Tag: spirituality

Surrender yourself, with your intelligence

In spiritual life, we often hear the term “surrender”, and surrender we should. But dear reader, never surrender your intelligence!

In spiritual life, one of the key tenets is surrender to God. Without surrender to the will of God, spirituality has no meaning. But since most of us are not at a level where we can surrender directly to God, because it is hard to differentiate between the ranting of the mind and the voice of God within the heart, we often offer our surrender to a representative of God.

Now, it is required that any representative of God is of pure heart, simple, clean, and honest. But since we are all here in the material world, and the illusory energy of God is extremely strong, it is possible that even the most dedicated servant of God can come under the sway of illusion, even if momentarily.

Therefore, it is extremely important never to surrender our intelligence. In other words, while we surrender to the authority of the representative of God, a priest, a Rabbi, a Mullah, an Imam, a Guru, or a Pastor by any other name, we need to constantly remain on guard and not suspend our common sense and intelligence.

Not doing this, in other words, surrendering our common sense and intelligence has resulted in horrific abuses, including sexual abuse of children, abuse of poor and vulnerable people, and the destruction of faith in many a venerable religious organization. Such a loss is lamentable, because then, the purpose for which the spiritual tenets were coalesced to form a religious organization is lost.

My spiritual master instructed me “Surrender with your intelligence”.

What does this mean? If the actions of a superior in spiritual life are somehow incongruous, or going against our common sense or clear knowledge not tainted with opinions, then it is important to distance those from our surrender.

On the one hand, real spirituality is pure, but to take the essence of that spirituality to a large population, it is necessary to organize… And organization brings about its own sets of risks.

In a religious organization, managerial authority is often conflated with spiritual authority. It often happens that a person with spiritual authority is also given significant managerial authority. In such cases, the person may wear different hats at different times… or their actions while wearing one hat may conflict with their actions while wearing with the other. While it is extremely difficult to contest an instruction given under spiritual authority, every member of every religious organization has the right to carefully assess every single instruction given under managerial authority with their common sense and intelligence.

Doing so with small and big things is absolutely critical to preserve the spiritual purity of an organization. It is impossible to avoid dynamics of sycophancy, groupism, nepotism, politics, and positional power in any organization. That is the definition of the material world… A religious organization is still an organization in the material world, though its core is spiritual.

We deal with these types of political issues in business, Government, at Universities, in Hospitals, and all types of institutions, even Religious Institutions. But while all other types of organizations give an individual a choice to walk away from a job or a contract, in religious institutions, the situation is very different. A spiritual person associated with a religious institution often finds that their entire personal and social life is intertwined with the facilities afforded by that religious institution! And the leaders in those organizations know this very well. So it becomes extremely difficult for an ordinary member to “walk away”. Because walking away means leaving a big part of your life behind. And this becomes the reason for perpetration of all kinds of issues.

Abuse can range all the way from the innocuous to “I can do whatever I want and face no consequence”. And because powerful people are often surrounded by sycophants who, in order to fulfill their own personal agendas, will not speak the truth to the powerful, it is important for those of us with a conscience to reject nonsense when we see it.

Recently, I was in a situation where a very powerful individual tried to use their influence to “rewrite” facts. They had done something that was irresponsible, and they wanted to spin their actions as being reasonable, and wanted me to accept their version of the “alternative” facts. They were very angry with my refusal to “believe” their version which went against all reason and fundamental facts. I had to resist with all my might. I struggled with emotions like fear, guilt, and shame. They told me “I had a lot of respect for you, but I must say that it has diminished greatly”.

There may be material consequences in the short and long term, for example, I may not be in the “inner circle of confidantes” of this particular powerful person. And maybe I may remain far removed from positions of power within that religious organization. But as my spiritual master has instructed me to always remain focused on the spiritual essence, to be a pure devotee of Krishna, I must remain careful not to become a sycophant.

But what do I care about material consequences? My goal is pure devotional service to the lotus feet of Sri Krishna. If I had to endure a million material miseries for millions of times, it would be worth it to be a pure devotee of Krishna.

Another instruction my spiritual master gave was on the definition of intelligence. He said “the intelligent person is one who can hold two opposing sides of an argument or a concept, and not be disturbed by either of them“. So that was an interesting instruction.. what this means in this case is that while a person may have made a mistake on one aspect – the managerial side, the other aspect, the spiritual side does not automatically get diminished…

However, this very same person has indeed helped me in my spiritual life for many years. I need to learn to distinguish between the same person acting in a spiritual capacity, and the same person acting in a managerial capacity. So while I reject the erroneous actions and attitude of the managerial side, I still retain my respect and love for the spiritual side of the same person. So therefore, while I reject that person’s heavy-handedness and accept the consequences of doing so, I cannot discount the contribution of that person to my spiritual journey.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam, there is an instructive exchange between Maharaja Parikshit, the ideal example of a ruler, and Dharma, the personality of religion… https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/17/ and I will excerpt a couple of key passages…

न वयं क्लेशबीजानि यत: स्यु: पुरुषर्षभ ।
पुरुषं तं विजानीमो वाक्यभेदविमोहिता: ॥ १८ ॥

na vayaṁ kleśa-bījāni
yataḥ syuḥ puruṣarṣabha
puruṣaṁ taṁ vijānīmo
vākya-bheda-vimohitāḥ

O greatest among human beings, it is very difficult to ascertain the particular miscreant who has caused our sufferings, because we are bewildered by all the different opinions of theoretical philosophers.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/17/18/

केचिद् विकल्पवसना आहुरात्मानमात्मन: ।
दैवमन्येऽपरे कर्म स्वभावमपरे प्रभुम् ॥ १९ ॥

kecid vikalpa-vasanā
āhur ātmānam ātmanaḥ
daivam anye ’pare karma
svabhāvam apare prabhum

Some of the philosophers, who deny all sorts of duality, declare that one’s own self is responsible for his personal happiness and distress. Others say that superhuman powers are responsible, while yet others say that activity is responsible, and the gross materialists maintain that nature is the ultimate cause.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/17/19/

अप्रतर्क्यादनिर्देश्यादिति केष्वपि निश्चय: ।
अत्रानुरूपं राजर्षे विमृश स्वमनीषया ॥ २० ॥

apratarkyād anirdeśyād
iti keṣv api niścayaḥ
atrānurūpaṁ rājarṣe
vimṛśa sva-manīṣayā

There are also some thinkers who believe that no one can ascertain the cause of distress by argumentation, nor know it by imagination, nor express it by words. O sage amongst kings, judge for yourself by thinking over all this with your own intelligence.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/17/20/

In other words, whatever happens to us is by the direct sanction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead! We are meant to learn something from every experience, and without casting blame, we must intelligently figure out what is to be learned, learn that lesson, and move on.

The above two verses were spoken by Dharma, in the form a bull whose 3 legs had been broken by Kali, the personality of the age of quarrel and hypocrisy we live in Kaliyuga-not to be confused with Kali devi, the fierce form of the material nature. Maharaja Parikshit, who was responsible for the welfare of all, especially Dharma, inquired who was responsible for this violence, but Dharma stayed silent and did not incriminate Kali

And by applying the instructions of my spiritual master to every situation intelligently, I shall be always happy by his grace.

So, dear spiritualists, without getting bewildered by these tests of our faith, let us remain committed to the truth, and nothing but the Supreme Absolute Truth Sri Krishna and remained surrendered to Him at all times, places, and circumstances!

Mind is like a child, Intelligence is like the mother

How does a mother take care of the child? Your intelligence should take care of your mind the same way. Read to find out more!

Hearing a class by my spiritual master Srila Sankarshan Das Adhikari on SB 3.31.15, he made this statement “The mind is like a child, and the intelligence is like the mother of that child”.

When I first heard this many years ago, I was startled by the clarity of the example, especially when after some time, I observed my wife with our son.

Even though every child is unique in a way, children are also very similar to each other. They often have short attention spans, are easily distracted, can be either very easy to convince or stubbornly refuses to co-operate. Children are also extremely imaginative and inventive, and usually don’t bear grudges against the mother even though the mother may be strict.

When we compare our mind to a child, the comparison fits very nicely! So, for most people struggling to control the mind, look no further than the means adopted by an expert mother.

What does a mother do? The mother treats the child very lovingly. She coaxes, cajoles, and pleads with the child. But she is also firm with the child when it is time to be firm. She sometimes shouts at the child, she also sometimes yells and when it comes to it, offers correction in an appropriate way. It sometimes happens that the mother walks away from the child too and the child often suddenly complies with the wishes of the mother and follows along with her. Sometimes, others may see a mother as being harsh, but more often than not, she knows what she is doing!

The playful child, the whimsical child, the recalcitrant child, the stubborn child, the angry child, the sad child, the moody child, they all find their match in the same mother, behaving in specific different ways.

This is how intelligence is meant to be used, to act just as a mother.

The mind has three functions, thinking, willing, and feeling. And the mind is like a flip-flop switch – the same situations will cause it to react differently and keep changing around, often for no rhyme or reason. Sometimes the mind will think positive, sometimes it will act negative, sometime it will be cheerful, and sometimes it will be gloomy, sometimes it will be hardworking, sometimes it will be lazy. But just as a mother can get a child to act for his own welfare, similarly the intelligence is meant to perform that service.

Here are some examples, conversations between the intelligence and mind.

OK mind, so you want to do that? Why is that? Does it make sense? (the mind rambles on) “Hey look at this!” (intelligence distracts the mind)

Mind, mind, my dear mind, do you know what an amazing surprise I have for you today? (mind eagerly follows the intelligence waiting for the surprise).

Mind, if you continue to do this, I will have to take (names a privilege) away.

Mind, you can do whatever you want, but I’m not going there with you (mind follows).

OK, I cannot do justice to the nuances of the range and subtleties of the conversation between any mother and child in such an abbreviated manner, but I am hoping the examples point you in the right direction. On the spiritual path, the mind may present many such obstacles every moment, but we are meant to use our God-given intelligence properly.

It may take some time apparently (it does not have to, many have attained spiritual perfection in a moment, but that is rare), Sri Krishna instructs us in this encouraging way…

शनै: शनैरुपरमेद्‍बुद्ध्या धृतिगृहीतया ।
आत्मसंस्थं मन: कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् ॥ २५ ॥

śanaiḥ śanair uparamed
buddhyā dhṛti-gṛhītayā
ātma-saṁsthaṁ manaḥ kṛtvā
na kiñcid api cintayet

Gradually, step by step, one should become situated in trance by means of intelligence sustained by full conviction, and thus the mind should be fixed on the Self alone and should think of nothing else.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/25/

Krishna also says this, specifically…

यतो यतो निश्चलति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् ।
ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥ २६ ॥

yato yato niścalati
manaś cañcalam asthiram
tatas tato niyamyaitad
ātmany eva vaśaṁ nayet

From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/26/

Again, please note that we are not the mind. We are spirit soul. The intelligence, mind, and our sense of identity all are part of what is known as our “subtle body”, but more on that another day.

And how to make sure that our intelligence is being a “good mother” to the mind?

अध्येष्यते च य इमं धर्म्यं संवादमावयो: ।
ज्ञानयज्ञेन तेनाहमिष्ट: स्यामिति मे मति: ॥ ७० ॥

adhyeṣyate ca ya imaṁ
dharmyaṁ saṁvādam āvayoḥ
jñāna-yajñena tenāham
iṣṭaḥ syām iti me matiḥ

And I declare that he who studies this sacred conversation of ours worships Me by his intelligence.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/70/

Study Bhagavad Gita daily. Try it!

With gratitude to my spiritual master, who mercifully came back to the material world just to save me, and many others like me. Dear Srila Gurudeva, I pray to assist you in your mission, moment after moment, day after day, and life after life, more and more and more eternally ever-increasingly.

Living with Science and Scripture – development of the fetus

The Bhagavatam says that the foetus, in development, is very distressed. Does science offer any evidence of this? In general, how to reconcile science and spirituality?

Nikhil Mishra, 30 June 2018

Hare Krsna                                                                                

Obeisance to Guru, Gauranga and devotees.

Please refer the below link.

http://www.vedabase.com/sb/3/31

In it, is described the development of foetus. My question is- has it been seen by modern scientific instrument like ultrasound etc that fetus is totally unhappy and unable to move his/her limbs inside womb ?

Because in one youtube video, (if i remember correctly !!), they showed one grown baby fetus smiling inside belly of mother!!

Sincerely

Nikhil

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 03 July 2018

Dear Sriman Nikhil,

Hare Krishna!

I think I remember seeing one such video, but really, we all know that videos can be easily faked.

From what I know, yes, the amount of space available to the foetus continuously decreases, and in the initial months, the foetus can swim around, but later on, everything gets progressively very tight – that part is clearly confirmed from data and experience.

In fact, one of the things that expecting mothers are taught to do is to take a few moments throughout the day to monitor that the foetus is moving around – too many just give up their life inside the womb and sometimes the mother doesn’t even know for days after! Re facial expressions, I have seen that the baby as seen in ultrasound images could be neutral, crying, or grimacing.

In any case, the ultrasound lasts for a few seconds or minutes, it cannot be done 24X7.

It is not possible to conclusively confirm, as baby is not verbal until about a year after birth, and the trauma of birth takes away all memory of life in the womb.

I have witnessed childbirth myself. It is no walk in the park, even with all sorts of pain medication. It is clearly Krishna’s mercy that women don’t remember it, otherwise, no one would have children in this world.

There is also no need to doubt the statements of the Bhagavatam which is spotlessly pure and free of fault by the personal statement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself and thousands of other great Vaishnava Acharyas.

Sincerely,

Mahabhagavat Das

Nikhil Mishra, 04 July 2018

Thank you very much Mahabhagavat prabhu for taking out time to express your views on my question. I really appreciate that and offer my gratitude to you for the same.

Knowing views of other vaisnavas help me to intensify my search about truth and devotion while keeping my intellect sane.

Sincerely

Nikhil

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 05 July 2018

Dear Sriman Nikhil,

Hare Krishna!

I completely understand where you are coming from.

Srila Gurudeva once told me “the sign of a Brahmana is one who can keep two opposing viewpoints in the mind without getting disturbed” and then he added “that is also a definition of intelligence”.

Basically, when we position the scripture and modern scientific understanding as competing against each other, it is always a difficult situation.

But they are not competing fields of knowledge, but complementary fields of knowledge.

Reality is very vast, and there is much of reality that is not materially perceivable – for example, material science expresses thoughts, emotions, as mere eletrochemical reactions. Yes, it is true that someone may observe that my thoughts and emotions might be expressed on one level as electrochemical reactions. BUT, that sort of reductionist viewpoint is incomplete, because we all have personal experience that thoughts and emotions are much more than just electrochemical reactions.

Science explicitly looks for matter, and thus therefore finds matter… starts with the assumption that anything that is not mathematically provable or empirically observable does not exist (though there are inconsistencies there – for example what is the square root of -1, can anyone show me an i?).

Scripture and Science are two different genres of knowledge – you cannot always take the rules of one and apply to the other.

For example, take the image below… reality consists of gross, subtle, and spiritual, but materialistic science only deals with the gross. (Image courtesy of His Grace Chaitanya Charan Das The Spiritual Scientist). Spirituality on the other hand, doesn’t concern itself so much with the gross, but focuses on the subtle and spiritual.

I hope this helps!

Sincerely,

Mahabhagavat Das

Nikhil Mishra, 05 July 2018

Hare Krsna

Thank you for writing to me again Mahabhagavat prabhu. Yes you got the essence of query and your answer further helped me.

Really vaisnavas are so merciful.

Hari bol

Sincerely

Nikhil

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

Spiritualists, speak up and be heard

When going about your spiritual practices, hearing and chanting about God, don’t do it quietly, do it loudly. Why? Can spiritual sound vibration benefit others?

Many spiritualists are very quiet. Certain spiritual practices are quiet in nature. However, for maximum benefit to ourselves and others, it is important to vibrate the spiritual sound vibrations openly, and not keep them quiet. Why is this, you may ask.

As I write this, my father lives in India and is 80 years of age and my son lives with us in Toronto and is 7 years of age. They have a beautiful practice where each reads out aloud to the other. My father first reads from the Krishna Book, and then his grandson reads from the Children’s version of the same book. Sometimes they read several chapters to each other.

Several days ago, I was in the kitchen, cooking, and also thinking about an upcoming talk I was giving to young men, all smart and well-educated, but also interested in spiritual life. The goal of any such talk is to inspire. But in order to inspire, I need to be inspired myself, correct? There were many topics suggested, and I had run through many myself, but none seemed to resonate with the mood of the present times, which is filled with uncertainty and difficulty.

Many of these young men have lost their jobs due to the Pandemic-related economic fallout. Some have lost relatives to COVID-19. Some are stuck in some online version of their educational program, a poor substitute for the real thing. Some are in financial hardships. Some have challenges resulting from isolation and loneliness. But all these young men were interested in spiritual life, and were looking for spiritual answers to their problems. I had to give them something worthy, not just words but genuine spiritual inspiration.

Suddenly, I heard my father’s voice on the speakerphone, as he recited from the 56th Chapter of the book, in which Krishna is falsely accused by Satrajit of stealing a precious jewel and killing the bearer, Prasena. In order to clear up His good name, Krishna went looking, with some citizens accompanying him. Krishna soon found out that a lion had killed Prasena, and a great bear named Jambavan had killed the lion. Jambavan had then taken away the jewel and given it to his young son as a toy.

Krishna followed the trail to a deep dark cave, decided to go in. The citizens were too afraid to accompany Krishna into the cave. He then found the little child, cared for by a nurse, playing with the jewel. The nurse raised an alarm when she saw this stranger entering, and Jambavan came out in a very angry mood to find the intruder in his home.

Jambavan is in the form of a bear but a great great devotee of Krishna, in His incarnation as Lord Rama. Still, due to his anger, Jambavan didn’t recognize His Lord. Krishna and Jambavan fought for 28 days and 28 nights, first with weapons, stones, trees, and finally with their fists. Even though he was practically the strongest living entity on the planet at that time, Jambavan felt very very tired, his body hurt greatly. Note that this is the same Krishna who pounded the tyrant Kamsa (who had the strength of 10,000 elephants) to death in a short time – this was 28 days and 28 nights of pounding Jambavan had endured! Krishna was very pleased with the fighting pastime, it is hard for Krishna to find someone who can fight at His level! Jambavan finally recognized that his opponent was none other than his own very dear Lord. He surrendered and offered beautiful prayers. Jambavan said:

[Jāmbavān said:] I know now that You are the life air and the sensory, mental and bodily strength of all living beings. You are Lord Viṣṇu, the original person, the supreme, all-powerful controller. You are the ultimate creator of all creators of the universe, and of everything created You are the underlying substance. You are the subduer of all subduers, the Supreme Lord and Supreme Soul of all souls. You are He who impelled the ocean to give way when His sidelong glances, slightly manifesting His anger, disturbed the crocodiles and timiṅgila fish within the watery depths. You are He who built a great bridge to establish His fame, who burned down the city of Laṅkā, and whose arrows severed the heads of Rāvaṇa, which then fell to the ground.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/56/26/, https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/56/27/, https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/56/28/

All this greatly inspired me, because I realized something important – that when the difficulty is insurmountable, this is Krishna, appearing in the form of the difficulty! This realization had a profound impact on me. The hairs on my body stood up as I stood in the kitchen listening to my father read out Srila Prabhupada’s words on speakerphone, all the way from India! It was as if an electric current flowed through my body. This was it! This was Krishna’s answer to my prayers for inspiration!

I was then able to prepare a talk going from the attitude of the overconfident materialist who always is defeated by the material nature or the plans of God, all the way through to a consummate spiritualist who does their best while depending on God. I will write about that another time.

Here, I want to bring out how the spiritual sound vibration, when given manifest form by someone’s sincere voice, touches souls. The Sankirtan was going on between by son and my father, but the collateral benefit was to me, standing in the kitchen.

The greatest example of this was a great soul, Haridas Thakur, born in a Muslim family, rejected both by the Muslims and the Hindus, but the highest calibre of saint, elevated to the status of “Namacharya” the great preceptor of the Holy Name, by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He quoted “Anyone who chants Your name purifies all who hear His chanting, as well as Himself.” – SB 10.34.17

Because I was inspired by hearing, I could inspire over 25 young men in their spiritual life with a talk called”When the going gets tough”. And all this started from Srila Prabhupada’s Kirtan, which was inspired by his spiritual master’s Kirtan, which was inspired by his own spiritual master’s Kirtan.

None of this would have happened if any of the great saints in our line had remained silent, and had not inspired others with their spiritual sound vibrations.

When we loudly recite spiritual knowledge, the Lord’s names, and activities, we benefit other living entities even unknowingly. We benefit the trees, the insects, and the animals around us, we benefit the germs living in our body, and we purify the atmosphere all around. Just like that little living entity standing in the kitchen who was fortunate to hear the sound vibration that was originating from India and coming across the Internet all the way to Canada for the benefit of my little boy.

Next time you are remembering God, and following in the footsteps of great souls, don’t do it quietly, even if there is apparently no one around you.

Someone, somewhere will be inspired, and you will surely be counted as one of the saviours of this world.

Please let me know if I may serve you on your spiritual journey.

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

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

Eating Meat is not for Spiritualists

Many aspiring spiritualists, while trying to pursue a spiritual path, also consume meat, yes, from slaughtered creatures.

यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत् ।
उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम् ॥ १० ॥

yāta-yāmaṁ gata-rasaṁ
pūti paryuṣitaṁ ca yat
ucchiṣṭam api cāmedhyaṁ
bhojanaṁ tāmasa-priyam

Food prepared more than three hours before being eaten, food that is tasteless, decomposed and putrid, and food consisting of remnants and untouchable things is dear to those in the mode of darkness. BG 17.10

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/17/10/

Leaders of many spiritual traditions choose to turn a blind eye, giving in to “give them what they want”, instead of “teach them what they need”.

For example, one of the Commandments in the Bible states “Thou Shalt Not Kill”. It’s clear as daylight, “Not Kill”. But many church leaders, eager to fill up their churches and their coffers with the money of those addicted to meat and blood, interpret that as “Thou Shalt Not Murder”, in other words, it’s ok to slaughter those poor cows. We can’t blame business-people for wanting to maximize their profits at all costs, but are these religious leaders genuinely spiritual?

Whatever happened to “As you sow, so shall you reap”? Inflict all that horror and cruelty upon another sentient being and expect peace and enlightenment in return?

A good friend told me “its not what goes inside that defiles a man, but what comes out”. So, let’s think about that for a moment. One regulatory definition of meat is as follows ” the carcass of a food animal, the blood of a food animal, or a product or by-product of its carcass.”

Eating “carcass”, “blood”, or a product or by-product of “carcass and/or blood” makes you all spiritually surcharged does it?


It is only through brute mentality that this killing goes on. The civilized method of obtaining needed fat is by milk. Slaughter is the way of subhumans. Protein is amply available through split peas, dāl, whole wheat, etc.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada BG 17.10 Purport

Anyone who wants to pursue spiritual advancement, needs to stay away from this bloodthirsty behaviour. Regardless of which spiritual tradition someone follows, it is possible to follow that tradition without the consumption of meat.

It wasn’t long ago, that certain peoples, nations, races, were not seen as human, yes, even just a few decades ago. But today, that is seen as backward and barbaric. It is envy of others that causes such callousness. “Let him die so I may live”.

I look forward to the day when eating meat from slaughtered birds, animals, and insects is seen as something reserved for other carnivorous creatures who have no choice, no intelligence, and certainly no ability to progress spiritually.

In the meantime, I pray this prayer, following in the footsteps of the great boy saint Prahlada:


स्वस्त्यस्तु विश्वस्य खल: प्रसीदतां
ध्यायन्तु भूतानि शिवं मिथो धिया ।
मनश्च भद्रं भजतादधोक्षजे
आवेश्यतां नो मतिरप्यहैतुकी ॥ ९ ॥
svasty astu viśvasya khalaḥ prasīdatāṁ
dhyāyantu bhūtāni śivaṁ mitho dhiyā
manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje
āveśyatāṁ no matir apy ahaitukī


May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/5/18/9/

“all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.”

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, SB 5.18.9 Purport

Check out this book, A Higher Taste. If you want to, then follow your own spiritual tradition, omit bloodthirst, feel your own advancement, help others advance too. Need resources? Contact me.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Why does talk about religion make some people uncomfortable

Bhakta Sunil, 14th April 2014

Hare Krishna everyone!

Please accept my humble obeisances
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Why do some persons avoid talking about religion? or try to keep the topic ‘private’?

regards,
sunil

Sudeep Manchanda, 16th April 2014

Hare Krishna,

I feel that people in general have started relating ‘religion’ with a set of orthodox beliefs which do not align with today’s scientific world. I guess a lot of people shy away from talking about God or any other related topics because they fear being categorized as someone who would follow things without a logic or does not challenge it. This is mainly because the so called called ‘religious’ people find it difficult to explain to the world what they feel is correct.

What would be your reaction if one asks you “Does God exists?”.. answers can be yes, no or maybe but a lot of times this answer is not dependent on your belief but on the fact that would one be able to justify the answer or not. So to avoid any debate … a lot of people would say ‘maybe’.

That is where Srila Prabhupada has shown his mercy. He has provided us with the answers to all the questions so that we can with confidence say that yes God exists and yes I follow the process of bhakti.

Regards,
Sudeep Manchanda

Bhakta Sunil, 16th April 2014

Very nice points in your reply! An eye-opener , helpful to keep in mind while preaching Jaya! Thanks ys, sunil

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 18th April 2014

Nice question! Nice answer also! One can tell both Sunil and Sudeep are thinking about this and trying to share Krishna consciousness with others! 🙂

Here are some points which come out:

1. People really don’t know anything much about religion/God, and who wants to look foolish not knowing something, which, supposedly, internal desire, they feel they ought to know about.

2. They fear that if their understanding differs from yours, then the relationship they have is at stake – in other words, it may become an “irreconcilable difference”

3. They fear that the person who wants to talk about religion/God will bash them on the head with all sorts of dogma

4. They have been brainwashed by the atheists to believe that to be God conscious is to be foolish – it is some kind of peer pressure to look “cool”

5. They feel they already know better than you, and that you are too slow to understand what they know, and they cannot be bothered to take the trouble (but actually the more someone actually knows about God, the more they want to share, no matter how unqualified the other person appears to be)

6. They genuinely have *no* ability to show interest because they are so busy with the hard struggle for existence or satisfying the shrill demands of the senses

7. They don’t really care about anything at all, God consciousness included, and nothing (job etc.) is at stake so they don’t pretend to be interested in God consciousness as they would pretend to be interested in other things

8. They don’t trust me enough to be able to share such a deep personal thing with me.

There are many many more, the more we try to share Krishna consciousness, the more we get to know about all the blocks.

Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das

Bhakta Sunil, 18th April 2014

Jaya! thank you again and again to all the respondents with humble respects

your insignificant servant,
Bhakta Sunil

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

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.

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.

Is it necessary to live in a temple or monastery for spiritual progress?

Francisco, Aug 25 2011

All glories to Srila Prabhupada
All glories to the devotees of Krishna

Dear student group devoted to the SDA, I wish you a happy life with Krishna and took the opportunity to ask this question:

To be a good devotee of Krishna is it essential to live in a temple of Krishna?  Hare Krishna

Your servant and friend
Francisco

 
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Aug 25 2011
Dear Francisco Prabhu,

Hare Krishna!

In today’s environment, over 99% of the devotees of ISKCON live outside the temple, as they are householders.

Temple environment is definitely most conducive to spiritual life, but it is not a prerequisite to a Krishna Conscious life. In fact, if someone is not ready, then temple environment can scare them, because it is very austere and one has to be very surrendered to stay on in a temple for all of one’s life.

I take it that you don’t live in a temple… you may have some way of earning a livelihood, think every morning who are you working for, not for your employer, not for your family, not for yourself, but for Krishna. Chant Hare Krishna minimum 16 rounds and follow the 4 regulative principles strictly. This is 50% temple life. In your home you have walls and book shelves, saturate them with Krishna and His devotees. You have some entertainment equipment? Listen to Krishna’s devotees speaking. You have some space in a clean comfortable corner of your home? Invite Krishna to come and live there, and care for Him at least as you would care for your dearest most respected human friend. Every day you eat something. So please cook for Krishna what He likes, and take only His remnants. Krishna Prasadam. Finally, according to your capacity, help the devotees who are not working to preach Krishna Consciousness all over the world. Go to temple whenever you can.

In this way, we can strive to make our heart and home into a temple for Krishna.

Your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
                      
Francisco, Aug 25 2011
Loved and admired Das Mahabhagavat

Hare Krishna!

Prabhu, I will, but how to offer the food to Krishna?

Your servant,
Francisco

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Aug 25 2011

Dear Francisco Prabhu,
Hare Krishna! You are very kind Francisco Prabhu.

Here is an introduction to how you may prepare and offer food to Krishna and take His Prasada.

http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/how_to_offer_food.htm

For all, the website http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com is a wonderful website with a lot of information about basic things and advanced things in Krishna Consciousness.

Your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
 
Francisco, Aug 25 2011

Dear Mahabhagavat Das:

Please extend your comment about whether it is possible for a devotee of Krishna who does not live in a temple to achieve self-realization, that is, become a pure devotee of Krishna?  Are there examples of this?

Thanks for your time dedicated
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Your servant and friend
Francisco

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Aug 25 2011

Dear Francisco Prabhu,

Hare Krishna!

We have to understand that “becoming a pure devotee” is not something that is dependent on something external, like living in the temple. Otherwise it would be a really simple formula!  🙂 Otherwise, the millions of people in India who live in Holy towns would all be pure devotees.

Yes, there are many examples of persons who lived in their own homes and were pure devotees. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is such an example. He was a pure devotee even when running a pharmacy business and maintaining his family. Bhaktivinode Thakura is also such an example.

In my personal life, I have the great benefit of observing many such persons who are exceedingly pure in their devotion, but because these persons are very humble they will never advertise themselves. But I can see that their every thought, word and deed is dedicated to serving Krishna. They have never lived in a temple except for visiting other places, etc.

Your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das

Colour of Lord Krishna and Meaning of Plenary Expansion

Sunil, 20th July 2011

Respected Disciples and Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances

On reading books of Krishna Consciousness I understand that amazing knowledge is shared in this group and I am thankful to all group members who do so

I would like to ask following two questions:

What is the colour of Lord Krishna? I think that I have read that Lord Krishna’s colour is black as cloud and in photos I have many times seen Lord Krishna is blue in colour, So I am confused

Please also tell what is meaning of plenary expansion

Regards

Sunil

Indira G, 20th July 2011

Please accept my humble obeisances

I dont know whether my answer will help you or not  but i think Shri Krishna , the brahma is symbol of infinity so he appears in color of some time in deep blue or some time in black, or some time in green all  dark shades of all three hues reminds us the unfathomable depth of brahma.

Thanks & Regards

Indira G

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 21th July 2011

Dear Sunil Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you very much for your active involvement and participation. This shows that you are really engaging your intelligence in Prabhupada’s books.

Krishna’s color: Is not material in nature! It is a spiritual color, cannot be seen by anyone with material eyes. In various texts, Krishna is described as “blackish”, or “color of a newly formed rain cloud” or bluish in complexion, the color of the Tamal tree, etc. It is important to note that Krishna’s color is not static, for example, He may take the color that pleases Him most, and this could change – for example, the complexion of Radharani, or any other color that pleases Him. In deity form, it is said that the pure devotee sees Him as He is. So our goal should be to purify ourselves so that we may see Krishna face-to-face and see for ourselves what is really His color – as Lord Brahma says in the Brahma Samhita, and as Srila Gurudeva repeats often “Premanjana Chhurita Bhakti Vilochanena” – we can only see Him with eyes smeared with the ointment of Love, pure Love for Krishna. There is no mundane explanation for Krishna’s color. The impersonalists say that Krishna is a certain color because Krishna represents Brahman, but this is not correct. Krishna is the source of Brahman, the Brahmajyoti or Brahman effulgence emanates from His transcendental body, not the other way around – crude example: the sunshine exists because of the sun, not that the sun exists because of the sunshine.

Plenary expansion: Means expansion that carries the full potency of the original. This means that just because Sri Narayana is an expansion of Krishna, that does not mean that Sri Narayana is not all-powerful or omnipresent. Plenary expansion of Krishna means Vishnu-tattva. All the living entities are also expansions of Krishna, but we are not plenary expansions, we are jiva tattva, it means that we are one in quality with Krishna, that we are full of knowledge and bliss, but in quantity we are infinitesimal…

Dictionary meaning from dictionary.com is given below:

Origin: 1510s, earlier plenar  (late 13c.), from M.L. plenarius  “entire, complete,” from L. plenus  “full,” from PIE *ple-  “to be full”

as an adverb:

full; complete; entire; absolute; unqualified: plenary powers

attended by all qualified members; fully constituted: a plenary session of Congress.

As an adjective: full and complete in every respect

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

SUPARTHA RUDRA, 21th July 2011

Hare Krishna Sunil Prabhuji,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Gurudeva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

The explanation given by Mahabhagavat Prabhuji is very nice and complete in sense.

With this may I most humbly add something that I recently read in this group?

It has been written by Jagannath Parbhuji. I’m just putting it below:

In Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila Chapter 9,

text 144 he compares the qualities of Vishnu and Krishna.

“Lord Narayana has sixty transcendental qualities. Over and above these,

Krishna has four extraordinary transcendental qualities absent in Lord

Narayana. These four qualities are (1) His wonderful pastimes, which are

compared to an ocean, (2) His association in the circle of the supreme

devotees in conjugal love (the gopés), (3) His playing on the flute, whose

vibration attracts the three worlds, and (4) His extraordinary beauty, which

surpasses the beauty of the three worlds. Lord Krishna’s beauty is unequaled

and unsurpassed.”

From this it is clear that even though Lord Sri Krishna & His unlimited PLENARY EXPANSIONS are at the same plane but their moods (bhava) are different. Srila Prabhupad used to give the example of a Supreme Court Judge in the office (comparable to Lord Narayan) and that same Supreme Court Judge in his home( comparable to Lord Shri Krishna). In the Court room every body has respect with awe & reverence for the Judge. But in home that same Judge is enjoying sweet loving reciprocation with all the family members. That graveness of court room is not their in home. Similarly with Lord Shri Krishna the loving devotional service attitude dipped in either of the above-mentioned FOUR  TRANSCEDENTAL mellows can be sweetly reciprocated. But for us, we should consider ourselves as das anu das–servant of the servant of the Lord Shir Krishna and perform our devotional service following proper regulation prescribed in the scriptures under the expert and bonafide guidance of pure devotee (Spiritual Master) of Lord.

your servant,

supartha rudra

Sunil, 21st July 2011

Respected Devotees and Disciples

Please accept my humble obeisances

When I have read your answers I have felt satisfaction

Maybe this is what is called Relishing the nectar of transcendental knowledge

Regards

Sunil

%d bloggers like this: