Krishna Consciousness–The Yoga for the Modern Age
Nowadays, we find yoga being taught in numerous courses and touted in mass-market books as a means to achieve health, lose weight, develop mental powers over others, achieve success in making money, or increase sexual potency. But real yoga is something entirely different.
All glories to the sankirtana movement. Param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, when He was only a sixteen-year-old boy, introduced this sankirtana movement five hundred years ago in Navadvipa, India. It was not that He manufactured some religious system, just as nowadays so many religious systems are being manufactured. Actually, religion cannot be manufactured. Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam. Religion means the codes of God, the laws of God, that’s all. Certainly we cannot live without obeying the state laws, and similarly we cannot live without obeying the laws of God. And in the Bhagavad-gita (4.7) the Lord says that whenever there are discrepancies in the prosecution of religious activities (yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata) and there is a predominance of irreligious activities (abhyutthanam adharmasya), at that time I (Krsna) appear (tadatmanam srjamy aham). And in the material world we can see the same principle demonstrated, for whenever there is disobedience of state laws, there is the advent of some particular state officer or policeman to “set things right.”
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is worshiped by the Gosvamis. There were six Gosvamis: Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, and Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. There are three meanings of go. Go means “land,” go means “cow,”and go means “senses.” And svami means “master.” So gosvami means that they were masters of the senses. When one becomes master of the senses, or gosvami, he can make progress in spiritual life. That is the real meaning of svami. Svami means that one is not servant of the senses, but master of them.
One of these six Gosvamis, Rupa Gosvami, was the head, and he compiled a nice verse in honor of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He says:
anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandanah
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi 1.4)
Kalau means this age, this age of Kali, the Iron Age, which is very much contaminated, an age of quarrel and disagreement. Rupa Gosvami says that in this age of Kali, when everything is disagreement and quarrel, “You have descended to offer the highest love of God.” Samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam: and not only the topmost, but a very brilliant rasa, or transcendental humor. Purata-sundara-dyuti: Your complexion is just like gold, like the luster of gold. “You are so kind that I bless everyone [the Gosvamis can bless because they are masters of the senses] that this form of the Lord, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, may always remain dancing in everyone’s heart.”
When Rupa Gosvami first met Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu at Prayaga, Lord Caitanya was chanting and dancing in the street, “Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna.” At that time also Rupa Gosvami offered one prayer. Namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te: “Oh, You are the most munificent of all incarnations because You are distributing love of Godhead.” Krsna-prema-pradaya te. krsnaya krsna-caitanya-namne gaura-tvise namah: “You are Krsna Himself, because if You were not Krsna You could not distribute krsna-prema, or love of God, for love of Krsna is not so easily acquired. But You are distributing this love freely to everyone.”
In this way the sankirtana movement was inaugurated in Bengal, India, in Navadvipa. In this sense, the Bengalis are very fortunate that in their country this movement was inaugurated by Lord Caitanya, who predicted:
prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama
“In all the villages and towns all over the world, everywhere, this sankirtana movement will be preached.” That is His prediction.
So by the grace of Lord Caitanya, this movement is already introduced in the Western countries, beginning from New York. Our sankirtana movement was first introduced in New York in 1966. At that time I came and began to chant this Hare Krsna mantra in Tompkins Square. I was chanting there for three hours with a small mrdanga (drum), and these American boys assembled and gradually joined, and so it is increasing. First of all it was started in a New York storefront, 26 Second Avenue, then we started our branches in San Francisco, Montreal, Boston, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Columbus. We now [1970] have twenty-four branches, including one in London and one in Hamburg. In London they are all American boys and girls, and they are preaching. They are not sannyasis, nor are they Vedantists, nor Hindus, nor Indians, but they have taken this movement very seriously. Even in the London Times there was an article headlined, “Krsna Chant Startles London.” So we have many in the movement now. All my disciples, at least in this country, are Americans and Europeans. They are chanting, dancing, and distributing a magazine, Back to Godhead. Now we have published many books–the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, and Isopanisad. It is not that this movement is simply a sentimental movement. Don’t think that these boys are dancing out of some religious sentiment or fanaticism. No. We have the highest philosophical and theosophical background.
As an illustration, let us consider Caitanya Mahaprabhu. While He was preaching, He went to Benares, the seat of Mayavadi sannyasis. The followers of Sankaracarya are mostly seen in Benares. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu was there, He was chanting and dancing. Some of the people very much appreciated this, and so He quickly became famous. One prominent sannyasi, Prakasananda Sarasvati, leader of many thousands of Mayavadi sannyasis, was informed: “Oh, from Bengal one young sannyasi has come. He is so nicely chanting and dancing.” Prakasananda Sarasvati was a great Vedantist, and he did not like the idea. He said, “Oh, he is a pseudo sannyasi. He is chanting and dancing, and this is not the business of a sannyasi. A sannyasi should always engage himself in the study of philosophy and the Vedanta.”
Then one of the devotees who did not like the remarks of Prakasananda Sarasvati came back and informed Lord Caitanya that He was being criticized. So the devotee arranged a meeting of all the sannyasis, and there was a philosophical discussion on the Vedanta between Prakasananda Sarasvati and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. These accounts and philosophical discussions are given in our Teachings of Lord Caitanya. It is remarkable that Prakasananda himself with all his disciples became Vaisnavas.
Similarly, Caitanya Mahaprabhu had a great discussion with Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, the greatest logician of that time, who was also Mayavadi, impersonalist, and he was also converted. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement is not mere sentimentalism. There is a very rich background if one wants to understand this sankirtana movement through philosophy and logic. There is ample opportunity, for this movement is based on science and on the authority of the Vedas. But it is all simplified. That is the beauty of this movement. Whether one is a great scholar or philosopher or a child, he can take part without any difficulty. Other systems of self-realization, the jnana process or yoga process, are also recognized, but it is not possible to practice them in this age. That is the verdict of the Vedas:
krte yad dhyayato visnum
tretayam yajato makhaih
dvapare paricaryayam
kalau tad dhari-kirtanat
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.3.52)
In the Satya-yuga, the Golden Age, it was possible to execute the meditation process. For instance, Valmiki Muni meditated for sixty thousand years to get perfection. But where is our old age? Besides that, for the meditation process, as described in the Bhagavad-gita, one has to select a secluded place, he has to execute it alone, he has to sit down in a rigid posture, he has to lead a life of complete celibacy, and so on. There are many rules and regulations. Thus astanga-yoga meditation is not possible. If one is satisfied by imitating, that is a different thing, but if one wants perfection, then he has to execute all the eight stages of astanga-yoga. If this is not possible, then it is a waste of time.
What is the ultimate goal of the yoga process or meditation? Contact with the Supreme, the Supersoul, the Supreme Lord, is the aim and object of all yoga processes. Similarly, philosophical research, the jnana process, also aims at understanding the Supreme Brahman. These are recognized processes, undoubtedly, but according to authoritative description, they are not practical in this Iron Age of Kali. Therefore one has to take to this process of hari-kirtana. Anyone can practice without prequalification. One doesn’t have to study philosophy or Vedanta. This was the purport of Lord Caitanya’s meeting with Prakasananda Sarasvati.
When the Vedanta philosophy was thoroughly discussed between Lord Caitanya and Prakasananda Sarasvati, Prakasananda Sarasvati first of all asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu, “I understand that You were a very good scholar in Your early life. [Lord Caitanya was actually a very great scholar. His name was Nimai Pandita, and at the age of sixteen He defeated a great scholar from Kashmir, Kesava Kasmiri.] And I understand that You are a great Sanskrit scholar, and that especially in logic You are a very learned scholar. You were also born in a brahmana family, and now You are a sannyasi. How is it that You are chanting and dancing and not reading the Vedanta?” This was the first question asked by Prakasananda Sarasvati, and Lord Caitanya replied, “Yes, the reason is that when I was initiated by My spiritual master, he said that I am fool number one. ‘You don’t discuss the Vedanta,‘ he told Me. ‘You will simply spoil Your time.
Just take to this chanting of Hare Krsna, and You will be successful.’ ” That was his reply. Of course, Caitanya Mahaprabhu was not a fool, and certainly the Vedanta is not for fools. One needs sufficient education, and one must attain a certain status before he can understand the Vedanta. In each and every word there are volumes of meanings, and there are many commentaries by Sankaracarya and Ramanujacarya, huge volumes in Sanskrit. But how can we understand Vedanta? It is not possible. It may be possible for one person or two persons to understand, but for the mass of people it is not possible. Nor is it possible to practice yoga. Therefore, if one takes to Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s method, chanting Hare Krsna, the first installment of gain will be ceto-darpana-marjanam: all the dirty things will be cleansed from the heart simply by chanting. Chant. There is no expenditure and there is no loss.
If one simply chants for one week, he will see how much he will progress in spiritual knowledge.
We are attracting many students simply by chanting, and they are understanding the entire philosophy and becoming purified.
This Society’s movement started only four years ago, in 1966, and we have so many branches already. The American boys and girls are taking it very seriously, and they are happy. Ask any one of them. Ceto-darpana-marjanam. They are cleansing the dirty things from the heart, simply by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
The next point is bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam: as soon as the heart is cleansed of all dirty things, then all the problems of material existence are immediately solved. This world has been compared to davagni, which means a blazing fire in the forest. In this material existence no one wants unhappiness, but it comes by force. That is the law of material nature. No one wants fire, but wherever we go in a city the fire brigade is always active. There is always fire. Similarly, there are many things that no one wants. No one wants death–there is death. No one wants disease–there is disease. No one wants old age–there is old age. They are there, against our will, against our desire.
Thus we should consider the state of this material existence. This human form of life is meant for understanding, not for wasting valuable life like animals by eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That is not advancement of civilization. The Bhagavatam says that this body is not meant for working hard simply for sense gratification.
nayam deho deha-bhajam nr-loke
kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye
(Bhag. 5.5.1)
To work very hard and satisfy oneself by sense gratification is the business of hogs, not human beings. The human being should learn tapasya. Especially in India, so many great sages, so many great kings, and so many brahmacaris and sannyasis have passed their lives in great tapasya in order not to go further to sleep. Lord Buddha was a prince who gave up everything and engaged himself in tapasya. This is life. When King Bharata, under whose name India was named Bharata-varsa, was twenty-four years old, he gave up his kingdom, his young wife, and young children and went away for tapasya. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was only twenty-four, He gave up His young wife, mother, everything. There are many, many examples. India is the land of tapasya, but we are forgetting that. Now we are making it the land of technology. It is surprising that India is now no longer propagating this tapasya, for India is the land of dharma: dharma-ksetre kuru-ksetre.
But it is not only in India; everywhere in this age of iron everything is degraded, degraded in this sense: prayenalpayusah sabhya kalav asmin yuge janah (Bhag. 1.1.10). In this age of Kali the duration of life is diminished, and men are not moved to understand self-realization, and if they are, they are invariably misled by so many deceitful leaders. The age is very corrupt. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s process of chanting Hare Krsna is the best and the simplest method.
harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha
“In this age of Kali there is no other religion than glorifying the Lord by utterance of His holy name, and that is the injunction of all the revealed scriptures. There is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way.” This verse appears in the Brhan-naradiya Purana. Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam. Simply chant Hare Krsna. There is no other alternative. Kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha. In this age, Kali, there is no other alternative for self-realization. So we have to accept it.
There is another similar verse in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the Twelfth Canto, Third Chapter, Pariksit Maharaja was informed by Sukadeva Gosvami of the faults of this age, and now all the symptoms of the age of Kali are apparent. In the conclusive portion, however, Sukadeva Gosvami said, kaler dosa-nidhe rajann asti hy eko mahan gunah: “My dear king, this age, Kali, is full of faulty things, but there is one good opportunity.” What is that? Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet: “Simply by chanting this Hare Krsna mantra one can become liberated and go back to Godhead.”
This is practical and authorized, and one can also test himself to see how he is advancing simply by chanting. This Krsna consciousness movement is not something new, something that we have introduced or manufactured. It is authorized on the Vedic principles, authorized by acaryas like Caitanya Mahaprabhu and others. And the method is very simple; there is no loss. We are not charging anything, we are not asking for fees and giving the people some secret mantra and promising them that within six months they will become God. No. This is open for everyone–children, women, girls, boys, old people–everyone can chant and see the results.
To further this end we not only are establishing New Vrndavana, our farm project in West Virginia, but are establishing other spiritual communities, such as New Navadvipa and New Jagannatha Puri. We have already started New Jagannatha Puri in San Francisco, and the Ratha-yatra festival is going on. This year there will be a great ceremony of Ratha-yatra in London also. There will be three cars, for Jagannatha, Subhadra, and Balarama, and they will be taken to the River Thames. And America has imported New England and New York, so why not New Vrndavana? We should especially establish this New Vrndavana, because Lord Caitanya recommended, aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas tad-dhama vrndavanam: ” Krsna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, in the Vrndavana-dhama of Vrajabhumi, is the supreme worshipable Deity, and His place Vrndavana is also worshipable.” The Western boys and girls are taking to Krsna consciousness, and they should have a place like Vrndavana. Swami Kirtanananda, who went to Vrndavana with me two years ago, knows what Vrndavana is like, so I have instructed him to construct at least seven temples. In Vrndavana, there are five thousand temples of Radha-Krsna, but the most important temples are seven, established by the Gosvamis. Our program is to live in New Vrndavana, depend on agriculture and cows as an economic solution, and peacefully execute Krsna consciousness, chant Hare Krsna–that is the Vrndavana scheme. Yuktahara-viharasya… yogo bhavati duhkha-ha (Bhagavad-gita 6.17). This human form of life isn’t meant for increasing artificial needs. We should be satisfied just to maintain the body and soul together, and the rest of the time we should enhance our Krsna consciousness, so that after leaving this body we won’t have to take another material body, but will be able to go back home, back to Godhead. That should be the motto of human life.
Material life means eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, and spiritual life means something more than this. This is also the difference between animal life and human life. In animal life, the common formula is eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. A dog eats, a man also eats. A man sleeps, and a dog also sleeps. A man has sex life, and the dog also has sex life. The dog defends in his own way, and man also defends in his own way, maybe by atomic bombs. These four principles are common to human beings and animals, and advancement of these four principles is not human civilization but animal civilization. Human civilization means athato brahma-jijnasa. In the Vedanta-sutra the first aphorism is athato brahma jijnasa: “Now is the time for inquiry about Brahman.” That is human life. As long as one is not spiritually inquisitive, jijnasuh sreya uttamam, he is an animal, because he lives according to these four principles, that’s all. He must be inquisitive to know what he is and why he is put into these miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. Is there any remedy? These matters should be questioned. That is human life; that is spiritual life.
Spiritual life means human life, and material life means animal life. That’s all. We have to make the adjustments that are recommended in the Bhagavad-gita. Yuktahara-viharasya. For instance, because I am going to be a spiritual man does not mean that I shall give up eating. Rather, my eating should be adjusted. The Bhagavad-gita describes what class of food is first class, in goodness, and what class of food is in passion, and third class, in ignorance. We have to raise ourselves to the sattvic (goodness) platform of human civilization, then revive our transcendental consciousness, or Krsna consciousness. Everything is there in the sastras. Unfortunately, we do not consult them.
evam prasanna-manaso
bhagavad-bhakti-yogatah
bhagavat-tattva-vijnanam
mukta-sangasya jayate
(Bhag. 1.2.20)
Unless one is liberated from the clutches of these three modes of material nature, he cannot understand God. Prasanna-manasah. One must be a Brahman-realized soul. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati (Bg. 18.54). These injunctions are there, so one should take advantage of these sastras and preach. That is the responsibility of intelligent men. The mass of people know that God is great, but they do not know how great God actually is. That we will find in the Vedic literature. That is our duty in this iron age. That is hari-kirtana, param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam: glorification of the Supreme.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
About the Author
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founded the Hare Krishna Movement in 1966 in New York. In only 11 years he spread the movement all over the world. He wrote more than 80 books including Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Isopanisad. Prabhupada's books constitute a complete library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.
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Hare krsna Madhudvisha prabhu,i had a very good friend,But he was very much addicted to sex,porn and women,He used to masturbate at every night and he was continuing this bad habit for the past 12 years.I introduced him to krishna consciousness,and told him about the bad consequences of illicit sex and masturbation.He is now chanting atleast 2 rounds a day,reading prabhupad books and hearing Hare krsna japa since last 3 yrs,but at the same time again doing masturbation
2 times a week.He is becoming depressed due to wastage of semen for 13 yrs, thinking over his past bad life.I asked him to stop thinking about past,and concentrate about krishna consciousness and devotional life.But again he insisted me about Wastage of semen,and his weak physical body and mental health,and asked me how to get the lost sexual energy(semina),I told him to bury everything past and concentrate on krishna consciousness by chanting 16 rounds of Mahamantra everyday,reading prabhupad books,Eating vegetarian food offered to lord krsna, Hearing srila prabhupad lectures,kirtans and also told him about the power of chanting Hare krsna mantra-i.e it will wipe out all sins,and boost our physical power and mental strength,replace ur lost sexual energy and guarantees our entrance in to spiritual planet.But he never put any faith on me,asking about wheter seminal loss and its bad influence can be nullified if one 16 rounds a day.I dont know what to say about this,will u clarify on this matter,what to explain him?
Hare Krishna Sacin
I think he is not very serious and is more likely to mislead you. Probably better to leave him and preach to someone else.
There are people that will never surrender to Krishna. When we are preaching we have to see if the person we are preaching to is actually a bit receptive. We have limited energy for preaching so we have to put it in places that will be productive. So you have put a lot of your energy into preaching to him but it seems he has not really taken anything you have said very seriously.
In reality we are all fallen in so many ways. Lord Caitanya is patita-pavana, the deliverer of the most fallen. That is MOST FALLEN. So actually being most fallen is a great qualification for the mercy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So there is no disqualification. No amount of lost semen disqualifies us from Lord Caitanya’s mercy, that is if we actually want His mercy. That is the problem. We have to be prepared to surrender. We have to want to at least strictly follow the four regulative principles, we have to understand the futility of sense gratification in the material world.
So you can only do what you can do, and I think you have done it already with this person, and now you can move on and preach to someone who is a bit more receptive and prepared to accept your suggestions a bit more seriously.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Prabhu
Can one advance in Krishna Consciousness even if one cannot chant 16 rounds regularly? Will he become stronger and overcome the impediments by Lord Krishna’s grace in due course of time if he continues to do as much as he can?
No. He will become weaker and will be overcome by maya.
Maya is very strong. So to advance in Krishna consciousness we have to be serious to follow at least the basic simple things.
But if you can not chant 16 rounds then chant as many as you can but you have to chant at least 16 rounds. So make a plan always every day to chant at least 16 rounds and if somehow one day you do not chant 16 rounds then make it up the next day, chant extra rounds the next day.
We can not water it down, not chant, not follow all the principles, not read Prabhupada’s books, and expect to advance in Krishna consciousness… It is not possible. This is the process, if we want to succeed we have to surrender to it and follow it.
Of course it is a great battle and we may fail so many times. So this failing along the way may well happen. But the point is we have to recover from our failures and rededicate ourselves and try not to fail again.
It is quite difficult to become Krishna conscious if we are not living in the association of devotees. The association of non-devotees is not very conducive to advancement in Krishna consciousness. So the point is sometimes we may be fallen. But we have to know that we are fallen. We are in maya. Not that we kid ourselves that we are still in Krishna consciousness. No. We are in maya, and we have to get back into Krishna consciousness by chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, strictly following the four regulative principles and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day and of course engaging in devotional service for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna…
So we can never give up. No matter how fallen we may somehow become. But we have to know we are fallen, not that we make some imagination that in our fallen condition we are devotees. No. Then we are lost. If we know we are fallen then we can struggle to somehow come back to the proper standards of devotional service… So the struggle has to be there. Not that we feel satisfied being in maya…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu. Dadavat pranam.
Thanks for all the answers. No one will answer so many questions asked by foolish people like me except a pure devotee like you. I hope to become a pure devotee and not waste all the time and energy that you have spent on answering all my questions. That will be a great sin.
I have never read anyone who writes like Srila Prabhupada and that’s what keeps drawing me back to Krishna Consciousness and chanting
I have a question though, when Srila Prabhupad talks about taking instruction from a bonafide spiritual master is he referring to himself? There really isn’t anyone today who teaches like he did.
If this has been answered someplace else please forgive me for asking again.
Matthew
A bona fide spiritual master has to teach like Prabhupada because the guru is one. There is no two gurus. Although the person may be different the message has to be the same. Of course according to the time and place the language may be different and the style of presentation may be different but the message can not change. But we see practically everyone changes the message. That is why we do not see many bona fide spiritual masters.
As far as Srila Prabhupada when he writes referring to a ‘bona fide spiritual master’ he is not referring to himself alone. Of course he is a bona fide spiritual master but he wants his disciples to also become bona fide spiritual masters. Prabhupada was very humble and did not have the idea that he was a very great man. He saw himself as a simple servant of his spiritual master and said that he was not a very wonderful person but his only qualification was that he had delivered the message of Krishna consciousness without changing it, or adding to it, or subtracting from it, and that is his qualification. So there is nothing stopping any disciple of Srila Prabhupada from doing the same thing and they will become a bona fide spiritual master. But everyone wants to change it, no one wants to surrender… that is why we don’t see many bona fide gurus…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna!
Pranam Swamiji,
My friend, a non-vegetarian claims that no one is a vegetarian, according to him ” Every living thing is composed of Cells. Its a primary building of human, plants(vegetables), fruits etc. A cell has a life in it; it is just that plants cannot express their pain and animal can, we consider eating meat of animals/birds as a henious act? Swamiji I am unable to answer his question; Can you please guide him that why plant eating is not considered as Non-veg? In our brahmin community, some people eat ‘eggs’ justifying its not non-veg.
Please clarify/reply swamiji, so our leaders will be benefited and we can convince a non-vegetarian that what he doing is sin.
Hare Krishna!
Uma Sridhar
Hare Krishna Uma
Actually your friend is correct. Plants also have life. Of course many times you can eat say the fruits of a tree without killing the tree. But if you eat many of the vegetables that involves killing the vegetables and they also have life.
So you can not avoid the sin of killing other living entities by becoming a vegetarian.
Actually we are not vegetarians. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita that anyone who eats foodstuffs that are not first offered in sacrifice to Visnu is eating only sin. So if one is eating vegetarian foods but they have not been prepared by devotees and offered to Krishna then they are only eating sin. There is not much benefit really being a vegetarian.
We are not preaching to become vegetarian also. We are trying to encourage people to become devotees and devotees only accept the remnants of the food that has been offered to Krishna, Krishna prasadam — they will not eat anything else.
It just so happens that Krishna asks us to offer Him foodstuffs from the four groups: grains, milk products, vegetables and fruits. He will not accept anything else. So because that is what Krishna eats and devotees only accept the foods that have been prepared with love and offered to Krishna they are naturally vegetarians because Krishna only accepts these foods in the mode of goodness.
We can not eat ordinary vegetarian food cooked by non-devotees. That will be full of sin and will entangle us more and more in the material world. However if we accept Krishna prasadam that will purify our heart and increase our love for Krishna.
Krishna and Krishna prasadam are non-different. So accepting Krishna prasadam is associating with Krishna.
So your friend is correct and there really is no point in trying to preach to a meat eater to give up eating meat and become a vegetarian because eating vegetables is also sinful.
The point is that everything is sinful if it is not done for Krishna. So Krishna asks us to offer Him nice things prepared from these four groups (grains, milk products, vegetables and fruits) and He says I will accept such an offering if it is made with love. So if we are cooking for Krishna and offer what we cook to Krishna then there is no sinful activity. We are simply serving Krishna and when Krishna tastes our offering it becomes spiritual. Then the remnants, the Krishna prasadam, Krishna’s mercy we can eat.
So it is better to preach to your friend about Krishna. Try to explain to him that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if he can not understand then feed him prasadam. You can not intellectually convince a meat eater of anything really because they are meat eaters and their brains are not working properly… So you just have to give them Krishna consciousness by giving them prasadam, letting them hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra from the lips of pure devotees and getting them to read Srila Prabhupada’s books.
We have absolutely no interest in preaching to people to try and make them vegetarians. Becoming vegetarian does not mean becoming a devotee. But if you make him a devotee he will automatically develop all good qualities including vegetarianism.
So we should not get distracted by these things like preaching about vegetarianism. That is not our business at all. We have to talk about Krishna…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna prabhu ji,
Please advise me what is the best way of chanting.
16 rounds can be done in 16 times? One round at one time.
Hare krishna
Hare Krishna Ashish
The best way is to get up early in the morning (say 4:00 AM) and just chant 16 rounds then. But you don’t have to chant all at once. In the morning you may get up from bed, take bath, then offer Mangal-Aroti and chant some auspicious prayers, then perhaps you could chant 8 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on beads, then read something from Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagld finavad-gita, like that. Then during the day you could find time to chant four rounds and in the evening you could chant four rounds for a total of 16 in the day. Of course 16 is the minimum so if you have time you can chant more also.
It is up to you to organize how to do it as you know best what is your schedule, etc. But you just have to organize to fit in chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra into your day somehow or other…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa