Arjuna’s Bewilderment
It is widely believed that the most important thing Krishna teaches Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita is that “You should do your duty.” Krishna’s instructing Arjuna to do his duty as a ksatriya and fight in the battle is certainly a very strong theme in Bhagavad-gita:
“Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me, and at the same time you should continue your prescribed duty and fight. With your mind and activities always fixed on Me, and everything engaged in Me, you will attain to Me without any doubt.
“ (Bg. 8.7)
Arjuna is a ksatriya, a fighter, and therefore his duty is to fight. All political avenues have been explored and there is no alternative to the fight. Therefore it is Arjuna’s duty to fight. And Krishna is instructing him to fight. The situation is quite difficult for him however because practically speaking all the soldiers on the battlefield on both sides are Arjuna’s friends and family members. Therefore in the beginning Arjuna becomes bewildered.
Although Arjuna knows it is his duty to fight, when he is seated on the chariot in the middle of the two armies–Pandavas on one side and Kurus on the other side–Arjuna looks everywhere on both sides and sees only friends and family members and his teachers. Everyone is related to him in some way. So he thinks that if they fight this war it will be a great disaster. Even if Arjuna is victorious in the battle because so many of his friends and family members will be killed on both sides he is feeling that his life would not be worth living because most of his friends and family members will get killed in the battle.
So Arjuna declares, “Krishna I shall not fight.” Arjuna is confused about his duty. On one hand he knows he is a ksatriya and he is on the battlefield and he should fight. But on the other hand he sees the people he has to fight and they include his worshipable superiors and teachers, his friends and his family members. So on the other hand he is feeling it is also his duty not to kill his superiors, his teachers and his friends and family members.
In this position Arjuna is completely bewildered about his duty, he does not know what to do. So after some discussion with his friend Krishna he decides to surrender to Krishna and accept Krishna as his spiritual master.
The relationship between Krishna and Arjuna changes at this moment. In the beginning of the discussion they were friends, but Arjuna becomes bewildered and does not know what to do so to solve this problem he accepts his friend Krishna as his spiritual master, as his guru and surrenders to Him.
“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.7)
So you see what has happened here. Krishna has instructed Arjuna that he should do his duty as a ksatriya and fight.
But Arjuna realized that if he fights this battle then it will be disastrous for his friends and family who will mostly all get killed. So Arjuna is thinking that it would be better for everyone if he did not fight. Then the battle would not take place and his family members would not be killed.
Arjuna says here that he is confused about his duty. So the real point here is that Arjuna does not know what his duty is so is surrendering to Krishna and saying to Krishna “Please instruct me.” Arjuna is now Krishna’s disciple, a soul surrenderd to Krishna and he will now do whatever Krishna tells him to do.
So the actual central point of the Bhagavad-gita, is really to surrender to Krishna in the mood of Arjuna and to request Krishna, “Please instruct me.”
At this point it does not matter what Arjuna thinks is his duty. Actually at this point Arjuna is completely confused about his duty. On one hand he knows that he has the duty as a ksatriya and he should fight but on the other hand he has another duty to his superiors, teachers, friends and family members who will get killed in this battle and he does not want to see them killed.
He is thinking his duty to save his family and his friends is more important than his duty to fight.
Therefore Arjuna is completely confused about his duty. So Krishna’s main instruction in Bhagavad-gita is not actually about “doing your duty” at all. Arjuna does not even know what his duty is, so how can he do his duty? We are also in the same position as Arjuna. We are also confused about our duty. So if we do not actually know what our duty is then how can we perfom our duty?
The real message of Bhagavad-gita is surrender to Krishna and get Krishna to instruct us, “please instruct me,” to let Krishna claify clearly to us what is our duty and exactly what we should be doing.
It is not that we know what our duty is and Bhagavad-gita is telling us that we must do what we imagine our duty is. No. Not at all. Krishna in Bhagavad-gita is instructing us to surrender to Him and to let Him instruct us as at to what our duty is.
In Arjuna’s case he was speaking with Krishna directly, but for us Krishna advises that we approach Him through His bona fide spiritual master. The spiritual master can let us know what we should do, what is actually our duty. Of course we can also hear from Krishna and from Sirla Prabhupada from a careful study of Bhagavad-gita. In this way a thoughtful person can understand what is his real duty. Krishna will speak to him and Prabhuapda will speak to him…
These things can be discussed very elaborately and for a long time but really the traditional idea that Krishna is telling Arjuna to do his duty is a very superficial understanding of the Gita. It is true of course. Because when Arjuna surrenders to Krishna He does instruct him to fight. But Krishna could have also instructed Arjuna to leave the battlefield and Arjuna would have done that also if that is what Krishna wanted him to do. The point is Arjuna accepted Krishna as His spiritual master and agreed to do whatever Krishna instructed him to do. Arjuna surrenderd to Krishna in a humble and submissive spirit and was ready to follow Krishna’s instructions whatever they may have been, “please instruct me…”
So the real point of Bhagavad-gita is surrender to Krishna. Not to do one’s duty. Actually one’s duty is to surrender to Krishna and Krishna concludes His instructions to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita by saying exactly this:
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Bg. 18.66)
This is a very clear conclusion and final instruciton from Krishna to Arjuna . All over the world people have invented so many dharmas, or occupations, or religions and Krishna is concluding here that Arjuna should give up all these dharmas or religions and simply surrender unto Him. So this is Krishna’s real message, the real conclusion of Bhagavad-gita. Surrender to Krishna. This is the main message.
This is adapted from Srila Prabhuapda’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. If you do not have the book please get it and read it from:
http://krishnastore.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-with-bonus-dvd-h-krishna-407.html
About the Author
Madhudvisa dasa My first contact with a Hare Krishna was a most merciful Mataji in Oxford Street, London who sold me a "Higher Taste" cook book in 1984 while I was on holidays there. I started seriously reading Srila Prabhupada's books in Australia 1985 and by 1986 Srila Prabhupada had convinced me "Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead" and "we should surrender to Krishna." I joined the Hare Krishnas in Perth, Western Australia in 1986. Since then I have been chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, reading and distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and preaching as much as I can. That's my life and full-time occupation now really. I like it more than anything I've ever experienced before. Srila Prabhupada's books are so amazing... Even after reading them all many times they're still fresh and new. They are truly transcendental! That's it really. Now I'm just hankering to once again see the world chant Hare Krishna, dance and feast and float away in the ecstasy of Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement as it did in Srila Prabhupada's physical presence. Let the whole world drown in the ecstatic flood of love of Krishna!
Related Posts
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Introduction To Bhagavad Gita Part Three →
Introduction To Bhagavad Gita Part Two →
Hare Krishna very nice article.
Even i wrote about cow protection by taking quote from srila prabhupad.
http://www.diethealthproducts.com/cow-information-killing-vedas-protection/
His Divine soul Sri Prabhupada has given a divinely gifted jewel to the world community. It is simply written with very deep depth of knowledge. I am going slowly through the book and has given me spiritual strength.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa,
On Prabhupadabooks.com web-site, say under lectures, prabhupadas’ lectures were available in audio as well, however, now audio is not working.
Thanks!
Chetan
Hare Krishna Chetan
Very sorry about this. I will try and get it working within the next week.
In the meantime all the Prabhuapda audio recordings are available at:
http://krishnakirtan.com
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna Prabhu
PAMHO AGTSP
I dont know how can i thank you for such a nice article.
You are really a good devotee kindly keep on guiding neophytes such as me , and please always remind other contemporary God-Brothers of yours that devotional life of new generation depends to a large extent upon the exemplary action of Senior devotees as your Grace.
I have
Your Servant
Bhakta Gourav
Hare Krishna ,
I have Bhagwat geeta as it is in Gujarati language Bhagwat geeta;tena mul rupe.
This version belonged to my Grandfather and he gave it me when I was staying for summer vacation at my native. He taught me very much that this is not just a book but a ocean of pure devotion which Lord has personally spoken 5000 years ago. but my problem is that I came to know that iskcon change some of its content. mine edition is 13th edition 1996. So I would like to know is these the original one and when iskcon started its changes. Is my edition of gujarati with or without change. ??
thnk u very much for ur answer in advance.
Hare Krishna Raghav
The version of Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Srila Prabhupada in your language will have all basic points OK, but any translation into a language different from what the original book was written in will not be prefect. So I suggest you get Srila Prabhupada’s original 1972 Bhagavad-gita As It Is in English and read that:
https://krishnastore.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-with-bonus-dvd-h-krishna-407.html
That is the best thing, read Srila Prabhupada’s original Bhagavad-gita in English. For those who can’t read English it is a language that is easy to learn and very useful for many purposes, so if one is really serious about studying Srila Prabhupada’s books it is best to learn English.
Many devotees have learned English by listening to Srila Prabhupada’s classes and by reading his books in English.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
What about the Gita in the original Sanskrit?
Original Sanskrit in Devanagari text with roman transliteration and English synonyms and translation are all included in Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
Hare krishna prabhuji. Thank you for this newsletter which says arjuna’s bewilderment. I Really love this charpter of ( bg 18: 66) my question is must every body surrender to krishna just as arjuna did what will happen to those people who refuse to surrender to krishna and which is the best religion on earth and why must we have one religion on earth so as to surrender ti serve
Hare Krishna Bakosi
We do not say everyone has to surrender to Krishna. People have the right to surrender to Krishna and they have the independence to not surrender to Krishna if they do not want to surrender to Krishna. We are providing the knowledge about Krishna and making it available to all the people but we leave it up to them to decide if they want to surrender to Krishna or not. We are not going to force anyone to surrender to Krishna. Surrender to Krishna has to be done out of love. It can not be done by force.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa ji!
I feel Krishna instructs me and helps me get out of bewilderment. Is it really Him or is it the knowledge of Him that I have received from Prabhu, you and other teachers?
Hare Krishna Aman
Krishna is within our hearts and He does instruct us from within our hearts. So yes. Krishna will help you from within your heart. Srila Prabhupada will instruct you through his books and Krishna will instruct you from within your heart. Of course we have to be careful because we can only hear Krishna’s instructions when our consciousness is purified by Krishna consciousness. Otherwise our mad mind is making so many suggestions under the control of maya. So sometimes devotees mistake the suggestions of the mad mind under the control of maya as Krishna speaking to them from within the heart…
So the things have to be confirmed in Srila Prabhupada’s books. Krishna consciousness is a standard thing and it is described in Srila Prabhupada’s books so we need to study them and follow the instructions that Srila Prabhupada gives us as we read his books.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa ji!
I consider you my spiritual master but I can only be in touch with you through internet. Is this enough?
Hare Krishna Aman
Better to become qualified to become a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. You can be constantly in touch with Srila Prabhupada by reading his books and hearing his classes. So please do this. Please make a serious study of ALL of Srila Prabhupada’s books and listen to ALL of his classes. And at the same time chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day and strictly follow the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication. That will be very good for you.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Hare Rama, it is inspiring to hear the divine message of the Lord as our condition is no different from that of Arjuna. Keeping the mind steadily fixed in Lord Krishna is indeed the greatest of sadhanas in the Kali Yuga. Reading the Bhagavad Gita and mentally chanting the name of Lord Krishna constitute the greatest penance. Meditating on the Lord’s celestial form does take time to master. Please keep showering the transcendental message to remind me of Krishna consciousness. Pranaam. Dasanudasa, Jaideep.
Hare Krishna Sir…
I feel myself truly blessed that I came on right track … I was an atheist till couple of years back… but my merciful lord krishna turned me towards him… my sole purpose of this human form of life is to serve my lord, who is my eternal companion…
I am planning to visit brajbhoomi and nabadwip dham soon, where lord had his wonderful pastimes and that earth is eternally blessed because of his lotus feet…
“Om namo bhagwate vasudevaya”…
Hare Krishna Prabhu..I am following your articles regarding Bhagavad Gita but I am at a complete loss to understand why there are no other teachings of the Gita is explained other then Krishna advising Arjuna in the battle field which I presume there must be many other issues more importantly said by the lord in Bhavad Gita which can be useful for devotees to understand rather than talking on one subject all the time.
Please correct me if I am wrong for I am curious to know and learn.
Hare Krishna
The whole Bhagavad-gita is Krishna instructing Arjuna on the battlefield. But in that discussion so many important things are there and we are discussing them gradually one by one.
Respected Sir,
I am connected already to your regular news letter appearing in my mail box. May you be kind enough to suggest from where I can purchase the Holy Book Gita- As It Is.
I live in Kanpur a city in India and in state of Uttar Pradesh.
With best regards
B.K.Chakravarty
You can get from krishnastore.com but in India also ISKCON temples should have original 1972 Prabhupada Bhagavad-gita As It Is. I recommend you only read Prabhupada’s original Gita, not the modern changed one ISKCON generally distribute.
Jai Sri Krshna Jai: First of all, I am in the midst of moving and am vey busy, HOWEVER I ALWAYS FIND TIME FOR THE NEWSLETTERS. They keep me going and motivated. I’m still learning, but I so so so much enjoy reading them. I print them out and sit back in the evening and just read over and over to make sure I can comprehend it all. Thank you bringing this Service to me and to all involved as well.
Hare Krshna from Bhaktin Marcy in Canada (a new Krshna devotee)
Hare Krishna madhudvisa g and thanks for all your mails and articles. The real message of bhagvad-gita is surrender to lord Krishna with performing your duties and get krishana to instruct us – hare krishna .
Thanks and regards
shweta
As a matter of fact, any war is an organized mass murder and nothing else.
Hare Krishna
Sometimes in the material world war is required. The greatest war in the world, the Battle of Kuruksettra, was won by Arjuna, a devotee of Krishna, with the help of Krishna. And in that war no one was killed. Of course no one is ever killed. “Death” just means we are changing from one body to another. So even in ordinary wars no one is killed actually. They are just forced to change from one body to another.
In any case in the material world war is inevitable. It can not be avoided. And if it happens that the devotees have to fight and Krishna wants them to fight then that war is service to Krishna. So one can fight in a war for Krishna also. Krishna comes for two purposes, to reestablish the religious principles and to kill the demons. So the devotees are having the same responsibilities on Krishna’s behalf.
Of course now in Kali-yuga the demons are so weak and powerless that there is no need to kill them. They are already dead. Rather it is the mood of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to awaken the dormant Krishna consciousness in the hearts of the demons. So instead of physically killing the bodies of the demons we want to kill the demonic mentality with the power of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
This is the only practical way in Kali-yuga. If we were to try and physically kill the demons then we would have to kill everyone including ourselves. Because practically speaking in Kali-yuga we are all demons… So let us get everyone to chant the Hare Krishna mantra and the demonic mentality will be killed and everyone will be happy!
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hk swami ji!
All glories to srilaprabhupada
I read about you in srilaprabhupada lilamrita. so much fortunate is this that I’m in association of a pure devotee of krsna n direct disciple of sp, although via this media. pls accept my humble obeisances at your feet. I’m receiving your newsletter from Feb and about a couple of days ago I read about you in sp lilamrita and I felt so so blessed that somehow I know you even though it is indirect but still it’s Krsna’s mercy.
hariiiiii bollll _/\_
Hare Krishna Mani
I am not the same Madhudvisa dasa as in the Prabhupada lilamrta. All the names have been used again many times now although as far as I know there are only two Madhudvisas. The original one and me. I joined ISKCON in 1986. The original Madhudvisa Prabhu left his body in Los Angeles a couple of years ago. So he is no longer physically present.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhuji. this also also wonderful massage given by lord. In this newsletter Arjuna is a ksatriya who surrender to krishna and told him please instruct me. But we are Sudra or we r not fighter as well as we also do know what is the our duty, then how can we surrender to krishna and for which purpose we say to lord “Please instruct me”.
Thank You Prabhuji.
Visa is so clear, “sourronder and lets krisna instruct us”
Thankyou very much for providing very much knowledge and keep providing me and everyone.
Radhey Radhey
I am reciving your letters from December and love to read whatever you write about Krishna. I tried to reply but it was not sent I think.
as you said in this letter that Krishna says Arjun to surrender himself to Krishna and Arjun did so and won the battle but how did he surrenderd himself to Krishna? obviously by decideing Krishna to be his spiritual master,right?
you know when first time I went to Shri banke bihari temple and the second time as well I glanced at Shri Krishna’s eyes and I had tears in my eyes both times, I asked my mom who is a Radhaswami dikshit about it and she answered me “when we used to look in the eyes of our guru we too had tears in our eyes”. then again while returning from Vrindavan Mathura I again had tears in my eyes in the car, while looking at krishna and chanting hare Krishna in iskcon again there were tears in my eyes, now whenever I am serious about Krishna or remember him I have tears in my eyes.
you know my Soul craves to see Krishna, to chant him, to cry for him, to dance for him and to remember him. What should I do? I know you will simply answer to see him, chant him, to cry for him, to dance for him and to remember him, right?
but I cant beacuse whenever I remember Krishna I get tears and I have to somehow control them in my house, where my elder brother is there who will simply ask me why are you crying or in iskcon the people doing kirtan will ask me why are you crying and this asking is hatered by me, I just hate it, so I control my tears.
I want to surrender myself to Krishna but I know that I have somehow forgot him thats why I control myself.
I can leave this life, luxurys, everything and I really want to do so but my dutys of the material world and choice for the guru who could take me to Krishna comes in my mind like:-
what about my family, what about my studies, my friends, etc, I know this is moh and can leave it but the next question is about choice of right guru beacuse when I asked my mom about her guru so she said our guru selects some people and gives them some words which are chanted by doing astang yog which makes us reach to the god and one more thing she told me that she used to close her ears in a way and would chant those words through astang yog and she was able to hear the sounds of mridang first, then that small hand instrument which makes a sound like bell which is holded in both the hands (think you got it) and in the last she could hear bansuri inside, in her mann. So what is that and what is a hare Krishna diksha ?
these are the questions which pull me back , a 16year old girl wants to surrender herself and asks you what to do ,yes I am asking you where can I surrender myself and meet my Krishna?
Radhey Radhey
Hare Krishna Vanshika
You have to very seriously read Srila Prabhupada’s books and actually strictly follow the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication and chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily.
Indians are at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to Krishna consciousness, although taking birth in India is a great benefit. But the problem is India is flooded with so much Mayavadi and bogus interpretations of Krishna consciousness that Indians tend to be completely confused about Krishna consciousness, while at the same time thinking, “I know all about Krishna…” So it is a bit of a problem.
Really what you need to do is basically forget everything you have learned from your family members and friends about Krishna and read Srila Prabhupada’s books with a fresh and open mind. In this way you can just put everything aside and start learning about Krishna consciousness again from Srila Prabhupada. To approach a spiritual master first we have to make our mind a ‘clean slate’. We have to be prepared to accept what the bona fide spiritual master teaches us. That is not possible if we are thinking. “I already know about Krishna…”
So the truth is these days practically every guru is a big cheater who can not give you Krishna consciousness at all. Srila Prabhupada is the right guru and if you are prepared to put aside all the nonsense you have heard from your family members, etc, and just make your mind a clean slate and hear from Srila Prabhupada you will very quickly come to understand actually what Krishna consciousness is. But you have to actually read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books, hear his lectures, etc. You can read Srila Prabhupada’s books online at http://www.PrabhupadaBooks.com, you can download them from Krishna.org and you can purchase them from http://www.KrishnaStore.com
A woman needs a husband so you should be thinking in that way of finding a nice devotee husband who can guide you in Krishna consciousness.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Manisha
You can cook for Krishna, offer the bhoga to Krishna and distribute the Krishna prasadam to your family members. You can read Prabhupada’s books. You can read Krsna book to your children. You can have aroti and kirtan in your house and involve the other family members. There are so many ways and Srila Prabhupada has described unlimited ways we can put Krishna in the center of our lives and our families lives in his dozens of books. It is a science. You have to learn the science by reading Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna!!!!!!!!
My humble obeisances at your feet!!!!!
Swamiji, i read how one should surrender to our Krsna and take instruction from Him through a Spiritual GUru. But it is also true to find a Guru in the true sense in the present day scenario is very difficult.. Kindly help me to come across a Guru who would help me do my karma along with my spiritual progress.
Hare Krsna
Please read Srila Prabhupada’s books, you will find the perfect pure devotee guru there who can help you become Krishna conscious. We are not interested in doing any karma. Only Krishna seva, nothing else.
THANKS FOR THE MAIL CONCERNING LORD KRISHNA IN WHICH IT IS EXPLICITLY SAID THAT ONE MUST WHOLEHEARTEDLY THINK OF KRISHNA AND WHATEVER HE DOES SHOULD BE FOR HIM ONLY. I AM CONFIDENT THAT EVEN THE MOST ABOMINABLE AND SINNER PERSON CAN BE RELIEVED OF THE SINS COMMITTED BY HIM IF HE SINCERELY FOCUS UNTO THE LOTUS FEET OF SRI LORD KRISHNA.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa
The article is great, really enjoyed it.
Thank You.
So the main instruction of Bhagavat- gita is to surrender to Krishna,ok. I got that very clearly thank you.
Also that is very correct that we all are confused about our duties and finding it very hard to figure out.
I would be delighted to hear about why should one surrender to Krishna and what happens after one has surrender, also what is one expecting out of such process.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Devang
It is our natural position to serve Krishna. Just like the natural position of the different parts of the body is to serve the whole body. The hand is meant to serve the total body by carrying the food to the mouth and then the food is sent to the stomach and digested and that food then nourishes all the parts of the body. So Krishna is the total body and we are all parts and parcels of Krishna. So as the duty of the part of the body is to serve the whole body our duty and parts and parcels of Krishna is to serve Krishna.
So there is no question as to ‘why’ we should serve Krishna. Serving Krishna is our constitutional position. It is our purpose. Without serving Krishna we have no purpose. Actually we serve Krishna eternally. The current situation in the material world where we have misused our limited independence and we appear to be separate from serving Krishna is only maya, an illusion. Our relationship with Krishna as His servants is eternal and can never be broken. Krishna has given us limited independence so we can reject His service, and it is Krishna’s great mercy on us that He has created this material world where we can come and try to be happy separately from Him. But it is not possible for us to be happy separately from Krishna. That is only an illusion, maya…
We are all servants of Krishna constitutionally. We are nitya krsna dasa, eternally servants of Krishna. There is no ‘why’. That is what we are. That is our dharma or characteristic. It is like the characteristic of water is that it is wet. So if something is not water it is wet. You can not say ‘why is water wet’. Water is wet, that is the characteristic of water. If it is not wet it is not water. Or sugar. Sugar is sweet. You can not say ‘why is sugar sweet’. Sugar is sweet by definition. Sweetness is the characteristic of sugar. So we living entities, our characteristic is that we are all eternally servants of Krishna. It can not be changed as the sweetness can not be taken away from the sugar and the wetness can not be taken away from the water, our nature as servants of Krishna can not be taken away from us.
Here in the material world maya bewilders us into thinking that we can redirect this service entailment to something other than Krishna. That is maya, serving something other than Krishna. So you can analyze everyone in this world, everyone is serving someone else or at least he is trying to serve his own senses. So this service nature is the eternal characteristic of the living entity. This nature of being a servant can not be separated from the living entity. And Krishna is the master and that nature of being the master can not be separated from Krishna. So Krishna is eternally the master and we living entities are all eternally His servants. There is no question of why. It is our nature as living entities that we are servants of Krishna as it is the nature of water to be wet and sugar to be sweet…
As far as what happens after surrender, etc, you can not expect to be able to understand everything like this in five minutes and a few paragraphs written by me like this. Krishna consciousness is a science. You have to learn it under the direction of a pure devotee of Krishna. It is not that one can become a medical doctor or an engineer so simply. One has to attend the college and hear the lectures of the professors and pass the theoretical examinations and he has to also be able to use this theoretical knowledge in practice and actually cure patients or win court cases for his clients. So as becoming a lawyer or doctor is a process so becoming a devotee of Krishna is a process and if you want to understand what a devotee of Krishna is actually you have to follow the process and experience it for yourself. As I often say the preliminary things anyone who wants to make advancement in spiritual life has to do are to follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day and to read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day. Without at least surrendering to these basic things there is no hope of anyone understand anything about Krishna consciousness.
Krishna consciousness is not so cheap that you can understand it without following the process. If you want to understand what a devotee of Krishna is then you have to become a devotee of Krishna. There is no other way to understand…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Surrender to Krihna .is the main theme in Bhagavad Gita,If one surrenders to Krishna he will take care to do ones duty and to execute it.Unlike Arjuna who gets direct conversation with Krishna he will depute some spiritual master to instruct us.. Doing ones duties come later Thank you very much.
Regards
Hare Krishna K.V.Rangaswamy
Hare krishna Madhudvisa ji,
thanku for such a beautiful blessing ….sometimes i found very much difficulty in deciding what to do and what not to do…what is exactly right ………….but i fail to take decision ….so to avoid these problem you suggested to read bhagwat gita………..but will there be exact solution for the problems we have …….plz tell me …….
HARE KRISHNA
Yes. The exact solution to every problem you have is in Srila Prabhupada’s books. He has already answered all our questions. You just have to sincerely read Srila Prabhupada’s books and you will find all the answers to all of your questions.
HARE KRISHNA PRABHUJI
CAN I COOK BHOG FOR KRISHNA IN THE SAME KITCHEN WHERE MY HUSBAND COOKS NONVEG
YOUR SERVANT
SUBHALAXMI
Hare Krishna Subhalaxmi
It is not a very ideal situation. But in the material world we sometimes have to make such arrangements. If there is no alternative then you can do this. But you can try and keep the cooking pots and things for Krishna completely separate from anything your husband is using to cook the meat in.
It is better not to try to offer directly to Krishna, but you can offer to Srila Prabhupada and pray to him and apologize for the imperfections in the offering and pray to him to please accept it anyhow.
Actually we can not directly offer anything to Krishna. Krishna sends His bona fide representative the spiritual master to the material world to accept offerings on His behalf. So we offer to Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada offers it to Krishna through the disciplic succession. That is our process.
So in summary it is not a very good arrangement but in the material world we often find ourselves in such awkward positions and we just have to adjust best we can according to time and circumstances. But you have to keep everything separate. Separate cooking pots, separate cooking implements, separate offering plates, etc.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
I follow sanatan dharma and for many many year’s our gurus has done Vishnu pooja, shiv pooja and Hanuman pooja… should we leave all this pooja and fasting and concentrate on Krishna only.
Yes. Just worship Lord Caitanya and His associates and Radha-Krishna and Srila Prabhupada and read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Forget the Hindu hodge-podge. It is not that we disrespect the demigods, but they are not the Supreme Lord. This is the real problem with “Hinduism”. They do not know actually who is God and they do not know who they should worship as the Supreme Lord. It is a mess. Read Prabhupada’s books and chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Yes. Of course it is offensive to keep a picture of Lord Shiva above Lord Visnu. Lord Visnu is above Lord Shiva…
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa,
Thank you for the news letter. I am chanting 16 rounds Hare KRISHNA
MANTRA everyday and happy. I am also visiting vaishnavites temples regularly.
Regards,
Hare Krishna K.V.Rangaswamy.
hare krishna prabhu thank u for ur letter but as a student what is my duty.
Everyone’s duty is to surrender to Krishna and serve Him.
We are all nitya-krishna-dasa, eternally servants of Krishna. But we have forgotten that we are servants of Krishna and are now servants of maya. So your duty is to give up the service of maya and surrender to Krishna and serve Him. That is your duty. It doesn’t matter what you are from the material point of view. You may be a painter, a farmer, a student, a doctor, a lawyer, a computer programmer — these are all simply external material designations. They have nothing to do with your duty. Everyone’s duty is to serve Krishna.
So your duty is to make sure that you are chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, make sure you are strictly following the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication and that you are reading Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day. So you have to fit this into your life somehow otherwise you will not become a devotee of Krishna and your life will be wasted. Around this, which is your primary duty, you have to make some arrangements for your bodily maintenance, which means you need to work to get some money so you can support yourself and your family, so you need some education, etc…
But these are all external things, that is not your duty. Your duty is to serve Krishna, so you have to do that and at the same time, as a secondary thing, make whatever arrangements you have to for maintaining your body and supporting your family, etc.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I’VE BEEN ATTENDING A DEVOTIONAL SERVICE FOR 2 MONTHS AND I WAS WONDERING..HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BE ACCEPTED AND INITIATED BY A GURu ? WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
Thanks for your response.
Hare Krishna Tom
There are plenty of bogus gurus who will initiate you right away and happily take away your money…
These days you can practically guarantee anyone who is presenting themselves as a guru or spiritual master is bogus and has some ulterior motive. It is very hard to find any guru these days who is a pure devotee of Krishna. Even if you ask them if they are pure devotees of Krishna generally they will say no and will argue that to be a guru one does not need to be a pure devotee of Krishna.
That is something like if you want to become a carpenter and some guy who is not a carpenter himself comes up to you and offers to teach you how to become a carpenter… Of course you can give him your money and take courses from him. But he is not a carpenter himself so he has no ability to impart to you knowledge of carpentry which he does not himself posses. So he is cheating you, taking your money and not able to give you what you are paying him for.
The reason we come to Krishna conscious is that we want to become Krishna conscious. We have got some realization that this material world is a place of suffering and we may have some slight realization of the pain and suffering that is involved in taking birth, getting old, getting sick and dying over and over and over again practically endlessly. So the reason we are looking for a guru is we want a guide who can show us the way out of this cycle of birth and death and guide us back home, back to Godhead. But only a pure devotee of Krishna, someone who has himself reestablished his eternal relationship with Krsihna, is capable of guiding us in such a way that we can reestablish our eternal relationship with Krishna.
So only a pure devotee of Krishna is capable of helping you on your path back home, back to Godhead.
Your guru is already with you but you can not see him. His name is His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and he is living in his books and if you do not have them you can get them from http://www.KrishnaStore.com. So get Prabhupada’s books and read them and realize it for yourself that Prabhupada is living in his books and he is a pure devotee of Krishna and he is completely qualified to guide you back home back to Godhead.
So Prabhupada is your guru, do not be diverted by any of the many rascals who on one hand admit that they are not pure devotees of Krishna and on the other hand want to be your guru and then want you to give them all your money, but who have no actual potency to even take themselves back home back to Godhead, what to speak of bringing a huge bunch of disciples along with them… They are cheaters. Big cheaters. And accepting a bogus guru is the most destructive thing you can ever do for your spiritual life.
Accepting a guru is not a cheap thing. It means you have to accept him as being non-different from Krishna and you have to completely surrender to him. You have to be prepared to do anything he orders you to do. But if he is not qualified then you are in such a disastrous position. If he is not really non-different from Krishna, if he is just a normal conditioned soul like you who wants to be a guru because he likes the idea of the fame and followers and money he can make in the ‘guru business’ then he has no access to spiritual knowledge and he can not impart to you any spiritual knowledge either.
And as I said, these days, practically everyone who is presenting themselves as a guru, even in ISKCON, is in this category. And practically all of them will quite openly admit that they are not pure devotees of Krishna.
So please do not be cheated by these rascals.
Get Prabhupada’s books, read them, chant the Hare Krishna mantra on beads every day at least 16 rounds, strictly follow the four regulative principles (no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication) and read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day. You will then have Srila Prabhupada as your guru and you will be in very safe hands.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I think the main theme of Bhagavadgita Krishna tells Arjuna to do his duty without expecting any returns. One must surrender to Krishna and leave the results at the feet of Lord. Policeman cannot act indiffently with the accused either brother,sister,mother father or friends He has to do his duty. In the same way Arjuna should not think the opposite side as his relatives or friends. He has to do his dutyleaving the result to the Almighty.
Please accept my dandavats ,all glories to srila prabhupada,and you are serving srila prabhupada very nicely and humbly answering their questio.
keep the nectar flowing as it is like the gangis ever fresh and refreshing.
thank you again.
your servant
chandra vidya dasa.
Hare krishna Prabhu G,
I joined KC Last month with 2 Round Now completing 16 Round following 4 Regulative Rules . I have two query that I am completing my 16 round but not in one sitting (8 in the morning and 8 in the evening ) is this fine or need to complete in One sitting , whether the time of chanting round should be fixed or can vary.
and Secondly As you mentioned Above that , if any person is not following any spiritual master
he can go for Srila PrabhuPada Books , is this be okay or is it necessary to have a Perfect spiritual master. if that so then How and where one person can find Spiritual master.
I only cook in the morning and offer it to Krishna then I took my lunch .but in the evening my sister cook and uses onion while cooking so I can not offer it to Krishna , kindly suggest me what should I do in that situation? Can I offer Partial of Food ( like in case of Sabji only sweet dish).
I have many other queries also but first please oblige me to guide me in these question of mine.
Hare Krishna Prabhu
It is very good news you have taken seriously to Krishna consciousness and are now following the four regulative principles and chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. It is OK that you are chanting 8 rounds in the morning and 8 in the evening. You do not have to chant them all at one time. There is no rule that the time has to be fixed, the rule is that you have to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on your beads every day. That’s all. Of course it is better to have a regulated lifestyle so it is helpful to organize your life so you are getting out of bed at a regular time and have a regular daily routine. That is even good for things like health and it is also good for spiritual life. But as long as you chant at least 16 rounds a day it really does not matter when you chant them. Of course the early morning time is very auspicious for spiritual activities so it is nice to be chanting Hare Krishna then. But you can chant Hare Krishna at any time of the day or night.
Prabhupada and his books are identical. So when you are reading Prabhupada’s books you are personally associating with Srila Prabhupada and the more you read Prabhupada’s books the more you will feel a real personal relationship with Srila Prabhupada. If you surrender to the instructions Srila Prabhupada gives you while you read his books then Prabhupada is your spiritual master and he will guide you perfectly and answer all your questions. He is the perfect spiritual master and you already have him. You just have to surrender and read his books more and more and you will very rapidly make spiritual advancement under the able guidance of Srila Prabhupada.
The greatest danger to your spiritual life is to be distracted from Srila Prabhupada by some other so-called guru who is not a pure devotee of Krishna. Only a pure devotee of Krishna is capable of guiding you back home back to Godhead and you must remember this very important point. And a pure devotee of Krishna is a very rare thing. So please know that your spiritual master is Srila Prabhupada and the reason you have made as much spiritual advancement as you have in a short time is simply the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. Stick to the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and your success in Krishna consciousness is guaranteed.
You can not offer anything to Krishna that is not cooked by a devotee of Krishna, that is an offense and it will not be accepted by Krishna. So the best thing is you should talk to your sister about Krishna. Krishna consciousness is the traditional Indian culture and it is within the hearts of everyone but specially in the hearts of the Indians. So your sister is also a devotee of Krishna but she has forgotten. You just have to help her remember. And then she will cook for Krishna also and you can offer what she cooks. If she is cooking for Krishna she will not use garlic or onions. There are spices like hing (assofitta) which you can offer to Krishna, it is not onions or garlic but has a very nice taste. And when you offer something to Krishna and Krishna accepts the offering there is a special flavor that is much much nicer than onions and garlic….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna,
Everything is explained; we must do our duty as well as devotion to the supreme Lord, then we will get salvation. But what if:
1. one is doing only Devotion to Krishna without doing his duty?
2. one is doing only his duty without doing Devotion to Krishna
My aim & objective is to feel the presence of Lord Krishna. please give me MargDharshan
Our duty is to serve Krishna. So if we are not serving Krishna we are not doing our duty.
Here Krishna Madhudivisa,
Accept my heartily “pranama”. I am reading all your mails & thanks for all this. From past two month I am reading Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s book ” The Science Of Self Realizations”. There is a story I want to share with you that how I got this book ? One day I had a urgency of money & that was the last week of the month.I asked my roommate also for the same. I didn’t understand what to do. “Oh God, you are the path finder”. Next day I got a idea. I had some unwanted copper cable. I went to sale it on a scrap shop but on that day the main shopkeeper was not there. Assistant shopkeeper told “it will be sold in a good price in our shop, wait for next day”. Again I thought “ho God, why you are playing with me? I don’t understand what you want”. I came next day to that same shop. I sold it with a good price but the thing is I saw some books he got as scrap. I like to read books. So I took a book (The Science Of Self Realizations) & he didn’t asked for money. I didn’t knew it was Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s book. When I read it I understand that why God did with me like that. Now I am understanding the way of my life.
Honorable sir, now I want to know you that in the page 258 of the book “The Science Of Self Realization” chapter VI(Finding Spiritual Solution To Material Problem) is written a conversation.Where Karandhara dasa told about the scientist believing life on Mars.
They sent rovers to Mars. Recently also they sent a rover “Curiosity”. But they don’t know that why there is a sign of life in planet Mars. The secret is there in “Siva Purana” as the THE BIRTH OF ‘BHAUM’ . The story is as below.
Once, when the ganas of Shiva praised the glory of mother Sati, lord Shiva became overjoyed just like an ordinary human being. In his joy, he travelled all around the three world without any clothes on his body. He returned back to Kailash and went into meditation.
While he was engrossed in his Samadhi, three drops of perspiration originated from his forehead fell down on the earth. From those drops manifested a very beautiful infant, who was of reddish complexion and who had four arms.
Seeing the child lord Shiva became concerned about his upbringing. Right then, mother earth manifested and lord Shiva entrusted the job of child’s upbringing. The child was brought up by mother earth with great love and care. The child was named ‘Bhaum’ as he was nurtured and brought up by ‘Bhumi’ (earth).
When the child grew up, he went to Kashi and did a tremendous penance to please lord Shiva Lord Shiva became pleased with him and blessed him by granting him ‘Mangalloka’, which was superior even to the ‘Shukraloka’. The same ‘Bhauma’ is established in the solar system by the name of ‘Mars.’
In my point of view BHAUMA is the son of BHUMI so as a creature of the Earth the demigod BHAUMA also need oxygen, water, foods etc. When he got MANGALLOKA as per bless of lord SIVA, God was created the atmosphere like the Earth in the Mars.Another thing is BHAUMA also Reddish like the Mars But the foll scientist think that they only discovered such thing. I always compare the science with VEDA, PURANA & holly books & found the ancient people are more intelligent then now. Lots of proof also I have.
Respected sir , all these above things are a very very little knowledge that I know. My knowledge will develop in spiritual life with the bless of Lord Krishna.
Here Krishna Hera Krishna
Krishna Krishna Here Here
Here Rama Here Rama
Rama Rama Here Here
– हरे कृष्ण
How to recognize a genuine spiritual master?
Study Prabhupada’s books. He gives the definition of what is a genuine spiritual master. It is not a simple thing one can explain in one paragraph. It requires realization. Really a neophyte devotee can not tell if someone is a devotee or a demon, one has to be at least on the madhyam platform to understand this. So actually to understand who is a bona fide spiritual master you have to become a devotee first and advance to the platform of madhyam-adhikari at least… And to do that you need a bona fide spiritual master. So accept Prabhupada as your spiritual master and read his books and follow his instructions and you will make spiritual advancement and gradually you will be able to tell who is a devotee and who is a demon… Really there is no way you can tell unless you become an advanced devotee…
Lord Krishna also instructs Arjuna to “Be without the three gunas” in order to transcend his indecisive Relative mind and arrive at the Absolute, unbounded, infinite source of his Being. In doing so, he will see that all sentient Beings are immortal and eternal. If he does not ‘fight’ he will incur ‘great sin’ because it is his dharma as a kshatriya.
“Lord Krishna said to Arjuna: Wake up from the slumber of ignorance. This body and the world are indwelt by the Imperishable Atman (Self), Brahman, or the Soul. None can cause the destruction of That, the Imperishable. This Atman is not born nor does It ever die. It is unborn, eternal, changeless, ancient and inexhaustible. It is not killed when the body is killed. It slays not, nor is It slain. Just as a man casts off worn out clothes and puts on new ones, so also the embodied Self casts off worn out bodies and enters others which are new. Weapons cut It not, fire burns It not, water wets It not, wind dries It not. This Self is unmanifested, unthinkable and unchangeable.”
— Bhagavad Gita
hare krsna madhudvisa dasa ji!
guru ji!now after reading this article i really felt very happy n this time i want to ask you a question that,
“how can i know what is my life’s ultimate duty to please krsna,with out having any perfect spiritual master!!!!???”
i think this question of mine n the answer from you will surely help me n such krsna followers!
please answer me guru ji!
waiting for your answer guru ji!
You have to be guided by a pure devotee spiritual master otherwise you can not know. You have to have a perfect spiritual master otherwise how can you ever hope to be perfect. But you have not realized that Prabhupada is living in his books and he is perfect spiritual master just waiting to guide you. So read Prabhupada’s books and follow the instructions Prabhupada gives you while you read his books then you have a perfect spiritual master and if you actually surrender to him and follow his every instruction then your life will become perfect.
Hare Krsna,
I started worshiping lord Krsna since 2006 with chanting of 1 round but was not a full vegeterian. Since last year I became a full vegeterian and do mangla arathi and complete my 16 rounds of chanting before sun rise & following the 4 principals.
Lately I invited a friend of mine (devotee) for my house kirtan program. But he refuse to come / eat our prasadm saying that since I’m not a iniciated devotee so as he dare not touch our prasadm. You know Prabu how deep pain it was when he say that word to me.
Now i just need to know how do you categorise a devotee & a non devotee. At times when you see the way these people act hypocritically as if they came jumping into this planet direct from bhrama logga.
I need an explanation of whether am I entitle to serve prasadm to devotees???
Hare Krishna Raju
Kali-yuga is a strange time. Some of the greatest monkeys are wearing dhotis and kurtas and tilak and claiming to be devotees… So do not care about them. You invited them and they refused so do not mind. Really these temple devotees, generally speaking, have become very contaminated and puffed-up with their position and so-called ‘advancement’. So I would personally not bother inviting them. Rather just invite your friends and work associates and the people you meet to your home for kirtan and prasadam and they will come and chant Hare Krishna with you very enthusiastically and very much enjoy the Krishna prasadam and be very eager to hear from you some transcendental knowledge from the Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam. So in this way you can help them become Krishna conscious and they will be very happy with you for it and Srila Prabhupada will be very happy with you and Krishna will be very happy with you. That is the main thing, pleasing Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. Do not worry so much what some puffed-up ‘devotees’ may say…
Actually your friend does not understand what initiation is. Initiation means surrender to and accepting the orders of your Spiritual Master. You have surrendered to Srila Prabhupada to the point of at least chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and following the four regulative principles and you are surely reading his books and trying to follow the instructions you find in the books. So you have been initiated by Srila Prabhupada. Initiation means ‘the beginning’, it does not mean necessarily that you are very advanced. It means you have started. So you have obviously begun the process of Krishna consciousness. Because last year you were not a strict vegetarian and chanting only 1 round and now you are following the four regulative principles and chanting 16 rounds so that means you have made some nice advancement in the past year. So without being initiated [starting] the process of Krishna consciousness, how is is possible that you can be advancing in Krishna consciousness?
So don’t worry, you are initiated by Srila Prabhupada and please make an even more determined effort to read all of his books and put the instructions you find there into practice in your life.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
How do you surrender to krishna?
Read the Bhagavad-gita and find out how Arjuna did it and do the same thing yourself.
Thank you for your reply. Everything will happen according to Krishna’s wishes. Waiting to receive next newsletter from you.
To
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa
From
Hare Krishna K.V. Rangaswamy
Hare Krisha
some incidents for the past few days happened which made me so disturbed and unhappy and also confusing to choose the right action
This newslettr is by the grace of Bhagvan and His dearest associate
which is the best medicine my ever troubling mind needed at this crucial moment
and after reading this newsletter i can make out…that Bhagvan and His Shuddha Bhakta gave me the answer
through this newsletter which i was asking myself in my most troubling time.
Dandvat Pravuji
thank u so much for being Bhagvan and His parshad’s instrument
keep on sending such valuable newsletter…
we the troubling souls need nothing better than this…which can ultimately solve our problems in times of need
Jai Gurudev
Jai Srila Prabhupad
Jai Radha Nayanath
Dear Madhudvisa dasa
I am sorry to inform you that you have not resumed to send newsleters which I am
anxiously waiting to read. Will you please resume or what I have to do further.
Regards,
yours sincerely,
Hare Krishna K.V.Rangaswamy
Hare Krishna Prabhu
I think you are again subscribed but the problem is I am so very busy at the moment it is very difficult for me to find the time to write articles. So I have not been sending for the past week or so. I am just sending the “Peace Formula” now so you should get that within a day or two…
I will try to send more as soon as possible. Actually I am just writing what I read in Prabhupada’s books and you can also read Prabhupada’s books directly. Actually that is what I am trying to encourage people to do. I do not have any illusions that my speaking is very wonderful. But if somehow by my speaking I can encourage you to read Prabhupada’s books that will be very wonderful.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Dear Madhudivasa
I have sent my E-Mail for restoration.
I have reactivated it Prabhu.
Dear Madhudvisa Dasa
By mistake I press3ed Unsubscribe.Please ignore and continue sending news letters.
Regards
Yours sincerely,
Hare Krishna K.V.Rangaswamy
Hare Krishna Prabhu
I do not know the email address that you were subscribed with because it is not the same as the one that you put on this comment so I can not resubscribe you unless you let me know the exact email address that we were sending the mails to before.
My heartfelt pranams to Madhudvisa Dasa
I am happy to read the newsletter. According to Krishna one must do his duties as prescribed to him without expecting results. Love Krishna and accept him as spiritual teacher. Krishna knows what is good for us.
Thanking you
Regards,
Yours sincerely,
Hare Krishna K.V.Rangaswamy.
Hare Krsna Prabhu,
Whilst I accept all the teachings in the Bhagavad-gita and the great instruction from Lord Krsna not all people do.
So my question is this, if we are to transform this sacred plant earth to one of harmony how then should we behave in situations where there are assertively aggressive people who declare their belief systems superior to all others and attempt to denounce all others rights to follow any sort of doctrine or belief or theology or philosophy which does not adhere to theirs; and to not follow their doctrine is seen to them as an act of aggression in itself, and one may be denounced, ridiculed and possibly imprisoned and tortured for following ones own sacred belief?
What does the Bhagavad-gita and Lord Krsna say on this point?
I look forward to your response
JahmDrahn
Hare Krishna
No, you can not transform this earth into a place of harmony. It is not meant to be a place of harmony. It is meant to be a place of suffering. It is like a prison house and we, the sinful living entities come here to suffer, and hopefully as a result of that suffering wake up and realize that we can not be happy in the material world without Krishna and surrender to Krishna and chant Hare Krishna and go back home back to Godhead to the spiritual world which is the place of harmony and peace and love you are looking for.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
if i am in a situation cant offer foods to krishna ,i can offer veg food in the restaurant tu vishnu in my mind or better offer to krishna in my mind he will accept?
Hare Krishna Jestha
No. You can not offer foods cooked by non-devotees to Krishna or Vishnu. They are not going to accept such an offering. You can thank them for the food and chant Hare Krishna or Sri Vishnu Sri Vishnu Sri Visnu, but you can not really expect Krishna to accept food which was not cooked for Him.
But it happens to all of us sometimes. We are in situations where we can not cook the food ourselves or can not get food cooked by other devotees, so we can chant Hare Krishna and thank Krishna for the food but we can not fool ourselves into thinking that we can offer such food to Krishna and then it is prasadam.
There will be some reaction to eating such foods cooked by non-devotees. So the real solution is to organize your life in such a way that you can yourself cook the food and offer it to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna or you can live with some other devotees and in that way either you can cook or they can cook and together you can all take Krishna prasadam…
But really you can not make restaurant food into prasadam by offering it to Krishna in your mind. It is offensive to offer Krishna food that is cooked by non-devotees. It is unofferable actually…
But it does happen and we do find ourselves in these positions and we do have to eat to maintain the body and if the body is engaged in the service of Krishna then we are eating to serve Krishna so although it is still not the best arrangement at least it is facilitating our service to Krishna.
But really the best thing is to adjust your life so you can cook the bhoga and offer it yourself of live with other devotees who can do this.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
i am very new to Krishna Conscious and friend of mine asked me a question that if we are not supposed to kill living things then we should not kill plants too! I need a proper answer for this. So that I can explain to my friend why we recommend vegetarianism in ISKON and how we could escape from only eating vegetarian food.
Shan
Hare Krishna Shan
It is a good question. You have to realize we are not vegetarians. As devotees we only eat Krishna prasadam and Krishna only accepts offerings from the three groups of food that are in the mode of goodness: grains, vegetables, fruits and milk products. Krishna likes these things, He eats these things, He accepts these offerings. He does not like meat and will not accept an offering of meat.
So this is the point. The point is to cook for Krishna and then offer the food to Krishna and please Krishna and then the devotees will accept the remnants of the foods that have been offered to Krishna with love.
There is no so much difference between a meat eater and a vegetarian actually. As your friend says vegetables also have life so there are also sinful reactions for vegetarians. Krishna says clearly in the Bhagavad-gita that anyone who eats food that is not first offered in sacrifice to Visnu eats only sin. He does not make any distinction between meat and vegetables. That is not the point. Even vegetarian food if it is not cooked by a devotee with love and offered to Krishna, it is only sin, and eating this will have a very bad effect on your consciousness.
So you have to get it clear. We are not vegetarians. We only accept prasadam–the remnants of the foods that have been offered to Krishna and Krishna only accepts foods in the modes of goodness. So that is the reason we don’t eat meat–it is because Krishna does not eat meat and we will only eat the remnants of Krishna’s food.
There is sin involved in vegetarian food but Krishna likes t so if you prepare it for Krishna’s pleasure and offer it to HIm then whatever sinful reactions are there is immediately purified by Krishna and because He has tasted it the food becomes prasadam and takes on a spiritual, purifying nature and as you accept the prasadam your consciousness becomes more and more purified and you become more and more Krishna conscious.
Hare krishna IT IS TRUE TO ACHIEVE ANY THINGS IN LIFE WE HAVE TO SURRENDER OURSELF IN BHAAGWAT SHARAN ..IN KALIYUGA NAME OF LORD KRISHNA IS THE BASE OF MUKTI..
Hare Krsna Madhudvisa Prabhu,
If you don’t mind,please give me some informations about how I can get the Srila Prabhupada’s dvds, because i live in Indonesia.I apologise that I speak english so worst.Thank you so much Prabhu.
jai Srila Prabhupada
Hare Krishna Prabhu
You can get the Srila Prabhupada DVDs from http://www.KrishnaStore.com
http://krishnastore.com/prabhupada-dvd-set-h-krishna-403.html
The price is very low and the shipping cost is very reasonable.
pamho madhudvisa prabhu agtACBSP thank you for the wonderful newsletter actually i realize by reading the daily SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA that i even do not know that i’m confuse so my situation is not better then ARJUNA in the battle field of KURUKSETRA as we know ARJUNA been put in that mood by SRI KRSNA because HE had to connect the broken param-para succession again through HIS pure devotee ARJUNA but i’m bewilder by maya that’s why i keep reading the BHAGAVAD GITA and chanting HARE KRSNA thank you for your association and blessing all glories to your service to HDG ACBSP dandavats daso smi seva das
Excellent insights. As rightly stated, the public focus is always on doing duty without attachment to fruits. Rarely does anyone speak of surrendering to Sri Ksrna. This will be of immense help to me in my understanding the Gitaji.
I thank you very much for your bless.
One thing I want to understand from your pure spirit that in this density of Kaliyug where whole system which is in practice was manipulated by Britishers theme in all sections where our (origin)sanskara born i.e. education, agriculture, industries, business, daily life style wherein I am not left to compel to be a best consumer in the hand of Europeon master minds who have completely spoiled our vadic education, agriculture, industries, aruvedic treatment (Charak-vagbhatt-Pantajali) theory even way of worshipping God. This is very tragic period for Bhartiya to sustain with her origin. Under this circumstance please teach me what shall be my duty.
Shiv Kant Pandit
The answers are still there in Bhagavad-gita from Krishna Prabhu. The real problems have not changed, and the solutions remain the same.
Thank you for your article.
Krishna says, “You should always think of Me, and at the same time you should continue your prescribed duty and fight. With your mind and activities always fixed on Me, and everything engaged in Me, you will attain to Me without any doubt.” (Bg. 8.7)
So both must be there; performing your duty with devotion to Krishna, always thinking of Him.