd October, during daytime, which is known as Govardhana Puja and Annakuta Ceremony. In India, in all Vaisnava temples, this ceremony is observed and 100’s of people are given Prasad according to the capacity of the temple ”

He also wrote this: “Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, quoting from the Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, says that the incident of Kṛṣṇa’s breaking the pot of yogurt and being bound by mother Yaśodā took place on the Dīpāvalī Day, or Dīpa-mālikā. Even today in India, this festival is generally celebrated very gorgeously in the month of Kārtika by fireworks and lights, especially in Bombay.” (purport to SB 10.9.1-2)

“CC Madhya 15.36, Translation and Purport: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees participated in all the festivals, including Rāsa-yātrā, Dīpāvalī and Utthāna-dvādaśī.
The Dīpāvalī festival takes place on the dark-moon night in the month of Kārtika (October-November). The Rāsa-yātrā, or rāsa dancing of Kṛṣṇa, takes place on the full-moon night of the same month. Utthāna-dvādaśī takes place the day after Ekādaśī in the waxing fortnight of the moon in the same month. All the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu participated in all these festivals.”

Our principles remain the same, in every festival, this is what we do:

1. Chant Hare Krishna more and more and more

2. Have large scale Harinam Sankirtan

3. Offer gorgeous clothing and ornaments to Krishna

4. Cook opulent offering for Krishna

5. Serve the spiritual master

6. Serve the devotees

7. Clean the home, temple, and decorate it nicely

8. Always remember Krishna, never forget Krishna

Sincerely,

Mahabhagavat Das

Bhakta Sunil, 05th November 2013

Hare Krishna everyone!

Mahabhagavat Prabhu Please accept my humble obeisances and gratitude for an excellent answer!

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

It was special to know about Lord Dhanvantari. This knowledge can make it easy for me to connect my colleagues with Krishna Consciousness

I very much agree with Diwali being celebrated in wrong way by many persons. I guess many persons do not really celebrate in the notion of Diwali being an ocassion to celebrate Lord Rama’s pastimes of returning to His Kingdom.

Reading your answer was like taking an adventurous dive into the nectarean ocean of transcendental knowledge

Regards,
Sunil

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Is Krishna an expansion of Lord Vishnu?

B.shahvir balaporia, 12th November 2013

Hare Krishna!

Pardon me for my dearth of knowledge in putting forth this question.
I just needed to understand whether lord Vishnu is the plenary expansion of Lord Krishna or is it the other way round? I ask this since, as per popular Hindu belief, Lord Krishna is considered to be an avatar/expansion of Lord Vishnu. Hence, Lord Vishnu is considered as Supreme Personality of Godhead as per popular belief.

My apologies again if the context of my question is inappropriate.

regards,
Shahvir

Sudeep Manchanda, 13th November 2013

Hare Krishna,

We have had wonderful discussion on the topic in the past. Sharing a few answers:

By Harish Prabhu:

1) BG 10.21
adityanam aham visnur
jyotisam ravir amsuman
maricir marutam asmi
naksatranam aham sasi

“Of the Adityas I am Visnu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marici, and among the stars I am the moon.”

2) Brahma Samhita 5.48:
yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya
jivanti loma-vila-ja jagad-anda-nathah
visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

Brahma and other lords of the mundane worlds, appearing from the pores of hair of Maha-Visnu, remain alive as long as the duration of one exhalation of the latter (Maha-Visnu).  I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whose subjective personality Maha-Visnu is the portion of portion.

3) In Srimad Bhagvatam, there is a list of many incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Krsna is described as the original Personality of Godhead, from whom many, many incarnations and Personalities of Godhead expand.

SB 1.3.28
ete camsa-kalah pumsah
Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam
Indrari-vyakulam lokam
mrdayanti yuge yuge

“All the lists of the incarnations of Godhead submitted herewith are either plenary expansions or parts of the plenary expansions of the Supreme Godhead, but Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.”

In many of his purports also, Srila Prabhupada has quoted Visnu or Lord Krsna as same:

(BG 1.14) – Victory is always with persons like the sons of Pandu because Lord Krsna is associated with them. And whenever and wherever the Lord is present, the goddess of fortune is also there because the goddess of fortune never lives alone without her husband. Therefore, victory and fortune were awaiting Arjuna, as indicated by the transcendental sound produced by the conchshell of Visnu, or Lord Krsna.

(BG 2.2) – Persons who are led by the material conception of life do not know that the aim of life is realization of the Absolute Truth, Visnu or Bhagavan (Krsna), and they are captivated by the external features of the material world, and therefore they do not know what liberation is.

(BG 9.13) – The mahatma or great souls does not divert his attention to anything outside Krsna, because he knows perfectly well that Krishna is the original Supreme Person, the cause of all causes. There is no doubt about it. Such a mahatma, or great soul, develops through association with other mahatmas, pure devotees. Pure devotees are not even attracted by Krsna’s other features, such as the four-armed Maha-Vishnu. They are simply attracted by the two-armed form of Krsna. They are not attracted to other features of Krsna, nor are they concerned with any form of a demigod or of a human being. They meditate only upon Krsna in Krsna consciousness.  They are always engaged in the unswerving service of the Lord in Krsna consciousness.”

Even if we observe during the Tulasi aarti we perform every day morning and evening, both Lord Visnu and Krsna names are used.  Moreover it is often observed that even during chanting the first mantra for offering obeisances while bowing down (pancanga pranam) some say Visnu bhakti prade devi and some say Krsna bhaktiprade devi but anyhow later on we only chant Krsna as given below :

vrindaai tulasi devyai priyaai kesavasya ca,
visnubhaktiprade / krsnabhaktiprade devi satyavatyai namo namah
 
namo namah tulasi krsna-preyasi namo namah
radha-krsna-seva pabo ei abilasi
 
ye tomara sarana loy, tara vancha purna hoy
krpa kori koro tare vrndavana-vasi
 
mora ei abhilasa, vilasa kunje dio vasa
nayana heribo sada yugala-rupa-rasi
 
ei nivedana dhara, sakhira anugata koro
seva-adhikara diye koro nija dasi
 
dina krsna-dase koy, ei yena mora hoy
sri-radha-govinda-preme sada yena bhasi

There must be much more verses or quotes too.  But hope the above may help a bit.

By Jaya Krishna Prabhu:

Please refer previous lessons of our course.i remember once our gurudeva explained it like this,
‘vishnu is god in office and krishna is god in home’

By Sanil Prabhu:

The mentioned reply by Srila Gurudeva is pasted below:
—
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:
Question: Difference Between Krishna and Narayana

Dear Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I read Lesson C9: Transcending the Dualities of Material Existence, which I received on Sunday 29th July 2012. Well, it is so beautifully explained and full of knowledge.

I have some questions where even devotees are quite confused at times. I have read that Krishna resides in Goloka as a cowherd boy while Narayana resides in Vaikuntha.

My questions:
1. Is Krishna different from Maha-Vishnu? How?
2. Who is Narayana? Is Narayana and Maha-Vishnu same?
3. Is Maha-Vishnu an incarnation or expansion of Krishna?

I understand that they are all one and the same, i.e. the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But, can you please tell how they (Krishna, Narayana, Maha-Vishnu) are different and at the same time the same Supreme Personality of Godhead?

Thanking you.
yours humbly

Kesaven

Answer: God at Home and God at the Office

The answer is very simple.  In His original form the Supreme Lord is two-handed and is called Krishna. In His expanded four-armed forms, of which there are many, He is known as Narayana. All the forms are Krishna Himself. Simply He is acting in different capacities. When God is at home enjoying life with His intimate associates He is known as Krishna. When is at the office engaged in managing cosmic affairs He manifests form arms and is known as Narayana.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari
—
your Servant,
Sudeep Manchanda
B.shahvir balaporia, 13th November 2013

Hare Krishna,

Thank you

Regards,
Shahvir

Shreyas, 19th November 2013

Hare Krsna Prabhujis
Dandavat Pranam.

I hope this helps as well. Following is the conversation which is a part of the lecture Srila Gurudev delivered. I pray that this helps as well:

Q: I am still confused with Visnu and Krsna.

SDA: Visnu and Krsna. Of course we are called Vaisnavas. You know what Vaisnava mean? It means devotees of Visnu. Actually Prabhupada explained this with one gentleman he met him in NY. I have heard the tape conversation, so I am basing my answer what Prabhupada told this Indian gentleman who also had a similar confusion as you. Krsna is the original Visnu. Visnu is the category. There are thousands of millions of Visnus and most of them have four arms also. But Krsna is the original form of Lord Visnu. So Visnu and Krsna are same. But there is one Visnu from whom all the other Visnus have come and that is Krsna. Visnu is the Personality of the Godhead category. In other words Rama is Visnu, Nrsmhadeva is Visnu, Vamana is Visnu, all the avataras they are all Visnu. Sometimes the jiva is empowered to act as an incarnation but in most cases the incarnations of God, they are Visnus and it is mentioned in the Srimad Bhagvatam.

ete camsa-kalah pumsah
krishnas tu bhagavan svayam
(SB 1.3.28)

That all those Bhagawans, all those Visnus, the original one is Krsna. So Krsna is the original form of Lord Visnu. And the other Visnus are the emanations from Krsna. Just like I can have one candle flame burning very nicely I can have many other candles that are not lit. I can take that one original candle flame and I can transfer it to the second candle. The first candle is still just as powerful but now that flame is also in another candle which can be transferred to the third, fourth, the fifth candle, pretty soon  there are  hundreds  of thousands of candles, all burning with equal power but one flame is different than the others and that is the original flame. The others are simply the expansions from that. So, all the different candles they are all Visnu but the one Visnu from which all the other candles  has come, that Visnu is known as Krsna. He is the original Visnu.

your servant
Hare Krsna
B.shahvir balaporia, 19th November 2013

Hare Krishna,

Thank you… very informative!

regards,
Shahvir

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Why are there no temples dedicated solely to Arjuna?

While there are so many temples dedicated to Hanuman, who is a servitor of Rama, why are there no temples dedicated to Arjuna who is so close to Krishna?

KV Rao, 13th December 2013

Hare Krishna dear devotees!

Please accept my humble obeisances!
All Glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All Glories to your devotional service!

I hope you all had a blissful Gita Jayanti. While reading Bg Chapter 1 verse 20, the following question came to mind. Could you enlighten me, please?

Hanuman and Arjuna are devotees of the Lord. Hanuman has temples and people worship Hanuman, whereas Arjuna has no temples and people do not worship him (Arjuna). Why?

Haribol!

your servant,
Rao

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 28th December 2013

Dear Sriman Rao,

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Any temple where Hanuman, the eternal servitor of Lord Ramachandra is worshipped but His eternal Lord and master Lord Rama is not worshipped is an aberration, it is not bona fide. If you want to please someone, we aim to do what they want done. Hanuman has never asked anyone to worship him, in fact, he always worships Lord Rama and is very happy when others worship Lord Rama.

If a servitor is glorified more than the master, if the servitor is not a traitor to the master, he feels embarrassment, and passes it all up to his master. Sri Hanuman does take everything and pass it up to Lord Ramachandra, but would rather have him spoken of as a servant, not lord.

So while it is appropriate to have on an altar Sri Hanuman in his usual position as an associate of Lord Ramachandra along with Sri Lakshman and Srimati Sitadevi, it is not appropriate to worship Hanuman alone in exclusion as is commonly done in temples not authorized by any Paramnpara or disciplic succession. Of course, materialists who are after some good muscles, strength in celibacy, and some other material benedictions will worship “avidhipurvakam” – in a wrong way, as stated by Sri Krishna in BG 9.23 “Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunti, but they do so in a wrong way.”.

We are very happy that Sri Arjuna is not being embarrassed in the same way that Sri Hanuman is.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Hari Katha Das, 28th December 2013

Hari bol! Very convincing answer!

Sincerely,
Hari Katha Das
Haladhar Das, 30th December 2013

Hare Krsna !

Jai Srila Gurudeva
Jai Srila Prabhupada

I totally agree to what Mahabhagavat prabhu ji has mentioned. A devotee one and only desire is to always hear the glories of his worshipable Lord and similarly the Lord is also very pleased when His devotee is glorified.

A almost similar topic was discussed earlier in this group. Arjuna is worshipped with Lord Krsna as Nar-Narayana Rishi. Details of earlier discussion are included herein below. Please see the details,

Also as clarified by Mahabhagavat prabhu mail, we have to understand that people generally worship different different demigods/people/ghosts etc according to their so called whims and desires. So what they will get from Arjuna, nobody would like to face what Arjuna and his brothers (the pandavas) faced as they cannot appreciate what they had, Lord Krsna Himself as their eternal companion.

Moreover as we know this universe is not all in all, and even we dont know much about this universe itself where we are living, so how can we know about others. There are some villages in India where people worship Dryodhana, Ravana etc. Even the area from where I am (Uttranchal, North India), in most of the villages people do glorify the pandavas brothers for almost continuous 14 days by celebrating pandav leela (pastimes of pandavas). It is a very popular festival being celebrated since many generations in the hills of Uttranchal.

thank you.

your servant
Haladhar Das

Details of earlier discussion :

Bhakta David :

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada,
All Glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Guru Mataji.
All Glories to Sri Sri Nitai Gauracandra.

Hare Krishna
Arjuna is always so close to Krishna, so much that Krishna chose him to explain Bhagavad Gita to. So my question is, is Arjuna a jiva? Or is he a demigod?

your servant
Bhakta David

Haladhar Das :

Hare Krsna Prabhu !
How do you differentiate between a jiva and a demigod. Isn’t a pure devotee better situated than any demigod, as he is eternally liberated as well as eternally associated with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Srimad Bhagvatam purport 3.5.51
The demigods are amongst the conditioned souls who have developed this pure consciousness of service to the Lord but who at the same time continue to desire to lord it over the material energy. Such mixed consciousness puts a conditioned soul in the position of managing the affairs of this creation. The demigods are entrusted leaders of the conditioned souls. As some of the old prisoners in government jails are entrusted with some responsible work of prison management, so the demigods are improved conditioned souls acting as representatives of the Lord in the material creation. Such demigods are devotees of the Lord in the material world, and when completely free from all material desire to lord it over the material energy they become pure devotees and have no desire but to serve the Lord.
The demigods are entrusted by the Lord to create different species of living entities according to their past deeds. They are herein asking the favor of the Lord for the intelligence and power to carry out their task. Similarly, any conditioned soul may also engage in the service of the Lord under the guidance of an expert spiritual master and thus gradually become freed from the entanglement of material existence.

Srimad Bhagvatam 4.1.59
tav imau vai bhagvato
harer amsav ihagatau
bhara-vyayaya ca bhuvah
krishnau yadu-kurudvahau

TRANSLATION
That Nara-Narayana Rishi, who is a partial expansion of Krsna, has now appeared in the dynasties of Yadu and Kuru, in the forms of Krsna and Arjuna respectively, to mitigate the burden of the world.

PURPORT
Narayana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Nara is a part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana. Thus the energy and the energetic together are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Maitreya informed Vidura that Nara, the portion of Narayana, had appeared in the family of the Kurus and that Narayana, the plenary expansion of Krsna, had come as Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with the purpose of delivering suffering humanity from the pangs of material burdens. In other words, Narayana Rishi was now present in the world in the forms of Krsna and Arjuna.

your servant
Haladhar Das

Rathin Mandal :

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Gurumataji,

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Be it a soul living in planet earth or any other heavenly kingdom, he is always a jivas. Demigods are also jivas. The following words were said to Arjuna by Sri Krishna:
BG 4.5: The Personality of Godhead said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!

In the purport of this verse Arjuna is referred as a pure devotee and a jiva part and parcel of Supreme Personality of Godhead. But as the jiva living in the material world gets affected by modes of material nature, he cannot remember his past life. Even we can see that in this kalpa the knowledge was first given by Sri Krishna to  Sun-God, Vivasvān. Vivasvān being a demigod administering Sun may have knew teaching of Bhagavat Gita in his past life but in the beginning of this era he was again given the knowledge so that it can be passed from one generation to another.

In the following two verses also Sri Krishna address Arjuna as his pure devotee and distinguished him from demigods. Sri Krishna said to Arjuna that My Universal Form seen by you as a devotee but the demigods are just hoping to see this form.
BG 11.49: You have been perturbed and bewildered by seeing this horrible feature of Mine. Now let it be finished. My devotee, be free again from all disturbances. With a peaceful mind you can now see the form you desire.

BG 11.52: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, this form of Mine you are now seeing is very difficult to behold. Even the demigods are ever seeking the opportunity to see this form, which is so dear.

By the above verses we can also say that a pure devotee is even higher than Demigods, because they are blessed with opportunity to associate personally with Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such opportunity is not available to demigod. Arjuna been pure devotee of Lord was given the opportunity to see Universal Form of Sri Krishna. But said this one should never imitate the position of pure devotees like Arjuna, Mata Kunti, Nanda Maharaj, Mother Yasodha or all the cowherd boys and Gopis of Vrindavan.

your Servant
Rathin

 

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Varieties of Determination

KV Rao, 6th January 2014

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances!

All glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All glories to your devotional service!

I got following doubt while reading New Year greetings saying determination, resolution, vow etc.

What is the use and result of determination in the mode of goodness, passion and ignorance? Please share your thoughts.

Haribol!

your servant,

Rao

Sunil 06th January 2014

Hare Krishna everyone

Please accept my humble obeisances

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Rao Prabhuji determination is very essential for practising Krishna consciousness. Many impediments can come to one against chantingand practising devotional service. So determination plays an essential role in Krishna Consciousness

One must be determined to engage one’s mind in devotional activities like chanting , reading , listening. There can be so many distractions to completing 16 rounds of chanting. For eg., one may feel like switching on television or engaging mundane gossip on social media instead of doing japa. At such time one determinedly do the japa.

This determination helps one to transcend the mode of goodness , passion and ignorance

Determination to serve and please Lord Krishna can be practiced in mode of goodness , passion or ignorance ; Such determination gets enhanced and gives nice results especially when he or she gets association of a pure devotee and inquires from the devotee submissively

Regards,

Sunil

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 16th January 2014

Dear Sriman Rao,

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Determination in the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance are described by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita:

BG 18.33: O son of Pṛthā, that determination which is unbreakable, which is sustained with steadfastness by yoga practice, and which thus controls the activities of the mind, life and senses is determination in the mode of goodness.

BG 18.34: But that determination by which one holds fast to fruitive results in religion, economic development and sense gratification is of the nature of passion, O Arjuna.

BG 18.35: And that determination which cannot go beyond dreaming, fearfulness, lamentation, moroseness and illusion — such unintelligent determination, O son of Pṛthā, is in the mode of darkness.

You are much  better at summarizing symptoms and characteristics of the various types of determination.

From this, we can understand that the use of the determination in the mode of ignorance is zero, the use of the determination in the mode of passion binds one to endless birth and death, and the use of the determination in the mode of goodness can lead to liberation from material bondage, unless one gets attached to the results.

The results of the determination in the mode of ignorance are always unpleasant, whether successful or not – take for example foolish but determined political and national leaders who took their country to such massive problems such as needless war-mongering. Even if someone remains on the level of dreaming, etc., such a person is always unsatisfied.

The results of the determination in the mode of passion (most new year resolutions by a majority of people fall into this category) are mixed, as in, they may be successful, but regardless of result, they don’t actually liberate one.

The results of determination in the mode of goodness are conducive to spiritual perfection, though not always.

There are also combinations of determination – someone might desire something in the mode of goodness but be determined to achieve it through actions in the mode of passion (someone wants good health, but goes about it by a very strenous physical exercise regime). Someone might want something that is in the mode of passion, but set about achieving it with actions in the mode of goodness (for example, a foolish militant who wants to destroy but diligently learns the art of explosive warfare).

Indeed, the endless combinations of the three modes make up all the varieties in the material world.

So  may our determination and resolutions be conducive to always remaining conscious of Krishna in thought, word, and deed.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Mahabhagavat Das

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Fake Spiritual Masters

B.Shahvir Balaporia, 12th November 2013

Hare Krishna!

What if, in an extremely unfortunate case, an aspirant follows a spiritual master for most of his life, but who later turns out to be a fraud! How can the disciple recover from such an unfortunate situation. What would be the role or intention of God in such a case?

Kind regards,
Shahvir

Sudeep Manchanda, 12th November 2013

Hare Krishna!

My answer is not authoritatively bonafide, but I would call the person lucky and one who is getting special mercy from Krishna. Conditioned that the person is not making false conclusions about his Guru. It is not without Krishna’s mercy that the curtain of delusion are raised. If one is able to see the truth it is a great mercy.

But, if a person out of ignorance considers a bonafide Guru as anything less than his eternal master then he/she is of-course the most unfortunate.

your Servant,
Sudeep Manchanda

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 12th November 2013

Thank you.

Please note Srila Gurudeva’s words below “There is never any offense in submissive inquiry”.

To know who is bona fide and who is not bona fide, one should look at the instructions of the past Acharyas and Krishna. If the person is not following as per past Acharyas and Krishna, then that person is not bona fide and must be rejected.

Here’s a Q&A from 27th Feb 2012 that explains this (from www.sda-archives.com):

quote
Question: Accepting and Rejecting Sri Guru

Dear Gurudeva,

How does one choose/judge the correct guru who can guide him properly on the pathway of Krishna consciousness?

Also, when can we know that our guru is acting wrongly, like Maharaja Bali who rejected his guru Sukracharya when he was told not to surrender to Krishna in His form as Lord Vamanadeva?

Was Maharaja Bali wrong for acting against the wishes of his Gurudeva, or was he right for acting in the favor of Krishna?

Please forgive me if my question appears to be offending.

Vivek
Answer: Accept Real Guru and Reject Bogus Guru

There is never any offense in submissive inquiry. Your questions are most important:

1. How to choose the spiritual master who can guide you properly on the pathway of Krishna consciousness.

2. How to know when a guru is acting wrongly?

3. Was Bali Maharaja wrong to reject his guru and serve Krishna instead?

The answer to your first question is that you should thoroughly study all of Srila Prabhupada’s books and then see who is purely representing Srila Prabhupada’s teachings without any adulteration, both in words and actions. This person is the bona fide spiritual master at whose lotus feet you should fully surrender yourself.

If a spiritual master ever advises you not to surrender to Krishna, he is not a bona fide spiritual master. He is a charlatan who should be immediately rejected. Bali Maharaja become glorious by rejecting his bogus guru and surrendering to Krishna. The bona fide guru is never rejected, and the bogus guru should be rejected immediately without any hesitation.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari
unquote

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Jayakrishna, 12th November 2013

Dear Shahvir Prabhu,
Hare krishna!
Please accept my humble pranams!

Thank you for this wonderful question!

Prabhu,i wish to share what i understand on this subject.

From our common life experiences,we can understand that if we are offered any thing as cheap,there is a chance of being deceived..
To make it clear,if a ‘guru’ assure us something that dont need any pre qualification or effort from our side but need only some magical formulae or blind obedience,then,by following him we are doing fraud by cheating ourselves,because we want the duplicate,not genuine,the genuine always is costly,we dont want to pay the price for realisation because that is our life itself,ie,to dedicate whole heartedly with the strict observance of the vows the sad guru want from us.

The fact is that a true Guru dont create anything new but only upheld what he learned from his Guru and this chain ends at God,ie.,the words of God is gurus authority.

In short,
Krishna give a true guru for one who is sincere,and a fraud one will always get a fraud ‘guru’.

JAY SRILA GURUDEVA!

With love,

your servant
Jayakrishna

Haladhar Das SDA, 14th November 2013

Hare Krsna Shahvir ji !

Hope your query regarding fake spiritual master is being met now.

It’s indeed unfortunate to see people being cheated by fake gurus. The worst part is that even after being exposed, many of their followers still have full faith in them and they think it’s some false propaganda against them as they think their material opulence and material happiness, their children marriages, good education etc. is due to that Guru only that they were following. They in ignorance are not concerned about how much spiritual advancement they have made after being in contact with that guru, neither they know the regulative principles nor they want to know, so they fail to check the guru they are following as long their senses are being gratified.

A colleague of mine was following such a fake guru and when the guru was exposed he took complete U turn and said he was never following him. Another ex-colleague of mine is the example of above quoted detail, they have put bigger picture of Guru and smaller picture of God in their home altar; when their guru being exposed, they still say “we have perfect faith in our guru, it’s a political campaign against him, we are sure that he will come out honest soon”. Some years before, they used to say that we follow this guru because they get peace of mind there in his ashram. I told them it’s better to sleep for 4 hours rather than going to another city expecting for getting peace of mind while suffering botheration during travel. The desire to enjoy sense gratification is so attractive, that people even after being get cheated from one guru, approaches another cheater guru, then another, then another………………….. but they don’t try to work on themselves, they don’t want to read/follow the scriptures. They always keep following their philosophy of “more gain, less or no pain”.

Many people make guru to make a show among people or relatives of how religious they are. They generally follow the latest fashion, whichever guru is popular or whichever God is popular, accordingly they too jump in the queque. Like these days Peer Baba, Sai Baba are in the latest fashion among so called gods and I have seen not only such peoples but even many temples are making adjustment to allot some space to these gods too in their home altar or temples so that people/money can flow in. When I was a kid, I had hardly seen even Shani dev temple but with times people being fearful of losing wealth/health have started going on Saturdays and seeing the demand, now most of the hindu temples have made makeshift arrangements for Shani dev in their temples. But Shani dev at least is a demigod but what to say of others??

jihvara lalase yei iti-uti dhaya
sisnodara-parayana Krsna nahi paya

“That person who runs here and there seeking to gratify his palate and who is always attached to the desires of his stomach and genitals is unable to attain Krsna.”

Like a child has some qualification to get admission into school and the teacher too has some qualification who is supposed to teach. Similarly a disciple and guru both have requisite qualifications which are mentioned in the shastras. And those who knows the required qualifications can see there are still so many people who are following cheater gurus. But they don’t want to listen either, as they are mad after gratifying their senses and hence their knowledge is being stolen by illusion.

BG 2.44
bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam
tayaapahrta-cetasam
vyavasayatmika buddhih
samadhau na vidhiyate

“In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination for devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place.”

In short, birds of same feather flock together, impurity attracts impurity.

As already told by devotees here, we can find the qualification of a spiritual master in the books of Srila Prabhupada. A small quote from one of his lectures is given below for reference:

Quote
“The spiritual master is compared to a cloud. Just as there are torrents of rain from a cloud, so the spiritual master brings mercy from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A cloud takes water from the sea. It doesn’t have its own water, but takes water from the sea. Similarly, the spiritual master brings mercy from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just see the comparison. He has no mercy of his own, but he carries the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the qualification of the spiritual master. The spiritual master will never say, “I am God-I can give you mercy.” No. That is not a spiritual master-that is a bogus pretender. The spiritual master will say, “I am a servant of God; I have brought His mercy. Please take it and be satisfied.” This is the spiritual master’s business. He is just like a mailman. When a mailman delivers you some large amount of money, it is not his own money. The money is sent by someone else, but he honestly delivers it-“Sir, here is your money. Take it.” So you become very much satisfied with him, although it is not his money he is giving you. When you are in need and you get money from your father or someone else-brought by the mailman-you feel very much satisfaction.”
Unquote

vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam
jihva vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat

“A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind’s demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world.” (The Nectar Of Instruction, verse 1)

Regarding your other question, what would be the role or intention of God in such a case?

For this, first of all we have to understand who we are, then who God is and then what’s our relationship with Him so that we can act accordingly. Hope you are reading “Bhagvad Gita As It Is”, There are many verses on this subject. You can read verse 15.15 with purport as well as verse 18.61 with purport.

As already been answered by Mahabhagavat Prabhu, we get what we desire/deserve due to our past pious or impious deeds but intelligent person instead of repenting or rejoicing in such situations move on towards his goal i.e. serving Krsna for the devoted man and serving own or related people senses for the materialistic man. Krsna like a loving parent does not interfere with our little independence and acts as neutral, like parents they try their best always guiding their children to become good human beings but still children somehow or other cheat them on their back and turns out to be rascals. Similarly Krsna too guides everyone through the scriptures being left by Him, through His pastimes, His representatives etc. but only rare fortunate ones are able to take advantage of His mercy.

BG 9.9 – “O dhananjaya, all this work cannot bind Me. I am ever detached from all these material activities, seated as though neutral.

From the purport : “Although He has control over every minute detail of material activities, He is sitting as if neutral. The example can be given of a high-court judge sitting on his bench. By his order so many things are happening — someone is being hanged, someone is being put into jail, someone is awarded a huge amount of wealth — but still he is neutral. He has nothing to do with all that gain and loss. Similarly, the Lord is always neutral, although He has His hand in every sphere of activity. He is not situated in the dualities of this material world. He is transcendental to these dualities. Nor is He attached to the creation and annihilation of this material world. The living entities take their different forms in the various species of life according to their past deeds, and the Lord doesn’t interfere with them.

Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 19.151
brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna prasade paya bhakti lata bija

Translation
“According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Krsna. By the mercy of both Krsna and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.”

Purport
When we speak of brahmanda, we refer to the whole universe, or to the cluster of many millions of universes. In all the universes there are innumerable planets, and there are innumerable living entities upon those planets — in the air, on land and in the water. There are millions and trillions of living entities everywhere, and they are engaged by maya in suffering and enjoying the results of their fruitive activity, life after life. This is the position of the materially conditioned living entities. Out of many of these living entities, one who is actually fortunate (bhagyavan) comes in contact with a bona fide spiritual master by Krsna’s mercy.

Krsna is situated in everyone’s heart, and if one desires something, Krsna fulfills one’s desire. If the living entity by chance or fortune comes in contact with the Krsna consciousness movement and wishes to associate with that movement, Krsna, who is situated in everyone’s heart, gives him the chance to meet a bona fide spiritual master. This is called guru-Krsna prasada. Krsna is prepared to bestow His mercy upon all living entities, and as soon as a living entity desires the Lord’s mercy, the Lord immediately gives him an opportunity to meet a bona fide spiritual master. Such a fortunate person is fortified by both Krsna and the spiritual master. He is helped from within by Krsna and from without by the spiritual master. Both are prepared to help the sincere living being become free from material bondage.
How one can become this fortunate can be seen in the life of Srila Narada Muni. In his previous life he was born of a maidservant. Although he was not born into a prestigious position, his mother was fortunately engaged in rendering service to some Vaiṣṇavas. When these Vaiṣṇavas were resting during the Caturmasya period, the boy Narada took the opportunity to engage in their service. Taking compassion upon the boy, the Vaiṣṇavas offered him the remnants of their food. By serving these Vaiṣṇavas and obeying their orders, the boy became the object of their sympathy, and by the Vaiṣṇavas’ unknown mercy, he gradually became a pure devotee. In the next life he was Narada Muni, the most exalted of Vaiṣṇavas and the most important guru and acarya of Vaiṣṇavas.
Following in the footsteps of Narada Muni, this Krsna consciousness movement is rendering service to humanity by giving everyone a chance to come in contact with Krsna. If one is fortunate, he becomes intimately related with this movement. Then, by the grace of Krsna, one’s life becomes successful.
Everyone has dormant Krsna bhakti— love for Krsna— and in the association of good devotees, that love is revealed. As stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 22.107):

nitya-siddha-Krsna prema sadhya kabhu naya
sravanadi suddha cite karaye udaya
Dormant devotional service to Krsna is within everyone. Simply by associating with devotees, hearing their good instructions and chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, dormant love for Krsna is awakened. In this way one acquires the seed of devotional service. Guru Krsna prasade paya bhakti lata bija.

So in a nutshell, as the intention of a father is always the welfare of his children, similarly intention of Supreme loving father Krsna or His love for His lost suffering children is quite imminent and hence through the Krsna consciousness movement His representatives are rendering the best welfare service to the entire suffering humanity by giving everyone a chance to come in contact with Krsna. If one is fortunate, he becomes intimately related with this movement. Then, by the grace of Krsna, one’s life becomes successful.

Hare Krsna !

ys,
Haladhar Das

B.Shahvir Balaporia, 14th November 2013

Hare Krishna!

Dear Harishji,

Please except my gratitude for your wonderful post. I just wanted to highlight the fact that fraud people are fantastic actors. They perfectly pretend to be the servant of God (after all it is OK if it keeps the money flowing). An innocent aspirant might not be able to see through this veil. The characteristics of a bonafide guru are indeed mentioned in the Shastras, but for an innocent layman distinguishing the genuine from the fraud is very difficult as they are perfect pretenders.

regards,
Shahvir

Haladhar Das SDA, 16th November 2013

Dear Shahvir ji,
Hare Krsna !

Thank you for your reasonable query. The understanding that innocent people are cheated by false pretenders is not correct. Its not innocence but Ignorance actually which leads to suffering. We suffer due to our sinful life and sinful life is due to ignorance of nature laws or God laws. Like there are State laws like keeping to the left and one cannot claim innocence when fined driving on the wrong side, he has to suffer for disobeying State laws. Similarly there are God laws also and one cannot claim ignorance and avoid being punished.

Going to a fake guru is not innocence but wilful ignorance, rather a strong desire to satisfy the senses for quick name, fame, wealth etc. When we get our children admitted to school we try to find out about the school result, their reputation, see their prospectus, and visit personally also and compare with other options also. But when it comes to seeking a Guru or God also specially in India, we dont want to go through the scriptures, see the results/effects on their followers, we just see material opulence, and are just interested in quicker results, less or no austerities.Its a general saying that “No pains, no gains”. But those who feel otherwise looking for quick and favourable results got cheated. Some years before, one of my ex-colleague after understanding our regulative principles said to me these regulative principles, chanting etc. is very troublesome, but their Guru and their religous organisation is very nice and there is no conditions there, anyone can keep on doing anything, there is no restrictions.

BG 18.37 – “That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness. ”
“In the pursuit of self-realization, one has to follow many rules and regulations to control the mind and the senses and to concentrate the mind on the self. All these procedures are very difficult, bitter like poison, but if one is successful in following the regulations and comes to the transcendental position, he begins to drink real nectar, and he enjoys life.”

Srila Prabhupada used to say that this society is a combination of cheater and the cheated. So everyone is either a cheater or is being cheated. Those who are getting cheated they also have cheated someone.Like Srila Gurudeva says, that we should accept that we get the results of our own past deeds and the deliverer is just the courier guy, who is just delivering us our mail. But we need not have to worry for such so called innocent cheated people, as Lord Caitanya being extreme merciful has empowered the Hare Krsna’s to help them out by spreading Krsna consciousness all over the Globe. So December Bhagvad Gita Marathon month is coming and hence please join your nearest Iskcon temple in distributing Bhagvad Gita As It Is to every nook and corner and help these innocent cheated or about to be getting cheated people. Sympathy is good but empathy is far better.

thank you.

ys
Haladhar Das

Nandapriya Devi Dasi, 16th November 2013

Hare Krishna

Please accept my humble obeisances.

In one lecture i heard that Srila Prabhupada said how to know who is bonafide and who is bogus Guru. Ask these two questions to the person whom you considering Guru.. 1.Who is God?  And 2.How to love God?. And if the answers were as follows…1. Krishna is God., and we can love God through by rendering devotional services.
if you got these answers for your those two questions then he is bonafide Guru otherwise a bogus Guru.

your servant,
NandaPriya Devi Dasi

Shahvir, 16th November 2013

Hare Krishna

It is indeed very difficult to distinguish a genuine guru from a fraud one, as a fraud guru can easily act  genuine. He may pretend to preach about God consciousness & spiritual aspects, etc., but his character would be otherwise in private. This is what i consider a dangerous situation wherein a genuine aspirant may fall prey to a fraud guru who is expert at pretending to be genuine in front of general public! There have been several such cases highlighted by the media in the recent past. Why should the innocent disciple suffer for no fault of his.

Regards,
Shahvir

T V Sanilkumar, 16th November 2013

Hare Krishna Prabhuji
Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Gurudeva

It is not that difficult to identify a guru, provided we know the minimum qualifications required for a bona fide guru as well as a disciple. If we know these qualifications, we can very easily identify a bonafide guru after observing and interacting with him for a few times.  For this, we need to read Srila Prabhupada’s books in detail. These qualification requirements are mentioned in many places in his books.

your servant,
Sanil kumar

Jagannatha dasa SDA, 16th November 2013

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

In addition to the nice points, already mentioned, I’ll add that this is why we recommend everyone should be very fixed in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings.  By taking shelter of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, nonsense becomes evident and real Krishna consciousness becomes ever more attractive.

We are most fortunate to take shelter of Srila Gurudeva through the Ultimate Self-Realization Course, and this e-group, as he is Prabhupadanuga, following fully in the line of Srila Prabhupada.

Lecturing on this topic, Srila Prabhupada said:

“yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krishna’-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa
[Cc. Madhya 7.128]

He is guru. One who is strictly following the instruction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and after following Him, he is just delivering the instruction as Krishna has said, then you become guru. It is not difficult. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has ordered everyone. Therefore our process is to follow Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and then try to understand Krishna’s instruction.”

your servant,
Jagannatha Dasa Brahmacari

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 16th November 2013

Dear Shahvir,

Hare Krishna!

It is a bit subtle… a person who is internally dishonest is attracted to those who are themselves dishonest… Let us take an example.

Srila Prabhupada preached so much all over the world, and before he went to the USA, he preached for decades in India, but no one took him seriously. Obviously, Srila Prabhupada is a bona fide spiritual master, but no one paid any attention to him. At the same time, people were running after charlatans, getting cheated etc., but still not listening to Srila Prabhupada.

Then, there were so many who came to Srila Prabhupada, but faced with the strictness of his discipline and the honesty of his speech and writings, many turned away and went to Sahajiyas who cheapen Krishna’s loving transcendental pastimes… in their search for “rasa” they got cheated. But if they had simply stayed and obeyed the order of Srila Prabhupada they would have tasted the real spiritual bliss. The impatience and greed to get the benefit without making the effort cost them.

But some fortunate honest souls got Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, and by following the pure-hearted among them, many more are benefiting today also…

Ultimately, since being cheated by a fraud spiritualist is not a spiritual thing, but a material thing, it boils down to karmic action and reaction. If I have cheated others in the past, even if I may be externally honest now, then if my past karmic action has fructified into a reaction, I must be cheated now. This is no different from being cheated in business deals, job, fake relationships, etc. But even being cheated is a great relief then, because at least my karmic reaction has been burned away. Now I can go after the real deal sincerely.

This is the same with children – people say children are pure, but they do bear the effect of past karmas that they have done, that is why one child is born to a low-class prostitute and another child is born to a chaste princess. But regardless, both children can become pure devotees if they follow the bona fide spiritual master, even if one comes from very humble circumstances and another comes from very privileged circumstances. And both are equally likely to cheat if they have the cheating propensity themselves…

At any given point, the reactions of past lifetimes sinful actions are hidden (apraarabdha) and then manifest as “prarabdha karma” – the karmas that will be experienced in this lifetime, and seen on three levels “kutam”, hidden, “bijam” manifested in seed form, and “phalonmukha” or in the form of fruits.

So what is the solution? Instead of lamenting over one’s loss, one should simply engage in devotional service to Sri Krishna / Vishnu or any of His plenary expansions – because “kramenaiva praliyeta vishnu bhakti rathaatmanaam” – gradually all those past reactions become burned up by the practice of devotional service.

One should qualify oneself to see who is pure and who is not by careful observance of whether the person is following an authorized Parampara strictly, whether the spiritual master is listening to their spiritual master’s instructions, etc. Please do read Srila Prabhupada’s books, you will see that a bona fide spiritual master is clearly described in his books.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

B.Shahvir Balaporia, 16th November 2013

Hare Krishna!

Dear Mahabhagavat Dasji,

Thank you very much for such a beautiful & resourceful explanation. I also appreciate the guidance provided by all my dear brothers & sisters who relentlessly serve Krishna & his servants through their posts.

regards,
Shahvir

Sulaksana devi dasi, 14th November 2013

Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Smti Gurumataji!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Krishna is situated as Paramatma in everyone’s heart and He knows all our thoughts and all our desires so accordingly He facilitates a guru to fulfill them. As it is said in the Bhagavad-gita 15-15 that “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.”  So one who is aspirant of real guru with no ulterior motive,  He as a caitya guru will send him accordingly to that person who is a bonafide guru or Guru will find him.

your humble servant,
Sulaksana devi dasi

Rathin Mandal, 16th November 2013

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I too had this question for a long time. In India we keep on coming across news like this every other day.
I got the opportunity to ask Srila Gurudeva this query.
Srila Gurudeva answered that those who want to get cheated, gets attracted to fake gurus. Those who are sincere, Krishna helps them.

Nothing to boast about me, but I must be having some desire. And that is why I am fortunate to be able to associate with so many wonderful devotees.
Even if one gets attached to someone wrong. But if he has true desire, he will come to the right place.

your Servant
Rathin

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Does God exist or is God an imagination?

Does God exist or is God a figment of someone’s imagination, or a literary construct? How can we find out for sure? Can we experience God?

Shahvir, 27th November 2013

Hare Krishna!

Kindly pardon my audacity as i write this, but i need to find a solution to this peculiar problem as it is acting as an impediment to my spiritual emancipation.
Although i have a strong belief in the Bhagwad Gita, on very rare occasions i get negative thoughts such as; what if God is an imaginary entity or that Krishna might be an imaginary personality arising out of the Shastras which might have been created by the ancient wise men/sages in order to satisfy a basic need of humanity to be eternal/immortal, etc.

Kindly suggest me a solution to this problem as such thoughts occasionally tend to disturb my spiritual peace & progress. I ask this as i feel that my spiritual brethren might have faced this problem at some point of time in their life and would have found some solution to eliminate it.

regards,
most ignorant soul, Shahvir

Geetha, 27th November 2013

Hare krishna,

I am also having the same problem. Waiting to read the answer for this question eagerly.

Shahvir, 27th November 2013

Hare Krishna!

That was relieving. i thought i was all alone!

regards,
most ignorant soul, Shahvir

Rathin Mandal, 27th November 2013

Hare Krishna Shahvir,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you for your nice question.
I too used to have these questions. Due to seeing all the stupid documentaries in science channels and actions of so called gurus.
To answer this Sri Krishna says: “BG 4.34: Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.”

I started learning only after meeting Mahabhagavat Prabhu and so many other wonderful devotees. My experience is that without being in the association of devotees it is impossible to understand God and his creation. And that is why Sri Krishna says that one has to approach a Bonafide Spiritual Master to learn about the truth.

The modern science teaches that only that can be perceived by senses is truth. But if we closely look around there are so many things that are beyond sense perception. Not everything around us is tangible. The law of karma is so wide and vivid that it will keep on causing confusions and anxiety in some or other form all the time.
In simple words, I can say that if I do not study then it is not possible to clear the exam. I cannot think about securing a rank. In the same way realization of ultimate truth depends upon my sincerity.
Just like i was never first in my class, but that didn’t stop me from studying. So even if i am far from a perfect devotee, nothing stops me to learn about God from his perfect devotees.

your Servant
Rathin

Nashvin, 27th November 2013

Hare Krsna!

I think that I also used to have thoughts like this sometimes, but not anymore.  I think they automatically go away with more and more blissful Krsna conscious experiences.

Of course, one can theoretically understand that God exists, and is a person, because we are people, and the source of us must also have personality.

But, practical experience is also nice.  A hungry man does not need to theoretically understand his eating.  He will automatically feel satiated after eating.  🙂

your servant,
Nashvin

Preitie, 27th November 2013

Hare Krishna

Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Vaishnavas

I asked a similar question not so long ago although it was worded a bit differently. It is not common to have such questions / inhibitions however, I have realized that with being part of such groups, reading Srila Prabhupada’s Books, Listening to lectures, Eating prasadam, Engaging in devotee association (that’s a biggie) and chanting and chanting and some more chanting this can be slowly overcome. Basically, if this doubt is big, then you have to combat is by doing bigger and better things that the doubt itself to be able to combat it. I say this because not so long ago I was on the other side where I used to have a cloud of doubt hovering over my head and not to say I don’t feel that way at times…but it is precisely why we need to try harder to stay focussed and steer away from the clutches of illusion.

I have below some comments regarding the question I asked not so long ago and the wonderful answer that Sudeep Prabhu and Mahabhagavad Das Prabhu shared in this forum. I also meant to share my recent experiences that have strengthened my ground and helped me immensely. I even saw some post where some vaishnavas have shared their experiences and life altering events. I started to write mine down but Maya happened 😦 That email in the works though. I hope I am able to do justice to sharing my experience and putting it into words so as to motivate others to know that you are not alone. Krsna will always give us an opportunity for our sadhana to be improved and dovetailed 🙂

I hope this helps. Although I am positive some of the other answers that we are bracing ourselves for will far exceed my expectations 🙂

Please forgive me if I have said something incorrect on here, my intention is far from it. Hari Hari.

quote

Question: Preitie

Hare Krishna

Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to Srila Gurudev & Gurumata
All glories to Vaishnavas

I have a question and it is only born out of something where I have attempted to understand but have not been so successful. I have also tried and tested and repeatedly failed to convince a handful of people who pose this question to me or where I put myself in their situation and I can’t seem to convince / make them understand some points.

When we quote / make references to Krsna we quote the Bhagavad Gita which is the song of God as the source of all information and truth. What if people don’t want to believe that it has been stated by God?

There are so many important messages, learning and knowledge that the Gita is a source of, but despite all that, the fact that it was written by someone – requires a certain set of beliefs that this someone is / was very important and the faith. So what do we do when someone does not have faith in the Gita? Is it even worth spending time with / around such people and trying to convince them?

My contribution to such conversations is: Belief comes from experience and experience from doing something repeatedly. But how we explain what makes something a habit and something a belief?

I have seen that some Asians grow up knowing / hearing about the Gita so they’re aware of its importance but in the Western World, no one has heard of Gita. Or Krsna so how then are they even inclined to believing that this book is the source of everything we need in this material world? So when they don’t believe in the concept of a God, how will they believe that a book that has been spoken by God holds the key to life’s questions?

When they ask me, what makes the Gita so important or how do you know it was not written by some human being – I am at a loss for words. The last thing it does it dissuade me, but nonetheless I would like to know if there is a better approach to making someone understand this better.

My apologies in advance if my question is rude or has offended anyone. That is sincerely not my intention.

Hari Bol.

ys,
Preethi

Answer One: Sep 3 Sudeep Manchanda

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
This is a fantastic discussion and interestingly I had a similar question and had been thinking over it. I would like to share my thoughts so that senior devotees can correct me.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna is perfect and hence the words as said by him should also be perfect. So the teachings of The Bhagawat Gita should also be perfect in all sense like it should be an Absolute Truth.
We know what truth is, but what is Absolute Truth?
If I say it is evening right now, when I am typing this mail. Is that a truth? Yes, but is it an Absolute Truth? No. Why? Because it may not be a truth when you are reading this mail. So for a truth to be Absolute it should be beyond any relative reference like time, place etc…
Now does Bhagawat Gita qualify to be an Absolute truth? Yes, because it perfect in all respect. And can such and Absolute Science be said or written by a human? By all means no. So it has to be said by someone who is Absolute, which is Krishna.
The knowledge of Bhagawat Gita is also called The Science Of Self Realization. So it is a science!
What do we do in a scientific experiment? We follow the procedure exactly as it is described and then we get the results. It is basis these result that we validate that yes, the facts were correct.
So if one does not have fate and wants to validate the knowledge in Bhagawat Gita, one must follow the teachings exactly as stated in Bhagawat Gita under the guidance of a bonafide Guru and see the results for self J
Please correct me wherever needed.
your Servant,
Sudeep Manchanda

Answer TWO: Mahabhagavat Das

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

It is not correct that one needs to believe something in order for the teachings of Bhagavad Gita to make sense. In fact, belief is very cheap, one can believe or not believe, it is simply a decision of the mind, like flipping a switch. Today someone can believe something, tomorrow something else, belief is not worth much.

Also, importantly, belief is commonly thought to be a religious/faith thing, but so-called scientific persons believe and trust and have faith in so many things… how many people have gone to the sun to make sure for themselves that what the so-called scientists say is true? Do you know that each person takes a leap of faith when we walk on the road, drive a car, get onto an elevator/escalator, pay our taxes, buy a packaged product, go to a doctor, etc.? How did this faith come about? When we were children, we were taught to do things in a certain way, and doing it that way worked… so we all tried something out based on “let me see what happens”.

So that is why, we need to go gradually to the platform of conviction. Faith is not simply belief. Faith is confidence that this is the Supreme Absolute Truth, not blind, but tested and proven. That is why Krishna, in BG 9.2 says “pratyakshaavagamam” – by direct experience. It is realized knowledge, not just mental. So that is why in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, we don’t sit around discussing philosophy all day but we engage in a full program of Krishna conscious engagements. We rise early, we chant, we follow some regulations, we take only Krishna Prasada, we go out on Harinam, we clean, we go shopping for Krishna, we do so many practical services for Guru and Krishna.

The way to understand Bhagavad Gita is to listen submissively (but not blindly accept), and engage one’s intelligence with the content of the Bhagavad Gita and to apply what is in the Bhagavad Gita and see personally, does it work or does it not work.

For example, Krishna describes the different natures, divine and demoniac. Do we see that borne out in our experience or not? Does it need any belief to understand that a demoniac person wants his enemies dead and is constantly plotting how to secure more for himself?

However, Krishna describes many advanced things also… can a child say that advanced calculus is a “belief” because she does not understand past basic arithmetic yet? No, once a person goes through proper training over a period of time, anyone can learn to appreciate advanced calculus and learn to apply it to physical problems. Same thing with medicine.

Similarly, to understand Bhagavad Gita, it is not a theoretical exercise, an armchair philosopher who is actually unwilling to do the work it takes to understand will never understand. Bhagavad Gita cannot be understood simply by agitating the mind. In other words, Bhagavad Gita is not for lazies and crazies 🙂

Finally, our process is yes, we give philosophy, but we are not attached to whether someone is accepting or not… we present philosophy, we present the activities and process byy following which anyone can understand, and then we leave it up to that person. Even Krishna does not force, what to speak of a little aspiring devotee like me.

And even if we fight hard and we convince someone by force of strong argument, still, as Benjamin Franklin said “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still”. So we need to win hearts as much as we need to have convincing arguments. And in some cases, some purification is needed – copious quantities of Krishna Prasadam should be regularly supplied to the persons we are trying to share Krishna’s mercy with 🙂 And then some service, maybe a donation, some help in promoting a festival, whatever, some service to Krishna, knowingly or unknowingly.

It is said that “svalpa punyavataam raajan, vishvaaso naiva jaayate” – those who do not have sufficient pious credits, they cannot trust in sublime information. So it is up to us to BUILD that base of pious credits.

The best force is purity, our own purity, in other words, the better we follow the process, the stronger our conviction becomes, and the force of our own conviction, that is what moves someone’s heart.

If someone wants to find out, they have to read the Bhagavad Gita for themselves and try it out, Bhakti is an experential process, it is not a theory.

In the western world, collectively, we are daily convincing hundreds and thousands of people to read Bhagavad Gita, to spare their valuable time, speak with us, to see the Bhagavad Gita on its own merit in its own light, and to allow them to be convinced enough to give us a donation and take the book home.

Where are you based? We can help you to share this knowledge more effectively.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das
unquote

ys,
Preethi

Sudeep Manchanda, 27th November 2013

Hare Krishna Shahvir and Geetha,

I hope you both are chanting the minimum number of rounds and following the regulative principles. Chanting properly gives us that connection to the Supreme Personality of Godhead which gives us the strong belief.

Srila Prabhupada has strongly recommended the following for our daily sadana:
1. Chanting
2. Reading
3. Devotee association

(I hope I am not missing anything)

This process is very scientific and if we follow the procedures given to us by our acharyas then we would surely see results which would increase our faith. 🙂

The marathon for book distribution has started at a lot of places, are you participating in it? That is one service where you get special mercy and your understanding of the philosophy become real strong. You can also participant in the Krishna Book challenge to motivate yourself to read.

Hope this helps.
At your service,
Sudeep Manchanda

B.shahvir balaporia, 27th November 2013

Hare Krishna!

I am very glad i put forth this question. i am forever indebted to your good selves. Thank you all for this great effort & God bless! 🙂

In passing just to share, i am training my mind to visualize the all pervading nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead & chant the Mahamantra as much as possible. It feels ecstatic!

regards,
most ignorant soul, Shahvir

Geetha, 28th November 2013

Hare krishna

Thank you all for the wonderful and convincing reply.

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What is difference between Karmi and Karma Yogi?

Bhakta Sunil, 22nd November 2013

Hare Krishna everyone!

Please accept my humble obeisances
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Please tell what is the difference between karmi and karmayogi?

Regards,
Sunil

Shreyas, 22nd November 2013

Hare Krishna to all the devotees,
Dandavat Pranam!
Jaya Srila Gurudev!

This is my understanding:

Karmi is one who acts for his own sense gratification. One who is attached to the results

Karma yogi is one who acts with detachment to the results. This is the first step to the ladder of yoga which leads to Bhakti Yoga, the ultimate goal.

However Bhakta is one who acts for gratifying the senses of the Lord. This is Bhakti yoga, perfection of Karma yoga. Karma yoga as the ultimate. The actual destination.

I wish to be corrected if my understanding is incorrect.

your servant.

Hare Krishna 🙂
Shreyas

Jagannatha dasa, 23rd November 2013

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Karma is the execution of activites recommended in the sastra as pious.  The result of such action is pious reactions which can lead one to higher planets in this material world for a superior standard of material enjoyment.  If one neglects to act according to sastric injunctions and instead acts whimsically, that is known as vikarma, and it results in sinful reactions which can drive one down to lower births to experience severe restriction of enjoyment.

Akarma, or bhakti is when one engages in devotional service of the Lord.

When that devotional service is performed with ones activites directly, like walking to the temple, cooking for the Lord, embracing the devotees, or indirectly by offering the money one earns to Krishna for example, that manifestation of bhakti is called karma-yoga, or activity linking one to Krishna.  It is akarma.

Similarly when one who is eager to please Krishna, and therefore studies sastra to know what Krishna wants, under the guidance of the Lord’s devotees, such engagement of the intelligence in Krishna’s service is called jnana-yoga.  It is also bhakti, or akarma.  The result of akarma is that one’s pious and sinful reactions, everything binding us to this material world, are all destroyed (karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti bhajam), and one transcends repeated birth and death by going back to home, back to Godhead.

I hope it’s clear.

your servant,
Jagannatha Dasa Brahmacari

Shreyas, 23rd November 2013

Hare Krishna Prabhuji.

It is very clear now. Thank you for providing a nice explanation including jnana yoga as well and again making realize that as akarma Prabhuji.

your servant

Hare Krishna
Gusti Nyoman Ambara, 23rd November 2013

Hare Krishna Prabhuji

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you very much for sharing this clear explanation. Please also kindly enlighten me, what is raja-yoga (in relationship with Krishna consciousness)? Thank you.

your insignificant servant
Gusti Nyoman Ambara
Bhakta Sunil, 24th November 2013

Hare Krishna everyone!

Thank you very much Shreyas ji and Jagannatha Prabhu ji for reply to question

I was very pleased to read your replies and my confusion got cleared

Regards,
Sunil

Rathin Mandal, 26th November 2013

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Your Lotus Feet and Srimati Gurumataji,

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Can we say that a karma yogi is in higher position then a jnana yogi and dhyana yogi.
I am taking verse “BG 12.12: If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.”

Whatever time I have spend with devotees, all I can understand the ‘renunciation of the fruits of action’ is very difficult. Until one is in knowledge of Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna and one is not engrossed in thougths of Sri Krishna. He cannot give up the results of his work neither in tangible form nor in intangible form.

your Servant
Rathin

Shreyas, 26th February 2014

Hare Krsna!

That’s a good question. But what I understood was that jnana yogi is below dhyana yogi. [Dhyana yogi should be those in astanga yoga,meditation ]. Jnana yogi must lead to Brahman realization and Dhyana yoga must lead to Paramatma realization.

Coming back to your question:
Karma yogi however is below jnana yogi. “Renunciation of the fruits of action”, shouldn’t that be above a karma-yogi? Because karma yogi means that one is attached to either the fruits or the work (I am also understanding it currently). So meditation surely is above renunciation of the fruits of action (karma yoga)

The following should also help us from the Bhagavad Gita 6.46 purport:

The culmination of all kinds of yoga practices lies in bhakti yoga. All other yogas are but means to come to the point of bhakti in bhakti-yoga. Yoga actually means bhakti-yoga; all other yogas are progressions toward the destination of bhakti-yoga. From the beginning of karma-yoga to the end of bhakti-yoga is a long way to self-realization. Karma-yoga, without fruitive results, is the beginning of this path. When karma-yoga increases in knowledge and renunciation, the stage is called jñāna-yoga. When jñāna-yoga increases in meditation on the Supersoul by different physical processes, and the mind is on Him, it is called aṣṭāṅga-yoga. And when one surpasses the aṣṭāṅga-yoga and comes to the point of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, it is calledbhakti-yoga, the culmination. Factually, bhakti-yoga is the ultimate goal, but to analyze bhakti-yoga minutely one has to understand these other yogas. The yogī who is progressive is therefore on the true path of eternal good fortune. One who sticks to a particular point and does not make further progress is called by that particular name:karma-yogī, jñāna-yogī or dhyāna-yogī, rāja-yogī, haṭha-yogī, etc. If one is fortunate enough to come to the point of bhakti-yoga, it is to be understood that he has surpassed all other yogas. Therefore, to become Kṛṣṇa conscious is the highest stage of yoga, just as, when we speak of Himālayan, we refer to the world’s highest mountains, of which the highest peak, Mount Everest, is considered to be the culmination.

So Rathin prabhu, karma yoga has to be below jnana yoga according to the purport. Awaiting for more enlightenment on this from others 🙂

your servant

Shreyas

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What is the signficance of Hanuman’s presence on Arjuna’s chariot?

Rathin Mandal, 03rd April 2013

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumata,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

In Krishna book, chapter 58, describing the great war of Kurukshetra, it says that: “Both of them sat down on Arjuna’s chariot, which flew a flag with a picture of Hanumān. Arjuna’s special chariot is always marked with the picture of Hanumān, and therefore he is also named Kapidhvaja.”
I have couple of questions :

What is the pastime for having flag emblemed with Hanumanji on chariot of Arjuna? While as in Mahabharat serial it was shown that mostly warriors used to have flags emblemed with Suryadev (Sun).

Another reason for this question is that there is a very popular belief that because Arjuna had flag of Hanumanji on his chariot, he was protected by Hanumanji. Even I used to believe in this previously. But now I understand that when Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna is himself with Arjuna then Arjuna already has all the protection.
Is there any other pastime related here which got perverted with time?

your Servant
Rathin

Bhakta Sunil, 03rd April 2013

Hare Krishna Rathin Prabhu ji

Please accept my humble obeisances
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

I read your question and was reminded of few lines which I had read

I searched and found few results and am pasting a search result which I think you would find relevant to your question :

TEXT 20:
atha vyavasthitan drishtva
dhartarashtran kapi-dhvajah
pravritte sastra-sampate
dhanur udyamya pandavah
hrishikesam tada vakyam
idam aha mahi-pate

TRANSLATION:
At that time Arjuna, the son of Pandu, seated in the chariot bearing the flag marked with Hanuman, took up his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows. O King, after looking at the sons of Dhritarashtra drawn in military array, Arjunathen spoke to Lord Krishna these words.

PURPORT:
The battle was just about to begin. It is understood from the above statement that the sons of Dhritarashtra were more or less disheartened by the unexpected arrangement of military force by the Pandavas, who were guided by the direct instructions of Lord Krishna on the battlefield. The emblem of Hanuman on the flag of Arjuna is another sign of victory because Hanuman cooperated with Lord Rama in the battle between Rama and Ravana, and Lord Rama emerged victorious. Now both Rama and Hanuman were present on the chariot of Arjuna to help him. Lord Krishna is Rama Himself, and wherever Lord Rama is, His eternal servitor Hanuman and His eternal consort Sita, the goddess of fortune, are present. Therefore, Arjuna had no cause to fear any enemies whatsoever. And above all, the Lord of the senses, Lord Krishna, was personally present to give him direction. Thus, all good counsel was available to Arjuna in the matter of executing the battle. In such auspicious conditions, arranged by the Lord for His eternal devotee, lay the signs of assured victory.
Regards,
Sunil
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 04th April 2013

Dear Rathin Mandal,

Yes, it is correct that the chariot was protected by Sri Hanuman who is an eternal servitor of Lord Sri Krishna in His form as Lord Sri Ramachandra, this is mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam and Mahabharata even before the war of Kurukshetra.

The makers of television serials are certainly influential, but are not authorities. For example, in one television serial I saw as a child, the actors playing the role of Brahmanas performing auspicious yajnas all had their sacred thread on the right shoulder going down to left side of waist (usually done only for certain duties considered inauspicious). It is sometimes quite unnerving to see the shortcuts etc., because they did not take advice and guidance of bona fide spiritual master. Still, some information is passed, on, but also much misinformation.

Re how it is that Hanuman appeared on the flag, there is a nice pastime of Krishna, but it might be too detailed for this international group of students. So contact me offline for that 🙂

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das
Rathin Mandal, 04th April 2013

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumata,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you very much Sunil Prabhu and Mahabhagavat Prabhu for the answers.
This helps me to understand the meaning better.

your Servant
Rathin
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Is there a difference between Consciousness and the Mind?

Geetha, 16th June 2013

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

What is the difference between the Consciousness and mind?

your servant,
Geetha.

Rohini Devi Dasi, 18th June 2013

Hare Krishna Mataji,

All Glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumataji,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances.

Will try to explain the difference between consciousness and mind according to my little understanding.

Earth,water,fire,air,either,mind,intelligence and false ego are 8 separate inferior energies of the Supreme personality of Godhead.
The gross body also known as the “Sthula Sharira” is made up of 5 elements- earth,water,fire,air and ether often known as “pancha maha bhuta”.  The mind,intelligence and false ego constitutes the Subtle body.  The Subtle body is also called as the “Sukshma Sharira”

Consciousness is the energy of the soul where as the mind is the part of the material body one of the elements of the subtle body.
Just as our eyes have the ability to see and we direct our eyes to the particular object and our eyes sees that object.  Just as the power of seeing is the characteristics of the eyes same way the power of consciousness is the characteristics of the soul.  The consciousness in that sense is spiritual whereas mind is the one of the objects in which the consciousness gets focussed.

Thus mind is material being one of the ingredients of the subtle body and consciousness is spiritual.

From practical perspective we sometimes use mind and consciousness wrongly stating that, my mind is disturbed or my consciousness  is gone down we may use these words interchangeably but from philosophical point of view they are significantly different.

To understand our situation in the material world from philosophical point of view the verse 13.22 explains:
puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi
bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān
kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ’sya
sad-asad-yoni-janmasu
The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.
For the purpose of enjoying, the soul gets lodged, gets situated in material nature with the desire to enjoy.eg while watching cricket match our eyes can see the entire room but our eyes and vision is focussed on the television screen. Through the TV screen our vision enters the cricket ground and we start experiencing ,identifying what is happening in the cricket ground and feel the emotions accordingly.  The events that are happening in the cricket ground are like the events happening in the material world and the screen on which the events are displayed is like the mind and what is happening in the cricket ground for eg the video camera captures the event ,the sound recorder records the sound and all different things are integrated and brought on the television and the television screen integrates the various inputs and offers them for enjoyment or suffering for the cricket watchers.

similarly what our senses ie eyes,ears nose and other perceive, all the inputs are integrated by the mind and offered for perception by the soul. The mind offers some objects for perception and soul focusses the consciousness in that objects then the soul desires changes… e.g the picture of the mind is offering the agitating feeling, and if the soul focusses on that picture of agitating, the consciousness also feels agitated ,angry and if the picture is sensually alluring than the soul by focussing on that becomes allure .This way the mind proposes various objects and situations for the material enjoyment for the soul and to the extend the soul focusses on the consciousness on the mind to that extend soul gets affected and thats the reason we say that the best way to deal with the mind is to neglect it.
If tv show is going on in the house and if we don’t look at it it will continue and get over we can continue our work and not waste our time similarly the mind may offer some inputs but as a soul we might decide not to put our consciousness in it then the mind will not affect us.  In this way by thoughtful internal observation we can de-link our consciousness from our mind and not get influenced by the minds feeling and moods and our consciousness will stay good even when our mind is in irritated mood.

In Short mind is subtle material whereas the consciousness is spiritual being an integrated energy of the soul and by careful introspection we can avoid mind influencing our consciousness.

Hare Krishna

your Servant,
Rohini Devi dasi

Ashok Sahu, 19th June 2013

Hare Krishna Mataji,
All Glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumataji,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances.

Thank you for a wonderful answer. I just have a follow up question.
when we say our consciousness should not focus on mind what it offers us, how can we function in this world?
So is it that we should accept the thoughts that mind offers us that are favorable to Krishna Consciousness and not otherwise?
one more question, when it is generally said that “our heart needs to be purified” does this means our consciousness to be purified by chanting right?
Please explain.

your Servant
Ashok Sahu

Rabindra Das, 19th June 2013

All glories Sri Guru & Sri Gauranga
All glories Srila Prabhupada

What a wonderful, clear and concise description of the mind and soul
My day has become extra enlivened – thank you

your servant
Rabindra Das
Geetha, 19th June 2013

Hare Krishna mataji,
Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Thank you very much very nice explanation.

your servant,
Geetha.
Shreyas, 20th June 2013

Hare Krsna Mataji.

Dandavat Pranam
All glories to Guru and Gauranga!

I was quite convinced by the wonderful reply above. Just that I couldn’t understand few of the concepts:
1) You mentioned that the soul focuses its consciousness on what the mind is showing or projecting? Is that really true that the soul itself focuses because then there is also another fact that the soul is 100% pure and so is it really focusing,the soul?

This is how I limited-ly used to think of it. The mind hovers and thinks of so many things and there is something(which now you mention as soul) which sees to it ,all this and gets illusion-ed. So Soul being pure, seeing impure things and mind thinking I am not this soul is not quite befitting. So I wanted to know when it is said that the mind thinks I am not this soul, how on a subtle level is this happening? Because if soul is watching the projections in the mind then who is thinking or getting illusion-ed? Who is out of foolishness failing to realize the soul?
My so far thinking was that we interpret or think, etc because of the mind. Obviously, the feeling and sensation is because of the consciousness but I used to think consciousness is just like the facility and because of it we are able to think,etc from our brain, or visual gratification, etc.
Sorry for my complex way of communicating. I can only hope that I am clear.

Kindly enlighten.

Your fallen and aspiring servant
Hare Krsna!
Shreyas

Bhakta Sunil, 20th June 2013

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble obeisances
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Regarding this question I researched and would like to share the following :

http://vedabase.com/sb/7/15/41

Transcendentalists who are advanced in knowledge compare the body, which is made by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to a chariot. The senses are like the horses; the mind, the master of the senses, is like the reins; the objects of the senses are the destinations; intelligence is the chariot driver; and consciousness, which spreads throughout the body, is the cause of bondage in this material world.

Humble respects from,
Sunil
Rathin Mandal, 21st June 2013

Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances,
All Glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumataji,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I had something of a similar query which Mahabhagavat Prabhu helped me to understand. So I will give a try to explain this with my limited knowledge.

The soul is always pure, because it is part of Supreme Personality. In it is actual position it is qualitatively same as God, but it is also interacting with the material nature due to which it gets affected by illusion. I will take help of following two verses to explain.
BG 3.5: Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.

Sri Krishna has said that everyone is affected by the material modes of nature, and when the one is not aware of his real position then he remains in illusion.

BG 3.27: The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.
Also this statement of Sri Krishna says that the soul gets affected by the mode of material nature.

Now some material example as how even the minds gets bewildered by the environment. I hope you would have seen boys playing video games like driving and shooting games. The player gets so much engrossed into the game that at tight corners instead of making the car move, he moves his body. Or while playing a shooting game, when the opponent shoots, the player tries to duck instead of making his game player duck. The mind knows that it is just playing a game on the computer but being heavily interacting with that instrument, the virtual affects get reflected in the real body also.

So I think, similarly the soul en-caged inside the material body is bound to see and feel through the body. Until and unless it receives devotees assistance, he cannot differentiate between real and illusion.

your Servant
Rathin
Rohini Devi Dasi, 24th June 2013

Hare Krishna shreyas prabhuji,

All glories to Srila Gurudev and srimati Gurumataji.
All glories to Srila Praphupada!

Please accept my humble obeisances.

Prabhuji I m not an expert in this topic,it’s what I have heard from great preachers and senior devotee s of our sampradaya  m writing .Will try to answer your question but m not sure how much of your doubts will be resolved.
Question

1) You mentioned that the soul focuses its consciousness on what the mind is showing or projecting? Is that really true that the soul itself focuses because then there is also another fact that the soul is 100% pure and so is it really focusing,the soul?
Soul being pure, seeing impure things and mind thinking I am not this soul is not quite befitting. So I wanted to know when it is said that the mind thinks I am not this soul, how on a subtle level is this happening? Because i f the soul is watching the projection of the mind who is thinking or getting illusion-ed? Who is out of foolishness failing to realize the soul?
Ans: The Vedic wisdom-tradition states that the soul is by its very nature sat-cit-anand, eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss.

The mind, like our physical body, is material. So it is non-living and unconscious. When the mind appears to be conscious, it is simply prompting us towards actions that we have repeatedly done in the past. Thus its actions are similar to the actions of a competent software program that remembers our past choice among multiple options and prompts us towards making that choice again. When we make that same choice repeatedly, the program may make that choice as our default option. Then, even if we don’t choose that option consciously, still it gets chosen automatically. Eventually, we may feel that the computer program is conscious and is choosing on its own. We may even feel that its choice and our choice are the same. But neither of these feelings is true. And we can realize their falsity by consciously stopping the default choice and consciously making an alternative choice.

The same principle applies in our dealings with our mind. When we repeatedly respond to particular stimuli in the same way, the mind makes that response as our default option. So, for example, when we let our mind go towards thoughts of sex whenever nothing urgent occupies it, then carnal thoughts become our default thoughts. This may give us the misperception that we are innately lusty. But we aren’t. All of us, as souls, are innately spiritual, and the spiritual soul has nothing to do with physical lust.

To correct our misperception, we need to consciously say no to the default option and say yes to an alternative option, that is, we need to take our mind away from its habitual object of thought and fix it on some other object. Many such alternative objects of thought may present themselves before us, but we will soon discover that fixing the mind on them is not easy; redirecting the mind involves dragging and wrenching that strains and drains us. After some struggle, we may even feel that disciplining the mind to be an exercise in self-torture and futility. While this opposition that the mind presents to our plans can be discouraging, it can also serve as undeniable confirmatory evidence that we are different from our mind.
Vedic wisdom facilitates and accelerates the process of redirecting the mind by offering us an object of thought that is empowering, purifying and fulfilling. That object is Krishna – especially in his form of the holy name.

Hare Krishna!

your servant,
Rohini Devi dasi
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 25th June 2013

Hare Krishna!

My short note, to support what Rohini Mataji has so eloquently explained, is that it is the soul which perceives, sees, observes, etc., subtle body and gross material body are just the instruments through which those sensations are coming into the soul. Without the presence of the soul, the mind or body cannot do anything on their own. It is the living force, the spirit soul, atma, which provides consciousness which is the basic ingredient before any other activity can occur.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das
Shreyas, 25th June 2013

Hare Krsna!

I first of all thank Sunil Prabhuji, Rathin Prabhuji, Rohini Mataji and Mahabhagavat das Prabhuji for devoting their time to my frustration or misunderstanding and doubt. Yes, it was explained quite nicely and easily. I was over-thinking. It’s very clear to me. I am indeed fortunate to join this group.
I am very clear with this topic and depth now.

Haribol!
your fallen and aspiring servant!
Hare Krsna!

Shreyas

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Scriptural basis for Chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra

Janardan Mali, 24th September 2013

I had said that I am chanting Hare Krishna mantra every day 1600 times without the help of japamala.

You say ‘so thank you for that, please keep it up’.I do not know  why are you thanking me.

I also follow the  other methods prescribed by Shri Krishna in Srimad Bhagavad Gita for self realization.
You say that Chanting Hare Krishna is  the general easiest method of self realization for this age, and is the fastest path to spiritual perfection
given in the scriptures, it is not invented by anyone, it is specified as so in the Vedic literature.

I am eager to know the scriptures and the Vedic literature. Srimad Bhagavad-Gita  is timeless spiritual knowledge.

You also say that ‘in fact, the Hare Krishna Mahamantra includes ALL other Vedic mantras and is the origin of all Vedic traditions,
including the sacred syllable “Om” which is an impersonal expansion of Krishna of the all-pervading transcendence.

I know you could speak with greater authority and refute any  arguments. But sometimes scholars in response to the requirements of expediency
preach doctrines opposed to the dictates of their conscience and reflects clearly hypocrisy, mendacity and lack of religiosity, pride erroneously
exuding from intoxication of position. Supreme Lord Krishna describes the science of self-realization and the exact processes by which a
human being can establish their eternal relationship with God. In terms of pure, spiritual knowledge the Bhagavad- Gita is incomparable.
Its intrinsic beauty is that its knowledge applies to all human beings and does not postulate any sectarian ideology or secular view.

I am really sorry if I sound harsh.

Yours in Krishna Consciousness

Janardan Mali

Jagannatha dasa, 24th September 2013

My Dear Bhakta Janardan,

Please accept my respectful greetings.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I’ve read with pleasure that you are enjoying the chanting of Hare Krishna so much.  By doing this you are following in the footsteps of the six gosvamis of Vrindavan, headed by Srila Rupa Gosvami, who would dedicate their time to chanting a fixed number of Krishna’s holy names.  The followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are generally known as Rupanugas because they follow the example of Srila Rupa Gosvami.  Our particular branch of the Caitanya tree is headed by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The teachings of Krishna are eternally sweet, and become even sweeter by coming down to the present moment through Krishna’s pure devotees.  This is confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.3:

nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ
 śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam
pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayam
 muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ

Translation:

O expert and thoughtful men, relish Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.

We receive these teachings of Srila Prabhupada through His Grace, Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari prabhu’s Ultimate Self-Realization course, of which this e-group is an adjunct.  He is a bona fide spiritual master, who helps countless souls understand and apply the teachings of Lord Sri Krishna.

In Padma-Purana, it is said:

sampradaya-vihina ye mantras te nisphala matah
SrI-brahma-rudra-sanaka-vaisnava ksiti-pavanah

“Within the Vedas there are crores of perfected mantras. However, outside of the supervision of the guru in an actual sampradaya, one will only become confused and eventually fall into a dark well full of Mayavada philosophies. Under proper direction, the same mantra will deliver the highest achievements.”

Furthermore, Srila Prabhupada’s dedication to presenting his books in such a scholarly and authoritative way, making thousands of sincere disciples and grand-disciples, establishing centers etc. at such an advanced age, dealing with heartless drug-addicts and meat-eaters and empowering them to revive their original enlightened state of Krishna consciousness —- All of this, is testiment that he is free from hypocrisy, mendacity and pride.

Therefore, we follow Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada instructs us to chant on japa mala.  As you come from a very respectable background, I’m sure you know that chanting on japa malas is nothing new, but a prominent feature of our sacrosanct Vedic tradition.

Now, one may not be able to take up all of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings just yet, but at least the principle of accepting Srila Prabhupada’s authority should not be resented, this includes his teachings on how to dress, chant, offer prasadam, and all other aspects of Vaisnava culture.

My dear sir, please excuse me for any pain I may have caused with my words, unintentionally.  I pray to please my beloved Spiritual master, and all devotees, including your good self.

your servant,
Jagannatha Dasa Brahmacari

Harish, 25th September 2013

Hare Krsna Dear Janardan Mali pr !

All glories to Srila Gurudeva !
All glories to Srila Prabhupada !
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

The Hare Krsna mahamantra is mentioned in various scriptures as the only means of deliverance in this dark age of Kali.

Chaitanya-bhagavata 1.14, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu speaking to Tapana Misra
“Listen my dear Misra, in Kali-yuga there is no need for severe penances or performance of opulent sacrifices; whoever worships the Supreme Lord Krsna he be crowned with fortune and success. So go back to your home and worship Lord Krsna with undeviating faith and attention, giving up falsehood and pretensions. By chanting the holy name of Lord Hari, Krsna, you will simultaneously obtain both the proper spiritual practice and the ultimate goal. In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way. I am repeating this great chant for deliverance to you. This consists of sixteen names of the Supreme Lord with thirty two syllables: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. By constantly chanting and worshiping this Maha Mantra, your heart will feel the first blossoming of love and God; then gradually you will understand the truth about the proper spiritual path and the ultimate spiritual goal.”

Kali-santarana Upanisad from Krsna Yajur Veda
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
iti sodasakam namnam kali-kalmasa-nasanam
natah parataropayah sarva-vedesu drsyate

The sixteen names of the Hare Krsna mahamantra “Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare” destroy all the inauspiciousness of the age of Kali.  This is the conclusion of all the Vedas.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says in his song Sri Nama from Gitavali
gay gora madhur sware
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Lord Gaurasundara sings in a very sweet voice, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare ; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Agni Purana
hare Krsna hare Krsna Krsna Krsna hare hare
ratanti halaya vapi te krtartha na samsayah

Hare Krsna hare Krsna Krsna Krsna hare hare: Whoever chants this mantra, even neglectfully, will attain the supreme goal of life. Of this there is no doubt.

Brahmanda Purana 6.59-60
nama sankirtana deva tarakam brahma drsyate
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

The nama sankirtana(public chanting) of Hare Krsna maha-mantra delivers a complete revelation of all of spiritual reality.

Padma Purana, Svarga Khanda 50.6
harir eva samaradhyah sarva deve suresvarah
hari nama maha mantrair nasyatpapa pisacakam

All the grievous sins of one who worships Lord Sri Hari, the Lord of all lords, and chants the holy name, the maha-mantra, are removed.

Ananta-samhita (which is part of the Narada Pancaratra)
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
sodasaitani namani dvatrimsad varnakani hi
kalau yuge maha-mantrah sammato jivatarane
varjayitva tu namaitad durjanaih parikalpitam
chandobaddham susiddhanta viruddham nabhyaset padam
tarakam brahma-namaitad brahmana gurunadina
kalisantaranadyasu sruti-svadhigatam hareh
praptam sri brahma-sisyena sri naradena dhimata
namaitad-uttamam srauta-paramparyena brahmanah
utsrjyaitan-maha-mantram ye tvanyat kalpitam padam
mahanameti gayanti te sastra-guru langhanah
tattva-virodha-sanprktam tadrsam daurjanam matam
sravatha pariharyam syadatma-hitarthina sada
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

“Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare: This sixteen-name, thirty-two syllable mantra is the maha-mantra in the age of Kali by which all living beings can be delivered. One should never abandon chanting this maha-mantra and take to other so-called purificatory processes which are practiced by rascals, or engage in chanting other metrical compositions of the name of Krsna that are against the pure conclusions of the scriptures, or are filled with rasabhasa. About this divinely spiritual maha-mantra, which delivers one from material existence, the original guru, Lord Brahma, has said, kali-santararadi srutite, “The srutis have declared this mantra to be the best means of deliverance in the age of Kali”. Having all heard this from Brahma, the sons and disciples of Brahma, beginning with Narada, all accepted the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and, having meditated on it, attained perfection.”

Thank you

your servant,
Haladhar Das

SUPARTHA RUDRA, 25th September 2013

Hare Krishna,

Respected Janardan Prabhuji,

Please accept my pranam.

In addition to HG Jagannath Prabhuji’s wonderful answer, please find the following link for scriptural reference of chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare as the only way to be delivered in this kali yuga:

http://www.krishna.com/some-scriptural-references-hare-krishna-maha-mantra

your servant,
supartha

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 25th September 2013

Dear Bhakta Janardan,

Hare Krishna!

Since the wonderful responses have given most of the information you had requested, I can now answer why I am thanking you for chanting, even though you are not yet chanting according to the spiritual master’s instructions.

This is because any chanting of

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

is better than no chanting of
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

By chanting
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

you are not only benefiting yourself, but the living entities in the entire universe, including myself.

So thank you once again, for daily chanting

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Finally, Srimad Bhagavad Gita is ONLY accessible and understandable truly to those who are in disciplic succession from Krishna. So therefore, unless you are reading Bhagavad Gita As It Is by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada or another bona fide Acharya in disciplic succession who presents the knowledge As It Is, you haven’t gotten the point. Even though the Bhagavad Gita is open, it is an open secret. 🙂

I quote:
tad viddhi praṇipātena

paripraśnena sevayā

upadekṣyanti te jñānaḿ

jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

Translation: Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth. BG 4.34

Purport

The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord therefore advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord Himself. No one can be a bona fide spiritual master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master, and a person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple. No one can be spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the foolish pretenders. The Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) says, dharmaḿ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot help lead one to the right path. Nor by independent study of books of knowledge can one progress in spiritual life. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect. unquote

So kindly do not try to manufacture your own process, please follow the Acharyas in disciplic succession, and their direct instructions given according to time, place, and circumstance.

Hare Krishna!

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Neelam sharma, 30th September 2013

Hare Krishna
Please accept my humble obeisance.

All glories to srila gurudeva and srimati gurumata.
All glories to srila Prabhupada.

Scriptural references on the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is mentioned in various scriptures as the only
means of deliverance in this age of Kali:

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

iti sodasakam namnam kali-kalmasa-nasanam
natah parataropayah sarva-vedesu drsyate
The sixteen names of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra: hare krishna hare krishna
krishna krishna hare hare, hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare destroy all the inauspiciousness of the age of Kali. This is the conclusion of all
the Vedas. (Kali-santarana Upanisad from Krishna Yajur Veda)

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare

ratanti halaya vapi te krtartha na samsayah
Hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare: Whoever chants this mantra, even neglectfully, will attain the supreme goal of life. Of this
there is no doubt. (Agni Purana)
nama sankirtana deva tarakam brahma drsyate
hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
The nama sankirtana(public chanting) of Hare Krishna maha-mantra delivers a complete revelation of all of spiritual reality. (Brahmanda Purana 6.59-60)

mukti-hetuka taraka haya ‘rama-nama’
‘krishna-nama’ paraka haña kare prema-dana

“The holy name of Lord Rama certainly gives liberation, but the holy name of
Krishna transports one to the other side of the ocean of nescience and at last
gives one ecstatic love of Krishna.” (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya-lila 3.257

harir eva samaradhyah sarva deve suresvarah
hari nama maha mantrair nasyatpapa pisacakam
All the grievous sins of one who worships Lord Sri Hari, the Lord of all
lords, and chants the holy name, the maha-mantra, are removed. (Padma
Purana, Svarga Khanda 50.6)

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

sodasaitani namani dvatrimsad varnakani hi
kalau yuge maha-mantrah sammato jivatarane
varjayitva tu namaitad durjanaih parikalpitam
chandobaddham susiddhanta viruddham nabhyaset padam
tarakam brahma-namaitad brahmana gurunadina
kalisantaranadyasu sruti-svadhigatam hareh
praptam sri brahma-sisyena sri naradena dhimata
namaitad-uttamam srauta-paramparyena brahmanah
utsrjyaitan-maha-mantram ye tvanyat kalpitam padam
mahanameti gayanti te sastra-guru langhanah
tattva-virodha-sanprktam tadrsam daurjanam matam
sravatha pariharyam syadatma-hitarthina sada
hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
“Hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare, hare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare: This sixteen-name, thirty-two syllable mantra is the maha-mantra in the age of Kali by which all living beings can be delivered.
One should never abandon chanting this maha-mantra and take to other so-called purificatory processes which are practiced by rascals, or engage
in chanting other metrical compositions of the name of Krishna that are against the pure conclusions of the scriptures, or are filled with
rasabhasa. About this divinely spiritual maha-mantra, which delivers one from material existence, the original guru, Lord Brahma, has said,
kali-santararadi srutite, “The srutis have declared this mantra to be the best means of deliverance in the age of Kali”. Having all heard this from
Brahma, the sons and disciples of Brahma, beginning with Narada, all accepted the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and, having meditated on it, attained
perfection.” (Ananta-samhita)
Ananta-samhita is part of the Narada Pancaratra”)

The maha-mantra is further mentioned in Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.7.83
(krishna-nama maha-mantrera), Chaitanya-charitamrita 3.9.56 (‘hare krishna,
hare krishna’ kahe avisrama), Narada Pancaratra, etc.

hare krishna krsneti krsneti mukhyan
mahascarya-namavali-siddha-mantran
krpa-murti-caitanya-deva upagitan
kadabhyasya vrndavane syan krtarth
“When will my heart become satiated by perfecting the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra in Sri Vrndavana Dhama, which the most merciful Sri
Caitanyadeva personally chanted and distributed to the fallen souls out of compassion? This wonderful maha-mantra is mixed with the mellows of love and
is the chief and the perfection of all other mantras. They are full of spiritual energies and glories.” (Sri Vrindavana Mahimamrta by Srila
Prabodhananda Sarasvati 17.89)

hare krishna rama nama gana dana karinim
soka moha lobha tapa sarva vigna nasinim
pada padma lubdha bhakta vrnda bhakti dayinim
gaura murtim asu naumi nama sutra dharinim
“He makes the gift of the song of the names ‘Hare, Krishna and Rama’, and destroys all obstacles such as sorrow, delusion, greed and suffering. He
gives the devotional service of Lord Krishna to the multitude of devotees who are eager for the shelter of His lotus feet. I fall down swiftly to
offer my prostrated obeisances to the Lord in His golden form, who holds a string of meditation beads.” (Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Susloka-Satakam
23)

sri-radhar bhave ebe gora avatar
hare krishna nam gaura korila pracar
(Vasudev Ghosh’s bhajan “Jaya Jagannatha Sacira-nandana”, text 4)

Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya-khanda 23.75-80: (trans. Kusakratha Das)
. The Lord personally taught them, “Please happily hear from Me the maha-mantra of Lord Krishna’s names. It is:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
The Lord said, “Regularly chant japa of this maha-mantra.

In this way you will attain all perfections. Chant at any time and in any circumstance. There are no other rules for chanting.

Gather together, five or ten, in your own homes, clap hands and sing kirtana of these holy names.

You may also sing these words:
haraye namah krishna yadavaya namah gopala govinda rama sri-madhusudana
(‘I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. He is the descendant of the Yadu family. Let me offer my respectful
obeisances unto Gopala, Govinda, Rama and Sri Madhusudana.’ Also see
Chaitanya-charitamrita 2.26.64)

Gathering at home with parents, wife, and children, please sing kirtana in this way.”

japato hari namani sthane sata-gunadhikah
atmanam ca punaty-uccair-japan srotrn-punati ca
“Compared to that person who is attached to chanting japa, the person who performs loud chanting of the holy name of Sri Hari is one hundred times
better. This is because the person who chants japa purifies himself, whereas the person who chants the holy name loudly in kirtana purifies himself, all
those who are with him, and everyone else who hear the holy vibration.”
(Naradiya Purana, Prahlada-vakya)

pasu-paksi-krma-adi balite na pare
sunile se harinama ta’ra saba tare
japile se krishna-nama apani se tare
ucca-sankirtane para-upakare kare
ata eva ucca kari’ kirtana karile
sata-guna phala haya sarva-sastre bole
“The animals, birds, and insects cannot chant the holy name, but by hearing the holy name chanted they can benefit. Chanting the japa of the holy name
of Krishna purifies oneself, but the loud sankirtana of the holy name of Krishna benefits all living beings. Therefore, loudly chant the holy name of
Krishna in kirtana, and you will get one hundred times the benefit of chanting japa. This is the verdict of all the sastras.” (
Chaitanya-bhagavata 1.16, Haridasa Thakura speaking)

“Listen my dear Misra, in Kali-yuga there is no need for severe penances or performance of opulent sacrifices; whoever worships the Supreme Lord Krishna

he be crowned with fortune and success. So go back to your home and worship Lord Krishna with undeviating faith and attention, giving up falsehood and
pretensions. By chanting the holy name of Lord Hari, Krishna, you will simultaneously obtain both the proper spiritual practice and the ultimate
goal. In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other
way. There is no other way. I am repeating this great chant for deliverance to you. This consists of sixteen names of the Supreme Lord with thirty two
syllables: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama

Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. By constantly chanting and worshiping this
Maha Mantra, your heart will feel the first blossoming of love and God; then
gradually you will understand the truth about the proper spiritual path and
the ultimate spiritual goal.” ( Chaitanya-bhagavata 1.14, Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu speaking to Tapana Misra)

In his purport to Caitanya-bhagavata Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati says very
clearly that Haridasa Thakura chanted either loudly or softly and that is
why his cave became Vaikuntha.
Chaitanya-bhagavata 1.16.172:
tabe haridasa ganga-tire gopha kari’
thakena virale ahar-nisa krishna smari’
“Then Haridasa went and found a cave on the bank of the Ganges. He remembered Krishna day and night as he resided alone in the cave.”

Purport: “While remaining in a solitary cave on the bank of the Ganges at Phuliya, Srila Thakura Mahasaya loudly chanted the names of Krishna and
passed his days and night remembering the pastimes of the Lord. Sometimes he would chant the sixteen name, thirty-two syllable, maha-mantra loudly
(uccaihsvare), and sometimes he would chant softly (mrdusvare). Every day he would complete the chanting of three hundred thousand holy names, or in a
year he would chant one hundred million names of Hari. Some people consider that chanting the names of Krishna in a solitary place is in the category of
“upamsu-japa,” or “chanting very mildly.” They say that this maha-mantra, or chanting the holy names of the Lord, should not be heard by others; only the
person who is chanting should hear. If the lips move, or if the holy names are recited, then they will automatically be heard by others. But if such
persons lack faith in the Vaisnavas who chant the holy names of the Lord, then by the influence of Kali they dare to quarrel with those Vaisnava
chanters.”
Bhaktivinoda Thakura says in his song Sri Nama from Gitavali:

gay gora madhur sware
hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
Lord Gaurasundara sings in a very sweet voice, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
——————————————————————–
your servant,
Nand Priya Devi Dasi

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What is the Difference between Intelligence and Knowledge?

Geetha, 31st March 2013

Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I read Bhagavat Gita, chapter 3, 40th sloka there I want to know  what is the difference between Intelligence and Knowledge?

Please help me, if in my question any thing wrong please excuse me.

Thanking you,
your servant,
Geetha

Virendra, 31st March 2013
Hare Krishna mataji,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada and his faithful servitors!

Knowledge is information. Intelligence is the power to deliberate and discriminate.

Knowledge sharpens your intelligence.

your servant,
Virendra
Rathin Mandal, 31st March 2013

Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumataji,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Knowledge means knowing about the subject. In our case it is Krishna Consciousness. And intelligence meaning knowing how to apply the knowledge. In this sloka it is saying that when intelligence is bewildered by material desires it covers the knowledge.

I can give one example in this regard. Ravana was very knowledgeable person. He was a Brahmin. He was able to please Brahmadev and Lord Siva both. But his knowledge was contaminated with desires of ego and lust.

Although knowing identity of Mother Sita, he kidnapped her and knowing who Lord Sri Ram was he went to fight with Him. We can see that although Ravana was knowledgeable he did not use his intelligence well.

your Servant
Rathin
Bhakta Shashank, 1st April 2013

Hare Krishna Prabhuji,

Dandvats Pranam.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.
All Glories to Srila Gurudev and Srimati Gurumata ji.
All Glories to Devotees.

Very nicely explained Prabhuji. Very nice 🙂

your servant,
Shashank.
Geetha, 2nd April 2013

Hare Krishna,
Pleace accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Thank you Virendra Prabhu for you reply.

Thank you Rathin Mandal Prabhu for your explanation with an example I understood very clearly. Thank you once again.

Thanking you,
your servant,
Geetha.

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Why Krishna likes Raas leela?

Why does Krishna like the Rasa Lila?

Pradnya, 15th September 2011

Hare Krishna,

Why Krishna likes Raass Leela?

Pradnya

Ashutosh pandey, 15th September 2011

Hare Krsna!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Krsna likes Rasa Leela because it gives pleasure to His devotees which is perhaps the source of Krsna’s pleasure Himself.

your servant,
Ashutosh

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 15th September 2011

Hare Krishna Mataji,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Why does anyone like anything? Because it gives them pleasure. Every thing, for example, the color of clothes they wear on a given day, has an element of personal choice involved.

Krishna is the Supreme Enjoyer, Raas Leela is Supreme Enjoyment, therefore Krishna likes Raas Leela. But don’t think that any mundane person can enjoy this pleasure… Even though Krishna enjoys this pleasure, still He is always fully renounced, always Brahmachari. There is no mention of breakups and divorces and unwanted pregnancies and abortions and custody rights in the spiritual world. The attraction between boy and girl, man and woman in this material world is a perverted reflection of the pure unadulterated Love between Krishna and Radha, Krishna and the Gopis.

No mundane materialistic person can ever understand Rasa Leela, they can only misunderstand and they do. To understand Rasa Leela as interactions between ordinary boys and girls is the worst mistake one can make.

On a humble note, Srila Vyasadeva did not in fact consider Himself qualified to discuss Rasa Leela very much in detail, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu only discussed Rasa Leela in the private company of pure devotees like Raya Ramananda.

Sometimes the spiritual masters give us a glimpse into this rare and mystical spiritual experience, for example, Srila Prabhupada has described this in his Krishna book, but it is an undeserved gift, and must be gratefully accepted with great endeavor for purification by trying to chant attentively and hearing the sound of the Mahamantra, following the regulative principles and hearing the vani of the spiritual master and following the spiritual master’s instructions carefully.

your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das

Ikshvaku das, 23rd September 2011

Hare Krishna , Prabhu, to you and all other revered devotees on this group , or anywhere else,
All Glories to Shri Shri Guru and Gauranga!
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Please accept my humble obeisances

I am very pleased that I could participate in this group and reading discussions here really makes my day, and want to thank to all participating devotees.

Just 2 minutes ago , I sent one letter to another group of devotees dedicated to studying Bhagavad Gita As It Is
Few hours before , I read the your question thread here and wanted to say something , but was not sure what it was.

And it is this : the essence of Rasa Leela is hearing about Krishna in the company of devotees – just like this group offers. Or any other group of pure devotees offers. These groups are not something material that ends with death. The
friendship established here goes on eternally , ever sweeter , ever increasing Ocean Of the Transcendental Bliss of Sankirtana , As Lord Chaitanya describes in His Sikshastika.

Now to mundane eyes, the Rasa Leela appears like young boy dancing with young girls. But what mundane eyes fail to see is – what is THE BOY discussing with the girls. In the material universe , discussion during the dance is sex. But what
about Krishna and the Gopis discussing while they dance and kiss and hug each other : Sankirtan – Pure devotional Service. The essence of every kiss or hug between them , you also get in the gathering of devotees who engage in pure
hearing of Krishna. As Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes the development of Pure Bhakti from Shraddha to Prema, compared to sugar candy production : 1st it is molasses and in the end after several processes , it’s very concentrated sweetness.

Or the other example , The wings of Garuda. The sound of his wings is vedic hymns. In the same way , every Kiss of Krishna is very concentrated Sankirtan topics and emotions connected with the service which the Pure Devotees
render to Him. And who are the Gopis – The Gopis are the highest pure devotees.

Srila Prabhupada describes in Krishna Book that that night of Rasa Lila was the duration of Lord Brahma’s night – 4320000000 earthly years. But the topics the Gopis discussed with Krishna during this night of dance, the
hugs and the kisses between them were so sweet  , that to them , it felt just like an ordinary night. Does the mondane sex possesses such sweetness? no it ends in just few feeble seconds – Like Srila prabhupada said – Psh, psh, psh.

Srila Prabhupada further explains that there is original taste of Sex – Adirasa , which comes from the Spiritual world.
But in the spiritual world the nasty mundane process of sex is completely absent , although there are hugs and kisses.

Of course how can I disscuss the Rassa lila Dace properly , but but somehow your question evoked in me , a systematic picture , from what I have heard from the Guru Prampara so far. Although information given from them is surely unique , it’s
highly possible that due to my own missunderstanding , I’m not able to present it correctly. That’s why ,  that’s why- this is not directly an attempt to answer question ,
but it’s an attempt to present what I have understood this far , which may be be corrected or further described

your servant
Ikshvaku das
Sofia , Bulgaria

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Sincerity in occupation by sincerity in devotional service

Sunil, Nov 6 2011

Please accept my humble obeisances

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Is it true that if a person is sincere in devotional service then that person would automatically be sincere in his or her occupation too?

Regards,

Sunil

Jagannatha Dasa, Nov 7 2011

Hare Krishna Sunil,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thank you for participating. 

For a sincere practitioner of devotional service, all that one does is calibrated to fit into devotional service. 

One’s work, diet, recreation, relationships and aspirations are all included in the course of their devotional service.  Cf. Bhagavad-Gita 9.27

yat karosi yad asnasi

yaj juhosi dadasi yat

yat tapasyasi kaunteya

tat kurusva mad-arpanam

TRANSLATION

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform—do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.

I mention this because your question assumes a false distinction between devotional service and one’s occupation. 

Since, one’s occupation is just as much a part of devotional service as, for example, chanting or book distribution, then it follows that our sincerity should manifest there to the same degree as in our chanting etc. 

It is a common misconception that work is not part of bhakti, and Krishna takes the whole of Bhagavad-Gita to explain to Arjuna, and us, how work is in fact, perfected when performed under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master.

Your servant,

-Jagannatha dasa

Caste System – Four divisions of human society

Sunil, 15th August 2011

Respected Devotees and Disciples

Please accept my humble obeisances

I am not sure if you are aware and know about the caste system prevalent in India

If you do know then please answer the question:

Is the caste system which is prevalent in India, based on the four divisions of human society – as mentioned in Vedic Scriptures?

Sunil

jagannatha dasa, 15th August 2011

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

The term caste is an english word.  In this context it is intended to refer to the concept of varna, or social divisions of society.  It is one half of varnasrama, the other consisting of spiritual orders of life.

According to Bhagavad-gita, 4.13

catur-varnyam maya srstam

guna-karma-vibhagasah

tasya kartaram api mam

viddhy akartaram avyayam

“According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable.”

Guna and karma are very significant here.  Guna is your qualities and karma, your work.  There is no mention of janma, or birth, therefore the caste system as it is sometimes known today, being based on birth alone is a deviation from Krishna’s arrangement.

Varnas are distinguished by quality of work and situation with regard to the modes of nature (gunas). The brahmanas are the intellectual class and their occupation is hearing Vedic literature, teaching Vedic literature, learning deity worship and teaching deity worship, receiving charity and giving charity.

Ksatriya are warriors, inclined to fight and lead others. They form the administrative or protective occupation according to the system of four social and spiritual orders.

Vaisya (Vaishyas) are members of the mercantile or agricultural class.

Sudras are member of the labourer class. They are meant to render service to the three higher classes, namely the brahmanas, the ksatriyas, and the vaisyas.

Your servant,

-Jagannatha dasa

Gopal Krishna Goswami, is a “Sannyasi” or renunciate monk. Monks like him adopt the entire world as their familyGopal Krishna Goswami, is a “Sannyasi” or renunciate monk. Monks like him adopt the entire world as their family

ashutosh pandey, 15th August 2011

Hare krsna!

All glories to Srila Prabhupad

In addition to above reply,

caste was divided scientifically as HG Tirthraj Pr mentions the slokas as they appear..but in this kaliyug everybody is like sudra….as there activity and work resemble to the class of sudra..

Also now a days in INDIA (or anywhere else if applicable) the caste system is no more according to the Vedic philosophy. It has become hierarchical which is not acceptable at all and has become the reason of differences in material context which is again the cause of sufferings. Hence Scriptures cannot be held responsible for problems as some think.

So Srila Prabhupad said that in ISKCON we are making Brahmanas who could work as the brains of this society…

hare Krsna

YS

Ashutosh

Manian VB, 15/08/2011

All glories to Srila Prabhupad

my obeisances to all devotees.

I regret to say that caste system prevalent in India is not based on vedic sysems. But a number of institutions in India teach and practice vedic system of Guruklam ( not caste system) and students grow up as very good citizens. All the political parties in our Country are afraid of taking the name : VEDA. But a small village in Karnataka ( Southern state of India) speak Sanskrit fluently and observe Vedic Rules. I am happy to say that Sanskrit (Vedic language) is spoken fluently in three villages in India, one in karnataka, Madhyapradesh and Uttar Pradesh where it is a spoken language amongst muslims also. You can go to the sites sankrit speaking villages in india and know about it.

your servant
Manian VB

Indresh and Kishori are in the “Grishastha Ashram” – they co-operate to raise children in Krishna conscious together, but still engage in missionary activities such as encouraging others to look into genuine spiritual life. With the results of their hard work, they support various spiritual projects around the world.Indresh and Kishori are in the “Grishastha Ashram” – they co-operate to raise children in Krishna conscious together, but still engage in missionary activities such as encouraging others to look into genuine spiritual life. With the results of their hard work, they support various spiritual projects around the world.

Tirtharaja Dasa, 18th August 2011

Hare Krishna Prabhu, kindly accept my humble obeisances. All glories

to Srila Prabhupada.

The caste system as practiced in India today has nothing to do with the four divisions of human society but is merely a pale shadow of the varna side of varnashrama dharma based on the bodily concept of jata. It is noteworthy to know that the four human divisions though divided according to qualification, quality, value and works have a literal representation of the complete human body in that the Brahmana’s represent the head, the Ksatriya’s the arms, the Vaisya’s the belly and Sudra’s the legs thus stressing that one part of society within the complete body of society cannot exist seperately and independently thus the head does not look down on the arms and the rest of the body nor vice-versa as inferior though each has a distinct function separate from other parts but are still inter-related and

interdependant. This is a systematic way of body and human society liberation both

individualy and collectively.

Hare Krsna.

Yls

Tirtharaja Dasa.

Radhika Raman Das and his wife Meenakshi are also Grihasthas, they work, maintain a household, dressed here in traditional clothing, also out on the street encouraging passersby to look into genuine spiritual lifeRadhika Raman Das and his wife Meenakshi are also Grihasthas, they work, maintain a household, dressed here in traditional clothing, also out on the street encouraging passersby to look into genuine spiritual life

Sunil, 19th August 2011

Respected Devotees and Disciples

Please accept my humble obeisances

I read all the answers and felt satisfied and clarified

Thankyou and Regards,

Sunil
Uttamananda Das is a Brahmachari, a celibate monk who dedicates all his time and energy to serving Krishna, serving in the temple of Krishna, and studying spiritual knowledge very carefully. Monks like Uttamananda follow a strict regimented lifestyle that frees up a lot of time and energy for spiritual pursuits.Uttamananda Das is a Brahmachari, a celibate monk who dedicates all his time and energy to serving Krishna, serving in the temple of Krishna, and studying spiritual knowledge very carefully. Monks like Uttamananda follow a strict regimented lifestyle that frees up a lot of time and energy for spiritual pursuits.

 

All photos by Rathin Mandal

How does the Maha Mantra Work?

Priyesh Shah,30th June 2011

Hare Krishna

Please Accept my humble obeisances

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

I am a little confused as to how the Maha Mantra works. For the last 2 years, since I joined ISKCON, I was under the impression that when you chant the Maha Mantra, the roots of the sinful activities are destroyed, and therefore the fruits would also be destroyed. However, another devotee yesterday mentioned that actually the Karma does not go away. As long as you have the material body, the Karma will stay and continue to act as they were meant to. But when you chant and do devotional service, Krishna arranges the Karma to act in a way which is favourable to Krishna Consciousness. Would anyone kindly be able to tell me as to how this works?

Thank you,

Your Servant,

Priyesh

Jagannatha das,30th June 2011

Hare Krishna Priyesh,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Karma has two important meanings.

1.  Action

2.  Reactions

When we act in a certain way, that action is karma.  The reaction to that activity will perpetuate further activity.  The reaction is also karma.  In this way actions create reactions and then further actions in a chain which *appears* endless.  The seemingly eternal appearence of karma is however an illusion.

Of the five topics explained in Bhagavad Gita…

1. Isvara (Krishna)

2. Jiva (living beings)

3. Prakrti (material nature)

4. Kala (time)

5. Karma (fruitive activity)

…four are eternal, but karma is the one which is temporary.

When you act, the reaction only lasts so long, even in this life.  Otherwise we would only need, for example, to eat once and we would be eternally satisfied.

Now, someone may argue using the following two questions:

1.  “Fine, each action has a limited reaction in terms of both time and space.  But isn’t there an eternal chain of actions and reactions which are always being manifested, one after another?”

and

2. “Even if karma is temporary, isn’t it influencing us at least for the duration of time in which we have a material body?”

In the spiritual world, the will of Krishna and his pure devotees who reside there are eternally enjoying without any question of karma.  Therefore the chain of karma is itself limited, not eternal because it does not extend to the realm of Krishna.

Even in this world a pure devotee is free from karma.  Otherwise, he would take birth again in this material world goaded on by a complicated network of material desires.

This is confirmed throughout Vedic literatures and by all acaryas:

Sri Brahma Samhita

yas tv indragopam athavendram aho sva-karma-

bandhanurüpa-phala-bhajanam atanoti

karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam

govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, who burns up to their roots all fruitive activities of those who are imbued with devotion and impartially ordains for each the due enjoyment of the fruits of one’s activities, of all those who walk in the path of work, in accordance with the chain of their previously performed works, no less in the case of the tiny insect that bears the name of indragopa than in that of Indra, king of the devas.

(emphasis added)

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

sarva-dharman parityajya

mam ekam saranam vraja

aham tvam sarva-papebhyo

moksayisyami ma sucah

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

Srimad Bhagavatam

yan-namadheyah mriyamana aturah

patan skhalan va vivaso grnan puman

vimukta-karmargala uttamam gatim

prapnoti yaksyanti na tam kalau janah

Sri harinama is glorious! Chanted in any condition of life, whether almost dead, deathly sick, slipping, falling, or in any semi-conscious state, the name of SrI Bhagavän releases the chanting person from the bondage of karmic reactions and promotes him to the highest goal of spiritual achievement. The real pity is that the fallen people of Kali-yuga refuse to execute this devotional activity.

Srila Rupa Gosvami

yad-brahma-saksat-krti-nisthayapi

vinasam ayati vina na bhogaih

apaiti nama sphuranena tat te

prarabdha-karmeti virauti vedah

The seeds of sinful activities that cause rebirth for their fruition are not totally destroyed despite realization of oneness with Brahman through constant meditation. But, O Lord, as soon as Your holy names manifest on the tongue (even in the form of namabhasa) all seeds of sinful activities are totally uprooted. This is elaborately glorified in the Vedas.

There are more examples, but I hope this will help.

Your servant,

-Jagannatha dasa

Raj, 30th June 2011

Hare Krishna Prabhu ji,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

This is my first attempt to participate.

Thanks for providing details about Karma . u mentioned Karma has 2 meanings .(Action and Reaction ). Is it that Karma has 2 parts( Action and Reaction) . Pls clarify.

Also u mentioned that “When you act, the reaction only lasts so long, even in this life” ,does this mean that our action in this life has reaction limited only to this life.

Because on many occasions people state that this is because of urs past karmas, this mean that karmas are also carry forward.pls help

Chris Sookoo, 30th June 2011

Sir

This is one beautiful and eloquent analysis that I have had the pleasure of reading.Thanks to the mind that put it together.

regards

csookoo

Mahabhagavat Das SDA,30th June 2011

Jagannatha Dasa Prabhu,

Very grateful for that! I learned a lot from your detailed answer. Thank you.

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

Priyesh Shah,01st July 2011

Hare Krishna Jagannatha Prabhu,

A wonderful answer. Thank you for clearing my doubt and enlightening me with that knowledge.

Your Servant,

Priyesh

Mahabhagavat Das, 16th April 2012

Dear Raj Kumar,

Hare Krishna!
Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Due to the efforts of one of our other group members Dr. Sunil Vaswani, I realized that your questions below were not answered. Please forgive us for this oversight.

>u mentioned Karma has 2 meanings .(Action and Reaction ). Is it that Karma has 2 parts( >Action and Reaction) . Pls clarify.

Yes, this is correct. Every action has a reaction associated with it, and every reaction has another set of actions associated with it – this is like a seed which is thrown on the ground… after some time, the seed sprouts, and the plant grows, it becomes a tree, and the tree yields fruits, the fruits have seeds, which again fall on the ground, giving rise to more trees, and this cycle continues. There are more karmas than meet the eye… they are in unmanifest state.

One cannot counter karma with karma – it is an endless cycle – so if someone does something bad, to atone for it, they do something good – they don’t cancel each other out. The person will experience effects of both, the good karmas (karma) and the bad karmas (vikarma). Devotional service though, is without reactions, and eliminates accumulated reactions, so it is called akarma. This is also described in Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Sri Ishopanishad Verse 2:

“Actions that are performed in terms of one’s prescribed duties, as mentioned in the revealed scriptures, are called karma. Actions that free one from the cycle of birth and death are called akarma. And actions that are performed through the misuse of one’s freedom and that direct one to the lower life forms are called vikarma. Of these three types of action, that which frees one from the bondage to karma is preferred by intelligent men. Ordinary men wish to perform good work in order to be recognized and achieve some higher status of life in this world or in heaven, but more advanced men want to be free altogether from the actions and reactions of work. Intelligent men well know that both good and bad work equally bind one to the material miseries. Consequently they seek that work which will free them from the reactions of both good and bad work”

In the Padma Purana, it is stated:

aprarabdha-phalam papam kutam bijam phalonmukham

kramenaiva praliyeta vishnu-bhakti-ratatmanam

In this verse it states that karma can be lying in seed form, it can be dormant, or it can be bearing fruits. Nevertheless, whatever stage a karmic reaction may be in, it is gradually eliminated by performing devotional service.

Your second question:

>Also u mentioned that “When you act, the reaction only lasts so long, even in this life” ,does >this mean that our action in this life has reaction limited only to this life.

This is a misunderstanding of what Jagannatha Prabhu intended. He did not mean that the effects of karma last exactly not more than one lifetime. When you take his entire response and all the verses quoted into context, you can see that he is using that sentence just for example – like for example, if someone steals something, then they may be punished for a few days, few weeks, few months, few years, eventually they will be released – so he means that the reactions are temporary, even though sometimes they may transcend lifetimes. The example is that one child may be born to cultured parents, good chance of being cultured, though not always the case. Another child may be born to uncultured parents, good chance of being uncultured, but sometimes the child may become cultured through other association… same thing with bodily beauty, health, intelligence, etc.

I hope that this response was useful and you will resume your participation soon.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das