Tag: Putana

(dis) United Nations

In 1945 when the United Nations was setup, there were 74 countries. Now there are 194. Since 1945, more than 285 wars have been fought. So clearly the nations are disunited! Did you know why we can never achieve unity through negotiations and resolutions?

In 1919, the League of Nations was established to maintain world peace. It went bust in 1946, after being unable to prevent the second world war.

In 1945, the United Nations was setup, another attempt at maintaining world peace.

Since 1945, the Nations have been anything but “United”… some nations became superpowers, some others teamed up with one or the other, and yet others formed their own little group of have-nots.

And what has the United Nations accomplished?

There were 74 sovereign countries in 1945.

There are now 194 countries in the world, as I write this, in 2022.

And within every country, there are groups of people who want to separate into their own country… think about India, now is Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.

Think about Yugoslavia, it is now seven different countries… Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo… actually I had a hard time figuring that out, with the almost continuous change there.

And wars? How many wars have been fought since the “war to end all wars” – the second world war?

Since 1945 till 2001, 194, and from 1945 to 2020, there were more than 285! In other words, about 91 in less than 20 years! (source Uppsala Conflict Data Program)

And what about the wars going on today around the world?

Let’s face it, the United Nations is impotent and useless.

At this rate, every village will be a country. Why stop at that, every family, and every individual wants to declare independence!

So, actually, to anyone who has a little spiritual knowledge, that comes as no surprise.

After all, we came here to this material world to declare “independence” from God!

ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूत: सनातन: ।
मन:षष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ॥ ७ ॥

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.

We are all eternal fragmental parts of God. We are simultaneously one and different with Him, described as the philosophy that synthesizes all philosophy. In other words, we are different in identity, but one in quality and are meant to be one in purpose too.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/15/7/

Just like your hand is a part of you, but is not you, similarly you are a part of God but not God. And if the hand doesn’t serve you, then it is diseased.

Similarly, us, here in the material world are diseased, and continuously split into smaller and smaller groups, because, let’s face it, if we can’t get along with God, we can’t get along with anyone.

Why is that?

God is so tolerant, forbearing, forgiving, and magnanimous!

र्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज ।
अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा श‍ुच: ॥ ६६ ॥

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ 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.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/66/

In fact, no matter how you approach God, you benefit!

Putana was a witch who specialized in killing little babies. She smeared poison on her breast and disguised herself as a wet nurse… she took baby Krishna on her lap to “feed” him. Krishna, He is God and cannot be killed. He took her milk and her poison, but also sucked out her very life. With that act of what appears to be “killing”, he killed the nastiness of Putana completely. So much so that she attained the service of serving as one of Krishna’s mothers in the spiritual world.

अहो बकी यं स्तनकालकूटं
जिघांसयापाययदप्यसाध्वी ।
लेभे गतिं धात्र्युचितां ततोऽन्यं
कं वा दयालुं शरणं व्रजेम ॥ २३ ॥

aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ
jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī
lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ’nyaṁ
kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema

Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Pūtanā] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/3/2/23/

So, coming back to our original topic… how can nations be united. No amount of negotiation and discussion and deal-making can help us be united.

There is only one thing that can help us be united.

तस्मादेकेन मनसा भगवान् सात्वतां पति: ।
श्रोतव्य: कीर्तितव्यश्च ध्येय: पूज्यश्च नित्यदा ॥ १४ ॥

tasmād ekena manasā
bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
dhyeyaḥ pūjyaś ca nityadā

Therefore, with one-pointed attention, one should constantly hear about, glorify, remember and worship the Personality of Godhead, who is the protector of the devotees.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/2/14/

Let us admit that all these ways of trying to be united without God in the centre have not and will never work, and let us meet on the platform of glorification of God.

Sankirtan = Samyak Kirtan – Complete Glorification of God is the only solution to the problems of the world.

param vijayate sri krishna sankirtanam! Eternally victorious is Sri Krishna Sankirtana!

Overcoming Dr. Frog Mentality

Why does anyone try to measure God against themselves?

I heard this example from my spiritual master Sri Sankarshan Das Adhikari several times. Once upon a time, Dr. Frog lived in a well. He was the authority on the well. He knew all its inhabitants, he knew the varying water levels. Dr. Frog was born in the well, and knew that of course, his well was the greatest water body in the world.

One day, a little visitor came to his well, hop hop hop. This visitor had just come from the ocean’s edge. Dr. Frog welcomed his little guest, and they got talking. Dr. Frog told him all about his well. The little one said all that was fine but that he had seen a water body much bigger than the well. Dr. Frog couldn’t believe his ears. He decided to humour his little visitor.

He puffed up his chest a little. “This much bigger?” he asked. The little one said, “No Dr. Frog, much bigger”. Dr. Frog was a master puffer. So he puffed himself up some more. And more. And more. Until his chest burst. And that was the end of Dr. Frog.

Similarly, the Dr. Frogs of this world are trying to measure the glory of God in relation to themselves. When they hear Krishna drank deadly poison as a newborn and sucked out the life of Putana the child-killing demoness, they think, surely this is a fairy tale. When they hear how Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill for 7 days and 7 nights on the little finger of his left hand without a break to protect the citizens of Vrindavan, they think this is surely a myth. When they hear Krishna danced with 3 Billion Gopis and made each of them feel that she was the only one, they say, surely this is a male fantasy. When they hear Krishna married 16,108 wives and each of the wives thought she was the only one, they may think surely Krishna must refer to a tribe of men.

Each materialist, atheist, and pseudo-spiritualist tries to measure God against Himself. This is Maya, that which is not, trying to measure God against one’s own puny little self.

But we little fellows, recovering atheists, are going around telling the little Dr. Frogs of the world, sir, there is a God, and God is very very great, much much greater than you, and they simply puff up their chests. We also say God is very very sweet, not an angry old man, and they think we are fools. We tell them we know what God looks like and they think we are idol worshippers.

But everyone should remember that a frog who croaks too loud attracts his own death in the form of a hungry snake.

The snake of time will devour us all, but those of us in a compact of Love with God, death is simply taking a nap and waking up in our eternal form.

Please read the books of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Please strive to understand and follow them. Please chant Hare Krishna, serve the Krishna Consciousness Movement directly or in any of its many branches like Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, and continue your progessive journey home.

If I may serve you on your journey please reach out!

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