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The Flat Earth? - Conclusion

• Subject: The Flat Earth? - Conclusion
• From: DAVID P
• Date: Fri Jul 07 09:58:07 1995
• Message-Id: id567

Dear David

Hello. Hare Krishna!

Pleased to hear form you again and it seems you have been very busy indeed!


>When I got to about 16/17 I started
>trying to find stuff on other religions in the Library....anyway I ended
>up after a few years thinking that Zen Buddhism was probably the nearest
>thing that gelled with how my mind envisaged 'life,the universe and
>everything'

I was also brought up in a "religous" family. My parents are Catholics and they
brought us up, telling us about God, but they never really forced it on us.

I also went through a period reading different philosophy books and Zen Buddhism
was certainly one of them. But I became disinterested in Buddhism when I
understood their goal was to "not exist". They say the world is full of suffering,
the body causes suffering, so best get rid of everything... Including the self! I
didn't like that idea much...

> .....essentially tho...especially as I got older (now 46) I
>would class myself as an atheist...or at least agnostic.

It's the world we live in I think. The atheistic mood is everywhere and it is
being pushed by the governments and big-business too. They want people to work
hard for "now"... It's good for the economy!

This material civilization is not what it's made out to be, however. It is based
on sex life mainly and other bodily pleasures. But these are temporary flickering
pleasures. There is certainly some pleasure there but it is not satisfying... Real
pleasure is spiritual, eternal knowledge and eternal bliss...

We are not the material body, we are the soul, the spirit, the life within. When
the body "dies" the soul does not die. The soul is simply transferred to the womb
of it's next mother to take birth again. The Buddhists also believe in this. They
say there is samsara {repetition of birth and death) until one reaches Nirvana...
But they don't believe in an eternal soul. Everything ceases to exist when one
reaches Nirvana.


>My friend's young (middle of 3) son died on Sunday, after a long battle
>with leukaemia...he was 14. We went to the funeral this very morning.
>For me, the 'God moves in Mysterious Ways' kind of argument doesn't wash

>too much. Things said at the cremation service kinda make me wish I _did_
>have a faith.....but my mind asserts that it's all crap!

These things are very difficult for the Christians to come to grips with... It is
incompatible with the "philosophy" they have developed over the years. They talk
of a "Loving God" [which He is of course] who would not have such a horrible place
as Hell... Who knows they can't be perfect so He forgives all their sins... So
when something like this happens they sometimes blame God, "God, why have you done
this?" But it is not God who causes our suffering and happiness in this world, it
is us. Krishna has given us a little independence. We can, more or less, do what
we want to. But we have to suffer or enjoy the reactions. That is called karma. So
you get good karma for doing good things, bad karma for bad things... So at the
time of death we have not yet fininshed suffering and enjoying all the results of
our karma. So we have to take birth again in this material world to continue
enjoying and suffering according to our karma.

Birth is not the beginning. A new-born child comes into this world, bringing the
karma from his previous lives with him. So the suffering is coming because of sins
in the past...

> Anyway......Good Karma to ya Mad' ...you won't get a convert, but I've
>always admired those who have a 'real' faith and shine becoz of it. What
>I mean is I've had Xian, Islamic, Jewish and Jain friends who have all been
>wonderful _people_ ....that's the main thing.

Yes God doesn't see the different religions. He sees what is in our hearts. It
doesn't matter what we label ourselves as. He knows what we want...

The "God" business is in a mess at the moment. So many people want to be gurus and
priests for the wrong reasons. They see it as a way of getting some followers, a
way to become famous, to make money... But a real guru is motivated by wanting to
help people understand their lost relationship with Krishna. He has no personal
desires... But such a great soul is very rare...

"After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge
surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such
a great soul is very rare."(Bhagavad-gita 7.19)

I would recommend you read some of the Hare Krishna books by His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I think you will like them. They are not ordinary
books.


Chant Hare Krishna and be Happy!

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