“I am not this Body.” Easy to say…
December 31, 2008 by Madhudvisa dasa
Filed under Uncategorized
The body is a machine, like a motor car is a machine. I am within this body as the driver is within the motor car.
Now the motor car has many needs. It needs gas, it needs oil, it needs to have it’s tires pumped up and so on. But if one forgets the driver in the car and simply concentrates on the machine and the needs of the machine the driver will not be satisfied.
He will be sitting in the car starving. Because the food of the driver is different from the food of the car. You can not feed the driver gas. His food is different.
So we are the driver of this body. This body has so many needs, but these bodily needs are different from our needs, we are the driver of the body, the soul within the body, “the ghost in the machine…”
So our idea is to satisfy the bodily needs only as much as necessary to maintain the body in a healthy condition and spend the rest of our time and energy in spiritual activities which help us to reawaken our original spiritual consciousness, these are our real needs, the needs of the soul.
It is not that we do not eat, or sleep, or have sex or defend, but these things are done in a regulated way to maintain the body in a healthy condition. But as the motor car is simply a vehicle which is meant to transport the driver to his destination, we see this material body as a vehicle which can be used to transport the driver–the soul–to his ultimate destination: back home, back to Godhead.
If we spend all our time trying to satisfy the senses of our body we will waste all our time and energy in this way and become completely distracted from the real purpose of life which is to get out of this material world and get back home to the spiritual world where we will get an eternally youthful spiritual body full of knowledge and full of pleasure… Then we will really be happy…
Please let me know what you think.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
Respected Gurudev I want to know
1) who guides the activities and events of human being ? when we observe the world some are working hard but difficult to join hand and mouth? some are lazy and overmaterialistic but have lauxirious life? How does this happen? Either kriyaman karma, Prarabdha or Sanchit karma guides us? Does the present event is based on prarabdha (fruits or punishment from past life)?
BASU DEV KAPHLE FROM NEPAL
It is happening because of karma. Because of our actions in this and previous lives we are destined to enjoy a certain amount and to suffer a certain amount. If we have performed a lot of pious good activities in the past, in this life and in previous lives, then we will experience good things. On the other hand if we have performed many sinful activities we will suffer the bad reactions from these.
So that is why different people have different destinies. Karma. The reactions to our actions in the past will act on us at the appointed time and bring us auspicious or inauspicious results. That is fixed up and we can not change it except by chanting Hare Krishna.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
What is the need to have sex? I completely hate sex.
What does the book Easy journey to other planets contain?
you can read it at:
http://easyjourneytootherplanets.com/
Hare Krishna
By reading your article I felt en caged in body and tried to experience organs as parts of motor car .
If I am spirit the driver then why its hard to keep this knowledge when eyes are open in this world ?
Thanks and regards –
Vivek H Bora
prabhu very nice topic..:):)
Hare Krishna
Thank you for your teachings. I learnt from you that Lord Krishna is the Supreme personality of Godhead and he is the supreme controller and he is
Purushottama. I am being enlightened and made conscious by your teachings.
I am a student who is eager for your teachings. How can i comment on my teachings. I want to learn and follow what iam being taught by you. I only have
gratitude and love for my Guru.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna,
A couple of questions related to this article: Lets say we are maintaining the body well, how do we advance spiritually? What does that mean exactly? And Don’t we all go back home to the spiritual world when our bodies die, our life on planet Earth ends? How do we strive to get a “youthful spiritual body full of knowledge and full of pleasure?” Is it really possible in this life? And how exactly is it possible?
Thanks.
What is spiritulity? Is it bhakti(devotion),knowledge (gyan),or karma(work,service without expectation) or is it combination of all? Is it possible/practical to practice all the three at the same time? I am not an enlighten person,my intinct says karma is appropriate for me because karma is dharma,if nar(man) is narayan(god)why not to serve mankind.To serve intellectually or physically we need to use our body.To keep our body fit we need keep to have peace of mind apart from physical fitness.I pray for this.
Am i confused? Is my conception vague? Please comment.
Ratan
“Spirituality” the name is derived form the root, “spirit” -to do with it.
so a spiritual person associates himself with the soul, and so this knowledge about the detachment of the body form the mind, is one of the things in jnana yoga.
There are four stages in a mans life.
kama, artha, jnana and sannyasa.
beyond these is the yogi.
<lust/desires,,duties,,wisdom,,renunciation)
so, first, a person after devotional practice, realizes
paratma, i.e god in every being and so serves the lotus feet
of krishna by service to mankind.
in his mind, service to both is same.
its called karma yoga.
i.e : do ur duties, and serve, leaving the rest to krishna.
jnana yoga, is the knowledge about yoga.
bhakti yoga, is fundamental, without which everything is lame.
unconditional true love of godhead is bakti. here he strives to realize the ‘bhagvan’ aspect, i.e complete and beyond the effulgence.
a true yogi, is an amalgam of bakti, karma,jnana and raja.
he is always in love with krishna.(bakti)
he serves krishna(karma)
he strives to know krishna(jnana)
he is calm and silent(raja)
Hare Krishna,
Great Reply… got the whole idea
Hare Krsna!
Its very interesting to know others’ views on the article and aides greatly in my understanding! I’m just curious about karma… It is true that we dont remember our past actions for which we are currently suffering the consequences… How does one nullify ill-effects of past actions? And if we were able to find Krsna and surrender to Him in this life, past actions cant have been that bad, right? Then, why so much suffering?
Thank you so much. It is good for me to be in constant contact with devotees; I sometimes fall on the way, feeling that I see so much ugliness and feel so much emotion that I forget that God is there. I then see everything as beautiful, as coming from God.
thank you very much to make me to understand better
so i want you to advise me more and more detail about lord krishna the personality of Godhead.
regard
mr pius ikukute
hare krishna.
hare krishna…..
hare krsna prabhuji…
Yes ji we r not body this body is helpfull to go to our home(back to godhead) only not for our sense gratification.
let me know onething prabhuji,, in this material world people does nt accept our supreme krsna y prabhu? when they ll accept? Even they accept false baba like in india Puttaparthy saibaba….. and moreover even my roommate also devotee of him… while im praying supreme they and some people are observing me they think like im a fool and mad how prabhu when they ll change?
And prabhu let me know one thing prabhu ji how can i explain them regarding recarnation ? can u explain me prabhu…. and tell me what we have to do means how we have to pray (process) in this Damodara(Karthika) masam,this month was very like to Krishna?
Kindly request prabhu
thank u prabhu
Hare krishna
yours servent
Nagender
Thanks
Experienced bliss while reading ur article.
The DRIVER is really worth knowing
Attachments r so much &realisation has been achieved very late,but still happy because of my infant krishna.
Hope i reach LORD KRISHNA, one fine day.
HARE KRISHNA
Hare Krishna Pr!
Thank you for teaching me.
I want to know that how I can realize in real life that body is different than me. I feel that both are mixed.
Thank you
Hare Krishna
The soul is present within our current body. But our body is changing. We can remember that we had a child’s body but that child’s body is now gone. Then we were thinking we were a child. Now we are in a man’s body and thinking we are a man. But we are the Sam person who was in the child’s body and we are the same person who will be in an old man’s body. So even in this life we can experience practically that we are not the body. Death is just another change of body.
I have ample time please send me four to five articles daily if possible. I want to know more of our Beloved Lord Krishna. Thanks.
Harekrishna, bol hari bol
Above the desire is the senses above the senses is the mind above the mind is the intelligent and above the intelligent is the soul.
All the jiwa atma is marginal energy of god although it’s said that the atma is tiny drop of the ocean same in quality & not in quantity.There of course the the atma has difficulty because we are only anu and only Sri Krishna is vibhu.
harekrishna
Krishna is all attractive & pervading thus although the atman has the same quality,but only krishna is the belonging of everthing and in relation,but yet the atman are illusion by God’s external energy,thus this atma act to lord over the material and for sense gratification. Therefore only rarely soul become mahaatma because of their pure realization. But yet Krishna mercy is upon everybody and not envy even that atma took many births & field of nature,and yet only krishna shall award His mercy to any soul that He like to be in His abode, thus the soul management is His right’s and no body shall question it…. And the driver of the body is get to wicked when they think this body as them self,yes when they identify them self,thus one should realize that he is only atma,then it’s shows about personatily not impersonality, thus God is a person not impersonal,when we realize it,we will simply turn our mind/action towards HIm gradualy although there is slipage.So the mind is the charioter of this body,because Sri Krishna is very well-wisher & fostering father,He will full fill the atma’s need in terms of Karma/Akarma/vikarma as regard to a person’s mind needs at that time,and also we cannot blame this material live also as we all are encaged,but still we do need to thank HIm and keep on our duty in GOD services in what ever religion we are, untill we achive the award $ perfection in many birth and finally reach the God ‘s abode.That’s why soul management is GOD’s right and no body shall question it.Sri Krsihna shall award anybody he wanted either materialy comfortness or spirtually progress or both or none of it’s as regard to our Karma/Vikarma/akarma. And Sri krishna love all the atma very-very much & uncomparable to any person.Then we do need to pray evertime to achive all the Goodness and trancend the three modes of material nature & also the threefold of miseries.So the question is,there are unlimited number of atma and when this atma shall achive vasudeva ? but in eternal all atma bear a witnesess there is no God to be pray except the Onenesess,the omnipresent,the all pervading,the absolute truth,the all attractive…We all are forgotten of this realization that’s why we cannot become a ” good driver “and we should Know that only God is antimaterial character whom was the causes of all the causes,thus from now onwards we shall become a “good driver” if we realise so,untill we all achive HIS causeless mercy
What is the difference between Bhakti and Sanatana-Dharma?
Bhakti is sanatana dharma. Sanatana dharma means our eternal occupation. And our eternal occupation is to serve Krishna, and that is Bkakti yoga.
The body is the temple/vehicle where the spirit use it for its work.
Your lecture got it all. No need of further description on the body.
Hare’ Krsna! All glories to our guru deva Srila Prabhupada!
After chanting, reading, hearing and associating at temples and groups since the 70′s I decided to subscribe to your BG study because I really know so little. I thought I would start from the beginning again. Thank you. Today as I ready about our true spiritual body in our true spiritual home, for the first time I “got it”. I actually was so excited about going Home. It seemed more real than ever.
I am not initiated into ISKCON. This is for a number of reasons. But now I know why. I belong to Srila Prabhupada. Whom may I contact so as to get initiated on his behalf? I understand that this is not necessary. The real initiation happens when one accepts SP through association with his books. But it is a step I wish to take. I am sincerely hoping you will help me in this regard.
With sincere gratitude, your servant, Hanuman (James Joseph)
Hare Krishna Prabhu
There is no system at the moment. Krishna knows everything, devotional service means we have to serve. So the main thing is to be actually engaged in serving Srila Prabhupada and therefore Krishna.
Then everything will happen automatically.
We have to be enthusiastic and patient at the same time.
Madhudvisa Dasa
In the material consciousness we tend to identify ourselves with car itself. Its like the Supreme Godhead has given us a house to live in and after sometime we start considering ourselves as the house itself rather then being its owner.
For the spiritual advancement constant vigil on this principal of Shri Bhagwat Gita is of foremost importance.
Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna!
Thank you for your wisdom! It makes much sense to not pay to much attention to the needs of the body. However, having said that, how do we eat well so as not to add any more bad karma to ourselves?
Hare Krishna Kimberly
It is a very good question. We do need to maintain the body, but for a devotee he does not cook for himself, he cooks for Krishna. Then he offers the food to Krishna and after Krishna has accepted the offering he takes the prasadam, or the remnents of the meal offered to Krishna. By Krishna’s eating of the food He transforms it into something completely spiritual and by eating that food that has been offered to Krishna there is no karma and as is spiritual it purifies us, removes all our material contamination.
So this is the secret. Cook for Krishna, offer to Krishna and only eat [devotees say 'respect' not eat] Krishna prasadam.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
It seems one must devote minute time to eat etc. and the bulk of the time etc is for spiritual endeavoursetc. Who will then advance the world and provide the wealth and means – consider how the world stands now. I envisage we are required to have a blank land and no progress. Why are all the gods so richly dressed who invented their fineries. Explain the words “godhead” and “truth”. I cant relate “truth” If these words have special definitions for spiritual purposes then please go into a relevant explanation. I see truth as oppose it lie! Thank you Jas.
Hi Jaso
Don’t worry. Most people will not seriously take to Krishna consciousness. Most are completely entangled in the material world and will not get out of it.
And anyhow there is no reason why a devotee can not be having a family and running a business and at the same time be a Krishna conscious person.
So even if everyone was Krishna consciousness the world would go on nicely. It would be a more simple life. Because devotees are not interested in unnecessary material things. But devotees would work and farm and run businesses to supply the necessary things to the society.
There will always be farmers and businessmen and they can be devotees and farmers or busnessmen at the same time.
There is no need for one to give up his position to become a devotee.
Krishna is richly dressed because He is God. Actually Krishna is not richly dressed when He is in Vrindavan. In Vrindavan He is a simple village boy with a flute and He is just looking after the cows and calves with His friends.
So Krishna is not so attached to this rich dress. But some of His devotees worship Him in this way. When Krishna went to Dwarka He was the King there so He was dressed very richly with gold and diamonds and jewels. These things are all belonging to Krishna, so they should be used for Krishna’s service.
In the temples the devotees try to offer the best, most opulent things to Krishna. Because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So He should be offerend the best things.
Godhead that is a long definition. And truth. The material world is a place of misery and we should chant Hare Krishna and get out of it and go back home back to Godhead… That is the truth…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank you so much for emailing me your Teachings. I always love to hear the Teachings about God and I always love the people Who teachs about the God.
Thank you so much for sending me newsletter and teaching of our great, all attractive God/Krsna. I look forward to every message you will send.
All glories to KRSNA,thank you for your wisdom
Hare Bol,
your wonderful email on body and soul.
We are trying to practice our mind into krsna consciousness thro satsung,chanting,kirtans,arthis,nagara sankirtans,parikarma and so on but as soon as we come to maya we are defeated our mind gradually going for sense ratification. I have joined Iskcon since dec 2006 onwards, but bhakti wise i am totally defeated by maya every step, i understand that my sadhana is not sincere to krsna , naturally i am defeated. However i am keep trying to concentrate more on krsna consciousness, i hope my guru maharaj will bless me to get more mercy to get krsna consciousness constantly.
Thank you for your wonderful newsletter, Kindly keep post me as soon as possible.
hare bol,
your most fallen devotee
sukumar
Firstly i am grateful for the article.
All i want to say is you have explained complicated terms in such easy means.
Even the most stubborn people can pass through this and attain some positive thinking as to how they need to mend their ways.
I appreciate this effort from bottom of my heart.
Please publish works like this again and again.
Thank you.
Hare krsna! I agree about the aricles on the topic
“I am not this body”. But I want to ask a question
that if I had to ask any spiritual question beyond
the topic you had sent by email,in which address
should I send?
Hare Krishna Prabhin
You can find some related article on Krishna.org and ask your question there and I will do my best to answer for you.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
aways chant hare krishna mahamantra and bee happy
Why is sanyasi taken for?
cant the work done through sanyasi be done through family life?
Hare Krishna Mudunuri
The whole Vedic system is to gradually free oneself from the entanglement of family life. Sannyasa is meant for detachment and dedicating one’s life to the service of Krishna. Actually a householder can do this also. And in this age there are so many bogus sannyasis that you are probably more likely to find real devotees amoung the householders than the sannyasis.
You know Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said repeatedly: kiba vipra kiba sudra nasi keni…. “Whether one is a vipra, a greatly learned man, a sudra, if he knows the science of Krishna he can become the spiritual master. So also a grhastha, a family man, if he knows the science of Krishna, he can be the guru, which is generally the job of the sannyasi.
So yes, Kali-yuga is a very difficult time and we are not seeing many qualified sannyasis in this age. So householders can preach and live in their family life in a detached way and perform the duties of a sannyasi. Of course they have to be qualified…
Madhudvisa dasa
i no the answer,
i wanted to no in different way.
thx a lot for spending your time in explaining me
!Hare krishna!
one more thing is i think
if a family follow’s krishna path,
then can influence the society better than
influencing the society through sanyasi.
“prabhupada says in bhagavt gita that if anyone says they can reach krishna through family is fool he can attaion only through sanyasi”
can you explain me this
Hare Krishna Madunuri
Srila Prabhuapda never says anything like this!
Of course devotees in a family can preach very nicely. Actually Srila Prabhupada established temples all over the world and in most cases the temples were run by Grhasthas, family men and their wives.
You have completely misquoted Srila Prabhuapda here. I suggest you please actually study Srila Prabhuadpa’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is and you will see he never says such a thing anywhere.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
i have read it,
what you said is correct,
its my understanding which was wrong.
when he says family i thought he is speaking spiritually,
he meant about the present family behavior.
I WILL CORRECT IT
i am sorry about it.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare
Namaste Madhudvisa Dasa,
I am an East Indian from Trinidad, I have been exposed to other religious beliefs my whole life, I currently teach at a Catholic school. I am Sanatana Dharma, but my whole life called myself a Hindu because it is the doctrine/dogma adopted by many. I came across a document which uncovered the true meaning of the words hindu/hinduism and it was mind blowing to me. Firstly to be baffled by people labeling themselves as hindu, which is the Persian/Arabic meaning for black, slave, dog, unwanted etc.And that Hunduisum is not a religion, but a word used to compile all the multiplicities of worship/duty that is an Indian’s way of life.
I am a bit angry because the so called educated Sanatana Dharma is not doing enough to enlighten the masses of this horrific stigma that has in some way become accepted by most,and when you speak to your fellow Sanatana Dharma they are either ignorant or considers it faith or does not bother with such unnecessary headaches. I have only started to become more enlightened by Sanatana Dharma, and i know that it is only your soul that matters and your connection with Lord Krishna. Please continue to send me more info. so that I may become one with god.
Hare Krishna,
Thank you for your e-mails. May I put these on my facebook Prabhu?
Yes Prabhu, you are welcome to.
Namaste Madhudvisa dasa,
I want to know, when i hear or watch or read some bad news, that bad news sometimes comes in my dream. But i frequently chant and hear Hare krisna mantra and gita, these never comes in my dream.
It takes some time. We have been in the material world for so many lifetimes and also that bad news in the Kali-yuga is so much surrounding us. But as you stick to chanting Hare Krishna and serving Krishna Krishna will more and more take over your waking and your dreaming thoughts also. We have to be a little patient and understand we have to undo many lifetimes of conditioning in the material world. But if we continue with Krishna consciousness we will get to the point where we will be always thinking of Krishna, in both our waking and sleeping times.
Greetings Lord Krishna! Thank you for you divine presence. A devotee am I, a seeker of truth, and an honour to surrender the personality of the mind of sense organs and pleasure do not exsit in purity. Purity alone does not affect the body, or the soul. The mind is takes refuge in surrending all actions, thoughts and deeds to you Holy divine father Lord Krishna. Ignorance to be born in human is englightment to lead and know the way of our Lord. I ask forgiveness for the past and all emotional attachments to the many lives I have lived and compassion for my wrong deeds have been blessed by the knowledge that being human is the only way to seek the lord. Knowing that we are made of a personality and a body, how else would the lord do his divine work to teach self realization of the true nature of the self. Indeed we are not two selfs as the lord resides within it his nature that what ever we do, it his will therefore what a man seeks he or she will become. Thought alone creates many misery and healing begins within. Once the arrow of purity is pierced the heart opens to the blessings of the unexpected. Our lord does not judge the children who he himself has created but whom is not form. He is the knower of everything we do and everything we need, therefore what we need is never what is expected by the process of wanting and thinking. Knowledge that is pure can only be that. Offering everything that is created by the mind affects the body too, so all that is offered in a blinker of an eye, becomes pure. Surrender does not leave a person passive but the work is constant. Our lord knows who we are and what we are, forgiving, and forgiveness are the highest spiritual qualites of our Lord, and knowing his children are born to experience the makings of thier mind, through beliefs, and values, we are perfect in his eyes. No one can escape the mind, and it’s endless emotions. Whatever we do, we take responsibility for our actions and what we feel is equal to our actions. Be it good or bad, we can not run away from what we ourself create. Our lord knows this thus how we can learn to become spiritual without first learning how to be human? learning to be human is the first path to knowing the lord and his divine presence within. Indeed knowing this, I am not this body. Blessings.
I have an aunt who is suffering from cancer . She is in deep pain. All her life she has served God and others selflessly. Now she is suffering and we know that she will not live long. Agreed that it’s her karma – easy to say that. But, why can’t Krishna ( to whom she has prayed so much all her life) just ease her suffering? If God cannot help now, what’s the point?
Any comments/ suggestions/answers would be appreciated.
Hare Krishna Prakrish
This is the true nature of the material world Prabhu. It is a place of suffering and we have to know that. If we want to be comfortable we can not expect that in the material world.
Krishna says in the Gita that this material world is dukalayam asasvatam, a temporary place full of miseries and suffering. He calles it “martyaloka,” the planet of death, because everyone is dying here. So we need to take these things seriously and not have unrealistic exceptions of happiness and comfort in the material world.
The best thing you can do for your aunt at this time is to help her remember Krishna at this time. You can spend time with her and read from Srila Prabhuapda’s “Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead” and I am very sure she will very much appreciate this.
At this time you can see the body is finished but her soul will go on and if you help her to remember Krishna at that time of death that will be very good for her and very good for you.
This death and suffering will come for all of us. We have to expect it. That is the real test, if we can remember Krsihna at the time of death.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I consider myself to be very close to Krishna for a long time now. I regularly listen to BagavathGita and Bagavatham discourses. Regularly speak pray and totally connect to Krishna. I am currently struck with deep sorrow and finding it very hard to fight it. I know Krishna says we should pracitce taking happiness and sadness in the same level, its practically so hard to put into use. But I am chanting Maha Mantra, Vishnu Sahasranamam several times a day for HIM to give me strength. Any comments will be highly appreciated and will be considered as coming from the mouths of Krishna himself.
Hare krishna,
I didn’t get hare krishna news letter since last two weeks.
THE WORDINGS OF SHASTRAS ALWAYS ENTICED ME LOT.I ACCEPT THE PRESENCE OF LORD KRISHNA EVERYWHERE.
I MEDITATE DAILY AND I BELIEVE ON LORD KRISHNA.
ACTUALLY SOUL IS WITHIN BODY BUT TOUGH TO REALIZE.
AND SPECIALLY I WANT TO IMPLEMENT THE RULES OF SHASTRAS REGARDING AWAKENING OF SOUL.
I BELIEVE ONLY ONE THING THAT I WILL NEVER BORN AGAIN.
DOING LOT..
AND ALSO I WANT TO JOIN THE COMPANIES OF KRISHNA’S BHAKTS.
LATER CARRY ON….
harekrishna,
Nitai Gaura Premananda hari hari bol
Yes , i do agree also, Matha Pitha Guroh Deivam(Purusha)
The parent’s it self is a real sannyasa for their Kids as regard to vedic culture.
from there only that kids identify Guroh & then Deivam when they progress
or growth up.
But nowdays which parents is real in sannyasa practise (always renounce), self steadiness, self realised, controlled sense(only work for Krisna),unity,calm,pity,detachment & etc.But we can see Grhasthas or Vanaspratha or Sannyasa (the least).That’s why we should always thanks to krishna, because of His causeless mercy + our past deeds we shall devote our self to Him. Now the real sankirtana & sutsang shall goes on as Sri Prabhupada aleady strenghtened to make succeed the future vedic culture practice whereby to devote the entities to attain Supreme Personality of God Head. If we all can fight againts the maya illusion & understand what is our constitutional post for sure we all shall gradually attain Govinda !!. It’s only because of Maya illusion, only the devotion is a medecine for everybody even the lowliest of low. Sri Acychuta Astakam Strotam.
Harekrishna..
and very simple if I said my father is a doctor should i said i ‘m the Doctor also, no way
“The tiny drops of ocean has same quality as the vast ocean ” we are make that truth by our false ego & demoniac character.
unless i took 5 year MBBS then after many2 years of experience then only can be said, ahh ! here is good a doctor as his father also.
That’s a material example : )
But in spiritual example can i said i’m also great devotee or mahatma.or same quality as Krishna,no way !!(By living in this world many human are falsifying the statement
What i can said is we are contaminated soul, not an unalloyed person, from the point of view of the Great scholars or Mahatma.
Great devotee or mahatma means that person has Godly nature which against the demoniac nature, that’s why, this is about learning process how to get a ” Degree in Krishna Conciousness or Master as well, but here in this materal world we are very busy to get a material pleasure of Dip. Degree or Master to ensure a better future job/salary, but which not realy used for Devotion purposes but more or merely for sensual pleasures only ,that’s a fact. I’m also scared to answer that, worried others might miss understood or angry with me.” The Gigantic Industrial Enterprises is A Godless Civilization”.Material or Spiritual both is Sri Krishna energy nothing is separated, so the conditioned soul should use for devotion purpose not for sense gratification by killing the nature.The more we are devoted the more we are elevated & vise versa.And Sri Krishna is All pervading, fostering Bhagwan, thus He just full fill what ever the entities desired in full free will manner, but the reaction need to be bear by that entities, this is a fact which cause a repeated cycle of Birth & Death.But we do not Know how the material nature is works & keep punishing. The real material example is a State Goverment Law which punishing the citizen whom act in unlawful manner, yet all citizen also can be said” conditioned citizen” so shall that citizen act so freely !, no way at all, then what to talk about God’s law whom conquer the whole universe, that’s why the renounce & devotion so strongly recommended to overcome the Maya illusion, i shall make pardon if anything wrongly or senstively said, Harekrishna, & my Humble obeisances
give some pastimes of caitanya mahaprabhu
HK Prabhu!
your podcast link didnt work for me… ???
Kind Regards
RadhaKanta das
Very nicely presented for easy understanding.Gives the perspctive of life in a way that common people without much scriptural knowledge or encounter with own spirituality can understand.Good communinication skill without diluting the content.
Wonderfully said! If we took this approach more often of our bodies, the self-hatred that is so prevalent in today’s society would disappear. If one considers the body as one’s self, then every rude thing that is said about the body, every illness, and every failure to meet society’s standard would be thought of as a personal attack on one’s character. We have forgotten the driver in today’s society.
Lovely. This is exactly what most people completely miss in their lives. And on another note, the problem with a lot of religions. No I am not judging anyone, but most people, including myself, are told to praise God only to receive some material gifts such as; money, a wife/husband, new car, good health etc. We falsely chase these things, like Jesus says, we are shining the outside of a cup. We should shine the inside of the cup to drink purely. If we do that everything else material will follow. I wrote a lovely poem on this very subject a long time ago. It sounds almost exactly the same as this article. Here is a little part of my poem entitled “I am not the Machine.”
I operate the machine
I fuel the machine
But I am not the machine
The machine’s sight is
calibrated
But I calibrate the machine
The machine craves
premium fuel
But I am not the machine
The machine collects oil
and grime
But I keep myself clean
Because I am not the
machine
The machine craves things
of machine
I can be a machine, if I too
crave things machine
If I forget, that I am not the
machine
The machine feels like me
Because I operate the
machine
The machine is only an
extension of me
Because I am not the
machine
The machine is fuelled
from without
But I am fuelled from within
Hare krishna ! prabhuji, to all vaisnavas, Srila Prabhupada ki Jai.
Each of us of cause is a individual soul, as Lord krishna is a person also , we all are a person too, individualy.
Thus, the body is a covering shirt for the soul, whereby when the soul desired the body facilitate. For example we try to unwear one site of car tyre and drive it, it’s still can move but very abnormal.
Thus the person or driver in side the car/body whom desired cause it(body/car)to move/facilitate our journey/desires…….
Thus as we all whom born in the form of Human, we should engage our duty as regard to Krishna law or as regards to each persons religion understanding to attain higher conscious in spiritual life as well. Haribol ! Jay Srila Prabhupada A.C. Bhakti Vedandanta Swami.
Hari Bol !
Nitai Gaura Prema Nande Hari hari Bol !!
Actualy we are all(atma) is complete quality as our father Sri krishna except in quantity & we are all modified as regard to genders,race,color & etc in bodily life,even in spiritual lokha we are all male&female are the same degree only Krishna as Purusha & we are all as Prakriti, thus we all shall show the pure obeisances in unalloyed way of devotional life,this is a truth sanatana dharma if we really realise even we are all living bodily.We all should realise who is Govinda, when Lord krishna, wacked by mother Yashoda don’t you eat soil again,but when Lord Sri krishna open His mouth shown 14 planes, who can question the Lord,Ohh my Extol Govinda !!!& in further there is nothing to possess in this life which is so impermanent practicaly, is it i do need to possess lust,greedy,angry,illusion & etc which will cause a wrath by repeated passion & ingnorance where by i lost my pure love on Krishna, which is transformed into lust & etc,thus we all shall transcends our self via bhakti yoga to againts this 3 pillars(goodness,passions&ignorance)
which cause an entanglement & repeated of birth & death.
The body itself is a disease for the dormant soul, for instant a jaundice may taste a sugar(spiritualism) as a bitter
but not for a self -realized one he whom taste sugar(spiritualism) as sweetness & vise-versa. This is the symptom of level
of bhakti as regard to each individual realization. This body is just a lump for those materialsm but will be as a temple
of Lord Maha Visnu for self-realized one.This is what Sri Caitanya Maha prabu emphasized, and Lord Sri Caitanya as” Patita Pavana Hetu ” added
after even if we took many2 birth doesn’t care of what body we took but still remain blissing in servicing the lord,this means the pure devotees does not realy hanker for any award from the Supreme Lord, they just satisfied of servicing the Lord in any form of body untill
Sri Krisna heart is been so “PURCHASED” BY the tiny drop of the ocean ===> same in quality(unalloyed) untill we all shall one day
reach Goloka Vrndavana to receive unimagined & unlimited causeless mercy from prema of Radhakrishna………………Hari bol !
Hare Krishna, Maharaj & all vaisnavs
Jai Srila Prabhupad ki Jaya
Hare Krsna!!
First of all thank you for the email…I have one small question..sometimes after reading Srila Prabhupad’s book or chanting I get horrible and vulgur dreams..can u plis enlighten me as to why I’m getting these dreams..I feel as if i’m lacking in something..
Hare Krsna..
Hare Krishna Jaya
We have been in the material world for unlimited lifetimes, millions and billions of lifetimes and in all those lifetimes we have committed so many sinful activities. And the karma or the reactions to all of those sinful activities are stored up within our hearts. So when we start chanting Hare Krishna we can not expect instant spiritual bliss and instant purification of our whole existence.
It is a process and will take some time and for the best results we also have to follow the process properly. We have to learn it, how to actually become Krishna conscious, what is the process of saddhana-bhakti, devotional service. That is why Srila Prabhupada has written so many books. To teach us how to become Krishna conscious. So we really seriously need to read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Otherwise how can we expect to become Krishna conscious?
The main thing is we have to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and strictly follow the four regulative principles (no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication). Unless we are prepared to surrender to this our progress will be very, very slow.
Of course no matter what we do in Krishna consciousness is to our eternal spiritual benefit, but if we want to see results in a reasonable time we have to strictly follow the process given to us by Srila Prabhupada.
We need to become a little serious and determined and the more we are serious and determined and the more we strictly follow the instructions of Srila Prabhupada the faster we will see the results.
We can become Krishna conscious in an instant if we simply surrender. But we do not want to surrender. That is the problem.
So this surrender is a process. And that is all described in Srila Prabhupada’s books in tens of thousands of pages. We have to read all those pages and chant Hare Krishna and put the teachings of Srila Prabhupada into practice in our life and we will see wonderful results..
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna prabu…
loving krishna is my raison detre.
to serve him, and be with him for all
eternity.
hare krishna,
beloved members of krishna conciousness,
may we all bask in the love of our
supreme lord, hare sri krishna.
We are in the era of Kali Yoga – Darkest Age.
However, we are the most fortunate individuals that we don’t have to learn meditation, penance, etc. Simply by chanting the Maha Mantra, we can engage in Krishna consciousness -
The Science of God Realization; the highest spiritual gift bestowed to humanity for salvation of all souls.
What are missing? discipline and Patience in following Lord Caitanya/Krishna’s precepts.
Have to have the beads in order to do the chanting easily and accurately.
Read the “Gita as it is” daily. Lord Krishna will take you to his retreat at night and will tutor you to the best of your understanding and you will become very sharp in grasping, understanding, analyzing things. We have to leave aside our ego, pride, knowledge and engage with Lord Krishna constantly as lay out for us by Madhudvisa dasa.
Dreams, anxiety, frustration, illness, poverty are mirages of Kali Yoga. Once engaged in Krishna Consciousness will evaporate but we have to have humility otherwise, they will persist.
The video on the Holy Cow – I was unable to comment – rejected when I tried.
How can I help. Where can I donate?
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Hare Krishna,
Here is an excerpt from Bhagavad Gita As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanti, in the purport of text 34 of chapter 6(Dhyana-yoga):
“In the Vedic literature (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.3-4) it is said:
ātmānaḿ rathinaḿ viddhi
śarīraḿ ratham eva ca
buddhiḿ tu sārathiḿ viddhi
manaḥ pragraham eva ca
indriyāṇi hayān āhur
viṣayāḿs teṣu gocarān
ātmendriya-mano-yuktaḿ
bhoktety āhur manīṣiṇaḥ
“The individual is the passenger in the car of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and senses. So it is understood by great thinkers.”"
Also, here is an excerpt from the introduction, “There is īśvara, which means the controller, and there are jīvas, the living entities which are controlled. If a living entity says that he is not controlled but that he is free, then he is insane. The living being is controlled in every respect, at least in his conditioned life.”
And in Chapter 2, Text 17:
“…the individual particle of spirit soul is a spiritual atom smaller than the material atoms, and such atoms are innumerable. This very small spiritual spark is the basic principle of the material body, and the influence of such a spiritual spark is spread all over the body as the influence of the active principle of some medicine spreads throughout the body. This current of the spirit soul is felt all over the body as consciousness, and that is the proof of the presence of the soul. Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration. Therefore, consciousness is not due to any amount of material combination, but to the spirit soul.”
Thanx Madhudvisa dasa, for this service to our Lord.
All glories to Sri Bhagavan…
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa dasa
The Body is matter and the Soul is Sprit
The Soul is the part and parcel of the Supersoul – the Spark of Lord Krishna.
Human bodies function with the presence of the spirit only. – as mentioned above.
The Supersoul and the individual soul are eternal while the body perishes as the spirit moves from the body.
The body is a machine who is made by material nature under the direction of the Supersoul to fulfill desires – either for happiness or for distress due to the bodily constitution.
“The mind is generally addicted to sense-gratifying process; but when the mind turns to the Supersoul, one can become advance.”
The self ( Individual Soul) unlike the body doesn’t participate in bodily activities. However, The soul provides energy for the body functions.
Likely, the soul can advance by just engaging in Krishna consciousness, and attain the supreme goal – the transcendental destination.
The first and foremost purpose of our life is to engage in Krishna consciousness and manifest our humility.
We should study Humility as a topic, if possible.
The information of the above is from the Gita As It Is – chapter 13- pp 473. Thanks.
Hare Krishna,
Sara T
Supersoul, one becomes advanced in spritual understanding.
i want to ask a question.if someone has done some perverted acts in past. he is a person who is afraid of god and is under severe depression because he continued to do those perverted acts as an addiction and each time saying to god that please this is his last time and then he will reform himself.and sometimes when he felt that perhaps god does not forgive somebody so much time even then he continued to do those perverted acts.but now he is under severe depression, almost on the verge of nervous breakdown because he thinks that god had forgotten him forever.i tell you that in those perverted shameful acts he did not harm anyone except himself.now he has given up those acts by god’s grace but he is unable to cope up with fear that he will be destroyed by god.please help and respond.
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa dasa
Many of my friends do have interest in reading the Gita As It Is and chanting the Maha Mantra.
I have to answer few questions that pose by my friends. Chanting 108 times 16 rounds. who initiated it and its purpose (Was it initiated by Lord Caitanya?- please respond – So far 5 of my friends got the Gita and 2 will get soon.
If you have information on Humility please forward it for me. Thanks.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Hare Krishna Sara
Yes. This chanting a fixed number of rounds and counting them like this was introduced by Lord Caitanaya. Lord Caitanya is the Yuga-Avatar. There are four Yugas and in each one there is a different system recommended for making spiritual advancement. In the satya-yuga it was meditation, in the tretya-yuga it was performing sacrifices, in the dvarpa-yuga it was temple worship, but now, in the Kali-yuga, we are very fallen and unqualified. We are unable to properly perform the meditation because we do not live very long. In Satya-yuga people could live for 100,000 years so it was not unusual for someone to meditate for 60,000 years. And the atmosphere was very pure and spiritual and very conducive to meditation. But now we are only living for 100 years max, not even that usually, so this type of meditation is not practical. Similarly for the sacrifices qualified brahmin priests are needed. There are many tests for a qualified brahmin priest. He should be able to light the fire by chanting mantras, he should be able to prove that he is chanting the mantras correctly by offering an old animal into the fire and by his proper mantra chanting the same animal will come out of the fire rejuvenated in a young body. But none of the so-called brahmins can do this now. They are not qualified. Also for these sacrifices so much gold and ghee and grains were needed and no we do not have much gold and ghee and grains. So sacrifice is not possible for us. And for the proper Diety worship in the temple also there are so many requirements and rules and regulations and we also can not do this.
So Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the most merciful incarnation of God, appeared and gave the yuga-dharma, the chanting of:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
It is very easy and very simple and very powerful. Simply by the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra we can get all the benefits that were available in previous ages by meditation, by yajna [sacrifice] and by Deity worship.
Lord Caitanya introduced this system of chanting with numerical strength. Of course they were not chanting 16 rounds. Normal chanting was 64 rounds minimum and some devotees were chanting up to around 180 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily.
Even Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, Srila Bhaktsiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, said that his disciples were fallen if they were not chanting at least 64 rounds a day.
So Srila Prabhupada has been very merciful and given us only a small number of rounds to chant. It is very easy to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra. It only takes 2-3 hours and there are 24 hours in the day. So if one can not find 2-3 hours out of 24 for Krishna then he is not very serious about spiritual life.
Of course Prabhuapda is not teaching us to chant 16 rounds and then forget Krishna. The idea of reducing the number of rounds to only 16 is that Prabhupada’s mission is a preaching mission. We have to do so much preaching, so much service, so the idea is to be engaged in serving Krishna 24 hours a day. Krishna consciousness is ultimately a process of complete absorption in Krishna…
So this small number of rounds, only 16, must be chanted every day if we are really serious about making spiritual advancement.
This human form of life is a very rare opportunity and we should not waste it. It is only in the human form of life that we have this opportunity to question, “Why am I here?” “What is the purpose of life?” In the human form of life we can ask these questions and we can find the answers also by the mercy of Krishna and His pure devotees. But if we waste this valuable human form of life living like the animals: eating, sleeping, mating and defending, then there is no guarantee that we will get a human birth again in the next life and we will be stuck in the material world suffering birth, old age, disease and death practically forever.
It is very, very rare to come in contact with a pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada. So we should take full advantage of his association and by his mercy we can get the mercy of Krishna and go back home, back to Godhead…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna…….
thanks for making me understand the soul distination by an wonderful example.now iam likly to know fully about lord kapila can you please tell me what ever you know about lord kapila.thanks for updated messages to me and i hope you will send me more news lettrs and i inform you that i am really want to know about lord kapilaand four kumaras.e.mail me to my e.mail adress that i can notice
The truth is that al of us are conscious of the fact that we need something special for the soul; the mundane reality is unfortunately centred around the physical needs.
Dear Gurudeva
How do I know what my ‘Karma’ in this life is? At times I feel so directionless.
We are always giving this answer. The purpose of your life is to surrender to Krishna and serve Krishna. But you will not be able to surrender to Krishna and serve Krishna unless you have a bona fide pure devotee of Krishna who is your guru and who can guide you.
Practically all gurus you will find today, including gurus in ISKCON, are not pure devotees of Krishna and therefor can not direct you in a way that you can surrender to Krishna and serve Krishna. They are cheating. They want some followers, some money, some prestige, some position. This is the “guru business”.
But we have Srila Prabhupada, a pure devotee of Krishna, and you can take advantage of his personal association by reading his books which you can get at http://www.KrishnaStore.com and that way you can get the real information about Krishna. Then you will have a very good aim in your life.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hi,
Is it wrong to love some human and get same love in return? I think that when i was young, i used to worship Krishna and that is the cause why every person I loved is away from me. But still i wish to get married and live happily ever after. I don’t think it will be possible for God won’t let that happen. Is it true?
Hare Krishna!
It is not possible to get real love in the material world. The material world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. The real love is there in the spiritual world with Krishna and with the other devotees of Krishna also. But here in the material world there is only a reflection of that love, no reality at all.
It is like if you go into the desert you can sometimes see a mirage in the distance that looks like a big lake full of water. It looks like water but actually there is no water there. It is only an illusion. So love in the material world is like that. It appears that there is love in the material world but as soon as you get close to it it vanishes, just like the mirage in the desert.
So it is most certainly not possible to “live happily ever-after” in the material world. Forget about this idea. Just try and make an arrangement so you can marry some man who is at least favorable to Krishna consciousness and you can live with him and server him and together you can serve Krishna and that will be the perfection of your lives.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
namaskar prabhujii,
i have a doubt dat what is life? and why god created dis life with lots of happiness and sadness why we have to lead this life.
It is a big question, Read the Bhagavad-gita and find the answer and come back here and tell us the answer…
hare krishna ji prabhu. Today i am going to tell u something plz read it considering ME ur servant.
prabhu ji first time my parents took diksha from Guru maa UMASHAKTI. she is also disciple of prabhu shri Ramlal ji maharaj and shri Chandra-mohan ji maharaj.After that i joined gayatri parivar and did havan etc. after that i joined brahmakumaris for some time then i went jalandhar for my mtech degree. there were a lot of krishna bhakta. during my course i started fastin ekadashi and chanting also. in jalandhar there was a good preachers shri suneet prabhu ji conducted one camp in our college nit jalandhar.after that he guided us too much . some time we went in vace to attend sankirtana and having prasadam also. sir told me to be there for atleast one year for my spritual advancemant but some problems and home sickness and other family problems i didnot stay there. now just i am having only cantact on mobile rarely. He guided me alot he always helped and blessed us but i have come back to home he told me also if you want spritual developement than u must have assocition of good people of krishna concious people.prabhu ji i also want to do chanting and sankirtana but there is no association and i also want to do the service of lord krishna…….but without guru it is not possible . in this time i have spolied bcz of maya. i am not able to speak as i should speak to my family members. some types of frustration and iiritation i am facing now. plz sir guide me what should i do …. i am in morena just 134km from vrindavan mathura……plz bless me and prayers for me to lord…..
thanks
please prabhu ji tell me how we can find real guru or when will real guru meet us or bless on us…….i heard when we will ask about guru to krishna then he will make some arrangements to find the guru………..plz bless me …..thanks
hare krishna i am great ful to have your sangathya as you are student of prabhu padh
My humble obeisances to the lotus feet of lord krishnq,
I agree this body is just made of flesh and blood, and the supersoul within of hearts is the real spirit, the rest is illusion. Please prabhu ,i would be pleased to read u r articles , it is enchanting.
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa Dasa
My dear friends, Krishna’s web site is a Guru by itself.
Make time and read the Gita AS It Is and read all books of our Guru Swami Prabhupada. To unlock the mystery of life, one has to Chant the Maha Mantra and read the Gita continously.
The Maha Mantra of Lord Krishna – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna – Krishna Krishna – Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Ram – Rama Rama – Hare Hare 108x 16 rounds daily even more if you have time. You must have faith in Lord Krishna and will give you wisdom to understand life and your mission in this life. All your problems will be answered if you follow all the precepts of Lord Krishna and take refuge in His Lotus feet.
Hare Krishna and be Happy,
Sara Tzeggai
Prabhu ji
HariBol
most of the people are trying to understand Gita through BRAIN only & less of “SADHANA i.e.Practice”
to really understand GITA one has to come in contact with sri Krishna or chaitanaya Mahaprabhu or Arjuna or Sanjay or so or PRACTICE as per the guidelines of great saints so that the SPEED required to understand GITA is achieved
Swami TulsiDas ji says
BUDDHI HEEN TANU JAAN KEY
SUMIRO —–
HariBol
I think it is obvious by the state of the world that many are identifying solely with the body and its demands. Note that I say demands and not needs. Being covered by material nature we are given to the excesses of the body, rather than the things it needs to be maintained well. Thus we see all manner of illness associated with overeating,drug use, etc. We also see the abuse of the body because the mind is restless and cannot find rest merely in material sense enjoyment. Thus it makes escape plans through drugs. Sexuality is abused as well, thus we see sexual diseases and promiscuity, leading to broken homes, single parents, welfare states, etc.
The body is the source of much misery if we do not understand the Science of Self Realization. Once we have truly realized Self through Bhagavad Gita and the teachings of the pure guru, Srila Prabhupada, we find that attachment to these material illusory notions of who and what we are drop away, as do the excesses of bodily demands.
Hare Krsna!
Guru ,
Why Not lord Venkateswara/ balaji not listen in ten incarnations of lord vishnu??.
ten incarnation is lord kalki which is yet to come, thn who is lord venkateswara .Everybody says he is kali yuga god came to destroy.
and one more doubt is : lord shiva also came to destroy bad people.then lord venkateswara and shiva are same
im little confused
Hindus are very confused Prabhu,
It is because of so much bogus philosophy being preached in India for so many years.
You just turn on the guru channel on your satellite TV and see what the Indian gurus are saying. It is such confusion. Everyone has his own idea. Some are saying “worship the light, the one.” Some are saying “you are god, everyone is god…” Some are saying Shiva is god, many are recommending worshiping the demigods to fulfill material desires. It is a mess, a very confusing mess.
So many cheaters. So it is very difficult. So if you are born in India then you will naturally be very confused when it comes to spiritual knowledge. There is no standard. In India every guru is preaching his own ideas and to find anything bona fide at all is very, very difficult.
So we are suggesting that you hear the Vedic knowledge as it is from Srila Prabhupada. He has the unique position of simply being a messenger and purely passing on the message which has come to him through the disciplic succession without any changes, without any additions, and without any subtractions.
You will never be able to clear your doubts and confusions unless you have a bona fide guru who can guide you on the right path. And you will never be able to understand anything about the Vedas in truth by following the modern hodge-podge which is called “Hinduism”.
So without a bona fide guru and unless you surrender to him and serve him and hear from him and inquire from him submissively you will remain confused forever.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
First of all, i would like to thank you for the teachings given by you.I sincerely appreciate your teachings.
I need your help, I have a query in my mind.
As our body is like a motor car, but body has emotions and feelings.Intially when we born, we start loving our parent, then friends then husband and like this family keeps on increasing. And in this love we forget our originality (soul)
I want to know, why we forget our main objective.
Even after knowing that our(souls) destination is back to home( back to Godhead).But i still having a special love for my family and friends. Does this love hinders after going back to our ultimate destination.
Please help me.
Regards
Jyotsna
Hare Krishna Jyotsna
Yes. All this entanglement with family and friends is based only on the bodily relationships. And we are not the body, we are the eternal spirit soul within the body. We have no real connection with these people we call our family members other than this body we are currently in took birth in relation to them. But as soon as this body dies then we will take birth again and our relationships with all these people we call our family members now will be broken and will will take birth again in a completely different situation with a completely different group of family and friends around us.
So as you have nicely stated as our life goes on we become more and more entangled in different relationships with these people around us and that generates a lot of karma. Karma means work really and when we do any work at all which is not meant for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, then that creates a reaction–either good or bad–that we will be forced to experience in the future. So the more of these karmic reactions that we create due to our interaction and activities with friends and family and others the more our original Krishna consciousness becomes covered and the more we forget the real purpose of life.
Actually we have had millions of mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters, every time we take birth in a different body we get a different set of family members and as you have hinted at when we get attached to them that increases our entanglement in the material world more and more.
But as you say you do have a special love for your family and friends and that is natural. Krishna consciousness is not about giving up our attachments very suddenly like this. Rather Krishna consciousness is about developing our love and our attachment for Krishna. And as we become more attached to Krishna we will automatically become detached from friends and family members. Not that we will not care about them. But our caring will be different. We will become concerned for their spiritual advancement and try to assist them in this way.
A devotee is always the best friend and well-wisher of all living entities–what to speak of family members–but he realizes that he is not the body and has no real connection actually with these people that we call family members–but still he feels compassion and wants to help them advance in spiritual life. Of course if the family is not interested in Krishna and if they become a hindrance to his practice of Krishna consciousness he may give up the family connection.
But for a women it is not very practical to give up the family connection as a women needs protection so generally it is best to just become a very nice devotee of Krishna and cook for Krishna and offer the bhoga to Krishna and distribute it to the family members and to give the other family members your good association and they will in this way gradually make advancement in Krishna consciousness by your good association.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not recommend suddenly giving up one’s position and taking to the renounced order of life. No. Rather He suggested that one stay in his position, whatever that may be, and practice Krishna consciousness in that position. And yare daka tare karo krsna upadesh amara ajnya guru hana tara ei desh: “Stay in your position and there speak to the people around you about Krishna and in this this way you become the guru for the people in that place.” So every place needs a guru. Every village, every city, every family. So big or small, it does not matter, but you can hear from Srila Prabhupada and talk about the things you hear from Srila Prabhupada to your friends and family members and in this way become a guide for them in their spiritual life.
The real love for family and friends is shown if you can help them advance spiritually. That is actually the greatest gift….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
Thank you so much. You have so wonderfully expressed all the things.
Hare Krishna.
Regards
Jyotsna
Hare Krishna,
There is two kinds of love. Human love which is always up and down no permanence – full of pride and attachment – my dad, my mom, my brother, my son and so on. They are mine and belong to me.
Divine love is eternal love without attachment. Here, relationship is at the highest stage. You and I are one spirit – too many bodies but one spirit. All of us came from one spirit. Therefore, every father/mother/brother/sister/son belongs to everyone. We should love all humans regardless of their position.
One has to come to Krishna Consciousness to understand the agony and suffering of human love. Only with Krishna consciousness, one can see clearly the path of human life in relationship with every thing.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
GURUDEV PRANAM,
RADHE RADHE
I M THE TRUE DEVOTEE OF KANHA SMETIMES MY HEART AN MY MIND ARE IN OPPOSITE CONDITION WHT SHOULD I DO AT THAT CASE
Keep chanting Hare Krishna and gradually your condition will become correct.
Sara,
Divine Love does indeed have attachment, but to Krsna alone. It is not material attachment, thus it is divine.
Hare Krsna
Dear Jagadananda Gauranga das,
Thank you for your clarification.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Haribolo!!!!
Beautiful! I really like your mails. It’s so nice, when devotees devote time to tell the truth for others… We live in a hindu farm in Hungary. Respects from here.
Hare Krishna devotees
Hope u all r fine.
I am not able to divert my mind from this worldliness how can i abstain from it.
Thanks
ram Ram
Chant Hare Krishna…..
because of my desire, karma or ignorance, i born in this matarial world?
Where and whom i was with?
If it is krishna , how it could be possible to desire other than Lord krishna?
If it is my karma , when my first karma started?
i humbly request you to reply back to clear my ignorance
Hare Krishna Pradeep
We are born in this material world because of our karma, our desires and our ignorance. It is ultimately all driven by our desires. We are all part and parcel of Krishna. Krishna is great and we are small but we have the same qualities as Krishna. So Krishna is the Supreme Controller–we also have a small controlling ability. So we sometimes want to be the controller also. As soon as we have this idea–to become the controller like Krishna–then we can not stay in the spiritual world–because there Krishna is the Supreme Controller and everyone else is a servant of Krishna. So Krishna creates this material world for us to “play god” in.
So it is not Krishna who causes you to come to this material world, it is you, it is your desire. And as soon as you desire to do something separately from the service of Krishna that is the beginning of your karma. And once this network of karma has started it gets more and more entangling and is very, very difficult to break out of…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thanks for your reply..Now i understood How and why i am suffering in this material world. Now i am in a situation like i have to ride two horses. one of them is maya(relations,karma..etc) and the other one is the true horse (service to krishna).
How can i ride two horses at a time and my ultimate aim is to break the chain of karma and i always want to be the servant of my krishna.
Hare Krishna Pradeep
Actually you can not ride two horses at once. That is not possible. So you just become Krishna conscious and deal with the relations and friends in an official but polite way.
You can just agree with them and say “yes, yes, very good…” and keep on chanting Hare Krishna. Basically politely ignore them and get on with your real business of Krishna consciousness. But you can not completely ignore the material world and your material responsibilities. You know Krishna does not instruct Arjuna to give up the fighting in the battlefield of Kuruksettra and go to the forest and meditate. No. Krishna is very practical. He instructs Arjuna to do his duty but do it for Krishna.
So you need to have some occupation, you need to earn some income, you need to support a wife and a family–so obviously you need to maintain and develop the material side of your life as well. But that should not be done in the mood of “riding two horses”–rather this should be done as service to Krishna. What Krishna recommends is not that you give up your work be that “You work for Me.” So you can do some business, raise a family, etc, but your purpose with your work is to make the money you need to worship Krishna and your purpose with your family is to train them as nice devotees of Krishna and together in your family you can install the Deity of Krishna and worship Krishna together and in this way it is only one horse that you are riding but still you are maintaining both the material and the spiritual sides of your life–you are doing both things for Krishna…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
I offer my humble obeisannes to His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivendanta Swami Prahupada and to you, Mahudvisa dasa, as my spiritual gurus and guides.
Please, is it acceptable to consume unfertilized eggs (eggs that will never produce a chicken)?
My sincere thanks.
William
Namaste
William all eggs that people consume are unfertilized. The egg is the chicken’s period. It is very dirty and not meant to be consumed by any human being. Many diseases come from eating eggs. A fertilized egg has a little chicken inside it…
You have to understand the point. It is not that we are vegetarians–we are Krishnatarians. We only eat Krishna prasadam, food that has been prepared by devotees with love and offered to Krishna–after Krishna tastes the offering it becomes Krishna prasadam and a devotee will not eat anything except this Krishna prasadam–the remnants of the foods what have been tasted by Krishna.
So the point is Krishna only accepts offerings of foodstuffs in the mode of goodness and that is only the foods from the four groups: grains, milk products, fruits and vegetables. HE DOES NOT ACCEPT EGGS!
So we can not offer eggs to Krishna therefore a devotee will not eat anything which is not Krishna prasadam, therefore he does not eat eggs.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna prabhu ji i am 15. from 2 year si am regular visitor of iskon shreyas programme on sundays with un willing ness of my mother but today in one of the insident my mother became serious and she is know strong to not to send me iskon but my strong deisire is to go back to my god head krishn a in vikunta and his home golok vrundhavan i am sure that only iskon make my disire possible and krishna is in the form of sravana and i can have it in only in my mother womb iskon and shreyas if i think what ever5 it may be i can chant krishna in heart but i miss my real spritual friends ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! how i should make my se4lf convenced of this sorrow please give me answer it would be better if you send me replay to my e.mail adress.hare bo0l
Hare Krishna Balaji
You can chant Hare Krishna and serve Krishna anywhere and you have to become self-sufficient like this. Get Prabhuapda’s books in your home and read them and start chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily in your home and strictly follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication]. Just do this seriously wherever you are. You do not have to be in a temple to be Krishna conscious.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa dasa
Egg and Milk are the only food that are complete in protein – meaning they have all the essential amino acids that the body requires. Beans are also the source of protein. However they are incomplete unless they are eaten with rice or other cereal products. If egg is forbidden by Krishna and can have milk which is complete, comparable in protein to egg even better than egg why do we have to have eggs of any kind. Lets stay with the foods that we are given because they are good in nurturing our body, mind, spirit and soul. Besides, by avoiding eating eggs and meats, we are protected from many harmful contamination effects and body complications/illnesses from eggs and meats.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
THAnk you so much for teaching me..Iam jus a beginner i dont even knw what to comment..but I thing i can say that am on a right path of god…
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa dasa,
We should have a list of foods that we are not suppose to eat.
I thought we are to avoid meat, egg and alcohol.
But I learned recently that we are not suppose to have garlic, onion and may be coffee and tea.
Please give us detail information of foods that are forbidden to eat by Lord Krishna. Thanks.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Hare Krishna Sara
We can offer to Krishna foods in the mode of goodness and that is: grains, milk products, fruits and vegetables. We can not offer garlic and onions because they are in the mode of passion. Eggs do not come in the categories of grains, milk products, vegetables or fruits. Tea and coffee are intoxicants like alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs. You get addicted to tea and coffee just like you get addicted to other drugs. We do not want to get addicted to tea and coffee, we want to get addicted to Krishna.
Mushrooms also we will generally not offer to Krishna because they grow in the dark, they are a type of fungus and are in the mode of ignorance.
Otherwise grains, milk products, fruits and vegetables when prepared with love and devotion by devotees can be offered to Krishna and after Krishna has accepted the offering the food becomes prasadam, “Krishna’s mercy” and devotees are very happy to accept the remnants of Krishna’s meal.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank you Madhudvisa dasa for the information on food. I started Krishna’s diet couple months ago and my appetite curbed to one half from my usual appetite. Krishna’s diet concur with 80% Alkaline and 20% Acidic foods. Food combinations which are safe and healthy to our body. Fruits, Vegetables, Milk and Milk products are Alkaline foods. Cereals/Starches and Meats are Acidic foods. Too much acidic foods are harmful and degenerate the body.
The majority of people eat more acidic foods (Bread and Meat)and less alkaline foods (fruits/vegetables/milk). Almost all foods served in Fast Food Chains, and Restaurants are Acidic foods. Drinks (except pure fruit/vegetable juices)and desserts (except fruit) are acidic. Because of poor choices in food selection, chronic illnesses (such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, obesity, arthritis, stroke and many others) are rampant everywhere. Over all, quality of life is poor despite advance technology is increasing life span by medicine, which is costing billions of dollars to the nation.
We Are Our Father’s Bussiness but no one else. Because our father loves us, He bestow us – the mantra, the diet and the Gita.
Lets continue to engage in our devotional service to our Beloved Lord Krishna – whose devotees are dear to Him.
Hare Krishna And Be Happy,
Sara
Hare Krsna, First i like to thank his Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Thus people born on the earth in the future could easily cross over the ocean of birth and death by those glories, which compare to a strong boat. In fact, those who are now enjoying the glories of Krsna through the transparent medium of the Bhaktivedanta purpurts to Srimad-Bhagavatam, by the mercy of of His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, are the fortunate recipients of the mercy of Krsna, who was merciful even to persons yet to be born. Hare Krsna
hare krishna,
i am very happy to read krishna from bhagwat gita,i really like the stories and truths of life which i came to know after reading bhagwat gita articles sent by you.i am very thankful to u for spreading Krishana Sandesh in all over the world.thanks for enlightening my mind my thoughts which really change my life style.
Thanks once again.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa,
I wanted to thank you for the Krishna Connect newsletters. They are most helpful and resourceful and a great great help for me. I am discovering ISKCON’s wonderful work and currently reading The Science of Self-Realization by his Divine Garce A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhuapda. Also I am finding so much wisdom in the extracts from the Bhagavad Gita that I purchased it online and I am waiting for it to be shipped. I apologize if I am in any way addressing you in a disrespectful manner and hope to correct my ignorance very soon.
Humbly,
Claire
Hello and best wishes to all.
I’m afraid I may be like a bull in a china shop stomping and crashing into all manner of precious and beautiful things. I have read only a little of the “Bhagavad Gita as it is” so let me now beg for your pardons for any and all ignorant misconceptions.
“I am not this Body”
I can picture Madhudvisa dasa thoughts on this in my mind and I feel a distant excited recognition of something somewhere far off. When I read some passages and purports from the Gita its like I am temporarily connected in some small or tiny way to I don’t know what, but once the Book is closed the connection grows dimer till I’m back in what feels like being enclosed in very old thoughts, trapped if you like. How can, and is it possible to remain with this feeling of connection?.
I could be barking, and one step away from the men in white coats, but it doesn’t feel so. Any thoughts or pointers?.
Patrick.
Hare Krishna Patrick
Krishna consciousness is about absorption. So you can keep reading the Bhagavad-gita and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and Srimad-Bhagavatam and so many other books, you can keep chanting Hare Krishna… The start is to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and following the four regulative principles. Somehow we have to stay in the fire of Krishna consciousness…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Best Wishes to you Madhudvisa dasa and thank you for directions on how to absorb myself in Krishna Consciousness.
Patrick.
Hare Krishna.
HARE KRISHNA,
I am very much grateful and thank You for your teachings. I like the Madbhagawat Gita too much and I can not express with my words. In my level it is impossible to know the meaning of this Great creation of Lord Krishna and now from your teachings I understand something about Gita.
Thank you very much for your teachings.
THANKS FOR THE EMAILS………..HARE KRISHNA!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the e-mails, very good, looks like your going to help me on my journey.
Hare Krishna.
ya I do understand all this things very much because I am ” Hindu Brahmin” so
but it like these mails are pumping my spiritual sense in to right directions..
I am just stuck in this material world after coming in Australia…like making money..
working..alone from my family..
Thanks for your support from far away..
Dear Sir,
I totally agree with you.I awakened my soul recently 5 months before,when I got the golden opportunity to read the book named after “Aatma-shakshatkar ka vigyan ” authored by Srila Prabhupada in hindi.I have got the collection of his books in hindi and started reading those daily.Besides,I am listening hare krishna mahamantra by srila prabupada and trying to chant and follow srila prabhupada by that video.Presently ,I have not reached the stage of chanting it number of times in morning and evening.Hopefully,I will be able to chant hare-krishna mahamantra regularly.But I request you to please send me mails to inspire and encourage for my spiritual development and progress.I have realized all the truth behind this material world.So plz help me.
Your Servant
Yogesh Dewang
Hare Krishna….Madhudvisa dasa!!!!
Thank you very much for sending me great knowledge about “Geeta Gyan”…
you said that we are not the body,we are soul but how can we recognise it.
Please give me some advice.
Thank You
We can realize we are not these material bodies by becoming Krishna conscious. And to help us to become Krishna conscious Srila Prabhupada has written 80 books for us. You need to read these books. The answers to all your questions are in Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Nicely written and very good comparison of a car with human bady.I am a mechanical engg. and after reading this article I want to say it is one of the best comparison explained by u.
your sewak cum das
Rajesh kumar
It is very true. The soul need some other food to satisfy its hunger. This thirst can be quenched by something else.i.e. God or Krishna consciousness. Then why we always forget the same & our mind diverts even if we know it??What is the solution to it??
The solution is to always chant:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
If you are always chanting Hare Krishna then even if your mind wanders away from Krishna the chanting of Hare Krishna will quickly bring it back to Krishna again.
We need to take this seriously. Always remember Krishna, never forget Krishna. Kirtanyea sada hare: Always chant Hare Krishna and nitya bhagavata sevaya: Read the Bhagavatam 24 hours a day. So in this way either by chanting Hare Krishna or reading Srila Prabhupada’s books we need to keep ourselves engaged in Krishna consciousness, always remembering Krishna 24 hours a day.
I know it may sound a little difficult but this is the process and the achievement of Krishna consciousness is the greatest achievement and like all great achievements one can not attain it without seriously working for it.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
If,as you say,the “real purpose of life is to get out of this material world …” where is the need for one to be born in this world at all? You say, one has to “get an eternally youthful …. body”. Does not “getting” an eternal body contradict the very meaning of “eternal”?
I am sorry if I sound cynic but these are doubts that naturally comes to me on reading the above posting.
Will be greatly obliged if you can enlighten me without getting upset at my questions?
with regards
Raghavendran
Hare Krishna Radhavendran
Thank you very much for the questions and of course I will not get upset. They are very good questions.
We are born into the material world because we misused our independence. We have a little independence. We can choose to serve Krishna or we can choose not to serve Krishna. So we can only be in the spiritual world if we choose to serve Krishna. So Krishna very mercifully has made this material world for us rebellious spiritual souls who do not want to serve Him.
That is why we take birth in the material world. Because in the spiritual world everyone is a servant of Krishna, but in the material world everyone wants to be the master, everyone wants to be god, everyone wants to be Krishna. You just have to look around and you will see that is true. Everyone wants power, fame, strength, beauty, fame, knowledge because these are the attractive qualities of Krishna. Everyone here is trying to become Krishna–the all-attractive person. Of course in the material world everyone will fail and all their attempts to become the controller will fail. And ultimately, after millions and millions of such births, one thoughtful person by the mercy of a bona fide spiritual master will realize that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender to Him.
So as soon as we reject Krishna we are born into the material world and we keep on taking births in the material world time and time again in different species of life suffering birth, old age, disease and death, until we again come to the point of surrendering to Krishna.
Actually my wording is not really correct when I say we “get” or original eternally youthful body. As you are hinting at if something is eternal there is no question of getting it because it has no beginning and that is correct. Actually we already have our eternally youthful spiritual body–it is currently covered by this material body. So it is not that we ‘get’ it actually, we already have it, but it is uncovered. In this material world our spiritual body is covered by the gross material body of earth, water, fire, air and ether and by the subtle body of mind, intelligence and ego. But underneath the material covering our eternally youthful spiritual body is already there. That is our natural condition, sat cit ananda–an eternally youthful body full of knowledge and ever-increasing bliss. So when we identify with this material body, thinking that “I am a man,” “I am an Indian”, etc, and then when we find our Indian man’s body getting old and sick and on the verge of death we feel very uncomfortable and feel ourselves in a very painful and unnatural position. Because we are identifying with the material body, thinking we are the material body–but actually we are the spirit soul that is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss…
Hope it is a little clearer.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa Das,
Soul and Matter
WE are not of material creation as many believe. We are souls covered by gross material body which is called Maya. Once we are enlightened ( By continously reading Prabhupada’s books and chanting Maha Mantra), we can uncover from these material body or inferior energy and liberate our selfs. The Material body functions with the presence of the soul. Once the soul seperates from the body, the material body loses its energy and dies out. Therefore, the soul is the life giver to the body which is eternal and infinite and the material body which is marginal and finite.
Our spirit soul is a part and parcel of the Supersoul. Thus, we understand that we are not matter but we are spirit soul,the living entity who engage in the loving transcendental service of Krishna.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
I agree with you SARA T …
I believe that you are having amazing knowledge of krishna’s concious ..more advanced.
but i like your comment,
open mine eyes can see the difference.
cheers,
vish
Dear Vishva,
I am not more advanced in my knowledge of Lord Krishna than you. It is my desire and fate in Lord Krishna make me surrender to His Lotus Feet. Until recently, I thought Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu are all Gods with the same power. However, when I read the Gita from Swami Prahupada, I was amazed that Lord Krishna is God himself, immediately I joined Krishna.org and begin to read comments by Swami Prahupada and Madhudvisa dasa and start watching Lord Krishna’s past time DVDs – Ramayana, Krishna, Mahabaratha, Vishnupuran. If we follow the precepts of Lord Krishna daily (read the Gita and 16 rounds of Maha Mantra daily), as given by our Guru Prahupada and Madhudvisa dasa, Lord Krishna will play his miracles on us beautifully. Let’s give unalloyed love to Lord Krishna to receive his mercy and read Prahupada’s books daily.
Hare Krishna and Be Happy,
Sara
Nice! , Thanks for the email, very nicely explained.
Victory to the greatness in you.= Jai Guru Dev
Erjet
Tirane, ALBANIA.
Thanks, SARA T
VISH
Hare Krishna
Madhudvisa Das
Motor vehicle works well if every aspect is perfect and in the same way our body also works well to chant Hare Krishna. I am really very much attracted to the sayings in your articles and my mind will mature to think of God after studying more and more. I can visualize that body is temporary and the soul is permanent and have no changes. But if so why we have to give more care for this body. I think it is only to pray God we need health and we have to keep our body healthy till we breathe last. One must understand that he has not brought anything with him when he comes to this earth and not going yo take anything when he leaves.
Th not going to take anything back when he leaves.
Thank you Guru
Your servant
K.V,Rangaswamy
Hare Krishna
We understand that ” I am not this body”. I have a question. If the spirit soul doesnot understand the importance of Supreme God head, how many billions of life he will live or then also he does not understand what will happen to it??
Is this human life a opportunity to know about God??? If a spirit soul doesnot understand in this life then he will come to the world say as a animal. again he will come to this world as a minuscle insect. Does it go back to Godhead after so many births automatically??
Kindly enlighten me.
Sanjay
Hare Krishna Sanjay
No. No one goes back to Godhead automatically. Practically speaking we are trapped here in the material world in the cycle of birth and death eternally. Generally speaking there is no escape. This material world is called ‘durga’ — it is a very strong prison or fort and no one can get out. The only chance of getting out is by the mercy of a pure devotee of Krishna. If we have the great fortune of associating with a pure devotee of Krishna like Srila Prabhupada if we surrender to him and serve him then by his mercy we can get from him the ‘bhakti-lata-bija’ which is the seed of the plant of bhakti. And if we water that seed we get from Srila Prabhupada with chanting and hearing the name, fame and glories of Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, that plant of bhakti will grow within our hearts and eventually become fully mature and produce many flowers and fruits and ultimately seeds as well.
But that seed is only available from a pure devotee of Krishna and if we do not have the seed then the watering process is useless. We will only grow weeds. And it is very rare indeed to get the opportunity to have the association of a pure devotee of Krishna. So that is the only hope the living entities have of getting out of the cycle of birth and death. Otherwise they are stuck in the material world eternally.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa,
I understand that the cycle of birth & death is eternal. We just cannot escape out of the durga. Krishna consciousness is above arguments & we just have to accept & follow the path shown by a close devotee of God.
But I have a question.
A spiritually enlightened person or devotee takes birth in this material world. He may have passed so many lives before this or comes to this world for the first time.What is the guarantee that he does not take birth again?? I have read in some books that some god in Indian Mythology take birth as they wanted to come to this material world to enjoy.Don’t they really enjoy in their home which is much more better than this material world. Is it the same in case of devotees?
In Bhagvad Gita it is said that he whoever thinks of God at the time of death does not come to this world again.But say god has given chance as a human to understand the real purpose of life / soul. Suppose he doesnot understand & lives a million of lives. The human life is the best than any other think living entities because he has the brain to think or call it realization. But an animal cant think. So it will never be free from this material world. Right!!.What is the chance that the animal would be born as a human & undergo self realization.
Could you please enlighten me something on Life Before Birth??Is is the life of a close devotee for the first time or had he engaged himself in spiritual activities in his last birth?? He has come to this world again to fulfill the balance work??? Kindly enlighten me.
Sanjay
Hare Krishna Sanjay
Everyone is guaranteed to take birth in the material world again and the birth they take will be determined by their consciousness at the time of death. The only way to avoid this is to be thinking of Krishna or Visnu at the time of death and the only way you can achieve this is to spend your life as a surrendered servant of Krishna and the only way we can serve Krishna is by the mercy of a pure devotee of Krishna. So it is a very rare opportunity to be able to get out of this cycle of birth and death, this prison of the material world. And that opportunity is only available to us by serving and pleasing a pure devotee of Krishna like Srila Prabhupada. Otherwise we will continue to take birth again and again.
There is no guarantee that a ‘spiritually advanced’ person will not take birth again in the material world. He may be spiritually advanced but if he still has even some small material desires then he will have to take birth in the material world again to fulfill those desires. There is a guarantee, however, that a person who has stated the process of Krishna consciousness, even if they have only become a small percentage Krishna conscious, will take birth again in the human form so he can continue his spiritual advancement. So that is a great blessing. He will not be born in an animal or plant body, he will get a human birth and will be able to continue his Krishna consciousness from the point where he left off in this life.
As far as people who are very much attracted to Krishna consciousness in this life we can understand that generally they must have performed some devotional service in their previous lives because they are naturally attracted to it in this life. Also sometimes it can be simply because of the mercy of a pure devotee of Krishna that one is able to commence on the path of Krishna consciousness. But generally speaking those who are interested in spiritual life in this life were also cultivating it in previous lives. We carry our consciousness with us from one body to the next in the material world, although we forget the details of our previous births, our state of consciousness is carried on from our previous life. So whatever we were interested in in our previous life when we come across that again in this life we will be naturally attracted to it and when we start to practice it we will advance very quickly. That is why they say people have ‘gifts’ and different people have different gifts. One person may be very musically inclined and at a very young age may be able to play classical piano very naturally and very perfectly without much effort, but another person of the same age may be completely unable to learn how to play the piano but may be skilled in some other area. So these interests and the results of our experience in our previous lives is actually with us but we can not remember the details.
So at least for someone who has practiced spiritual life in his previous births he will have a natural attraction to Krishna consciousness and will be able to make quick advancement.
You want to know about ‘life before birth’ but there is no mystery there. Life before birth is just the same as life now. Death and birth is simply the body changing. Really it is just the same as going to sleep and waking up in the morning. Imperceptibly every morning we wake up and our body has changed, our consciousness has changed. So death is just like that. This body dies and the soul is transferred into the womb of your next mother and that mother is selected according to your consciousness at the time of death. If your consciousness is animistic then your next mother will be an animal, if you consciousness is human consciousness then you will get a human body again and if you are fortunate enough to have completed the process of Krishna consciousness and have been able to give up all attachment to your material body and everything related to that and all the desires of the material world and if you are able to remember Krishna at the time of death then you will not have to take birth again in the material world but instead you will be transferred back home, back to Godhead… So this is rather rare, otherwise everyone is going to take birth again and again in the material world and suffer eternally.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
if it so then why we always in need of everything..how to control wasteful thoughts….
Hare Krishna Madhudvida dasa.
Thank you very much for this answer & knowledge. I am accepting this blindly. This seems something very true. This is really a spiritual solution to this material world.
Please dont stop to send me articles as always.
Hare Krisha!!
Sanjay
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
Great article..
All glories to Sri Sri Guru & Gauranga..
All glories to Srila Prabhupada..; the saviour
Hare Krishna
Salutation to My Lord
I fully agree with this. But I find it difficult to shift from one way of life to another. May be laziness is encircling me. But if my Lord will have KRIPA on me, I hope I will communicate to HIM everyday without fail. I know I will have to concentrate on this real goal of life. Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna Prabhu’s, please could you offer spiritual advice on an urgent matter. I was wondering if you could guide me toward finding quotes from the Vedas regarding pregnancy termination for severely abnormal foetuses.
I am married and pregnant with a much wanted baby girl, I have just had scans which confirm that baby actually has no brain and half a heart (severe alobar holoprosencephaly caused by Trisomy 13 gene defect). What am I to do in this difficult situation? Is the mind located in the brain?
It is 90% likely that I will not go full term without miscarriage / stillbirth or if baby is born will probably die shortly after, but in very rare cases baby might live longer.
My husband thinks it is better to terminate now as per hospitals advice (because the baby is “not this body” and the soul cannot be slain etc…) but I know it is not right to abort according to the Vedas, the only exception being if the Mother’s life is at risk. I am already a mother so it is hard to even consider.
I know that if I proceed I will certainly suffer more bad Karmic reactions that I will have to pay off sooner or later. But how do I go against my husbands wishes? either way I appear to lose…
If you could refer me to any relevant scripture or offer some spiritual advice, that would help greatly.
Thank you,
Hare Krishna,
Hare Krishna Lila
As far as I know there are no scriptures allowing the killing of a child in this way in any situation. In the Vedic times they did not have abortions nor did they have ultrasounds so they would not be in this position.
The world is becoming a very difficult place with birth defects like this becoming very common. It is all the result of the increasing amount of sinful activities everywhere. I can not condone abortion, I have no authority to do that.
My suggestion would be to just let nature take its course and if the baby dies in the natural course of things then that is the way it should be and if somehow she is born in some way not fully capable still she can hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra and take Krishna prasadam and benefit in so many ways by living in the house of a Vaisnava family.
So that is my suggestion. Simply let nature take its course. There is no point fighting against nature for example by huge and very expensive medical procedures to save a child that is going to die in the ordinary course of things. But we can not kill a child who may survive. If the child is going to die then let it live until then and in that time she will benefit by hearing your chanting of Hare Krishna and when you take prasadam the child will also take the prasadam and benefit.
We don’t want to take anyone’s life. We want to give everyone the chance to hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra and associate with devotees and take prasadam. If she is born and only lives for a few weeks but lives in the association of a devotee family that will be very, very good for her.
So you can not kill your child for these reasons. It will not be a good thing to do. Let nature take its course and do not be too distressed if the child dies in the natural course of things but we can not speed up the process….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
Salutation to My Lord.
I agree with what you say but at present I am so ensconsed my Grihasthashram activities that I am not able to concentrate much about it . I have started reading these scriptures now and do get ecstatic while singing Bhajans and Kirtanas.
I will be in touch with you and definitely do everything possible to attain the spiritual height which this soul has come on this earth with your blessings.
Hare Krishna
Umesh
Hare Krishna Umesh
Of course it is natural to get entangled in the actives of the grhastha ashram, but still, as you are doing, we must keep up the spiritual side of our lives also and keep chanting Hare Krishna, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and singing the bhajans and kirtans as you are doing.
So please keep on chanting and reading Prabhupada’s books even in your situation in the grhastha ashram, it does not matter. In any position of life you can become a pure devotee of Krishna. Lord Caitanya did not very much encourage His followers to change their ashram or change their position in life, rather he encouraged them to become Krishna conscious in whatever position in life they were in. It is good advice. So you can remain in your grhastha life and perform the duties that you have in regard to that and at the same time chant Hare Krishna, sing kirtans and bhajans and read Srila Prabhupada’s books and you will be progressing very tangibly towards the ultimate destination.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
Dhanyavad, Thank You.
Umesh
Hare Krishna,
Lila
As a mother I understand your agony but with the strong faith in Lord Krishna, you will receive peace of mind.
A child is a gift from God. No one is allowed to take a baby’s life. One will make the highest karma by killing the baby in the womb. A mother’s job is to nurture the baby with the love of God — Chanting the Maha Mantra and reading Lord Krishna’s past times. Usually, babies with no brain do have life in their mother’s womb. However, they don’t live long once they are separated from their mothers’ womb.
Our children are not ours but God’s children and let Lord Krishna decide their fate.
A friend of mine had a similar problem. Her baby daughter didn’t have brain and died after birth, soon, by grace of God, she became pregnant with twins and now, she has a beautiful girl and boy. Children should be loved by their parents no matter in what form they come and never shortened their life span by any means.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Hare Krishna
ur every word enlightens..and d manner in which u dictate is simply superb..Knowing all,tat wer d drivers simply,and being a devotee of Iskcon..still..cant control our senses..y cant we control ourselves from doing wrong?is it the body or the spirit tat makes us uncontrollable??y is it that we r bent in front our own greediness instead of bowing /bendind infront f Girdhar Gopal??
HAri Bol!
Hare Krishna Naveenta
There is a process to control the senses, and that is taught by Srila Prabhupada. And in Srila Prabhupada’s presence the devotees who sincerely followed the instructions of Srila Prabhupada had no problem controlling their senses. It is easy if we actually follow the path chalked out by Srila Prabhupada. But that path is a very serious thing. If we want to become Krishna conscious then we have to be serious about it. Otherwise it is not possible to control our senses or become Krishna conscious.
“Devotee of ISKCON” means nothing these days. Prabhupada’s standard for devotee of ISKCON is someone who is actually a surrounded soul to Srila Prabhupada and who is really chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, every day without fail, and who is strictly following the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication. And who is following all the other do’s and do not’s that Srila Prabhupada mentions in his books. He is obviously reading Prabhupada’s books, rising early in the morning before 4:00 am to offer the Mangal Aroti and to be awake and chanting Hare Krishna during the Brahma Muhurta, the most auspicious time of the day. And he is doing practical service for Srila Prabhupada.
The most common factor about today’s so-called devotees is it is very difficult to find anyone who is really doing much practical devotional service. Saddhna is only part of it. Of course we have to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra and we have to read Prabhupada’s books, but that chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is a prayer to Krishna “Please engage me in Your service.” So we can’t just chant and read. In the books Srila Prabhupada is always stressing the service. We have to be engaged in serving Krishna under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master 24 hours a day. That is the process. That is Krishna consciousness. That is devotional service. So Krishna consciousness without practical service is meaningless. How long can we go on chanting “Hare Krishna,” praying to be engaged in the service of Krishna, but not actually do any practical service?
Of course chanting Hare Krishna is also service and reading Prabhupada’s books is also service. But our whole life, our whole existence has to be surrendered to Krishna and every action we perform has to be for the pleasure of Krishna under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master.
So the process is there in Srila Prabhupada’s books and anyone who sincerely follows this process will have no problems controlling their senses. Of course maya is very strong and spiritual life is like a razors edge so at any time we can fall down and we have to be very careful. So due to bad association a sincere devotee may fall down from the proper standard sometimes, but he has tasted the transcendental ecstasy that comes from serving Krishna, so even though sometimes he may fall into maya due to bad association, he cannot forget Krishna, and he is not happy in maya, and he has no illusion that he can be happy in maya. So he wants to get out of maya and back into Krishna consciousness. And by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy and Krishna’s mercy once someone has done some sincere devotional service his spiritual life has begun and it will be completed. Even though their may be many trials and tribulations along the path, the sincere devotee will be successful in the end.
But nothing happens until we surrender to a bona fide spiritual master and make his mission our mission in life…. Just bowing before Girdhar Gopal is not enough. It is very good, more than very good, to bow down before Krishna… But still we have to bow down before Krishna’s pure devotee and surrender to him and serve him. That is the process Krishna recommends in the Bhagavad-gita “You must approach a bona fide spiritual master, render service, inquire submissively, offer obeisances. Such a self-realized person can give you real knowledge because he has seen the truth.” So Krishna is not directly available. We can get the mercy of Krishna only by getting the mercy of Krishna’s pure devotees. So bona fide, liberated, self-relized, pure devotee spiritual master is essential. And we have to be surrendered to him and serve him. The secret to advancement in Krishna consciousness and controlling the senses is to please Krishna’s pure devotee…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krisna prabu, i am follow in four years in madurai ISKCON.I have following chantings and Krisna books reading and so very useful of the material world.I like your message prabhu. you have sent many message of lord of spirimpersonality of God Head Sri Krisana.Thank you very much prabhu hare krisana.
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa dasa,
Thank you for the beautiful explanation of purifying our senses.
My question – Who are the devotees of Lord Krishna at present time that we have to be associate with beside you? There is a Temple of ISKCON in West Virginia. Are they the true followers of Swami Prabhupada?
Where can I get Tilaka?
I am visiting Mathura/Vrindavana/Ayodhya from January 22 till Feb 6, 2012.
Any special place I should visit in addition to Mother Sudevi Holy cows in Radha Kunda. Do you have the exact address of Mother Sudevi and visitation time. I would love to visit Mother Sudevi and her Holy Cows.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Hare Krishna Sara
You can get the tilak from http://www.KrishnaStore.com
It is very difficult to find true followers of Srila Prabhupada at this time. Any ISKCON temple the devotees have to agree to reject the teachings of Srila Prabhupada in so many ways. Basically they train anyone who comes to them to reject Srila Prabhupada. That is what the modern-day ISKCON does. If you do not agree to reject Srila Prabhupada then you will be rejected by today’s ISKCON… So realistically you are not likely to find true followers of Prabhupada there.
Also it is hard to find Vrindavan at Vrindavan… Of course it is here. I am living here at the moment. But finding it is not so easy… You have to actually surrender to the process of Krishna consciousness as it is taught to us by Srila Prabhupada. That is the only way to find Vrindavan and Krishna consciousness. You will not find it anywhere else. You really have to surrender to chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha mantra daily and surrender to reading Srila Prabhupada’s books for 1-2 or more hours a day and actually follow all the instructions that you find Prabhupada giving you as you read his books. This is the way to find Vrindavan and this is the way to find Krishna consciousness. You can not go to Vrindavan by purchasing an airplane ticket.
As far as Sudevi’s place you can ask anyone in Radha-Kund and they should be able to give you directions. Of course you may have to ask a few or many people. But eventually you will find someone who can give you directions… That is India…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
Madhudvisa dasa,
Thank you for the information.
Beside, garlic, onion, mushroom, which other vegrtables are not to be included in our meal.
Is there any spices or nuts that we shouldn’t have in our meal?
WE can have milk and yogurt what about cheese. Thank you for your understanding.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Hare Krishna Sara
It is not “our meal”. That is a basic misunderstanding that you have to drive out of your head. As aspiring devotees we do not cook for ourselves. So there is no question of “our meal”. We cook for Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. So you question should be what other vegetables are there that we can not offer to Krishna. That should always be in our consciousness we are cooking for Krishna and we will offer the meal to Krishna. It is Krishna’s meal, not our meal. And after Krishna and Srila Prabhupada have enjoyed the meal then we will accept the prasadam, the remnents of their meal. It is a very important point that we have to always be conscious of.
These restrictions on the cooking are because Krishna does not accept everything. He accepts foodstufs in the mode of goodness in the groups of grains, milk products, vegetables and fruits. And garlic, onions and mushrooms are not in the mode of goodness and are not offerable to Krishna. I think this is basically it. Nothing else comes to mind really.
We can offer Krishna milk products like yogurt and milk. The reason we can not offer hard cheese is that generally it contains rennet which is made usually from the lining of calves stomachs… Which is very horrible and as Krishna is Govinda, the friend of the cows and calves, we can not please him by offering him cheese mixed up with the stomachs of slaughtered calves…
Generally any processed food should be avoided. It is really better to milk the cow and make the yogurt yourself. But if you can not then milk and yogurt without gelatine–which is very often used as a thickener in yogurt and is also meat–can be purchased and offered. But as you see even a large percentage of the yogurt that is on the supermarket shelves is not offerable to Krishna because it has gelatine in it. And when you are getting into cheeses then there is even more processing and most of it has rennet and there is so much chance of something not offerable in it so generally it is better to avoid the cheeses.
There is nothing wrong with offering cheese to Krishna of course, the problem is in todays world they mix so many horrible things in with the processed foods. So we should avoid processed foods as they are generally no offerable to Krishna.
You can very easily make cheese yourself from milk [curd]. You just boil the milk and put lemon juice in it and it separates into curds and whey and then you strain it and press it for about 1/2 hour under a not so heavy weight and you have cheese. And you can cut it into cubes and use it in dishes that you offer to Krishna like that or you can deep-fry it in ghee and put it in subjis and other wonderful preparations that you can offer to Krishna…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna!
How can one say that there are no true followers of Srila Prabhupada? Its not totally correct.
The MAJOR DISOBEDIENCE to Srila Prabhupada is rejecting him and accepting some bogus ISKCON guru as the spiritual master, who is neither qualified nor being authorized by the previous Guru..
Because of this MAJOR DISOBEDIENCE, ISKCON had to go through a dark phase post 1977; after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance.
If this MAJOR MISTAKE in ISKCON is rectified, then everything else becomes negligible. That is why a lot of devotees throughout the world still practice and accept Srila Prabhupada as the ONLY DIKSHA GURU IN ISKCON. One of the big ISKCON Temples following this is Sri Sri Radha Krishna-chandra Temple, Rajajinagar, BANGALORE. Anyone can personally visit the temple; which is a landmark in the Silicon Valley of India; and can see the massive and glorious activities and huge preaching happening in Kali-yuga..
Hare Krishna Prabhu
The question was where can he find the real ISKCON, not if there were any true followers of Srila Prabhupada or not, and my answer was that the only place that I know of that you can find the real ISKCON is in Prabhupada’s original books and here at Krishna.org. There may be other places of course but I do not know about those places. So I did not say at all that there are no true followers of Srila Prabhupada. There are many true followers of Srila Prabhupada of course. But the real ISKCON? That is very, very difficult to find today…
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa das
Thank You.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Sara
Hare Krishna Prabhu ji
Thank you for giving me Your teaching. I feel very happy now. I want to learn more so please guide me always
Hare Krishna
Thanks For your Divine work , I want to learn a lot , now am in the first stage of spirituality, Send me Email daily …
Hare krishna Hare Krishan Krishna Krishna Hare Hare , Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hi, could you please tell me regarding your comment that we recieve a youthful body and knowledge in the next life; that is even if we should be so blessed to get there as having talked to a devotee from a math (church)I visited the other day. He told me there are many other planets we could end up on! So if I did love Krishna and obeyed all the rules to “make it”, what would I do with all this new youthfulness and knowledge? Ps I do agree though that “we” spend so much time in this life seeking only enjoyment and never consider a higher power. And then it is too late.
Hi again. You related to Sara that ISCKON have rejected Prahbupada’s books. Then they have rejected Prabhupada? Is this true. Was not ISCKON established by Sri Prabupada. I find this amazing. But I have watched them on the internet via web streaming and they after singing to Krishna the Govinda Adi Purusham devotional song they then go and sing to Prabupada. I saw this happening at the temple in the UK, also at the Alachua webcam.
Hi Steve
ISKCON worship Srila Prabhupada something like the Christians worship Jesus. They make a show of worship but they do not follow the instructions. Of course there are individuals who are trying their best to follow and serve Srila Prabhupada in ISKCON but the whole direction of the moment is away from Prabhupada and towards worshiping false gurus appointed by the GBC.
It is a very great disaster.
They chant “Jaya Srila Prabhupada!” but don’t care to follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions in so many ways…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I Dear Madhudvisa Dasa,I tried hard to contact you for questions about Krishna Store…. First, Thanks to your service for Krishna, so many years and torments (not from you…)
Second, I’m alone in my city of Québec to pray Krishna… I work on that.
Can you tell me what to say to someone who may replies to me that Iskon abused so many children that they are discredited? By the grace of Krishna I Know Him by Aprakrita Dasa, a strict devotee from ritvik movement.
But I will never send anybody to Iskon temple. GBC ARE CROOKS.
Money eaters and sex molesters, that what they are. But…
I worship the lotus feet of Krishna and Sri Prabhupada is my guru….
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Yes. ISKCON has become very much corrupted by the agents of Kali in the disguise of gurus and sannyasis unfortunately.
But we have Srila Prabhupada. And all the deviations of ISKCON are the result of them rejecting Prabhupada’s orders.
I also do not advise people to go to ISKCON temples but also in some ISKCON temples you may find some sincere devotees. So it really depends who is in your local temple… But the problem is the ISKCON system and as you say the GBC is totally corrupt and totally independent of the authority and instructions of Srila Prabhupada. So they have disconnected themselves from Krishna.
But still there are devotees in ISKCON who are reading Prabhupada’s books and following the instructions they find from Srila Prabhupada there. So in the beginning you may find some nice new bhaktas in ISKCON but they soon get corrupted by the leaders unfortunately.
So best thing is to stay away and be Krishna conscious in your own place and preach to others also…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna!
Dear Jean,
You are absolutely right…. So many bogus gurus have come and gone; fallen down..
But a true spiritual master (Srila Prabhupada) never falls down.
Hence, these bogus gurus were(and are continuing…) never spiritual masters.
Jai Ritvik movement at Hare Krishna Hill, Bangalore, flourishing and increasing day-by-day by his Causeless Mercy..
http://www.iskconbangalore.org
Srila Prabhupada is the only diksha-Guru in ISKCON MOVEMENT, ALL OVER THE WORLD..
“Hare Krishna“
If the people of the World would know the difference between the soul & body as the formula for peace, i think is then & there that peace of mind will prevail here on earth. Even without further explaination, i think i‘ve Now gotten the need for spiritual realization & what it really means; aleast to be a liberated soul completely distinct from the material body.
The analysis was indeed; indisputable. But my question is, how can one have power over the mind & its uncontaminated condition? Since the mind insist from resisting most material sensation & also when one tries to sactisfy the desires of the soul which says to be the real life giving force.
Thanks for the Enlightment.
The mind can be controlled by chanting the mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
In this age of Kali there is no other way, no other way, no other way…
like its easy to say we are soul noth this body!!
but what is the use of these statements??
as i am student studenied 24 years did post graduate also in guidance of iskon temple devotey since last 3years and but placement in colg doesnt happen and only got a temporary training with 14 hour work along with traveling to the firm included and getting only 1/6 of what my friends getting in other firms who got placement by college ,collge took heavy fees and i took loan 5 lakhs now its upto me how to repay this loan to parents..
but seems my mentor at iskon he also doesnt talks to me nowadays may be due to my sadness over placements and my ignorance in his told 0 rounds japa dailay and 1 hour book read scdules but i dont have time for all this ,i do 4 rounds and 10 min daily read that time only i can manage in k.c. but still i am tensed always and krishna book and geeta even give me no solace as job search then training temporary job work with anxieties of future all preoccupy me and iskon last function i missed also..so where k.c. can help me here ??life i dont know where is going ??
any suggestions and since last month when college has ended and my training started i have started over sleeping 8 hours to 9 hours may be the work isnt that interesting or what somedays i get very tensed in evenings and feel to visit adult sites but thats is also not the solution to my career worries ..
i thought of joining bace but my family dont approve this bace .my faculty are good ,college seemed good but still 50 percent are not placed and i am one of them ..so i dont know now where to go ,as still when i see advertsements of richness and cars ,i wonder do i ever buy them with my temporay training of 7 thousand only and the travel this training involves thats leaves my no energy to join gym or do japa or read geeta even and even i have to miss gopal krishna gosvami maharaj lecture for this hectic life ..
i dont know where life takling me..
what i do now? please give a solution as mentor at iskon almost has deserted me as he was annoyed with my sms of help to him and dad although he is yoga person but i find tough to talk to him ,as i left his yoga pranayma dhayna clases and started chanting
so what i don now? pj as family respect is also i think is decresaing for me ,younger brother says i am getting only this money in training and he angers at me at me not getting any job by colg but i tried my best these 2 years of post graduate course ..no i dont feel like contuing this training but i dont have any alternative either at present and i need to submit my report to college to get a degree as this training is part of my college degree…
so thats a worry ..also..
what do i know sir ? i am ready to go attend morning programe 4 am to 7am of hear ,japa ,read in temple but my conscious then guilts me that i am not applying jobs and doing puja time spent in temple and leaving my karmas
and my mentor at iskon told me to have only 1 hear class thats also not posible for me as i am iregular in that ..
what do i pj? any help or solution
hare krishna
dhandvad pranam
Hare Krishna Prabhu
There is an English saying “Man proposes, God disposes.” It means that you can make so many plans but they will only be successful if they are sanctioned by Krishna. Everyone is not the same. It is not that everyone can get a big job and earn a huge salary and live the “high life”. It is not possible for everyone. And actually a devotee takes these apparently difficult situations in the material world as Krishna’s mercy. Somehow what is happening to you is Krishna’s mercy and you have to see it like that.
If you were ‘successful’ and earning a huge salary you would probably be completely distracted from Krishna consciousness. My suggestion is always the same Prabhu, and that is 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 and read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1 hour per day, preferably more. Even this is not enough really but that is the start and that is necessary. We should not fool ourselves that we can be Krishna conscious without chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily for example. It is not possible. You can not expect to transcend the modes of material nature if you are not chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily.
You may know I do not really recommend joining the ISKCON temples at the moment because things are so messed up there but if there is a temple and you are attending it and it is nicely managed and there is a nice group of brahmacaris there then every young man needs to be trained as a brahmacari. It does not come ‘naturally’. Particularly not now, in this Kali-yuga with the atmosphere so surcharged with sense gratification.
This life in the material world is getting more and more hectic and they are demanding more and more time and energy of the workers and paying them less and less money. That is predicted in the Bhagavatam that as the Kali-yuga progresses men will have to work very hard all day and night just to get enough money to purchase food. That time is coming…
Devotees can be transcendental to this system. I do not think it is a great loss if you missed the Gopal Krishna Lecture with all due respect. These guys have made Krishna consciousness into something very fuzzy and indistinct. It is better for you to listen to Srila Prabhupada’s lectures which you can listen to and download at http://www.Krishna.TV and read Prabhupada’s books.
The thing is unless you get a taste for Krishna consciousness somehow all this is dry and you will not be able to maintain it. And really that taste for Krishna consciousness comes by the mercy of a pure devotee of Krishna, you have to please, get the mercy of a pure devotee of Krishna. And a pure devotee of Krishna is very rarely found. The only person we can 100% guarantee is a pure devotee of Krishna and who has this potency to bless you with his mercy and by that blessing you will the taste for Krishna consciousness is Srila Prabhupada.
So you need to get Srila Prabhupada’s mercy. You have to please him, you have to serve him. It is not that we have to try and serve Radharani and Krishna directly and please Them. That is not possible for us. We can not directly approach Krishna. We have to go through Krishna’s pure devotee. And the only pure devotee of Krishna I am aware of who is available now and ready to give you his blessings is Srila Prabhupada.
That is the secret actually. You have to please Srila Prabhupada and get the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, then you will have a taste for Krishna consciousness and then you will naturally chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily because you will become attached to the chanting, you will feel something tangible, something spiritual, something real when you chant Hare Krishna and read Srila Prabhupada’s books.
That taste is necessary. These days really 99% of ISKCON devotees have no taste for chanting Hare Krishna because they don’t have a pure devotee as their spiritual master and they have no real connection to Krishna. So it is mostly all theoretical. But this theoretical spiritual life can not be sustained. You need the taste…. The Higher Taste. And really you can only get that from Srila Prabhupada and if you can get that then all your problems will be solved…
These theoretical ISKCON devotees will not be able to help you get the taste for chanting Hare Krishna because they don’t actually have any taste for chanting Hare Krishna themselves. They do it as tapasya, as an austerity, and many of them just pretend to chant 16 rounds but really don’t chant 16 rounds at all… It is a great problem. You need to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada, he can help you. I do not think ISKCON can help you.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
HARE KRISHNA Prabhuji,
Im glad to receive the nice messages from you Prabhuji, i think this was the time for me to know more about this Material Maya how to get out of this and to have a spiritual life by praying My Beloved RADHA KRISHNA and by chanting Hare Krishna Maha Manthra.
I wish to have your blessings also prabhuji by showing me the correct way in leading this confused life.
Thanking You,
Hare Krishna
Yest I agree that I am the Soul using the vehicle of the body , mind and senses to express itself . My food is divine love of Lord Sri Krishna and I have to express and manifest the energy of love using the vehicle of my body . when i focus my attention on my identity as the matter . I become a bhogi but in Krishna consciuousness i am with my Lord Krishna and able to serve the lord through the matter embodiment which i use as a vehicle .
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
first thankyou for such a great knowledge…
now i understand we r not this body but if it is true than why if someone cut our hand we feel pain…
Actually if we know we are not the body if we cut our hand we will not feel pain. We will know that we have cut our hand and that the body is experiencing pain but that we are not the body, we are transcendental and separate to the body. It is only because of our false identification of the self with the body that we fell pain when the body is damaged. If we have actually realized that we are separate from the body then we will also be separate from the pains and pleasures of the body.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Dasa,
In the Bhahavad Gita, Lord Krishna said to Arjuna ” Among all the Mantras, I am the Gayatri”. The Gayatri Mantra :
Gayatri Mantra Its Meaning
AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA, – OH GOD! THOU ART THE GIVER OF LIFE,
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM REMOVER OF PAIN AND SORROW,
BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI THE BESTOWER OF HAPPINESS,
DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT. OH! CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE,
MAY WE RECEIVE THY SUPREME SIN-DESTROYING LIGHT
MAY THOU GUIDE OUR INTELLECT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
Can we invoke this Gayatri Mantra to Lord Krishna. I would like to know if our Swami Prabhupada ever mentioned to invoke the Gayatri Mantra to Lord Krishna. Please shed light on this matter, if possible. Source http://www.eaglespace.com
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Hare Krishna Sue
Gayatri mantra is only for initiated brahmanas. So first one has to get hari-nam initiation and then after some time if he / she is very fixed up in devotional service then second initiation may be given and at that time the gayatri mantra is given.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna,
I am chanting krishna almost every time of conscious breathing.
i am forgetting my job related work and names and
my recalling of certain events are becoming slow.
It is decreasing my working efficiency.
How should i improve on this area?
Hare krishna !!
A devotee
Just keep chanting Hare Krishna and read Prabhupada’s books. If you just chant without reading Prabhupada’s books then you will not get the full benefit because there is a science to the chanting and that science is described in Prabhupada’s books…
I found this a really good description and explanation of balancing our bodily needs with our spiritual needs.
Thank you.
Hari Bol
I am totally agreed.
Hare Krishna
I had discussed this with my chinmaya saaket class, we had explained how we cannot stop when the car experiences road bumps because it is a part of the path. Instead we grow stronger after each road bump ready to conquer the rest.
Hare Krishna
It is good correlation of human body and soul with an automobile and the driver. One thing the driver knows the destination and commands the automobile. On the contrary in human the body which has the sensory organs which is seeing, hearing, tasting, preceiving, sensing through the body and hence does not understand the soul what is driving
I want to know how the body can understand the soul needs. Soul as an automobile driver need to command the body
Indirectly I can understand soul is driving. Body has tolerances and within that limits it cannot understand but instead does not accept. I can understand inorder for the body to accept, one need to alter the tolerance limits. Again how to know what are the toilerance limits for each individual
Please tell me how Bagavath Gita would help each individual body to alter their tolerance limits and understand the soul – the driver
Cheers
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
Thanks a lot for teaching me the great Bhagavad Gita daily from past one week, i have been reading it very patiently .
Prabhuji recently i heard that we are all servant of servant of servant of Krsna , yes ofcourse i totally agree with that , but is there any chance of becomming a direct servant of the Lord Krsna who is present in Golok Dham, yes maybe not now but maybe after several yugas or so. Will there be some kind of promotion in the spiritual world,wherein all the servants of krsna who have reached him recently get a chance to serve him personally.
Awaiting your reply prabhuji
Hare Krishna Prabhu
We all have our eternal relationship with Krishna so we all have some sort of service relationship with Him, that is our svarupa, or our eternal constitutional position. So as we make advancement in Krishna consciousness our actual relationship with Krishna will be revealed to us. But that is a very advanced stage and we should not try to prematurely guess what is our relationship with Krishna. We simply have to become Krishna consciousness and gradually everything will be revealed to us. There is no ‘promotion’ in the spiritual world. There everything is eternal and everyone has there eternal relationship with Krishna and they do not want to change this.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
I want to get out of this daily frustration & want mental relief.I want to chant daily 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra but I am not able to do as my daily activities disturbing me.I am sales manager so I have to daily carry the burden of targets & achievements,I get so many calls in a day that I forget what to do,I get diverted from my actual task.And if I stop all my daily work & just concentrate on mantra which is also not possible as I have to take care of my family & daily expenses.
Please Guide.
Warm Regards,
Nilesh
Hare Krishna Nilesh
You just have to do it, chant 16 rounds. Get up early in the morning and chant Hare Krishna, that is the best time to chant. Go to bed a bit earlier. Obviously you have to work in the day, but the rest of your time you can spend in Krishna consciousness. Many great devotees have had responsible ‘day jobs’ and have been family men. So it is possible. You won’t get any relief unless you follow the process. And if you follow the process it will work. You will get relief and your material situation will change and you will be able to become Krishna conscious and somehow manage your material responsibilities even though that seems impossible to you at the moment.
Becoming Krishna conscious is not easy. It requires tapasya, austerity. So we have to be prepared to undergo that tapasya… If you follow the process Krishna will give you the intelligence how to adjust things…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna prabhu have a question which is been in me for many
years but i never asked to any one. What is the purpose of life?? Is
it staying happy or doing things which make us happy?
And one more thing i wanted to know is i want the taste of KC. I want
to do it better than now. How can i achieve that??
It will be great help if u could answer these questions of mine.
Hare Krishna.
How on earth can you be studying Krishna consciousness and not know the purpose of life? I can not believe that. You must not have read even one of Srila Prabhupada’s books. So please read Srila Prabhupada’s books Prabhu. The purpose of life is to reestablish our forgotten relationship with Krishna and to live in such a way that we will remember Krishna constantly so that at the time of death we will also remember Krishna and Krishna promises in the Bhagavad-gita that anyone who remembers Him at the time of death will not take birth in the material world again but will go back home, back to Godhead. As for getting the taste of Krishna consciousness you have to follow the process under the direction of a pure devotee of Krishna and the taste will develop. So again read Prabhupada’s books and find out what the process is and follow it.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna Prabhu
We are trying to exist here in the material world but the atmosphere of the material world is nonexistence. Actually we are not meant to be threatened by nonexistence.
Kindly explain what does it mean
Hare Krishna Divakar
In the material world everyone is threatened by nonexistence. That is because in the material world the people are in the bodily concept of life, accepting their material bodies as themselves. So you know at any moment the material body can be killed and in that way become nonexistent. So that is how the people in the material concept of life are threatened by nonexistence. But actually we should not be threatened by nonexistence as actually we are not the material body, but we are the eternal spirit soul who is driving the particular body for some time and when that body ceases to exist the driver will be given another body to drive. So as soon as one realizes he is not the body but the spirit soul within the body he is no longer threatened by nonexistence.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
We are trying to exist here in the material world but the atmosphere of the material world is nonexistence. Actually we are not meant to be threatened by nonexistence
Can you please explain on this
I have already explained this, please read my other replies to the comments.
HARE KRISHNA!
All Glories To His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
Thanks Madhudvisa Prabhu, Yes You have taught this, i studied Your teachings, for which i am grateful.
Hari Bol !
Your Humble Servant,
Jared
Hari Bol !
We are Spirit-souls, the Jivas, as we sit, as on a branch with The Param-Atma, The Supersoul, Lord Sri Krishna in The Isvara form. We now are to cry out in this human body form for Lord Sri Krishna’s mercy, that we may be forever re-linked to GOD/Krishna as we are his eternal servants lost in this material world without HIM & without our Devotional Service (Bhakti-Yoga) to HIM, we shall be forever lost.
YHS,
Jared
Hare Krishna!
Is karma controlled by God or we are controller of karma?
Hare Krishna
The laws of karma and the interactions of the three modes of material nature, they are created and controlled by Krishna. But we have a little independence and that independence is basically only that we can choose to either serve Krishna or to serve maya. So when we decide to serve maya then all the actions we perform generate reactions. That is what we are calling karma. So these karmic reactions are a result of us misusing our limited independence and deciding to serve maya instead of serving Krishna. But we are not the controller of anything at all. We are servants eternally. The karma that we are getting is the result of our deciding to serve maya instead of serving Krishna. If we surrender to Srila Prabhupada and by his mercy engage in the service of Krishna then we will be able to stop generating karma and by the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra the karma that is stockpiled in our heart will be eliminated also.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
This analogy of the car and driver to the body and soul is very good as it is something we can all relate to.
I found this news letter very uplifting.
One question I have.
I feel a very strong attraction to come closer to our Lord Krishna. However, I’m also finding that I am resisting to some extent. I followed the Christian religion for most of my life trying to find answers. I followed Church of England, Baptist, Seven day Adventists, Jehovers Witnesses and others. A few years ago I converted to Islam.
The end results were always the same. The teachings were always distorted to the extent that the distortions prevented me from learning the truth. Islam was a disappointment. Not so much from the teachings that contained similar distortions to those of Christianity but from the discrimination I suffered as an English convert at the Mosque which was most upsetting.
I am now 68 years old and have still not found what I am looking for. As I say I feel a strong attraction to our Lord Krishna But I am also wary, because of my past experiences.
I would appreciate your comments and advice.
Hare Krishna
Yusuf.
Hare Krishna Yusuf
The problem is that demons are always attracted to the position of preachers. It is a very nice position for a demon because he can get fame, adoration, distinction, worship, etc. Of course there are probably some sincere preachers also, but most of them are actually demons and are in the ‘god business’ for some personal benefit, not actually to distribute pure knowledge about God and how we can engage in His service. And most of the sincere ones actually have no practical idea how to go back home back to Godhead even themselves, what to speak of having the potency to guide thousands of followers. So in either case, the outright demon who is just misusing the position of preacher for his own personal benefit and the sincere soul who is trying to guide his followers but does not really know the way himself, the followers are in the same position. They have no proper guidance and no proper direction and will, like you have become so many times, become frustrated and in the end not find what they are looking for.
It is not strange that even though there are so many millions of preachers that almost none of them really knows the way. Because it is extremely rare to find a pure devotee, one who is actually a liberated soul who has no connection with or attachment to the material world. It is only such a liberated soul who can guide us and direct us in such a way that we also can become liberated.
You could also go to an ISKCON temple and accept one of their bogus non-liberated gurus and be again misguided and have just as bad an experience as you have had with all the other religions. These bogus gurus and bogus preachers are everywhere, even in the Krishna consciousness movement. So you have to be very careful to find a pure devotee of Krishna who can guide you and then you will not be disappointed. You will finally actually find what you are looking for, pure love of God. That is our natural, eternal position. We are all eternal servants of God and we can only be happy if we can be reinstated in our position as servants of God.
You need to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada. He is a pure devotee of Krishna, he will never disappoint or cheat you. So please make a serious program to read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books, you can get them at http://www.KrishnaStore.com, and really you will find everything that you are looking for there… It is the real thing…
But continue to be very wary of these preachers and gurus and others in the ‘god business’. They are mostly all demons…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Yusuf,
This is your greatest boon from Lord Krishna to come to Krishna web site, not only to learn about Krishna but also to find out your mission and your salvation. Lord Krishna is God Himself and He is The Supersoul seating in our hearts. He is I AM That I AM. The Lord knows what we need and guides us to Him. To know Lord Krishna easily, watch Mahabharatha, Krishna, Vishnu Puran and Ramayana DVD or youtube by Sagar/Chopra. Follow Madhudvisa dasa’s directions – Chant the name of God, read His pastimes and follow the precepts.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Sara
Hare Krishna prabhu,
I have 2 questions, its that why do we hanker for things? I know its Krishna conciousness but can you explain further. And whenever i am done chanting my rounds and reading, i somehow fall into material things again and can you tell me how to prevent it.
Hare Krishna Khanjan
There are two activities of the materialists. One is that he hankers for the things that he wants but does not have and the other is that he laments for the things that he once had but has now lost. So if we find that we are still hankering for things and lamenting about things we have lost then we can know that we are still on the materialistic platform. As we advance in Krishna consciousness we will have the practical realization that these material things we are hankering after and lamenting about have no real value at all and what is really valuable is devotional service, Krishna consciousness. A devotee who is actually engaged in the service of Krishna and His pure devotees feels completely satisfied and has no desire for anything else except to be engaged in the service of Krishna and to live in the association of devotees. That is the perfection of life.
We will always fall into material things if we do not have engagement in Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness is not just chanting our rounds and reading from Prabhupada’s books. That is our saddhana. And of course that is essential. But there is another aspect to Krishna consciousness and that is our service. So once we have finished our saddhana then we have to be engaged in our service. A devotee organizes his life so that he is engaged in the service of Krishna 24 hours a day. He does not want to leave even a second without some connection with service to Krishna.
There is an English saying: ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And this is very true. As soon as we are idle, as soon as we have nothing to do, the mind will immediately drag us down into maya. So we have to keep busy 24 hours a day in Krishna consciousness.
We need to develop a taste for Krishna consciousness and have to organize our lives so every aspect of our life is dovetailed in the service of Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada practically teaches how to do this in his books so we should read them…
Krishna consciousness is a way of life that effects our every moment. It is not a religion or some meditation that we do in the morning and then forget about. A devotee’s whole life is transformed. We should be ready to become a different person with a completely different outlook on the world and a completely different set of desires and aspirations after taking to Krishna consciousness. Otherwise if we want to stay the same and just add Krishna consciousness that will not work. We have to be prepared to change…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Perhaps it may be due to prarabdha that we read and we understand Bhagavad Gita at different times in one’s life. Such articles are thought stimulating and helps to understand better. Thanks
Hare Krshna ,
Thanks for your letters,You will glad to hear that recently I have completed SSR course from mumbai grandroad temple ,it was a blissfull experience to gain knowledge Their and currently I have also joined Bhgagwad gita advance course ,so I m updating myself with the knowledge .
Thanks for your letters.
Nikita
Hare Krshna
Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Krishna Krishna! Hare Hare! Hare Rama! Rama Rama! Hare Hare!
And now I’m Happy!!…
Since I came in contact to Krishna Consciousness I feel real improvement in my life. I got answers to almost all my problems. I am more happy than ever..
Let Lord Chaitanya bestow his blessings to me that I shall be able to continue with this…
“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare”
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE!!
Really excellent explanation guruji.
Need topic like this every day!!
Hare Krishna,
The body is a machine, just like a motor car is a machine. I am within this body as the driver is within the motor car. This is a very good statement. I practiced it whole day after reading this statement and found it amazing. My body is a car, it takes me wherever I wish to a different destination. Now I can understand this is a outer journey, this belongs to a material world.
But I don’t know how to start our internal journey even I’m not aware of internal destination. Is there any internal destination? If it is, how will I come to know that this is my internal destination? What is spiritual consciousness and how it can be our real need, the needs of the soul?
The beginning is to understand that you are not the body. Then you realize that your destination and the body’s destination can be different. And you realize that although you want to take some service from the body and keep it in good working order, beyond that you have no real interest in the body. The spiritual journey and destination is very nicely described by Srila Prabhupada in his books. PLEASE READ THEM. It is not something that can be described in a little comment on the internet….
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
All glories to Srila Prabupada.
All glories to Devotees.
I am not this body is easy to say however is it easy to believe?
Your servant,
Shashank
It has to be realized and can only actually be realized by becoming Krishna conscious. So we have to become Krishna conscious to realize that “I am not this body” and the process of how to become Krishna conscious is described very nicely by Srila Prabhupada in his books. SO PLEASE READ PRABHUPADA’S BOOKS…
Thank you Prabhuji.
Hare Krishna.
Your servant,
Shashank.
I have a strange question. I have read the Bhagavad Gita many times but just recently started reading Bhagavad Gita as it is. One thing that has completely blown my mind is the purport on the atomic soul actually being inside the heart but microscopic in size. Does this mean that the soul is actually material?
No. The soul is not material. It is spiritual and can not be found with material instruments. The symptom of the presence of the soul is consciousness. It is like electricity. If there is electricity in the wire you can not see it but you can feel it and if you see the light is working then you know that there is electricity in the wire…
The soul is generally seated in the heart but it can move around also. That is what the yogis do, they move the soul around on the different currents of air that are circulating within the body. The idea of the dimension of the soul is that it is so small that it is not possible to perceive it by any material instrument. But you can perceive the presence of the soul by the consciousness.
The soul is actually the source of energy for the body. And as it is generally seated in the heart of the body that is why the heart is the source of energy for the body….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hari krishna prabhu,
i completely agree to the piece of this writing .
But there are few questions in my mind that howers over my mind every time.
Who really knows the life after death, how does the the driver knows that he has reached
his destination, which was never before seen by him.
I agree that it is really necessarxw to have great co-oridination between the mind body and soul
which is really hard to achieve in this materialistic world.
How do i knw that i am following the correct path.?
How do i knw the real purpose of my life?
To know things you have to hear them from someone who knows. Krishna of course knows everything and Krishna’s pure devotee also knows everything because he is simply the representative of Krishna. He speaks what Krishna guides him to say. So hearing from the bona fide spiritual master, like Srila Prabhupada, is as good as hearing from Krishna directly. So that is the way to know things. You hear them from a pure devotee of Krishna or from Krishna Himself in the Bhagavad-gita and then you know things as they are…
There is no way you can have any correct knowledge by your own strength or by hearing from some imperfect person. The only way you can get the real correct knowledge is by hearing it from Krishna and from Krishna’s pure devotees.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
Thank You Madhuvisaji for sending me these useful information which allows me to see more clearly!!!!!
Thank You 4 your Guidance..
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna,
Dear Madhudvisa Jee,
I found myself blissful to get close to Krishna Consciousness.
I appreciate your emails and writings.
Thank you for letting me ignorant, the way to happiness and purpose in life.
Hare Krishna,
Sudeep
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisences….
I really liked your article… I have some questions that are particular to me..
I have been suffering from anxiety and fear for entire life.. Sometimes it goes very high to extent of having body chills and suffocation.
When I talk about them to people they feel i am anxious for petty things and where I should actually anxious i’m bold.
My questions are:
- why do we feel anxious and fearfull? does it have impact fgrom past life?
- is my body anxious or my soul?
- what is mind? is mind different from soul?
- Why does mind keep thinking ther same thing and be fearful?
Will chanting help in getting relieved from the problems of Mind?
Hare Krishna Harish
The fear is generally a material thing. It is fear for the material body. It is often ultimately connected from the fear of death. So as soon as you realize that you are not the body, you are spirit soul, and you are eternal, never dying and never taking birth then all the fear connected with the body immediately vanishes.
Krishna promises that He will protect His devotees and tells Arjuna “Do not fear”. So devotees feel very comfortable under the protection of Krishna. They do not mind, they know Krishna is protecting them, and they are surrendered to the plan of Krishna. The do not mind if Krishna wants to kill them and they have no fear of death because they know that for the soul there is no death. So really Krishna consciousness means the platform of fearlessness.
Actually the spiritual world is called “Vaikuntha”, it means the place where there is no anxiety. But this material world is the opposite. The place that is full of anxiety. So when you become Krishna conscious it means your consciousness is transferred to that “Vaikuntha” situation and you will be completely free from anxiety.
All this fear and anxiety comes from the bodily concept of life. Misidentifying ourselves as or bodies. Krishna consciousness eliminates the bodily concept of life and in the process eliminates anxiety and fear completely.
The soul is you, the spiritual force that pervades your body and the symptom of the presence of your soul is the consciousness that pervades your body. The mind and the intelligence and the false ego are the subtle body. They are material, not spiritual, but they are more subtle than the gross material elements of earth, air, water, fire and ether. So this ‘subtle body’ of mind, intelligence and ego you keep when you change from one gross material body to another. So when the body you are in dies it is this subtle body of mind, intelligence and false ego that carries you to another material body. But if you are fortunate enough to become Krishna conscious and go back home back to Godhead it is only the spiritual body that will go. Both the subtle and gross material bodies will be left behind.
So the subtle body contains your false ego, that is the the bodily concept of life, the identification of yourself as your material body. The ideas that you are an Indian, you are a man, etc, they are products of this false ego. The mind is thinking feeling and willing, it is very closely connected to the senses. So when there is some demand from one of your senses the material mind processes that and thinks, feels and wills and tries to work out some way that your body can satisfy this demand of your senses. And the business of the intelligence is to accept or reject the proposals of the mind. So you may have noticed that you can actually seemingly have an argument with yourself. Your mind can be telling you to do something and your intelligence can be rejecting that demand…
So it is a very scientific thing. The soul of course has a spiritual identity and a spiritual mind and spiritual intelligence so the soul does not require the gross and subtle bodies. They are coverings over the soul that are required in the material world….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna,
Madhudvisa dasa ji,
please accept my humble obeisance….
guru ji, i have a doubt…as we all know, we are not this body, soul is everything..n we are here to make spritual or eternal relationship with supreme soul(paramatma). lord krishna gave this body to us as a gift so that we can do self realisation and be a devotee of lord krishna. that is why we should give priority to our soul not body, as u also told in newsletter by giving the analogy of driver and car.
my doubt is…
1)why it is writtern in bhagwad gita that women are less intelligent?? and i have also read interviews of swami prabhupadaji in which he said that women are subordinate to men…if both souls are eternal and pure in the same way…how these words can be used???? we all are subordinate to lord krishna…whether he is a man or woman…our dharma is sanatana dharma means our occupation is to serve god…so why there is difference? aren’t we talking materially…??? in bhagwad gita we are having spritual talks…we are learnt to understand about spirit…still we are talking materially….
i kno this is my misunderstanding in some way….i respect you and every devotee or creation of god …so pls this is my humble request to clear my doubt…i am really very sorry if i asked a wrong question…
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Gunjal
It is a good question, if men and women are both spirit soul and the spirit soul is equal then how is it that a woman is less intelligent than a man.
It is true that every living entity is a spirit soul and in that sense every living entity is equal. But there is a question of consciousness. Even a tree is a spirit soul and is also equal with a man or a women from the spiritual point of view. But the consciousness of the tree is so covered by its material body that it can not exhibit any intelligence at all. Except maybe growing in the direction of the light. It is not really a question of the soul, it is a question of the material body that covers the soul. The living entity that is covered by the tree body is so completely covered and has so little ability to exhibit any intelligence because the body he is covered by does not permit much expression of intelligence.
It is not that the living entity in the tree has no intelligence, it is that the body of the tree does not permit him to exhibit that intelligence. We get different bodies because of our consciousness. So the living entities in trees bodies have very low consciousness.
So man, women or tree, there is no difference from the spiritual point of view, but the bodies are different. A man’s body and a woman’s body are different. So the living entity in a man’s body has a far better ability to express his intelligence than the living entity in a woman’s body who has much less ability to express her intelligence.
You are correct that from the spiritual point of view there is no difference, but from the material point of view there is a difference, and materially a man is much more able to work intelligently and logically than a woman. Of course this is material intelligence and logic. Not spiritual. Spiritually they are equal. Of course a man will be able to understand and explain philosophy better, but really Krishna consciousness does not depend on philosophy, it depends on surrender and service to Krishna and His pure devotees. So a woman, even though she is less intelligent than a man, can become a very great devotee if she simply surrenders to Krishna and serves Him very sincerely… This does not require any great intelligence and in this way she can surpass so many so-called intelligent men who may get all caught up in debating the philosophy…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna!!!
having joined a temple og krishna a few weeks ago, i find your e mails both complementary and inspiring.i can`t tell you how thankful i am.
hare krishna
hare krsna prabhu ji.. i read it… thank you”
and your explanation about men n women, gave me new knowldge….
hare krsna …. radhey radhey
Hare Krishna,
Thanks for the beautiful articles. These articles makes me feel close to Krishna. I know that it takes a great amount of effort and brings great amount of joy.
The way the relating of body with motor car is amazing- very simple way of explanation.
Dr. Nivedita Ganguli, Psychologist
Hare Krishna Prabhu…
I have tried alot to finally realize this fact.. but yet in a dilemma as to why is it not possible to come out of the materialistic pleasures truely… how can you control your mind in all aspects so that we cant be slave of it anymore.. people do no that life is not a permanent one.. yet there is no harmony among us… also.. presently there are lots and lots of I’s me.. rather than we.. ours… thinking about it and finding a solution is a never ending process.. so Prabhu i request to you to guide me in this aspect..
Hare Krishna..
Hare Krishna Chandra
We are always slaves. That is our nature. We will never be actually “free”, we are eternally servants. We have two masters to choose from only, maya and Krishna. So we have to make the choice. Will we be a slave for maya or will we be a slave for Krishna?
If we are fortunate enough to get the association and blessings of a pure devotee of Krishna then by his mercy we can come to the clear intelligence that it is the best thing to be the slave of Krishna. That is the solution to all your problems, surrendering to Krishna, becoming a slave to Krishna. If you are a slave to Krishna you will no longer be a slave to your senses. But we will always be slaves… We will never be the master. We will never be god.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Prabhuji
Wonderful analogy! It clearly distinguishes the needs of body at physical level and spiritual level with a simple car and its driver.
Please mention references for “who decides the destination” with reference to “freewill”, which would make the information more clearer.
-Amith
The destination is Krishna if you surrender to Krishna, and the destination is eternal suffering in the material world if you refuse to surrender to Krishna.
That is your only free will. The choice between surrendering to Krishna and not surrendering to Krishna….
hare krishna prabhu i now understand what is the use of body but iam driver means soul of body so i need different feed my soul needs spiritual advancmentbut prabhu give me tips that how i controll my mind while chanting mahamantra because while chanting my mind often wanders here and there.
Hare Krishna
You control your mind by chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, strictly following the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day. If you refuse to do these things you will never be able to control your mind.
If the mind wanders just keep chanting Hare Krishna, the vibration Hare Krishna will force your mind back in control. You just have to keep chanting Hare Krishna, that’s all.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna ,madhudvisa ji,
i have small doubt,i hope you can clear this. i thought of gifting
bhagavatgita to one of my well wisher.but she is a women,my doubt is
that can women read bhagavadgita,or are there any restrictions.i will
be grateful to you for your reply
Yes. Anyone can read Bhagavad-gita. It is the introductory book and it is meant for everyone.
It is really well said.
Hare Krishna Sir,
Sir, how is it possible to recognize oneself sitting within this body as a soul as all the activities are done by body? How one will be able to listen to the soul as the thoughts comes through mind which is a body’s sense and are expressed by mouth with is also a part of body?I, even can’t understand that if i am soul then why i am so much attracted to this body?
The process is simple. Chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, 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. If you are not prepared to at least surrender to these simple basic points you will not be able to understand anything. If you do surrender to this simple process and stick to it, gradually you will understand everything…
Hare Krishna Prabhu Madhudvisa Das.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
If it is easy to say and understand that we are not this body, as in the Bhagavad Gita explains clearly and in detail (I’ve just read), but it is very difficult to do, because we took millions of lives in these material bodies and is difficult remove this conditioning.
More than car and driver analogy , picture given in BG As It Is , chariot as body , atma as rathi , horses as senses and so on , is more appropriate . Harekrishna !
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAM HARE RAM RAM RAM HARE HARE
Prabhuji,
Very nice article!!
I have one query whether we are suppose to recognize the other human machines around us as souls when interacting with them in daily life and if we do so what are its implications???
I have been telling myself every time that I AM A SOUL , I AM A SOUL but this consciousness dosen’t stay for long , what can be done for that ?
Hare Krishna Sanjeevani
Yes Prabhu, we should see the other living entities around us as spirit souls who are in varying degrees of ignorance of their eternal relationship with Krishna and we should help them to again revive their original, eternal consciousness which is Krishna consciousness. And we can do this by offering them Krishna prasadam, giving them Srila Prabhupada’s books to read, letting them hear the Hare Krishna mantra, and we can speak to them about Krishna.
The way to keep the consciousness that we are spirit soul is only really possible by being constantly Krishna conscious. That means constantly chanting Hare Krishna and reading Prabhupada’s books and constantly engaged in devotional service under the direction of a pure devotee of Krishna. As soon as we stop our Krishna conscious activities we get back into maya and forget Krishna and again slip back into the bodily concept of life. So the idea is to be always engaged in Krishna consciousness 24 hours a day…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare Krishna
guruji m v new to chanting I really feel great by chantin but it effect fade slowly when I stop chantin ,as I m into a service n seeing my family I cant chant whole day,but I hv personally felt it has a v nice n absorbin addiction ,but I want its effect not to b temporary but permanent what should I do?n from this stage now how much time it will take to hv a permanent n overlastin effect? n one more thing guruji sometimes I feel too lonely can chnatin has a power to eliminate my loneliness? if yes than how much time it will take as it is already 2yrs since m chantin
thanku guruji jai shree krishna
If you are always chanting whenever you can you will not have time to be lonely. And also reading. If you read Prabhupada’s books you will be associating with Prabhupada and Krishna and all the other great personalities who appear in Prabhupada’s books.
The effects of chanting Hare Krishna are permanent. It may appear that they fade but that is not what is happening. When we stop chanting we again get engaged in material activities and our Krishna consciousness starts to get covered again. But it is not fading. Whenever you chant Hare Krishna you increase your Krishna consciousness and that increase is permanent, you will never loose that spiritual advancement. It may become covered if you neglect Krishna consciousness, but it is not lost. As soon as you start chanting again you start from the point where you left off and advance from there. Any advancement in Krishna consciousness is permanent, you will never loose it.
So chanting Hare Krishna has already had a permanent lasting effect on you and that effect will continue to increase as you keep chanting more and more. We tend not to notice ourselves as the advancement is gradual. But if you look back and try to remember how you were feeling three years ago and how you are feeling now I think you will find that actually you have made some very considerable advancement in spritual life.
So just keep chanting Hare Krishna and keep increasing it and try to encourage the other people in your life, your family, etc, to join you in chanting Hare Krishna and serving Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. In this way, if you can engage others in Krishna consciousness also, that is preaching and Krishna likes it very much when the devotees talk to each other about Him. So you can try a bit in this direction and that will help reduce your loneliness also.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
thanku v much for ur nice rpy ……….
hare krishna madhudvisaji,
what you said is very true…..but all time is engaged in maintaining the car for its fuel,air etc.and today we are going where the car takes us.this material world doesnt allow us to drive our own car to our destined place.all time and energy is consumed in maintaing our body and family.can total dedication to krishna possible only by renunciation?i feel a gruhasta is like a frog,sometime in water and sometime on land.can we attain moksha in today’s world becoming a gruhasta?
Hare Krishna Prabhu
You can become a pure devotee of Krishna in any order of life. It is not required that one be a renunciate to become a pure devotee of Krishna. Rather these days the sannyasis and brahmacaries so-called tend to be quite fallen and a simple grhastha practicing Krishna consciousness with his family may be much better situated in Krishna consciousness than these so-called renunciates.
Krishna consciousness is not about moksha. I suggest you seriously start reading Srila Prabhupada’s books to discover what Krishna consciousness really is and you will discover that you can be Krishna consciousness in any walk of life.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna madhudvisaji,
i need your advice on a matter for which i couldnt find a permanent solution.i recently completed my studies and now am on a search for a good job.presently every person is so involved in finding a good job and earning money that they neglect their parents and their wellfare.in their old age,the parents live alone without any assistance for their livelihood.this is the present trend of jobs and people.i have seen in many cases,even when the parents are on death bed, their children dont find time even then.its mentioned in our ancient scriptures that neglecting parents in one’s life is a sin.a son should take up their responsibilty properly and clear off his rinaanubandh.so i decided to live with my parents and find a job here itself.but my parents are forcing me not to think for them and get myself settled in a good job even out of my state.if that happens i fear i would do the same thing like any other person because then the circumstances will come in the way.my parents want me to earn money for my livelihood without caring for them.is that correct?wont i incur the sin of not supporting my parents physically and financially when they are in need?am i thinking the right way?should i listen to them?
Hare Krishna
It is better to forget this idea of making a lot of money. Money does not bring happiness. If your parents want you to leave home then leave home. It is great mercy of them to you. The biggest entanglement in the material world is the family. And if your family doesn’t want you that is a great blessing. Take advantage of this and leave the family.
It is true that the son has a responsibility to look after the elderly members of the family when they get older. But that means that the elderly members of the family pass on the family business and so on to the younger son. But these are all material responsibilities and as you explain these days everything is completely mixed up and no one is following the proper Vedic way. So we are living in crazy times.
Your life will be useless unless you become Krishna conscious. So your main concern is how to become Krishna conscious. So you need to make an arrangement in your life so you can practice Krishna consciousness. You need to earn something of course particularly if you want to get married and have a family yourself, then you have to be able to support your family. And there is nothing wrong with that, you can be Krishna conscious and a family man at the same time. So you just have to make your plans with Krishna and serving Srila Prabhupada in the center of your plans.
And the only way you will be able to know what is the right thing to do is if you surrender to reading Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day, chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and strictly follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication]. So your first priority in life is to situate yourself in such a position that you can easily chant Hare Krishna, read Prabhupada’s books and follow the regulative principles. Once you are properly situated like this you will find that Srila Prabhupada and Krishna will give you the intelligence and you will be able to understand what you should do to advance in Krishna consciousness and at the same time support yourself and your family.
If your family is supportive in Krishna consciousness and interested in Krishna consciousness. Like if your mother likes to cook for Krishna and your father likes to worship the deity and offer the bhoga to Krishna and so on then all together you can help each other advance in Krishna consciousness and have kirtans and read Srila Prabhupada’s books together. This would be very nice. But if they are not interested in Krishna consciousness and are not very supportive of you becoming Krishna conscious then there is no point staying with them. Particularly if they are telling you to go…
But Prabhu I do not understand your actual situation so I can not give you exact advice what you should do. That you have to understand yourself from Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and you will only be able to understand this by becoming very firmly fixed up in reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, chanting the Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds a day, and strictly following the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication…
So chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krisna!! It is so true is easy to involve yourself in others things, I now what I what to do is to learn about Krisna and help theres, I have t be stronger bec I still like to play games, I know is a disturbance for what Im supposed t do and it feels good to read it and acknowledege it, thank you.
Hare Krishna..!! but how can we realise our soul and meditate upon it ? please suggest me…Hare Krishna .
Hare Krishna Avinash
The idea is to realize Krishna and meditate on Him and serve Him. We do not meditate on our own soul.
And the only way this is possible is by the mercy of a pure devotee of Krishna. So you need a pure devotee of Krishna as your spiritual master and you need to surrender to him, offer him obeisances, inquire from him, serve him, and if he is pleased with you, by his mercy it will be possible for you to realize and understand and serve Krishna. It is only by the mercy of the bona fide spiritual master that we can get the mercy of Krishna.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna
please help me find my purpose in life…??
M confused…
READ SRILA PRABHUPADA’S BOOKS!!!
hare krsna
The spiritual world where we will get an eternally youthful spiritual body full of knowledge and full of pleasure… Then we will really be happy…
Can u give me more descriptions about the spiritual world??
Hare Krishna Chetan
Very detailed descriptions of the spiritual world are available in Srila Prabhupada’s books. I would like it very much if you would read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books and find these descriptions yourself.
Of course it is rather difficult for us to comprehend the spiritual world because all our experience is in the material world and we only have that material world experience to understand things with. So realistically we will only really understand the spritual world as our consciousness becomes purified and we become more Krishna consciousness and of course when we actually go back home, back to Godhead we will be able to see and experience the spiritual world. But a pure devotee can experience the spiritual world even while still apparently in the material body.
In the spiritual world everything is eternal and there is no time as we experience it here in the material world. In the material world time acts to destroy everything, that destructive force is not in the spiritual world. In the material world everything is made of the five material elements but in the spiritual world there is nothing material, everything is spiritual, and everything is made from cintamini, spiriutal gems. The material world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world so everything we experience here is there in the spiritual world in its original, pure and perfect form. So there are rivers, tress flowers, grass, mountains, people, animals, birds, bees, insects. But the atmosphere is different in the spiritual word. There everyone is motivated by the desire to serve Krishna in unlimited different relationships with Krishna. So this Krishna-centered nature is the natural, eternal, constitutional position of every living entity so everyone is very happy in the spiritual world cooperating together to serve Krishna…
As I said it is best if you find out about the spiritual world by reading Srila Prabhupada’s books…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krsna.
pranams today i learnt
a very emotive heart filling wonderful term on
reposing krsna consciousness namely,UNALLOYED LOVE TOWARDS KRSNA.still it is reverberating in my heart
to attain such consciousness ,yes,one has to support required feed to transport the driven(soul)to his ultimate destination to spend more time and energy in spritual conscience.i realise the body is not me
since i am a joiner i always spend more time to understand the concept and try to scrupulously follow the directions
i really enjoy reading many thoughts and i pray to realise this janmas duties
pranams again i request to be guided further
in the lotus feet of lord krsna
yours sicere student
D.Sankaragururaman
I agree with the concept ” body is a machine “. We travel in a car to reach a specific destination, which we know the dIrection and route. We choose the best route. short route, a good road, etc. Regarding the spritual, we read many books , to understand the easy way to take. When we travel in a car, we can check and confirm whether we are in the right track. Here we see to believe.
I have strong faith in God. I am looking for getting hold of some path to keep checking my path and to apply correction wherever or whenever I am wrong.
hare krishna dandvats
you teach me that the body is just like house, any time the tenat can move from it. so we must work one tenat more than house
hare krishna, guruji i feel really out of world after reading your newsletter in the morning. i have read BHAGWAD GITA AS IT IS and it touched my soul. your newsletters are vry inspiring. we need your gr8 guidance as u r the sole messenger of krishna to me.jai shri krishna!
yes i am agree body is like a car or machine, but not worked exactly motor cars, it has own senses, feelings, directions, question is how we can achieve prmanad, God, and at the time every one is working on physics, not spiritual, so sir how we can practice to maintain our goal, and how we can reject social bonderies.
Hare Krishna Arjun
You have to become Krishna conscious, that is all, that is the solution to everything. And it is a great science and you have to learn the science. And Srila Prabhupada has written over sixty books on this subject of how to become Krishna conscious. So you need to read Srila Prabhupada’s books and become Krishna conscious. It is not a one paragraph answer. You need to read Srila Prabhupada’s books and follow the instructions you find Srila Prabhupada giving you as you read his books. All your answers are there.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa