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Comments Posted By madhudvisa-dasa
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“I am not this Body.” Easy to say…
Yes. It is difficult. It takes time to get over these things, even we know it philosophically, when it actually happens naturally we feel distressed. But we can take comfort in the fact that the soul is eternal and she is not dead… This is the nature of the material world, we come together with a group of other people and become attached to them and then by the force of time we are separated and that is very painful. But this is the reality of the material world. Painful. So it also should be an impetus for us to take to the spiritual part seriously so we do not have to return back to the material world after the death of our body.
» Posted By madhudvisa-dasa On February 24, 2009 @ 9:31 am
Dear Alex
Hare Krishna! We have nothing against the Bible, but the Vedic scriptures do give a more comprehensive description of the science of God for sure.
You know in the material world most people are trying for sense gratification. So when a devotee tries to serve Krishna these people who are working for sense gratification may become a little disturbed. What can be done about that? But someone who is a family man, he has his wife and his children, he has his responsibilities. It is not good for him to just leave his responsibilities like that.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very merciful. He is called “Patita Pavana,” it means the deliverer of the most fallen. So everyone is eligable for the mercy of Lord Caitanya. So if one has family members who are against Krishna, then over time that can change also. By the power of sankirtan, by the power of prasadam, by the power of good association, by the power of Krishna, anything is possible.
So we should not be to anxious to leave an apparently difficult situation. Most probably Krishna has put us into that position for a reason and we have some service to do there.
This idea that the material world can be a happy, comfortable, peaceful place is not really a realistic understanding of the nature of the material world.
Actually everywhere we go we will find difficulties. So there is no guarantee that on leaving this situation he may not find himself in an even more difficult situation.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
» Posted By madhudvisa-dasa On February 18, 2009 @ 10:30 pm
Hare Krishna Jarle Prabhu. All glories to Srila Prabhuapda! All glories to your service!
It is not that stopping the pilates caused your problems. Your body is getting old. It happens to every body. We like to imagine that we can stay young forever in this material body but it is not possible. I guarantee that if you had kept up the pilates that would not have stopped your body from gettting old. You would still be having so many problems with your body. So please do not blame your old age on your fellow devotee.
Krishna consciousness is full of very good exercise but it should be done also not recklessly. We have to consider that our bodies are not ours actually, they are Krishna’s and they have been given to us by Krishna to serve Krishna, so we do need to look after them. So it is better on sankirtan to be practical about these things and organize it so we don’t have to carry around huge weights all day that may in the long run cause problems with our bodies. But still our bodies will get old. There is no stopping that.
But you are very correct that “It is important to think for oneself sometimes.” Actually we should not blindly accept anything. We should always be checking with Srila Prabhuapda and checking with Krishna if this is actually the right thing. Of course if we find actually a pure devotee of Krishna it is safe to accept whatever he says as the absolute truth, even then we have to think about it and try to understand it and put forward intelligent questions to help clear our doubts.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
» Posted By madhudvisa-dasa On February 18, 2009 @ 10:20 pm
Hare Krishna Vivek.
We are in Kali Yuga. Kali Yuga means “the age of quarrel and hypocrisy.” So we have to expect that if we want to take to Krishna consciousness seriously there will be so many objections even by the family members. The answer to all these problems of what to do is always the same. We have to become Krishna conscious. So in any condition of life, inspite of all opposition and difficulties from many sources, we have to go on with our regular business of serving Krishna by chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krsihna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, and by reading Srila Prabhuapda’s books and by following the regulative principles. Krishna consciousness is very powerful and if we actually do this chanting and follow the regulative principles and read Srila Prabhupada’s books gradually we will see Krishna working wonderfully in our lives to adjust everything so we can serve Him very nicely.
We have nothing against Christ or Christians, so you can also encourage your wife in serving God in the way she understands Him, and she will gradually realize that the “God” who the Christians speak of but have no actual idea about who He is or where He lives or what He looks like is actually Krishna. There is no harm that she is praying to Jesus and to God in the Christian way and you should encourage her also in this way, and simply remain firm and fixed up in your chanting of Hare Krishna and reading Prabhuapda’s books. And by the power of Krishna through your chanting your wife will also benefit and she will gradually relize that it is Krishna that Jesus is speaking about when he talks of his father in heaven…
» Posted By madhudvisa-dasa On February 15, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
Hare Krishna Alex Prabhu
Preaching to the fundemental Christians is not very important and not a very good idea. There is no point in preaching to someone who is not interested in what you have to say and will not accept anything you say. You have to find people who are at least a little bit interested in understanding something about Krishna and who are prepared to consider what you have to say.
These fanatical Christians have reduced a great deal over the years. I joined ISKCON in 1986 and back then there were a lot more than there are now. So they are dwindling, dying out, because for all their talk about Jesus, they are not actually serious about following the instructions of Jesus in the Bible.
We do not preach on the Bible. The Bible is written 2,000 years ago, the Vedas are written down 5,000 years ago but have existed since the beginning of time. Whatever is in the Bible we have it in far more detail in Bhagavad Gita and in Srimad Bhagavatam. And any thoughtful person will realize this if they simply read the Bhagavad Gita. That is why Srila Prabhuapda stressed this book distribution so much. So there is no point talking about the Bible, rather we should spend our time introducing people to the Bhagavad Gita.
Any sincere Christian, upon reading the Bhagavad Gita, will see that this it the original pure message that Jesus Christ was presenting. In reality the message of Jesus Christ is lost in the Christian world, but thoughtful Christians can have access to the real message of Jesus Christ in the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.
Fanatical Christians we simply ignore. They will not listen when they are fanatical like that. So give them some prasadam, you can say “Dear Sir, it is a pleasure to meet you and I am so inspired you are so dedicated to Jesus Christ, have one of these sweet balls and chant Hare Krishna,” and let them go on their way and talk to someone else about Krishna who is actually interested in hearing about Krishna.
There are no “Christian countries,” there is no country that is following the teachings of Jesus Christ at all. And the people in general are not very fanatical about Christianity any more, any thoughtful person, even in these so-called “Christian countries” is prepared to consider what Krishna has to say in the Bhagavad Gita if it is presented to him nicely.
So yes, we have all respect for Lord Jesus Christ, but his “followers” are not following him actually. That is the problem with Christianity, and also any thoughtful Christian can see this.
Overall there is so much potential for preaching Krishna consciousness in these “Christian countries” particularly when they Christrians realise we are not preaching another gospel. What Lord Jesus Christ preached was Krishna consciousness, presented in a way the people of his time could understand and appreciate. But over time Christrians have lost the plot.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
» Posted By madhudvisa-dasa On February 15, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
100% Krishna conscious is not so easy. You should stay with your husband and family and serve Krishna like that, with your family. There will always be obstacles in the path of devotional service. Don’t think that if you leave your family magically all obstacles will disappear. No. It is not like that. By your nice service to Krishna, by you cooking nice foodstuffs and offering them to Krishna and then distributing to your family, your family will make spiritual advancement. Woman needs to be with her husband. And no husband is perfect. Of course Krishna is perfect husband, but for the time being you have your duty with your family and you should become Krishna consciousness in the position that you are in. There is no need for us to change our position to become Krishna conscious.
» Posted By madhudvisa-dasa On February 10, 2009 @ 10:35 pm
It is a very good idea, I will do it in the future. So far all the newsletters are just based on the Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita As It Is by Srila Prabhupada. I think there will be one or two more from the introduction and then I will start going through the Gita systematically from the first chapter to the eighteenth chapter. I will make sure to note the verse numbers as you suggest.
» Posted By madhudvisa-dasa On January 19, 2009 @ 9:34 am
«« Back To Stats PageHare Krishna Prabhu
You have made some very nice points in your article and in principle I agree with you to a certain point.
However, your description is not complete. You are saying that if we are aware we are not the body, but we are actually the soul, that will be sufficient to free us from all wants and desires since we will be “completely filled.”
Actually if we are siimply aware that we are not the body, but that we are the soul, we will not be satisfied, we will not be completely filled, and we will not be able to rid ourselves of our material attachments.
We are all persons eternally and we need to have relationships and activities. In the material world these relationships and activities are a source of so many problems and troubles for us. Therefore there are many philosophers who suggest, like yourself, that if we give up these attachments and relationships, with the understanding that we are not the body but the spirit soul, then we will be completely filled and have no want or desire.
This simply does not work in practice. We, as spirit souls, will always have want and desire. This can not be eliminated, it is an integral part of our existence. You may be able to supress it for some time by performing austerity, the the want and desire will remain.
In Krishna consciousness we accept that this want and desire and our relationships with others will continue, and the process of Krishna consciousness is to transform everything so it is connected to Krishna. You mentioned a nice dish, some tasty food. You can not avoid food. The body needs it for it’s maintenance. But the philosophers with the idea you have presented try to avoid eating tasty food and try to minimize their eating, but they still have the desire to enjoy the tasty dish…
The real solution to this is to cook the tasty dish not for ourselves, but for Krishna. Then we can offer Krishna the tasty dish, and after He enjoys it we can take prasadam.
So our eating can not be eliminated actually, but our eating can be spiritualized if we cook for Krishna and only eat the prasadam of Krishna.
Relationships will continue, but as devotees we develop relationships with Krishna and Krshna’s devotees.
We can never be impersonal, we can never be desireless, we can never be free from wanting something. So in Krishna consciousness we have relationships with Krishna and Krishna’s devotees, we are always desiring to serve Krishna by serving Krishna’s pure devote, Srila Prabhupada, and we want to see this Krishna consciousnes movement spread all over the world because this is the only thing that will make people happy.
So as devotees we have relationships, we have desires, and we want things, we even enjoy the nice foodstuffs after they have been offered to Krishna. So for us everything is there and this is the real state of being completely filled.
As for your last point, that we are unlimited like God. That is insanity.
We are limited in so many ways. You get a toothache and have to run off to the dentist to get it fixed. But you are claiming that you are unlimited like God? God has to run off to the dentist to get his toothache fixed? I don’t think so.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
» Posted By madhudvisa-dasa On January 16, 2009 @ 9:54 pm