“I am not this Body.” Easy to say…
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
About the Author
Madhudvisa dasa My first contact with a Hare Krishna was a most merciful Mataji in Oxford Street, London who sold me a "Higher Taste" cook book in 1984 while I was on holidays there. I started seriously reading Srila Prabhupada's books in Australia 1985 and by 1986 Srila Prabhupada had convinced me "Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead" and "we should surrender to Krishna." I joined the Hare Krishnas in Perth, Western Australia in 1986. Since then I have been chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, reading and distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and preaching as much as I can. That's my life and full-time occupation now really. I like it more than anything I've ever experienced before. Srila Prabhupada's books are so amazing... Even after reading them all many times they're still fresh and new. They are truly transcendental! That's it really. Now I'm just hankering to once again see the world chant Hare Krishna, dance and feast and float away in the ecstasy of Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement as it did in Srila Prabhupada's physical presence. Let the whole world drown in the ecstatic flood of love of Krishna!
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Preaching–First Become and Ideal Devotee →
Hare Krishna! It is amazing how we have been made to accept this disgusting body full of nasty things like blood, push, urine, stool as our own self! This goes to show how wonderfully the external energy is working! No matter how big we become, if we are accepting this body as our own self, we are only fools!
Thanks to Srila Prabhupada and his pure disciples for spreading Krishna Consciousness! Hari bol!
Hare krishna Prabhu ji,
Dandavad pranams , All glories to srila prabhupada
I am a little devotee of Iskcon Bangalore , Its a big pleasure for me to get your association through online , You are giving satisfied answers to the peoples from the teaching of srila prabhupada ,its really amazing , i seek blessings to improve in the service of lord more & more from pure devotee like you. Thank you for your mail with perfect examples
Your servent
Harikrishnan
It is the driver in this case who has to look after the maintenance of the car as well as His own being,
thanku very much prabhu .
prabhu i read in class 9 and do krishna consciousness but this material world disturb me .i read geeta and also my school subject but material world tell me that you should not read gita in this age and read school subject .
sir what should i do .please answer me .
Hare Krishan Anshu
The current schools are like Hiranyakasipu’s school for the demons with demon teachers.
So just ignore the demon teachers and read Srila Prabhupada’s books and chant Hare Krishna. You will learn everything from Srimad-Bhagavatam and automatically be very successful in academic work and at the same time you will become a pure devotee of Krishna.
Everyone in the material world is serving maya. As soon as you try to become Krishna conscious a little seriously everyone will try and stop you. So ignore them. Just go on with your Krishna conscious activities undisturbed.
Take encouragement from Prahlada Maharaja.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna.
Thanks for the e-mail.
I have question
Where is Golok Vrindavan?
Bhagavat gita says there is no death and time.
Can you describe about Golok Vrindavan.
You need to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. He answers all your questions there. Please read his books.
Hare Krishna. Please accept my humble Pranams.
Very aptly explained on I am not this Body. Gives a better example. Thanks for sharing the message.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
with kindest regards
Shivakumara
Thank u very much for giving awareness on human body.
there is only one reality and that is Krishna
When one lives with several debilitating health challenges, it sure is hard to state “I am not this Bodyt” even if my soul KNOWS that is the truth.. Thank you for the piece and I would like some advice or input regarding how devotees who live with chronic health conditions, Cancer, AIDS etc are cared for in ISKCON
Hare Krishna Andria
This material body is a chronic health condition. Every body is suffering, getting old and dying. Some may be doing it faster than others. Devotees make the best use of a bad bargain. And use all the time and energy they have in this body for serving Krishna.
There are of course many challenges from the body but a devotee continues with his service regardless of material inconveniences.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thanks for the newsletter .
a very good analogy
Hare Krishna…
Hare Krishna Mrs.Madhu
Glad to receive your email. Today message was good comparing human body and soul with the machine. Made simple to understand and also the importance of sprituality that every human should imbibe in their heart and mind. Both gita and guru srila says that in this material world to overcome from material desires and to have a clean soul and mind one must chant hare krishna to drive the soul and achieve the mission. One question for me does n’t mean humans will forget the material world and enter into spritual world by chanting hare krishna, then how one can live without materialistic atmosphere. seems impossible. my question may be wrong but to understand this transformation please clarify me.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Lenin
Actually material world is only material for materialists. Everything is spiritual ultimately. So for a devotee there is no material world. Things are only material because they are not engaged in the service of Krishna. Once the apparently material things are engaged in the service of Krishna they regain their real spiritual nature.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Minimize the body requirement for survival that is material world. More concentrate on spiritual world, chant Hare Krishna maha-mantra and get associations of prbhuji who provides the services for Krishna conciousness to human beings.
the aim of our life should be realisation of God only. this can be achieved by doing the activities in the manner in which lord krishna has preached bhagvad Geeta
Thanks for the e-mail
I have question
What is that, that leaves the body when we die.
1. Soul
2. Mind
i understand that the mind with imprinted vasanas enters another body.
what happens to the soul, does it go along with the mind
kindly answer this question
Regards
mohan
Hare Krishna Mohan
That is a very good question. Answer is we have three bodies:
1. Gross material body composed of ether, air, water, fire, earth.
2. Subtle body composed of mind, intelligence and false ego [identity]
3. Our actual spiritual body, the spirit soul, which is me actually.
So when the gross material body, which is a machine actually, becomes unsuitable as a vehicle for the soul the soul leaves the material body and it is carried by the subtle body of mind, intelligence and false ego. So only the gross material elements are left. Our mind, intelligence and false ego go with the soul to the next body.
Pranam Prabhu
So is this the reason we are advised to get rid of our false ego and materialiatic thoughts?.
So that if our mind will think of God only and we become free of our false pride, then our subtle body of ” God Consciousness” will carry our soul after leaving the material body.
Am I right?
Yes. It is wrong to think we are the material body. Because actually we are not the material body, we are the eternal spirit soul in the material body. So false ego means false identification. It means we identify with the material body. Which is wrong, a mistake. We are not the temporary material body, we are the eternal spirit soul.
Hare Krishna
Thank you for these insights and teaching. For many years I have been preoccupied with my body image and appearance and now I have discovered this is not who I truly am.
I am learning so much from my reading of the Bhagavad Gita and chanting, hoping for Lord Sri Krishna’s mercy.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Prabhu Ji,
Thanks for sending the newsletters.
Before one year, i used to chant very nicely and even my mind was good in thinking of krishna..But somehow i am not able to get devotees association nowadays.
Can u Please explain how can i improve my consciousness to a level as before while practicing at home.
I am sharing what I do on daily basis :
Morning : Chanting 8 rounds + Cooking and offering to krishna.
7:30 am to 7:15 pm Office
Evening : Cooking + Offering and Book Reading.
One year before i never used to cook.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Sohit
Your program is very nice. Just increase chanting to 16 rounds and make sure you are strictly following the four regulative principles and make sure you are only reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. If you read Prabhupada’s books aloud including chanting the Sanskrit slokas in the books that will help you. Because Krishna consciousness is actually attained through hearing and chanting, not by reading in the mind. So reading becomes much more powerful if you read aloud. Because them you are hearing and chanting and also engaging your mind in Krishna consciousness.
Do not mind that you have no devotee association at the moment. The devotee association that is available at the moment often leaves much to be desired. We have to associate with devotees who are more advanced than us in Krishna consciousness. By their association we will advance. And if we want to become pure devotees of Krishna then we have to associate with a pure devotee of Krishna.
As you read Srila Prabhupada’s books and actual put the instructions that Srila Prabhupada gives you while you read his books into practice in your daily life you will come to see that Srila Prabhupada is living still in sound and through sound he is spreading the holy name around.
So once you realize that Prabhupada is living in his books along with all the other great devotees who appear in his books and also along with Krishna and Lord Caitanya in his books you will never be short of the association of pure devotees of Krishna.
The point is we always need to be increasing. So increase your program. Increase your rounds to 16, get up eairler in the morning. Offer Mangal Aroti, etc.
And distribute Prabhupada’s books to your friends, family and everyone you meet. Everyone you meet understand that Krishna has sent this person to you and Krishna wants you to tell him about Krishna… And if you start doing this, speak to everyone you meet about Krishna, you will find they are actually interested in Krishna and the more you explain to others about Krishna the more your own faith, knowledge, realization and confidence will grow.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna I was searching for this form long Time and now I am happy because I found you who can tell me how to follow KC
Thank-you so much
Devotee Ankita
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna pbg
I like everyday posting of urs. Even I read Shila Prabhupada books but inspite of knowing these all things still mind wonders while chanting. I m not able to maintain my chanting since pregnancy plus I easily get disturbed by the words of others. My girl is now 6 months old still not able to get back atleast teast to previous chanting level. Plz help.
Hare Krishna Akansha
Of course you have your duties as mother and wife and this has to be done but at the same time you have to practice to remember Krishna always. We have to find the time to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day and follow the regulative principles and read Prabhupada’s books and teach your daughter and other family members these things also. And cook for Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and do everything for Krishna.
So naturally in the family life there will be disturbances and distractions but you keep Srila Prabhupada and Krishna fixed in your mind and be determined to chant Hare Krishna mantra, even if sometimes you feel distracted, force yourself to chant Hare Krishna, and your previous level of chanting will return and it will get even better than that also.
Krishna consciousness is an ever-increasing ocean of transcendental pleasure. But we are so unfortunate that we have no taste for chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. So we just keep on chanting Hare Krishna, hoping that someday we will get the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and get some taste for chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.
So the point is don’t stop chanting Hare Krishna no matter what and if you continue like this, through all difficulties and problems of the material world, you will be successful in the end.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
Bhagavad Gita is the only epic that realizes body is different from Soul
I am very blessed to get mercy og krishna to read this literature
Hope for being always in life with devotees
Hare krishna
Neeraja
Thank you for the newsletter. It means a lot .
Hare Krishna
HARE KRISHNA PRABHUJI, I love this posting of yours that says I am not this body and I know that we are soul but my concern is on this body why has this body is been design with thousands of desires pushing away man from reaching his spiritual destination is there no another body that we can take that is more lesser from this desires body of I want this and I want that,
All material bodies are full of material desires. We get a material body according to the desires of our soul. So our material body is an expression of the consciousness of our soul. So to get a body that is more conducive to Krishna consciousness we have to elevate our consciousness. And in this age of Kali-yuga the recommended process for elevating our consciousness is chanting:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hello
I hope your keeping well,
Thanks for the e-mails very good and interesting.
As someone who isn’t sure whether there’s a god or not I lean more to there isn’t, but I do feel there is something don’t know what? But I do like the mantra and always have don’t know why.
Anyway thanks for the e-mails and look forward to reading them.
All the best
John
Hare Krishna
Hi,
I liked today’s post it was a good lesson.
Namaste
I am not the body.Ofcourse i am not the mind.But we are dragged by the wordly activities.It is very hard to remove the fetters .It is difficult to controle the taste and words we utter. Any how i am reading gita and other upnished to divert my mind.
Thanks a lot for sending correct advice through Krishna’.
Lalitha
Hare Krishna Lalita
The process of Krishna consciousness as Srila Prabhupada is teaching us in his books completely frees us from being dragged around by worldly activities. So if you are being dragged around by worldly activities that is a sign that you are not Krishna conscious. So please concentrate on becoming a pure devotee of Krishna by reading and following Srila Prabhupada’s books and by chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day and by strictly following the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication].
Once you become Krishna conscious you will no longer be dragged by material activities. You will be free and very happy and you will have the power also to free others from the shackles of the modes of material nature.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhuji
Thanks So much for sending this buityfull massage. Please send this type of massage again.
Thanks
Aditya Nath Jha
Hare Krishna…
Many thanks for enlightened me to the spiritual sensational attachment with the supreme personality of Godhead Srikrishna. Really the life is nothing without Lord Srikrishna.
Hare Krishna
This human life by the grace of Krishna is a chance for the soul to reach back to Krishnaloka.
After reading this I am anxious to know what are the ways to satisfy spiritual spark in me, and along with the love that I have towards Krishnas lotus feet, what should I do to reach krishnaloka my original living place.
hare Krishna.
Read Prabhupada’s books. Your answers are there.
Hare Krishna !!!!
Dandvat Pranam Prabhu jee.
I had gone through your e-mails dated March 31 and April 2, 2016.I understood the followings:
1. The essence of vedic literature.
2. Purpose of Bhagavad Gita
3. The subjects of Bhagvad Gita and
4. I am not this body, I am a spirit soul.
Now you wanted to enlighten us on Sanatana Dharm. I am waiting for your next mail.
Hare Krishna!! Dandvat Pranam!!!
Please send these newsletters everyday!
Want to find out more.
thank very much…
It’s very easy to understand with eg. Is there anything for children. My 7 yr old finds it hard to concentrate…
First you become a pure devotee of Krishna and children naturally follow their father. So when you become a pure devotee of Krishna you child will naturally follow in your footsteps.
Krishna consciousness is for everyone. Children can chant Hare Krishna, children can respect Krishna prasadam, children can appreciate the stories about Krishna from Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So everything in Krishna consciousness that is for adults can be also appreciated by children.
Does your organization have any programme to serve the widows of Brindaban. The widows of Brindaban requires mental and social and economic support. Why does ‘women’ suffer so much in this world.What does Gita say about women’s suffering and its solution. Our society neglects our women. Why is this happening?
The women of Vrindavan are the luckiest women in the world.
Encouraging words. Please continue with the messages,
Sometimes I feel extremely lonely. What is the solution ?
Hare Krishna Sunando
The solution to loneliness is Krishna consciousness. When we are in Krishna consciousness we are in contact with Krishna and through Krishna we are in contact with everyone else. So there is no loneliness in Krishna consciousness. The trick is how to become Krishna conscious and that Srila Prabhupada has written so many books to help us advance in Krishna consciousness so we have to read them.
Of course ideally one should associate with the devotees but you may already be doing that and still feeling lonely. So we can not expect to get real satisfying association within the material world. In the material world ultimately everyone is trying to satisfy his own senses. He does not care about anyone else except in connection with satisfying his own senses. So in the material world everyone is lonely actually. No one is getting the real loving relationships they desire.
Love does not exist in the material world actually. In the material world one person is exploiting another person for his sense gratification only. So we can only experience real love if we reestablish our dormant relationship with Krishna. So the solution to loneliness is Krishna consciousness.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
I agree that we are not body.and our real destination is different. But why we are in this material world??
Hare Krishna Anil
We are in the material world because of our desires to enjoy separately from Krishna. In the spiritual world everyone desires to serve Krishna, everyone wants to see Krishna enjoy. But we are not like that. We don’t want Krishna to enjoy, we want to enjoy ourselves.
But we are not the enjoyers, Krishna is the enjoyer and we are meant to help Krishna enjoy. So that is our purpose. It is not possible actually for us to be the enjoyer. But because we want to imitate Krishna and become the enjoyer Krishna has created this material world for us, the rebelious living entities who have rejected His service and who want to imitate Him.
The material world is like a prison. It is for our rectification. So there is suffering here. And after many lives of suffering some intelligent living entities realize they are servants of Krishna and surrender to Krishna and go back home back to Godhead…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Please keep sending more.
May all be blessed with pure love,
Jai Govinda!
Sir,
I am really great full to you for providing me such great knowledge of GOD.
Thank u!!
Iam devotee of lord krishna…nd I love to hear anything about Krishna…
Just humans are soul or all living entities?. …
If so then what is difference between us and them ..why they do not undergo puja, and all rules?
All living entities are spirit souls. There is no difference between me and the spirit soul in a tree or in a worm. The soul is the same. The difference is only consciousness. The consciousness of the soul in the tree or in the worm is lower than my consciousness. This human form of life is the highest form of life on this planet and in the human form of life we have developed consciousness and we can go beyond the basic animal instincts of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. In the human form of life we can question: “Why am I here?” “Who am I?” And Krishna appears within the human societies or sends His representatives to teach us the purpose of life. So it is because of this more advanced consciousness we have in the human form of life that we can perform puja and worship Krishna and the animals and trees are not aware of Krishna.
But in the human form of life we can either elevate or degrade our consciousness. If we live like animals, only concerned with eating, sleeping, mating and defending, then we will degrade our consciousness and our next life will be in an animals body.
So we need to use this human form of life for worshiping Krishna and remember Krishna at the time of death and then go back home back to Godhead…
Pramod says
January 05/01/2016
Hare Krishna.
I liked your post.As the driver of the car goes through his basic learning from a Training institute under a guidance of a Trainer, same way an individual who is a disciple of a Spiritual Teacher should learn the spiritual lessons religiously, surrender with his body, mind and intellect at his feet and follow on the path shown by his spiritual teacher to attain the grace of Lord Krishna.Krishna says in Geeta that a true spiritual teacher is his form and every disciple should respect, love his spiritual teacher and obey his commands.No disciple can attain the Consciousness until he or she is a true disciple. This is what I learnt from my spiritual teacher and I am following on that path.
Please reply.
Swami Ho.
Shri Krishna….
I agree & accept your thoughts, it gives me insights to look differently. I would like to know more about Bagavad Gita & want to lean the same. I tried many times but failed, please guide me in this regards also
Shri Krishna..
Hare Krishna, Yes very good meaning in this article. We have to utilize our body in correct manner. Then we will feel happy in our life.more upload sir.
Iam so happy to read and enjoy the messages.i learn so many things before I don’t know exactly about from geetha. So thank you so much.every day I learn some thing better than before and spiritually grow for everyday.thanks for hare rama and Hare Krishna.
hi Madhudvisa dasa – i really like the analogy of ‘ghost in the machine’ so oftern do we forget we are driving a vehicle though life.
Hare krishna
I found every word of the newsletter useful nd meaningful…I m willing to learn more from you…I m thankful fr guiding us through these newsletter nd this is your unconditional act of goodness nd service to lots of ppl who seek spirituality…
Thank you sir
From
Deepti Harish
Hare krishna
Thank you for the well written articles.
Harihari ~
Well compared and very useful for convincing. Thanks.
HARE KRISHNA
IT IS A GOOD ARTICLE AND RIGHTLY SAYS THAT JUST AS A CAR HAS A UTILITY VALUE FOR THE DRIVER , SO THIS BODY HAS A UTILITY VALUE FOR THE SOUL.
THANKX
REGARDS
YOUR SERVANT
MADHU
Hare Krishna .. It’s really nice to read your post .. Thanks
i really liked the analogy of the motor car and our body. it was very striking and easy to get a clarity. Thank you.
Sairam,
A wonderful way of explaining the spiritual need of a man. Highly enlightening
Prof.Balakrishnan
True but when u have tried for 2 years and u do not reach ur goal . U feel frustrated.
I have been trying for a global career for the past 2 years without any success.
Hare Krishna
Our success or failure from the material point of view is predestined. We can not change it. If we are meant to succeed materially we will, if we are meant to fail we will. So there is no point working very hard, trying to improve our position in the material world. It has no effect. We get what we are destined to get.
Instead of wasting our time like this we should spend our time reestablishing our spiritual, Krishna, consciousness.
The only way to change our destiny in the material world is to advance in Krishna consciousness. Otherwise we will get our destiny. That is all. We can not change our destiny with any material endeavor.
You can see it very practically. Everyone wants to be rich and famous and so many people are working so hard to become rich and famous. But still there are only a few rich and famous people. And if you research it you will find many of them did not work particularly hard to become rich and famous. They just were. It was their destiny.
So this is the core of the Vedic civilization. The understanding of the unimportance of so called success and failure in the material world. A transcendentalist accepts his material position in the world and does not try to change it. Rather he spends his time and energy to advance in spiritual life.
Another example for this is so many people are praying to God to have a happy life and to be healthy. But still the distress and disease comes to them. So if distress and disease comes even though we do not want it, we do not ask for it, also the happiness and health we deserve according to our good karma will come to us. There is no need to pray for it or to work for it.
Our destiny will come to us. No matter what it is, good or bad. We can not change this by any material method.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
“We are not this body”- though we hear this a lot, we need to keep reminding ourselves about this concept with multiple examples. And your car example above is simple and very easy to understand. The driver’s food is different from the car’s food – ahh- so simple to understand. This sentence should awaken any fallen soul.
Dandavat Pranams,
Padmini
Hare Krishna Prabhuji Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thanks for your detailed information about the different between the soul and the body. This is the perfection of our real devotional service. However, I don’t need to think about it, because this is directly the words of Krishna as it is, and whatever He says is absolutely the ultimate truth. If one wants to succeed, he has to accept it as it, that all. But I have one question, it maybe a little bit personal, but please never mind ‘cos it will help to make me to understand fully the subject. The question is, ”when you celebrate your birth date?
Thanks
Hari Bol!
Devotees do not celebrate the birthdays of their bodies. The whole idea of Krishna consciousness is to realize that we are not these material bodies but are eternal servants of Krishna. So we celebrate the appearance days of Krishna and the pure devotees of Krishna.
Hare KRISHNA!!
According to Srila Prabhupada’s teachings I’ve learned that pure devotees do not wish for any kind of material benefits, not even liberation!
So, is it more important to stay Krishna conscious in this material nature or to first get rid of the material body and to attain the spiritual body?
If we remain in Krishna consciousness automatically our material body will be converted to a spiritual body and we will become transcendental to the modes of material nature. And we will obviously be more than liberated. So the point is to become Krishna conscious. That is all. All other good things will automatically come to us if we just become Krishna conscious.
Prabhu! I have one more question..
I’m not initiated, I stay far from the local Iskcon temple and I have zero Krishna conscious friends.. I have only non-devotee company.
I try not to talk about mundane stuff,i avoid the media,i read Prabhupada’s books daily but I don’t even regularly Chant a round! I promise to make changes and Chant 16 rounds soon.. I’m scared of falling back into Maya’s clutches.. Do you think I can do it?
Also.. Do you think Srila Prabhupada loves his disciples? Will he care to accept me as his disciple? Like Krishna, does Prabhupada currently know about everything..about his movement and his disciples?
Please accept my humble obeisances prabhu!
Hare Krishna Apeksha
It is very good you are reading Srila Prabhupada’s books every day. Please continue this and that is your devotee association. When you read Srila Prabhupada’s books you are directly and personally association with Srila Prabhupada who is a pure devotee of Krishna. So you can not get better devotee association that the devotee association you get while reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. It is not just Prabhupada you are associating with but you are also associating with Krishna and Lord Caitanya and all the other devotees that appear in Srila Prabhupada’s books. So never think like this. That you are without devotee association. All you have to do is open Prabhupada’s books and you are directly and personally associating with Krishna and all the great devotees.
We may not be able to appreciate this association in our conditioned state. But it does not matter if we can not perceive the power of associating with Prabhupada by reading his books. It is like fire. If you somehow come close to a fire you are going to get warm. Even if you do not understand what fire is or how it acts from a scientific point of view. You just have to come close to the fire and you will get warm.
Obviously there is no question of being out of the clutches of maya if we are not even chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra a day… So it is better not be be feeling so confident that we are out of the clutches of maya. Maya is very strong… So obviously if one does want to get out of the clutches of maya he has to strictly follow the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication and he has to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. So you are reading Prabhupada’s books and that is very good, now you have to do the other things also.
Yes. Of course Srila Prabhupada loves his disciples. But his serious disciples. There are stars and there are moons. Srila Prabhupada loves the moons. There are so many stars. There is not really any difference between the millions of pious Christains, Muslims, etc, and the millions of ‘devotees’ who are not very serious. These not very serious devotees are like the stars in the sky. There are so many of them, millions of them, but they have no potency to give any useful light. On the other hand there is only one moon in the sky but it is so brilliant and illuminating that it can flood the whole world with light. So Prabhupada loves his moon-like devotees, there are so many star-like devotees, but they can never do any practical preaching work. So for all practical purposes these star-like devotees are useless. They are not very strong themselves and can be swept away by maya at any time and they have no potency to impart Krishna consciousness to others.
So Srila Prabhupada does not care very much about the hordes of star-like devotees. He loves the moon-like devotees and is hoping that at least one of his disciples will become a moon-like devotee.
Star-like devotees are useless for all practical purposes.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
It is true that we are soul and not this body and if we will life life at the concept of Soul then we will not be entangled in the hands of illusion and that will only be possible by trying to serve the Lord Krishna!
HARE KRISHNA MADHUDVISA DASA JI.THE EXAMPLE GIVEN BY YOU TO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOUL AND BODY IS APPROPRIATE.LIFE IS NOT TO SATISFY BODY BUT TO SATISFY SOUL AND IT CAN ONLY BE POSSIBLE THROUGH KRISHNA CONCIOUSNESS.THANKS FOR SENDING ME EMAILS!
Hare krishna sir. THE EXAMPLE GIVEN BY U TO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOUL AND BODY IS APPROPRIATE.THE GOAL OF OUR LIFE IS NOT TO SATISFY BODY BUT TO SOUL AND IT IS POSSIBLE ONLY THROUGH KRISHNA CONCIOUSNESS.
Sir its difficult to imagine thatim soul but ill try. I love hare Krishna hare rama mantra n all songs
Hi
Thank you so much for these beautiful spiritual writing.
You are absolutely correct and I also have the same feelings.
Regards
Off course our objectives of life is not only satisfied our scenes rather than reach to our spiritual goal. If we want to get internal peace we have to spend our time to develop our Krishna consciousness.
Thanks for your newsletter.
Hare Krishna
Indrajit Paul
Madhudvisha dasa prabhu! Thank you so much for putting in so much effort to help fallen souls like me! I eagerly wait for your email everyday! I’m so sick of material life and I feel I can’t connect with people around me anymore, it’s hard because no one understands.. No one understands Krishna consciousness . they don’t take spirituality seriously! And if you do, they thinks it’s weird. I don’t know if what I said makes sense but I just need to thank you and I hope Krishna and Srila Prabhupada show all their mercy to you! Hare Krishna! Please accept my respectful obisences!!
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Thank you very much for your blessings.
Yes. It is true, most people do not take spiritual life seriously. We have to expect that. Krishna conscious preaching means that most of the people we talk to will not be interested. But some are very interested. When distributing books to the general people we find that usually you have to ask about ten people before someone will buy a book. So it is a bit like that. One out of ten people will be interested in hearing something about Krishna and will be prepared to spend some money to purchase a book and read about Krishna. So I think there are more people interested in Krishna than you think there are. We just have to become more pure ourselves. If we are more Krishna conscious ourselves then more of Krishna’s qualities will be reflected through us. So as Krishna is all-attractive if we become Krishna conscious then the people will be able to see a bit of Krishna in us and they will be attracted. So ultimately it all depends on how Krishna conscious we are ourselves. So it is very essential that we become very serious and actually really chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, that we strictly follow the four regulative principles, and that we read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day. Then we will have the strength and realization and spiritual intelligence to understand how to inject Krishna consciousness in to the minds and hearts of the people of the world…
i sacrifies myself to krishna..but during these days bcz of heavy work i’m not getting lots of time to chant krishna’s name..i feel very bad for dat so sometimes i thought of left watever i’m doing nw..but later i recall d wordings of krishna as he told in bagavadgeetha dat again put me in dat work.i’m in midst of confusion..can u pls show d path to sacrifies myself to krishna..
You have to just find the time to chant Hare Krishna and read Srila Prabhupada’s books. That is the main point of our lives, Krishna consciousness. We have to work everything else around Krishna consciousness. Not neglect Krishna consciousness in any situation.
hare krishna prabhu….!
thanks for such enlighten articles based on teaching of Bhagwat Gita n elobrated by Srila Prabhupada……
Hare Krishna Prabhu….!
I have read your all mails about spiritual topics based on teaching of Bhagwat Gita as it is elabrotaded and explained by Srila Prabhupada . Thank you very much for giving such enlighten articles every day . Since last five years i am reading Prabhupada books and hearing lectures . I begin my spritual activites by hearing this mahamantra audio kirtan on 17th oct 2009 provided by my brother . Then on 24 th i first time went to HKC CENTER JAIPUR with my brother . On 29th dec 2009 i started chanting 16 rounds . Then some SP lectures n kirtans , original KBI books , some book distribution …….. gradualy in april 2011 i took Hari naam ( Ritvik) inition. But after that night when I took initation i wake up after 20 days in a mental hospital by some ill arrangement by my father . Then they took me home and never let me go to HKC , and medicines were going on . But i everyday pray to Srila Prabhupada that Prabhupada you definately have some plan for this fallen soul . I started chanting 16 rounds by counting with the help of hands . Then Gradually my parents gave me a smartphone with an intention so that i would talk with the girl who is my wife now . But i remembered that NIBANDE KRISHNA SAMBANDHE UKKTA VARAGYA UCCHATE….. I started listening Prabhupada lectures n kirtans on yourube considrably and preaching to that girl a bit ,,, then i come to now about site prabhupadabooks.com and then started reading again from begining and read almost all books except SB n CC . Now just before marriage i started SB with Prabhupada lectures . Then i got married on 22 april this year . My father then send us to some hill station for so called ” honnymoon” but we went to VRANDAVAN DHAM without knowing my father . We stayed for 3 days there in Iskcon guest house . I inteoduced My wife to Prabhupada whole day . We took many books(both KBI n BBT) n 2 beads for us . Basic photograph acrelics . Now we are in jaipur both chanting in morning after mangla aartik , read books . My father is also some leanint now . I know from whatever has happened with me Srila Prabhupada’s guidance is always with me and now by some arrangement he introduced you and some other good devotees like Nimai Pandit Prabhu….. Now you people can guide this fallen soul………..
PRASHANT DEWASHI
( pradyumna dasa )
Hare Krishna Prabhuji ^^
Thanks for sending to my e-mail
Very good explaination
What a beautiful quote and examples comparing our body n soul to a car & driver..Really it woke my senses up and gonna start concentrating as taught.Thank you so much for the knowledge. Hare Krishna
Hare krishna. Thanks a lot for sharing such a delightful and devine knowledge of bhagwat gita with us. Keep posting more to bless us more with the enchanting glories of shri krishna… hari bol.
Hare krishna prabhu. Wonderful and very easy to understand, explanation of this very important first step in spiritual realisation and awakening, so that the seeker of truth can easily start his journey towards the ultimate spiritual realisation. hare krishna
I’m very interested in your comment of the bhagavad gita ! I’m studying the gita since nearly 30 years now, I’m also looking at the sanskrta words to be able to penetrate the verses a little more, and i’m really happpy with your e-mails elaborating a bit more !
Chris Desaever (Mrs.)
i want to ask…as one of my friend was saying that we want to enjoy separate from krishna thats why we r here..but sir please tell when u give someone ocean of enjoyment why he want to get separated..there was something lacking there in enjoyment ,people were not able to enjoy there that why they have demanded for the separate world.(though i dont believe in this all).and my second question is what kind of enjoyment u all r talking about…lots of children r not getting food,people go for worshipping kedarnath and suddenly flood came from the top of mountain and thousands were killed in that accident..if someone is comming to meet u and u r all powerful, wont u save those who r comming to meet u….
Hare Krishna Rohit
The living entities have the nature to fall down into the material world. You can understand it, if you are the favorite servant of a very great King and you are living very comfortably as his servant and he is providing for you everything. But everyone is worshiping the King. No one is worshiping you. So you may become envious of the position of the King. You may desire to be in the position of the King. So that is what happens.
It is this misuse of the little independence that causes one to think that he does not want to serve Krishna, rather he wants to get people to serve him. So it is Krishna’s great mercy to us that He has created this material world and His illusory energy maya who gives us the illusion that we can be happy separate from Krishna. At the same time every attempt we try for enjoying in the material world is frustrated at every step.
All those people going up the mountain to worship in Kedarnath were not going to worship. They were going to beg the Lord for happiness in the material wold. They want money, they want beautiful women, they want material pleasure. And they were going up the mountain to as the Lord for material pleasure. So Krishna has no interest in providing material pleasure. There is no material pleasure. In the material world there is only anxiety, suffering and death. That’s all.
Even if some of them were going up that mountain actually to worship the Lord, actually begging Him to be engaged in His service, they would be happy with whatever the Lord does. A devotee knows he is not the material body but the spirit soul. He knows the spirit soul is eternal and is never killed. So if someone was actually going up that hill to see the Lord they would be very happy that their material body was destroyed when they were thinking of visiting the Lord, when their consciousness was completely on Krishna. For Krishna says if one thinks of Me at the time of death he will attain Me without fail. So it is Krishna’s mercy that so many devotees were able to leave their material bodies while they were trying to go to the Lord.
So you have completely materialistic ideas and you will continue to have completely materialistic ideas unless you surrender to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and believe the knowledge that Srila Prabhupada is bringing to us from Krishna.
The nature of the living entities is they tend to fall down. We can fall down from any position. We even see the personal associates of Lord Caitanya have sometimes fallen down. So there is no difference, material world or spiritual world, if you are with Krishna it is the same. The tendency to fall down is everywhere.
There is a verse in the Bhagavad-gita that once reaching the spiritual world he never returns. But it is not that we originate in the material world. No. We are spiritual eternally. We are spiritual by nature. We are not material. We do not belong in the material world, we do not come from the material world. No we come from the spiritual world. So we were originally in the spiritual world. We are spirit, spirit comes from the spiritual world. So the only way we can get here is from the spiritual world.
Matter does not move without spirit. And spirit is foreign to the material world. The spirit souls have to be imported. And they come from the spiritual world.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
thanks for replying…i m trying my best to become a good man..and u have clear all my doubts by such a wonderfull and well justified explaination…may god help evryone to realise for what purpose they r on this earth and spread peace all around the world!! hare krishna!!
It is known that the God gave me this body to reach him then why a lot of diseases being killing the people. I wanted to reach but how? Doing Meditation, helping or feeding poor people.
But those sitthars just do thabas for years and they get what they want. Do we have to follow the same footstep to do thabas to reach the Unknown God or live our life as we wish or follow the heart what it says? God is unknown to our mind and beyond everything. The creator himself living within me according to Thirumular but I cannot feel or taste of him within me.
When I was a young boy, my heart was so pure that I can feel the pleasure within me but now my mind and heart is impure due to our surroundings and modern living of our life. I wanted my childhood heart back.
Hare Krishna!
Yes. The whole nature of today’s world is very sinful and very disturbing for the practice of spiritual life. But still we have to practice spiritual life. That is the only purpose of the human form of life and the only way we can get out of this mess and go back home back to Godhead to serve Krishna in the spiritual world.
Almost all the ideas of today’s Hinduism are actually totally materialistic. They know, for example, that by performing pious activities like feeding the poor and opening schools, hospitals, etc, they will get ‘good karma’ and this good karma will give them pious credits that means when they take birth in the material world again they will be born in a good family with good material facilities, etc. But that is no good. Because the material world is a place of misery and death, even if we are born in a relatively good position in the material world we still have to suffer so much.
So this idea of performing pious activities to generated good karma is not accepted by the devotees. Birth in the material world is miserable and a suffering condition and ends in disease, old age and death, even for those who have “good karma”. So this good karma is no protection from the sufferings of the material world.
So devotees do not care for good karma or bad karma. Because any kind of karma [good or bad] binds us to the material world. It forces us to take birth in the material world again and suffer. So devotees act in such a way that they do not generate any karma, good or bad. This is called akarma.
The science of how to live in such a way that we do not generate any karma, good or bad, is elaborately explained by Srila Prabhupada in his books. Please read Srila Prabhupada’s books and learn this science and make your life perfect. Then you will get your childhood heart back, even better than your childhood heart…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhuji
Dandavat Pranams
I really like the way you are explaining the topics.. Simple and clear.
Hare Krishna .. Prabhu ji…wonderful !!!! very very awakening…Hare Krishna
Hare Krsna. … Prabu you r absolutely right. … thanking u for enlightening me.
Hare Krsna Prabhuji
Very good article on verily attachment with body and senses but as title rightly says it’s easier said than done. I thank you for your efforts in bringing out vital topics.
Thank you
Happy to receive inspiring e-mails. All the best for all of you.
Prabhuji Dandvat pranam
thanks for enlighting me with krishna’s geeta but you marked the body as machine and Lord krishna took the responsibility of DRIVING the machine ” yantra rudani mayaya” then why you hold soul responsible for the acts?
you seem to be contradicting in your statements clarify
hare krishna
The soul is responsible for driving the machine of the body. It is not Krishna driving our body. We drive our own body. Of course we can only drive it by Krishna’s mercy. Actually we can not drive it ourselves. The English saying is “Man proposes and God disposes”. So we desire and that desire is sanctioned and made possible by Krishna. Actually the body is going on by the workings and interactions of Krishna and many demigods. But the point is our body is going on as a result of our desire. The actual way that desire is transformed into the bodily actions is a bit complex. But our body is acting on the basis of our desires. So we are responsible for the activities of our body. As they come from our desires.
Of course in many ways we are simply acting as puppets under the influence of the three modes of material nature. So to explain all these things fully is not possible in a couple of paragraphs. But the principle is that our body is acting on the basis of our desires and we are responsible for our desires and therefore also responsible for the actions of our body.
Krishna has no responsibility for our actions. Krishna has given us a limited amount of independence and we can either use that properly by surrendering to and serving Krishna or we can misuse our independence and do something else. So if we misuse our independence that is not Krishna’s responsibility. That is our limited independence. That is our responsibility.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
“I am not this body” of course refers to the ignorant material mind only.
What is this nonsense? “I am not this body” means “I am not this body…” It means exactly what it says. We have absolutely nothing to do with this material body. We are not male or female, we are not men or monkeys, we are not Indians, Americans or Australians. These are all just temporary designations related to our material bodies only. We are not these material bodies. Even in this life our material body is chanting: from a child’s body to a boy’s body to a man’s body and an old man’s body and then death is just another change of body. We are none of these different material bodies. We have nothing to do with the material bodies at all. It is just like a set of clothes that we put on and take off. The clothes cover our body, but we are not the clothes. We are the person. Not the clothes, not the body.
As far as the mind, that is a different thing again. We have three different bodies. The gross body made of earth, water, fire, air and ether; the subtle body made of mind, intelligence and false ego; and the spiritual body. We are actually the spirit soul, the spiritual body, and that spirit soul is covered by the subtle and gross bodies like we put on sets of clothing to cover our material body.
So this “ignorant material mind” you speak of is part of the subtle body and that mind is carried from one material body to the next. Your subtle body goes with you from one material body to the next, but the material body obviously is destroyed.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna Madhudvisa Prabhu,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada !
Suppose we become liberated and become situated in our
constitutional position as servant of Krishna and keep on serving him
and experiencing bliss.
My question is what then constitutes “spiritual advancement” ?
What I mean to ask is that once we have reached the spiritual world i.e.
our eternal home – back to godhead then what then is our purpose of life ?
because we have achieved the supreme goal of krishna.
What is the progress that we will make if we perform activities in serving
Krishna apart from experiencing ever increasing bliss ?
I mean in the material context in the current kali yuga on planet earth there is
advancement in material sciences and other fields and technology over
a period of time.
So is there new things being invented and discovered in the spiritual world ?
I hope you get the gist of my question which is that what does progress mean
in spiritual life once you have reached the spiritual planets ?
I thank you for finding time to answer my questions.
Hare Krsna
Brijesh Dani
Hare Krishna Brijesh Dani
There is no advancement in the material world. There is degradation in the material world. Over time in the material world things get worse.
For example there are four ages: satya yuga, treata yuga, dvarpa yuga and kali yuga. So in the beginning, in Satya-yuga, humans lived for 100,000 years, the atmosphere of this planet was almost completely in the mode of goodness and practically everyone was a self-realized transcendentalist. Everything has degraded so much that now we are in the Kali-yuga, not even living for 100 years, and the whole world is deeply submerged in the modes of passion and ignorance with practically no mode of goodness to be seen anywhere. And people today are suffering so much. So much violence, so much anxiety, so much suffering of all sorts.
So nothing advances in the material world. Everything is going backwards. This sort of technology we are seeing is a symptom of the Kali-yuga, Kali-yuga is also known as the ‘age of machines’. So this technology of Kali-yuga was predicted in the Vedas but this technology is not advancement. It is not helping the society advance at all. It is helping to drive the society more into the modes of darkness and passion.
The spiritual world is not like the material world and you are trying to transpose your experience of the material world on the spiritual world which does not work. It is a completely different thing. Time as we experience it in the material world does not exist in the spiritual world. In the material word time destroys everything. The passing of time causes everything material to get out and to decompose. This does not happen in the material world.
There is no actual progress in the material world. “Progress” in the material world means progressing towards Hell, which is not progress. The only way you can progress in the material world is by taking to Krishna consciousness, then you can elevate your consciousness off the material platform and onto the spiritual platform. That is progress.
To understand how wonderful life in the spiritual world is serving Krishna we have to make a little advancement in Krishna consciousness. When we are still in material consciousness, still enamored by the tiny so-called achievements and so-called progress of the material scientists we can not conceive of what the spiritual world is.
Many aspects of Krishna consciousness have to be experienced, and this is one of those. Life in the spiritual world is so different from our life here in the material world. Although Krishna comes here to the material world and manifests His Vrindavan here and appears there and shows us His transcendental pastimes. So if you read Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, you will get a good idea about what life in the spiritual world is like. Vrindavan is the spiritual world. But of course in the spiritual world there are no demons to kill. That is a special feature of the Vrindavan here.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I enjoyed thsi article, fascinated by the details of Jawaharlal Nehru. We, in India keep politiicians on a high pedestal, above all and this is aclear example.
radhekrishna haribol pranams dasa i have gone the text received about vehicle and the driver. really it is appreciable to exchange views that v r taking and going ahead of life as the body equivalent to vehicle but never v take interest of the driver. without driver v cannot transport ourselves to anywhere in the world similarly now i find myself at the edge of changing to concentrate on the driver with the mahamantra japa and taking minimum requirement of the vehicle.please exchange the views often with us similar to this so that illiterate can also became scholar. Boost the reciting of mahamantra purpose in all your letter to all the devotees so that the mahamantra recitation is done and heard all over the material world in heart of every human being.
radhekrishna haribol guruji pranams
ramachandra
Hare Krishna !
All glories to Srila Prabhupada !
Until one month ago, I always lived a life full of anxiety , distress, worries and stress. This ‘MAYA’ is very very strong and only Krishna can help us become free from this illusion and go back to Godhead.
Maya makes us believe that everything is OK. No need to worry. Who is Krishna ? Are Krishna conscious people mad.. just chanting and dancing ?
Maya always tries to strengthens our ego which ultimately is BIG ILLUSION.
I guess mankind’s two biggest enemies are EGO and FEAR. Both are interrelated.
I was always interested in philosophy and I read lots of impersonal and advaita philosophies by Osho but none of them worked in my own practical experience as by simply chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra.
This mantra is really powerful and it has capacity to bring you closer and closer to Krishna. So, thank you Madhudvisa Dasa for establishing my faith in Krishna Consciousness and I finally found what I was looking for !!!
Eternal peace. Eternal service to Krishna. Chanting Hare Krishna all the time is my only goal in life…..
‘ HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE ‘
Thank you thank you….. My heart is full of gratitude..Love and peace.
Hi.
Loved your post. I started chanting Maha Mantra about a month ago and I can say with certainty that my life has changed completely for the better.
I was not focused in whatever I used to do.. but after chanting maha-mantra and reading Swami Prabhupada’s books… I do find myself concentrated, within full control of the senses ( which used to drive me crazy earlier ) and most importantly, truly happy !!
However, I do find it difficult sometimes to be completely detached from situations.. I mean, I love my family and my friends and I want to spend good quality time with them. Though I know this world is temporary, it doesn’t mean we can’t be creative and do some good to the world before dying. That is my point of view and I guess Krishna agrees with me !! 🙂
Hare Krishna
There is no good guessing that Krishna agrees with you. That is not the process. You have to find out what Krishna wants and agree with Him… And you can find out what Krishna wants from His pure devotees. Not by guessing that Krishna agrees with you. So read Srila Prabhupada’s books and find out what Krishna wants. Forget about what you want and what you think Krishna wants. That is totally useless. You have to find out what Krishna actually wants from Krishna’s pure devotees.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Dear brother in faith,
Thank you very much for you kind correspondence, yes I agree with everything that you have said about the relationship between the body/mind & soul – the body and physical mind are extremely mechanical and abide by apparent physical and psychological laws – take for example my heart – it needs to be put to work everyday so as to function is an optimal way just like a bike if you stop using it – starts to rust up and it components will start to jam!!
My heart also needs the right particles from the food to replace cells and keep it oiled – hence a good healthy diet not too much meat or sugar or unhealthy oils/fats lots of fruit and vegetables and healthy oils from natural sources that haven’t been chemically modified or ruined.
And if I continue to apply this formula of healthy eating and exercise then my body should serve its purpose in the way it was created – to successfully house the spirit or essence which is you and me!!!
And then as you mentioned we are going in a particular direction which people of religion believe there is purpose behind this mission – yes as you have mentioned to return back to God (Allah)
But how do we do this without getting “lost” ? we may ask ??
Simple…
Accept the fact that there is only one creator (Allah) and he created all the creations – this universe with all the beautiful astronomical things within including this blue planet and everything on its surface – humans & plants & animals right.
But we are not simply animals because God (Allah) has created us for a very noble and high purpose.
..
God (Allah) says in the Holy Quran the he hasn’t created anything for vain sport…
and in another narration he mentions are destiny and purpose – “That he has not created The Jinn (spirits) or Ensaan (Humans) except for His Service..
So there we are that is our purpose…
Please write back if you would like to correspond brother…
Brother abdullah
Hare Krishna Brother Abdullah
You have written very nicely about Krishna from the Koran. It proves that Krishna and Allah are the same person. “Krishna” is not exactly a name, it is a Sanskrit word that means “The All-Attractive Person”. So if you understand this meaning of the word Krishna I am sure you will agree that the word Krishna refers to Allah.
We can understand something of Allah by studying ourselves. God is great. Allah is great. We are not great. We are very tiny, very small. But still our spiritual nature, our soul, is made of the same substance as that of Allah. The difference is in quantity. We are spiritual and Allah is spiritual. But He is the Supreme Spirit. He is unlimited in every way. And we are tiny, insignificant. We are small and Allah is great. So as you have very correctly stated “That he has not created The Jinn (spirits) or Ensaan (Humans) except for His Service.” This is the correct conclusion. This is the only purpose of our lives. To render service to God, Allah, Krishna. We have no other purpose.
And also your point that “He hasn’t created anything for vain sport” is also absolutely correct. Our only purpose is to serve God, Allah, Krishna, there is no purpose of these sports like football, etc, for serving God. It is all for our personal sense gratification only. And when we work for our own personal so-called pleasure, that is what we call ‘maya’, or illusion. It is not our purpose to work for our own pleasure. Our purpose is to work for the pleasure of Allah. And actually that will give us real pleasure ourselves. We understand that we are all part and parcel of Allah in the same way that the leaves and fruits and flowers are all part and parcel of the tree. So as if you supply water to the root of the tree all the parts and parcels of the tree, all the leaves, fruits and flowers, automatically become nourished similarly Allah is the root of the entire creation, we are all part and parcel of Allah so therefore if we satisfy Allah then as we are part of Allah we will automatically become satisfied ourselves.
In fact pleasing Allah is the only way we can become happy ourselves. There is no other way we can become happy. ‘Maya’ is the illusion that we can become happy by satisfying our material senses. But this is not happiness. It is illusion. The idea that we can be happy by sex or drugs or sports is all maya, all illusion. The actual ultimate result of all material activities aimed at satisfying our own personal senses is suffering, frustration and anxiety. We can never be happy in this way. The only way we can be happy is by serving and pleasing Allah.
You are correct of course also in regard to our bodies. They are machines, mechanical machines that require the right food and exercise to remain healthy. We need to remember that these machines, the human bodies, have been given to us by Allah, they actually belong to Allah and we should realize this and use these human bodies to serve Allah. As they are not our bodies actually but Allah’s bodies, it is our responsibility to look after them so we can use them effectively in the service of Allah. So we should not eat too much or too little, not sleep too much or too little and take and form of intoxication like alcohol, cigarettes, other drugs, etc. The main point is the human body is a great vehicle that we can utilize to advance spiritually and to engage in the service of Allah. We need to use our human bodies for this purpose and not become bewildered by the maya [illusion] that is covering the intelligence of practically everyone on this planet and not be tricked into thinking that we can be happy in some way separate from the service of Allah.
If you just replace Allah for Krishna in whatever you see on krishna.org I think you will find that you agree with practically everything and practically everything we say is completely inline with the teachings of Allah in the Koran. Of course there will be some small cultural differences because when God appears or sends his prophets they have to explain the science of God in the local language and implement religious practices that are suitable for the particular people in that place to practice. So it happens sometimes that different followers of God develop slightly different understandings of various philosophical points and come to think that their God is different from the God someone else is worshiping. But God is one person. The differences in understanding God are our human misrepresentations. It is like if you see a hill from different angles it may look like a different hill. But is not. It is the same hill. Only your angle of vision has changed. So similarly different groups of people mistakenly think that their God is different from someone else’s God. But this is wrong. The difference is only their angle of vision. God is the same person for everyone.
Chant Hare Krishna [or the names of God, Allah] and be happy.
Madhudvisa dasa
Though I chant n follow d principles of iskcon to d best of my ability I’m nt advancing much.please guide me
Hare Krishna Sourabh
You have to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. You will find all the answers to your questions there. And if you follow the instructions that Srila Prabhupada will give you as you read his books you will advance very quickly in spiritual life and feel very, very happy.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhduvisa dasa
i know who i am. not this body or it materials. but a been a soul thatb live forever.changing from one body to the other
hare krishna
sir how can we satisfy our bodily needs and as well reach to the spiritual destiny in the same way.
you said concentrating on spiritual awakening of soul is more important than on outer body changes can u tell me how can we do both at a time and have the mighty blessings?
There is no need to concentrate on satisfying the bodily needs. That is the way to Hell. We have to concentrate on satisfying Krishna. And if we can successfully satisfy Krishna then automatically we will be satisfied. We are all part and parcel of Krishna. Like the leaves on the tree are part and parcel of the tree. There is no need to try and satisfy all the individual leaves on the tree. If one simply supplies water to the roots of the tree then automatically the energy will be spread out throughout the entire tree and all the leaves will be immediately nourished. So Krishna is the root of everything. If we simply satisfy Krishna then everyone will be satisfied including ourselves.
So a devotee never works to satisfy his bodily needs. His only business is to satisfy his bona fide spiritual master and Krishna. Then automatically his bodily needs will be satisfied. This is a great science and Srila Prabhupada has written meany books describing how we can actually live in this way–never doing anything for ourselves, only working for the pleasure of Krishna. So if we want to learn this science then we have to read Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu JI
i am very gratefull to you . Your article is written such a way that concept concerned to spritual life is easily understandable. These article are very good for devottee who just associated with hare krishna movement recently.
Hare Krishna Prabhu ji
Thanks for sending beautiful articles. It is very simple to understand it. Kindly send article related to our soul. How it symptoms can be realized.
Hare Krishna Prabhuji.
Thank you so much for this news letter. I have a one question from i m not this body, then who i m and who control to me for body maintain.
Hare Krishna.
It is a good question. Read Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is to find the answer!
Excellent very neat and easy to understand. Tanks a lot
Sir, I am hundred percent agree with your today’s writ. Please kindly keep on writing such articles.
God’s servent
Upender Singh
Hari Bol, yes it is easy to say and will take a lifetime to realize. Thank you for the article I am trying to read these as you send them.
Agreed… Jay Shri Krishna….
Hare Krishna. I very much agree .
Harey Krishna,
Thank you for your such kind lessons.These are helpingvme to re-establish a new direction in my directionless life.
Thank you ,once again
Hare Kirshna,
I have a qustion. I don’t have guru so people called me “Nugra” mean without guru. However, we have many guru since the time of school college and universities.
Still i need guru?
Yes. If you want to make spiritual advancement you need a guru. But guru is only for those who are serious about spiritual life and who are actually prepared to surrender to the guru and make the mission of the guru his mission in life. Most people are not prepared to surrender to a guru so for them accepting a guru is a useless waste of time.
Before accepting a guru you have to consider if you are actually prepared to surrender to the guru, if you are prepared to accept the words of that guru as non-different from the words of Krishna. If you are prepared to worship the guru on the same level as Krishna. If you can not surrender then do not accept a guru and make a fas.
Of course this is complicated because nowadays 99.99% of the ‘gurus’ are completely bogus and even if you did surrender to them they have no potency whatsoever to help you advance in spiritual life. They will take your money. That’s all… So we live in a very difficult time. Even if you want a guru an are prepared to surrender to a guru it is very unlikely that you will be able to find a qualified guru but thousands of cheaters and bogus gurus are there very anxious to accept you as their disciple…
Real qualified guru is very, very rare and also finding a real qualified disciple is very, very rare. No one whats to surrender and without surrender there is no guru and no disciple. Only the cheaters and the cheated.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Almost every day, all of us hear the news a death of any one around us. Hardly we try to analyse the fact that the vehicle and driver are different entities. After death the vehicle is framed for garlanding which has nothing to achieve of its own and the driver of the vehicle has a destination. None of us worrying about ” does the driver could reach the destination “. Luckily in our hindu tradition we do some after death karmas for his eternity.
when i read this i was really happy and this mantra really change me
Hare Krishna ! Your article is so well written covering the subject matter in it’s entirety. Thank you very much. Yes, we have to be constantly aware of this fact on a day to day basis that we are spirit souls , not the inert matter which constitutes this physical body. When the devotees act in Krishna Conciousness , they have absolute faith in this basic fact & also that they do not possess this material body. The devotees know that they themselves belong to Sri Krishna & that the body is the property of Sri Krishna to be engaged in His service , an instrument in His hands. So let’s all joyously walk this glorious path hand in hand back to Godhead to be in the company of our beloved Sri Krishna , Srimathi Radha Rani , His Gopas & Gopies !
Strive to do what we the soul think…
the driver and the car which come first? and under whose guard are shelter to you.
There is no point having a car if there is no driver. So obviously the driver comes first.
hare krishna he
re on this earth we have two kinds of people those who are spiritual conscious and those that are not the man lives a regulative life and he knows that he is a spirit soul man that live in the material body while the unconscious lives in the mode of ignorance depending entirely on the material body without making spiritual progress
You have explained in a very lucid manner the function of the various parts of the bodies who embody the real resident of this human being i.e. SOUL.
But how do you find out what the SOUL wants to do to reach his ultimate abode.
With regards,
Mayor Kumar
Read Srila Prabhupada’s books. You will find it there…
we are always consious of the body never about the soul biy the time we realise this our life is almost over
Pranam prabhuji, i am verymuch confuse and tense i dont know what to do…
Please guide me prabhuji.
I have only one suggestion and that is chant the Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds a day, 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 actually surrender to and do these things that will solve all your problems.
There is no other solution to your problems. If you are not prepared to surrender to this Krishna conscious solution then there is no way of solving your problems. They are symptoms of life in the material world and these problems can only be solved by getting out of material consciousness and elevating yourself to the transcendental platform. And the only way to do that is to become Krishna conscious, and the beginning of Krishna consciousness is reading
Srila Prabhupada’s books so please do it. That is the way.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Nice article – the analogy makes sense. However, there’s one thing I don’t understand – why is the spiritual world full of pleasure? How do we know this is the case?
We do not know anything. We can not know anything about the spiritual world through our senses, by our own strength. That is because the spiritual world is avan manasa gocara, it is beyond the ability of our minds to imagine and beyond the ability of our senses to experience. So there is no way, on our own strength, we can understand anything about the spiritual world. The only way we can know is to find a perfect authority, someone who knows, and hear it from him. Such a person is His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. So if we hear about the spiritual world from him then we will know about that spiritual world. That is the only way. Hearing about it from someone who actually knows about it.
Why can’t I see the driver?
How you know Bhagavad Gita since you don’t look like Indian
You can not see the driver because you are blind spiritually. Your real vision is covered by maya. If you take to chanting Hare Krishna then gradually your spiritual vision will be uncovered and you will be able to see the driver of the body and you will also be you able to see Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Krishna and Bhagavad-gita have nothing to do with Indians. Krishna and His Bhagavad-gita are for everyone. Of course the Indians are fortunate because Krishna appeared in India. So you should take full advantage of this great fortune. But anyone can understand Krishna and His Bhagavad-gita As It Is by the mercy of Krishna’s pure devotee His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
What is maya and what is spiritual vision ?
But Lord Krishna is from India and worshiped mainly in India only abroad people don’t respect Indian God or religion hence I asked you that your are worshiping Lord Krishna but don’t look like India (not to offend you)
Krishna is not from India. Krishna is not an “Indian God”. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna is worshiped everywhere, not just in India.
Maya means, “that which is not”, illusion. Maya is the illusion that we can be happy in the material world. Spiritual vision is the ability to see through the illusion of maya. To understand these things properly you have to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. You can purchase them at http://www.KrishnaStore.com, read them online at http://www.PrabhupadaBooks.com and download PDF files from http://www.Krishna.org
But definition of Maya and Spiritual vision may depend on person to person what I might think as spiritual may be maya according to you and vice versa
If I live in India I become Indian so Lord Krishna also lived in India so don’t he become Indian?
How can you say he is not an Indian God? Yes he is Supreme Personality of Godhead but its as per Bhagavad Gita a religious text of Hindu and not of other religion?
Hare Krishna Richa
The example to understand how Krishna is not Indian. The sun rises in India, but that does not make the sun Indian. The same sun also rises in all the other countries. You can not say the sun is the Indian sun because it is the same sun that is seen from every other country also.
So Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is God, the one Supreme Lord who is worshiped by everyone, all over the world. Krishna has appeared also in all the other countries by sending his representatives: prophets or spiritual masters, and in some cases incarnating Himself in various forms. It is not that Krishna only appears in India. Krishna appears everywhere. Krishna is within everyone’s heart, He is not just in the Indian people’s heart.
Of course India is very special. India is Punya-Bhumi, the land of pious activities. And India has Vrindavan, Mathura, Dvarka, Jagannatha Puri, Ramesvaram, and thousands and thousands of tirthas, or places made spiritual by the presence of the Lord. So in India Krishna appears in Vrindavan, He does not revel His original form as Krishna and His most confidential pastimes anywhere else in the world. Also in India the Vedas are there which contain knowledge, both spiritual and material, in a far more complete and comprehensive manner than is available anywhere else in the world. However in other countries they also have spiritual books and the genuine ones are also given by Krishna or Krishna’s empowered representatives. They do not explain things in anywhere as much detail as they are explained in the Vedas, but they do given the general principles of spiritual life and if the people actually follow them they will make spiritual advancement.
You also are not an Indian. That is your illusion. If you think you are an Indian you are in maya, in illusion.
You are an eternal spirit soul who is currently in an Indian body. But you are not that Indian body. You are the spirit soul who is currently living in that Indian body. As a spirit soul you are eternal. You existed before this Indian body in a different body and you will continue to exist as a spirit souls also after your current Indian body is dead and gone. Your previous life and in your next life may not be in Indian bodies. So it is not you that is Indian. It is your body. And you are constantly changing bodies. Just like every day you put on different clothes. One day you wear blue clothes. That does not mean you are blue man. The next day you can wear red clothes. So if you think you are blue or red that is a mistake, that is misidentifying yourself with your clothes. Similarly thinking you are an Indian is a mistake of identifying your body as your self.
Realizing that we are not the material body but we are the spirit soul who is the controller and driver of the material body is the first step in making spiritual advancement. This is a very important point to understand so we must try to understand that we are not the material body but we are the eternal spirit soul who is controlling and driving this material body.
Your Indian body is a machine. Just like a motor car is a machine. Your body has no ability to act on it’s own. Like the motor car it is a machine, it needs a driver to control it and direct it. And you are the driver, you are not the motor car.
All other religious texts are describing Krishna, but not in such a complete way as Krishna is described in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Swamiji what you said here is right and Sri Krishna also says the same. But we feel very tough to get this knowledge.
When some one scolds us(me), we are unable to tolerate it, even though we know that they are not scolding me but this sharir(body). So how to develop this knowledge..?
Please help me in this matter.
Chant Hare Krishna and read Srila Prabhupada’s books. The knowledge is already there in your heart. It is not something new that we learn from outside. Krishna consciousness is within all of our hearts. We simply have to awaken it…
Thanks for this great Article – very illuminating. I am faith less and unable to move always full of doubt what is what. But deep desire to see the ONE.
Hare Krishna,
Thanks for the wonderful association.
My best wishes you go back to krsihna and prabhupad 🙂
And help all other fallen souls on the way…
I have a question for you:
In the Bhagvad Gita it says that ‘ Service in Krsna consciousness is, however, best practiced under the able guidance of a spiritual master who is a bona fide representative of Krsna, who knows the nature of the student and who can guide him to act in Krsna consciousness’
Does this imply some kind of initiation or can everyone automatically accept Srila Prabhupada as our spiritual master?
Thank you.
Hare Krsna
We have to be accepted by Srila Prabhupada as his disciples. It is not that we can accept Srila Prabhupada as our spiritual master and that he will automatically accept us as his disciples. So no. It is not possible for everyone to automatically accept Srila Prabhupada as their spiritual master.
Srila Prabhupada has very, very high standards as to who he will accept as disciples. It is not that difficult, one has to surrender to Srila Prabhupada, he has to follow all of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions. We see that most people refuse to even chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day and refuse to strictly follow all of the four regulative principles and refuse to read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books. So these people will not be accepted by Srila Prabhupada as his disciples.
So you see we have to be accepted by Srila Prabhupada as his disciples. We can not force Srila Prabhupada to accept us as his disciples.
This idea that everyone can just say they are Srila Prabhupada’s disciple is completely bogus. It requires actual surrender and service to Srila Prabhupada, and if we actually please Srila Prabhupada by our genuine surrender and service then if Srila Prabhupada chooses he may accept us as his disciples. It is not a very easy thing, it is only possible for the actual surrendered souls…
They do not even seriously read Srila Prabhupada’s books yet they claim to be Srila Prabhupada’s disciples. It is complete nonsense.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna, Madhudvisa dasa
For some reason, I can’t post a comment on the Spirit of the Bhagavad Gita page, so I am typing it here. I had trouble typing a reply to your comment on the other page and would just like to know if you received the message including the questions I would like to ask. If not, I’ll be happy to type them here. Thank you!
Hi Brianna
I have answered your questions. Sorry for the delay.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa, and I would like to humbly thank you once again for taking the time to answer my questions. I truly appreciate it.
Also, I own one of Swami Prabhupada’s books presently and enjoy it very much and hope to obtain The Bhagavad Gita As It Is very soon. And of course, I always look forward to the newsletters.
Hare Krishna!
Nice to hear from you Brianna
I would suggest you get the “Prabhuapda Library” at:
http://krishnastore.com/prabhupada-library-h-krishna-1734.html
It is a great collection of Srila Prabhupada’s books worth over $100 for only $49. If you get and read these books then you will have so much knowledge about the spiritual and material worlds. It will so much expand your consciousness and horizons and options for the future.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
very true article, thanks so much prabhu ji
jai shri krishna..my humble reqest is to help me find the bridge(pramanik guru) . between lord and soul.sos. Jai shri krishna,..
He is His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. And the disciple sees the bona fide spiritual master not as a ‘bridge’ to Krishna. He sees the bona fide spiritual master as directly Krishna. When we hear Srila Prabhupada speak we are hearing Krishna speak. That is the nature of the bona fide spiritual master. He speaks for Krishna.
hi , I agree completely , when the time comes to us leaves the body and the spirit stays
I want to be a part of contributing knowledge about Krishna. According to me He is only God of the Universe and no one else. We need to inculcate his teachings and the lessons of Righteousness among the people
Hare Krishna Prabhu Madhudvisa Das.
I really appreciate above example…but in real life is not possible how to do and what to do..?
Hare Krishna Mandakini
I am not really sure what you are saying is not possible to do in real life? It is certainly possible in real life to realize that we are not the material bodies and that we are eternal servants of Krishna and engage ourselves in the service of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. That is what we have to do in real life…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
WHAT SHOULD BE THE DUTY OF THIS BODY (MOTOR CAR) TO THE SOUL(DRIVER) ??
Hare Krishna,
dandwat pranam ,
very nice article
Hare krishna……..Madhudvisa dasa ji… I want to ask that it is somewhere mention in bhagvada gita that “whoever remembers me in death comes to me “?what does this mean……..Is it like that soul will never come into this material world again……..How then His/Her soul can enjoy in this material world again….Will krishna god will send that soul again in this material world………
Hare Krishna Saksham
Yes. Saksham you have to realize that this material world is a place of misery only. There is only suffering here followed by old age, disease and death. So no one can enjoy in the material world actually. Everyone is suffering here in the material world. The idea that we can enjoy in the material world is maya, illusion. So these points you have to realize. This is the beginning of spiritual life. Understanding that this material world is not our home, that it is a miserable place full of suffering, distress, anxiety and death, and that therefore we want to get out of this material world. We want to go back home, back to Godhead. And we never want to come back to this miserable material world.
So if we can think of Krishna at the time of death then we will go back home back to Godhead. We will go to Krishna’s planet, Goloka Vrindavan in the spiritual world where we will regain our eternal spiritual body which is eternally youthful, full of knowledge and ever increasing transcendental bliss. There we will be actually very happily engaged in the service of Krishna. So we will not want to come back to ‘enjoy’ in the material world…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
this body is a temple and we must engage all activity in this life.maybe witnessing is final
destination.
In this material world our body is jst working bt we have forget about spiritual life…. i started goin to iskcon about one n half years before n i chant daily n also go there on weekends….it feels really nice to have such spiritual life
hare krishna
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Prabhu !
Is Maya a Pure devotee of Krishna ?
If she is a pure devotee then why is it disgusting to serve maya ?
Brijesh Dani
Hare Krishna Brijesh
No, maya is not a pure devotee. The demigods and controllers in the material world are not pure devotees of Krishna. They are within the material world in positions of power because they have material desires. They are materialistic devotees, not pure devotees.
The result of serving maya is that you will trapped eternally suffering birth, old age, disease and death in the material world, and that is disgusting.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Prabhu,
In your comments above you said the following in one of them that
“At any moment we can choose either to serve Krishna or serve maya. But in either case we have no power actually.”
Why do you say that in either case we have no power actually ?
Wouldn’t the soul in liberated condition in full krishna consciousness have greater strength and power that in material conditioned life ?
Brijesh Dani
Hare Krishna Prabhu
I mean we have no independence. We are a servant either way. Either a servant of Krishna or a servant of maya.
In either case we have no power. If we are surrendered to maya then maya has the power, not us, and if we are surrendered to Krishna then Krishna has the power not us. So in either case we are powerless. Our power is only to surrender to maya or surrender to Krishna.
A devotee is not in illusion, thinking that he is very powerful. He knows it correctly that he has no power, that he is simply an instrument in the hands of Krishna.
So we never have power. We can only act as conduits for the power of Krishna or the power of maya.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
The knowledge in your post is profound and so needed to be re-enlivened in the world collective consciousness. Thank you for embodying this … and speaking it out.
I only want to say that I do not find the end of your post as true as the rest of it. The goal as I experience and understand human life is not to get out of being human … but to experience FULL spiritual restoration of memory WHILE still in the human body … or in whatever body one finds oneself.
I am not spiritually advancing so that I may be somewhere else at some other time, I am evolving so that I may remember fully Who I AM, … now … here.
Hare Krishna Govinda
You have missed the whole point. You are not the material body, you are the spirit soul who is trapped within that material body. And your actual desires and aspirations are completely different from the desires and aspirations you have when you are misidentifying yourself with your body. So naturally when we wake up to the reality that we are not this material body but that we are spirit souls and when we realized we are eternal servants of Krisha then certainly we develop the desire to be with Krishna in the spiritual world. So it is a symptom of one who has even the slightest advancement in spiritual life that he wants to be some place other than the spiritual world. No one who has any spiritual realization at all want to remain who they are [identifying with their material body and considering that they are an Indian, a man, a woman, an Australian, a member of a particular family, etc, etc, etc.] They want to be somewhere else. And that somewhere else depends on their spiritual realization but for the devotees of Krishna we want to go back home, back to Godhead.
You have to realize that you can never remain “who I am …now… here.” There is no ‘now’. Time is constantly moving so there is the past and there is the future. And your material body is constantly changing. It is getting old, getting sick and dying. So if you are identifying with your material body then that is a constantly changing identity and and identity that will soon be destroyed with the death of your body. So your philosophy is completely materialistic, completely possible to actually implement, and you can not stay ‘who you are now’, that is not possible in the material concept of life.
So you are proposing materialism and that is what 99.999 percent of the population are perusing with full force. But they are all failing. They are all full of anxiety at every moment, they are all facing so many disappointments when the reality invaluably never matches up with their dreams, and they are all getting old, sick and their material bodies are dying, but they are dreaming of staying young for ever and enjoying forever. But there is only suffering and repeated birth and death in the material world. The material world is not a nice place. It is not intelligent to want to stay here, and if you do stay here then that means horrible suffering eternally…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna MadhudVisa,
Thanks for your response.
I Want to be Krishna Conscious and want to serve Krishna, But again same Maya covered my intelligence.This is the only reason I asked you the way to join Isckon or some other Ashram permanently, so that I can be Krishna concious and can leave Maya.Could you Please help me on this. As you are already Krishna Concious, so I hope that You must provide me some way or chance so that I can be Krishna Concious.
And Yes Tomorrow is Shree Krishna Birthday, So Just Chant Shree Krishna and stay Happy.
Hope will surely get help from you.
Hare Rama Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna Pankaj
I am not aware Prabhu of any ashram at the moment that is not completely contaminated by the influence of maya and will be able to help you actually become Krishna conscious. If there was such a place I would be living there myself. Because like you I also very much hanker for living in the association of the devotees.
But as I answered you before you do not need to live in an ashram to become Krishna conscious, although of course the feeling of devotees to want to live in the association of other devotees is very strong and it is actually quite essential to get the association of other devotees to make advancement in spiritual life. So your feelings are correct of course. But we have to face the reality that at the present point of time the asharms that do exist are no longer following the teachings of Srila Prabhupada on so many essential points that they will only be able to distract and confuse you and will not be able to give you Krishna consciousness.
So at the moment we really only have the option of taking shelter of Srila Prabhupada by reading his books and from Srila Prabhupada we can understand everything about Krishna consciousness. In time of course there will again be ashrams of the followers of Srila Prabhupada that are actually following the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. So that time will come and we are hoping for that time.
But my advice to you is that for the time being you simply become Krishna conscious wherever you are. Just add Krishna consciousness to your current life. I do not know any ashram that I would recommend you to join at the present moment.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Ishan and Madhudvisa,
I am agree with most of your statements.
But still have some doubts in my mind may be silly ones:
1) You are saying or According to Veads, Everything is predecided, then Nothing is in our hand whatever we are doing, So why we need to think so much on what we are doing and what we should do.?
2) Second You explain the purpose of human being life very well, Up to some extent I am agree with both of you, But Question in my mind is that How you are so much sure about the purpose of human being life. So, if real purpose is to chant Hare Krishna then Why Shree Krishna send us here on this Planet, We can stay there and Chant Shree Krishna.And Please I need some more clarification on this part.
3) Third and last is that I read your comments and I am agree with your most of statemets and About most of them i was aware of, But the problem with me is that I read it now, It will be in my mind But tomorrow morning or day after tomorrow again when I would be in my circle , Again the race will begin and these things will get wash up from my mind. and again will move behind all that illusion (Maya) stuff. So Could you please suggest me something on this. This is the biggest problem with me and i think most of the people around.
I know, In this comment, There may be some bad statements, But This is approximate clear picture of my heart and brain, Please help me out!!
Thanks
Hare Rama Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna Pankaj
You have not read what I am saying. Everything is not per-destined at all. We have independence but that independence is very limited. Our independence is limited to choosing our master. We are servants eternally. We can never become the master. And we can only choose between serving Krishna and serving maya. So that is our independence. At any moment we can choose either to serve Krishna or serve maya. But in either case we have no power actually. But the difference of course between serving Krishna and serving maya is very great. Serving Krishna is our eternal natural constitutional position, in that position we will be very happy. But serving maya is not our natural position and we can never be happy serving maya.
So it is not predestined, we have the independence to choose to serve Krishna or to choose to serve maya. But if we choose to serve maya of course we have no independence and we are completely under the control of the three modes of material nature.
So to make this choice to serve Krishna we actually have to follow the instructions of Krishna and follow the instructions of Krishna’s pure devotees. So in this way we have to be very careful how we act and what we do.
As far as your second question Krishna did not send us to the material world. We choose to come to the material world because we misused our independence. We can use our independence to serve Krishna or we can reject the service of Krishna and instead of working for Krishna we can try to become a controller, a lord, a master, just like Krishna. So we, the population of the material world, are those living entities who have rejected the service of Krishna and who are effectively trying to become Krishna ourselves. Of course that is not possible. Krishna is great and we are tiny and nothing will every change that. We will always be tiny and Krishna will always be great. Still we are bewildered and we are trying to be like Krishna, even though that is impossible and even though all our attempts in this direction will always end in failure and frustration. So Krishna has created this material world and maya so we have a place to try to fulfill our impossible dream to become the lord and master, just like Krishna. So that is what the material world is. It is a place where everyone is in illusion, everyone’s intelligence is covered by the two energies of maya. Maya does two things, she covers our real intelligence so we no longer know the purpose of our life is to serve Krishna and covers our intelligence so we believe that somehow we can adjust things in the material world in such a way that we can live happily here. Which is of course not possible. Everyone in the material world is constantly suffering from the three miseries: miseries from his own mind, miseries caused by other living entities and miseries caused by the demigods. And everybody is getting old, getting sick, dying and then taking birth again in another body to suffer all these things over and over and over again… So the power of maya is so great that even though it is very obvious that no one can be happy in the material world, even though we see around us people suffering and dying all the time, somehow we think it will be different for us. “I will be happy here.” This is maya. Maya also has a throwing potency. When someone does make some material advancement and does get in some relatively comfortable position in the material world maya has the power to throw him down again into a very low position. So maya is not a very nice master. It is of course far better to surrender to Krishna and serve Krishna. We are always servants. We can only choose our master.
As far as your third point you are talking about maya’s covering potency that I have already tried a bit to explain above. You are completely correct. We can hear all these spiritual things and even get some realization that we are not the material bodies, that we are spirit souls, that our business is to serve Krishna. And we may even become engaged in the service of Krishna, but then maya covers our intelligence again and we forget everything. This forgetful nature is very strong and the only way to overcome it is by very seriously following the process of Saddhana-bhakti as it is being taught to us by Srila Prabhupada in his books. It is not very easy actually. Because what you have written is the natural way in the material world. It is natural in the material world that we will forget Krishna and that our intelligence will be covered by maya and that we will trapped in this never-ending cycle of birth and death, samsara. The only way out of this trap is the mercy of a pure devotee of Krishna. There is one verse: brahmananda brahmanate kona bhagavayan jiva guru krsna prasadi paya bhakti lata bija. It means we are wandering life after life all over the universe in different planets, even in different universes, and occasionally one fortunate soul gets the opportunity to associate with a pure devotee of Krishna and from him he gets the bhakti-lata-bija, the seed of the plant of devotion. So you see it is generally impossible to get out of maya. Generally we are trapped in this endless cycle of birth and death with no hope of ever escaping. It is only those very rare fortunate souls who get the opportunity of associating with a bona fide spiritual master who have any hope at all of getting out the material world and by the mercy of the pure devotee of Krishna going back home, back to Godhead. So we are those greatly fortunate and very rare souls. We have got the incredibly rare opportunity of associating with a pure devotee of Krishna: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. So if we take advantage of Srila Prabhupada’s association, if we surrender to and serve Srila Prabhupada, then we will be able to very easily overcome the material energy and return back home, back to Godhead, back to Krishna.
So it simply requires surrender to and following Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada is teaching us in such a way that if we follow his instructions it will be absolutely impossible for us to ever forget Krishna. So we have to follow Prabhupada and if we follow Prabhupada we will never forget Krishna.
Of course many get this great opportunity of associating with Srila Prabhupada but they do not want to surrender to him, they do not want to follow him, so they can not escape from the clutches of maya. Most people are hopelessly addicted to maya and even if they understand intellectually that this is not good for them, they refuse to give up serving maya. And you can not have it both ways. You can not have two masters. You can not be serving maya and serving Krishna. Krishna consciousness can not be accepted in a half-hearted and insincere way. It requires total surrender. And that requires, in the beginning, faith in Krishna’s pure devotee Srila Prabhupada. We have to have the faith to surrender and follow Srila Prabhupada even though following Prabhupada means we have to give up so many things that otherwise we would be thinking are our great pleasure like illicit sex, intoxication, meat eating, gambling, etc. We are addicted to these things, but these things completely block our advancement in spiritual life. Unless we can completely give up these four sinful habits we will not be able to advance in spritual life at all. And in the beginning it is painful to give these things up. So one has to be strong and determined. Therefore it is actually rare for someone to become Krishna conscious. But becoming Krishna conscious is the only way to escape from the eternal suffering, the eternal hell, of this material world…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Pankaj!
This may sound like strong language, but by reading your thoughts and doubts it is clear, that you are lacking a basic understanding of or Krishna conscious philosophy. Actually this kind of discussion can go forever without any conclusion.
So it is not (as you have suggested) our view versus your view. It is Krishna’s view versus your view. And that is your choice, your eternal choice. Everything we are writing here is taken directly from Krishna’s instructions.
So if you are serious in your desire to understand, then you have to obtain Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita and begin to read page by page. If you do so, all of your questions will be answered. spiritual life for the most part is for those who really want to make a solution to the problems of life. So your desire has to be strong, and according to your sincerity, you will be able to embrace these teachings.
Also, this web site provides access to Srila Prabhupada;s lectures, at no cost. So everything is available to you. Then after hearing and reading seriously, if there are still questions, Madhudvisa Prabhu will certainly provide you with answers. But the ability to hear is the first qualification.
We are taught that one of the first steps is that we have to give up our tendancy to speculate on these matters. So in this case you are dealing with people who simply don’t play that game. But that is your freedom. Krishna also does not force anyone to accept this philosophy. But we try to encourage you to first try to understand and then make up your own mind.
Blind faith is useless. It will not carry you through. but we are finding that by trying to understand and then taking up the practices that are recommended, that we are gradually feeling satisfaction and conviction entering our hearts, so that we become steady.
So, as they say in the west, “The ball is in your court”. We are not here to chase you, only to share what we have found to be very nice. Krishna consciousness is very nice.
Hare Krishna! Ishan das
Hare Krishna,
I am agree with you that our body is a machine.and we need to satisfy the senses of our body and we need to move on the track of our real purpose of life.But I am really sorry may be a silly question, But I personally dnt knw that real purpose of my life.
Hare Rama Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna Pankaj
We only need to satisfy our senses as much as is absolutely necessary to maintain the body and soul together. It is a mistake to think that we can be happy or become satisfied by trying to satisfy our senses. Our actual happiness and satisfaction can not be achieved by any amount of sense gratification.
The Vedanta Sutra starts with ahato brahma jijnasa: “In this human form of life one should inquire into the Supreme”. So this is the summary of the mission of human life. We have to use this human form of life to inquire into and ultimately discover the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. The purpose of the human form of life is spiritual advancement. It is not material sense gratification. Material sense gratification is available to the animals also. Every animal is able to have sex, and to experience a range of pains and pleasures through their senses. But the animals are not able to inquire into the nature of the Supreme Lord. That is the special facility available to human beings. So in the human form of life we should not waste our time trying to fulfill the base animalistic desires of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Of course these things have to be there to some extent to maintain our bodies, but they have to be minimized. And we need to spend our time inquiring into the Supreme. And the best and most practical way to do this in this age is by reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Pankaj!
This propensity to seek sense gratification is the great disease of the people of our small planet. Everyone without exception is seeking fulfillment in his or her heart. And that desire for fulfillment is the driving force behind every thought, every emotion, every plan we make, and all the activities that we engage in.
But the basic mistake of all of us is that because we under maya’s influence we mistakenly accept the feeling that we are these material bodies and these material minds. Most, almost all people will never question this orientation.
And because of this illusion, people are driven to engage in sense gratification and mental gratification. The activities of sense gratification are obvious. Eating, sleeping, so many kinds of defence (to insure our sense gratification) and sex life. The mental gratifications are more subtle. People aspire for a good social position. They want to acquire wealth and power, not only to use them directly for gross satisfactions, but because they want to feel that they are superior to others, and they want the respect and adoration of others. Similarly people strive for high education and learning. And they want to make their bodies very beautiful with treatments and physical culture and gorgeous clothing. And they want a beautiful house and a very attractive car. All of this is simply because they are convinced that this will bring them satisfaction, satisfaction of the heart.
So that is called maya. Illusion. It is an illusion because it cannot provide satisfaction of the heart. Also there are so many pains to ourselves and others in acquiring these things. And further, we are forced to relinquish all of it very quickly because when we grow old and have to give up our bodies everything is simply taken away from us. Therefore all of our struggles for these acquisitions is fruitless.
It is further pointed out by our Vedic philosophy that whatever is coming to us because of past karma in previous lives – all of that is already decided. And therefore no amount of struggle on our part in this life can change that. The amount of happiness and distress, success and failure, from a material point of view, that is already decided. Our present activities along these lines cannot change this, but will only serve to determine the kinds of lives that we will experience in future births. Therefore the present struggle for material happiness is actually the cause of our bondage to the cycle of samsara, birth, old age.disease and death. In other words, as we struggle in this way for sense gratification, we are simply creating untold suffering for ourselves. To have this understanding is to see clearly.
However, people do not see clearly. And the culture that we live in is encouraging us in the opposite direction. People, even in India, are educated in such a way that they are mad after the western standards of life, from fast cars to the nonsense cinemas, to intoxication and so on.
In Bhagavad-gita our Lord Krishna explains that this desire for sense and material mind gratification is like a fire. And the more we feed this fire, the greater it becomes. Instead of becoming satisfied, we become more filled with increasing desire. Therefore it is like a kind of madness. And people who are driven by this madness are completely out of control. In this way they become capable of any degree of sinful activity. Therefore we have the conditions of the earth as we are faced with today. There is pollution of the air, the earth, the water, etc. And diseases are increasing. There is war and dispute on every front, very often simply for the purpose of exploitation of natural resources, or war profiteering. All of this madness is the result of people feeding the fire of material desire until they become totally destructive to themselves and to each other. And this is the world that we live in today.
Therefore one has to become sober. One has to see this for what it is and not be swept away in this great current of madness, thinking that we must also get our share of all of this. And one has to understand that the best course of behavior, even from a material point of view is to live as simply as possible. This is the instruction of our Sri Isopanisad. And when we live in this way we use our time an energy for the real way to become happy, which is by cultivating our love for Lord Krishna.
As we rekindle our love for Krishna, all of these material desires fall away from us like a snake shedding it’s old coat of skin. As our love for Krishna increases we become happy in a way that no materialist can understand. This is called ananda. Ananda is what we experience when we implement a platform of loving exchange with Krishna in the core of our hearts. And when that love is mature, then we are qualified to go to live with Krishna in the spiritual realm, where everyone is filled with spiritual bliss, where there is no more birth and death. That is the purpose of life that we are referring to. That is the real career orientation. Our career is to attain an eternal life of loving exchange with Krishna. And that is why we have a very dim view of the pursuit of sense gratification.
I hope, Pankaj, that this helps to bring into focus an understanding of the pitfall of the quest for sense gratification on the one hand, and the sober and higher intelligence that encourages us to pursue a life of spiritual progress.
How to proceed is the subject of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Hare Krishna!, Pankaj.
Ishan das
Thanks Prabhu i have got your mail .Let me Know how mony times i chant HAREE KRISHNA in a day.
Take my pranam and lov.
Hare Krishna Ruomita
We have to chant the Hare Krishna mantra on beads each day at least 16 rounds. One round is chanting the whole mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
108 times. So that is one round and we have to chant at least 16 rounds like this every day. It takes some practice in the beginning but it is not difficult and the result is your consciousness will be spiritualized and raised to a level so much higher than before. Actually the result really is that if we are successful in chanting the Hare Krishna mantra we will be able to develop pure love of God which is the perfection of life…
It generally takes 2-3 hours. For me I chant Hare Krishna a bit slower than some devotees so it generally takes me around 3 hours a day to chant 16 rounds. It may take longer in the beginning but once you are accustomed to it it will not take more than 2.5 to 3 hours. Which out of 24 hours is very little really.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
I respect your request to finish this conversation at this point.
I only wish to add my thanks to you for responding to me so openly and generously in terms of your time and sincerity and open-hearted honesty.
Also I wish to express my admiration and appreciation for the service you are doing here on this web site. You are serving so many of us in different parts of the globe, always keeping us on track back to Krishna.
If there is is any way that I can ever be of service to you, that would be my pleasure, so please feel that to be a standing offer.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Your humble servant,
Ishan das
thanking u for sending me the mails with different topics every time i have read 2 of the mail want to still read the first mail u send would only request u to send such nice mail
thanking you
Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Prabhu, thank you for your straight-forward and open-hearted reply. I feel that I understand you better now. As another godbrother of mine, who is constantly engaged in preaching work, and nothing else, said to me, “Some of us seem to hit the ground running.”
As you have said, this tends to indicate some degree of previous merit or sukriti from other lifetimes spent developing Krishna consciousness. And so as soon as you come in touch with Krishna consciousness, the taste is there, the love is there, the enthusiasm is there. It is just like when a hungry devotee who comes in touch with some wonderful prasadam. He immediately delights in it.
So from what you are saying, you seem to be that kind of very fortunate devotee. You delight in Krishna consciousness, so it is not a struggle to be always engaged, because you want nothing else. You are so fortunate, and of course you have created this good fortune by engaging, perhaps over many births. It is wonderful to behold what you are doing, and what you have accomplished, all by yourself, swimming upstream against the current of GBC hypocrisy and nonsense, and standing firmly in maya’s storm alone.
Srila Prabhupada once said to me, “You have seen this?”, and he made the motion imitating someone who is injecting drugs into his arm with a hypodermic needle. When I noded, yes, that I knew what he was referring to, he said, “Krishna consciousness is like that.” So what you are saying overall is exactly what he was saying. There is never any difference between you and the letter of the law as it has been given to us by Srila Prabhupada. As far as I can understand who you are in terms of your stability, determination and enthusiasm, you are 100% sannyas material, because sannyas is a matter of the heart, and not some official rubber stamp.
Still, Srila Prabhupada would describe different ways of being Krishna conscious, like when we drink a glass of water, we can think that this is the taste of Krishna ( as Krishna instructs in Bhagavad-gita). And then Srila Prabhupada would say, “There are so many ways.” Of course what you are saying is most direct and in line with Srila Prabhupada’s teaching.
Yes, I am a house holder with so many duties. And my wife is not a devotee although she will chant Hare Krishna with me with mridanga and kartals when we are offering bhoga on our little altar. So I am always hoping that gradually she will become purified. And I am practicing to do my daily tasks while hearing Srila Prabhupada’s recordings. And I am slowly developing the habit of doing these tasks in a mood of service, saying, “Dear Krishna, please accept this sweeping or dish-washing as service. And every day I am reading and chanting, because I cannot live without it. I am not like you in my level of enthusiasm. But if I do not engage in Krishna consciousness with focus, my life becomes an unbearable hell of confusion, frustration and anxiety. So in this way I am being prodded by maya to stay engaged.
It is said that “a word to the wise is sufficient”. And for those who are not wise, there is another kind of teaching that is called “the school of hard knocks.” I am feeling that you are in the first category and myself in the second. Whereas you are spontaneously attracted to devotional service, from the front, I am beaten to engage in devotional service from behind. Of course when I am nicely engaged I feel relief, peaceful, happy and fortunate. But I am still at the stage of cranking the model-T Ford of 1910, and you are driving the 2013 BMW of Krishna consciousness. You just immediately accelerate towards Krishna consciousness.
Still, I am feeling that there may be others like myself, who are emotionally troubled, who are plagued with feelings of unworthiness, who feel perhaps that they are not lovable and therefore how could Krishna love them, whose father’s rejected and abused them, and therefore feel that Srila Prabhupada is always somewhat displeased with them, and who expect rejection from the universe at every turn in their lives. I can understand that this is all maya of course. But it is very powerful opposition to contend with. Therefore I am finding that the kind of meditation I am describing can be very helpful for becoming more capable of enthusiastically approaching Krishna for one who tends to be troubled in that way. Certainly in Gita Krishna says, “Do like this, and if you can’t do this, do like this, and if you can’t do this, do like this….etc.” So I cannot argue with you because you are preaching to the letter of the law, the straight sauce, so to speak. But I have found that when I wake up in the morning, in my mind and heart, I feel like I am a filthy wretch crawling out of the worst dumpster and how could Krishna want anything to do with a person like me. And, surely He will never accept me. But if I sit for a few minutes and find that way of feeling in my heart that we are all inherently beautiful, bright spiritual beings, inherently lovable, then immediately I can see Krishna’s smiling face in my mind’s eye and I move happily into my sadhana. So this has become a wonderful support for me, and has become part of my life. In a letter to Satsvarupa Maharaja (when he was still house holder) Srila Prabhupada has referred to me as a somewhat crazy who is very sincere. And he instructed Satvarupa to give me shelter in the temple in spite of the fact that I was a bit crazy at times.
It is hard to know where other people are at on a scale of 1 to 10, from a material point of view in terms of their personal feelings of self-esteem, emotional dificulties etc. I can only guess that before you were devotee in this lifetime, you were a healthy, progressive person who could take the bull by the horns an tackle most any challenge in a successful way. So when coming to Krishna consciousness, you simply enlisted and went forward like a house on fire, burning your path to Krishna.
In conclusion, I think that you are correct in all that you say. But I also think that you have not experienced, in this life, the kind of challenges that some of us have. And so when I read some of your straight-forward advice to some who write you who have a truckload of challenges, I feel that, where you are talking from, and where they are at, is universes apart, and for them to just take up your instruction would be like Prahlada Maharaja facing Hiranya Kashipu. But most of us are not on the level of Prahlada Maharaja yet, and cannot see our way to acting like pure devotees.
But now I can understand your hard-core approach to Krishna consciousness, because you are a hard-core devotee, almost like a marine in the military. Your business is straight ahead, no looking left or right, nothing but one objective to accomplish. I respect and bow down to your level of development and wonderful example. Thanks for your wonderful contribution to all of us. You are the man for the job.
Sincerely,
Ishan das
Hare Krishna Ishan Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I hope you did not get the wrong idea Prabhu. It is not that I do not have to struggle or that everything is easy. It is a often a struggle and I am always failing and always falling so short of what I should be doing and I achieve only a tiny fraction of what I could achieve if I wasn’t always spacing out. I can fall down at any time and I have fallen down many times, I always manage to pull myself back up by Srila Prabhupada’s unlimited mercy and always pray that these things will never happen again and I do have the faith that one day I will be steady in Krishna consciousness but really for me at the moment that is some sort of dream way down in the future. Krishna consciousness is like a razors edge. You know if one is shaving with one of those cutthroat razors it is very easy to slip and then you cut yourself and there is a big mess everywhere. I am like that and I understand most of us are all more-or-less like that. But there is absolutely no question in my mind, I have complete faith in Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and I have experienced the power of Krishna consciousness. It is not that I have faith in Krishna and Srila Prabhupada, I know Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and I know that Srila Prabhupada is Krishna’s very confidential pure devotee. So it has gone past faith. Faith is when you believe something, but I know Krishna is God.
I have not done anything except repeat what I have heard from Srila Prabhupada. Krishna consciousness is a very natural thing for all of us but it is covered and we have to uncover it by chanting:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
It is not always easy, maya is so very strong, she is always putting obstacles in our way but anything so valuable as Krishna consciousness is worth working for, actually it is not worth working for anything else other than Krishna consciousness.
We are all in different circumstances and we have to practice Krishna consciousness from whatever position we happen to be in. And we can only do the best we can do. And we should actually always be lamenting that we are so hopeless an useless. And at least in my case I am so hopeless and useless. But still Srila Prabhupada can use any of us in Krishna’s service if we are prepared to surrender to him and follow his instructions very strictly.
Anyhow I can slip and fall down spectacularly at any moment so I do not like to talk about these things. I want to talk about Prabhupada and Krishna. So hopefully we can finish this conversation here.
All glories to your service.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Your servant
Madhudvisa dasa
Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu,
Please accept my sincere obeisances. I do not possess great humility. I am proud, arrogant, and unaware of Krishna’s wonderful grace and power that surrounds me at every moment. Perhaps one day I will be able to say please accept my humble obeisances. That is my aspiration.
I wish to thank you for the wonderful work that you are doing. I thank you for taking such a firm stand on issues that will incur the wrath of Iskcon. I know in my heart that you are correct. I have left that association in the early 80’s, always hoping that my critical mind is not getting the best of me. But I have seen too much to close my eyes. And I feel that you are correct, especially with regard to the farce of GBC appointed gurus. Like the Catholic church. They vote who will be pope. As if to say that we will vote and decide who is a confidential associate of Krishna. Krishna’s confidential associates do not require anyone’s votes. There is so much to say. But you have said most of it already.
Prabhu, I have been doing sadhana practices for some 40 odd years, as I was initiated by Srila Prabupada in 1968. For all of these years I have been doing my sadhana with the hope that someday I would be hit by a bolt of spiritual lightening (so to speak) and I would have some sense of a living reciprocation with Krishna. Just a small sense of that reciprocation, I felt would be sufficient to sustain me.
Of course when I did sadhana as seriously as I could, I always felt a degree of liberation from my baseline materialistic mentality of doubts and fears, frustrations and desires. Yes, that sense of liberation was always available to me through serious sadhana.
But I wanted more than that. I wanted to feel Krishna’s loving reciprocation. Our philosophy is great. It is strong and clear and miles ahead of any cosmology that any other lineage has to offer, east or west. Our practices are more beautiful. We even have the darshan of the Supreme Lord. And we can serve Him personally in the temple, by bathing and dressing and offering bhoga and puja. There is nothing like it anywhere on planet earth. Srila Prabhupada would say, “It is simply a matter of understanding and accepting. It is simple for the simple.”
But one time someone asked Srila Prabhupada, “How does one love Krishna?” And Srila Prabhupada said, “By loving Him!”
That that was a puzzle for me, and perhaps for others. I was thinking that if I could really see Krishna, because he is all-attractive, I would naturally love Him, just like the residents of Vrindavan. And if I loved Krishna I would naturally see Him, because He would reveal Himself to me in response to my love…….”Premanjana cchruita bhakti…..”. If I could see Krishna, I could love Him, and if I could love Him I could see Him. It seemed like a “catch 22”. Because I did not see Him in all of His splendor as do His intimate assocates and I did not feel spontaneous love for Him. Perhaps some respect was there. Respect for some intellectual understanding of Who Krishna is.
Soon I will be 70 years old. So I have been thinking that perhaps I have another 10 years ahead of me, maybe less. And still I am not having a sense of loving reciprocation with Krishna. I have faith in what I have learned from Srila prabhupada. But my realization is so tiny.
I prayed a lot, Prabhu. I tried to understand what was wanting in me. What does Krishna want from me so that He will reciprocate with me? And somehow, little by little I began to understand the simplest thing. And this simple thing is changing my life.
We use the phrase, sadhana bhakti. But there are two words in this phrase. I am not a sanskrit scholar. But to me sadhana means the prescribed forms of service – hearing, chanting, praying, offering obeisances, puja, etc. That is sadhana, prescribed forms. These are the activities. But then there is “bhakti”. And bhakti means devotional love, devotional affection.
So sadhana bhakti doesn’t mean militaristic performance of the prescribed forms (although that in itself is good). But sadhana bahkti means practicing these prescribed forms with a soft and loving heart. Practicing these forms with a loving feeling.
So I continued to turn it over in my head. I am my only association. Of course I have Srila Prabhupada here with me in hisbooks and CD’s. But sometimes …… In any case I began to experiment with my consciousness in different ways. And I began to understand that within myself, in the depths of my heart (and there is fear in making this statement), without even thinking about krishna, I could feel into a place in my desert-like heart where there was a profound feeling of love. It was not love for myself. It was not love for anyone else. it was simply love. It was soft, and calm, and pervasive. In that loving feeling there was no anxiety, no timetable, no to-do list. And I could return to it. It would always be there. I just had to let everything go and feel into it. Just love.
Srila Prabhupada had a very loving and indulgent father who was I believe a pure devotee. The way that he grew up in such a loving atmosphere became the baseline for his emotional life. This I hope is not offensive. We, on the other hand grew up in a different atmosphere. I grew up with so much self-hatred and feelings of unworthiness. My heart was like a desert. I was not a loving person. I did not know what it meant to be a loving person. I was cold-hearted and alienated, cynical, judgmental of everyone and hardly had affection for anyone at all.
Prabhu, I think that I am not the only one who is like this. And I believe that there are hundreds or thousands of neophyte bhaktas like myself who are mechanically doing their sadhana and wondering when they have a sense of loving reciprocation between krishna and thenselves, perhaps sometimes loosing heart.
As time went on, I became gradually more adept at accessing that loving feeling, and then at a certain point I knew it was time to integrate this with my sadhana bhakti, to learn how to hold this loving feeling in my heart while approaching Krishna, in my japa and on my little alter.
At first is was difficult, elusive. But gradually I could bring them together, and focus this loving feeling on Krishna, on my alter. And Prabhu, Krishna began to smile at me. I could feel His love. Krishna loves me.
Now every morning when I wake up, I am back in arid desert heart as I have been all of my life. And the first thing I do, even before I begin my japa, is go deep inside my heart and stir up that loving feeling that has hidden away in my heart over the night. And when i find it, I direct it towards my Krishna, and Krishna is there and I can feel that He loves me.
It is not not about siddha deha, understanding my spiritual identity in the spiritual realm. Perhaps that is many lifetimes ahead in the future. It is simply a knowing that Krishna loves me, and that is all I need to know to go on, to face life in a whole new way.
Therefore I am very much convinced, that all of us, as much as we are feeling a lack of reciprocation from Krishna, we should learn, somehow or other, to develop, bring forth, cultivate and learn to harness this capacity to feel love, and approach Krishna with a loving heart. Sadhana bhakti. Directing our loving feeling towards Krishna through the prescribed forms of devotional service.
There are several extrapolations. One of them is, that this is Krishna’s world, His material energy. We know the philosophy. There is nothing but Krishna, because it is all His energy, and he pervades every atom of it. But until I could have that feeling of loving reciprocation with Him, that was just that. Philosophy. But when I could have a sense of loving reciprocation with Krishna, even that tiny sense as I am having, when I see that earth and water and fire around me and remember to hold on to that sense of contact – it changes everything. I cannot move that object with my foot. I marvel at how he moves the wind in the trees.
I wish not to prolong this. But my real objective in sharing this with you is that nowhere in our literature is there guidance on this point. We simply love Krishna by loving Him. Or as Srila Prabhupada would say, “What is the difficulty?”
So, this all may sound a bit off center, especially perhaps to someone like yourself who is hard-core reactionary. But I also know that you are very sincere. And Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhupada has advised to accept whatever is helpful. All the rules and regulations are intended to help us develop our love for Krishna. Srila Prabhupada used to say that the loving propensity was already there, and simply we had to transfer it to Krishna. But what if we don’t carry love in our hearts as a way of being?
Therefore my heartfelt recommendation is that there be instituted lessons, classes, focus, on how we can learn to cultivate our capacity to find, carry and cultivate a profound loving feeling in our hearts, so that we can begin to focus our love on Krishna. There are actually so many ways to do this, as I have discovered, some classical and some contemporary, some “new age”. Some of them are by impersonalists, and some by atheists. But they are having a loving experience and sharing the ways and means for bringing this into focus. It is all about becoming a more healthy and whole-hearted human being.
I was hoping to bypass the human aspect and simply go direct to Krishna Loka. But I suspect that it doesn’t quite work that way. Not that we should engage in nonsense. But if we can learn how to love – then as Srila Prabhupada used to say, we can simply transfer our loving propensity to Krishna.
Perhaps, we can continue this conversation.
Hoping this finds you well and blissful in Krishna consciousness,
Your admiring godbrother,
Ishan das
Hare Krishna Ishan Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Devotees naturally become humble. But still that does not mean that devotees can not strongly preach the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. When we speak we are not speaking on our own behalf. We are speaking for Srila Prabhupada and Prabhupada is speaking for Krishna. So if we do it right and if we are really actually surrendered and really actually following Srila Prabhupada then there is some transcendental magic and it is not us speaking at all. Krishna speaks through us. So you know what can we do? We just have to pass on the message. That’s all.
Krishna consciousness is simple if one happens to have natural attachment for it. Fortunately for me I was able to quickly awaken a sense of love for Srila Prabhupada and through that love for Krisha. It did not take very long for me. Maybe a month or two. That’s all. So personally I have no experience of what you are talking about. Of course I have gone through difficult times and been in and out of maya. But I know that by chanting Hare Krishna and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and of course most importantly we have to do devotional service Prabhu. The symptom of our love for Prabhupada and love for Krishna is we will be working for Prabhupada and Krishna 24 hours a day. That is the secret I think. I read this in Prabhupada’s books in the beginning and from then at least I am half-heartedly trying to be always engaged in serving Srila Prabhupada and Krishna 24 hours a day.
It is out of this service that the love develops. There is no love without service.
And it’s not just chanting and reading. Chanting is “Please Krishna engage me in your service.” So we have to be ready to actually serve Srila Prabhupada and Krishna 24 hours a day. We have to be prepared to surrender. These are the key points, surrender and service.
There are so many things that can hinder this love for Krishna developing. There are the ten offenses, there is association with non-devotees. You know Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that he would prefer to be locked up in a cage with some tigers rather than have to associate with non-devotees. So this non-devotee association is so horrible, and of course the worst thing is hearing the Mayavadi philosophy: Mayavadi bhasya sunali haya sarva nasa. “If one hears from the Mayavadis his spiritual life is doomed.”
So Prabhu when I get into this feeling of having no taste from chanting Hare Krishna and serving Srila Prabhupada I know I am doing something wrong and I try and find out what that thing I am doing wrong is and try to correct it. You know we have to actually follow the process. Getting out of bed before 4:00 AM every morning, chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, strictly following the four regulative principles, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and not reading anyone elses books. You know the real thing is Krishna is unattainable really. The only way we can attain Krishna is by the mercy of Krishna’s pure devotees. There is no way of directly approaching Krishna. So we have to actually please Srila Prabhupada by our service. I am a little fortunate I guess because my devotional service has been fighting for Prabhupada. Fighting to preserve his audio and video recordings, fighting to preserve and print his original books, you know, so much fighting. But Prabhupada loves this, and Krishna loves this, that we are trying to stick up for Srila Prabhupada in a world full of demons. So you know I get real tangible practical reciprocation with Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and I think anyone can get this. There is nothing special about me. Actually I am the greatest demon from the material point of view. But I love Prabhupada and really have surrendered my life to serving Prabhupada. There is nothing else in my life but trying to please Srila Prabhupada. Of course sometimes I am in maya, but I can say that at least every day since I joined ISKCON in 1986 I have chanted 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily at least. Even if I am in maya I still keep chanting Hare Krishna. Actually I really like chanting Hare Krishna. It is my favorite thing. There is a line in that Sri Nama Kirtan by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur: amala harinam amiya-vilasa: “Chanting the Lord’s name is my pastime.” So that is me really. That is my hobby, that is what I like to do, chant the Lord’s holy names. It is so nice.
So honestly Prabhu it is not very difficult. One just has to surrender. But you know as I have written many times we do not want to surrender and if we do not surrender then we are not going to be able to taste any transcendental bliss from Krishna consciousness…
Some devotees have an advantage over others because of previous things we may have done in previous lives. Srila Prabhupada writes that one who has a natural attraction to reading the Srimad-Bhagavatam for example is very fortunate. So somehow I got this blessing. As soon as I came in contact with Srila Prabhupada’s books I became addicted to reading his books. I was traveling all over the world and visited about 60 ISKCON temples within the first two years of my devotional life. And in every temple I would be searching through all the bookcases trying to find books by Srila Prabhupada that I had not read yet. And I was so happy when I found one. That is my nectar, reading Prabhupada’s books, chanting Hare Krishna. And I never get tired of chanting Hare Krishna and I never get tired of reading Prabhupada’s books. Like Bhagavad-gita, I have read it hundreds and hundreds of times. But Prabhu every time I read it it is better than when I read it the previous time.
So really Krishna consciousness is wonderful Prabhu. There is no problem. It is great. What can I say really?
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
all glories to srila prabhupad… hare krishna prabhuji …prabhuji what is the procedure for guru diksha in isckon (hari naam diksha)
Hare Krishna Shivani
You have to find a pure devotee to accept diksa from. Otherwise the cheating guru will not have the potency to give you diksa. And currently this is not the philosophy of ISKCON. They claim that any rascal can be guru, there is no particular qualification, they claim it is just a ‘service’ like washing the pots in the temple is a service, so to ISKCON guru is just another ‘service’ like that. So they think that the GBC can delegate anyone as ‘guru’ and he will then be able to give diksa. But if anyone takes the time to read Srila Prabhupada’s books they will find out guru is not at all like this. Guru is a pure devotee of Krishna. The whole idea of accepting a guru is that we have to find a pure devotee of Krishna, a liberated soul, someone who can guide us in such a way that we can also ultimately become pure devotees of Krishna and so that at the end of this material body we can remember Krishna and as Krishna says: “Whoever remembers Me at the time of death will come to Me.”
So taking initiation is not some sort of formality. Taking initiation means surrendering everything to the spiritual master you are taking initiation from. You have to be prepared to fully surrender and from the time you take initiation your whole life has to be lived according to the orders of your spiritual master. So it is a very, very serious thing, choosing a spiritual master.
The most dangerous thing for one’s spiritual advancement is accepting a spiritual master who is not qualified to guide you back home back to Godhead.
And these days ISKCON have put into place many policies that mean their ‘gurus’ must be surrendered servants of the GBC, not surrendered servants of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. And in so many ways the orders of the GBC contradict the orders of Krishna and Srila Prabhupada. So real bona fide gurus who are surrendered to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna will never be approved of by the GBC and will never be appointed as gurus in ISKCON. The only people who will ever be appointed as gurus in ISKCON are those cheating rascals who agree to surrender to the GBC, knowing well that the orders of the GBC conflict with the orders of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna in so many ways.
So you will not find an bona fide guru in ISKCON. You should not take diksa in ISKCON. Rather you need to educated yourself fully as to what a bona fide spiritual master really is. For this purpose Srila Prabhupada has written more than eighty big books and he wrote them for us to read. So we have to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. All of Srila Prabhupada’s books. And as we read Srila Prabhupada’s books we will find that Prabhupada is giving us direct and personal instructions. So we have to surrender to Srila Prabhupada and follow these instructions he is giving us as we read his books and that is actual real diksa from a real bona fide spiritual master.
Diksa is not some official ceremony with a fire yajna and throwing of grains and bananas in the fire. That is only and external thing. The real initiation only happens if the spiritual master is bona fide and the disciple really surrenders to him. Diska means the transmission of divyam-jnanam, transcendental knowledge. It does not mean fire yajna, etc. So this diksa, transmission of spiritual knowledge, actually happens as we read Srila Prabhupada’s books, and if we submit to Srila Prabhupada, if we surrender to Srila Prabhupada, if we accept what he is telling us without questioning it, without doubting it, then the flow of divyam-jnanam, transcendental knowledge, from Srila Prabhupada to us will go on unhindered. This is real initiation.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna prabhuji……thanxx for ur reply….
all glories to srila prabhupad hare krishna prabhuji……. Ur articles are awesome very inspiring…thanxxxxx……prabhuji plzz solve my one query that how to tell mayavadis to surrender to lotus feets of krishna ..when they believe that only way to god is meditation only…….
Hare Krishna Shivani
Mayavadis are very, very, very poisoned and very, very, very poisonous. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu says mayavadi sunali haya sarva nasa, “if one hears from the Mayavadis his spiritual life is finished.” and mayavadi krsna aparahadi, “the Mayavadis are offenders to Krishna”. So really the Mayavada ideas are so diametrically opposed to Krishna consciousness and their association is so poisonous it is better to avoid them.
For preaching the most important thing is we have to find people who are prepared to listen to us and who are prepared to at least consider the things we are saying. A little faith is essential to start in Krishna consciousness. So these Mayavadis are opposed to Krishna consciousness, they have no faith in Krishna or in Krishna’s devotees, and they refuse to even consider things like “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” So you can not preach to Mayavadis really. Only a very, very advanced personality like Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu pondered over this problem and came up with some ways to convert Mayavadis like Praksananda Sarasvati, his followers and others.
But the general principle for preaching is to avoid the envious and preach to the innocent. And the Mayavadis are envious so the general principle is we should avoid them and instead find some innocent people who are actually interested in hearing what we have to say and spend our time and energy preaching to them rather than wasting our time and energy and risking getting contaminated ourselves by trying to preach to Mayavadis. They are just not going to listen to us. It is a waste of time…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
This, to me, seems like the ultimate calling to reality about all that we decide we ‘need’ and ‘want’ in our lives. And it is the difficulty in disciplining the small things (how much time we watch TV, what we eat daily, even the time we spend online, or the latest ‘spiritual’ gift we buy ourselves) that gives us a sign of how it can all build up so that then we have major decisions in life (wars, food for the hungry, illness, human rights) our minds are so calcified and habituated in systems of rationalization and self-‘pleasing’ that we then decide we ‘need’ things that are abominations–war, genocide, class prejudices. So the rational mind is no longer able to respond; it is captive, slave, to the ego-master. When the ego was to be the willing servant in the first place. Eve tempted by the snake in the garden…it happens every day with every one of us, regardless of religion or creed or culture. ‘Krishna mind’ or the willing surrender of our egos and body-selves to union with Krishna, all-loving union with the Divine ONE…is a decision that we must make every single day, every single moment. And if on our path we have accumulated layers and bulk of unnecessary things, habits and ways, I am finding that it is in the slow releasing and letting go, that I am made softer and more silent…compassionate and slow to speak and judge, in my awareness of my fragile humanity and recognition of my reflection in everyone I see.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
I am very new to Krishna consciousness although I’ve been a devoted Christian for years. I’ve only recently(since April) heard of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is and have read through it twice and am on my 3rd reading and am absolutely in love with it. This particular subject I have spent many hours contemplating. I am understanding from reading BG 6.34 that the mind and intelligence are two separate entities. The mind being controlled by the senses and intelligence being mercifully given by Lord Krishna. My question is how is it that we can determine which thoughts and ideas are directed at us by Lord Krishna (spiritual platform) and which thoughts and ideas are by our own conditioned minds (material platform)? I have noticed also when chanting my 16 rounds, I can chant but I notice my mind flickering and unsteady, how do you control that?
Humbly seeking answers,
Michelle
Hare Krishna Michelle
As you advance in Krishna consciousness you will be able to detect when Krishna is giving you some message or if it is just your mind trying to disturb you. But it happens in time automatically as you advance in spiritual life so you have to go on with your devotional service and wait for this time.
In the meantime the important thing is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds a day and if your mind wanders then just keep chanting and the chanting of Hare Krishna will drag your mind back to Krishna. As you chant more and more the mind will become more under control. But it is perfectly normal that in the beginning it may sometimes be difficult to concentrate on chanting Hare Krishna. In those times you just have to force yourself to chant Hare Krishna anyhow and you will see that soon the mind will again come under control.
It is something like we have declared war on maya. And she fights back. So as we try to advance in Krishna consciousness maya will always try to disturb us. So we have to be ready for that and become determined to continue with our Krishna consciousness no matter what disturbances maya comes up with.
In addition to chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily we have to follow the four regulative principles and of course read Srila Prabhupada’s books. You can get all of Srila Prabhupada’s other books also as well as the Bhagavad-gita [you can get from http://www.KrishnaStore.com] because it is important that we read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books. And the more you read Prabhupada’s books and put into practice the instructions you find Srila Prabhupada giving you as you read his books into practice in your life the more you will find your mind is becoming automatically under control and the more you will be able to understand what Krishna is saying to you also.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna , Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Your narrative mail is very interesting to read , hope to receive further enchanting mails in days to come .
Thank you Sirji
Dear Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa,
I have read very carefully the newsletter on “I am not this Body.” Easy to say…..
I disagree with you because I believe that I am not the driver of the body.
I believe that ‘I’ am the only special passenger of this body. ‘I’ am special because , if ‘I’ remain in this body, body is alive but if ‘I’ leave this body, I am dead.
Further I would like to mention that mind with the senses is the driver of this body.
Please be kind to reply on my comment.
Yours truly,
Shyamal
You are completely wrong. You, the spirit soul, the living entity, are eternal. You are of the same quality as Krishna. Krishna is sat-cit-ananda-vigraha, He is eternal, full of knowledge, full of ever-increasing transcendental bliss, and He has an eternally youthful spiritual form. So do you. But Krishna is unlimited and you are tiny. That is the difference. It is a difference of magnitude, not of quality. Krishna and the living entities share the same qualities. But Krishna is great, Krishna is the master and we, the living entities are tiny and our business is to serve Krishna.
But we have the same quality of eternality that Krishna has. This is a very basic point that is very clearly explained by Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita so if you disagree with it is not not me that you are disagreeing with, you are disagreeing with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and all the great sadhus and sages who have ever preached Krishna’s message. Everyone agrees on the spiritual, eternal nature of the soul. There is no disagreement on this. You will find in India some are impersonalists and some are personalists, and there are so many different ideas which the different groups argue about. But everyone knows the soul is eternal and continues to exist after the death of the body…
So you are terribly wrong and I suggest that you study Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krsna pr ji,
AGTSP!
pls accept my humble wishes.
Pls clarify why a person after entering spiritual life still in enjoying mood despite accepting bonafide spiritual master??
It is coz of past karmas or some thing else??
Pls also tell how to overcome this n advance further in devotion.
Yhs daanish.
It is because either the spiritual master is not bonafide, which is probably the case if your spiritual master is not His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, or because you did not surrender to Srila Prabhupada and follow all his instructions. One of these two things…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
I have some very important questions which are central to the krishna
consciousness philosophy.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that every living entity is an eternal
servant of Krishna.
My question is what should be the attitude or mental makeup while
performing activities in relation to krishna?
I have experienced in material life that people dont want to be
servants.They think it is a degrading fallen position.What is the
opposite of servant ?
What is the difference between being a servant in material life and
spiritual life ?In both cases one has to serve a “MASTER”.Which one
should be preferred and why ?
What is the meaning of Master ?
What should be the qualities one should look for in a MASTER in
spiritual life and material life ?
What is the difference between a slave and a servant ? Are there
slaves in spiritual world and spiritual life ?
I will be very grateful if you can enlighten me on these questions
because right now in my life I am in such a position that I have to
choose to work under somebody so I would like your guidance as to whom
should I work under ?
Thanking you.
Brijesh Dani
Hare Krishna Brijesh
Yes Prabhu, every living entity is nitya krsna dasa, eternally a servant of Krishna. That is what we are and that is all we can do, serve Krishna. And yes, some do not like to be servants. But we are servants, there is no other alternative. We, in the material world, are those rebellious living entities who have chosen not to serve Krishna. But we are servants of Krishna, that is what we do, so how can we not serve Krishna? So to fulfill our perverted desires Krishna has created this material world for us where we can ‘play god’. Krishna has created maya who gives us the illusion that we can be the master or that we are the master. So that is what is going on here in the material world. Everyone is trying to become the master, everyone is trying to become god. So that is why there is always a struggle for existence and that is why this material world is always a hellish place. Because everyone is trying to become the master and lord it over and exploit everyone else… A nasty, nasty place…
There is no question of us looking for a ‘master’. If we find someone who wants to be a master then we have found someone who is deeply in maya. We have to find a servant, a pure devotee of Krishna who’s only purpose in life is serving his spiritual master and Krishna.
There is no difference between a slave and a servant. Except the idea that a salve is forced to serve by the master with some threat that if he does not serve then he will be punished but the idea of servant implies that the servant has voluntarily agreed to surrender to and serve the master. So we are willing slaves of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. There is no question of force. Service to Krishna has to be done out of love.
Krishna consciousness is a great science which is impossible to explain in a few paragraphs in a blog comment… If you want to understand Krishna consciousness then you have to READ SRILA PRABHUPADA’S BOOKS!!!
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krshna madhudvisa
yes you are right that our body is just like a machine.We daily work hard to maintain,to enjoy to fullfill our desires but at the mean time we really forget what we are actually,for what we are running?
after doing lots of hard work we are still not get the real satisfaction in our life.
thank you for making me to understand through this mail to understand where is our fault.
Maduvidvisa ji please guide me
hare krshna
jushmi
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
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!
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
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 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
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 krishna
please help me find my purpose in life…??
M confused…
READ SRILA PRABHUPADA’S BOOKS!!!
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 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 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 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
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 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
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 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.
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…
It is really well said.
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.
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
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 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
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 krsna prabhu ji.. i read it… thank you”
and your explanation about men n women, gave me new knowldge….
hare krsna …. radhey radhey
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 Krishna!!! 🙂
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 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,
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
Thank You Madhuvisaji for sending me these useful information which allows me to see more clearly!!!!!
Thank You 4 your Guidance..
Hare Krishna
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
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
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.
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 HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE!!
Really excellent explanation guruji.
Need topic like this every day!!
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! Rama Rama! Hare Hare!
And now I’m Happy!!…
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
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 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
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,
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!
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
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
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
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
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,
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 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
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
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
Hari Bol
I am totally agreed.
Hare Krishna
I found this a really good description and explanation of balancing our bodily needs with our spiritual needs.
Thank you.
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…
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 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.
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,
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
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“
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…
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..
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.
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 🙂
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
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa das
Thank You.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Sara
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 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
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 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,
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 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 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,
Great article..
All glories to Sri Sri Guru & Gauranga..
All glories to Srila Prabhupada..; the saviour
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
if it so then why we always in need of everything..how to control wasteful thoughts….
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
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 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
Thanks, SARA T
VISH
Nice! , Thanks for the email, very nicely explained.
Victory to the greatness in you.= Jai Guru Dev
Erjet
Tirane, ALBANIA.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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..
Thanks for the e-mails, very good, looks like your going to help me on my journey.
Hare Krishna.
THANKS FOR THE EMAILS………..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.
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 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
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 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,
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
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
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
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,
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
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 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…..
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. 🙂
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
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.
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
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
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
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!
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
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
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 i am great ful to have your sangathya as you are student of prabhu padh
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 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
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…
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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…
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 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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
HK Prabhu!
your podcast link didnt work for me… ???
Kind Regards
RadhaKanta das
give some pastimes of caitanya mahaprabhu
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
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 😉 “The tiny drops of ocean has same quality as the vast ocean ” we are make that truth by our false ego & demoniac character.
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
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….
Hare krishna,
I didn’t get hare krishna news letter since last two weeks.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 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.
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
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
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 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
All glories to KRSNA,thank you for your wisdom
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.
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
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
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’ 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
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.
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.
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.
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 🙂 harekrishna
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.
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.
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
Thanks
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
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.
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.
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?
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 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.
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,
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 Krihna I would just like to know how many times aday I should chant yours david
You should be chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. One round is the mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
chanted 108 times.
So you chant the mantra 108 times, that is one round, then you do this 16 times. It takes 2-3 hours and you may not be able to do this immediately. It may take you a little practice. But if you practice you can easily chant 16 rounds a day and that is the minimum amount. You can chant more of course, but you can not chant less than 16 rounds and expect to become Krishna conscious.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank you for this wonderful enlightenment.As for me before reading this news letter i was already leaving with that conception that the soul is different from the body and any physical manifestation is depending on the state of the soul.That is,our spiritual side of life influences our physical life whether positively or negatively depending of the state of our soul whether healthy or ill.Meaning the driver in the vehicle the soul if hungry or have some defects he will not be able to drive well and by so doing the car will go in the wrong direction.Meanwhile if he is in a good state he is going to drive well and the same apply to the vehicle.So it means the soul and the body are two inter connected entities but the soul controls the body.Implying both of them need to be feed but the soul need to fed more.But what i want to ask is how can one knows of what to do to uplift the soul?
First of all i would like to thank you for your regular newsletter.yes it is true that soul is different from the body but they are interconnected. I have one question in my mind that we all are suffering here in some or other way;we all want to live in peace, want to go back home and as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself is so powerful and loves all of us equally, then why doesn’t He take us back to Goloka with HIm? I apologize if my choice of words are wrong but I simply want to know the reason behind our sufferings and how can we get out of this material world.I have faith in Him. I have faith in Krishna.
thank you
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Archana
Krishna would love to take us all back home, back to Godhead with Him. But we do not want to go. And He is not going to force us.
In the spiritual world everyone is in their natural constitutional position and they are all acting as servants of Krishna in many different ways. But we don’t want to serve Krishna. We want to serve our senses. We want others to serve us. We want to be the master, we want to be god, we want to be Krishna. So in such a state of mind we can not go back to Godhead.
The only way we can go back to Godhead is if we cure this material disease and get rid of our desire to be the master, to be the lord, and surrender to Krishna and serve Him. Then we can go back home, back to Godhead.
In the meantime we have to suffer more and more in the material world life after life…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
This cycle of birth and death continues until we develop detachment for material desires. At this point we reach mukthi or liberation.We are all suffering here in one form or other because of our samskaras good or bad which determine the fate of our life. When all samskaras (driving force for actions )are destroyed by brahma gnana we can get out of this material world
an eye opening explanation of the body and the soul. it is very difficult to satisfy the needs of the body and rise above this to attend to the needs of the soul. but this explanation clearly tells us where to draw the line. there is never an end to our bodily needs and desires but as we near the dusk of our lives, we must realize and satisfy the cravings of the soul which is elevating ourselves to a higher spiritual platform.
Love the analogy. Lovely post.
Thank you for the newsletter.
Blessed Love.
yes you are correct instead of giving enough time to bodily satisfaction,we should take out time for spiritual enlightenment and if we do that bodily care will be taken automatically.
” Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare ”
These are the words taught to me from my childhood. I lived up to these words. I lived my life the best way I could. As far as belief in GOD was concerned, I never had a second thought. I would enjoy my prayers. Every time something good or bad happened in my life I thanked HIM. I would enjoy my trips to vrindavan with my family. Learning about the existence of ThakurJi, Krishna, Keshav, Nand Kishore and so on. My belief was ultimate. I felt like I was blessed to be in a family that believed in HIM so faithfully.
But today my own knowledge seems to shatter me from inside. Everyday I wake up my regret fills me up so much that I cant even think of what to do or even what to think.
I am a student of BTECH final year National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra. I prepared hard for what I am today. I was in top 7 lac students of India. I was never boastful of my success. I was always modest. Every day that came by me I thought of it as a new day, a new opportunity to prove myself. I never gave up. A shortcoming would come to me, I would get up and fight. And thank HIM for being with me.
But today, i dont know what I am, what is my ultimate aim. I am always finding an obsession to do something. Something that will be ultimate. Bhagvad Gita says your ultimate aim is to join ME. I always knew this. But today my faith seems to lost. Just because someone from the history claims to be he is the lord and u will come to me if your life was successful and fulfilling and you were best at your duties, makes me think if I am living in a dream. I know someone who was taught to believe, says these words might seem to you that he never actually believed might seem awkward to you. But this is how I think. I am tired of doing. Every thing I do has some or the other effects.
Every day, I feel that these 7 sins Pride,wrath,lust,hunger,envy,sloth and greed are taking over me and have taken over others. Everybody is made up of these to a degree and this is what is causing things to happen. If all that matters is my soul existence then why give this body a place in material world .Taking over these everyday is so much encapsulating me today that I am lost what to do.
Its like my intelligence is lost. Cause and effects drive this world. Then why don’t we eliminate the causes of so-called wrong effects.
Arjuna was ordered to fight by HIM on the basis of the argument that you duty as a fighter is very important. Arjuna had the guilt of killing his own people. GOD says they are nothing more than bodies. The soul will live on. Arjuna says I don’t want to kill. I will live someway else. What’s wrong with that? If everything is happening around me because of materialism why even care to live in this material world. If the soul lives on, why not kill ourselves. Now all this implies only if you believe in what HE has said.
Today, I am not doing the duties allocated to me. Because I am so much tired of life and the effects and results of actions, I just feel like what’s there to life. What life is all about.
I know, either I have lost myself or lost the connection to this world or both. My thinking seems to be so unsystematic to me because what ever I say people find it so hard to listen that I feel so lost.
Everyday I try to do my duties, gather up the courage but I get so much bogged just because I cant think of what ultimately I have to do.
Which one came first: the Body or the Soul? Before we were born, what were we? Were we mere souls or embodied soul as we are now? What does Bhagavad Gita talk about the future of our life, if our life has to be determined by every action (Karma). By this do we assert that Karma (action) is as important as consciousness? With the given analogy of Car and the driver, should we need to depend only on car to reach our destination? Why not by walk even if takes time or even by our day dreaming?
Needing reply if any one could enlighten on these matters based on Bhagavad Gita and the Saving figures like Yesu Christ or Lord Krishna.
Thanks for the email. I find that in your tradition you consider body maintenance at minimum level is adequate. But the fact remains that if human life is to be utilised to the fullest extent in the service of God, then our body should be vibrantly healthy and fit. Otherwise, the body will distract you from discharging your Krishna conscious activities properly. It is not clear why Prabhupada and other acharyas don’t emphasise this point sufficiently. It is one thing to associate ourselves with the soul inhering our body and quite another to maintain the body well through exercise etc., perhaps chanting Mahamantra. Merely because BG doesn’t explicitly recommend it , it doesn’t become less important. There are other accepted vedic scriptures that approve of it. As you know , Bhima, also known as Vrugodhara, was a glutton, athlete, and wrestler.
First I want to thanks to Madhudvisa dasa, who links me again to this old literature, especially Bhagavat Gita.
Of course, we are not this body, I feel this since 1982, when I was perfoming yoga.
Later on, I performed bhakti yoga with devotees in the temple but unfortunatelly I was attracted again to material life.
I chant every day 6-8 rounds of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra,so I can support dailly the rough of the life.
I will never forget Krishna with His different forms, I want to go out from these prisons as body and material world.
Thank you for your lecture.
hare krishna prabhuji,
the article was very nice n ur view towards others reply is also very nice specially this line -“People who are not religious or spiritual can not do good things. Everything belongs to Krishna. Everything should be used in the service of Krishna.”
i am not a great devotee like all the above , so i can just thank u for your enlightening words n i can just say
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMA HARE HARE.
HARI BOL.
i like very much that you give the information with example
i hope always explain us with example
thanks
hare krishna
Hare Krishna,
Really the information about Bhagavat Gita is very informative. The way he is writing any novice also easily digest the information which he is giving to us.
thanks hare krisha
yours in lord
Hare krishna sir,
I just love all the articles u have sent me so far.Very easy language that any one can understand.Thanks a lot for that and please keep sending me all the articles in future as well.I have a question,Please guide me.I have heard that mantra should be alwayes taken from the guru who is a siddha guru and then only it works.Is it true?
-shilpa
hari:ohm
i think you are right.i heard this from my uncle,and then from you.
thank you for your support.
keep send me news letter
hari:ohm
HARE KRISHNA
Well i trully understand that this body is a machine and the driver is the soul of the body..and we must get out of this material world and get back to the spiritual world where we will get an eternally youthful spiritual body full of knowledge and pleasure. my question is that god created the univers and created human being…earth is so beautiful and if we want we can really see its inner beauty and find inner peace,so why should we try to get salvation in any way? Are we not supposed to live on earth and enjoy the beauty god created?
Thank you for posting this article. I agree with you totally.
I am going to share this article with a friend of mine, who just got started on her spiritual path.
I feel like you have made my life a bit easier with this explanation. Now I don’t have to talk so much.
Thanks again.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krsna
Yes Aham bramashmi After 35 years of chanting I still need to hear this, it gets easier as the body gets older, what we really need to remember is WE ARE NOT THESE MINDS!!!!!!!!
Radhe Radhe
ys
stritama dasi
Om namo nama iti Madhudvisa dasa. Jai Krishna jai. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of all Krishna’s devotees.
I subscribed to this newsletter recently and found it very good. I do listen to the Bhagwad gita lectures every day with my husband. But it is important to grab knowledge from all fronts so you are immersed in this thought all the time. “I am not this body” it is easy to say than done because it requires our own effort to feel the need of Paramanand which can be achieved by spiritual practice. Once we are in contact with the higher knowledge, which is done daily and think about it and contemplate on a constant basis as soon as you open your eyes in the morning till you go to sleep. At the back of your mind always try to realise you are not this body but the pure soul. Try to feel what is happening around you and realise how every day is important to live to the fullest evolving spiritually, as a little achievement gives satisfaction and that is real bliss. I need to get a long way to see the divine.
Hare krishna.
I find all the newsletters very inspiring and informative. It helps in the development of spiritual growth. I have recently started reading the Bhagavat Gita and these kind of newsletters really help in the though process and makes things a little clearer. Thank you so much for taking the time to write these and make our days more enlightened.
Haire Krshna!!!!!!!!
Thank u for the effort in resurrecting Our great culture (Guru Shishya Parampara)
My simple question is!!!!!!
1. Every thing is conceived and convinced!!!!Yet Man / Woman commit mistakes..How is it possible????????
2. Why there should be fixed time and set of rules for God worship??? (Eg: Chanting for prescribed number of times etc etc)
Humbly request not to feel offended by my questions…
Thank you Sir for your enlightened message.
Scriptures say that the purpose of life is freedom form the upheaval and limitations of worldly life or in other words liberation or knowing one self. This can be done through devotion, unattached work -offering the work done to God,yoga. You have rightly said that neglecting the world or body does not lead to spritual growth. Some ascetics and hypocrits who torture themselves become more attached to worldly life or objects for the senses. The right path is the middle path. When pricked by a thorn, we use another thorn to remove it. When it is removed we throw away both the thorns. Similarly, we use and promote Satvic tendencies of love, compassion, cherfullness, alertness, fearlessness,health etc. to uproot and rout rajasic and tamsic tendencies.
May Krishna enlighten us.
Regards,
Jaydeepsinh
Jai Shri Krishna!
I recently became a member of the Krishna Connect mailing list. It is quite enlightening. Actually I am a student in a college. Previously at home, I used to read a lot of literature concerning the Gita including the Gita itself. But here I feel a lack of such spiritual thoughts though I desperately need to be spiritually conscious. If you could please tell me how to maintain spiritual consciousness in college life, living two persons per room and lack of people having the same thoughts a as you, I would be extremely grateful to you.
Hare Krishna
I really appreciate all the newsletters you take the trouble to send. i feel closer to the Lord now. as you said, even if we read the Bhagvad Gita every day of our life, we will always find a new inspiration every time itis read.
i just wanted to thank you.
God Bless
jai sri krishna..
really i got a very nice example of our body and soul…specially on today…(in the auspicious of janmastami)..i am new to this site..so i will be very glad if i will get this type of things so that i will be motivated..
HARE KRISHNA.
Very apt comparison with a motor car and driver. The soul is different from the body. The body is nothing without the supreme GOD inside controlling all the activities. So the I is the soul and not the body. Thanks very much for the enlightenment.
Hare Krishna Prabhu ji,all respectful obeisances at ur lotus feet. I fully agree with u that we r just the spiritual soul and not the material body inside which we r entrapped,may be because of our longlasting desire of enjoying the fruits of this material world. I was in totally confused state because of my personal troubles before I encountered ‘BHAGAVAD GITA-AS IT’ written by His Divine Grace Srila PRABHUPADA.I feel very glad to tell u that I got solution to my whole problems just by obediently accepting all the divine words of LORD KRISHNA in the GITA. I sincerely recommend to all to gracefully accept the words of LORD KRISHNA and note sea changes in ur attitude and mentality towards ourself & this whole world. Hare Krishna.
Dear Prabhu, Your explanation about Body & soul is simple & clear.By this i came to know what need especial soul.
Please accept my humble request to send more about Krishna conscious so i can awaken up Krishna conscious by your mercy.
Hare Krsna Prabhu,
It is a peculiar thing that we need to remind ourselves daily that we are not this body, it is not an easy concept for us to remember. Every sense of this body is experienced by our souls, so the attachment is there. I do have a few questions regarding the needs of the body.
You mention above that we are advised that we should do the minimum to meet the needs of our bodies. In this you include eating, sleeping and sex, and defending in a regulated manner. What does regulated mean, especially when it comes to sex, in particular if one is not in a traditional relationship? Is sex used to keep the mind and body fit, especially if one is not ready to give up sex? Is that then considered “illicit sex”? Is keeping bodily healthy through the use of regulated but moderate sex if unmarried considered illicit?
Another question. Above there was a letter from a prabhu, who was questioning about the changes his body had gone through as he aged, but was inferring that he might now have had these condition has he continued to exercise and do pilates work. Why is exercise not good for the body and soul? Are these bodies not considered the temporary temple of the soul, and in being so, don’t have the responsibility to keep them in reasonably good condition, so that we may prevent avoidable diseases?
I know and completely understand that some may consider exercise a means toward becoming too attached to the body, but my position is, what is wrong with maintaining the temple of the Lord’s healthy? Old age, disease and death will come to all of us. but why should we expedited the demise of this vehicle, if we could use it to continue to serve the Lord and guru, for as long as we can in a healthy body?
Thank you for this service, may God place many mercies on you.
Hare Krnsa,
ys,
Vrindavand das
Hare Krishna Vrindavand
There are five important points for one who seriously wants to make advancement in spiritual life.
That is following the four regulative principels: no illicit sex life, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication and chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily.
These things must be done if one is serious.
Even if one is married there is no “sex for pleasure.” Sex is also very limited within married life. It is only allowed once a month if the couple wants to have a child.
So the thing is this is impossible for a materialist. He is thinking that sex is a great pleasure and he does not want to give it up. But for a devotee who has made a little advancement in Krishna consciousness it becomes possible because he experiences a greater pleasure, a higher taste, from serving Krishna.
If we are still addicted to sex life we have to know that we are not very much advanced in Krishna consciousness. And like any addiction it can not be cured by indulging in it. Therefore if we want to make advancement in Krishna consciousness then we have to undergo the austerity of giving up these things that we would normally do, like illicit sex, to make advancement in Krishna consciousness.
You can of course do anything that you want to. But if we break the regulative principles and don’t chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily then we can not expect to make very much spiritual advancement and we can’t consider ourselves devotees. How can we be devotees if we are not even devoted enough to do these five basic simple things?
If we are trying to do these things and find ourselves falling from the standard then that is also not a very big surprise. If we can not follow we should at least try to follow and continue chanting Hare Krishna. If we keep chanting Hare Krishna that will purify us and give us strength and ultimately we will be able to follow the regulative principles.
But we should never try to make excuses like you seem to be doing and try to make out that having illicit sex is OK. That is very dishonest. If we are fallen we should just accept that and try and rectify ourselves. Not try to make some excuse and think that “I am not fallen, I am a great devotee…” That is a very dangerous trap to fall into.
We have to accept we are fallen from the standard and strive to raise ourselves up to the proper standard.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna
Thanks for the suggetion. prabhu ji DAMODAR PRIYEDASA prabhu ji said that the BHAGTO KA SANG is very easy to Know about Lord Krishna. but i can join the BHAGTO KA SANG in my class and only in temple and ISKON is so far from my house that’s why rarely i can join the BHAGTO KA SANG. And in my family members they easly understand what i want but they don’t give me permission for doing anything in home.i left the tea since 3 years and know i left the onion also since 6 months when i started the spiritual classes. my brother scold me for making food without onion and becoz that my mother is so worried becoz i want make BHOG in my kitchen by my brother shout on us. how can i understand him.
sorry Prabhu ji becoz i m not able to write proper english. i hope u understand.
Thanks.
Hare Krsna!!! 🙂
I loved the metaphor used here! It explained so wonderfully the relationship between body and soul… Thank you!!!!!
Thank you sir. This is very helpful.
i find it completely true that our soul is eternal and needs to be taken care of more than our body….this body is temporary ,soul is eternal….may lord rama bless us all,a nd bestow his love upon us…jai srirama!!
if we feel love for some body.. is it d need of body or of the soul??
does it mean tat we should cut off from all worldy relations tat we have?
should we not love or be loved ?
be ignorant and inconcerned??
love is also ‘food’
but i m not sure of body or of soul..!!
please clearify
yes its true tat ”its easy to say tat we are atma n not tis body.tat we are god,tat our purpose is to delearn and meet our destination ”god”…’
its even easy to say tat our body is diffrent than us…the requirements are diffrent..cause this is wat we learn from d very moment we are born’MATERIAL’
Hare Krishna Prabhu G,
i’m agree with this all…but plz. let me know what is the solution if someone love krishna and and get happiness beyond the happiness of this material world and then later mistakenly start loving some other person and divert all that love to that person and then get the sadness…and now unable to chant properly bcoz. of those sad thoughts come again and again…what is the proper solution to come out from this life…
Hare Krishna,
The whole purpose of the Gita is to make us realise that I am not the body but I am the soul. I agree with your elaborate views. We should not waste our time in satisfying the senses rather we should utilize our energy in the dedicated service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna
Hare Krishna!
We should not waste our time in satisfying sensual pleasures. Rather we should engage in the awakening of the spiritual consciousness. In Bhagavad Gita, in many places it is emphasized that I am not the body I am the atman. The sole purpose of the bhagavad Gita is to make to realise that I am chat chith ananda atma.When this atma merges with the supreme soul, it becomes paramatma. In that divine sky, there is no thirst, there is no hunger, there is no heat, there is no dualities, there is no disease, there is no death but only ananda (bliss). Such a state is full of bliss, full of knowledge and full of consciousness.
hare krishna prabhu
This is Sekhar Vemuri from Manchester. I regularly visit Iskcon Manchester centre with family. I follow 4 regulatory principles and chant 16 rounds every day.I feel like fortunate person to have the association of the devotees all the time.
This is the real opportunity to have the association of Krishna devotees like you and we utilise for the progress of service to Krishna.
yes, of course we are driver of the our car.
yes good one. but thing is that we should first understand what way we want to select more out of three yoga’s.
bhaktiyoga, karmayoga or gyanyoga’s. we have to depends on all but we should identify our supreme yoga’s in our lives like we selected krishna as our father god.
and rest should be left on god. god do whatever feels suitable depends on our past karmas, but we can urge god sometimes for our negative intuitions to god that you have created the same, can you pls change the situation.
then we need to say , tari ichha ma mari ichha samamyeli che.
tu aagal ne hu tari paachal.
& thanks to god for giving good life & stayed within us.
thanks god.
Hare Krishna,
Its nice to know the relation between soul & body. As explained by you our objective in life should be advancement in spiritual life. One should eat, sleep have sex in a regulated way only to maintain the body. I wonder how this world would appear if every human being alive at this point realizes this and starts working towards spiritual advancement.
Its confusing me what is actually important. If you look at the body only to maintain it not much is needed. Todays advancement in material things like computers, mobile phones , emails , and many other high tech inventions our these not necessary. There our so many faculties in colleges/ universities today our these different fields not necessary.Is working hard to advance in material world absolutely useless. Please enlighten me.
I am fully agreement with your views. Thanks for citing elaborate and appropriate example. Gita gives answers of spiritual problems. Jai Shree Krishna.
Hare Krishna.
I agree with you. that we are not this body.And it is also true that we must only accept that which is in our share to maintain the body. not more than that.
Hare Krishna prabhuji,
No doubt we are souls,
I have read many chapters of Bhagvad gita as it is,
prabhu ji i want to ask u,we cant leave this material world,thats true
we cant leave these relations,we should talk ,eat ,think and do things for krishna but many in our families are not the same as we think.
Its said we should behave as an artist in front of such people as if we are in some kind of play.
My question is : Are we doing justice to such souls residing in such bodies by doing drama in front of them?
Aren’t they also part of GOD ,so why behave like an artist?
Shouldn’t we be extra loving to them since they are not feeling same as I do?
Hoping for reply,
Hare krishna.
HARE KRISHNA MADHUDVISA DASA…. PAMHO… THANK U SO MUCH FOR UR NEWSLETTERS.. I REALLY LIKE THEM,,PLZ KEEP ON SENDING….
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS….
How can I Spend our life on the level of soul? In first newsletter u said that we should not think that LORD KRISHNA is not a great personality, why?
hare krishna,
i have a question which always haunts me,
is spitituality is the only need of our soul if so then what are our responsibilities like we are sons/daughters of our parents we need to look after them, we need to work for that to earn daily food what abt tat
Hare Krishna
PAMHO, All glories to Srila Prabhupada
very nicely explained the differance between the body and the soul.
thank you so much
Hare Krishna Prabhu ji, I feel great sense of pleasure when I read Bhagwat Gita written by Sri Krishna and he made you the medium to spread this valuable knowledge to humankind. I am very thankful to you for sending me this abundance knowledge From Sri Bhagawat Gita. I have few questions that my mind is asking from me and I hope it will get answers.
As we know that our body is a medium or a vehicle that helps us to take to our real destination that is ‘MOKSHA’ OR ‘Enlightenment’. It is same like a material vehicle that helps us to take us to our material world destinations.
But sometimes a person maintain his/her body in a best way and devote his time for “Bhakti” but suddenly he/she met with serious bodily accidents that make him/her unable to perform spiritual activities or sometimes human beings lost their lives and didn’t get chance to perform spiritual activities and bind themselves with Sri Krishna.
It is in the same manner like a materialistic vehicle(car) that is being maintained by it’s owner in a best possible way but unfortunately met with accident due to the fault of impaired drivers.
My question is that is this already determined by Sri Krishna for different human bodies to perform overall activities including bodily and spiritual. Can a soul blame god that he(God) didn’t give him/her(soul) a chance while in body to try hi/her best for getting enlightenment or Moksha since body is only a medium to achieve this goal.
I beg your pardon for any mistake that i did in asking my questions. I always look forward for your knowlwgeable comments on my silly questions.
Hare Krishna.. Hare Krishna.. Krishna Krishna Hare Hare..
Hare Ram.. Hare Ram.. Ram.. Ram.. Hare.. Hare..
I have trouble seeing the body and the soul as being separate.
Two distinct things they are, yes, but in this estate of life
they are very much conjoined…the body is needed for the soul
to recognize, understand, and build it’s spirituality. If we
were only spirit, and no body to learn with, then we could not
advance as effectively. The body, for me, is necessary, and there
is much joy that can be found in that.
What I was trying to get to with that is the idea that because we
are currently in a state of material form, perhaps the maintenance
of the body could in itself be made into a spiritual act, rather than
being separate from spiritual activities. Scientists have linked
exercise and health to happiness. Yes, it is material happiness, but
how effective would it be for someone feeling good about themselves and
healthy to engage in spiritual activities over someone who feels sickly,
weak, and is depressed to try to engage in them?
Take the analogy of the car. If we are careless with it, we could wreck
it and thereby injure the driver, or if we run it into the ground without
taking care of it, we may leave the driver stranded.
Thus I feel, in conclusion, that maintaining the body in a healthy and
well-moderated state will benefit the soul in this life, so long as one
does not become attached to the things which the body engages in. It is
largely a will of the mind, and will require much thinking, learning, and
action in life. The body, as the car, must be maintained, or else it will be deadlined and will provide no service to the driver.
Nice thoughts Jesse. allow me to suggest some furter ideas based on the wisdom of the Vedas
I have trouble seeing the body and the soul as being separate.
Two distinct things they are, yes, but in this estate of life
they are very much conjoined…the body is needed for the soul
to recognize, understand, and build it’s spirituality. If we
were only spirit, and no body to learn with, then we could not
advance as effectively. The body, for me, is necessary, and there
is much joy that can be found in that.
We all have this trouble, seeing the soul and the body as distinct from one another. We have been embodied, riding in the vehicle of the body for many lifetimes and thus it seems natural. But we should understand the characteristics of the soul in relation to the body in the light of scripture. If we live according to scriptural advice, that knowledge and experience will dawn in our life. We call this self realization, the ultimate “joy”.
What I was trying to get to with that is the idea that because we
are currently in a state of material form, perhaps the maintenance
of the body could in itself be made into a spiritual act, rather than
being separate from spiritual activities. Scientists have linked
exercise and health to happiness. Yes, it is material happiness, but
how effective would it be for someone feeling good about themselves and
healthy to engage in spiritual activities over someone who feels sickly,
weak, and is depressed to try to engage in them?
Take the analogy of the car. If we are careless with it, we could wreck
it and thereby injure the driver, or if we run it into the ground without
taking care of it, we may leave the driver stranded.
Very true. Lord Krishna recommends in Bhagavad-Gita, “yuktahara viharasya, yukta chestasya karmasu…” (Bg. 6.17), that one should regulate their habits of eating, sleeping, working and recreation. Indeed by doing so, “yogo bhavati dukhaha” we can greatly minimize the distress associated with having a material body. The body is a machine and as any machine requires maintenance, so our body requires care as it is a vehicle for the soul and the vehicle with which we serve God while in this world.
Thus I feel, in conclusion, that maintaining the body in a healthy and
well-moderated state will benefit the soul in this life, so long as one
does not become attached to the things which the body engages in. It is
largely a will of the mind, and will require much thinking, learning, and
action in life. The body, as the car, must be maintained, or else it will be deadlined and will provide no service to the driver.
Yes, no doubt the body requires proper care but don’t make the mistake of thinking that doing so benefits the soul. The soul is described in Bhagavad-Gita as, imperishable, indestructible, immutable and inconceivable. The process of self realization is to wake up and experience our eternal identity as soul or spirit. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu likened the process to cleansing a mirror. When a mirror is covered by dust we can’t see our reflection clearly. Similarly, when our consciousness is covered with the dust of material identification we conceive of ourselves as matter, as the body. That misconception is cleansed by the easy awakening process of chanting the Holy Names of Lord Krishna. If you do this sincerely there is no doubt you will experience the truth of the matter directly. Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna!
The passage talks of material things such as the body and eternal, such as the soul. What I wanted to ask is what about love? In the Bhagavad Gita, it is said that to have too much attachment in the world is wrong and that is what keeps up from reaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But is it really wrong to love and care for loved ones?
Another question I had in my mind, was that if people are not religious or spiritual, but they do good things with a pure heart; is that ignorance or not?
Many thanks.
Hare Krishna!
Hare Krishna Rakhee
Love in the material world is based on the body and bodily relationships. These loving relationships in the material world bind us to the material world. So for one who wants to advance in spiritual life he needs to develop his loving relationship with Krishna. So a devotee will develop loving relationships with others who are interested in serving Krishna and they will serve Krishna together and support and encourage each other in this way. The real love and care that one can extend to the family members and other “loved ones” is to educate them in Krishna consciousness, to give them Krishna prasadam, but if they are not interested, there is no point in being attached to them.
We have no permanent relationship with our so-called “loved ones.” We only have a relationship based on this body. And when this body is gone that relationship will also be gone.
It is important to develop our relationship with Krishna and our relationships with the devotees of Krishna. But unless our “loved ones” are interested in Krishna, there is not much point…
People who are not religious or spiritual can not do good things. Everything belongs to Krishna. Everything should be used in the service of Krishna. So if one does not believe in Krishna then he will not be using Krishna’s things for the pleasure of Krishna, therefore he will be a thief. He is not doing good things. He is a thief. He is using Krishna’s things for his own, or others’ benefit.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu JI
Danda Pranam
From last6 months I was regularly attend the ISKON for pray chanting & listen speech from prabhu ji I have a copy of Srila Prabhupada BG also with me I am go through it even though I need more conciousness about Krishna,I am grateful prabhu ji faith me & send newsletters regularly Please!
Jiwan
Haribol
hare krishna
very well said, but this is an good example for people those are a bit Krishna cons. for the materialistic people so called Drs, Scientists etc. this will be nice if we can get explanations which are more near to the living world.
Hare Krishna
Avnish
Hi,
Thank you for sending me mail,First of all i don’t know much English but i can read and understand now I am 59 years old lady I have reading habits and that is in my language My Mother tongue is marathi ok for writing these things I have few questions but how can i write?in my language? can u understand?I reading BHAGVAD GITA everyday but not getting peace of mind I am not counting the malas but i am doing japas but can u write me how to do japa? pease I am eagerly waiting for your reply thank you
HERE KRISHNA
We have mantra meditation kit that has everything you need for mantra meditation and all instructions are there:
http://krishnastore.com/mantra-meditation-kit-japa-chanting-beads-in-bead-bag-h-krishna-421.html
All glories to Sri Radha Krsna!!
I heard anywhere , years ago the same points about a bird living within a coop. As servents we take care of the coop, but forget to take care for the bird’s needs. At the end , the bird will suffer starving up to death.
I heard too: The most we know about Krsna philosophy after studying it hard, is in our mind. And there will be a time when we’ll have to live the philosophy but not only think of or meditate on it.
Living our day by day Maya’s world it is almost impossible to overcome the bad predicted future. Inside,I can behold how the pure devotional life is supposed to be. I feel that I have to listen to spiritual preaching overtime, because I am very stupid, ignorant and forgetful.
Thanks for sendind me this.
Dandavat
Haribol
hari-bol . dear madhudvisa prabhu , everithing you said about the body and the driver of the body it’s true . what is the protectione of the soul .
Happy day! Obstacles are veiled opportunities with smiles 2 share 😉 😉 😉
Hare Krishna
I agree, but finding the right fuel has been difficult to sustain.
When I do find something that feels right something comes along to take it away. Even though the fuel was good for my soul and for others. I have found there are always obstacles to happiness that are grinding me down.
It`s as if happiness is a luxury.
Respectively – karen
Hare Krsna, I do chanting everyday but still i am not able to concentrate. My mind keeps on wavering here and there. Can any one guide me how do i concentrate on my chanting.
Hare Krishna Rachana,
Concentarting on the process of chanting Harinama, namely hearing the sound vibration and focusing our mind is certainly challenging for all of us from time to time. Arjuna said to Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, “chanchalam hi manah krsna pramathi balavad dridham… (Bg. 6.34), the mind is more difficult to control than the wind, it is obstinate, strong, tubulent and restless. Thus when we pick up japa beads and begin to chant, the mind trypicaly wants to think about anything else besides chanting. But with practice and detachment it is possible to conquer the restless mind and focus on the task at hand. This is actual yoga for the age, just to focus on the sound of Lord Krishna’s holy names. Some devotees also find it helpful to gaze at a favorite picture of the Lord or a poster with the Maha Mantra written on it. Hope that helps. Hare Krishna.
Hello,
I am interested in this not for a long time yet. I am carefully reading letters and some books of A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Pradhupada. Those books changed life of my friend, he is happier than early. So, I want to understand this science – religion. I understood that only our body die, our soul is eternal, and we have to seek spiritual happiness. Now, I have many questions about all this things, but I want to read and understand in my self. Only one question, I think, not have the answer: if the God Krishna made all the world, from where Krishna came from?
Ieva
Hare Krishna Leva
It is a good question. Because in our experience everything we see comes from somewhere, is created by someone etc. So when one hears about God questions like “Who made God” or “Where did God come from” are quite natural.
But these questions come from projecting our material, bodily consciousness on God. We are thinking that this body I have came from my parents, so where did God come from?
But, God does not have a material body like us that changes or comes from somewhere. The nature of God is that He has an eternal, blissful spiritual form. Because God’s form is eternal there is no question of Him coming from anywhere. He has no beginning and no end. So God does not come from anywhere. He is always there, that is what eternal means. No beginning and no end.
We also, on the spiritual level, share this same eternal, spiritual nature of God. But He is unlimited and we are very small. That is the difference between God and us. He is great and we are small. But our spirit and the spirit of God is the same, qualitatively.
Because, in this material world, our eternal, spiritual soul is covered by this temporary material body, and we are identifying with the material body, not the soul, and this material body comes from somewhere and will go somewhere when it is finished, it has a beginning and an end, so naturally these questions about where God comes from come up. But I think you can see that it is only due to our misidentification with the material body that these questions come. God is eternal and we are also eternal, our spirit soul is eternal, so we do not come from anywhere and we do not go anywhere. We exist eternally.
In the conditioned state of life we are travelling from one body to another. One birth I may be in an American man’s body, the next birth a dog’s body, the next birth a bird’s body, etc, but “I” the spirit soul am eternal… Like God I have no birth and no death. We only seem to take birth and die because we misidentify with the material body…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
I feel so lucky to get this sacred knowledge in my e mail account everyday and i always go through it very deeply.
I am a regular reader of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita but to actually read it through your help by excellent examples is so satisfactory and pleasing.
I pay all my humble obesiences to yourself and to Divine Grace Shri Prabhupada.
Please send me more information as much as possible so that i could bath myself in this sacred knowledge everyday.
I live in Australia but i will be visiting Vrindavan and Mayapur very soon within few weeks.
Would love to meet such a great devoted soul like you.
May Lord Krishna bless all of us with his devotional bhakti
Take care Prabhu
Radhe Radhe
Would be like watering a dead flower..watering the ground doesn’t make the flowers grow,neither gets them back to life..but simply keeps alive a flower that’s already there.The flower,our soul..is the manifestation of the ground’s (our fisical body)original and only true purpose and meaning.
Thank you for guiding us..throughout finding ourselves..our only and true meaning.
May love triumph over all material things.
Hare Krishna
Yes my almighty your are absolutely right,
But I believed that there is a particular reason behind every birth & we should find the reason. But instead of finding a reason people are too busy to satisfied their physical as well as luxurious wants, wants, wants? & not needs (now there is difference between needs & wants u know), A person can easily get his basic needs but he gives more effort, energy & more than that he forgets his soul or the teaching of your holy books & gurus just to fulfill his “UNWANTED” luxurious wants & for having pleasures in his life,rather than to worship almighty “prabhu” for giving life in this Beautiful world. He is busy in profit & loss.so Because of which he has lost his main aim & beautiful creature of god “Human Beings” has turn into machine. And Frankly speaking “prabhu”I am misanthrope person but love humanity.
Hare Krishna,
“Mr” Swapnil
There is a history about Gopala Chapala, maybe will be interesting for you, he really don’t needed to do such thing but by envy he critique a devotee.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu regularly led congregational chanting of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra in the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura every night for one full year.
This ecstatic chanting was performed with the doors closed so that nonbelievers who came to make fun could not gain entrance.
Thus the nonbelievers almost burned to ashes and died in envy. To retaliate, they planned various ways to give trouble to Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura.
One night while kīrtana was going on inside Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s house, a brāhmaṇa named Gopāla Cāpāla, the chief of the nonbelievers, who was talkative and very rough in his speech, placed all the paraphernalia for worshiping the goddess Durgā outside Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s door.
On the upper portion of a plantain leaf he placed such paraphernalia for worship as oḍa-phula, turmeric, vermilion, red sandalwood and rice.
He placed a pot of wine beside all this, and in the morning when Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura opened his door he saw this paraphernalia.
Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura called for all the respectable gentlemen of the neighborhood and smilingly addressed them as follows.
“Gentlemen, every night I worship the goddess Bhavānī. Since the paraphernalia for the worship is present here, now all you respectable brāhmaṇas and members of the higher castes can understand my position.”
Then all the assembled gentlemen exclaimed, “What is this? What is this? Who has performed such mischievous activities? Who is that sinful man?”
They called for a sweeper [hāḍi], who threw all the items of worship far away and cleansed the place by mopping it with a mixture of water and cow dung.
After three days, leprosy attacked Gopāla Cāpāla, and blood oozed from sores all over his body. Incessantly covered with germs and insects biting him all over his body, Gopāla Cāpāla felt unbearable pain. His entire body burned in distress.
Since leprosy is an infectious disease, Gopāla Cāpāla left the village to sit down on the bank of the Ganges underneath a tree. One day, however, he saw Caitanya Mahāprabhu passing by and spoke to Him as follows.
“My dear nephew, I am Your maternal uncle in our village relationship. Please see how greatly this attack of leprosy has afflicted me.
“As an incarnation of God, You are delivering so many fallen souls. I am also a greatly unhappy fallen soul. Kindly deliver me by Your mercy.”
Hearing this, Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared greatly angry, and in that angry mood He spoke some words chastising him.
“O sinful person, envious of pure devotees, I shall not deliver you! Rather, I shall have you bitten by these germs for many millions of years.
“You have made Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura appear to have been worshiping the goddess Bhavānī. Simply for this offense, you will have to fall down into hellish life for ten million births.
“I have appeared in this incarnation to kill the demons [pasandis] and, after killing them, to preach the cult of devotional service.”
After saying this, the Lord left to take His bath in the Ganges, and that sinful man did not give up his life but continued to suffer.
Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 17. 34-54
Gaurasundara Dasa
hare krishna prabhuji
thanks for mailing about bhagavad gita principles im really happy to follow ur mails.pls send me mails in detail about the bhagavad gita and the rules to observe. actually im chanting the mahamantra daily and offering what im cooking to lord and having it as prasadam along with my family.one thing reg prasadam if its cooked today can consume tommorrow or nt? coz i dnt want to waste anything and its moreover prasadam.pls confirm me.thank u once again for sending mails.keep sending.
haribol!!!
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
Thank you for sending emails regarding Bhagwat Gita.Prabhuji,sometimes I really cannot believe how certain things have changed in my life.Actually some 10 years before Bhagwat Gita was purchased by me and at that time when I tried to read, I really could not understand and the taste was not further developed.
But, in November ’09 my father-in-law , nearly 85 years old ,was seriously ill and the medical reports stated that very few days were left for him to survive.
One evening , I really don’t know ,but I thought of reading Gita.So I searched Bhagwat Gita and started reading the 2nd chapter loudly,after completing,somehow i felt peaceful.And the same night,he expired.
After his death,sudden urge of understanding Gita made me read,but could not understand correctly.After two days, I saw an advt in front of my house about “Self Realisation “course being conducted.I immediately enrolled and from that day onwards,my thoughts,my actions and my deeds are Krishna Conscious.
First thing I started consuming only VEGETARIAN food.(Impact of moods)
Our Swamiji Jagannath Priya Das,whom we are really grateful,very descriptively described all the modes and their impact in our lives,
Secondly,without offering meals to Lord Krishna,nothing is oonsumed and believe me the veg food suddenly found to be tasty and delicious.Thirdly,eating in hotels completely stopped.Next,incessant chanting of Mahamantra and complete surrender to the will of Lord Krishna has made my life extreamely peaceful and relaxed.
Hare Krishna
How do I get the meanings of Gita slokas?
Thank you very much for everything.
http://www.AsItIs.com
Hare krsna
I want to know one thing whenever i try to concentrate in spiritually,
i get divierted to negative thought with double fource, i experience many time,
last sunday i went in isckon and next two three day i try to concentrate krisna ,i also read book of krisna conciousness but thought toward negative is becaming more…, i usally start chanting also
what is the theory to remian in this state always ?
Hare Krishna Prabhu Ji
Thank Prabhu Ji for sending these Divine Words to us, i always wait for your mails and whenever i read them they gives me real happiness & also advancement to my spiritual knowledge and also helps me to get rid off from matrialistic problem that how to handle them; to ignore them so that they we can make them more & more effectable to us.
I feel really very happy whenever i recevied anything related to Lord Krishna & us.
Hare Krishna
Dear Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
I am very much thankful to loard krishna for enlighting me through you. I am enjoing reading ur mails.
Just as anything which come in the vicinity of black hole, it attracts them, I am feeling that The loard Krishna(which means Black)is attracking me towards him.
Thank you for sending me a divine knowledge.
Happy Day Hare Krsna!
With many gracious thank yous Hare Krsna! In the NOW I will meditate upon the needs of my soul and the needs of my body will be met in my food, thought and action with love,peace,joy,abundance & smiles to share 😉 😉 😉
Hare Krsna!
Hare Rama!
Hare Hare!
HARE KRISHNA
This article gave me a chance clarify my …may be a silly doubt.If body is a car and soul is the driver, that means all mistakes are executed by soul ie drivingover the people,animals,breaking traffic rules etc.So punishment will be given to body or soul?If soul has taken all decisions using brain..intelligence…five senses etc.., how can soul can be punished?bcase it is immortal.I can understand soul carries the penalties/punishments from one body to other body.
Can clarify …please
Thanks
I am thankful for the message given, and I agree with the ego-driven car/body concern, as it has also been said that one cannot have two masters.
My concern regards Mother Earth and nature. Does moving into a higher state of spirituality include developing a reverence for and a kinship of the miracles of nature as manifested in the flowers, trees and animals, or is that, like oiling ang washing the car, feeding the false ego? Thank you.
Dear Madhuvisa dasa
Harebol
I’m a follower of Krishna way back on my college day and up to the present, also I wear a tulasi neck beads. Every day i’m also chant the hare krishna maha-mantra.
I respect all the devotees and am grateful for your advice.
Hare Krsna
Felix Ramon
Dear Madhudvisa prabhu.
Pamho. AgtSP.
I would like to humbly ask you for help. I heard two different info regarding wearing Tulsi neck beads. Someone says that non devotees can wear them and they get benefit (agyata sukrti). The other opinion is that only Vaisnavas who follow 4 regs are allowed to wear Tulsi. Therefore non devotees who wear Tulsi and do not follow 4 regs create offenses towards Tulsi devi and have to suffer future reactions.
Has Srila Prabhupada mentioned anything on that matter? Or is that any sastric evidence that proves what is correct?
I have lots of respect towards you and am grateful for your advice.
Hare Krsna
ys Harinama
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Tulsi beads are only for devotees. Non-devotees will just think they are beads and will have no respect for Srimati Tulsi Devi and will create many offenses which will be bad for them.
This is a very basic point that was once known by all devotees in ISKCON. Now “modern” devotees are confused and incorrect on so many points.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna.
AGTSP.
PAMHO.
All this is corroborated by scriptures as follow:
“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.” (Katha Upanisad 1.3.3–4)
“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” (Bhagavad-Gita 18-61)
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.” (Bhagavad-Gita 2- 22)
Accordingly whit the teachings of Srila Prabhupada: “This is the basic problem of human society. I am not this body but a spiritual soul in the body. The body is a dress for the soul, but people are too much worried about the dress and don’t feed the spirit. If I have a very elegant dress but if I don’t eat, I die. Basically we are spiritual souls but we are very concerned in the body and not in ourselves. So the whole world is identified with the body, no one is identified with the spiritual soul.
This is a wrong sense of ego. There are two kinds of ego; aham-mameti I am the body, and aham-brahmasmi I am spirit. False ego is the sense of identify the self with what we are not; a body that is temporary, illusory. The body is made of five inert material elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether.) That has no life or consciousness. The spirit is sensitive, while the mater is insensitive, so the body never is really alive, because matter is inert by nature; it is only because of the spiritual soul that the body apparently lives.
In addition to the gross material body, we also have a subtle energy body that consists of three elements: Mind, intelligence and false ego. The subtle body is like a mask for the soul, which takes the soul form one body to another while inside the material world.
The true ego, the soul, is made of three elements: eternity, knowledge and bliss. The soul is spiritual, its nature is contrary to the matter, and matter is always changing is temporary while the soul is unborn eternal. In its natural position the soul is the consciousness of eternal life filled with happiness. Happiness means reality, but the soul because of illusion is identified with the suffering, the ignorance and the temporality, so that today we are like a fish out of water.
The mind is enjoying the senses of the body. When the senses are uncontrolled, drag the soul into the well of material conditions. All our wishes to control material nature are not more than the product of our false ego that wants to be the centre.
The Lord is covered by the curtain of illusion; therefore, one should by all means tolerate the duality of happiness and sorrow, leaving the body identification or occupation in the complacency of senses, as a turtle retracts its senses into the shell. This will elevated one to the platform of knowledge and eliminate the false ego, free from ignorance forever.
Similarly as the man who runs the car when the car is stationary or going well, he is disinterested because he knows he is not the car. When someone who is intelligent and wise understands that the body is a machine, so no doubts at any stage of the body.
Every seven years all the cells in our body change, but consciousness, which is the symptom of the soul, is something permanent that never changes. A material body without conscience is a dead body and nobody can revive this awareness with any amount of chemical combinations; thus, consciousness is only because the presence of the spiritual soul. The spiritual soul is situated in the area of the heart and its atomic dimension is beyond the power of appreciation of materialistic scientists who claim that there is not soul: but although they admit that the heart is the source of all energies of the body, do not know where that energy comes from.
Consciousness of being is different from the body, when I say: “I have a body” there are two aspects: the –self- which is the subject, and the –body- which is the object, I do not say: “I arm” but: “I have an arm” “I have a mind, “I have an intelligence” then the person is the consciousness that is beyond what he has. That is the cause of the dissatisfaction. That nobody has spiritual practices, we are only concerned by the external costume of the soul by the crust: pure form, as mannequins, or ceramic pieces, empty by inside, because nobody has a moral principle whereby live or some spiritual value that makes you feel that you are not a zero to the left.
He who has no information about the bliss obtained from association with the Supreme Lord will not do any penance, but will remain absorbed in the animalistic tendencies of eating, sleeping, mate and defence, caged in material conditioning, looking for a pleasure which is affordable to dogs and pigs that eat excrement. Addressing only in economic development for complacency of the senses is a loss of time, as walk behind ghost or decorating dead bodies. Due to the ignorance nobody knows what is the own interest, the true profit or what is right for you, and are only dedicated to chew the masticated. Your constitutional position is that you are a pure living soul. You must not identify this body or mind as your true self. Your true identity is not your body, your mind, your intelligence, nor your false ego. Your position is that you are transcendental and you have the power to get rid of the material energy and avail you of spiritual energy. Currently identify the body with the self, this false identification is called “false ego”. The living being enchanted by this false ego changes his different bodies and is subject to the miseries of the material world.”
One must be identified as an eternal servant of Lord Krishna. Bhaktivinoda Says: “When someone is considered guilty of aversion in service to Krishna, God, then Maya, the illusory material energy, condemns you to pursue mundane happiness and find misery as punishment.”
Is chanting the Hare krishna manthra as effective as third eye meditation in the fast approaching Golden Age?How does Krishna consciousness address the changing vibrational frequency within sacred geometry ,the merkerba around the earth and around every living being.Surely the changes around the earths magnetic field effects changes in our aura.Is chantinting effective for our ascension?
Hare Krishna Yanushka
All these new age nonsense ideas are hopless. They will not help you.
The only thing that will help you in the Kali-yuga is chanting the Hare Krishna Maha mantra.
The things you have mentioned are all infulences on the material body. They may be there of course. But the solution is to chant Hare Krishna mantra. Chanting the Hare Krishna mantra will gradually take us out of the material bodily concept of life and when we are no longer in the bodily concept of life the infulences on the body no longer infulence us, the atma, the soul.
So the earths magnetic field, our aura and all the other stuff are irrelevant. They can all be transcended by chanting the Hare Krishna maha mantra.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
wonderful,amazing and very clear thannks hari bol
hare krishna ,Dandvat pramnam, iwill always remember ur instruction & try to preach people by giving the example of car & driver.
your servent
haresh
‘
yes, you can say madhudvisa das jee that body is a car and soul is a driver but most of the times the people like the car only and not the driver because the maximum population want the outlook and not the inner qualities of a man.
This driver also needs to be very strong and full of energies of the god itself to catch the eyes.
parveen
yes, you can say madhudvisa das jee that body is a car and soul is a driver but most of the times the people like the car only and not the driver because the aximum population want the outlook and not the inner qualities of a man.
This driver also needs to be very strong and full of energies of the god itself to catch the eyes.
parveen
Hare Krishna prabhus,
I need to make a correction from my last letter. No one should really think he is a disciple of Prabhupada unless they are chanting 16 rounds everyday and following the regulated principles and life style Prabhupada prescribed to us for our spiritual lives and indeed he promised those who stuck to those principles would go back to home back to Godhead after leaving their physical bodies. So, we definirtely can not take what he said cheaply but as soon as we are sincerely reading his books we are most definitely on the path Prabhupada said. The sad thing is we no longer have really Prabhupada centered temples with fired up devotees in them like there was when Prabhupada was phuysically present on this planet especially in the mid 60s to mid seventys and then we can see after he departed this world physically anyhow he remains with us as much as we please and follow him and we can practically percieve that just like Prabhupada said he never felt seperate from his guru. Anyhow presently like Madhuvisa prabhu most properly pointed out we can experience Prabhupada’s presense in his books and when we are linked to him by doing as he asks. But I beg that no one becomes discouraged at their inabilities, we don’t have really fired up Prabhupada here in america anyhow, there is the Bangalore temple that is practically doing more than any otherf Prabhupada centered temple ever did right now to prove what happens when Prabhupada is the center of our lives, even President Obama praised their prasadam distribution program in a letter that’s at the Bangalore website. But anyhow I am just begging as my sevice for no one to become discouraged, what ever we can do that Prabhupada recommended in the books, is a foward step back to Godhead which is never lost therefor,we need to just do what we can and gradually, very gradually we will be able to do more and more, but we should never give up at any rate like the sparrow who despite all impossible odds strived to get her eggs out of the ocean when they were blown away in a storm. It was only Garuda Lord Vishnu’s most confidential bird carrier that ultimately took compassion on the bird and threatened the ocean to return the birds eggs. So in this way we must just understand all the succcess in our lives rest on the most confidential servitor of God Shrila Prabhupada and just like that sparrow never give up our endeavor to get back our spiritual lives and souls for this is the only satisfaction for our souls to be fully engaged in the service of Shri Shri Guru and Gauranga!!!!
your fallen servant,
Anubhavananda dasaA
Hare Krishna prabhus,
I just wanted to make the comment that Madhuvisa is completely correct when he asks us to know that we have a spiritual master and there is no need for looking for another guru than Shrila Prabhupada. I have been dedicated to Shrila Prabhupada since 1971 and I am feeling his presense in my life more than ever before. We just need to try our best to do as Prabhupada asked us and we are his disciples. The fact is all Bonafide sampradayas preach that our guru never dies and lives forever in his instructions and with those persons who follow them, even those just trying to follow them and are having alot of difficulty of coming to the perfect standard. Simply because we have this human form of life now after traveling through countless bodies since time immemorial we have now achieved this greatest boon of a human form of life, therefor who ever we are, it is our duty in this human form of life, ETERNAL DUTY, to just dedicate our lives to understand and obey Shrila Prabhupada who no one can come close to on this planet, physically manifest, Shrila Prabhupada is our doubtless guru of the universe, Jagat Guru, so please I beg you all with straws in my mouth to surrender to his divine grace Shrila Prabhupada,
your eternal servant,
Anubhavananda dasa
Hare Krishna..
Prabhu Ji,
Thanks a lot for your kind mails & knowledge about Geeta.
Prabhu ji I want to know that how to do togather, keep happy Krishna along with family & society.
You are therefore requested to please give your opinion.
Thanks & Regards.
Ashok Goel
Hare Krishna,
What an enlightening article, it has really helped me to understand the position that we all have found ourselves in.
Thank you very much for the article, i look forward to the next one.
Dear Sri Madhudvisa Dasa,
Thank you very much for the message I AM NOT THIS BODY. I am the Atman occupied in this body similar to a driver occupying the car. Just like the driver wouldn’t feel that he is the car,but clearly knows that he is separate from the car,I too should know that I am not this body,but separate from this body.
But how to approach it practically? The driver of the car is able to come out of the car whenever he wishes,knowing this fact confirms him that he is separate from the car.Whereas I am always seated inside this body and I can not come out of this body. When this be the case how to practically experience that I AM NOT THIS BODY?
Regards,
Ranganatha.Rao.
Jai shri Krishna
I am reading Bhagwad Gita nowadays and I am fully convinced to whatever is published. But I have a Question please clear it to me. After reafing Bhagwad Gita I left eating non-veg so my friends use to ask me why did you left eating non-veg I say them one should not kill any one and eat it. But then they reply that whatever vegitable we are eating they are also living things,are we not killing them and eating?.So what should be the exact convincing answer.
Hare Krishna Bidya
Thank you very much for becoming vegetarian after reading Bhagavad-gita.
This is the right thing to do and please do not let your friends convince you otherwise.
The point is not that we become vegetarian because of not killing actually. We become vegetarian because we want to eat Krishna prasadam only. Krishna prasadam means the remnants of the foodstuffs that have been offered to Krishna.
Devotees do not want to eat anything that has not first been enjoyed by Krishna.
Krishna states in the Gita “patram,pushpam plalam…” That you can offer Me with love and devotion some fruits, flowers, vegetables, milk products, grains, and I will accept such an offering made with love.
So Krishna is clearly telling us what He likes to eat. So the consciousness of a devotee when he is cooking is to make a nice offering for Krishna. Not that he is cooking something for his own enjoyment. So if you are having an important guest coming to your house and you know that he does not eat non-veg then you are not going to cook non-veg food and offer it to him are you? That would be a great insult.
So the point is as devotees of Krishna we are vegetarian because Krishna is vegetarian. And we are cooking for Krishna, not for ourselves. So if we want to please Krishna we can not offer Him non-veg food.
So really the idea of not killing is not why we are vegetarians. In the Vedas there is the verse “jivo jivasya jivanam…” that one living entity is living by eating another living entity. So we are also eating vegetables and vegetables also have life. That is true.
The point is we are cooking for Krishna and Krishna only accepts offerings from the four food groups: grains, milk products, vegetables and fruits…
It does not matter so much about convincing your friends. If they are in maya and attached to eating meat they can not think very clearly and will not be convinced. They are attached to eating meat out of lust and that clouds their intelligence. So an intellectual argument with them will not be very successful. Rather if you can get them to read Bhagavad-gita As It is, chant Hare Krishna and eat Krishna prasadam that will purify their hearts and naturally, as you have, they will also decide to give up the non-veg diet.
You can not force people or convince them on the basis of logic. There has to be some lover for Krishna awakening in their hearts. And if that love for Krishna is there then naturally they will develop all good habits including accepting a diet of only Krishna prasadam.
Hope this is of some help. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna prabhu, all glories to srila prabhupada. please accept my humble obeiscences. I completely agree with what you said prabhu.That we need to focus on going back to godhead. we all need a spiritual master , parampara system to try to achieve the higher goal.what about us who do not have a guru and are aspiring to reach our destinations?
We all have a guru Prabhu.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
We are all reading his books and listening to his classes. Our relationship with Srila Prabhupada is very real and it is based on submissive hearing and service. So please do not feel like this, that you are without a guru.
This is a very dangerous position to be in. Some bogus person will come and take advantage of you claiming to be a guru and will simply mislead you.
Do not be fooled.
Prabhuapda is your guru. You can not find a guru qualified like Srila Prabhupada anywhere else. So please do not reject Prabhupada thinking he is not your guru. Prabhupada is your guru. Please take full advantage of his instructions by reading all his books and try to put what you read into practice in your life and your life will be very successful.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Love, love, love, crazy love
Hare Krishna
Does the Bhagavad Gita tell us when the Kali Yoga ends and when the era of enlightenment begins.I once dreamed of a little blue skinned kid with little curls and he told me that the world is a living entity and our souls form its nervous system.So our souls are essentially one.A year ago I came across pictures of Lord Krishna as a and was pleasantly surprised to have recalled the dream from a time when are new barely nothing of him .
I also need to find out if meditation is as effective as chanting the Maha -Mantra?
May the love of Lord Krishna
Light up your lives forever,
HARE KRISHANA PR, I AGREED WITH U OK, I CAN’T MAKE ANY COMMENTS ON THIS ISSUES, CHATN HARE KRISHAN MAHA MANTRA AND ALWAYS HAPPY, HARI BOL, PLZ ACCEPT MY RESPECTFUL OBEISANCES AT UR LOTUS FEET AND OTHER VAISHANAVAS IN UR TEMPLE AND CONVEY THIS , VANCHA KALPA TARU BHASCHA KRIPA SIDHU BHAY EVACHA PATI TAANAM PAVANEBHYEO VAISHANAV VEBHYO NAMO NAMAH
HARE KRISHANA
Please accept my humble obeisances……
thank you so much for sending the articles. i have just started the chanting & try to understand the lord krishana. i am realy very serious about krishana. i have recently signed up for newsletter n it is great….
What connection does my future “eternally youthful spiritual body” have with my present personality?
Hare Krishna!
Only by serving self-realized souls and their mercy, the realization that I am not this body can be felt. Also, it can only be given by guru and Krishna. Getting and maintaining this realization is a basic and very important step in self-realization. Doing our duty nicely and as long as we are in the material world, remaining in association of vaishnavas is equally important. That is the only hope.
Hari bol!
This was a great metaphor and really put things into perspective for me. Things such as not only my needs, but the things I want as well. It is very easy in a materialistic society to get confused that which one desires with that which one needs. “I need steak,” or “I need a new car…” Steak can easily be replaced with something more nutritionally and spiritually healthy, and investing in a new car when the current one runs fine is simply foolish.
This article has a very good message.
Hare Krishna Sir,
I am very greatful to you for sending me these mails which teach us so many important things.
Madhudvisa Ji I just want to know what are the spiritual activities and how can we connect with Krishna? Is Spirituality just Meditation?
And if this material world is not important then why is everybody going after money and fame?
And if Spirituality is more important then why do we have all these relations with our friends, relatives, and why do we work if death has to come any way? I think all the work that we do is waste.
Sir I also want to know that did Krishna tell Arjuna in the end to forget all that Krishna told Arjuna in the Bhagwat Gita and just come to HIM.
I hope you will clear my doubts sir.
Jai Shri KRISHNA !!!
Hare krishna,
I have read that article. it is true, yes, we have to concentrate on krishna concisiousness. I have some doubt about the food habit. To maintain healthy body, we need to eat vitamin rich foods,I mean balanced food, to take balanced food doctor’s are advising for egg, fish oil, fish etc., I belive that according to food habit, gunas (three gunas ) also change, In that case what can we do? Please clarify
Servant of krishna,
S.Ravichandran
Dear Ravichandran
We’d better take Krishna’s advice. Then we won’t go wrong. Krishna recommends a diet from these four food groups:
Grains
Milk Products
Vegetables
Fruits
So many delicious and nutritious preparations can be made from these four food groups.
Ultimately we have to develop some faith in Krishna and believe that what He recommends for us is good for us.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Sir,
I dont know from where I feel like writing something to you .I have no
words .And neither i want to get into “web of words” .
I just want to say “A SIMPLE THANK YOU”
and wish that you become witness to my message to krishna and an oath in his
name
“Krishna ,You be my inspiration .Now I will defend my existence and thats the only way . And u will see that I will fight with all my force .You be my teacher, my guide, my friend.Those all are my problems and so they need to be solved by me . Till now the question “why” was there.Now thats diminished . All is for you as you are for me .Next few years wont be easy but they wont remain tough either .This is my reality and I will defend it .I know you see everything
but I promise that everyday I will write digit 1 or 0 on a paper . And
1 SIGNIFYING that I could do what I wanted to do for you .
0 SIGNIFYING that I couldnt .”
Thanks Sir . I am sorry if this isnt a good place to take my oath .
But I wasnt able to find a better place.I have many questions to ask .But none of them are in concrete form for now.
Harey Krishna,
Anshul
Many thanks for your great and wonderful Mail. I will continue to read your mails.
Thanks
My dear prabhu
Hare Krishna
i Had enjoyed reading your letter, i have few questions regarding the eternal spiritual body or we can say the eternal soal,
1) our body is a machine like thing which is very materialistic, like your example of the car driver, when driver gets out of the car before he reaches its destination, the car crashes, when the soal comes out of the body through the way of meditation (samadhi), what will be the condition of the body? did the soal can again be returned by its own desire?
2) our body is materialistic, and we too think materialistically, how to think spiritually? anyhow we read a book which is again a material, how to get that krishna conciousness without involving in the material world? is there any other media to reach god greater then a information of books?
is there any secret knowledge to get that conciousness? please tell me, if you want it as confidential i can meet you too, i will not use that in any unfair means!!!
3) if we get a spiritual body, do you know how it should be? no desire nothing! how it will be? is that body be more stronger than the body we presently have?
4) why body were made?
5) why body is full of desires?
overall i enjoyed it, and i m curious about your reply, please reply me as soon as possible, you can mail me the secret knowledge to my mail ID:
thank you alot
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Dip
There is no secret. And it takes some work, tapasya, austerity, to make spiritual advancement. There is a process one has to follow and that process requires surrender and actually requires a complete transformation of the way one thinks and lives.
Generally in the material world everyone is working for their own personal or extended sense gratification. But a Krishna conscious person never does anything for his own personal or extended satisfaction. A Krishna conscious person only works for the pleasure of Krishna. His concept of happiness is pleasing Krishna. If he has something that is very nice for his sense gratification but that thing is not pleasing to Krishna he will reject it, but if there is something that is pleasing to Krishna but very distressing for him he will immediately accept that and when Krishna is pleased he will be happy. He does not care for his own so-called happiness or distress. His happiness is seeing Krishna happy.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna, Madhudwisa dasa
I have just started reading your mails which i find very illuminating. I would separately respond to the recent mail about body being a car and the soul being the driver and the need to realize this concept.
Confining to this response, Could you kindly clarify whether the Bhagwat Gita explains in details what things please Krishna such that day to day activities could be brought in line. I am quite sure the Bhagwat Gita cannot possibly cover all that one has to face and act. Surely, there would be some broad guide lines. In that case, the individual would have to judge for himself, according to his own understanding level, what pleases Krishna and that may end up in tricky situations. I would rather not use the CLOAK of Krishna’s pleasure to hide my own weaknesses
Could you kindly guide me on this point
Thanks
Mahesh
Hello, My Name is James. Well I am a cross-roads of my Life.
I have successfully stopped eating meat. My Brain feels a bit odd, however,
I notice my body odor smells good. I have also successfully stopped eating
Sugar too. That seems to have something to do with how often I become angry.
I find myself full of smiles and happy and eveything seems to be funny now.
I am distrube about why so much death in this universe. Whats all the
Transending is about. Question, where are we going. Is there more to life.
Is the Spirit life better? My self knowledge has grown to the point where I do not fear death. I wonder why does God keep us so far apart in this univese.
And I wonder why does Humans appear to continue life passed death. Why we all continue to live life on and on, whats that all about. The human spirit appears to be something like pure energy. With the same laws of nature, “Energy is never distroyed just changed from one form to another”.
Well in a nutshell thats what on my Mind, that how I think, with a bit of science and fact finding, looking for the truth.
Since I have started reading your writing I have come to understand, that, “The Supreme Personality Of Godhead” in the “One and Only God”!
In my belief I call this Power, “Jehovah”!
Wanting to be your Brother “James”. With love and understanding.
that is true but this is the real challange of life.senses are very powerful and once you give them fuel they it starts controlling you and your mind,therfore it is imperative on our part not to forget the real purpose.we all are in a state of forgetfullness that is why we all behave like ordinary mortals therfore chanting hare rame hare krishna mahamantra keeps us immune from maya and help us to realise ourself,our potential as well as give us the sense of well-being and most important fill our heart with Love (Bhagti is the most pure form of love , make no mistake)
PAMHO
prabhu jee! I wany to know one thing for my mother. She tells me to worship Lord Ganesha before I start praying to LORD. Is it really a condition. Should we pray t Lord Ganesha before praying LORD KRISHNA
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Ashish
The instruction from your mother to worship Lord Ganesha before praying to Krishna is very common practice among Hindus and it is not a bad thing. The understanding is that Lord Ganesha takes away any obstacles in approaching Krishna. So if you pray to Lord Ganesha “Please take away any obsticles that may be there in my worshiping Lord Krishna,” that is OK.
It is not that we are against the demigods. But we understand that they are not on the same level as Krishna or his Visnu-tattva expansions like Rama, Nrsimha, etc.
If you read Brahma Samhita you will see many prayers there by Lord Brahma mentioning the different demigods, but in their relationship with Krishna. So it is not bad to go to a demigod temple and pray to the demigod appreciating his relationship with Krishna.
Although it is not necessary to worship the demigods that does not mean we have anything against the demigods and does not mean that we should not offer them respects. Demigods are all devotees of Krishna and deserve our respect and if they can give us some blessing that will help us to approach Krishna then that is very good.
So I do not think there is any problem in accepting your mother’s advice, but you have to be careful not to worship Ganesh thinking that He is God. He is not God, he is a servant of God. But he may be able to assist you or give you some blessings in approaching Krishna.
It is not necessary, but also it is not bad.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
i want to develop my spiritual consciousness how much time it will take to become a pure devotee
Dear madhudvisa-dasa,
Greetings To you.
Earlier You said, That one cannot give up the desire to eat tasty food, But one can purify the desire by offering the food to Lord Krishna.
I have Two Questions.
1. If I want to taste a palpable dish, that desire first originates in my mind. But i then realize, the only way it would be right, is to offer that food first to Lord krishna. So, whilst i prepare the food I SO DESIRE to eat , my mind laments that i am indulging in a hogwash self deluding exercise; that IT IS ME WHO WANTS TO EAT IT AT FIRST PLACE, i am actually at the end of it preparing the food for myself since the ORIGINAL DESIRE AROSE IN MY MIND, I AM WAITING when it will touch my tongue, all i care is WHEN will i have it; Krishna is just a ‘sanctifying excuse’ to saTisfy the spirtual in me. Though, it is said, one should do for ‘krishna’s pleasure’, here, i know i am ultimately preparing this food, because I WANT TO EAT IT, and Krishna is a stop-over.
What is your view on this? I hope, i have been able to portray it correctly. I mean, It is ultimately MY DESIRE to have that food, and i just cannot wait its preparation and its aroma, and it touching my tastebuds. Lord krishna is a ‘purity seal’ to satisfy my spiritual side and obligations. I am making the dish at the FIRST PLACE, BECAUSE I NEED IT because i cannot live without it, and Offering to krishna comes as a COSNEQUENCE of it, as routine secondary. This makes me feel guilty, and not genuine in my endeavours in offering the food. 🙁
2. What prayers are to be said while offering food to Lord Krishna. What is the way, to offer the food to Lord krishna. Is there a mantra, or special prayer?
Please do reply and Help,
Appreciate much your time and Guidance,
Thankfully,
Dwayne
Hare Krishna Dwayne
In the beginning it may be as you say, a little false. You are really cooking for yourself. And just offering it to Krishna.
But as a devotee makes spiritual advancement he develops a real loving relationship with Krishna and he really cooks for Krishna. When he goes out shopping there is no consideration of what he likes or what he wants to eat. He is thinking of getting some fruits and vegetables and grains and milk products with the idea of making a nice offering to please Krishna.
In the beginning Deity worship is important. The Deity gives us the idea that Krishna is a person and if we serve the Deity as a person, waking Him in the morning, bathing, dressing, offering Him food at regular times, performing kirtan in front of Him, etc, then gradually we will realize Krishna is a person and He is accepting our offerings and we will begin to actually cook for Krishna’s pleasure and just take some remnants of Krishna’s prasadam to maintain our bodies.
Of course there are food offering mantras but you can say all the matras in the world, but what really matters is that we are cooking it for Krishna and not for ourselves. You can simply chant the Srila Prabhupada pranam prayers [both 3 times], the Panca Tattva maha-mantra [sri krishna caitanya prabhu nityananda…] three times and the Hare Krishna maha mantra three times.
The consciousness is the most important thing to work on. We have to try and not be cooking for ourselves but to be cooking for Krishna. Really you have to learn all these things from a devotee in person. It is a whole process, cooking for Krishna, and if you follow the process you will end up actually cooking for Krishna…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna,
Gurudev
I found this newsletter very interesting. I want to learn more of SLOKAS of bhagvad gita. How do I start? Please guide.
HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE
Read the book aloud… Get it from http://www.KrishnaStore.com
If you are chanting Hare Krishna at least 16 rounds a day and strictly following the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and you read Bhagavad-gita As It Is aloud on a regular basis you will automatically learn so many slokas. It is done by hearing. We learn by hearing. You have to chant Hare Krishna and hear it and you need to read the Bhagavad Gita aloud and hear it.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Respected Prabhuji,
It is really wonderful. You have explained so nicely. I am awaiting eagerly for more messages from you. I humbly request you to enlighten me why the driver of the body i.e. the soul within the body does not protest when we try to engage ourselves in all sorts of worldly acts which are not required? Does the soul have the power to protest when soul is not satisfied? What is the science?
With regards,
Subir Das
Hare Krishna Subir
Ultimately the soul is the cause of the performance of all these worldly acts. It is only because the soul wanted to misuse his independence that we are here in the material world. The soul is me. I am the soul. I have come here to enjoy separately from Krishna. And that is my mistake. Actually it is not possible to enjoy separately from Krishna. That is why this material world is a world of suffering.
The soul will never be satisfied here and the soul can always decide to serve Krishna instead of serving maya and get out of here and go back home back to Godhead…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Pranam,
It is a fact that we are not this body. And although I have not completely realized this fact I believe this fact. But I want to convert this belief into a clearity. That is I would like to see (may not be necessarily with eyes but with whatever senses that are capable of seeing this truth). How?
what can one do when spreaded by friends who are in reality enemies, and such people act in such evil ways that are not imaginable to a simple person, how to protect oneself and overcome such people?
Hare Krishna Nat
We are very much influenced by the people we are always associating with.
The best thing is to live in the association of devotees of Krishna. But that is somewhat difficult to find now. But you can personally associate with Srila Prabhupada by reading his books. That is what you need to do. The knowledge of Krishna consciousness will protect you and the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra will protect you:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
So in this way please take advantage of the protection of Krishna and Srila Prabhupada.
Madhudvisa dasa
Sir (Madhuvisa Dasa),
I have a question for you: In one of your subscription: “”I am not this body” Easy to say….,” you have said like “the soul within the body, the ghost in the machine”. Why do you say ‘ghost’ in the machine(Why not- “soul in the machine”. When we say the word ‘ghost’ usually we don’t mean it positive.). I can’t understand; please answer me Sir.
Thank you.
Pamindha Harikrishnan
Thank you very much for reminding me.Hari om tat sat.
Haribol Thanks for your wonderful newsletter on body and soul. I have a question Can you give ma a graphic example of Bhagvad-Gita verse 2.13 other than given by Srila Prabhupad. I will be very grateful to you if you replLY. Hare Krsna.
Srila Prabhuapda’s explanation is fine. If you can let me know which part you do not understand I can try to expand on it. But there is no need for a different example. I am not sure what you mean “Graphic example…’
As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.
Since every living entity is an individual soul, each is changing his body every moment, manifesting sometimes as a child, sometimes as a youth, and sometimes as an old man. Yet the same spirit soul is there and does not undergo any change. This individual soul finally changes the body at death and transmigrates to another body; and since it is sure to have another body in the next birth-either material or spiritual-there was no cause for lamentation by Arjuna on account of death, neither for Bhīṣma nor for Droṇa, for whom he was so much concerned. Rather, he should rejoice for their changing bodies from old to new ones, thereby rejuvenating their energy. Such changes of body account for varieties of enjoyment or suffering, according to one’s work in life. So Bhīṣma and Droṇa, being noble souls, were surely going to have either spiritual bodies in the next life, or at least life in heavenly bodies for superior enjoyment of material existence. So, in either case, there was no cause of lamentation.
Any man who has perfect knowledge of the constitution of the individual soul, the Supersoul, and nature-both material and spiritual-is called a dhīra or a most sober man. Such a man is never deluded by the change of bodies. The Māyāvādī theory of oneness of the spirit soul cannot be entertained on the ground that spirit soul cannot be cut into pieces as a fragmental portion. Such cutting into different individual souls would make the Supreme cleavable or changeable, against the principle of the Supreme Soul being unchangeable.
As confirmed in the Gītā, the fragmental portions of the Supreme exist eternally (sanātana) and are called kṣara; that is, they have a tendency to fall down into material nature. These fragmental portions are eternally so, and even after liberation, the individual soul remains the same-fragmental. But once liberated, he lives an eternal life in bliss and knowledge with the Personality of Godhead. The theory of reflection can be applied to the Supersoul who is present in each and every individual body and is known as the Paramātmā, who is different from the individual living entity. When the sky is reflected in water, the reflections represent both the sun and the moon and the stars also. The stars can be compared to the living entities and the sun or the moon to the Supreme Lord. The individual fragmental spirit soul is represented by Arjuna, and the Supreme Soul is the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They are not on the same level, as it will be apparent in the beginning of the Fourth Chapter. If Arjuna is on the same level with Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is not superior to Arjuna, then their relationship of instructor and instructed becomes meaningless. If both of them are deluded by the illusory energy (māyā), then there is no need of one being the instructor and the other the instructed. Such instruction would be useless because, in the clutches of māyā, no one can be an authoritative instructor. Under the circumstances, it is admitted that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, superior in position to the living entity, Arjuna, who is a forgotten soul deluded by māyā.
Prabhupada’s example is fine. If you do not understand it let me know exactly what you do not understand and I can try and expand on this.
Madhudvisa dasa ji, Hare Krishna!
I can intellectually grasp to some extent that this body is machine & I am the driver and in reality also I would like to have this much dispassion & discrimination so that I can experience that my body is different from me.
But in present reality & experience this concept does not appeal to be true 100%. When my body is hurt, I don’t feel that a machine which I am driving has been damaged but I & in fact everybody feels the pain of that injury. Sometimes the gravity of pain overwhelms us. Why would it be so if we are just drivers of our bodies.
Take an example. I see a beautiful girl & I want to become her friend. Is it a requirement of my body or is it my own need & desire. I would say that it is my desire because I myself feel it. We can say that we are different from our bodies only if we can differentiate where the boundary of our bodies end & domain of our real self begin but in experience I find that body is nothing but an extension of my soul & all the needs of my body are in some way or the other related to my very personal needs which I can’t say are my body’s exclusive needs.
How to differentiate between my real self & my body? Isn’t my mind also a part of my body because a person because of a bodily defect becomes mentally retarted. Then in that case what I am if not this body(which includes mind).
Please enlighten me with some insight which can make things very clear & bright.
Anyway I like Krishna very much & I like Hare Krishna mantra too. It is so soothing.
regards
Hare Krishna!!!!
Dear Gurudeva,
The analogy is absolutely true.
Waiting for more truths.
your servant
sudheer
Hi
I get that we must nourish the operator but how much nourishment is required? I need to work to make a living and obviously there are different standards of living I can acquire.
What is deemed a suitable standard of living to pursue? Then do I only pursue this standard of living for the now or do I plan for the future? Ultimately they both have a bearing on the facilities available to me to engage with the operator. For example…. I rent an apartment now, if I work harder I can save money and maybe buy a house. In the short term my ability to pursue god is diminished but in the long term it is increased, so what to do?
Outside of work then there is all the other stuff that comes with living in a society. Do I give up hobbies, interests and socialising to just pursue spiritual matters? Are not all of these a part of the creator?
Thanks
Pete
Hare Krishna Pete
Thanks for the nice questions.
We should live as simply as possible. Simply supplying the body with the minimum bare necessities so it is healthy and strong and able to serve Krishna nicely.
Of course if you are married and with family then that is a different situation and you will need to supply a reasonably comfortable arrangement for your wife and family. If you can not make your wife a little comfortable and provide here with a nice place to stay and nice clothes and jewelry she will not be happy and if she is not happy you will not be happy also. This is the problem of married life. To satisfy the wife you have to work so hard and spend so much time and energy and this distracts you from the spiritual path. Still marriage is a valuable and necessary experience for most men.
There is some “fairy story” out there that a lot of young men believe. They think there is some beautiful women out there, their “soul mate,” and they are thinking, “When I meet her we will be so happy…” But the reality is even if you marry the most beautiful girl will all good qualities then the result will be so much work and so much suffering. But generally one has to experience this to believe it. A beautiful women is such an attractive thing…
So the idea in the Vedas is marriage is one of the Samskaras, or purificatory processes. So by responsibly going through married life and looking after a wife and some children the man becomes purified of the desire for family life and at some point when the family is grown up he can then seriously take to spiritual life.
So my point is that in family life you will need to have money to support the wife and the family so then you need to work… But still you and your wife should be determined to live as simply as possible. The reality is that the higher standard of life you live the harder you have to work to maintain it. So what is the point of having a very nice house if both you and your wife have to work two jobs, putting the children in the child care centers, and you only come to the house at 10:00 pm in the evening to sleep and leave the house at 5:00 am to go to work?
It would be better if you had a simple, inexpensive house and you could work one job and the wife can stay home and look after the family and you can come home at a reasonable time and spend time with your wife and children…
So the idea is to keep everything as simple as possible.
As far as all the other stuff that comes with living in society like hobbies, interests and socializing, these things should all be transformed so the central point is Krishna. You should take up worshipping Krishna as your hobby, you can become interested in studying the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, you can socialize with other devotees of Krishna…
It is not actually possible to become a devotee of Krishna and have one’s life go on exactly the same as it was before. Some things will change…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvsia dasa
hi. i have posted three questions to you .one on each of the first three studys. i assume you are very busy.are you unable to answer all questions due to your workload. i have today ordered the gita offer.thanks.gary
Hare Krishna Garry
I did get behind on these postings over the past few weeks. I have answered a lot of questions today. Hopefully yours are among them. If not please post again. I receive so many emails and questions and can not reply to them all. I do try to answer all serious questions posted in this forum.
Madhudvisa dasa
hi madhudvisa. once again thankyou for the studys you send. in my intellect i can understand i am not this body.it is indeed very easy to say.for myself however life is often the opposite.each day i pray and try to do service to god.i try to remember him but endlessly it seems get distracted by worldly things.though i want to be perfect and make god happy im in the habit of forgetting him and remembering what is in comparison unimportant.if god loves us then why did he send us here?
Hare Krishna Garry
Thanks for the nice question.
God did not send us here to the material world. God loves us and does not want us to come here to this miserable place full of suffering and death.
We have a certain degree of independence. And we have misused that independence. Originally we were in the spiritual world with God. In that place God is supreme and everyone there is serving God in some way or other. We were also there but somehow we thought that it would be nice if we could also become god, if we could also get others to serve us.
That is not possible in the spiritual world, because there God is the center of attention and everyone is serving God. But because we also have all the same qualities as God, even though we have them in a very small quantity whereas God has them in an unlimited quantity, and God is the supreme controller, we sometimes to become the controller also.
But constitutionally we are servants, not controllers. So Krishna has very mercifully created this material world where we can be deceived by maya (the material energy) into thinking that we can become the controller. If you look around in this would you will see that basically everyone is trying to become the controller, everyone is trying to become God.
This desire to become God is the material disease and Krishna has created the material world to cure us of this disease. To a certain extent you can fulfill the desire of becoming the controller here. But this material world is constructed in such a way that everything you do will ultimately end in frustration.
So a thoughtful person, after many births in this material world, will come to the conclusion that there is no point in trying to become the enjoyer and controller, and he will understand that the best course of action is to surrender to Krishna and to go back home, back to Godhead.
So you see all the problems and suffering we endure in this material world are actually the mercy of Krishna, reminding us that this material world is not a nice place, and inviting us to go back home, back to Godhead.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa das
hi,madhudvisa.
If alcohol & ganga are maya does it mean Jesus who apparently enjoyed a glass of wine & shiva who apparently enjoyed a spot of ganga are mayavadis?
thanks
Hare Krishna Shanel
You have not quite grasped what a “mayavadi” is. A mayavadi is one who thinks that when Krishna appears in the material world His pastimes are an exhibition of the external material energy. A mayavadi does not accept the personal form of Krishna. He thinks this personal form of Krishna is simply a temporary manifestation of the material energy covering the supreme eternal formless brahman enengy. And he is thinking after Krishna’s pastimes are finished in the material world the Krishna form no longer exists. Because of this the mayavadi thinks all of Krishna’s pastimes are simply exhibitions of maya.
So a mayavadi is envious of Krishna and Krishna’s devotees.
Shiva may or may not smoke ganja but Shiva also drank an ocean of poison and if you tried to drink even one drop of that ocean you would be killed. So the instruction is not to imitate the isvaras, or great controllers, but to follow their example. You can not do what the great can do. For example the sun has the power to evaporate or “drink” water from any filthy place, and in the process the sun will purify that place. If you go to some filthy place and drink the water there you will get very sick and the place will not be purified. So you can not imitate the powerful.
As far as Jesus he was preaching in a different society where all sorts of sinful activities like drinking alcohol and eating meat were performed by the people as a regular daily thing. It is not possible to change the habits of the people overnight. But that does not mean that eating meat and drinking alcohol are good. These are sinful activities and are obstacles on the path of spiritual advancement that will be given up by any sincere seekers of the truth.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Greetings;
Several years ago I was going thru a spiritual crisis (another one!) in my Christian faith. I was a “born-again” Christian and loved our Lord dearly. I was led to the Catholic Catechism and began to take lessons to be baptized into the church. I had a mentor and had shared some questions I had about some of the practices. She told me I was listening to Satan; thus ended my look into the Catholic church. I was very disheartened and got down on my knees in prayer. I was led to a scripture in the old testament that told me to “seek the ancient of days”, and so I prayerfully did. A few nights later I began to dream of a Blue Being who was teaching me and driving me in my car.
I did not know who this was, but my mom and sister are devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. They told me they were sure it was Lord Krishna. HE took all fear and gave me love!! May HE be forever loved! He turned my life around and has been my Beloved Lord since that day.
Thank you for your devotion to the truth and your message relating our path and our vehicles to cars.
I still do not have all the correct words; just Bless you all on your journey.
Hey,madhudvisa.
If alcohol & ganga are maya does that mean jesus & shiva are really satanists
thanks.
Respected Sir,
last few years, i am going through meditation and concentrating breath as instrcuted by yoga guru, thoughts never coming to an end throut the meditation time, started meditation to my soul and ultimate satya, till the date I am unable to achieve my goal, please guide me in this regard.
Thanking you
Yours faithfully
visweshwar rao potula
I have come to know one important secret that if we want to control our mind we first need to control our breath as both are interconnected. Our thoughts depends on what we eat and it is essential to eat the right food satvic food and how we breath as most of people are breathing in wrong way thats why they are suspicious and unsatisfied with everything in life. The best and correct way to breath is when one inhales one should chant radhe e y (inhale breath in 3seconds and while inhaling chest and abs should come out in equal proportion and while exhaling one should chant krishna (exhale in 2 seconds where chest and abs come back to natural position) In this way one can chant as well as do his daily activites as we breath in for 24hrs and 365 days till we are alive and easiest and best way to get connected to lord krishna. As this is rhythm is of nature, start with 5mins and go increasing every week by 5mins.
vipul
jai guru datta
jai shri krishna
jai shri man narayan
i deeply express my gratitude for expalining in simple words about the car and motor concept relating it to body and soul.
i have a doubt if so plz reply to it!!
Q, How can one differentiate between soul and man?
are they different in many aspects?
kindly clear the above doubt?
jai guru datta
jai shri krishna
jai shri mannarayan
We are the soul.
I am the soul.
So the man is the soul…
Yes I accept it.We are not body.And all the things what we are seeing is not right.What is right is our self.And what is right is our soul?Actually the soul is the only thing in this universe.By wearing the dress or mask of human body,we forget ourselves and we think that we are humans and the things around
us are real.Am i right sir?
LOve
I agree for sure that we are not a body. Yes we are not
We are the tiny light in chest inside : )
To be honest I do realize that, but i still got the doubt. What part of one do not want to accept that?
LOve Love Love
Richard
Dear Richard,
The one who do not want to accept that, is the ‘lust’ residing in our mind, senses and intelligence.The soul although a spiritual body is attracted by the intelligence next door which is acting as a servant to lust.Lust any how wants material enjoyment.’Lust’ is the illusionary energy of God Krishna and the soul is trapped in it.{soul once resided in heaven,
[goloka vrindavan]was thrown out because of its desire to enjoy seperated from Krishna}
Body does everything with the help of the soul but can’t see the prisoner and doesn’t know his struggle to reach its true home.The soul on the other hand can do this only with the help of mind, senses and intelligence which is now captured by the lust. So,the soul wants to purify them with Krishna consciousness and obtain a visa to re-enter the heaven with the qualities Krishna demands.
Hare krishna prabhu dandavat pranam
I want to ask that in prabhupadas book it si wriiten to adhire to 3 things
1. no illicit sex
2. no gambling
3.no meat eating
how pandavas did gambling in mahabharata and lost. All of them were krishna conscious but how can they do that. Is there any learning from that or it was lesson for generation to come.
I am a sudra please forgive me for such question.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Subrajeet
In Kali-yuga everyone is born as a sudra. But if we want to make a success of this human form of life we can not remain sudra’s. We need to elevate ourselves to the brahminical platform. So Srila Prabhuapda is training us to come to the mode of pure goodness, suddha-sattva, that is even transcendental to the Brahmanical platform.
Pandavas were devotees, friends of Krishna, and they were acting as ksatriyas. So a ksatriya is required to fight when challenged and also if he is challenged to a gambling match he has to accept this challenge. So for a ksatriya this gambling and fighting is part of their duty.
But gambling will not help us advance in spiritual life. To advance in spiritual life you need to accept and surrender to a bona fide spiritual master and surrender to his instructions. So Srila Prabhupada is instructing us to follow the four regulative principles [you missed out “no intoxication” in your list] and chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily.
If we want to make spiritual advancement we must follow these instructions.
We can only make advancement by pleasing a pure devotee of Krishna. And Srila Prabhuapda will not be pleased if we do not even follow his very basic instructions [follow the four regulative principles and chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily]
Madhudvisa dasa
Our human body is totally different with machine, I agree that machines need fuel, water, oil, air and other inputs for operation. but you know that that machine size is constant in size, constant in working operation. finally it’s man-made.
when we talk about our body, we have physical and soul, without physical only soul cannot be called body, and only soul without body is like a material as a stone.
Machine is only the material, this is only man-made. you cannot compare with your body. Our body is not made by you and me,not made by human being. we are the products of God. Don’t look so insight as micro-thinking, look to the universe, look to the other planets, looks to the Suns, there are so many Suns in our universe. and what about glaxies who made it, who create it. So wonder.
You can examine just only what you are, but you cannot able to do as in single atom. Who decided you. Who create you. you are not a motor car. your life span is total different with motor car’s lifespan.
If you say that you are like a machine, who create you? Very wonder who is your Creator, who is the Greatest Creator of Heaven and Earth and Universe?
My Friend, your are not a machine, you are Human. Your value is more than a machine. Machines are made by Human, but you are created by Greatest Creator, You know that Who is the Greatest Creator of everlasting?
Some people say that we are the greatest of this world, if we use the “we” than you cannot be the greatest, only one will be the Greatest, not We
even God is the greatest of this world, who is the greatest of this UNIVERSE.
Behold that, you are NOT A MACHINE
Hare Krishna Doctor,
The human body is a machine. It is made of the material elements. The soul, however, the driver of the bodily machine, is not material. We are the spirit soul and the spirit soul is for some time trapped in this body which is like a machine. When this bodily machine is old and useless the soul will be forced to change into another bodily machine.
You are right, we are not the motor car, we are the driver of the motor car. That is the exact point. This body is like the motor car. A motor car is useless without a driver. It will never go anywhere or do anything without a driver. Similarly this bodily machine is useless unless the driver, I, the soul, is present within it to control it and direct it.
So the body is like the motor car and the soul is like the driver.
You are also completely correct when you say “you are not a machine.” We are not the body, the body is a machine, we are the spirit soul, the driver, who is present within the bodily machine “driving” it.
Hope this clears up the point.
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna , Swamiji
I went through your latest newsletter about the body being a machine and I completely agree with it . Its absolutely upto us, how to carry this machine by controlling its senses. And as Shrila Prabhupad says that the body is also God’s energy, and the God’s energy should be utilised for God and his service.
Please do keep on sending me more installments and I will be surely responding them as soon as I read them.
Thanking you
Yours unfeigned servant
Gaurang Patil
Haei bol,Madhudvisa.
You say,”Any type of intoxication is maya and will prevent us from making advancement”,is not Krishna the supreme intoxication,& if Krishna is absolute how then can we make advancement?
Hare Krishna Prabhu
There is no problem if you are intoxicated by Krishna… I think you know we are talking about material intoxication here. The regulative 4 principles are: “No illicit sex, no meat eating, no intoxication and no gambling.” When we say “no intoxication” it means no intoxicating substances like alcohol, cigerattes, ganja, other drugs, even up to coffee and tea. These are all addictions and if we are addicted to these things there is no chance of becoming addicted to Krishna, which is the ultimate goal.
So yes, the goal is to become addicted to Krishna and to become intoxicated in Krishna consciousness. And this is not possible if we are addicted to any form of material intoxication.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hari Bol!
Thanks for the explanation and analogy of the body to car and different types of fuel. I needed that. I don’t have much to say other than that is beautiful and I try to better myself everyday but it is very difficult. Read the Srimad Bhagvag Gita many times and really trying to apply it to myself is not easy…buy trying and will continue to do so.
Jai Sri Radhe Krishna!
Love,
Miky.
Hare Krishna
Internally I feel total sanyasi, but as u say need of body I’m living in society
I’m computer lecturer. My soul always wants krushna and coz of this my hungerness i’m thinking I devote my rest of life with is iscon but how it’s possible please guide me.
Hare Krushna
Our Soul is perfact driver of our body. But body’s demands never completed, one demand we fulfill and many more are waiting. Soul has no connection with body’s demands. Soul always stand as vitnees of all the things which happning with us.
My question is I want forget my body and I’m hungry to satisfy my soul, a drop of god which go left in us.
Hare Krishna.
I understand in India Ganja has been made illegal,I am wondering is Ganja maya & is India subjecting herself to maya by allowing western alcohol saturation policy?
ji.
Hare Krishna.
Yes. Any type of intoxication is maya and will prevent us from making advancement in spritual life. So both ganja and alcohol are maya and both will fustrate any attempts we may make to advance in Krishna consciousness. That is why one of the regulative principles is “No intoxication.” This principle bans all types of intoxication even cigarettes, tea and coffee.
Gita teaches us to be bold in our karamkshetra. but as a management student, it is taught to play different tactics to achieve so called success in career. such success life is ostensible for all and the person is termed as a good person for the achievements he made in one’s career.
complying with Gita Gyan, if one does not compromise with ethics or does not play foul or work as a simple fellow, without desire for fruit, and he does not reaches to the higher posts for one’s such behaviour, then such persons fall in what category….failure, satisfied, attained or nincompoop..
i am waiting for your reply impatiently..
I am not the body nor am I the mind.Who is this I?
Ask whom? who is asking?silence answers.Am I Silence?
I am spirit soul,says a voice.who hears?Have I seen myself?
Who knows?Krishna knows.I therefore surrender to the guru
who brought me closer to Krishna.I humbly bow down this mortal
body at His Lotus Feet
Hare Krishna Sanjeev
Guru has to be qualified and disciple has to be qualified. Guru needs to be a pure devotee of Krishna. He has to be free from the clutches of maya, a liberated soul. If he is then he can guide you to the correct path so you can also achieve the same result. And the qualification of the disciple is that he must surrender to the bona fide spiritual master and accept the order of the spiritual master as his life and soul.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Hare Krishna,
Dearest Madhudvisa-Dasa ji
I am sure enough that you are very very dear and loving to Shri Krishna and I consider myself fortunate to get your mails for Krishna Consciousness.
i will read your messages regularly.
i feel that even trying to remember Krishna makes me absolutely peaceful. I feel that he is my parent, my mother, my father, and He is the one I am missing in my life, he is the essence and he is the one to be worshipped and to be love. very recently i lost my mother, who is my first Guru. she has handed me over to Lord Shri Hari because she loved me and she knew that He will save everyone who remembers him all the time, she herself was taken care of by Shri Krishna at the end.
i think Prabhu also loves me that has given me various oppurtunities like your newsletters to know him & his love for all creatures in this universe
I thought mind was the driver, body the vehicle and soul the engine.
Will sim;ly chanting the mahamantra feed the soul? Are there no preparations needed ?such as conditioning the mind to concentrte on the Paramathma ?
Hare Krishna everyone. I totally agree with the above article. We all have to remember that we are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey and we need find our way back home. The truth and the knowledge is within us, we just have to concentrate in the right direction in order for all the knowledge to reveal itself. And for sure Bhagavad Gita is a really good start. Bhagavad Gita gives us the chance for all this knowledge to come back to us(to be awaken within us) and to start practicing all this wisdom and knowledge in our everyday lifes.
Thank you for giving us this opportunity to learn and grow.
Hare Krishna Madhuvisa dasa.
Namah Shivay !!!
Very illumining explaination from Bhagavad Gita indeed , really boosting my faith , that repeating our Ishta Devata’s Mantram , given by our Sadguru , abiding by the simple spiritual discipline , will make us more nearer to our Real Goal !!
hare krishna Madhuvisa dasa,
Your analogy to the car is truly excellent. Many thanks. Like many people I find that balancing the needs of the body and the soul is difficult…especially in these economic times where most of my time goes to just trying to earn enough to pay all the bills….But just by your clarification of needs, I have a better understanding of where I need to go.
om shanti
Adrian
Sir,
I feel very happy to go through the subject as well as the comments by the devotees.
Thanks for giving this opportunity to Hare Krishna.
I am highly inspired by these lines.
“Therefore Krishna recommends in the Bhagavad Gita that we 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. It is this spiritual consciousness which is a our real need, the needs of the soul.”
I have always tried to make this body into a perfect machine, realising that I am not this body helps me a lot in acheiving this goal.The are where I need to focus is to use this machine in the service of Krishna, somehow.
HARE KRISHNA
We believe in one God……no one can deny it…if it coming to U soon…Hope everybody find their way…but believe me,God is not the one U can described it, we can even face it…we just receive it to understand His Power….find one..but please not human act as to be our God….
hare krishna, very perfect example is given to make the difference of this body and the sprit.read you more in near future.thanks hare krishna.
how can a common people indulge in daily routine can change into devotee of shrikrishna
its true the body requires meditation more than food to sustain it even medical experts say that meditation is better than medicatiion. so 16 rounds of chanting the holy name keeps the body and mind healthy and wise, and keeps the doctor away.
only just have faith….can not just have a faith has to be proof too…rite…we talking a lot how is it about body,soul etc…the question,where is that come from?
Hare Krsna Hare krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare !
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama rama hare hare !!!!1
Really nice topi prabhu ji….& very thoughtful.It answers lots of queries about life .Life is full of myth & rumours & Bhagvad darshna is real mantra to get rid of these dellimas.
i am very much enjoying these essays, a good refresher of philosophy, and concisely written.
Why is it that I can remember what I have read in a karmi book years ago, but when I read a KC book it is so difficult to remember what I have just read. Are there any special excises to help remember what I have read?
Hare Krishna Mataji
Yes. Special exercise is chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare” and engaging in practical service under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. I remember feeling exactly this way when I joined the Hare Krishna movement in 1986. Our Bhakta leader was telling me I should learn Bhagavad-gita verses but I thought it was impossible. And he just told me that if I chant Hare Krishna and sincerely engage in service and just simply read the books I will remember the verses. Of course I did not believe him. But I tried it and it does work. Now I know a lot of verses and I know a lot of the things that are in Srila Prabhuapda’s books.
It is not simply studying the books. This is realized knowledge. So we need to read the books and then put what we read in Srila Prabhupada’s books into practice in our lives.
And the realization of the knowledge in the books actually comes from service. Not scholarship. The best service, most pleasing service to Srila Prabhuapda is to distribute his books to others. And the best way to remember the philosophy is to read it and then preach what you have read to others. So if we read it and then speak it that will solidify the knowledge and we will get a lot of practical realizations from this.
So basically please make a serious plan how you can read all of Srila Prabhuapda’s books. And if you read them aloud that will be much more powerful than reading them in your mind. Because Krishna consciousness is more about hearing than anything else. So if you hear yourself reading the books that will be much more powerful than just reading…
So it is a few ideas, hope it is helpful. I wish you all success in understanding the teachings of Srila Prabhuapda and please speak about whatever your read to others and that will be very good for you and very good for whoever you meet.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Hare Krishna
Dandavat pranam
This newsletter is really wonderful. It has put light on the most vital question of our life. The Question is: What is our ultimate destination in our life? No, doubt those who are spiritually inclined or have received mercy from Lord Krishna must be aware about the Ultimate destination in their life. But many a time these bodily requirements act as an hindrance in our way to spiritual progress.
I have myself experienced this hindrance many a times in my life. At times I really feel very bad when I see myself moving downwards from my spiritual progress. Because I know what Krishna has told all of us. He has said: “Ever strive to elevate, not lower yourself. Thus be your own friend and not your own enemy.”
Your newletters on Krishna Connect help me to elevate in my spiritual progress. Thankyou so much for being so kind towards me. Request you to continue with such good work.
Hari Bole.
hare krishna,
hari bol, thans for given a very nice topic i would like to send this message to maximum people. yes this a very good example, if we can follow it we can closed your god krishna & we got our mission of born as a human out of 48 lackh generation, i will request to you please menssion relation& responsbility between got & human beacause who is not connescted to any organsion or krisna connection. then some new devotee will understand mission of guru parbhupad.
thanks.
daso ka das
ajay
DANDAVATS
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR REMINDING ME OF THE MISSION WE HAVE TO COMPLETE.
I´LL TRY TO REMEMBER THAT THE SOUL IS WHAT MATTERS AND THAT EVERITHING I DO HAS TO BE FOR KRISNA AND BEACUSE OF HIM AND THAT I HAVE TO RETURN HOME.
HARIBOL!!!
I understand you are saying that we need to concentrate on the spiritualities and spend only those time and energy only to make vehicle drive… agreed… but the world is full of illusions and temptations…how to divert our path and aims from these illusions and concentrate on spiritualities???
It is a very nice question. How to divert our path and aims from these illusions and concentrate on spiritualities? Actually this is the whole subject matter of the process of Saddhana Bhakti. If we want to actually divert our minds away from materialism then we must attach our minds to something positive. There is no possiblility of our minds becoming void or empty. We have to fill our minds and our life with Krishna. And the way to do that is to engage all our senses in the service of Krishna under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master. Srila Prabhuapda has written over 80 big books, and much of what is written in these books is the science of how we can concentrate on Krishna. It is not some impersonal thing. We need to develop a personal relationship with Krishna. This is a big subject and it has to be studied in the mood of submission and service from a bona fide spiritual master and one must be prepared to use his or her energy in the service of Krishna. This Krishna consciousness is devotional service. It means because we love Srila Prabhuapda and Krishna we are prepared to give up our time and energy and serve them instead of serving maya…
There are only two things. Serving Krishna and serving Maya. So if we want to become Krishna conscious we have to stop serving maya and start serving Krishna…
We must look into the nature of our mind, in relation with the activities we perform for Krishna, on one hand, and for the worldly affairs, on the other hand.
Around 40% of our mind is always engaged outside (eyes and ears) and that leaves 60% idle(smell, touch and taste). We must also draw back the 40% inwards, and it is possible by serving Krishna (by seeing the deity always, lovingly, and by hearing Kirtans always, with concentration). We can eat prasadam, we can smell flowers offered to the Lord, we can smell the incense, the chandan oil offered to Lord, we can taste the prasadam and we can touch the feet of the Lord. Thus our entire senses are engaged 100% in Krishna’s service.
Once I lived for a month in a Temple. It was a beautiful experience, and I will always cherish the memories of rising early at 3:30 AM, cleaning up by 4 AM,then offering Mangal Arati, Morning Japa,reading Gita,then Darshan of deity (Lord Lakshmi Narayan, in Pune’s famous Temple). After deity darshan we would have prasadam, and then go out for preaching. We would return, have Darshan,perform afternoon Pooja,go for prasadam again-lunch, continue Japa, and then rest a couple of hours, and then we would offer evening Pooja, then go for kirtan, and then read Gita, have night darshan, and wind up with Japa. Sleep early after prasadam dinner. This life style for more than a month was so inspiring,I want to go back to it again, when I am retired from office work. With some variations, this lifestyle is followed by almost all members of ISKCON. I wish at that time there were cameras, O would have recorded the daily schedule. I think a devotee can do that today, and post such a video on the youtube.
All glories to Lord Sri Krishna!
if soul is the driver and the ultimate owner of the body then every action of the body is worked under its supervision. in your article of car food and the food of soul is differnt it is known to us by the soul then soul should know and able to find its own food . if soul is the ultimate in human body who control us and responcible for every actevites during our presence in the materialistic world . so how soul is not able to feed itself by its own giving instruction to this body whome it can instruct and control for car driving.prabhuji this is the only answer i personaly wondering till date.simply if soul is the part of god and present in our materialistic body so it is the soul is ultimate enjoyer of the materialistic world and definately know and collect its food.
your das
krishna
The problem is the soul is bewildered. It is misidentifying with the body and it is thinking the food of the body is his food. That is the problem. The answer is Krishna consciousness…
HH Swami Madhudvisa dasa,
That ‘Parabrahma Prapthi’ or attainment of unity with the Parabrahma is the ultimate goal of our life in this earth is well understood.
Being aware of this ultimate aim in life itself is a blessing.
In Srimad Bhagavad Gita – Bhagavan Sri Krishna advises us to look for the path of life which will free us from the cycle of repeated births and deaths.
This is possible only by taking to the spiritual path early in life and continuing till the very end. This way the distance to be covered before Parabrahma Prapthi is reduced and we humans get a more suitable birth the next time around so that we may pursue our ultimate goal with renewed vigor in the new birth.
Your analogical illustration of the car and its driver brings out the needs of the human body as different from the human mind excellently.
I prostrate in front of you,
Hare Krishna Subramanian.
hi tahnks for sending me so nice emails as i need it now as i m pregnent i use to read it bhagwad gita also at home and in ur mails i receive more knowledge so plz keep on sending me thank you very much.
Hare Krishna prabhuji,
First of all I am very thankful to you for sending me the news letter regularliy. Two three points I want to know about Bhagvat Gita. As it was written in Gita that this spritual knowledge was first given to Brahma by Lord Krishna and then its passes through discipleic successions. Then where it became lost during this process, so that Lord Krishna came himself to gave this knowledge again to the people? And why he choose only arjuna instead of his other devotee. I am fully conviced that we are not the body, but even than we have material desires, we suffer, why?
Please clarify me these doubts.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Prabhu
These are nice questions.
Krishna spoke to Arjuna instead of speaking the Bhagavad Gita to other, seemingly more qualified persons, because Arjuna was Krishna’s friend and dear devotee. It is because of this friendship that Krishna choose Arjuna to be the receiver of the Bhagavad Gita.
As far as being convinced that we are not the body. I am also convinced that I am not the body. But I am still not out of the bodily concept of life. To know theoretically and to be convinced that we are not the body is a very simple thing. To practically realize that we are not the body, that is another thing altogether.
There is a scientific process to actually realize that we are not the body and that is saddhana bhakti. It means strictly following the rules and regulations under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. That means a pure devotee of Krishna. So we can not actually realize we are not the body unless we follow Krishna’s instructions in the Bhagavad Gita:
tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.
The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord therefore advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord Himself. No one can be a bona fide spiritual master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master, and a person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple. No one can be spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the foolish pretenders. The Bhāgavatam says: dharmaṁ hi sākṣād-bhagavat-praṇītam-the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot help one progress in spiritual life. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. One should not only hear submissively from the spiritual master; but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect.
i suggest we should give more graphic examples of how body is different from soul.
Dear Madhudvisa dasa,
Just wanted to let you know that I have been reading all of the newsletters you have sent out thus far and are finding them very informative and helpful, thank you very much for your important service.
Hare Krishna !
Thanks for all the efforts you are taking to send me the mails. It is really fantastic to know about Bhagvat Gita.
It is really fantastic. Do keep on sending your valuable mails.
Thanks again
Madhusudan R. Pillai
Hare Krishna I agree that it is easy to say that we are not the body. I recall reading a quote that education starts when we realise that we are not the body. Where do we go from here when this age of Kali is full of so much faults and most of our universities are catered towards materialism? We need to critically look at developing a balance between that which is Spiritual and that which is Material.Ultimately based on the instruction of Sri Krishna we must give up all kinds of engagements and surrender unto Him. In addition we should remember that being expert in material propensities only is not enough. It ends with our departure from this material world. Thanks for the ability to comment. Hare Krishna
Thanks for the message. Do you have any advice for how to change some of the habits we should avoid?
DEAREST MADHUDVISA DAS
U write and explain so well. I will definitely use this piece in future lectures as all the academics in our Namahatta are responsible for discourses given. pse send me more. I am from South Africa, Kwazulu Natal, Newcastle.
Krsna be with u always.
hare krsna.
bhaktin julie
I have been facing lots of problems in my life and happiness also. There was a time when I was not a believer in God at all. But do not how I started believing in God and became his devotee? Actually I had looked upon my life very annalyticaly. I found when I was happy I did not care about anything having not thought for a moment that this happyness is temporary and will vanish all of a sudden. It has been happening always with me and it happens with every living being also. It was then I realized when my girlfriend left me alone and unhappy. I wondered I love her very much why did she leave me? Then I started reading Bhagavat Gita and I am getting the answers. As I am finishing the chapters one by one I am getting all the answers easily and now I am getting relief from my pains gradually. Whenever I am free I am chanting his name. Almost most of the day I pass chanting or reading about him and I am trying earnestly to practise the Bhavagvat Gita in my personal life. I believe everything whatever has been said in Gita to be absoutely true without any doubt at all. This is the very right fact that we are not this body but we are the spirit souls. Though knowing all these things I get entangled in this material world and sometimes think why my most beloved person my girlfriend left me. But whenever it happens I chant his name, turn the pages of Bhagavat Gita and it gives me peace.
Yes. I have been looking at my own life, my motives, actions, inner feelings, thoughts, in fact all aspects of my life, and looking at myself I can agree completely with the analogy given. If ‘feels’ right.
hare krishna
i hav understood so far and its really interestin to learn all this to stop oneself distracting from the world of demands…car and body is good example but still v being a living object,that is obvious k lookin at any things we are bound to attract to taht thing..so how can v stop ourself from that…
Hare Krishna
What u r saying Sir I m not understanding. What is the real purpose of our life tell I dont know & which home u r asking to go & how do u say that there is more happiness than there What thing u want to tell pls. reply clearly & pls also give me the re[ply of my previous question why is Arjuna so dear to Krishna
Hare Ram
Sri Madhudvisa Dasa Prabhuji, Namaskar.
You are absolutely right that the body is like a machine and I also believe on that. The body is changing every second i.e. the body before a second is not exactly what is it right now. There is no doubt that it is perishable. But to maintain it we have to give some fuel for it. But more importantly, as you have said, we have to feed our mind too. The real food for the mind is nothing other than the spirituality. Our sacred scriptures also declare that the mind is the cuase of salvation and bondage. So untill and unless we do not purify our mind we will not get salvation from the cycle of birth and death which is the cause of suffering.I strongly believe in the life after death and that is determined by our actions (Karmas). Therefor we are responsible for our next birth. Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna Madhuvisa-dasaji,
A very simple & easy to remember points to observe ourselves by moving apart from our body whenever our mind starts thinking of the body.
Thank you so much
Hare Krishna
Meenakshi
car is non living object and I feel that to move a non living object we need a living thing otherwise it cannot move .Same is with human body without soul it cannot move .what happens to human body when soul leaves the body it cannot move .So soul helps to move human body .
HARE KRISHNA
SUMIT
HARE KRISHNA
I READ MAIL SEND BY PRABHU THROUGH YOU .GOD KNOWS SOMETHING ENTERED IN MY MIND IT IS OPENENIG OF SEARHING GOOD THINGS .ONE THING I WANT TO KNOW HOW WE CAN DO EVERY THING IN FAMILY LIFE COMPARING OUR PERENTS DID TIME HAS CHANGED TOO MUCH SEEING NECESSTIES OF LIFE NOW GENERATION IS COMPLETLY DIFFERENT THEN OUR TIME HOW TO PERFORM DUTIES
RADHET RADHEY
RAKESH YOUR DAS
thank you maharaj for your wonderful letters. you said we are spirit soul wth spiritual bodyn we have came in this material worl with material body. so matrrial body as a car n soul as driver car has diffrent food driver has different food. whats food require for spiritual soul n how do we attain our spiritual body how bdoes spiritual body look like waiting for your reply
Hare Krishna Madhuvisa-dasa,
I have recently signed up for this newsletter and it is such a pleasure to read your letters. I have read Sri Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita and immensely enjoyed it. I like your simple analogy of body with car and soul with the driver.
Hare Krishna,
Giri.
dear sir
the example of car and driver is apt but to my mind appears an over simplification.
the car & the driver can easily be seen with our own eyes as two seperate identities with differing needs etc.
but the body & soul , for a lay man , is one & the same . Even though numerous examples are traditionally given to prove the point that body & soul are different, to realise this and practise it on a day-to-day basis appears daunting. SriKrishna, has perhaps , intentionally kept this shrouded in Maya. But why has He done this ? What is the joy He gets by keeping people hopelessly under the influence of His own Maya. Is this called His Leela ?
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Chandrasekhar. It is not Krishna who is keeping us covered by maya. We are covering ourselves by maya. We are covered over because of the unlimited sinful activities we have performed life after life. Krishna is giving us the process, in the form of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, how we can get uncovered very simply just by chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. But generally we are not really very interested in chanting Hare Krishna. So Krishna is being very merciful. He is giving us a very simple way to become free from maya, but we refuse to accept this way and continue with our sinful ways. This is not Krishna’s lila. It is nothing to do with Krishna. It a result of us misusing our independence and coming to the material world to try and enjoy separately from Krishna. So please do not blame Krishna for our mistakes. Krishna is always trying to help us. But that help is giving us information that we all have an eternal loving relationship with Krishna, and Krishna is asking us to surrender to Him, to serve Him, but He is not forcing us to do it. He has given us limited independence. So we are covered and suffering in maya not because Krishna wants us to be, but because we have turned our backs on Krsihna and do not want to listen to His advice…
Pranam guruji,all glories to our gurudev HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C BHAKTIVEDANTA SRILA PRABHUPADA ,guruji i have one question – originaly we are all pure, then why do we come down to earth ?? And is it true that the moment. We come down to earth we get contaminated,then al these -false ego lobhah,kama krodhah comes to existence??guruji u said that it is we who are bewildered by Maya but father Maya is the external energy of Krishna according to BHAGAVAT GITA AS IT IS,Then Krishna is indirectly bewildering us – so it is He who is helping the butcher to cut meat because he has that much intelligence,he cannot perform any higher task ,and again it is KRISHNA only who is helping the pujari to perform devotional service??,actually this question was asked by my clg teacher, a swami Vivekananda fan ,so pls kindly explain
Hare Krishna Ananya
Yes. You are correct, originally we are all pure. We are all the same quality as Krishna, Krishna is param-brahman, and we are also brahman. So we are the same substance as Krishna, we have the same qualities as Krishna, but the difference is that Krishna is unlimited in every respect and we are unimaginably tiny in every respect.
So, as we are like Krishna, and Krishna is supremely independent, we also have independence, but as we are very small, our independence is also limited. But we do have a certain amount of independence. Krishna is the Supreme Controller, the master. So although we are very tiny, and our natural constitutional position is to engage in the service of the great, or Krishna, because we do have a little independence then we can misuse that independence and instead of wanting to serve Krishna we can want to become the master, like Krishna. Of course this is not possible actually, because constitutionally Krishna is always very great and we are always very small. Krishna is always the master and we are always the servants of Krishna. That can not be changed. But still, as we are constitutionally the same as Krishna, by misusing our minute independence we may have the desire to reject Krishna and become the master ourselves.
There is no place in the spiritual world for such rebellious souls. In the spiritual world everyone is serving Krishna in unlimited different capacities. So Krishna has created this material world to simultaneously allow us to fulfill our material desires to some extent and at the same time to educate us, to reform us, to teach us, that our only business is to serve Krishna.
We, the jivas, the tiny living entities, are called the tatastha-shakti, it means the marginal energy of Krishna. The example given to explain this is the section of the beach that is sometimes covered by the water of the ocean when the tide is in and which is not covered by the water when the tide is out. So we are like that, we have the tendency to fall down. We have the tendency to be covered by the material energy.
So because we are very small we always have this tendency to fall down. And you are right of course, maya is a servant of Krishna, she is a devotee. But her task is very thankless. She is like the policemen and we are like the criminals. The criminals are never happy to see the policemen. But still the policemen are employed by the government, even though they are not at all liked by the criminals.
So we are criminals and this material world is a prison and we have been sent here, on one hand to get some facility to exercise our impossible desire to become happy without serving Krishna. But even though the illusion of this happiness is here in the material world we can never find the actual happiness here. The actual happiness is only available in the spiritual world. So whatever grand plans we make to become happy in the material world we make will all end in only suffering and frustration. That is the nature of the material world. We simply suffer here and an intelligent person, after enough suffering, will come to the conclusion that the only solution is to surrender to Krishna. And that is the purpose of the material world, to ultimately rectify us, the criminals, so that eventually we will again surrender to Krishna and go back home Back to Godhead.
Yes. Krishna is sanctioning everyone’s actions. It does not mean that Krishna is the cause of everyone’s activities. We are not independent in the material world. We are acting under the direction of the three modes of material nature, and we are forced to act in a particular way by the three modes of material nature according to our karma, we get the reactions to the activities we have performed in this and in previous lives. So we have a big stock of karmic reactions stored up in our heart and they all have certain times when they will become ripe. It is like planting a seed. Different seeds have different periods of germination. So we have all these seeds of karma in our hearts and they are all growing and bearing fruits at different times so at those times we have to experience the reactions to these activities we have performed in the past.
So although Krishna is sanctioning all our our activities, there is an English saying, “Not even a blade of grass moves without the sanction of God.” And that is true. And also it is Krishna is the one who is giving us remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. So all knowledge is coming from Krishna. Even for the atheist, if he wants some philosophy to explain how there is no God, then Krishna will give him that knowledge, Krishna will give him that philosophy. But Krishna is giving him what he wants. If one likes to eat meat then in the next life Krishna will give him a tigers body so he can very easily kill and eat animals.
But you need to understand Krishna is fulfilling our desires. We are individuals, like Krishna is an individual living entity. Krishna is very great and we are very small, but we are individual living entities and we do have our own limited independence and desires. There is another English saying “Man proposes, God disposes” and that is very true also. We really can only desire something, the actual fulfillment of that desire is up to Krishna. So the butcher may want to kill an animal. That is the butcher’s desire. It is not Krishna’s desire. But the butcher is a butcher because of his karma and the animals he is killing are animals and are being killed by this butcher because of their karma. The whole thing is a very great complicated tapestry of karma. No one is independent in that sense. Once they are caught up in this web of karma. The butcher is forced to kill by his karma and the animals are forced to be killed by their karma. No one is in control. They are being controlled by the three modes of material nature.
So in reality our independence comes down only to the choice between serving Krishna and serving maya. We are servants eternally. We can never be the master. Maya in this material world gives us the illusion that we can become the master but that is only an illusion. Materialists are never independent, they are completely controlled by the three modes of material nature. The butcher is forced to kill and the animals are forced to be killed. There is nothing they can do about it. That is their destiny.
However they can at any point take to Krishna consciousness, surrender to Krishna, and that changes everything. So the only way out, the only escape from the control of the three modes of material nature, from the bondage of our karma, is by becoming Krishna consciousness. So even though Krishna consciousness means surrendering to Krishna, Krishna consciousness is really freedom…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
father pranam
all glories to our gurudeb his divine gace a.c bhaktibedanta swami prabhupada
father pls tell me krishna says that- this soul is eternal this doesnot have past present and future, but i have a doubt our krishna is eternal but he has a past i mean i n past he came to this earth in different incarnation right in the same way the soul also take different bodies eachh time so how is it that it doesnot have a history??pls kindly explain also whn the soul is in the body what is its form is it male or female??
Krishna does not take material bodies like us. When Krishna appears in the material world He appears in His original spiritual body. Krishna does not have a material body like us. All of Krishna’s pastimes are going on constantly. It is called nitya-lila. It means right now in some universe Krishna’s birth, Janmastami is going on. To understand Krishna we have to become devotees of Krishna. Then these things are automatically revealed to us. So if you just chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, 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 then you will become Krishna conscious and automatically you will understand everything. This is the way, this is the process. You have to surrender to the process and follow it and then you will understand everything. The process of becoming Krishna conscious is not asking me questions on Krishna.org. All I am trying to encourage you to do is chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, strictly follow the four regulative principles and read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day. And if you will just surrender to this and do it then by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy you will understand everything very clearly.
We can know it for sure that if we are not chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, strictly following the four regulative principles and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books daily then we are in maya, we are not in Krishna consciousness, and in maya it is not possible for us to understand anything about Krishna consciousness. But if we surrender to Srila Prabhupada and follow his instructions then automatically we will understand all these things and many more…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
pranam prabhuji
Father, is it ok to consider that we as a soul are all feminine ,becoz that helps me a lot to detach myself whenever i get attracted to beautiful boys,pls kindly reply
We are not male or female in the sense of the way you are thinking, the material body.
The thing is that the male is the purusa, the enjoyer, and the female is the prakrti, the enjoyed. So that is the way. In reality none of us living entities are the enjoyer. Only Krishna is the enjoyer and everyone else is enjoyed by Krishna. So that means Krishna is the male [purusa] and we all are prakrit. So you can say ‘female’, but that is not the right idea. The idea is that we are not the enjoyer, we all enjoyed by Krishna.
As far as the male and female bodies that is just maya, illusion. We are not these material bodies at all. And in this life I can be in a male body and in the next life I can be in a female body.
So if you want to control your mind the way to do it is to realize you are not this material body. Not to think that the men are women. That will not help at all. The idea of men and women is all maya, illusion. It is a perverted reflection of the reality of the spiritual world.
So we have to realize that we are not these material bodies and that we are all eternal servants of Krishna. We have to engage these material bodies in the service of Krishna. That is the only way. Krishna consciousness is a practical thing. We have to work for Krishna, we have to use our energy for Krishna, we have to serve Krishna. That is the point.
It all comes down to if we don’t chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, if we don’t strictly follow the four regulative principles and if we don’t read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day, then we are going to remain eternally in maya and we will remain attracted by the beautiful bodies of the opposite sex and that will keep us shackled in this prison of maya eternally.
The only way out is becoming Krishna consciousnes, and that is not thinking that the boys are girls. No. It is understanding the material bodies of everyone are only maya’s illusion. And that is only possible by becoming Krishna conscious. So that is the real solution, and the only solution. Become Krishna conscious. Then all problems will automatically be solved.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I HAV JUST COME BACK FROM A CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE VICAR SAID THAT IF A MAN IS A DRUNKURD HE SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH,,,SO WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE AND SELL ALCHAHOL,SHOULDNT THEY BE PUT TO DEATH ALSO,,,?…NOW, I AM AN ALCHAHOLIC AND ONE OF GODS CHILDREN,,SO SHOULD I BE PUT TO DEATH? I HAVE HAD BOOZE IN MY LIFE FOR MOST OF MY LIFE THANX TO MY FAMILY AND FREINDS AND THE SOCIETY I HAVE LIVED IN,SO IS THAT MY FAULT? I HAVE TRYED TO STOP BUT I AM PHYSICALY DEPENDANT ON IT:::::::I HATE THIS WORLD SO MUCH THAT I DRINK TO NUMB THE PAIN…IS THAT A CRIME? AND EVEN IF I AM PUT TO DEATH FOR SWALLOWING SOME LIQIUD WELL HEY THEN I WILL BE FREE FROM THE DEVILS WORLD….AND IF IF IS GOOD TO KILL ONE OF GODS CHILDREN FOR DRINKING ALCHAHOL WHEN JEHOVAH HIMSELF SAID IT ISNT A CRIME THEN SO BE IT….HOW CAN A VICAR HAVE MORE POWER THAN GOD?
Hare Krishna William. Yes. Drinking is a sin certainly. But really what would be the point of putting drunks to death? That is not the solution to anything. If your child is very sick and suffering and you take him to the doctor and doctor says, “I can immediately stop his suffering by killing him,” then what sort of a doctor is he. He is not a doctor at all, he is murderer. The same goes for your priest. The real business of a priest is to give the people who come to him good advice and guide them in such a way that they become purified and are able to give up all their bad habits like drinking. We all have bad habits, we all perform sinful activities, so if we are to take this philosophy of killing sinners then practically we will have to kill everyone. And what would that achieve? So this idea that your priest is speaking about is complete nonsense.
These days there are a lot of priests and gurus who are completely bogus. They are speaking on their own authority, not simply repeating the messages coming from God. But they do not realise they have no authority to speak like this.
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krishna Himself, in a different mood, appeared in India 500 years ago. Lord Caitanya is described as patita pavana gaura hari, it means He is the friend of the most fallen, the friend of the most sinful. So really, now, to become a devotee, a follower of Lord Caitanya even the biggest sinners are qualified. But on the condition that they agree to give up their sinful ways and engage in the service of Krishna.
There are two things here. One is giving up the sinful activity. But it is not possible to give up these things unless we have something better to take their place. So we need to become attached to Krishna, become attached to chanting Hare Krishna, become attached to serving Krishna, become attached to eating Krishna prasadam. This is the positive side. The more we become attached to Krishna the less we will be attached to maya. So even if we are the most fallen if we simply try to become attached to Krishna under the direction of Krishna’s pure devotee, then automatically we will become detached from all sinful things. This is really the only way to give up completely these addictions like drinking alcohol. We need a higher taste, we have to experience something better, and really the spiritual taste you can experience from serving Krishna is truly amazing. There is no comparison to it in any activity at all in the material world. So we need to get that spiritual taste, and automatically our taste for material things will disappear..
I have been aware of Krishna consciousness since 1967. Srila Prabhupada came to Rochester NY and I met him and some of the Krishnas at that time. I became very serious about it. I was 17. An attempt was made to force me apart from it by school and mom but came back to realizatrion in 1997. No one will ever take away Krishna once he has presented to you. He claims his own. I know about “I am not this body”. I have most of the literature. I have Bhagavad Gita and have read the life of Lord Caitanya and Srimad Bhagvatam. I have read many of the other works of Srila Prabhupada.I have been aware of Krishna since childhood but Maya’s veil is thick and obstructive. It is too much to say. It can only be lived and experienced.
Hari Krishna!
Dear sir,
There are many people around us who make fun of the 80,000 wives of srikrishna and write him opff asa womanizer. There are siddha doctors, who read verses from ancient siddha texts to prove that krishna himself prepared potions called manmada rasayaman to retain his youthfulness and couple with many women on the same day. Out of our inability to retaliate, we keep quiet and listen to all this. What answer do u have for such people?
Hare Krishna Sri Vidya. It is very difficult to understand Krishna. These pastimes of Krishna in the Tenth Canto are very confidential. And mundane men will misunderstand them. The only way they can be understood is by being heard submissively from the lips of a pure devotee. There is really no way these people can understand Krishna. It is not so easy to understand Krishna. When they hear that Krishna had 16,108 wives they will naturally be surprised. But Krishna built each wife a separate palace and in the evening time He entered into each wife’s palace simultaneously. We need to become pure devotees of Krishna and actually not discuss the confidential pastimes of Krishna with these people who can not appreciate them. India is full of “Swamis” discussing Krishna confidential pastimes and turning them into sex literature. So all meaning of spiritual life and Krishna consciousness is lost to these people. It isa gradual process to become Krishna consciousness and if people are to understand Krishna they have to accept the process of saddhana bhakti and follow it. Otherwise you can not convince them by some argument of the true nature of Krishna.
Pranams Madhuvisa prabhu,
Very nice explanation prabhu of the teachings of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita. You nicely explain how Krishna consciousness is a most practical way to take care of our body and soul. We don’t have to neglect our bodily needs niether can we. We need to gradually cultivate the knowledge from the Bhagavad-gita that our soul is us and therefor more important than our body so we must do what we can to keep our soul progressing back to Godhead. And Krishna definitely gives us practical instructions how to do that. Ultimately Prabhupada said the only hope for society as a whole is to be guided by a Krishna conscious national leader, in this way even very foolish people who just don’t care for spiritual life would also make agyata sukrti simply by cooperating with the Krishna conscious king or president. No one would be able to help but make very positive progress back to home back to Godhead.
This is part of the reason Prabhupada stressed mass book distribution and prasadam distribution. Because just a small part of the population becoming Krishna conscious could save the whole future of a nation.
So we desperately need such potent preachers that can convince very influencial people in society to become Krishna consciouse. Because people tend to follow such people like George Harrison did so much even though he wasn’t the strictness model of a ideal vaishnava.
So the power of Krishna conscious propaganda is like this when practiced in the form of public broadcasting of the philosophy and holy names of the Lord. When it is by a very famous person in society. So nothing we do in Krishna consciousness ever goes invane. So in this way we need to study the Bhagavad-gita to understand very scrutinisingly what progresses us on the spiritual path. Ultimately nothing is more potent than just repeating what Prabhupada preached to us. Most importantly the chanting should never stop for ourselves and others on the streets. And distributing Prabhupada’s books is the most powerful way of spreading Krishna’s names and Krishna consciousness.
your eternal servant,
Anubhavananda dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
Your message gives a core idea of the human life and the very purpose of our existence and i do agree with whatever you have said in this article.Its so easy to say, i am not this body. It is also a fact that one has to realize in this birth. But, do we really accept it?? is my question.
The other day, one of my relative passed away.. In a spiritual way, i know that she is no more because the sole has gone out of her body and it takes birth somewhere else as something or somebody else, i mean its the time for the spirit sole to shift itself from the old body to the new one, just like how we change our clothes…is my understanding as i have understood the same from the reading of bhagwad gita…
But, the impact of material entanglement is so much on our life that we just don’t want to accept the reality and keep doing many things recklessly..
Rather than accepting the fact that the sole is eternal, we keep crying in front of the dead… why do we do so, why are we so attached, Is there a way to come out of this? If there, what is that and how one can control the thoughts.. please let me know..
Awaiting for your spiritual support!
Vedavathy..
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.
very true!
Are doing poojas and keeping food in front of krishna’s statue are spiritual progress?
I liked to hear and be reminded of that we aren’t our bodies because as a woman we are trained to believe that only our bodies really matter. I feel accepted or rejected at the slightest weight gain or loss and that is really sad. Sometimes I forget that there is more to me than how I appear to others. I make it a goal to read the Bhagavad Gita every day to nourish my soul.
Thanks for reminding me how important that really is.
Haribol ,Prabhu.
In my younger days when I was fit and healthy and going out on the sankirtana book distribution carrying a bag of Shastras on my shoulder and a pile of books in my hands(I found that carrying a big pile was very effective to impress the public people so they’ll take some books), I took to exercise my inner belly muscles with situps and a method called Pilates. Then an older sankirtan devotee told me to stop and do that as to not get too attach to my body. I did follow his advise. I stopped doing all exersice. So after some years my back and left knee started to hurt a bit.Later after some more years one day my back just gave in and got what the doctors call a prolaps in the lower spine. My left knee got all stiff too. A very painfull and slow healig condition that I still struggle with. I know this is my own karma from the past coming back to me. As it is today,I cannot walk around with anything heavy in my hands, nor can I walk for long on flat roads. I get a bit sad about it sometimes and thinking I should not have listened to that devotee and what he told me even when he was only wishing me well. Than still my muscles would have been strong enough to carry a full grown fat man, not to speak of a pile of books. I have accepted my condition and I am not complaining about it, but I do think about this devotee sometimes and I feel I am making offence when I think like that. Anyway I do regret that I didn’t close my ears only for that certain moment and kept on doing my training thing. So it is important to think for oneself sometimes and not only follow blindly the advice of wellwishers. Krishna has special lessons for everyone in person, no doubt.
Ki Jay . All Glories to Srila Prabhupad.
Jarle
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!
Dear Madhudvisa,
Many thanks for your response on christianity. I see that devotees of Krishna do not consider the whole Bible as revealed scripture, perhaps only parts of it.
Regarding some devotees who live with people who hate everything about Krishna, I think this situation causes anxiety or difficulty on each other and it reminds me what Srila Prabhupada said in the purport for Chapter 12 verse 15 in the Gita that ” no one is put into difficulty, anxiety, fearfulness or disatisfaction by such a devotee”.
Don’t you think that the safer course is to separate if a husband, mother, father, or wife, etc. hates everything about Krishna????
Hare Krishna,
Alex.
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!
Pranam guruji, all glories to our sri. Guru HIS DIVINE GRACE AC BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA MAY YOU ACHIEVE perfection in this life and go back to your home guruji i have one question , is it ok for me to share the book, BHAGAVAT GITA AS IT IS IN PDF FORM ??? Sometimes i feel inferior whn sharing. With them ,i feel lik they are happy without it. I feel lik i am unnecessarily sharing with them,because i am giving them without. Their asking,overall i am feeling inferior pls guruji help me,
Hare Krishna Ananya
Thank you very much for your blessings. I need them very much..
As far as sharing Bhagavad-gita As It Is PDF file, yes, certainly you can share it. But best thing is not just to send it but to first talk with the person about Krishna consciousness and Srila Prabhupada and the Bhagavad-gita and try to get the person to become curious and interested to read the Bhagavad-gita. This is the art of book distribution. Not that we just throw the books out on the street. But we have to talk to the people and try and get them interested in reading the books. And then once you have given someone the PDF then later on you can mention to them if they have started reading and what have they read and what they think about it, etc. It is a nice way to engage in some Krishna katha, talks about Krishna, with them.
So I think there is not so much point of trying to give Prabhupada’s books to people without asking them, without talking to them first. It may be occasionally successful in some very rare cases, but I think generally if you just send someone a PDF file of Gita like this, they will usually not read it. But if you personally talk to them about it and can somehow convince them about the importance of the book and can let them know what sorts of benefits they can get by reading Bhagavad-gita As It Is, etc, then I think many more people that you send the PDF file to will read it. And that is what we want. We want the people to actually read Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
Prabhu it is said that after liberation soul acquires spiritual body but in a conversation prabhupada ji told that we already have a spiritual body covered by material bodies. It is very confusing can u please tell me
Jai jaya prabhupada
HARI bol,RADHA bol
Hare Krishna Abhiram
It is very simple. We have a spiritual body. That is our original spiritual form. But when we come to the material world our spiritual body is covered, first with the subtle body of mind, intelligence and false ego, then with the gross body of earth, water, fire, air and ether. So if we can get rid of these coverings of the gross and subtle material bodies then our original spiritual body is there. Spiritual body is always with us. It is just covered here in the material world.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank you.
Dear Prabhu,
Many thanks for your e-mails. Most of us live in christian countries, wherein preaching the message of Srila Prabhupada becomes a little difficult specially with fundamentalists. Their argument is basically based in many passages of the Bible (New Testament) in which Jesus’ sacrifice is described as the only way to God, or “only Jesus saves”, “Jesus is the way”, “Jesus died for our sins”,etc. He commanded also to spread his message to the whole world (Matt.28:19,20), and that includes of course India.
Srila Prabhupada and some devotees have written more or less on the subject. We can not deny the historical and spiritual influence of Jesus in the whole world even 2009 years after he came to this planet, so I think these are the main reasons why most people do not get interested in “other gospel”.
Anyway, I would like to hear your opinion specifically on the bible passages which claim exclusiveness for Jesus.
Haribol,
Alex.
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!
Thank you for such a thoughful reply! It’s so refreshing to hear the truth that so many Christians have lost the essence of Christ’s message. I also love the way the Krisna movement accepts the teachings of Christ and equates him with Krishna. Jesus was just another incarnation of the divine, wether it be Brahman, God as the christians depict him, or Krisna as his father and the source of his divinity is really not important. What matters is that the origins of these avatars is the Godhead itself and the Godhead can be celibrated in any form.
Hare Krishna Prabhuji
Thanks you for sending mail again
I read it and enjoyed
I waiting next letter
please don’t stop for sending mail
Thanks you very much
hari krishna
i read of your mail i am very thanking you
soory my engish is very poor
Dear Prabhu Madhudvisa Ji,
Hare Krsna!
Many thanks for your wonderful emails regarding B.Gita. May Lord Krsna Always Bless and Guide you to help people at large become Krsna Conscious. I know ISKCON since 11 years but I’m still facing obstacles regarding Bhakti Life because my husband is not 100% Krsna Conscious. I feel happy only in the Loving Service of the Supreme. Sometimes I feel like giving up family life and serve only Krishna. What will you advise me Prabhuji?
Thanks a lot for your help.
God Bless You!
Best & Kind Regards,
Aruna
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.
What if your family is divided? if the wife is a christian and she hates every thing about Krishna, then WHAT the husband should do?
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…
Thanks for your reply.
Dear Madhudvisa all my friends are Atheists and they persist that there is no self and after death there is only eternal oblivion.How could this be?we are taught we have only one Goal as human beings “moksha” from material world but unlike other schools of Hinduism Gaudiya vaishanivism teaches that the final goal of souls who have attained moksha is Vaikunta the eternal abode of Krishna/Vishnu.I chant 1000 names of Vishnu everyday and consider myself a vaishnava but could you please explain me the nature of the spiritual world and the meaning of moksha? Regards. Anubhav
Its very useful prabhu.. thank you prabhuji.. hare krishna
hare om everyboby and everysoul special tanks to Madhudvisa for find time to interact with our soul and to send me back this message which make me think about us body”a car”, and our soul”the driver”livin together on the same planet sharing the same time.We need to callout the driver is in all of us before we can disinstall the autopilot we all equiped with. we all got one driver even if they all come from different position on the universe.i feel the key of success is to reconize us driver and let workout together in armony for all of us.tanks to all yours driver,is very good feeling to drive together.hari om Krishna
hare krishna Madhudvisa dasaji, thanks for the third letter wherein stress has been laid on satisfaction of the soul by being a servitor to lord rather than gratifying our senses.jai shri krishna.
I have actually realize this after analyzing very objectively.Thank you very much for reminding me.Hari om tat sat.
JAI SHRI KRISHNA
Thanks for sending me mails Madhudvisa Dasa JI… Pls sending me mails…
JAI SHRI KRISHNA…….
HARE KRSNA prabhuji.
Thank u so much for sending me mails about BHAGAVAT-GITA.
They r really very interesting and inspiring.
I know abt KC and im trying to follow it.
I came to know abt KC with the help one pure devotee by name vamshi prabhuji who stays at ISKCON temple in Abids.
Im feeling very happy that LORD is showing so much mercy on me.
I will definitely read ur mails daily so that i can advance quickly in KC
very nice explanation about the soul and the body.As you explained, one must feed food to the body to keep healthy,so that we can think about the lord by chanting his nama without thinking about the body needs.In my opinion before we do anything like taking food or even when we start anything in this material world, offer that to the lord and start.
I liked the way you make me understand with a very simple yet very powerful example. I am chanting Mantra not every day on the beads, but almost every day while taking bath and driving my bike towards the office and while coming back from office. It gives me confidence and peace to chant the mantra and what I have felt once I start chanting the name I enjoy it too much. I just cannot stop it, it keeps repeating in my mind and keeps coming back on my Tung. I want to progress more in this direction I please keep guiding me through your newsletters
Hare Krsna
Abhishek bhardwaj
I have been reading the newsletters sent by you regularly that too not once but two-three times. However, I need to know one thing. Can’t the explanation in the article be accompanied with the chapter number and the paragraph/verse number, so that I can also ready that part from the Bagwad Gita that I have with me. I have told you earlier that I have the copy of ‘Bagwat Gita as it is’ both in English and Hindi. It will be of great help. Please do let me know on this.
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.
Dear Sir
The example you have given about the soul and the body is fantastic. It makes me understand precisely about my functions in this world. It is amusing to know that we are not these bodeis. I have come to realize this fact through reading “Bhagavadgita as it is”, also through the teachings of my spiritual teacher. I hope by reading your newsletter I can have more pracatical ways to remember god in all moments of my daily life.
Thank you
Hi,
I completely believed in the analogy so far. However we also have to understand and accept what we experience because what we experience is the real teacher and cant be wrong.
My personal experience has disappointed me and actually says there is nothing like spiritual world. The reason……I prayed a lot to GOD everyday for my mother who was only a little ill. She was just 47 and suddenly passed away in Dec’08 when no one was expecting this to happen. I had earlier gone to Shirdi (I believed in Sai Baba and Hanuman also). As such I have been praying to GOD for last 10-12 years and always believed in what you are saying.
Even my mother did but what result. She couldn’t even see her grand daughter who was also born 20 days before she passed away.
I have some questions: Why did GOD didnt even give her some time to enjoy when it was her time to enjoy especially after my father abandoned us some years back? Why doesnt GOD help people who beg for crust of bread everyday? If duration of life is fixed why do we go to doctors? If we are incarnations why have we forgotten our previous lives? Where are souls and GOD, who has seen them?
I am unable to accept that there is no GOD but this incident actually says that there is nothing as such.
Please help me with above questions.
Thanks and Regards,
Anurag
Dear Anurag,
Indeed it is sad that your mother passed away at a very young age.Kindly note one thing very clearly that this life is very temporary and when death comes nobody will be knowing.In Mahabharath we see the episode of Abhimanu, who is closely related to Krishna, dying at such a young age and in such adharma way.The destinies are fixed we can’t help.
So for everyone death is a thing which cannot be avoided .
This life is meant for realizing that we are not body but “Athma”, the spirit and the body is a means to realize the God, who has created this universe, whole universe.
Krishna says in the Bhaghavat Gita, You surrender to me, I will take care of you. Taking care includes evrything. We should have undeterred faith in Him.While praying if we keep on asking for fulfillment of desires, for satisfying our senses, there is no end to our miseries because desires do keep on increasing.
Leave everything to God and we should come to stage when we say we live for Krishna and our life is to get His mercy, then automatically all miseries even if are present, they will not bother us. Practically we will not care for the materialistic things in such conditioned minds. Because we take everything as the mercy shown by God.
Pl start to realize why God has given this body to us? Is it for eating, drinking and enjoying? or something else.
Hare Krishna,
Your Servant
Athidena Krishna Dasa
How effective is chanting the Mahamanthra in the fast approaching Golden Age ?Is it as effective as silent meditation ,the awakening of the third eye ?
Hare Krishna,
Thanks for your E-mail,
The example given by you of motorcar for explaining the needs of body & needs of soul(Atma) is very appropriate & very convincing.It is the simplest way that you have explained that food of body & food of soul is different.
To maintain the physical fitness of body one needs to nurture the body. While nurturing the body one should not forget soul of the body & it needs also to be nurtured by doing spiritual activities daily & consistantly.
It is also important that one should do spiritual activities without putting ahead any material desires.Simplest Spiritual activity is to surrender completely to Krishna & do remember krishna every moment,pray him regularly without asking any faours from him.
well.
We first need to recognize and realize by continuously practicing the truth in our life.
The truth is “I am the Spirit-Soul and not this body”.
Also the Spirit is self contained and has no need. If we start living with the self instead of the body we will really experience this truth.
If we can realize this truth we will never follow the body nor the world.
When you look at a dish you liked so much, you will not be attracted since you will be aware of the truth that you are not the body but you are the spirit soul.
You are completely filled. There is no want or desire for the spirit soul since you are unlimited just as god.
You are entire and part of the GOD.
You will truly live with the self if you start practicing this.
Hare 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!
It is very easy to say I am not this body, but we have to realize that we are not this body, We are really spirit soul.
When the whole world is revolving around enjoying the body, to become realized that i am not this body and stay in that consciousness all the time is not so easy.
It is only possible when we become Perfect in our chanting of Hare Krishna Mantra and by the grace of Sri Guru and the mercy of Sri chaitanya Mahaprabhu, that we can realize, i am not this body and stay in that consciousness all the time.
Somehow if we can come to this point of realization that i am not this body, then it is a great achievement on the path back home–Back to godhead.
How can it be said that God and Jiva are one ? Where does that oneness come from ? At one point we are limited to the activities of the body …. But if I start thinking then also my mind is limited to the imagination of the world … What is the space and darkness which I see when I close my eyes ? Why do I see light only when I open my eyes ? U can’t call that darkness inside my eyes as ignorance as I get many ideas to get along in the world or you may …. but I need explanation …
HARE KRSNA
Gayathry
Right you are as usual. If you look at all the worldly books out there, you will see the tendency to force the body to give you as much pleasure as you can squeeze out. There are many books out there on improving sex life, seduction, etc. Even the “good” self improvement books, though they may contain some gold, have this general tendency and don’t include God in the process of self improvement.
I think that the main key to success is, of course, Lord Krishna. We must endeavor to practice Brahmacharya in our personal lives and become examples to society. This can be done if we regulate our lives around Krishna by chanting His name, reading His words, and serving Him.
Hare Krsna
It is abstract though the end is justified. what do you advice those who have committed mistakes when they fail to check the doings related to the body? i have read that maya is strong. how is one suppose to move on when all he thinks is guilt
thank you
If one is able to realize that one has committed mistakes that realization will prevent him or her from committing those mistakes again .Look forward to life and think of making our self strong enough to get over the feeling of guilt.If we cannot take care of our body and ourselves then ask yourself, who you can take care of .
Hi JAIGURUDEVA(HARE KRISHNA).Forget all the mistakes which u have made before.U came to know that I had done a mistake.At that time u dont know that u r doing the mistakes,that means u have mixed up with it.But now u came to know that this is a mistake.So by this u can understand that u are differenr from it.So from now onwords forget all the things which u have done and be sharanam(surrender)to one and only god.It is really true which has been told by Lord SRI KRISHNA in “bagavat-gita-18th adyayam,66th slokam” “sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah”.This is the true words told by Lord Krishna.So we should not fear for the things which happened sofar.From now onwards we should not do such things and always we should surrender(saranam) to god.
your suggestion more observe thankyou
Loved the analogy. Thanks.
hare krsna danvat pranam prabhu m glad for u that u takin trouble for reviving the fallen soul by given ur mercy thank u
regarding the above verse i agreed with u that we r the spirit soul and the body is material, this body belongs to this material world and we spirit soul r part and parcel of super soul that is krsna himself this body is like driver (soul)siting in a car(body) we have to maintain this body to spread hare krsna movement worldwide. we r maintaining this body by various material ways,,
jai radhe……….
Hare krishna .
prabhu g…..
thanx for enlightning me. you are absolutely right , we
are waisting our energy to maintain our body . we r just maintaing the car but not the driver..
thank you very much…
Hare Krishna