The Spiritual World — And how to get there
Hare Krishna
All the newsletters so far are coming from the introduction to Bhagavad Gita As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada which, if you do not have, you can get from here. Also I have recorded the introduction to Bhagavad Gita and if you would like to listen to it you can do that here. I am just giving some main points and a summary, there is a lot more information in the book, so please read the book also.
Krishna means the highest pleasure:
Krishna means the highest pleasure. We are all hankering after pleasure. We, the living entities, like Krishna, are full of consciousness, and we are looking for happiness.
Krishna is perpetually happy, and if we associate with Krishna and cooperate with Him we will also become happy.
Krishna descends to this material world to show His pastimes in Vrndavana, which are full of happiness. When Lord Sri Krishna was in Vrndavana, His activities with His cowherd boy friends, with the gopis, with the inhabitants of Vrndavana and with the cows were all full of happiness. The total population of Vrndavana knew nothing but Krishna.
The purpose of Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan on this planet is so we can see such wonderful pastimes of Krishna and therefore come to understand something of what life in the spiritual world, the abode of Krishna, will be like when we go there.
The Spiritual World:
Krishna gives a description of the eternal sky in Bhagavad Gita: “That abode of Mine is not illuminated by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. And anyone who reaches it never comes back to this material world.” (Bg. 15.6)
This verse gives a description of that eternal spiritual sky. We have a material conception of the sky, and we think of it in relationship to the sun, moon, stars and so on, but in this verse the Lord states that in the eternal sky there is no need for the sun nor for the moon nor fire of any kind because the spiritual sky is already illuminated by the brahmajyoti, the rays emanating from the Supreme Lord.
Krishna resides eternally in His abode in the spiritual sky on a planet called Goloka, yet He can be approached from this world, and to this end He comes and manifests His real form in Vrindavan and performs wonderful pastimes there.
When Krishna manifests this form, there is no need for our imagining what He looks like. To discourage such imaginative speculation, He descends and exhibits Himself as He is, as Syamasundara. Unfortunately, the less intelligent deride Him because He comes as one of us and plays with us as a human being. But because of this we should not consider that Krishna is one of us. It is by His potency that He presents Himself in His real form before us and displays His pastimes, which are prototypes of those pastimes found in His abode.
In the effulgent rays of the spiritual sky there are innumerable planets floating. The brahmajyoti emanates from the supreme abode, Krsnaloka, and the anandamaya-cinmaya planets, which are not material, float in those rays. The Lord says, “One who can approach that spiritual sky is not required to descend again to the material sky.”
How to travel to the spiritual sky:
In the material sky, even if we approach the highest planet (Brahmaloka), what to speak of the moon, we will find the same conditions of life, namely birth, death, disease and old age. No planet in the material universe is free from these four principles of material existence. Therefore the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita that the living entities are traveling from one planet to another, not by mechanical arrangement but by a spiritual process. No mechanical arrangement is necessary if we want interplanetary travel.
Bhagavad-gita informs us how to travel to the higher planetary systems (devaloka) with a very simple formula: yanti deva-vrata devan. One need only worship the particular demigod of that particular planet and in that way go to the moon, the sun or any of the higher planetary systems.
Yet Bhagavad-gita does not advise us to go to any of the planets in this material world because even if we go to Brahmaloka, the highest planet in the material world, through some sort of mechanical contrivance by maybe traveling for forty thousand years (and who would live that long?), we will still find the material inconveniences of birth, death, disease and old age. But one who wants to approach the supreme planet, Krsnaloka, or any of the other planets within the spiritual sky, will not meet with these material inconveniences.
Amongst all of the planets in the spiritual sky there is one supreme planet called Goloka Vrndavana, which is the original planet and the abode of the original Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna. All of this information is given in Bhagavad-gita, and we are given through its instruction information how to leave the material world and begin a truly blissful life in the spiritual sky.
Who can reach the spiritual planets?
The spiritual world can be reached by one who is nirmana-moha. What does this mean? We are after designations. Someone wants to become Lord, someone wants to become the president or a rich man or a king or something else. As long as we are attached to these designations, we are attached to the body because designations belong to the body. But we are not these bodies, and realizing this is the first stage in spiritual realization. We are associated with the three modes of material nature, but we must become detached through devotional service to the Lord. If we are not attached to devotional service to the Lord, then we cannot become detached from the modes of material nature. Designations and attachments are due to our lust and desire, our wanting to lord it over the material nature. As long as we do not give up this propensity of lording it over material nature, there is no possibility of returning to the kingdom of the Supreme, the sanatana-dhama. That eternal kingdom, which is never destroyed, can be approached by one who is not bewildered by the attractions of false material enjoyments, who is situated in the service of the Supreme Lord. One so situated can easily approach that supreme abode.
How can we get to the Spiritual World?
Next, one may raise the question of how one goes about approaching that abode of the Supreme Lord. Information on this is given in the Eighth Chapter of Bhagavad Gita. It is said there: “Anyone who quits his body, at the end of life, remembering Me, attains immediately to My nature; and there is no doubt of this.” (Bg. 8.5)
One who thinks of Krishna at the time of his death goes to Krishna. One must remember the form of Krishna; if he quits his body thinking of this form, he approaches the spiritual kingdom. One who leaves this body thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at once attains a spiritual body, as is promised in the fifth verse of the Eighth Chapter where Lord Krishna says, “He attains My nature.”
This life is a preparation for the next life. If we can prepare, therefore, in this life to get promotion to the kingdom of God, then surely, after quitting this material body, we will attain a spiritual body just like the Lord.
Therefore at the end of life the devotees think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. And because he is in personal touch with the Supreme Lord, he enters into the Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual sky. The Lord further adds that of this “there is no doubt.
” This must be believed firmly.
We should not reject that which does not tally with our imagination; our attitude should be that of Arjuna: “I believe everything that You have said.” Therefore when the Lord says that at the time of death whoever thinks of Him as Brahman or Paramatma or as the Personality of Godhead certainly enters into the spiritual sky, there is no doubt about it. There is no question of disbelieving it.
The information on how to think of the Supreme Being at the time of death is also given in the Gita: “In whatever condition one quits his present body, in his next life he will attain to that state of being without fail.” (Bg. 8.6)
So we can remember Krishna at the time of death we must always engage our minds in reading the Vedic literatures like Bhagavad Gita As It Is and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Just as materialists engage their minds in reading newspapers, magazines and so many materialistic literatures, we must transfer our reading to these literatures which are given to us by Vyasadeva; in that way it will be possible for us to remember the Supreme Lord at the time of death. That is the only way suggested by the Lord, and He guarantees the result: “There is no doubt.” (Bg. 8.7)
“Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me, and at the same time you should continue your prescribed duty and fight. With your mind and activities always fixed on Me, and everything engaged in Me, you will attain to Me without any doubt.
”
Thank you for reading this newsletter. I am looking forward to the next one which I think may be called “Do I have to give up my occupation to serve Krishna?”
Your servant
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!
Related Posts
Who is Krishna? →
Following the Path of the Gopis →
Srila Prabhupada Addresses The World Health Organization →
Hare Krishna!
What exactly do we have to do to get into lord Krishna’s Goloka Vrindavan? And will our consciousness be there in the spiritual realm? I have recently started worshipping Krishna and I realised that no one is greater than lord Krishna. Nothing matches his grace and his blessings is blissful. I have been ignoring god for quite a long time. But after realising who Lord Krishna is, what he’s capable of. I am very well awared of his capabilities and want to completely surrender myself to lord Krishna. But i am still struggling a bit to understand what should I do in order to gain his consciousness. I am 21yo and I have decided to become a devotee of Krishna. I have also decided that when i am done with my duties i will leave everything and join any ashram or isckon and completely devote my time in worshipping Krishna.
Read Srila Prabhuapada’s books. He has answered all your questions already there.
In material world one gets the chance to go to krsna loka only through human form of life, so my question is how did the animal like cows, or birds and bees got there in spiritual planet?
Very good question. Animals have no ability to directly go to the spiritual world. They may go, sometimes, by the mercy of a pure devotee. Ramananda Raya had a dog he was very attached to who got the mercy of Lord Caitanya who went back directly to the spiritual world. So it can happen sometimes, by the mercy of Krishna or His pure devotee. But general rule is the animals are all gradually evolving to higher levels of consciousness. So each time the animal takes birth he does so in a body with a higher level of consciousness. In this way the spirit souls are gradually evolving in the 8,400,000 species of life, gradually reaching the human form of life.
There are 3 animals, in the three modes of material nature, whose next birth is human. In the mode of goodness, the cow, next birth is human, in the mode of passion, the monkey, next birth is human, and in the mode of ignorance, the lion, next birth is human.
So animals gradually evolve from one birth to the next and eventually reach the human form of life. And in the human form of life, although we also have the base animal instincts of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, we also have the ability to question, “Why am I here?”, “What is the purpose of life?” So it is when these questions arise in a thoughtful person and he seeks the answers that one actually reaches the human platform of life.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank you for your answer, I understand what you explained but I was enquiring about the animals who are there in heavenly planets like elephant Indra travels on it and surabi cows in spiritual sky, peacocks, birds and bees that’s mentioned in srimad bhagavatam.
Everyone has their own eternal relationship with Krishna. So the animals in the spiritual world, they are all serving Krishna, and that is their eternal relationship with Krishna. That is how they want to serve Krishna. There are an infinite number of living entities and they have different relationships with Krishna and want to serve Krishna in different ways.
Hare Krishna
I am 19 yo bhakt of Krishna as long as I can remember. I have even heard sudden voices in my conscience which I don’t understand how did I hear. Once I asked Lord why don’t you come on earth for me? I heard a voice in my mind : “You have been growing up in my lap even till now but you just don’t recognise it. ” This was followed by an immense peace which I felt. I am sure that this was Lord Krishna’s voice which I could hear because I keep him in my Heart.
Well that’s not what I wanted to say.
My question is that out of all the organisms on earth, we humans are the only organisms who worship God. So do the animals exit the cycle if birth and death without worshiping God? Don’t they have a right to exit this cycle? Is is necessary that one needs to be in Human form to exit the cycle of birth and death?
Yes. It is only in the human form of life that we have the chance to worship Krishna and thereby exit the cycle of birth and death. Therefore the birth as a human being is very rare and very fortunate and a very great opportunity. So we have to make full use of this human form of life for that purpose. To worship Krishna and thereby end the cycle of repeated birth and death and go back home, back to Godhead, to Krishna in the spiritual world.
As far as the animals they have no higher consciousness. Animals can not ask the questions, “Why am I here?” “What is the purpose of life?”, etc. All the animals can do is struggle for existence and try to satisfy their basic animal instincts as much as possible. The basic animal desires are eating, sleeping, mating and defending and if you study the behaviour of any animal their every action is motivated by an attempt to fulfil one of these desires. Some animals have developed quite elaborate systems to enable them to eat, sleep mate and defend, so it is not that animals do not have intelligence. They have intelligence, they think, they feel and they will, but they are unable to go beyond trying to satisfy these four basic animal demands.
The human form of life is different, special. Because in the human form of life, although we do share these basic animal needs of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, we have the additional benefit of being able to question our existence and our purpose. And we have the ability to worship Krishna. So that is actually the purpose of human life. To make an end to this cycle of birth and death, to realize we are not these material bodies but are spirt souls, eternal servants of Krishna who have forgotten Krishna, who have forgotten our purpose. It is our business to reestablish our eternal relationship with Krishna and the easiest and only practical way of achieving this in Kali-yuga is by chanting:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
If we don’t do this, if we simply live like animals, just trying to improve our facilities for eating, sleeping, mating and defending, although we may be able to do these things in far greater opulence than the animals, the dog is having sex on the street, we build a very beautiful house and have sex in that, but the business is the same animal business: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. So if we live like this, for eating, sleeping, mating and defending we are dwi-pada-asu “Two-legged animals,” we are no better than the animals. And because we waste our human lives living like animals we will loose this great chance of the human form of life and in our next life be forced to again take birth among the animals like the cats, dogs, monkeys and hogs.
So we have to be very careful to not waste even a second of this very valuable human form of life.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
As I’m reading Srila Prabhupada’s books more and more I’m realizing that all my questions are getting answered in Srila Prabhupada’s books. So you might not have to answer too many questions from me now. But I will keep coming here. This is the online spiritual world. Thanks many times for creating it.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Hari Hari bol!
hare krishna prabhuji
i am a krishna devotee trying to follow the path of vaktiyoga. my questions is:
1. is there any seniority and juniority in the spiritual world. How seva are maintained there.
2. why krishna has created us a tiny soul for which we have this chance of coming in this material world. isn’t it would be better to creat us in such way so that maya can’t grasp us.
waiting eagerly for ur answer.
yours servant always
pijush karmakar
Hare Krishna Pijush
Service is equal, so Krishna appreciates all service equally, Krishna does not see the service of the ant any less than the service of the greatest King. Krishna does not make such distinctions. But everyone is different, so yes, in the spiritual world there are different personalities and everyone is cooperatively serving Krishna there, which means there is organization and service there. We are servants eternally. So it means we will always be serving a master, so the point of Krishna consciousness is to surrender to Krishna and serve Krishna, the greatest master. But we will always be servants, eternally. We will never be independent. Our only independence is to choose who is our master, and the only choices we have are maya [illusion] or Krishna.
Krishna has not created us. We are eternally parts and parcels of Krishna. As Krishna is unborn and ever-existing, so are we, as parts and parcels of Krishna, unborn and ever-existing. So we have a little independence. We can choose if we want to serve Krishna or serve maya, so if we choose to serve maya we are sent here to the material world to suffer until we come to our senses and decided to surrender to Krishna.
Our relationship with Krishna is based on love, so for love there has to be the independence of the lover to choose to not love Krishna. So we have got that independence, we can choose not to serve Krishna, not to love Krishna. But in reality we can never be separated from Krishna, we are eternally parts and parcels of Krishna, so Krishna, by His great mercy, has created this material world and maya, the potency that enables us to forget Krishna and our relationship with Him and which gives us the illusion that we can be happy by sense gratification, separate from Krishna. But this is only an illusion. We can only be happy by surrendering to and serving Krishna.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna prabhuji,
I am a student of class 11 I am currently preparing for competitive exams and I want to serve Krishna also but I am not able to manage time. If I do it in my free time like in class other students make fun of me(chanting). Even my parents advise me to study only and do it when I become old. I am also not able to score good marks in tests as I always get distracted. I am facing a lot of problems right now. Can you suggest me what should I do?
I feel like only to serve Krishna not study as they are quite boring to me other than some specific topics.
Please help me.
Thank you
Hare Krishna
Just complete your studies and keep chanting Hare Krishna.
Thank you prabhuji I will definitely do what you have advised to me.
Hare Krishna
HARI BOL PRABHU MADHUDVISA DASA.
TODOS LAS GLORIAS SEAN PARA SRILA PRABHUPADA Y LOS DEVOTOS REUNIDOS.
EXCELENTE TEMA. PRECIOSA PÁGINA. HAY MUCHÍSIMA INFORMACIÓN.
TU SIRVIENTE Y SIRVIENTE PARADHARMAdas
I am 16 year old and I want to read Bhagwad Gita.There are various books available in market and I am confused which one should I refer.Can you suggest one please.
Yes. Only Bhagavad-gita you should read is Srila Prabhupada’s original Bhagavad-gita As It Is:
https://krishnastore.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-with-bonus-dvd-h-krishna-407.html
Sir i have no japa mala.it is very difficult for me to count.when i try to count my focus goes to counting. So i chant almost all the time I am awake without counting. Is it wrong. Kindly reply.
It is ok but get japa mala and count on it up to 16 rounds and then just keep on chanting Hare Krishna all the time without counting after that.
The problem is when we don’t count we often think we are chanting more than we actually are. So just get the japa mala and chant on it up to 16 rounds, then you will be sure you have chanted at least 16 rounds, and then just keep on chanting Hare Krishna without the mala.
I am falling in love with lord Krishna again and again. When I was a kid I used to read poems about Krishna and it made me fall in love with him and wanting to see him after I leave this material world. Then I grew up and got engaged in different aspects of life in this material world, as it is natural for all of us. But now I am again falling in love with him even more and I think lore Krishna himself is showing me the way to his spiritual world. I really wish I can see him after I get free from this body and serve him with all my hearts. Hare Krishna!!!!!! Radhekrishna!!!!!!!!
Hare krishna, now these days we are seeing that teenagers and also adults are busy with their boyfriend /girlfriend, hours of talk, girl make friendships with the boy and boy make friendship with the girl as the name of friend, they all say that they are my friend, so is it okay to do friendship with girl and talk freely
If you want to talk to a girl try and find one you can talk to about Krishna. Of course girl/boy talking is all about sex. And sex is the shackles that maya binds us to the material world with. So if you want to be bound to the material world and suffer birth, death, old age and disease eternally over and over again perpetually then sure, waste your life by talking to as many girls as you want to. But if you are intelligent. If you understand you are not this material body but the spirit soul within the body, and that satisfying the senses of your body will never satisfy you. That you require spiritual satisfaction. And that spiritual satisfaction is only available through Krishna consciousness. Then try to become Krishna conscious instead.
Tq so much for Enlightening me with ur thoughts and knowledge u r doing good pls continue this work it may help some morals like me
For living one needs to earn money but when we take up job there are so many things which starts dictating you that you loose track of where you began…That’s Maya but it’s influence is very powerful but one needs to earn money for living so how one can stay undisturbed
Are there marriages on spiritual planets also
Hare Krishna Abhinav
There may be some marriages in the spiritual world but this is not a very important thing in the spiritual world. In the material world we are very anxious to get married to have sex. But in the spiritual world they have no interest in sex. In the spiritual world all the residents are attached to serving Krishna. So there is no marriage in the spiritual world as it exists in the material world, as an arrangement for sex. But there are males and females in the spiritual world so males and females come together in the spiritual world to glorify Krishna, to serve Krishna. So some male and female in the spiritual world may live together, but their purpose, their pleasure, is in serving Krishna. They have no interest in sex.
Srila Prabhupada writes in a 1969 letter to one of his disciples: “In God’s creation there is male and female even in the spiritual world and there is purpose for such creation. This purpose is so that male and female may join together, not for sex-life, but to glorify the Lord. From Srimad-Bhagavatam we learn that in Vaikuntha the women are much more beautiful in their figure, smiling, dressing, etc., but the men and women there are so much attracted by the chanting of Hare Krsna that they do not get any sex impulse even by intimate mingling. Here also we sometimes get very good example, because when our nice boys and girls are dancing together in chanting Hare Krsna at least for that time they forget all about the sex impulse. This is perfection of life, to be so much attracted to Krsna that all insignificant pleasures are utterly forgotten.”
Thanks but only under supervision as due to this understanding in reality many girls became victim and their life’s got destroyed so there is immense risk one must not forget that this is material world and in absence of real guru it can become hippi..Land
True
HARE KRISHNA PRABHUJI
What should be our aim?
To enter into Goloka Vrindavan or to render devotional service only to please Lord Krishna?
Aim is to be engaged in devotional service to Krishna and Srila Prabhupada 24 hours a day. There is no way of getting to Goloka Vrindavan unless you do this anyhow.
To chant as many rounds of mahamatra so as to become eligible that God and guru recommends for our journey to back to God head as there is proper spiritual process for jivas..To bring them back to godhead
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa,
Krishna gives a description of the eternal sky in Bhagavad Gita: “That abode of Mine is not illuminated by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. And anyone who reaches it never comes back to this material world.” (Bg. 15.6)
But I read it somewhere that whenever souls from the Spiritual world rebel against Krishna, they are sent back to this earth which is like a prison. I wonder why would liberated souls who are enjoying the metropolis of joy and happiness in Goloka Vrindavan, the spiritual sky of Krishna, desire to come back to this earth of suffering? I guess, even the remotest idea of rebelling against Krishna would be out of question.
Would you please clarify this point? Or may be, souls who rebel against Krishna belong to some other planets of the demi gods?
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna <3
It is the nature of the spirit souls that we are small and Krishna is great. It is our nature to fall down. So we can fall down from any situation, even in the spiritual world. But the verse in the Gita says that once we have come to the material world and again revived our Krishna consciousness and gone back to Godhead then we do not again return to the material world.
Most of the living entities have never been to the material world and never dream of coming here. This material world is like a prison house, most of the citizens of the state never go to the prison, never dream of going there, and never have anything to do with the prison. But if some intelligent person somehow ends up in the prison and suffers a great deal then on getting free from the prison he never goes back to the prison again.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna. I would like to know if someone wants to have a specific relationship with krsna, will krsna grant that desire? Example, if a devotee wishes to be a cowherd boyfriend of krsna, does he have to act in that manner that the cowherd boys treat krsna, in order for krsna to grant his wish??? Thankyou Haribol.
Hare Krishna Ramseva
We all already have an eternal relationship with Krishna, in the material world it is covered. There is no question of acting. Our original relationship with Krishna is already there, it simply has to be uncovered. And that uncovering process is chanting Hare Krishna and engaging in pure devotional service under the direction of a pure devotee of Krishna. So do not worry about these things. They are not to be imagined and there is no question of developing a relationship with Krishna, we already have a relationship with Krishna, it is covered now, we just have to uncover it.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Prabhu! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Today, I felt like contacting you and say thank you for all the emails you have sent in the past, are sending, or will send in future and for all these wonderful websites krishna.org, prabhupadabooks.com, krishnaconnect.com. All glories to your service! They really had a profound influence on me. I have been chanting 16 rounds of Hare Krishna daily and following the regulative principles, and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books an hour daily. I am currently in Sixth Canto, Part 2 of Srimad Bhagavatam. I also read Krsna book now at evenings. Srila Prabhupada’s books are so nice and transcendental and you have kindly provided us the access to the original books.
I starting reading them while at my college at engineering. I am at home now with my parents (I am the only child), with whom I do evening kirtana daily, although they are worldly and see TV and all, and not very much interested in KC, but affectionate to me. For a job, I am now thinking of doing further studies and PhD to hopefully become a college professor. I really hate to do this, because scientific research is not something Prabhupada appreciated (scientists are rascals), but at the present moment, I am not able to get a decent job (less time/energy consuming) in my field of study without devoting higher studies. Any money I get in my life, I certainly plan to engage in the service of Srila Prabhupada, Krishna, and His devotees.
You probably have seen my postings at KrishnaConnect.com. When I read Prabhupada’s books, I feel nice to post the much-needed information in them for everyone. Do you have to say anything about my posts or any improvements on that and should I continue this?
I am very much fallen and am yet to come to the other, standard practices of devotees. It is really hard to do that without physical devotee association these days! I wish I would be able to render more service. Do you have any other suggestions for me?
Please send me your blessings.
Thank you,
Hare Krishna.
Sarnaduti
Thank you very much. Although I already have Bhagabad Gita As It Is, your newsletter are very useful to me.
Hare Krishna!
I get a little confused about some wording for the spiritual home planet of Krsna. Is it Goloka, Krsnaloka, Param Padam, Vaikuntha? Can someone please clarify the precise distinction?
“Krishna resides eternally in His abode in the spiritual sky on a planet called Goloka”
“The supreme planet, Krsnaloka”
Amongst all of the planets in the spiritual sky there is one supreme planet called Goloka Vrndavana
There are different names… Krishnaloka is Krishna’s planet, Vaikunthaloka refers to the many planets of the Visnu expansions of Krisha. Please read Srila Prabhupada’s books. All these things are elaborately explained by Srila Prabhupada. Please read his books…
Take Lord Krishnas photograph, meditate on his heart on left side and then on your heart. You get answer to your question, it happens in a flash, enhance your listening skills. Only then you will Connect with Him or any pious soul on the earth. God bless you
“How do I give up my dharma to serve Krishna?”
I have completed reading Bhagavad Gita As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Your dharma is to serve Krishna. I think you need to read Bhagavad-gita again. The answer to your question is there in the gita. The idea is to give up all the false dharmas and accept our eternal dharma, that is serving Krishna. How to do it? Read Bhagavad-gita again, then read all of Srila Prabhupada’s other books. Everything is in Srila Prabhupada’s books.
“How do I give up my family and occupation to serve Krishna?”
You have misunderstood everything. You don’t have to give up your family and occupation to serve Krishna. You can serve Krishna in any status of life. There is no need to change your situation. Simply serve Krishna in your current situation. Chant Hare Krishna. You can chant Hare Krishna anywhere. Follow the regulative principles, you can do that anywhere. Read Srila Prabhupada’s books, you can do that anywhere. And whoever you meet talk to them about Krishna. You can do that anywhere. So there is no need to give up your family and occupation. Just stay with your family and in your occupation and become Krishna conscious there.
Harekrishna guru ji.
I want to know . What is a ghost?how they formed? How they differ from good souls and why they are formed? And also how are they connected with the supreme lord? How are they related with the lord?
Hare Krishna
We have three bodies: gross body made of earth, water, air, fire, ether and subtle body made of mind, intelligence and false ego, and spiritual body which is the spirit soul. We are actually the spirit soul and in the material world the spirit soul is covered by the subtle body and the gross body. So a ghost is a spirit soul who does not have a material body. He is still in the material world and still has a subtle body of mind, intelligence and false ego, but he does not have a gross material body.
Someone can become a ghost if they die untimely. It is common for persons who get murdered, for example, to become ghosts. Or people who are very attached to the material world, they may hang around as ghosts for some time after their material body dies.
There is no difference in a ghost and any other spirit soul. They are identical. The only difference is consciousness. A spiritually advanced soul will not be attached to anything in the material world so he will not become a ghost. But a materialist, because of his material attachment, has the tendency to become a ghost.
Hare Krishna guru ji
Many thanks for the emails received recently.I am happy to say I am finding every bits of Lord Krishna very awekaning.
I fee I have missed many years of my existence living in the Unknown .i don’t have question to ask at the moment,but with times and more reading I will be more
aware ,then I will in a position to ask questions
Sir,actually I shared my experience which was happened (jan,2013)in Hyderabad, before that ,I read Vichitra Ramayana (written in Telugu,by Narasimhadevara Umamaheswara Sastri),
Books read by me
1.SatyaShodhana(An Autobiography of Gandhi),in Telugu(2008)
2.Yuvatha Meluko(swami vivekananda)in 2009
3.complete story of Swamy vivekananda(some partsof his life,-started studying from 2009to till now,)
Sir,is it true still asuras are on the earth,?
Sir, now I have Bhagavad-Gita As it is, as a gift presented by my friend,
Hare Krishna
Please read Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. That is very important for you. Please read it carefully right away.
Yes. There are plenty of asuras on the earth still. Sura means godly and asura means non-godly. So there are so many non-godly people. In fact most of the people are asuras at the moment…
Thank you so very much for your “free hugs” in Soho Square London. I am always provided with what I need in this world and the hugs came at a moment when they where very much appreciated. The gentle touch and kind words of the gentle man I met were a ray of sunshine. Thank you, be happy. James x
Hare krishna sir..Is traveling possible from one planet to another in Vaikuntha???
Hare Krishna Jatin
Anything is possible. But why would you want to travel away from Vaikuntha?
But yes. If you want to travel away from Vaikuntha you can. You can even come back to the material world from Vaikuntha if you want to, even though that is not a very good idea…
HARE KRISHNA. I am enjoying your post together with this one that says the spiritual world and how to get there please explain how can some one will be properly situated in the service of supreme lord and how many times in a day can we think of krishna because death can come at any time
The idea of Krishna consciousness is to remember Krishna always, 24 hours a day. This is because, as you say, death can come at any time. The way to always remember Krishna 24 hours a day is very scientifically explained by Srila Prabhupada in his books so please read them and learn how to do it…
Hare Krishna
I am living in India,Mumbai
I want to share my experience about lord shree krishna. I am automatically attracted towards lord shree Krishna from past 3 years.Infact I do not have any godly parents or family.From last 3 years it’s been like miracle if I used to make a wish or if I want to want a certain thing it used to be completed.And i have been reading Srila prabhupada books since 1 month and those books gives me a lot of knowledge about lord shree Krishna and his beautiful pastimes and also devotion and I am doing devotion and loving lord shree Krishna from my true heart .I have been automatically been contact with Srila prabhupada and his wonderful teachings.I really don’t know that how i am attracted towards devotional service of lord shree Krishna and his great teachings.I only know that it his only by his Grace that i have received this holy knowledge and devotion.
Hare Krishna
Jay prabhupada ji
Very informative, grateful to have read this.
Hare krishna!!! I really enjoyed the article
Thank you so much for the newsletters and the wonderful things you had shared. May i know how could i approach directly to Madhudvisa dasa? Earlier i tried to email but the delivery failed. I would be really grateful if i could connect to you more personally. Thank you for reading this comment of mine.
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna
Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
You can post questions here and I can answer. That is the only way to contact me.
Dear all Sri Krishna devotees
Hare Krishna
Lord Krishna has already illuminated our life with Guru like Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhu to bring the entire human race into krishna consciousness.
No need to debate just chant the mahamantra in melodious voice and you will get revived from within. Just keep this practice and you will experience Lord Krishna will guide us in this material world till our journey to the supreme personality of God head Goloka.
Just keep on enjoying the chant of the mahamantra in melodious voice every day
Hare krishna prabhu
I have a doubt if you don’t mind answering then may I ask
“illuminated by the brahmajyoti, the rays emanating from the Supreme Lord.”
Means the spiritual world is illuminated by effulgence coming from krishna only?
I was under the impression that everything in the spiritual world is effilgent , so everything in spiritual world is responsible for this effulgence and krishna is the Supreme Lord of course.
Your humble servant
Yes. But everything is a part of Krishna…
Yes prabhu everything is there in the books indeed!
“energy and energetic are the same”
Poojya Swaiji, I am responding to the discourse of Poojya Madhudvisa dasa on Srimadbhagavadgita. A series of writ-ups sent to me by swamiji over the week. The lectures of swamiji are highly intelligible.
In this respect, I want to ask swamiji, what sort of religious routine that I have to follow/practise in order to become a Jeevanmuktha, in the very present lifetime?
Hare Krishna Madan
We are following in the footsteps of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and for a serious study of the subject matter we humbly request that you make a study of the books of Srila Prabhupada. You will find all the details you are looking for there.
But briefly we are not just looking to become liberated [jivanmukta] We want to engage in the service of Krishna. Which is beyond the platform of liberation.
When you think of liberation, that is OK, liberation from the modes of material nature, liberation from the material world, liberation from the anxieties, problems, etc. But that is OK, we become liberated. And then what?
So Krishna consciousness is about what is after liberation. And that is engagement in the loving devotional service of Krishna. And this is a big subject upon which Srila Prabhupada has written many books to explain it. So I recommend you read the books for finding all the details. But the beginning of this process is chanting the Hare Krishna maha 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] and of course reading Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Jai Radhe!!
I have a don’t.why there so many Sampradayas in Sanatan Dharma.Why many spiritual leaders does not consider Krishna as the ultimate reality?
Why people are running either for mukti or bhukti and for Krishna. Why would God created us out of himself if he wants us to merge again with in him? How can I become Krishna Conscious and make others too. Why everyone is trying to become Shiva when Shiva himself is trying to become Gopi….?
Hare Krishna Subhodeep
The material world is full of cheaters. Outside of Srila Prabhupada today it is very difficult to find anyone who is not self-interested. So self-interested persons preach with some idea of getting personal gain. They have a motive. So they do not present the truth.
The truth is that Krishna is the Supreme Personalty of Godhead and we have to surrender to Him and serve Him, otherwise we can not be happy. But we only come to this material world if we have rejected the service of Krishna and refused to surrender to Him, refused to serve Him. So this material world is full of people who are envious of Krishna and who want to take the position of Krishna themselves.
So all these bogus spiritual leaders are like this. They preach that there is no Krishna because Krishna is the enjoyer and we are all servants of Krishna. But they want to be the enjoyers. They do not want to surrender to Krishna.
So it is all maya. All illusion. There is no actual mukti for these impersonalists. Their preaching is all bogus and totally poison.
And if you hear the preaching of the Mayavadis it will poison you and you will never be able to understand what Krishna consciousness is.
So please do not hear the Mayavadis and impersonalists. Instead chant Hare Krishna and read Srila Prabhupada’s books and you will be safe and after some time you will come to understand things as they actually are.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
All Glories Gurudeva Wonderful and uplifting news letter. I appreciate this very much
Hare Krishna Madhudwisa Dasa jee. Pranaam for your humble and beautiful messages. Getting benefitted hugel. Yours in Krishna.
Its very beautifully said about krishna ,iliked it very much
Hare Krishna!
Thank you very much for all your kind letters on GITA.
I save them and read them over many times during my free time.
As a housewife..I want to chant and pray as long as I could but home and
Family demand so much from me that I sometimes feel very angry with.
I want to be with krishna the whole day everyday buy just could not find the time.
When all is done at home front, I am physically exhausted that my limbs just won’t move.
Please pray for me that my family does not trouble me for anything since they are all
Adults.
Yes. Maya will always try and distract us from Krishna. But as you say your family is now all grown up and they can look after themselves. So you can just concentrate on serving Krishna. But you can cook very nice things and offer them to Krishna and feed your family members with the Krishna prasadam and gradually by the prasadam and by hearing you chanting Hare Krishna all the family members will become devotees of Krishna and then your family life will be very nice.
I read somewhere that the brahmajyoti is an expansion of Krishna. True or false?
Yes. Krishna is like the sun and the Brahamjoti is like the sunshine.
So Brahmajyoti is ‘Krishna-shine’.
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
Respected Sri Madhudvisa dasa
I am thankful for the articles you are sending with regard to Lord Sri Krishna. Every day when I come to office, first I open the mail and check the inbox for the mails received from you. After reading the same, I start my regular work.
While reading this article and also in the past also I am encountering with a doubt. Kindly clarify the same when you are free.
Can you please explain the difference between ‘GOLOKA”, “GOKULAM”, “VIKUNTAM” , “KRISHNALOKA”
I can understand that Gokulam is the place in this material world where Lord Krishna physically lived along with us. But what is the difference between Goloka, Krishna Loka and Vikunta? Whether these words are one and the same are carry different meanings ?
With regards
DBR SARMA
Hare Krishna
There is no difference between Gokula, goloka, and Krishnaloka. When Krishna comes to the material world he brings the spiritual world with Him. So Krishna in Vrindavan is the same as Krishna in Krishnaloka. And Vrindavan is the same as Krishanloka. There is no difference. In Vaikuntha you will not find Krishna. In Vaikuntha there are many different planets and on each one there is a different form of Lord Visnu presiding. The mood is different in Vaikuntha. There is only worship of the Lord in awe and reverence. There is no playing in the pasturing grounds with Krishna and the cowherd boys. It is a different thing. Devotees are not very interested in Visnu. They love Krishna. Of course Visnu is not different from Krishna. But as Visnu He does not manifest Himself as completely as Krishna.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
very very superb article.every one must read this.
Hare Krishna, I am so happy to read all newsletter, I am so glad to read bhagavadgita,while reading I am feeling happiness. So thankful for sending me this opportunity to read.Krishna is one,he is the Supreme Lord of godhead. Hare Krishna.
your posts are good. I have one question about the life in goloka vrindavan. What people do their in goloka vrindavan? How they serve krishna in personal? How they talk to him? Is their any description about this?
Hare Krishna Mohit
This material world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. So we can get the idea of what people do in Goloka Vrindavan from what people do here. They do all the same things in Goloka Vrindavan but the difference is there everyone is only interested in pleasing Krishna, in serving Krishna. Everything goes wrong here in the material world because everyone is selfishly trying to please himself. And that makes this material world a hellish place. But in Goloka Vrindavan no one is trying to satisfy himself, everyone is trying to satisfy Krishna.
Of course it is not like the material word because we have so much messed up the material world with our self centered attitudes.
It is Vaikuntha. It means the place where there is no anxiety. There are no factories, no 9-5 jobs, nothing like that. Everyone is engaged in serving Krishna in an unlimited variety of ways.
There is a very nice description of life in Vrindavan when Krishna was physically present there in Srila Prabhupada’s “Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead.” So if you will please read this book you will understand what life in the spiritual world is like:
https://krishnastore.com/krsna-the-supreme-personality-of-godhead-1970-ed-single-volume-compact-h-krishna-505.html
hare krishna , i want to know the starting point of doubtfullness
The starting point is faith. Without faith there is no hope. So you have to cultivate faith in Krishna and faith in a pure devotee of Krishna. The starting point is faith, for the doubtful there is no success in the material world or in the spiritual world. There is no hope for the doubtful man. Faith is required. Faith in Krishna and Krishna’s pure devotee is the beginning.
Very beautiful n Scientific article
A step by step Logical Approach as to how and why Devotional Service is a must and will prepare us for the next life!! In Vrndavana
It is understood that we all feel happy and sadness occasionally and if we can stand neutrally always we can see god or feel god. But as we are human beings I am not in such a condition and the happiness and sadness does not affect me in deeds and conversations even if I can keep up the neutral condition almost all times. Hence I want to know that “How can we react peacefully at all times even if some one tries to provoke us by simply blame us.”
Thanking you
You have not understood what is Krishna consciousness. Yo say “if we stand neutrally always we can see God or feel God” this is nonsense. Rubbish. You can not stand neutral. That is not possible. The mind is always active. We always want some activity. So there is no possibility of standing neutral. Rather if we want to see God then we have to surrender to Krishna and serve Krishna. That is the way to see God, by surrender and service. Krishna is hidden by the curtain of His Yoga-Maya to the non-devotees. It is only for the devotees that Krishna lifts this curtain of Yoga-Maya and makes Himself visible.
So God is only revealed to those sincere devotees who surrender to Him and render Him service under the direction of His pure devotees.
That is all. There is no other way to see God.
If you are in Krishna consciousness you will always react in the proper way. It is not that we always have to react peaceful. Sometimes Krishna wants us to be angry. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna orders Arjuna to fight. To fight one has to get angry. So anger also can be used in the service of Krishna.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Very beautifully said Madhudvisa Prabhu!!
I am enjoying your posts and getting answers to the questions I have. Please keep posting. Thank you.
I am enjoying your posts and found a way to get answers to my questions. Please keep posting. Thank you
hare krishna thanks for sending such a good letter containing valuable information,as i’m a learner i need your suggetion and guidance,i’m always waiting for your letter. thank you for your concern about krishna’s devotee..
Hare Krishna Prabhu…
I love to read your post and agree to whatever answer you give because your answers are simple and easy to follow. However i would like to ask you one question..
Can someone after going back to vaikhunta lok return back to the material world after staying there for some time… some say we don’t return back once we cross the material world and reach the abode of God whereas some say if we go to vaikhunta lok we may stay there as long as we want but we again return back to this material world but once if we return to Golok Vrindavan dham we never have to return back to material world. Is it true??? What is the actual answer am totally confused…..
I beg for forgiveness at your feet if i have done any offense to you by asking those questions to you…
Hare Krishna
In Bhagavad-gita Krishna says upon reaching the spiritual world one does not come back to the material world. So this is the normal situation. A normal sane person is not going to come back to the material world after returning to the spiritual world. However as we are very small tiny parts and parcels of Krishna we eternally have the tendency to fall down to the material world. So that chance of falling down is always there.
It is not that in the spiritual world our independence is taken away. Rather in the spiritual world we have more independence. So having independence means we can use that independence properly or we can misuse that independence. So if in the spiritual world we want to become the master rather than the servant of Krishna then we will come back to the material world.
So we never have to return back to the material world. Most of the residents of the spiritual world never come to the material world. The material world is like a prison. And most of the members of the society are law abiding citizens who never go to the prison. So the material world is like that. It is for criminals. So once we are rectified and return to the spritual world there is no reason for us to come back to the material world but if we want to come back to the material world we can.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu!
I have recently started reading Bhagavad Gita as it is and feeling so good. Thanks for your newsletters.
Hare Krishna Madhuvisa-Dasa,
much thanks for your news letter, i realy enjoy it and reading daily,
Thank you, All glories to Srila Prabhupada, I really liked the Article Sanatana Dharma as well as the article.
Sir what happens when all the souls attains libration . Does creation takes place again?
And suppose after the distruction of current cycle when again creation takes place Then will every thing reapited again …..i mean will lord krishna reapeat his pastime ??
There are unlimited souls so if all the souls of one universe achieve liberation the universe will fill up with new souls… There is no shortage of conditioned souls…
Thank you so much for your mails..
Actually I read your Bhagavad Gita as it is… It inspired me and I have changed a lot in my behaviour in serving Lord Krishna..
I suddenly realised like Lord Krishna told me to serve him and become his devotee.. From then I’m a pure devotee to Krishna..
Lord Krishna made me realised that he’s the only God in this universe and Lord Krishna only made me to read Bhagavad Gita..
Honestly each and every moment where ever and whenever and whatever I’m in any works, I will be pleasing Lord Krishna with the mana mantra “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna hare hare.. Hare Rama hare Rama Rama Rama hare hare”..
hare krishna prabhu….
All glories to Srila Prabhupada and his followers……..
Prabhu i have a network problem in the place i am living in Jaipur…
But i m glad to recive n read the articles send by you under the guidance of Srila Prabhupada .
I m chanting 16 rounds from last 5-6 years and also reading SP original books…..
Jai Shree Krishna…..!!!! I admire your work sir, when I read your letters, I feel to touch your feet. I love your way of expression. Ones words reveal ones personality to some extent and your words show that you are a real devotee of God(Shree Krishna).I encourage your work and this should reach as many people as possible.
Thanks again for spreading so nicely transcendantal knowledge!So,Krishna gives us the definition of what is “higher intelligence”: accepting His being as He appeared on earth 5000 years ago. According to such an understanding, higher intelligence is very rare as few spiritualists and thinkers may accept Krishna as “He says He is through translation & purport of gaudiya sampradaya” & as known through the living service rendered to Him.(Shyam)
This was an eye opener. It widened my understanding of Sri Krsna.
Thank you so much. Hare Krishna
Thank you so much. Hare Krishna
WHAT COMMENT CAN BE GIVEN ABOUT A GREAT DEVOTEE OF THE LORD. I ICAN ONLY MONETION HERE THAT SHRI RAGAVENDRA SWAMY THE REINCARNATION PRAHALDA WHO TOOK JEEVA SAMADHI WAS THE ARDENT DEVOTEE OF LORD KIRSHNA LIVED IN HIS ABODE WITH A SERPENT AND HE USED TO FEED MILK TO IT WITHI HIS OWN HANDS. THE SERPENT USED TO COME EVERYDDAY FOR THE MILK. EVENTODDY MILK IS KEPT IN THAT PLACE AND THE NEXT DDAY PEOPLE SEE THE MILK COOUR CHANGED. hE WAS AN ARDENT DEVOTEE OF THE LORD LIKE PRBHUPADA AND TOOD JEEVASAMADHI 300 YEARS BACK IN MANTRALAYA ANDHRA DISTRICT. EVEN TODAY HE GUIDES AND SAVES HIS DEVOTEES FROM ANY DANGER.. OUR AHCARYA SWAMI. I believe with the prechings of real gurus from iscon the entire world will become krishna concious soon.
I strongly believe what is said in this like Arjuna believed.
It is very useful to me to enrich my consciousness on krishna, the supreme personality of god head. Please keep on giving mails related to Krishna.
Thanking you
krishna\’s servant
I would like to ask that how can something dull and unconscious such as this material world(matter) emanate from the supreme conscious lord.
Hare Krishna Pankaj
There is no point speculating like this. We just have to accept the description of things as they are given by Krishna. This “How has Krishna done this?” and “Why has Krishna done this?” are not very good questions. Because how can we presume that we will be able to comprehend why Krishna does things. We should rather surrender to Krishna and pray “Please Krishna engage me in your service.” The only way to understand a person is to be intimately connected with that person, to be his friend. So if we become friends with Krishna then we can ask Him these things and we may be able to understand. But without having some connection with Krishna we can not expect to understand Krishna.
So the point is to become a devotee of Krishna and then we will come to understand everything about Krishna, how and why He does things.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
As it is mentioned in bg 15.6 that if one reaches the spiritual sky never comes back in this material world. But it is also true that we have come in this world from the spiritual sky.
We can always come back to the material world form the spiritual world if we want to. We have that freedom in the spiritual world. We have the tendency to fall down always. That is the nature of the jiva. He is called tatastha-shakti, it means ‘marginal’.
The example is given of the area of the beach that is sometimes covered by the water and sometimes not. So the living entity is like that. The tendency is to get covered by maya.
Of course some living entities are eternally conditioned [nitya-bandha] and some are eternally liberated [nitya-siddha]. Still the tendency of the jiva is that he is tatastha and has the tendency to fall.
The verse you have quoted from Bhagavad-gita does not say one can not fall from the spiritual world. It says one who returns back home back to Godhead never comes back to the material world. It means after seeing the material world he never wants to come back here once he gets back to the spiritual world. But there are so many living entities in the spritual world who have never been to the material world.
The material world is only an insignificant part of the creation of Krishna. The spiritual world is the main part and most of the living entities are in the spiritual world and never come to the material world.
The material world is like a prison. It is the place where the rebellious living entities are sent. It is where the living entities who have misused their independence are sent. So as in society you find many people who have never been to the prison in the spiritual world most of them have never been to the material world. But the ones who have been to the material world do not want to come back to the material world. That is what the Bhagavad-gita is saying.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada,
My younger Ram Charandas Prabhu is a devotee in UK at Soho(Manor) and he has already introduced me to the works of Geeta and Srimad Bhagvatam. They are Goldmines of information on our life and as also the life hereafter. Presently i am a regular visitor at the ISKCON Nigdi temple in Pune and am listening to the Shrimad Bhagvatam pravachana daily. They are giving me lot of blessings and solace.
Your newsletters are beautiful and looking forward to your next one.Thanks Madhudvisa Dasa. HARI BOL
Yours prabhuji,
Gurudas
Hare Krsna,
Does a Vaishnava and a Brahmana attain the same destination after leaving the material body?
Hare Krishna
A Vaisnava is worshiping Krishna and/or Visnu and the personal Visnu-tattva expansions. So a Vaisnava will be constantly thinking of Krishna or Visnu. So Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita that whatever one thinks of at the time of death, that state he will attain. Krishna also says that one who thinks of Him at the time of death will reach Him.
So the important thing that determines a person’s destination after leaving the material body is his consciousness at that time. So that is why the most important thing about Krishna consciousness is to live in such a way that we are always remembering Krishna, always chanting Hare Krishna, never forgetting Krishna. This is practiced by a devotee during his lifetime so that when the time of death arrives he will be certain to remember Krishna at the time of death and that will ensure that he will go back home back to Godhead after leaving this material body.
Although a Vaisnava will automatically have all the qualities of a brahmana, a brahmana is not necessarily a Vaisnava. A bramhananda could be an impersonalist and of course an impersonalist does not even believe or know about the personal form of the Lord so if one does not know about the personal form of Krishna then there is no chance of him remembering Krishna at any time. So there is no chance of such an impersonalist ever reaching any of the spiritual planets. He may be able to reach the impersonal brahmajoti effulgence, but that is not a permanent destination, he will ultimately fall back down again to the material world from this impersonal ‘liberation’.
So the answer to your question is no. A brahmana, who is not a Vaisnava, can not reach any of the spiritual planets at all. His highest spiritual destination is the impersonal brahmajoti where he can not experience individuality, relationships, feelings, etc. But he can experience the sat and cit features, eternality and knowledge. But because he can not experience any real ananda, or bliss, because there are no activities or relationships in the brahmajoti, he will become bored.
It is not that in the brahmajoti the individuality or personality is lost. He does not actually ‘merge’ into the brahmajoti. It is like a green bird flying into a green tree. The green bird appears to have merged into the green tree. But actually there is no merging. After some time if you watch the tree you will see the green bird flying out of the tree. It is very similar with the impersonalist ‘merging’ into the brahmajoti. He does not merge at all. He becomes one shining spark in the brahmajoti with no ability to exhibit his individuality and personality, no ability to have relationships with anyone else and no ability to perform any activities. So this state of inactivity and not having any relationships with other people is not natural for the living entity. So when the living entity gets totally bored in the brahmojoti he again falls down to the material world to try to fulfill his desires for association with others and for performing activities.
So you see the real permanent liberation is only available to the Vaisnavas. A brahmana who is not a Vaisnava can only at best reach the impersonal brahmajoti and after some time he will again fall back down to the material world. So this impersonal liberation is not real liberation and it is completely different from what the Vaisnava experiences when he goes back home back to Godhead.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krsna prabhu , I would like to thank you ,for those beautiful news letter that am receiving every 2 day , they are full of knowledge to make us understand the science of krsna consciousness ..
A very good morning to you.
I am totally impressed by the work you are doing.I read the newsletter every morning.
Please continue to keep the community informed. Surely Lord Krishna is with you>
I am the granddaughter of the late Pundith B.B Maharaj from 73 Sambalpur Road, MEREBANK.
My late uncle Pundith Noshirwan Maharaj was always a member of the Krishna consciousness.
Thanks once again,
LOTS OF HUGS N KISSES
HEMALYN SINGH
Thank you for your refreshing posts on Bhagavad-gita, Madhudvisa Prabhu. I find them very helpful, even though I have read them many times before from the Bhagavad-gita itself. Please continue in this way and you will certainly attract Srila Prabhupada’s and Krsna’s attention, very soon. Thank you, Prabhu once again.
Thankyou will keep believe in krishna love
I feel very happy when i read your news letter, Thank you very much,
Thank you.
When the mind ages and the words are difficult to pronounce, simplify the devotion with ?
Krishna consciousness is transcendental to the mind and the body and aging. For a devotee the Hare Krishna mantra will never be difficult to pronounce. It is already simple. Chant Hare Krishna, read Srila Prabhupada’s books, dance in the kirtan and take Krishna prasadam. Anyone can do this, old or young. It is already simple. We just have to surrender to this simple process and chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Hello,
I have some questions in my mind since time, request some scholar to pls. answer it.
1) Is our destiny pre-written?
2) Does whatever happens in our life good or is God’s wish?
3) If everything (good/bad) is his wish, why God has given mind to think/ analyse good/bad?
4) Srimad Bhagwat Geeta preaches every one to be involved in ‘Karma’ , Isn’t it taken as granted (by Lord) that we will do good Karmas only?
Please reply for my further awakening.
Regards
Vipin Kalra
Hare Krishna Vipin
Your destiny is not pre-written. You write it yourself. Karma means when one performs some action that generates a reaction that we will be forced to enjoy or suffer some time in the future. We, as spirit souls, are eternal. We are changing bodies. Death does not mean that we die, it simply means we, the spirit soul, leave one old and useless body and enter into a newly born body. So our karma, or the reactions to all the actions we have performed in the past travels with us into the next body.
Therefore at the time of birth we already have a large stock of karmic reactions that we will be forced to suffer and enjoy in this particular life. So in that sense, because of our work in the past, in previous lives, we have created this stock of karma, and we will be forced to experience that karma in this life. So at the time of our birth we are destined to enjoy a certain amount and suffer a certain amount and this can not be changed.
So for a materialist he is not actually in control of his life. He is being forced to act in one way or another way by the three modes of material nature and this is all pushed on by the karmic reactions he must experience.
None of this is Gods wish. Krishna’s wish is that we should be happy and He knows that if we would surrender to Him and serve Him, then we would be happy. So Krishna always tries to help us, to educate us, how we can become happy. But Krishna does not force us to surrender to Him. Krishna has given us a little independence, so we can properly use that independence by choosing to surrender to Krishna and serve Him, or we can misuse that independence and try to become the enjoyer ourselves and try to imitate the potions of Krishna.
So Krishna does not force us. He gives us the independence to properly use our independence or, if we want to, to misuse our independence.
So everything is not Krishna’s wish. Krishna has given us limited independence and it is not Krishna’s wish that we should misuse that independence. That is our misuse of our independence. It is our fault. Not Krishna’s fault.
There is no bad for Krishna. Everything Krishna does is good. This good/bad idea is only for us in the material world. The bad is caused by us misusing our independence, it is our fault. It is not God’s wish.
It is not taken as granted by the Lord that we will only do ‘good karmas’. Krishna has given us some independence in that respect. So it is up to us, we can do good or bad work. This means pious or impious activities. But good work is also not good. Because good work generates good karma, and for us to experience the good reactions to that good karma we have to take birth again in the material world. And the material world is a bad place. In the material world there is only suffering. The material world is a place which is full of suffering and death. So there is no happy life in a place that is full of suffering and death, even for one who has performed ‘good karma’ and is getting comparatively good reactions.
So good karma or pious activities are also not good. Because, just like bad karma or sinful activities, ‘good karma’ will also keep us in the material world, keep us in the cycle of samsara, the repetition of birth and death. So ‘good karma’ is just as entangling as bad karma and also traps us in the material world.
So if we want to actually get out of the material world and go back home, back to Godhead, back to the spiritual world where we can live in our natural condition of complete knowledge and ever increasing transcendental bliss in our eternally youthful spiritual body, then we have to transcend both good and bad karma.
It means that we have to live our lives in such a way that all our actions are performed as devotional service for Krishna. And there is a science which enables us to transform our lives in this way and live in such a way that we will no longer create any more good or bad karma. And that science Srila Prabhupada has very elaborately described in his books. So please read Srila Prabhupada’s books and learn this science and make your life successful by going back home back to Godhead after the end of this current body.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
very useful…enlightening information..very grateful for these teaching
Chanting also becomes mechanical. I have seen many people chanting or turning the beads in the local train, but looking here and there and distracted. One might chant while the attention might wander away to pending office work or other worse things. At the time of death also one might be chanting but not actually thinking of the Lord. So, the question is how to chant and hold the attention too?
Yes. Chanting can become mechanical. But even mechanical chanting of Hare Krishna is better than not chanting Hare Krishna at all. We need to chant Hare Krishna constantly so we should certainly chant Hare Krishna while sitting in the local train, etc. And in such a situation there are of course many distractions. So we may be sometimes distracted but because we are chanting Hare Krishna that chanting will force our minds back on Krishna. So the point is to chant Hare Krishna constantly and to concentrate on hearing the mantra. So if that attentive hearing and chanting is there it will be very effective. And if we become inattentive then if we are actually chanting Hare Krishna that will force our mind back on Krishna. So the point is to chant Hare Krishna and hear it constantly. In the beginning there will be some inattentiveness and some offenses but by this process of constantly chanting and hearing the Hare Krishna mantra our chanting will quickly become attentitive and offenseless.
Hare krsna….
its an amazing experiance to know more about krishna…
thnkuu for sharing…
dear gurugi
what is the best method of meditation–1.without imaging anything
2.with imaging lord krishna
please guide
v.shanmugam,dharmapuri,tamilnadu
Hare Krishna
The best way to meditate is to chant:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
And the process is to simply chant and hear the mantra. It is not about imaging anything. Krishna consciousness is awakened by hearing. So all we need to do is chant Hare Krishna and hear it and that will awaken the Krishna consciousness within us.
Of course if you also have some pictures of Lord Krishna and you can see that is also nice. That is good. But the primary thing is to chant Hare Krishna and to hear it.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna to all
nicely said by madhudvisa guru ji
jay shree krishna.its realy amazingly described by guru madhudvisa ..
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa, I have thought about this for awhile. I am a householder and want a companion without sexual inuendos. I have been celibate for years and [plan to stay that way. Madhudvisa dasa, Is there any literature that I can read to help Me realize about having a relationship that will keep Me as a devotee of Krishna nonetheless? Please e-mail Me with this information. Thank You so Much! Hare Krishna Monique I await Your reply.
Hare Krishna Monique
If you are thinking like this you are probably in maya.
Of course we want to live in the association of devotees but I do not get that feeling from your letter. The idea of a ‘companion’ does not really sound right. Devotees want to associate with other devotees and live in the association of other devotees. Not particularly ‘a companion’. The reason devotees want to live with other devotees is so they can associate together and enliven each other in Krishna consciousness by talking about Krishna and by serving Krishna together and by going out and distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books to the fallen conditioned souls together and by going out on the streets and chanting Hare Krishna together… You know. This is why a devotee wants to live in the association of other devotees. So they can serve Krishna together.
But right now ISKCON is broken and there is no practical world-wide association of devotees any more so it is a sad state. But we can associate with Srila Prabhupada by reading his books and listening to his classes, we can talk to others about Krishna, and we can engage in devotional service under the direction of Srila Prabhupada and we can chant Hare Krishna and be very happy. So we should just do this. Make sure that you are chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, make sure you are getting out of bed before 4:00 am in the mornings, make sure you are reading Srila Prabhupada’s books at lest 1-2 hours a day, make sure you are strictly following the four regulative principles. Otherwise you will not be a devotee anyhow and it will all be irrelevant… But if you really surrender to these things Krishna who is in your heart will guide you and everything will go on nicely in your life also.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa, I am soo excited in My relationship with Lord Krishna. I am not a full devotee because I have a part of Me in which I need Your help to overcome and that is- I think that I need a special companion to hang with. Non-sexual for I have been celibate for years. I desperately want to be a full-time devotee because Lord Krishna is My best Friend and My Heart’s Beloved. He is all over My house and I have pics of Lord Krishna on My cell phones and watches. I want to say His name on My death bed. Please3 hold on to Faith for and with Me that I can overcome My stupid desire. Thank You Madhudvisa dasa. Monique
thank you for the wonderful post as it reminds us that what we think, we become. Hare Krishna!
Thank you very much for the wonderful newsletter. So, the golden age(satyuga = heaven) is abt to come. The incarnation take place again… Let us be prepared our-self to be with & play with Krishna in satyuga. For that we must practice soul consciousness & remove body consciousness. Thanks again.
Not really… There is still more than 200,000 years of Kali-yuga left. And in satya-yuga there is no Krishna to play with. It is in the mode of goodness. But Krishna is not there… So you should not speculate and jump to incorrect conclusions like this. You have to hear the knowledge submissively and understand it from a bona fide spiritual master [like His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada…]
through ur mails I feel as if god made an effort to come towards me .I feel like a blessed soul thanks a lot for showering ur mercy on me ….I really feel v nice about it…..maharaji ur doin a v good job ……..tons of thanks to u …….pls continue to send these letters……n sry if my any rpy hurt u…..jai shree Krishna
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAM HARE RAM RAM RAM HARE HARE
UR SERVANT
jai shree Krishna
ur letters are really nice I love them all thanks for sendin this n not u but we who r spiritually doomed r ur servant 🙂 🙂
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.
I lost my beloved mother 3 months ago. She was a very pious lady. Praying to God in the morning and evening for long hours. She was admitted to a hospital and remained in ICU suffering for 21 days. She was in miserable pain during this period and was unconscious during her last or or two days. I wished God had allowed me to suffer on her behalf.
The Supreme Lord says in the Eighth Chapter of Bhagavad Gita: “Anyone who quits his body, at the end of life, remembering Me, attains immediately to My nature; and there is no doubt of this.”
Since my mother was in a state of unconsciousness during her last days could not have remembered Krishna.
The Supreme Lord said: “In whatever condition one quits his present body, in his next life he will attain to that state of being without fail.” (Bg. 8.6)
I want to know what kind of life will she attain after she quit her body. A state of suffering because she was in that state when she quit he body?
Please advise.
With warm regards
Debashis Gupta
Hare Krishna Debashis
Internally you do not know what your mother was thinking at the time of death. It is not that when there is no external consciousness thinking stops. When we are sleeping externally we are unconscious but we are dreaming and dreaming means we are thinking. So unconscious means the senses of the body are resting or unable to act properly. But the mind is something different and just because it can not express through the senses does not mean it is not thinking.
Our thoughts at the time of death are the result of our activities in our life. So if your mother lived a very pious life and prayed to God morning and evening then naturally these things would come to her mind at the time of death, even if externally the body was unconscious.
We have three bodies. The material body made of earth, water, fire, air and ether; the subtle body made of mind, intelligence and false ego; and the spiritual body. The subtle body can exist without the material body. That is what a ghost is. So thinking, the mind, is a product of the subtle body and does not depend on the material body at all. So even without her material body functioning your mother was still capable of thinking and she would have been thinking of what was prominent in her life.
So if she was able to think of Krishna at the time of death then she would have gone to Krishna, if not, because she live a very pious life, she would have been promoted to the heavenly planets where the demigods live and get the chance there to continue her spiritual advancement.
So do not be too concerned that your mother left her body in an unconscious state. That does not mean she was not able to think and remember her life at the time of her death.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Jay Shree Krishna.
I read all your Newsletters. They are very informative. Thank You for enhancing my knowledge. I really appreciate it.
I love getting your posts and newsletter. Thank you so much for your guidance and words about Bhagavad-Gita. It is wonderful to have this site and your wisdom. THANK YOU!…
ALL GLORIES TO SRILA PRABHUPADA,
MAHARAJI I like your newletter very much ….I feel that I m Reading Prabhupada’s Book.
HARE KRISHNA
hare krishna Madhudvisa dasa ,i have absolutely no doubt that krishna is the supreme personality of godhead and there is nothing beyond or further him that one should desire to acheive.but please forgive me as i have a doubt on the FORM of krishna as you have mentioned in some replies to comments that krishna cannot be compared to any materialistic form like hands legs or human like form of flesh bones if so then while chanting the hare krishna mantra what form should one have in his or her mind? should we concentrate on a formless eternal light while chanting the mantra ? and as said by god himself that at the time of death if one remembers him or his name he is transferred to his supreme abode then what is the form that one should have in his mind while in he last minute .i am always confused wether krishna has a two handed form or four handed form like narayana/vishnu or biswa roopa or he is totally FORMLESS and unimaginable? is it only our love for him that we worship him in his two handed form of shyama sundara and he accepts our love and offerings because of our material limits of our eyes/ ,wether one should worship the formless form or simply bow down before a idol or deity form and what about the other forms of krishna like narayana/vishnu .i am just a bit confused about the form .if he is limitless should we limit him to a idol or 2 handed or four handed form or even think of him having a body or categorise him into male female .plz plz plz please forgive me for having even the slightest doubts beacause i love him unconditionally and it is what that really matters just a slight confusion which i hope you will surely reply and give a entire article regarding the true form of KRISHNA which will clear away all doubts of souls like me-hare krishna gourav
Hare Krishna Gourav
You are confused BECAUSE YOU DO NOT READ PRABHUPADA’S BOOKS…
So read Prabhupada’s books and gradually everything that is confusing to you will be cleared up.
As far as chanting Hare Krishna you are not supposed to be artificially thinking of anything, you are supposed to be concentrating on hearing every word of the mantra, that’s all. It is supposed to be attentive hearing and chanting. Not thinking of Krishna’s form or anything else. Concentrating on hearing the mantra and concentrating on pronouncing the mantra properly. That’s all.
As far as Krishna’s form, it is two-armed. We are made ‘in the image of God’ as the Bible says. So we have the same form as Krishna — two hands, two legs, one head, etc… But Krishna does not have a material body like we have. He is completely spiritual. We are also completely spiritual in our original spiritual form in the spiritual world. This material body is a covering over our eternal spiritual body. Visnu has four-arms, but Visnu is an expansion of Krishna. Krishna, with two arms, is the original form of God.
The Brahman effulgence or the light is simply the effulgence of Krishna’s body. So this is not at all a clear vision of the Supreme Lord and we should have reached a higher platform than that by now…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
pranam pitashree
all glories to OUR SPITITUAL MASTER HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C BHAKTIBEDANTA SWAMI SHRILA PRABHUPADA
father are there also insects beasts in the spiritual world??if they are present what do they eat??can we spirit souls also take form of birds or beast in the spiritual world??pls kindly reply
Hare Krishna Ananya
Yes. Everything is in the spiritual world. But everything in the spiritual world is serving Krishna.
But there is no killing in the spiritual world. There is no birth and no death. There is no anxiety. No animals that kill other animals.
Yes. We can take the form of birds or trees or grass in the spiritual world.
But the understanding of the spritual world has to be revealed to us by Krishna as we advance in Krishna consciousness. So there is not much point in trying to artificially understand the spritual world by taking our conceptions of the material world and trying to apply them to the spiritual world. It is not like that.
Better to concentrate on the practical things like making sure that we chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, that we read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day and that we strictly follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication.] If we do sincerely follow all these things then gradually Krishna will reveal the nature of the spiritual world to us and we will only then be able to understand it in truth.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank u very much prabhu for giving knowledge about spiritual world.i m waiting for ur next letter i m feeling very lucky that im connect with this site.
Hare krishna Prabhu ji,
Please accept my humble obeisances
it is said in Bhagavad Gita that we can understand God in three ways
1) As Brahman
2)As Parmatma or Supersoul within us
3) Supreme personality of Godhead
kindly explain first one ” The Brahman” ….what does it mean? how can one understand Lord as Brahman?
Hare Krishna
chant Hare Krishna and be happy
Gunjal
Brahman is the easiest to understand. It is like the sun and the sunshine. The sun is the source of the sunshine, and the sunshine is the all-pervading energy of the sun. So Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, and the brahman is the effulgence emanating from Krishna’s body. The brahman is the ‘Krishna-shine’… It is the impersonal all-pervading energy of Krishna.
hare krishna………
i used to be in a confusing state before reading bhagavat gita, now its no longer… even now some doubts come but get vanished when i turn back to gita. I have finished reading gita, second revision is going on, side by side i have gita in mp3 i keep listening it…. its been more than 10 times i listened it. still everytime i listen i feel each verse new to me.. giving more meaning …i feel very good whenever i listen… as if hearing for the first time… sometimes i feel sleepy when i listen while traveling.. 🙂
The western world is now discovering other planets and galaxies, what Lord Krishna mentioned thousands of years ago in the Bhagavad Gita, Hare Krishna!
Hare Krishna Prabhu ji,
Thank you very much for your guidance. your words matter for me a lot. I’ll do my best to become krishna conscious.
Chant Hare Krishna and be Happy.
Hare krishna.
Hare Krishna Guru ji,
Thank u very much for your newsletters but I am not getting any newsletters from past few days. i hope everything is fine.
I have a problem and i want to share with you. when i could not able to do japa ,read swami Prabhupada books and give sufficient time to lord krishna which i usually do, my soul does not feel good. i feel like frustrated. after this situation, if i give more time for reading and japa i feel relaxed.
what does it indicate??? am i on the wrong path?? kindly enlighten me.
hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Prabhu.
I apologize for the break in the emails. I have been working on http://www.back2godhead.com and please go there. There are hundreds of really wonderful and inspiring Krishna conscious articles there…
There should be no question at all of you ever neglecting 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 Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day. This is our life. We have to do these things every day without fail otherwise we will loose our Krishna consciousness. So we just have to get our priorities right and organize our lives in such a way that there is always plenty of time for Krishna consciousness. Everything else is secondary.
We need to do something to maintain the body and if we have a family we have some responsibilities there but we can not let these things impact on our Krishna consciousness.
Taking initiation we take a vow to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and follow the four regulative principles. We have to do this every day without fail. We have to take these things very seriously. There is no question of not being able to give enough time to Krishna. Krishna is the number one priority and we have to adjust our lives like that.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna, Madhudvisa Dasa,
I thank you so very much for your knowledge and time each day.
All glories to you!
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Thank you very for your news letters.
My question is why does the Supreme Personality Godhead wishes to have a loving relation ship with everyone and since the GOD needs no one to make him happy what made him to create this universe.
If there was no such universe then there would never have been these concepts of birth, sufferings, old age and death and again transforming to higher states..
Kindly enlighten me in this aspect. I could never understand the mentioned aspect which has been troubling me since quite a long time.
Thank You very much…
You will never be able to understand these things until you become Krishna conscious. So if you want to understand these things then start reading Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day, chant the Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds daily on your beads, strictly follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and soon all these things that have been troubling you for a long time will be cleared up and you will understand everything. But without becoming Krishna conscious you will never be able to understand… You have to surrender first and follow the process and as you become Krishna conscious you will understand everything.
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa Dasa ji,
Thanks a lot for replying me and clearing my doubts. when i saw your replies on my queries, i feel so exciting that i am not alone, there is somebody who can listen me, who can answer me and show the right direction. As my family and my friends(except one or two friends) do not entertain me on this topic.they usually say, what are u doing?? these activities are supposed to be done by old people like dadaji and dadiji. this is not your age to engage in such activities. when i started reading Bhagwad Gita and didn’t have clarity, i used to get tensed by such comments. but now by the grace of supreme God, i dont feel bad, when they pass such comments. in fact, i feel so compassionate with them and i pray to Lord that please shower your grace to them also and make them free from such material attachments.
even today, i dont have such guts that i would do krishna japa on beads when i m at home. i do it on my fingers. but i m not regular on japa…sometimes i do sometimes i dont. when i was regular on doing 1 mala..i do it regularly, but after somedays…i felt that i was just doing formality..i kept on saying “krishna japa” but i was not able to feel the vibrations which i used to feel previously. i also feel that when i read spiritual books and contents, i feel so ignited and god concious. but i have a full time job, have to gv time to my family after office hrs, have to teach my brother and sister, its difficult for me to do japa and read the content on the same day . but yes, i also know that this is my responsibility to devotee time in japa and reading also. i cant give excuses like this. By the ashirwad of Lord Krishna i am able to manage this much, i have complete faith that i would manage all things soon.
at the most, i want to share that now i dont feel like burden while doing any activity which i felt before. before i started reading Bhagwad Gita, i didnt like to do going office, to do household activities or teaching my siblings. it was like, why should i do all such activities?? my other brother sister also should do what i do..every time a feeling of comparasion was there….i used to do all activities, were like burden for me. but now, i feel happy while doing these activities. i dont feel frustated.i have learnt a lot, and i am so thankful to Lord Krishna and His Grace. now my family also understands me. actually they used to think that by engaging in these activities i would go away from them…
yes guruji, you told correct that Bhagwad Gita is not a book that could read only once. i also want to read it 100 times or even more….but now i am reading Krishna Book by swami Praabhupadaji and the book “journey home” by Radhanath swami….Thank you guruji for your kind advices. please keep on giving suggestions to us
Hare Krishna
Gunjal
dear brother
I wish to know that if some one who had been initiated in his life once from a noble and qualified and proven spiritual master along with a sanskar of thread ceremony .could he get another initiation or does having one initiation is enough for chanting mahamantra .pls reply to my mail as
I am inconfused state as I was initaited once with gayatri diksha along with yagopavit ceremony
Hare Krishna Kapil
One initiation is enough as long as the spiritual master is bona fide.
The real important thing is who is your real guru and that may not be the guru you accepted diksha from. It depends. You may take diksha from one guru and then in your life you may find that most of your shiksha, instruction in spiritual life, comes from another guru, an instructing guru. So in this case really your primary guru is the one who has given you the most instruction in Krishna consciousness.
In ISKCON many devotees take initiation from many different gurus. So these gurus are their diksha gurus. But most ISKCON devotees get most of their siksha, or instructions in spiritual life, from Srila Prabhupada by reading his books. Therefore the primary guru of most ISKCON devotees is Srila Prabhupada, although most them did not take diksha from Srila Prabhupada.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna,
Madhudvisa dasa ji,
Thank you for sending me newsletter every week.I have already read Bhagawad Gita writtern by swami Prabhupada ji. These newsletters help me to revise Bhagawad Gita again. i felt so lucky bcz by the grace of Lord krishna i could read Bhagawad Gita. one of my brother(in office) told me to read Bhagawad Gita once. i m thankful to Lord Krishna that He sent him in my life and i started reading the sacred book.
thank you guru ji for giving us your precious time.
Gunjal
Hare Krishna Gunjal
It is very nice to hear from you Prabhu but Bhagavad-gita is not a book that you only read once in your life. In fact I have read Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is dozens and dozens of times cover to cover and I am of course reading it again now and every time I read it I find new information and new inspiration. It is a truly wonderful book. So I would strongly advise you to read the Bhagavad-gita again and make sure it is Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is because there are so many translations of the Gita which do not present the correct meaning of the verses. I guarantee if you read Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is you will find it an amazing experience, even though you have already read the Gita. It will be better the next time you read it…
You can get it from:
http://krishnastore.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-compact-1972-complete-edition-h-krishna-1039.html
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Your news letters are very informative. Thanks for taking time to enlighten our lives.
Sujata
Jai Shri Radhe,
Every religion says the same thing that be simple n true to urself. Help those who r in need whether materialistically or emotionally. But despite doing this people are r busy to show their religion the highest..How one can reach the highest if he/she doesn’t follow these teachings..They are suffering despite praying and worshiping daily..It is also said that it is the Karmfal of their deeds.. I feel very sad and pain for them..I find myself helpless…Please guide me..
Jai Shri Krishna..
To be simple and true to yourself is not the message of any religion. The message of every religion is to surrender to God and serve Him. So if you do this yourself then you will not find yourself helpless. You will be empowered by Krishna and in that way you will know exactly what you should do to help the fallen conditioned souls suffering in the clutches of the material energy. You have to remember this world is a place of suffering. Everyone suffers here. It is meant for suffering. The suffering helps us to wake up to the fact that we can not be happy here and prompts us to search for something beyond the material world. So the suffering can not be avoided. If we become Krishna consciousness and remember Krishna at the time of death then we will go back home back to Godhead to the spiritual world and that place is Vaikuntha, free from all anxieties and sufferings. That is the real solution. So please chant the Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds a day and follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and read Srila Prabhupada’s books daily at least 1-2 hours and gradually your original Krishna consciousness will be awakened and you will no longer feel helpless…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna……,
Lord Krishna says in BG. “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender onto me and I will deliver you from all your sinful reactions, Do not fear ‘O Arjuna”.
Hari Bol!!!!
Hare Krsna guruji!
Iam really felt amazed for your article sir!!!
Iam really feeling happy that am getting this spiritual knowledge(which is uncountable,infinite times greater than the so called advanced,core technological sciences)with this much mercy of that PARAMATHMA,Prabhupada jagadguru(one who teaches the eternal,immortal spiritual knowledge) n YOU my sir!!
with the mercy of Krsna am on the right track n am trying a lot to do this sir!
everybody(including my family members)are misunderstanding me n asking to leave all these(when i said that am not gonna marry in future)
i tried my level best to explain them but it found no use sir!
as arjuna asked several questions to Krsna(on behalf of the materially contaminated people)am asking this on behalf of all my KrsnaCommunityMember friends n all that
“What is the importance of marriage in our lives?”
“Is marriage a necessary event?”
“How could we keep in touch with Krsna ourselves(which is spiritual)n even after getting married(which is completely material)?”
“How to control ourselves in such aspects?”
“How should we keep remember Krsna everytime?”
please answer to these(such)questions guruji!
as marriage is the most important event in one’s life,one should take utmost care towards themselves which should satisfy their material needs that which do not leave them off-track of spirituality!
so please answer to all of these sir,as Iam(we are)eagerly waiting for your most precious answers sir!
yours truly servant,
PranayTony.
(pranaytony.harekrishna@gmail.com)
Hare Krsna guruji!
Hare Krishna Pranaytony
Many, many great devotees were married. Bhaktivinoda Thakura was married, Srila Prabhupada was married, Krishna was married, Lord Caitanya was married. So it is not that a devotee can not get married. The idea is to use everything in the service of Krishna so marriage can also be used in the service of Krishna. If you marry a nice devotee girl not with the idea of sense gratification but with the idea of helping each other advance in Krishna consciousness and bringing nice Krishna conscious children into the world and bringing them up as Vaisnavas and if together with your wife and your family you worship and serve Lord Krishna and all rise early in the morning and offer Mangal Arati and Kirtan and chant japa together and read Srila Prabhupada’s books and take prasadam together and then you can go to work and do whatever you have to do and in the evening come home for another spiritual program. Like that.
Of course that is the ideal situation and the reality of married life is often not really so perfect like this. Generally marriage means maya in reality. It is suffering and miserable mostly. But most people want to get married and have to experience the suffering and misery for themselves and then later on they can renounce family life. Anyhow Krishna says marriage is the vivaha samskara in the Bhagavad-gita. So it is one of the purifying processes. If one wants to have sex life then marriage is a slight concession for this. And if one has sex outside of married life that is very, very sinful.
Marriage is obviously not necessary and generally it is a distraction from spiritual life. But on the other hand if one has the desire for associating with a women and the desire to have sex and the desire to have a family and he tries to suppress this artificially and pose as a brahmacari or a sannyasi that is also not good. Ultimately he will fall down from his position and become engaged in relationships with some woman. So that is not good.
So, generally speaking, for most men, it is better for them to get married. But they are supposed to be trained up as brahmacaris first. Brahmacari asharam is for all men and all should be trained in celibacy and austerities and following the regulative principles and chanting Hare Krishna under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master in the gurukul. But such gurukuls do not exist now days….
So anyhow the reality is this Kali-yuga is very mixed up and even if you do not get married there are really no temples to join at the moment where pure devotional service is being practiced and no one to properly train you in Krishna consciousness….
So it is a difficult time. I can not tell you if you should get married or not. That you have to decide yourself. And to do that you need to chant the Hare Krishna mantra more and read Srila Prabhupada’s books more and Krishna is in your heart and the more your read Prabhupada’s books and chant Hare Krishna the more your heart will be purified and the more you will be in contact with Krishna and He will guide you and let you know what is the best thing to do in your position.
If you can find a nice devotee girl to marry then that is very good but it would be useless to marry a non-devotee…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna Madhudvisa dasa
The reply you have given to (pranaytony says:
April 11, 2012 at 3:25 pm) who poses you questions about marriage , is good,
but in your reply,there was no mention of choosing a lifepartner by cultivating and implementing the higher values of love, respect ,committment and loyalty “till death do us apart”.
Such values and core principles are learnt from Vedic scriptures themselves, and as we humanbeings are not like cats and dogs , we should not choose alliance for want of sex ie not choose marriage alliance as
some sort of sanction to permit us to indulge in sex.
Marriage is between two people who value each other love each other and serve
Krsna together,thus practically helping each other and offspring and immediate families and yes, wider community to realise their true identity and thus come closer to Krsna and serve Him, with full intentions of exiting cycle of birth and death and entering Goloka-Vrndavan in His service.
There are by Krsna’s grace many “nice devotee girl’s” and “nice devotee boy’s” and one needs to understand that choosing to marry has to be based on higher values I mentioned above.
Devotee’s should study saintly couple’s from Vedic Scripture’s, they had higher values which the expressed even on choosing marriage partner and during their married lives.
Krsna Bless All. Haribol!
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Dasa,
Thank you for a beautiful article and sending me regularly this. When i read this i get something about God.
Hare Krishna Hare Rama
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa Dasa,
Good Article. I am trigerred with one question after reading the article and would love to know your thoughts on that please.
So at the time of death if one thinks of God, Krishna then he will be transferred to his eternal abode which is Goloka and that is without doubt from the God Himself. That is Great.
But is their any procedure for reaching the Spiritual Sky before death or do we have to wait till death.
How one can reach to Spiritual Sky Before death?
Hare Krishna
Devang Parekh
Hare Krishna Devang
You can get the spiritual consciousness and experience the spiritual world while you are still in this material body if you seriously and sincerely take to the process of Krishna consciousness as it is taught to us by Srila Prabhupada and that will be the perfect preparation for you and you will be guaranteed to think of Krishna at the time of death and go back home, back to Godhead.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna Madhudvisa Dasa,
I m very thankful to you for sending me E-mail – full of knowledge.
dandvat pr…….thankyou so much fr lovely article….
What a wonderful article on the Holy Lord Krishna.
I just have a request, can I have sent some prayer to the Holy Lord Krishna?
Thank you
HELLO, IN THE BHAGAVAD GITA, DOES THE LORD SPEAK ABOUT DOING CHARITY FOR OTHERS AS A WAY TO SERVE GOD, & WHAT ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF SIN, THE 10 COMMANDMENTS?
THANKS
AMALIA
Hare Krishna Amalia
We have four commandments: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication. If you can follow these four regulative principles then they are the four pillars that support all other sinful activities. So if you follow these principles all sinful activities can be very easily stopped. Doing charity for others is not serving God. It is serving others. Krishna does mention in the Gita that work without attachment to the results of the work is good for spiritual advancement. So in that sense if you work but give the results of your work in charity to some good cause then that is helpful for advancement in spiritual life. But Krishna gives a big list of things and this is quite low on the list… The best thing is to surrender to Krishna’s pure devotee and he will instruct you how you can surrender to and serve Krishna. But if you can not do this then as I said Krishna gives a list of things that are favorable and this working without attachment for the fruits of your work and giving the money in charity is one of the things on the list…
krishna said that” giving for the sake of giving without expecting anything in return ” and he also says charity austerities should not be given up as these things purify the soul best example was MOTHER TERESA who sacrificed her whole life serving the poor sick and homeless expecting nothing in return for herself, she must be elevated to higher planets definietly
Yes. But that is not the best thing. That is a comprimise. It is for those who can not surrender to Krishna and serve Him. For them at least if they give their hard-earned money for some good work or charitable purpose then they become somewhat detached from the fruits of their actions.
Certainly Mother Teresa performed activities in the mode of goodness and with a spirit of helping people in the name of God, and she believed in Jesus and the ‘Heavenly Father’ and prayed to God. So that is also Krishna consciousness. So certainly she is performing devotional service and helping the poeple in the name of God.
So the people who perform activities in the mode of goodness can certainly be elevated to the heavenly planets, etc…
December12/2011
Gobinda Ghosh
Pronam Madhudvisa,
Thanks For continu sent E-mail.
Hare Krishna.
i had a dream about two nights ago about the devotees all comming to chch after the qwake and the were all chanting hare krishna coming down the rd so i joined in and was getting people on my shoulders and throwing them on the crowed like crowd surfing i looked around and saw the crowd wanted more so i tried another one now i see why they call it qwake church and why it should be renamed such and rightly so and anyway i broke from the crowd to do some shopping and they all continued on their harinam down the street and i will always remember the devotees so amazing when the turn up out of nowhere on there harinam on the way downtown to the resuraunt from the temple just bliss knowing krishnas waiting round the next courner for us all to go home to him such is the strength of the holly names hare krisna hare krisna
krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
Hare Krishna. Unfortunately I am not a devotee. But each and every word of yours is absolutely true.
I feel that, when our senses are not satisfied it is difficult to concentrate on the Lord or make Him happy. Because firstly we have to satisfy ours. there are so many materials surrounding us and we easily get involved or traped. Do you agree. Please comment.
But i have a full belief in my Supreme God and I walk on the path of truth and I always like to remain positive. I am very sensible and very sentimental. Sometimes I feel my Lord very near to me and sometimes very far away.
Hare Krishna Baratai
This is a 100% nonsense philosophy. That we can not concentrate on the Lord unless we satisfy our own senses. It is the process of trying to satisfy our own senses that gets us trapped in the material world in the first place and you should know it as a fact that it is never possible to satisfy your material senses in this way. That is not the process for satisfying your senses. We are all parts and parcels of Krishna like the leaves, fruits and flowers are all parts and parcels of the tree. You can not satisfy the leaves and fruits and flowers of the tree by supplying them with water individually. No. That is not the process. You have to supply the water to the root of the tree and then the energy will be distributed to all the different parts and parcels of the tree. Similarly we can not satisfy our senses independently. Our senses can only be satisfied if we are able to satisfy Krishna. So a devotee does nothing for his own sense sattisfaction, he does everything for the satisfaction of Krishna’s senses.
So I most certainly do not agree with your comment here…
Madhudvisa dasa
I love my father Lord Krishna.
Hare Krishna – Madhudvisa dasa
I have just read your newsletter entitled “The Spiritual World – And how to get there.”
In this newsletter you say we enter the spiritual world after death. But to me this shows your lack of spiritual understanding. For Sakyamuni the Buddha found Nirvana in this life now and here whilst he was sitting under the Bhoddi Tree. And Jesus (the Krishna of the Christians) said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within. Seek and you shall find, knock and it will open.” So when I started reading your newsletters, I was looking for spiritual enlightenment in this life, now and here – not after I am dead and gone.
Yours truly – Kay
Hare Krishna Kay
You can experience the spiritual world here and now. But there is a process how to experience that–that process is to transform your consciousness to the spiritual world and to engage everything in the material world in the service of Krishna. Actually everything is Krishna’s energy and if even the material energy is engaged in Krishna’s service it takes on the spiritual quality.
However you can not find anything permanent in this material world. Nirvana for example is a permanent thing but where is Buddha now? He is no longer in the material world. So if he found Nirvana he did not find it in this material world.
It is possible to find the spiritual world from the material world and be in that spiritual consciousness while your body is still physically in this material world. However at the time of death one who is so spiritual situated will be transferred to the Spiritual World, the Kingdom of God. Even if you find something you like in this material world you can not stay here. You will be forced to leave…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna Madhudvasa ji,
I am feeling very happy after reading your newsletter.
ThankYou for your teaching..
Your Servent,
Kirti
Hare Krishna Madudvisa Das Prabhu: I have a small doubt. Is Vaikuntam the aboard of Lord Vishnu, is it different from Goloka of Krishna? Our philosophy teaches, Krsihna is an Avatar Mhavishnu and they are same. If so what is difference between Goloka and Vaikunta.Is Vaikunta impersonal. Please enlighten me. Kamsa was the door attendant of Vaikunta the residence of Mahavishnu he had to take birth in the earth for his refusal to admit Gautama Maharishi without permission. Both the door attendants took birth on the earth and annihilated by the Lord Himself. Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindava [Krishna’s abode] are different places. They are both in the Spiritual World and both places have the same spiritual nature. Vaikuntha is not impersonal. In Vaikuntha you will find different planets for all the different Visnu expansions and on those planets you will find the devotees of these expansions of Visnu who all have the same form as Visnu. So the devotees in the Vaikuntha planets have four arms. In Vaikuntha the Lord is worshiped in the mood that a servant worships a king, in awe and reverence. But Vaikuntha is certainly not impersonal. The devotees are there and Visnu is there and the devotees are rendering service to Lord Visnu in the mood of awe and reverence.
In Goloka Vrindavan Krishna is there with all of His devotees and there the devotees are two-handed and Krishna is also two-handed. In Goloka there are five different mellows in which the devotees are rendering service to Krishna: santa — neutral, dasya — service, sakhya — as friends of Krishna, vatsalya — as parents of Krishna, madhurya — as lovers of Krishna. So there is more variety in terms of the type of service that one can render to the the Lord on Goloka than in Vaikuntha but both are spiritual, personal abodes of the Lord and His devotees.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna prabhus:
I have down loaded lot of Temples of Mahavishu, Bhu Devi and Garuda from Vaishnava Cyber.Com. as Website dedicated to Srila Ramanujaar who established Vaishnava philophy of Dwaidism. If it is not offence to this site, i would like upload them with the permission of Sriman Madudvisa Dasa. Hari Bol.
Hare Krishna Prabhu
I am sure they have their own websites and you can post there. Krishna.org is specifically for the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, the philosophy of Krishna consciousness as it is taught by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers. That is our param-para, our disciplic succession.
So we want to stick to Gaudiya Vaisnavism here. I am not saying there are not other bona fide Vaisnava disciplic successions out there, there may be, but our life and our mission is to spread the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu–which are the teachings of Lord Krishna–as they have been delivered to us by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. We are not interested in anything else.
Madhudvisa dasa
i think it will take long time for me to understand d news letter, I need time to read and to understand.Hare Krishna
All glories to srila prabhupad dandwat dear Madhudvisa dasa ji, i am oblidged and want to thankssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss u pls remember me in future pls.
Hare Krishna,
Thank you for the newsletters. Can you please guide me on how to meditate on Krishna?, How to see Krishna in all beings and nature? How to free myself from the temptations of this material world?,and How to please Krishna?
Hare Krishna Pratheek
This is a big question but the short answer is Krishna is a person and you meditate on Him, see HIm and serve Him just like you would any other person. And you become free from the temptations of the material world by becoming Krishna consciousness. And becoming Krishna conscious–that is not a one line answer…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa,
Thank you for sending me the newsletter,I always look for your valuable mails which are full of great thoughts & interpretations.Since being a starter I am bound to have queries & would request you to pardon if I ask too many questions;however let me assure you the queries are not way related to resulting in faith or no faith .The first premise as you say is have Faith.
I believe like many that nothing happens without the will of GOD.
Is it true that nothing can happen without the will/grace/order of Krishna????
Now as you said/quoted in newsletter quote “One who thinks of Krishna at the time of his death goes to Krishna. One must remember the form of Krishna………….. One who leaves this body thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at once attains a spiritual body, as is promised in the fifth verse of the Eighth Chapter where Lord Krishna says, “He attains My nature.” Unquote.
If the first statement is true then wheather to remember Krishna or not would be driven by Krishna;we can only think or not think of him as HE wishes so.
But again if we say that Krishna is not micromanaging us & everyone is earning good or bad karma on his own & Krishna is only watching as Paramatma within us then how can we attribute every good or bad to HIM.
May be question is premature but still thought of asking the same.
Regards
Lalit
Hare Krishna Lalit
Krishna is not responsible for any of the good or bad nor is He micromanaging anything. Nothing happens without the sanction of God–but that is not the same as saying nothing happens without the will of God. Things may happen that God doesn’t want to happen but they can not happen unless He sanctions them.
It is like a child. He may want to do something but the father does not want him to do it because he knows it will be bad for the child but still the child persists. The child may want to put his hand in the fire but the father will stop him but if the child persists and will not stop trying to put his hand in the fire then maybe the father will let the child get his hand a bit hot. So in this case the father sanctioned it but he does not want his child to hurt his hand in the fire.
Thinking of Krishna at the time of death is also up to you. Whatever you think about prominently during your life then you will think of that at the time of death. If you are infatuated by your wife you will think of your wife at the time of death and become a women in your next birth. So the science of Krishna consciousness is to live our lives in such a way that we think of Krishna 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that all our actions are service to Krishna, so we are always thinking of Krishna then naturally we will think of Krishna at the time of death.
Krishna is not the puppet string puller that you imagine Him to be. But at the same time we have no real independence. Our independence is very limited. We can choose to serve Krishna or we can choose to serve maya. In either case we have to accept a master and serve. There is no question of independence. Simply a choice of masters.
When we are serving maya all of our actions are forced and controlled by the modes of material nature. Although material nature is working under the direction of Krishna it is our past karma that is causing the modes of material nature to act upon us the way they do. So it is our past actions that bind us up and are causing the reactions that we experience from day to day… It is not Krishna. It Krishna wants He can change it. He can do anything that He wants to–but generally He only makes special arrangements for His devotees.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna Prabhu.
Thank you for your reply.Yes I have heard of the stories you quoted in your reply.
The liberated souls that reach Brahmajyoti, do they have subtle body of
sat-chit-ananda and hence retain their individuality? ( I think they do retain individuality because Krsna says in BG that we are living entities that always existed and will continue to do so and are parts and parcels of him)
If so,what exactly are they doing in the Brahmajyoti please?
I ask this because the devotee’s that attain the spiritual sky are serving the Lord and live on the Spiritual Planets which are floating in the Brahmajyoti spiritual sky.
Brahmajyoti is emantaing from Lord and lighting up the spiritual sky and all the planets in the spiritual sky ( there is no sun or moon ), top most of which is Goloka-Vrindavan, where the Lord eternally resides.
I understand that Mayavadi philosophy says we merge in with the Supreme and become one with God, but I think being liberated and reaching Brahmajyoti means you merge in with the Brahmajyoti but you are not one with God, meaning you still retain individuality.
So I am trying to imagine what the liberated souls in the Brahmajyoti are doing as it seems they retain their individuality. Thank you.
Hari Bol!
Hare Krishna Kalyani
You have misunderstood many things. You need to read Srila Prabhupada’s books more carefully in a very submissive spirit.
The subtle body is material. The gross body is gross matter and the subtle body is subtle matter. Gross body is made of eatth, water, fire, air and ether and the subtle body is made of mind, intelligence and ego. That is also material but on a more subtle platform. There is a real spiritual mind, a spiritual intelligence and a spiritual ego [identity] but this is not the subtle body.
There is no ananda in the brahmajyoti of the sat-cit-ananda type. There is only the sat [eternality] feature and the cit [knowledge] feature in the brahmajyoti. That is because real ananda comes from relationships and relationships are not possible in the Brahmajyoti. It is an eternal place of full knowledge and the living entities there exist as tiny individual spiritual sparks. There is no personality, there no body, there is no possibility of interacting with any of the other spirit souls there. There is something called “brahmanananda” and that is the “bliss one gets from brahman liberation.” But that bliss is actually simply relief from the sufferings of the material world. There is no misery there and there is an eternal existence full of knowledge there, but no possibility for the soul to express his individuality. You know the whole idea of brahman liberation is to “merge with the Supreme.” The souls that go there do not want individuality. But actually individuality can not be destroyed. We are individuals eternally. So in reality the living entities–even in the Brahmajyoti do retain their individuality.
You say you are “imagining what they do there”–there is noting at all for them to do there. It is in the beginning a great relief. If one has been suffering in the material world for millions and billions of births with birth, old age, disease and death then he gets a chance to be free from this and situated in this platform of peace and eternal knowledge the it is very nice. For a while… It is something like if you were living in a big city and became very stressed by the lifestyle and decided to leave and live in a mountain cave instead where there are no people. For a while you may find that to be a great relief. But actually we are ‘social animals’–we need to have interaction and relationships with others. That is our nature. So after a few weeks or a few months living in your mountain cave the novelty will wear off and you will get very bored and lonely. You will have to leave and go back to the city to see your old friends and family and again start some activities and have some relationships with others.
So this is what happens to the souls who are “liberated” to the BrahmaJyoti. They are not really liberated permanently because they can not be satisfied there as there is nothing to do there and they have no body at all there to do anything with. So they become frustrated and bored there and again fall down into the material word in search of some activities and relationships.
This type of impersonal liberation of the liberation of “merging” with the Supreme is artificial and temporary. No one can stay in the Brahmajyoti permanently, because there is nothing to do there and there are no relationships there–so everyone gets bored and falls back into the material world ultimately.
So you are completely correct in that there is no question of us ever loosing our individuality but this impersonal liberation in the brahmajyoti does not give us any chance to express our individuality in any way whatsoever, so it is unnatural and frustrating and therefore not a permanent type of liberation at all.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna!
Beautiful article which I was sent today (25th August 2011 12:26am GMT) , a warm Thank you to you prabhu.
Just question popped into my head:
If someone was thinking of KRSNA but in anger or negative mode at time of death, what becomes of them?
Do they still reach Spiritual Sky?
Thank you.
Hari Bol!
Hare Krishna Kalyana
It is an interesting question, thank you.
It has happened of course. For example the Bhagavad-gita is on a battlefield and there were many soldiers on the other side who were killed by Krishna who were thinking of Krishna at the time of their death but as their enemy, not in a positive way. But Krishna is absolute, so any thinking of Krishna is good for the person. So all these soldiers that were killed by Krishna on the battlefield were liberated. But generally speaking such persons do not go to Krishna’s planet but enter into the impersonal brahmajoti. So it is liberation but not the personal association with Krishna in His planet that the devotees get.
But thinking of Krishna even negatively is still purifying but this is not pure devotional service. Like King Kamsa, he was always thinking of Krishna, because there was a prophecy that Krishna would kill him. So he was always thinking how can he kill Krishna before Krishna would kill him. So ultimately Krishna killed King Kamsa and he got liberation. But Kamsa is not a devotee. Although at times he exhibited some symptoms of attachment to Krishna. It is an interesting story. You can read it in Krsna Book.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna prabhu jee,
Thanks for sending a very nice newliter ,Prabhu jee, i would like to ask you that Bhagavad gita says our are not a body but we are soul so how we going to know that soul is happy in this body or not and how we are going to help to make soul happy…..i will be appropriated for your assistant.
Caitanya candra
Hare Krishna Caitanya Candra
The soul is not happy in the material body Prabhu. You can not make the soul happy in the material body. The body is like a prison. It completely foreign to the soul. The soul is sat-cit-ananda-vigraha. The should has an eternal spiritual form full of knowledge and bilss, the body is the complete opposite. The body is temporary, full of ignorance and full of anxiety. So there is no question of the soul being happy in the material body. It is not possible. It is like I have said before you can not make a fish happy out of the water. The water is the natural atmosphere where the fish can be comfortable. Out of the water you can give the fish so much money, so many beautiful women, a nice big house, heaps of gold, but still he will not be happy out of the water.
So we are like the fish, we belong in the spiritual world, that is our natural environment, we can be happy there, but we are not there, we are in the material world and we can not be happy here, even with millions of dollars and so many beautiful women…
The only way the soul can be happy is if it realizes it is not the material body and gets free from the bodily concept of life. We have to give up our identification with the material body. If we can do this, realize we are not the material body, and stop trying to make the material body happy under the misunderstanding that if we satisfy our senses the soul will be happy, then there is a chance for the soul to be happy.
So the soul can only be happy actually if it knows that it has no real connection with the body and if it can exit on that spiritual transcendental platform then unlimited spiritual happiness can be there.
The process of Krishna consciousness is a scientific way of enabling the soul to come to this point of being free from the bodily concept of life. So we need to follow the process and achieve the platform of Krishna consciousness and transcend the bodily concept of life.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
“Our only request is that if u want happiness,if u want to prosper,make ur life successful,u must read Bhagavad-Gita thoroughly,as it is,as Krsna says.Don’t try to misinterpret.”
(Srila Prabhupada lecture,Bombay,April 2,1974)
Hare Krsna Prabhu………dandavat pranam
and thanx for ur newsletters……..Gaurangaaaaaaa!
HARE KRISHNA Madhudvisa Prabhu
The newsletters are very nice. Thanks Prabhu.
thanks for your news letter discription of bhagwatgita.god bless you
Thank you Madhudvisa for this beautiful and practical work you are doing in serving devotees need to review the basics of Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is literature. As Prabhupada said, this literature and it’s purports by pure devotees forms the grammar school level of instruction for sincere students of this Path of Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya. And please don’t feel you must apologise for the rate of your output for sharing of this sacred and practical material. It is all coming out nicely and it is we readers and responders of the heart and mind of the spirit of bhaktivedanta who owe our gratitudes for your well-informed service Brother Madhudvisa! <3
hare krishna prabhu jee,
Thanks for given a very nice classes, last week one person (non-devotee)asking that Radh rani is not a queen or wife of krishna then why she is always his krishna, & why not praying to queen rukmini? why not teling Rukmini- Kishna like Radha-Krishna, or Sita-Ram or vishnupriya-vishnu?
Hari Bol,
Daso Ka Das
Ajay
I have not commented as of yet. But, have read with much appreciation all of the newsletters I have received from you. So many things race through my mind lately.
I have been chanting as much as I can as of late. The maha-mantra is amazing to revive the soul especially when it seems as if you can’t go any further. I can testify to its awesome powers! It is also wonderful how Lord Krsna will arrive just when you are most ready. For the past few months I have just had the feeling that the whole 9-5 thing of working to pay bills to accumlate more things so you can pay more bills and work longer hours is insane! Since i have found Krsna I feel like I need to surrender all to him and serve Him 24/7.
Life has to have some deeper meanings I refuse to believe that what I have at present is all that life has to offer! Am I crazy????
For so long I have allowed things that happened in my childhood to control me. It made me a victim and I felt anger for a long long time at God at those who did those things ect. But In my studies of Krsna Consciousness I have learned that Karma is Karma and rather than learning from all that has happened I have felt sorry for myself. I need to know that all is in Krsna’s mighty hand and He was , is and always will be in control and I need to accept he knows what it is i need!
Sorry I did not mean to preach I just wanted to share with all some of the things i have been learning.
I do have one odd question someone offered me a free subscription to a magazine called “Back to Prabhupada” is this good? They say they are a part of Iskcon but on their website it seems a little different. Anybody know about this?
Your Brother,
Thom Maxwell
Hare Krishna Thom
It is very nice to hear how you are enjoying chanting Hare Krishna and developing a taste for it and realizing that there must be more to life that working very hard for long hours to get money to buy more toys. Human life is not meant for this at all…
And yes the Back To Godhead magazine is now very strange. It is nothing like the magazine Srila Prabhuapda established any more unfortunately.
You will be much better off reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and chanting Hare Krishna. I do not recommend reading the current BTG magazine at all unfortunately…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hello!
Hare Krsna Thom!
I Thank you for sharing your understanding with us.
I read your comments with interest and I glanced upon your comment out of all the comments on here, as if I was guided to read your words.
I totally understand how you felt and now feel.
I am currently trying to surrender fully to Lord’s will and I have much to learn from your own words too.
You are not preaching and so you do not need to apologise for your sharing, it’s by being open-hearted and sharing and discussing about Krsna and our individual understandings , we can progress further and also unknowingly help others too.
It’s all in Krsna’s Plan. 🙂
Thank you and May Lord Krsna Bless You Always.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Prabhu,
Grateful for the lovely insights.
Haribol.
Dear Madhudvisa dasa,
Hare Krsna,
I would like to Thank you for the newsletters. It is so nice to read in the mornings also very interesting.
I have a question, why is Tulsi so scared to Krsna and is worshipped throughout India.
Tulsi is a pure devotee of Krishna and she is very dear to Krishna and Krishna very much likes the tulsi leaves on His offerings.
You can get more information by searching for Tulsi at PrabhupadaBooks.com and post it here for me to read.
Hare Krishna Prabhu
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
I have been receiving your email elaborating and tutoring to help us understand Bhagwad Gita. Thanks a ton for the divine service.
Prabhuji just one question – Ever since I have taken up Krishna Consciousness seriously much of my time goes in reading, trying to listen to discourses from Iskcon desire tree, bloging thur websites of Srila Prabhupada, reading history of spiritual masters, downloading and learning bhajans for singing while lighting lamp at altars. So are these part of devotional service or these are just preparation for devotional service. Some Iskcon devotee once said to me 16 rounds 3 bhogs and 2 aarti is not enough and not the whole and all in Krishna Consciousness. But since we are householders I feel even doin tht much consumes whole of my time and energy so that is enough.
Or is that I am convincingly using my hobby or interest in reading, blogging, singing and entertaining my self in satvik way
If only you can point the error in my way of thinking, if any, I will be obliged
Hare Krishna
Sudha Mehta
Hare Krishna
Sudha Mehta
Hare Krshna Sudha Mehata Prabhu
It is very inspiring to hear that you have taken serving Srila Prabhuapda and Krishna as such a central and important part of your life. We should live for Krishna, work for Krishna, do everything for Krishna and as a householder Prabhu I think that is what you are doing. You have to do your business and support your family but actually you are doing that business so you can purchase bhoga to offer to Krishna, not to actually feed your family. They are eating the Krishna prasadam.
All these things you are doing are devotional service. Not preparation for devotional service. It is a simple thing. We are always doing some service. Also the materialists they are a always doing some service. It is the nature of the living entity that we have to be always engaged in some service. So we simply have to question who we are doing this service for. And if really honestly we are doing if for Srila Prabhuapda and Krishna it is devotional service.
The whole idea is to consume our whole time and energy in serving Krishna. And exactly what the service is will depend on the devotee. Everyone is an individual and everyone is in a different situation, so according to one’s own personal situation and realization and capacity he should engage his energies in serving Krishna under the direction of Krishna’s pure devotee Srila Prabhuapda.
But you do have to be careful because it is easy to get off the track. Particularly all these discussions that go on on websites and so on. It’s better to read Prabhuapda’s books and listen to Srila Prabhuapda because we know he is a pure devotee of Krishna. We elevate our consciousness by hearing from a pure devotee of Krishna, we do not get much benefit at all from these political discussions on the internet, or by hearing from someone who is not a liberated soul.
There are a lot of traps and diversions on the path and some of them appear to be quite spiritual… Many have set themselves up as gurus and spiritual teachers but are themselves not qualified teachers and are simply misleading the people who hear from them and this is also very common in ISKCON.
The real secret to success is hearing from the right person. And the right person to hear from is Srila Prabhuapda Prabhu,
So the only thing I would suggest is increase your reading of Prabhupada’s books and hearing of his classes.
Devotees are always thinking they are not doing enough service and trying to do more. This is a natural feeling and we should be feeling like that and not want to waste any time without any connection with service to Krishna and Srila Prabhuapda.
So these devotees who are complaining to us that we are not doing enough are our great friends. Because we have so much debt to Srila Prabhuapda we can not repay it, we really can not do enough….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Your servant
Madhudvisa dasa
muchas gracias..los amo.
pamho madhudvisa prabhu agtACBSP the last newsletter you sent me is very powerful thank you for help me to practice KRSNA SMARANA by reading your parampara newsletter i hope to get the spiritual world by keeping doing like that for all my whole life as you know SRI GAURANGA MAHAPRABHU is the most merciful LORD everything can happen by HIS revolutionary mercy i’m still progressing to get the last destination by chanting and reading the daily SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA i feel the benefit of the sacrifice therefore i keep going with my saddhana bhakti because i’m conscious of my spiritual advancement in krsna consciousness by be connect with you SRILA PRABHUPADA and GAURA NITAI thank you very much for your help and blessing agtys dandavats daso smi seva das haribol
Ji,
Thanks a lot for this helpful email through these trying times.
yours truly,
N.Gokul alias N.Kumaresh.
(What’s the use of having the name Gokul and not learning about The great Lord
Shri Krishna?)
Ji,
Thanks a lot. Very helpful newsletter in these trying times.
Hare krishna prabhu ji
thanks prabhu ji for such a wonderfull newsletter.I have Bhgavad Gita in English and hindi.I read it on the regular basis that 2 sloke per day with purpot given by Shrila prabhu paad.Thanks again for your newsletter.hare krishna
your servent
madhu tomar
Excellent newsletters. Keep ’em coming. I strive to read it every morning to influence the rest of my day. Thanks!!! Hare Krisna.
Hare Krishna,
Thank you for your emails…i am very grateful. They have been very helpful to me!!
Hari Krisna
I do not wont to be in light och play with krisna only to please him, how to do? I am afriad to lose kontroll!
Hare Krishna,
why did not Lord Krishna marry Radharani?
The Divine Coupling of Krishna~Radharani is on the Absolute and Eternal platform from which springs perenially all life forms existences in The Spiritual Sky and underneath and conditioned by The Material Sky aspect of Their True Conjugal Rasa. So, why did They not “marry” under the formalities of our jiva spirit-soul marginal potency laws and customs? Because Their Love is the fulfillment of all good laws and its inception. At least, that is my present understanding of the Nature of Radhe~Krishna and Their transcendental Love Play and Their Appearance in This Their Theatre for Their Pleasure and for ours’ only by submission to Their Ways and not Them to ours’.
thank you very much please i need a solution to my problem about what i am pass through misery okay.
regard
mr pius ikukute
hare krishna
Dear Madhudvisa dasa,
Thank you for the newsletters. It is so nice to read and know more about Lord Krishna.As said in the newsletter “we must always engage our minds in reading the Vedic literatures like Bhagavad Gita As It Is and Srimad-Bhagavatam.”, reading about Lord Krishna through the newsletters helps in keeping the mind full of Lord Krishna. But to this extent am reading is because of my Guru Vijay. I am very much thankful to him also.
Thank you,
Sriram
hare krishna prabhuji, can you please send me an elaborate answer on the question — why should we worship God or why should we be a religious person.
Prabhuji, can you please give an elaborate answer on the question — why should we worship God or why should we be a religious person.
Hare Krishna
It is not needing an elaborate answer. We only have two choices. We can serve maya or we can serve Krishna. There is no third choice. If we serve maya that will continue the cycle of birth and death in 8,400,000 species of life in the material world eternally. And we will suffer birth, old age, disease and death over and over and over again. Endlessly. Or we can serve Krishna and remember Krishna at the time of death and go back home, back to Godhead and be returned to our original constitutional position as servants of Krishna and enjoy unlimited pleasure, knowledge and exist in our eternally youthful spiritual bodies.
So what is better? Eternal suffering in the material world of eternal pleasure in the spiritual world.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thanks to Madhudvisa dasa, for describing in few words, the spiritual sky.
I have Bhgavad Gita in English and French. Now I am reading the Srimad Bhagavatam, Six Chant, in French.
I am happy to be in connection with you, because I am thinking as you, so I need to colaborate with you.
Tomorrow, I hope to meet some devotees, wich are coming in Liège, Belgium, to give some spiritual Food to people wich are coming.
See you in a couple of days,
stef729
I offer you my humble obeisances Madhudvisa dasa. Harinama Sankirtana.
Hare Krishna!
Thank you for your newsletter they are very enlightening. We look forward to them. 🙂
We have a question: Is it necessary to have a Spiritual Master to progress in Krishna Consciousness – can we still progress just as well without them?
Thank you
Hare Krishna! Prabhu, this website help us to know more about lord krishna & devotion service.Thank you prabhu.
Prabhu i need to become krishna conscious the following practice will help me to become krishna conscious:
*Chanting hare krishna! mantra 16 rounds daily.
*reading Bhagvath gita daily.
*following four regulative principle.
*associating with devotees often.
Hare Krishna If u can tell me about friendship between Lord Krishna & Arjuna with few examples…
Hare Krishna Bhavika
You can see the friendly relationship of Arjuna and Krishna change into the relationship of spritiual master and disciple in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Please read it. You can read it at:
http://www.AsItIs.com
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Prabhuji,
I am enjoying your news letters.Thankyou for sending me the newsletter
i am from trivandrum iwant to know more about Krishna and iscon and it activites and ialso like to became a part of iscon
hi i will be quite frank about this, i cant wait tot leave this material world of suffering and dispair so hopefully i will go to the spiritual world at the time of death, which hopefully wont be too long away i am a vey lonely man and the sound of a spiritual world sounds good to me.thanx and goodbye.
All glories to our Lord and Supreme Spiritual Master, His Divine Grace Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta Swami Lord Srila Prabhupada!!! Who is the New Savior of this wretched little planet for the next ten-thousand years. Please accept my humble obeisances upon your lotus feet.
I just wanted to Thank-you from the bottom of my heart for such a wonderful website! You are doing the highest service in the universe — introducing the follow souls to a “Bonafide” Spiritual-Master and His teachings and Love.
My request is you spend more time on (in your own loving words) glorifying the wonderful position of our New Savior. The whole world has waited for the second coming of the Christ. He has come; Lord Srila Prabhupada! He has left the covenant through His books.
The first coming of Christ was not recognized until two-hundred years after His disappearance. Let us not let Maya cover Lord Srila Prabhupada’s mercy that long. I am in a university in Georgia, working with a team of people to write a Bible on behalf of Lord Srila Prabhupada and to scientifically prove that He is the Second coming of the Christ.
Hare Krishna
Hardik Namaskar Prabhuji!
Shree Krishna Sharanam Namaha.
I liked ur newsletter on God Shree Krishna. I am delighted to read about his abode the Supreme Sky the Sanatana Sky & not the Bhramaloka which I used to think is the highest place so far.
Thanks for the supreme knowledge keep writing to me.
Your student,
Shubhangini.
hare Krishna,
The spiritual sky is eternal. In the spiritual sky, there is no dualities, no hunger, no thirst, no birth or death, no heat or cold. But its full of bliss. It is illuminated neither by the light of sun nor moon
Dear Madhudvisa ji,
In our home there are customs like we have to worship our home god, Munishawara and then after that our custom god like raagamma, may be we call it has demi gods, we are worshipping from our fore fathers time and as you said that Krishna is supreme lord, there is no doubt in that, if we worship only him, will the demi gods get wild or if we pray to that demi gods that I have to get krishna conscious and I have to become his true baktha is it o.k. Why I am asking this question is normally we should not forget when some one has done good to us, we should be thankful to him and if that is the case, what is the wrong in just worshipping demi gods as well as Supreme lord krishna. Kindly clear my doubt.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna krishna hare hare
Hare rama Hare Rama Rama Rama hare hare.
My heartful and humble vanadanam to you.
Waiting for your reply.
S.THIYAGARAJ.
If one worships the various demigods he should at least know what to ask for. Bhagavad-Gita states, ”antavat tu phalam tesam tad bhavaty alpa medhasam, devan deva- yajo yanti mad bhakta yanti mam api” “Men of small intelligence worship the demigods and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.” (Bg. 7.23) If we approach the demigods with some paltry request for material prosperity, employment opportunity, or social standing, we waste our time and energy. This is like approaching a King for a heap of ashes. The King has the power to grant you immense power and wealth, so why ask for something small? Similarly, why should we worship demigods and ask for some insignificant thing when we can request these empowered representatives of the Lord for their assistance on our path of devotional service? We simply have to know what is worth asking for.
Hare Krishna
Thiyagaraj ji,
Srila Prabhupada has said in one of his books if you want to render service to the tree water the roots. Krishna himself tells in Bhagwad Gita All services and offering do unto me. Then why this doubt. Even I was praying to assortment of God’s before getting into pure Krishna Consciousness but with developing right knowledge I am slowly letting go that practices. Even if I forgot to name one god or goddess during bhoga Aarti I used to get baffled that I will have face their wrath. These are all pure mental concoctions due to upbringing. If we read Srila Prabhupada, Bhagwad Gita, do our commited rounds hear Iskcon Prabhu Lectures all our doubts will clear automatically
Sudha Mehta
Hare krishna Hare Krishna Krishna krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Dear MADHUDVISA DASA
Past two days,I have not got any messages from you, I am waiting for your teachings about Bhagavat Gita.
SOME OF MY VIEWS TO EVERY ONE WHO SEES THIS WALL
I am not a true bakta, if you line the bhaktas, then I may be the last one, to my knowledge I want to tell that, we have to practise chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra and we should slowly try to start leaving with lord Krishna, we should love him, we should study his history and we should enjoy his abilashas, if you start enjoying about him, then our one janma is not enough to taste his rasas, We can think our relation with him as any form, As a father or mother or brother or sister or friend or your girl friend or your boy friend or your care taker like body gaurd or your rakshakan.
Here in the above, I mentioned as body Gaurd, many people may think that I am decreasing his position, to be true, if we realy show affection and love on him, then he may go to the least positon to save us and make us happy. For everything he is the end or he is the ultimate or for any thing he is complete, If any body shows love to us we doesnt know what is the value in percentage when compared with others who are like us, but Gods love towards his sons is complete, there will not be any issues or dissatisfaction or comparison with others love.
Only one way, it is bakti, means not just reading spiritual books for knowing things or chanting mantras just as a sound.
Like him, love him, leave along with him, we should leave in this world doing our duties assigned to us and we should follow his teachings from Gita as a guide and wait for his order to attain him.
He is a care taker of us, he knows what has to be given at what time to us, just have faith in him and he will show the way get the guru and through him to the supreme.
FAITH,PATIENCE,TRUE LOVE,EXPECTATIONS(HAVING LOVE WITH HIM ONLY) WILL LEAD US TO HIM.
I am trying for this, if I do all the above said, then I may not be in his end, he will be in my end.
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA HARE HARE.
S.THIYAGARAJ.
Hare Krishna,
I am delighted to read your newsletter.I love reading Vishnusahasranama and lalithasahasranama.But whenever I read any article of god or goddess I keep remembering that god.Do I have to think of one name of god only ?If I read Bagavadgita I think of Krishna If I read Lalitha sahasranama I think of Durga.How to think of only one god when all gods are same.How to surrender myself which I am trying to do it for a long long time because of this materialistic world we are so surrounded by the materialistic things that we forget to remember god at almost all the time Please advice me
Hare Krishna Birendra
All “Gods” are not the same. You have equated Krishna and Durga in your message here. But that is a great offense. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes. Durga is a temporary expansion of Krishna who is only present in the material world and who can only give benedictions within the material world.
The problem with most Indians is unfortunately they have been brought up with so much hodge-podge impersonal and mayavadi philosophy and they are thinking that they know about the Vedas and the Gita and Krishna and Durga. But actually what they know is all a confused mess.
So I strongly recommend you seriously study Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. You can read it online at:
http://www.AsItIs.com
and you can purchase the book at:
http://krishnastore.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-with-bonus-dvd-h-krishna-407.html
Please do not take any offense but you have to throw out all that you have heard from Indians in your childhood and upbringing because it is all contaminated by the impersonal ideas propagated by Sankaracarya and his followers. And you need to take a fresh look at Krishna’s Bhagavad-gita “AS IT IS.” You need to understand the Bhagavad-gita from the personal viewpoint. It is a personal conversion between the person Krishna and the person Arjuna. And Krishna is declaring that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that no one is equal to Him and no one is higher than Him. No God can be equal to or higher than Krishna. Krishna says this and we have to believe Him…
So please study Srila Prabhuapda’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is with an open mind free from the conditioning of the ideas you were taught in India when you were young and free from the offensive impersonalism that has completely overtaken India and practically the whole world…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
In Gita it is said categorically stated that no weapon can cut soul ,no one can burn it ,no one can dry it,but acc to prbhupad we all are fragmental part and parcel of supreme being.Both these things are contradictory .If soul can not be cut how these numerable souls can be fragmental parts of supreme soul.Plz answer my query.
Yes Prabhu, from a material point of view it is confusing.
We are eternal, just like Krishna. We do not have a beginning or an end, just like Krishna. We were always fragmental part and parcel of Krishna. It is not that Krishna was cut up and we fragments were created. No. We are eternal and Krishna is eternal. We are just like Krishna. But Krishna is unlimited, supreme, great and we are tiny, insignificant. But we have the same qualities as Krishna. Prabhupada gives the example of the ocean. In this example Krishna is likened to the ocean and we are likened to a single drop of the ocean water. The drop and the ocean are the same in quality but there is a vast difference in the quantity of water in the drop and the quantity of water in the ocean.
So we are like Krishna, unborn, ever-existing, undying, eternal… We have always existed in the past, we are existing now and we will continue to exist in the future also. Krishna says to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita 2.12:
“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.”
If we can just understand this one statement of Krishna we can understand that we were never not existing. We are eternal fragmental parts and parcels of Krishna. This is not contradictory…
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
I am enjoying your news letters. Words are short to describe.
My journey on this path is very short and I am just a young learner in middle age. Though I hail from a family who has encestors as sages in Vrindavan worshipping Krishna, but unfortunately out of loose control of my own weak mind I became a fallen soul and have earned all the sins . Of late about 2 year or so ago I observed a very young office colleague practicing Krishna and ISKCON culture.
He became my guiding light and showed me the way to present day, Its about 3 am in the night and I am enjoying Krishna sites, Srila Prabhupas’s videos, your news letters – no tiredness, no sleepiness but more and more desire to know more and more about Krishna and the delight is turning into ecstasy. I was told by some of the spiritual masters that its Krishna reciprocating, and that fills me with all the more pleasure.
Few months ago while chanting, I wanted to see Krishna in his personal form through a virtual/ mental or spiritual vision but I would only see Srila Prabhupad. Its true I could see, hear Srila Prabhupad in FLesh and Blood under a banyan tree, looking skywards and chanting Hare Krishna.
When one of the spiritual guru showed me way ahead and I accepted that there is no difference between Krishna and his follower Acharyas and Spiritual Guru’s I did see Krishna.
Its not a lie, but for the first time I am writing it down to someone. It was Kamada Ekadasi on 26th March 2010, I was at a Hotel in Chennai on a official visit. I was woken up at Braham Muharat at 4 am by Lord Krishna himself!!!. He is very beutiful, His shyam / blue appearance is unforgettable. When I opened my eyes I was in this world. The feeling is unforgetable. This will remain with me forever with this soul – I pray this to Krishna.
A special Thanks to you for unfolding the secrets of Srimad Bhagwatam to me and showing me the process of going back to Godhead.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Hare Krishna Madhuvisa dasa!
Thank you very much for the newsletters you have been sending to me. I would be grateful if you would let me know how and from where you acquired my e-mail address. I am not a person far from the subject. I have already read Bhagavad-gita and other related books such as Koran and Bible. I am interested in philosophy and find your newsletters instructive.
With my best regards
Meltem
hare krishna,
is the hare krishna movement declining in the western world? prabhupad predicted that the movement would run for another ten thousand years.
Hare krishna,
Its said that our actions leads to “karma”.. Does thoughts leads to “karma”. If one keeps thinking of sense pleasures, does it lead to “karma”..?
Hare Krishna Simon
Thoughts lead to actions. So if you keep thinking about sense pleasure you will end up trying to get it in reality. And when you perform the action you have to suffer the karma.
There is a special benediction in this Kali-yuga that we don’t have to suffer a bad reaction for our thoughts. But if you do not control your thoughts you will end up doing the things you are thinking about and then you will have to suffer the reactions.
We can not make the mind empty. We have to fill our mind with thoughts about Krishna, thoughts about the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, and with the details of how we are going to perform our service for Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.
There is an English saying, “The idle mind is the Devil’s workshop.” It is very true. So we need to keep the mind constantly engaged in Krishna consciousness.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Prabhu ji,
My question is when exactly a soul enters the material body. It is known that a sperm and an ovum unites together to form an embryo. at what point of time does the soul enter this embryo? And there is yet another confusion. Recently science has developed the the procedure of cloning. here only a single cell from the body is removed and an organism is produced? when will the soul enter in this case? its a bit confusing to think..
Hare Krishna Rajesh
The soul enters the mixture created by the sperm and the secretion from the women. It can enter if the right situation is created.
It is a little complex and I suggest you research this at http://www.PrabhupadaBooks.com and report back with your findings.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hari Krishna:
My question is one that I have not found the answer too. When one leaves the present body and travels to another, can one go back in time, and to other planets, or do you continue to move forward, as well as to other planets.
Hari Krishna
Bruce
Hare Krishna Bruce
No, you can not go back in time.
Time is Krishna, according to Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, and it can not be conquered. Time moves forward relentlessly, nothing can stop it and there is no way you can go back once a moment in time has passed. That is why it is very important to use every moment of time wisely and in the service of Krishna. If we let a moment go by without service to Krishna that moment is lost forever. We can never go back in time.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvsia dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvida Dasa ji, can you please tell me how will be the life in the abode of the Lord, Goloka. What activities we will be doing there if we go back? will we have a family there? will we be engaged in some occupation there? please describe in detail about Goloka..
Hare Krishna Rajesh Prabhu
Life in Goloka Vrindavan, we get a glimpse of this lifestyle in Vrindavan 5000 years ago when Krishna was personally present here on this earth planet. Actually when Krishna comes to the material world He does not actually come to the material world. He brings Goloka Vrindavan with Him. So you can understand the Goloka lifestyle by reading Srila Prabhuadpa’s Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead:
http://krishnastore.com/krsna-the-supreme-personality-of-godhead-1970-first-edition-h-krishna-401.html
Or you can read online at:
http://www.KrsnaBook.com
The only thing is that in Goloka Vrindavan there are no demons. On this planet there are demons. Demons are envious of Krishna and always want to kill Krishna. So when Krishna comes to this world He kills many demons. So there is no demon killing in Goloka Vrindavan.
There we all have an eternal relationship with Krishna in one of the five types of favourable rasas. Santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhuraya. You can serve Krishna in many different ways. So life in Goloka Vrindavan means your business is serving Krishna. Yes. You will have a family there. But the real center of everything is Krishna. Still the cowherd boys have a mother and father and brothers and sisters and they live in their parents house and every morning when they hear Krishna playing on His flute they leave their house with their families cows and calves and join Krishna and together with all their cows and calves Krishna, Balaram and all Their cowherd boyfriends go to the various places around Vrindavan where they can find nice grass for the cows to eat. And while the cows are eating the nice grass Krishna and Balaram and the cowherd boys play together and enjoy many sporting pastimes…
This is going on eternally in Goloka Vrindavan. You could call it “The Planet of the Cows.” Krishna is very fond of the cows and cows are very plentyful in Goloka Vrindavan and the residents are manily cowherd boys and milk-maids (gopis)…
There is no office to go to and no trains and busses to catch and no traffic jams and no pollution. There the sound of Krishna’s beautiful flute playing captivates everything and everyone…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
THX for the News and updates !!!!
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna ! Hare Rama, Hare Rama !!!!
Peace and Love to all….
Namaste, Omody
hare Krishna prabhu, Im 25yr old, Doctor in India. I have attended Folk classes conducted by Iskcon. My question is if i sincerely follow the four regulative principles and chant 16 rounds daily and eat food by preparing Prasadam at home, that is food offered to the Lord, is it possible to go back to Godhead in this birth itself, if im doing all these by being in family..
Hare Krishna Sanjay
Yes Prabhu, you can go back home back to Godhead by chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and following the four regulative principles even if you stay with your family. But it is not a mechanical process. You have to think of Krishna at the time of death not your family. And if you live with your family until the time of death and remain involved in the family affairs it is likely that you will remember your family at the time of death and then you will have to come back into the material world.
That is why the Vedic culture recommends that family life should not be permanent. After the age of fifty there should be a son who can take over the family affairs and then the father and mother can leave home and use the final years of their lives to become closer to Krishna. And to become detached from the family…
prabhu, after the age of fifty or like in old age, as you said the father and mother have to leave home and use the final years to become closer to krishna. can the couples remain as husband and wife or they have to separate and live a separate life?
Hare Krishna Sanjay Prabhu
Family life is called the Grhastha Ashram. By the age of 50 or a bit later there should be a son who is capable of taking over the family business then the mother and father can take to the Varnaprastha ashram. At this stage they give up the material side of life like sex life and distance themselves from the day-to-day affairs of family life and go on extended travels to the pilgrimage places and spent their time advancing in spiritual life and developing their relationship with Krishna. At this time there is no more sex life and they live a simple life dedicate to serving Krishna. But they can still stay together.
Later on the husband may decide to take sannyasa and at that time he can not live with his wife so at that time the wife would return to the family house and live under the care of her grown sons.
That the Vedic system.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna prabhuji!
Thank you for sending me the newsletters.
these are very enlightening thoughts.
I would like to ask one question prabhuji. Lord krishna says in Bhagawad Gita “attachment to the fruits of action binds a person to continual rebirth”.
this means that whatever work we do and the results that we get, we should renounce them. for eg. i study and write the exam and the marks. this means i did a work and i got the result as my marks. How do i renounce it? Also Lord says surrender the fruits of action to me. How do we practice this in daily life?
thanks ands regard
Hare Krishna
your servant
cindrella.
Hare Krishna Cindrella
The idea is not to actually renounce things. The proper understanding is that everything belongs to Krishna. We do not own anything ourselves. So say I have $1,000, if I think this is mine and for spiritual advancement I should renounce it and I give it away to some beggar on the street I have made a big mistake.
The money was not mine. The money is Krishna’s. So it is not mine to give to the beggar who may well use it on drugs and alcohol… It is Krishna’s money and should be used for in Krishna’s service for Krishna’s pleasure.
So this is the idea, practical renunciation. Understanding that I do not posses anything, that everything belongs to Krishna and everything must be used in Krishna’s service.
So your education is like that. If you get some good useful education then you can use the skills and knowledge that you gain from the education in the service of Krishna.
Things in themselves are not good or bad. It is the use that you put them to. A sharp knife can be used by a doctor to save someone’s life and the same knife can be used by a murderer to kill someone. So the secret of practical renunciation is to use everything in the service of Krishna, understanding that everything belongs to Krishna, and nothing belongs to me.
For example I am educated in computer systems and management, so instead of getting a job and working for some materialist I know that my skills belong to Krishna and should be used for the pleasure of Krishna. And that is what I try to do, use my skills in the service of Krishna.
So whatever we have, we should use it in the service of Krishna…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa prabhu,
Thankyou for sending me the newsletter. I am not a devotee but a new seeker and have come to ISKON through looking online for a way to study the Bhagavad Gita and finding that you have a very comprehensive approach and a great deal of help available. Have now watched the DVD Science of Self realisaton and am reading Beyond Birth and Death. I am working through your emails rather slowly as I am referring to the Gita as I go. As I am new to this book my questions are somewhat basic.
You say that Arjuna was the first student of the Gita. Prior to the age of Kali Yuga was the Gita called something else? I am assuming that it was mostly transmitted orally through the disciplic succession, but has it been written down in the past before the version spoken to Arjuna? Are there any recorded teachings of other ancient cultures that are considered to be Krishna’s revelation to mankind?
Who were the disciplic succesion and how was it considered to be broken 5000 yrs ago? Also I am wondering who are demons? Are they considered to be all people who do not believe in God or are they a particular class of humans? How do they relate to the demons in Arjunas time who seem to be supernatural and rather gruesome?
I have really enjoyed the DVD and I agree at this point with the petition to release Srila Prabhupada’s recordings as there is something about this man that reaches people, apart from the fact that he is very wise and knowledgable. Therefore I have been happy to sign the petition and I hope that everyone else will too.
Hare Krishna Cate
Thank you very much for making the journey into the world of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
Bhagavad-gita was originally spoken by Krishna to the Sun God, Vivasvan at the time of the creation of this universe. There are two dynasties of Kings. One comes from the Sun and one comes from the Moon. So Vivasvan instructed his sons in the science of the Bhagavad-gita and they instructed their sons and these sons and grandsons and great-grandsons of Vivasvan were the kings of the universe and in this way the Bhagavad-gita was being passed down. As you say it was an aural tradition.
By the time Krishna again saw the need to appear on this planet and speak the Bhagavad-gita again the original knowledge of the Gita had been completely lost.
This happens in time. Time is very powerful. Actually in the Gita Krishna says He is time and as time He is devouring everything in the material world. So time marches on and everything gets lost in time.
That is why there is a constant need for Krishna to incarnate time and time again and for him to send his pure devotees to re-establish the true religious principles. Particularly now, in the Kali-yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy, as soon as the empowered pure devotee representative of Krishna disappears from our mundane vision so many demons pop-up, masquerading as gurus and spiritual leaders and completely distort the teachings for their own personal benefit and the true meaning is very quickly lost.
That is why it is very important to preserve and protect the original teachings of Srila Prabhupada. I thank you very much for signing the petition for the release of all the original, unedited Prabhuapda recordings.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Revered Madhudvisa Das ji-Hare Krishna, I express deep gratitude for sending newsletter through emaildescribing the way to ‘Spiritual world. it is inspiring.Whatever Lord Krishna has said in GITA is required to be imbibed and realized.But our bad habits and Rajo AND tAMOGUNAS ARE THE STUMBLING BLOCKS IN THE WAY TO THE sPIRITUAL WORLD WHICH i experience personally.Although I HAVE NOT SEEN GOD BUT I KNOW AND BELIEVE WHAT-EVER IS THAT IS GOD. Following the sermon of LORD KRISHNA I WANT TO CONTINUE ”HARI CHARCHA” WITH YOU FOR-EVER[as per Gita-10/9],AND THEREBY REALIZE GOD FOLLOWING THEPROCEDURES AND MEANS IN VERSES-10,11,12 OF CHAPTER-10 PRACTISING THE INSTRUCTIONS OF CHAPTER-6 OF MOTHER GITA. I seek your Guidence and long co-operation-please reflect light and enlighten me, HARI OM-Yours-S.P. Thakur
Hi Madhudvisa,
your posts on krishna and Bhagvadgita are great! Thank you for all your posts.
Hare Krishna Prabhu Ji,
Thank u so much for sending these newsletters to me. I am very grateful to u. Hari Bol.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa prabhu
thank you for sending me the newsletter.
the article is extremely fresh and enlightening.
any discussion about spiritual world is really very hope inducing.
i would like to ask one question
in the article it is written that “one has to cooperate with krishna in order to feel the pleasure”
what kind of cooperation does Krishna demand that is required to become blissful?
i hope my question is clear.
thanks and regards
GOD bless you Madhudvisa prabhu
Brijesh
HARE KRSNA
MAHARAJ YOUR IDEA OF THE PODCAST OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA IS VERY AMAZING. I REALLY ENJOYED IT.IT IS REALLY TOO GOOD. AND YOUR LAST MAIL WHERE YOU WROTE ABOUT THE GOLOKA VRNDAVANA IS REALLY AMAZING. I AM REALLY FORTUNATE THAT KRSNA IS SHOWING HIS MERCY TO ME THROUGH YOU. MAHARAJ PLEASE ME SEND ME MORE INFORMATION SPECIALLY PRACTICAL INFORMATION EXAMPLES THAT I CAN DEVLOP MY “KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS”.
hare krsna danvat pr ,this is ankit in ur service
first fal i would like to thank u for all the mails u r sending
and pr i totally agree with u and wat supreme personality thinks
so for the above mail i have no queries regarding the same
i m very glad to communicate with u
thank u
hari bol
very enlightening post…makes me happy that i follow
lord hari and his wisdom/teachings. i hope i am worthy
enough to reach goloka…
Prabhu
I am extremly grateful for connecting me in your spiritual world,ISCKON the Vakunthlok of Kalyuga. I’ll be very obliged if you take me in your shelter from where we can feel detatched from the illusions and sufferings. I feel the more near to your spirit the more I learn from you. Please pick up me from the darkness of material principles.
I offer my humby respect to you
a keen servent
shivkant
Hare Krishna Sir
I am hightly delighted after reading your article.
after readind this particular article i felt this exactly the same thing i am looking for. sir, i have hindi edition of sri bhagwad geeta as it is and i have started reading the same however, it is bit difficult to understand the same without someone’s guidance but knowledge given by your articles is superb.
sir i awant to share one thing with you personally that as the changes are bound to happen and no one can stop that but i found myself in big difficulty whenevr any change arises in anyone’s behaiour. sir, i want to learn the art of tolerance as well. please sir help me with your divine guidance.
Hare Krishna!
Regards
Lata Prajapati
Hare Krishna
This is on of good idea to know the lord Krishna. I am very glad to read this letter. Hope keep in touch. thank you.
“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare.”
I am currently reading the Bhagavad-gita, it came in the mail yesterday. Also a DVD and two companion books. I watched the DVD last night. If I have no problem with the ‘idea’, what is the necessity of the ‘right guru’?
Hare Krishna David
Having the right guru is essential. You will find as you read the Bhagavad-gita that Krishna will advise you to approach a bona fide guru, render service, offer obeisances, and inquire from him submissively. Why? Because such a self-realized person can give you real knowledge because he has seen the truth.
So it is essential that if you accept a spiritual master he must be a liberated soul, a self-realized person. Otherwise accepting a guru who is not self-realized will be a complete and utter waste of time for you because unless one is self-realized he has not seen the truth. And if he has not seen the truth he can not explain the truth to you…
This is very basic. Krishna consciousness 101 if you like. But somehow these days so many devotees are confused on this basic first point of Krishna consciousness and they accept initiation from gurus who they even know in advance are not self-realized. It is quite insane. But it is Kali-yuga and people have lost their intelligence.
But David, you should not loose your intelligence, you should hear this instruction directly from Krishna and believe Krishna. Krishna says the spiritual master must be a self-realized soul because only a self realized soul has seen the truth and therefore only a self-realized soul can give you real knowledge.
Really we are coming to Krishna consciousness to become ourselves ultimately self-realized. We want real knowledge. And this is only available from a pure devotee of Krishna. As I said these are very simple basic points. Krishna consciousness 101. But unfortunatly ISKCON does not agree with this basic fundamental teaching of Krishna and they preach the opposite… They say the spiritual master does not have to be a liberated soul. And they say a conditioned soul can give you real knowledge. But they are crazy. So it is better not to listen to crazy men. It is better to listen to Krishna.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
what all dvd sets are prescribed for begginers please suggest and where can i get them?
Get the Prabhupada DVD set and watch it:
http://krishnastore.com/prabhupada-dvd-set-h-krishna-403.html
yes i agree with u..everyone have to think about krishna at the time of death..so we can easily goes to krishna kingdom…HARE RAMA..HARE KRISHNA..thanks for sending this newsletters..i love to read it..
Hello All,
Well I wanted to say I still with you.
However, I feel true happiness is life in the absence of fear!
I do not think happiness is having freedoms that run against the law.
Harmony is the best way to live ones life.
One can never be free if ones mind is unbalanced with preceptive distortions.
I simply disagree with you!
Our Heavenly Father states that man’s nature is one of sinfulness.
Brother James….
Can i ask is there anything that would stop you thinking of Krishna at the time of death? Is this is all there is to do to reach the heavenly planets in the spiritual sky?
Yes. There are so many things that can cause you to not think of Krishna at the time of death.
You will remember at the time of death what was the most important thing to you during your life. So unless Krishna was the most important thing in your life it is very unlikely that you will remember Krishna at the time of death.
It is a great science. How to ensure one remembers Krishna at the time of death. Srila Prabhuapada has written about eighty books which contain this science. So please study them and make serving Krishna the purpose of your life and then you will have a good chance of remembering Krishna at the time of death. And, yes, if you can remember Krishna at the time of death you will go back home, back to Godhead for sure. Krishna guarantees this in the Bhagagvad-gita. You can look up the verse: yanti deva vrata devan…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna James W. Blount, Jr.
Understanding how to travel to the Spiritual heavens.
Yes, self-programming is very necessary for separations of spirit
At the time of death. If one goes about there life without
Harmony of one’s creator then returning to the one whom sent you will
Be impossible.
Self-programming helps to prepare one’s spirit for programmed travel.
Normally, ones spirit operates like an auto-pilot at death.
One spirit will simply travel to a place where spirit exchange takes place.
The growth of harmony with our God, will prepare ones own spirit for
Correct travel back to the one who created our spirit in the first place.
I think enrichment of one mind is important in sprit growth. Yes, doubt,
And Disbelieve are negative factors the causes backward spiritual
Dilation. For some reasons, at time of death the spirit tends to shrink to
Microscopic sizes. I do not really know why. However, the physical Universe may play an important role in that process. Since, we are moving
At great speeds Within the physical heavens perhaps this causes some forms of spiritual Dilation.
Those who excel in science are promise re-birth of lost life in this Universe.
So a fruitful and very harmony relationship with ones own God perhaps
Provides a way for the spirit to expands or grow larger. This growth may
Provide the energies that allow travel back to ones own God.
I found the reading of Travel to the Spiritual Heavens very interesting.
And I wanted to offer my opinion and insights into this very dark
Mystery.
Dear prabhuji
I just want to ask one question …..
Please throw some light on this
does a living entity being a part ant and parcel of the sopreme lord has any independence at all .
I hope u pick up my meaning ..
Hoping to c ur answer ASAP .
Regards,
Atul Maken .
Yes, we have “minute independence.”
We can choose between serving Krishna and serving maya [the material energy]. That is our only independence. We are always servants. We will never be the master.
Hare krishna madhudvisa dasa ji,
I have gone through your article ” spiritual world- how to go there” and also read the post by other reader and found it highly informative. I have no other queires because being a follower of swami prabhupada my knowledge is complete and it agrees with all of what u have wruitten above…..I just want to ask you one thing….THAT WHY DONT YOU SEND THESE ARTICLES TO YOUR INDIAN ISKCON TEMPLE BRANCHES SO THAT THESE CAN BE PRINTED IN BIG INDIAN NEWSPAPERS SO THAT THESE TOPICS CAN REACH A NORMAL PERSON WHO DOESNOT HAS ACCESS TO KRISHNA.ORG OR INTERNET? DONT U THINK THIS STEP WOULD BE OF GREAT HELP FOR THE WHOLE HUMANITY IN BECOMING KRISHNA CONSCIOUS?
PLEASE DO ACT IF POSSIBLE AND LET ME KNOW WHAT U THINK….
LOOKING FORWARD FOR YOUR REPLY..
HARE KRISHNA..
Respected Prabhuji,
Thank you very much for your wonderful study / article. I eagerly await for your next article.
Hare Krishna
Subir Das
Jay Shri Krishna Praphu
You May have answered this query many times in the past,inspite of that I would be very greatful if you can answer this question I follow Hinduism We have so many deities even though we too beleive in one god how do we justify the exisitence of So many God and Godess You may beleive the God to be only Krishna but this is also a fact that we have many God and Godesses how do we justify this to the followers of Islam
Hare Krishna Manish
Firstly we do not have to justify anything to the Muslims. Muslims are meat eaters and will not be able to understand very subtle philosophy. There is no point in arguing with them. Just encourage them to chant the name of God [as they understand it].
The actual situation of God has been much simplified in the Christian and Muslim religions, however in the Vedas the complete information is given.
God is one but He is manifest in many different ways. He expands. From the original Krishna many other Visnu forms have expanded. The expansions are described as being like candles lit from one original candle. So all the candles have the same power and the same light, but one of the candles is the original.
So there are many Visnu-Tattva forms that together make up the “Godhead” and Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So in India there are many Visnu-Tattva forms worshiped like Lord Rama, Lord Narasimha, etc.
But there are also many “demigods.” A demigod is generally an ordinary living entity, a jiva-tattva, like you or me, who has been elevated to a position of power in the management of the universe by Krishna. There are many demigods. Sometimes the number 33,000,000 is given. As the different demigods are presiding over different departments of the material world one can select the appropriate demigod and worship him for a particular boon. Most Hindus confuse the Visnu-Tattva incarnations of God and the Jiva-Tattva, ordinary living entity, demigods and consider them all one and make no distinction between God and then demigods. So complete confusion reigns among the Hindus…
So the reality of the Godhead is a little complex and can only really be understood by a devotee of Krishna who sincerely takes to Krishna consciousness and studies these subjects.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thanks for sending me such nice letter.
Jay Sri Krishna !
I belive in bhagwadgita.
Trying to follow it in this material world.
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
Dear Mahaprabhu ji
I was very much influenced by reading ur newsletter-The spiritual world and how to get there.
Guruji,
You have said that any one who remembers Krishna even at the time of death reaches to goloka.
How can this be possible?
suppose he had done big sins in his life and is in no harmony with people and then he remembers Prabhu Krishna at the time of death.
Is his KARMA doesnt matter.
please explain.
yours faithfully
Rajneesh KY
Generally one things of the most prominent thing in his life at the time of death. So if one is sinful or if one is very attached to his family he will think of his sins or his family at the time of death and this will keep him in the material world.
If one has spent his whole life thinking of Krishna and serving Krishna and he has a loving relationship with Krishna then naturally he will think of Krishna at the time of death.
One will think of the thing that is most important to him at the time of death. If the most important thing in your life is Krishna you will remember Krishna. If the most important thing in your life is your family you will think of your family…
There are exceptions. There is a the situation of Ajamila who was initially a good brahmin boy but later became a very sinful man who had a son whom he named “Narayana.” At the time of death he was calling out the name of his son, “Narayana” so it was taken by the Visnudutas that he was calling out the name of Visnu at the time of his death so he was saved and went back home, back to Godhead.
So the chanting of the holy name of Krishna is so powerful that even a sinful man can be saved if he chants the holy name of Krishna offenselessly at the time of death. But you can not count on this. Thinking that I will lead a sinful life and chant Hare Krishna at the time of death and be saved. If you live a sinful life you will not be thinking of Krishna at the time of death and if somehow you do chant the name of Krishna at the time of death that will be offensive chanting. One of the ten offenses of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is to perform sinful activities on the strength of chanting Hare Krishna. This is the Christian concept of confession. A Christian will perform sinful activities thinking that later I will go to confession and the sins will be forgiven. Unfortunately this process does not work. Sins committed in this way will not be forgiven by confession or by chanting Hare Krishna.
So that is is basically, if one remembers Krishna at the time of death he will go to Krishna, but generally one can not remember Krishna at the time of death unless Krishna is the most important thing in his life… And if some sinful man does happen to chant the name of Krishna offenslessly at the time of death then he will go to Krishna…
Madhudvisa dasa
how comes ajamila was chanting offenslessly if he did not practice devotional service all of his life?
best thing is to chant the mantraraja, the mantraraja does not accept any offenses.
Nityananda Gauranaga
Hare Krishna
Indu.
Hare Krishna Indu
Ajamila did practice devotional service as a young man. He was brought up as a good brahmin boy but one day while he was out in the park he saw a low-caste man practically engaging in sex with a prostitute and this attracted his mind so much that he could not get rid of the idea and eventually he left his faithful wife and family and went to live with that prostitute and in her association Ajamila developed all the bad qualities. But he had one son and fortunately called that son Narayana.
So at the time of death he was calling out the name of his son “Narayana.” He was actually calling his son, but also it is stated that he was remembering that same Narayana that he used to worship as a youth. But he was not chanting offensively. He was calling his son. So that chanting was pure and as a result he was liberated by chanting the name of Narayana at the time of death.
As far as what is the best thing to chant that we have to take from the authorities and you are not the authority in this matter. From the authorities, even Lord Gauranaga Himself, we hear:
Hare Nam Hare Nam Hare Nam eva Kevalam Kalu naste kalu naste…. “In this age of Kali, the only way, the only way, the only way, is the chanting of the name of Hari.”
So the most important thing is to chant:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
But as you point out there are offenses considered when chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, therefore before chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra one should chant the Pancha-Tattva maha mantra:
Sri Krishna Caitanya Prabhu Nityananda Sri Advaita Gadadhar Srivasadi Gaura Bhakta Vrinda.
Lord Caitanya and the Panca Tattva do not consider any offense. So by chanting this Panca-Tattva maha mantra one can purify himself of offenses and get the mercy of the Lord Caitanya and the Panca-Tattva to chant the Hare Krishna maha mantra. So the point is to become qualified to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. That is ultimately the only way.
Please do not concoct your own philosophy. We have to accept the knowledge as it is handed to us through the disciplic succession. Even Lord Caitanya is instructing us to chant the name of Hari. But you are saying, “No, I will just chant the names of Nitai Gauranaga.”
Although it is nice to chant the names of Nitai and Gauranga, Nitai and Gauranga are preaching, begging us to “Chant the name of Hari…” So we have to follow their instructions, not concoct our own process. This concocting of one’s own process is the business of the sahajiyas. They concoct some chanting process which is not coming in the disciplic succession and generally they take things very cheaply. There are so many sahajiyas chanting so many concocted mantras. Of course they are chanting the names of God. There is “Nita Gaura Radha Shyam Hare Krishna Hare Rama,” of course these are all names of God and chanting the names of God is good. But these mantras are not authorized by the disciplic succession. They are concocted mantras. So they are not recommended.
What is recommended is to chant the Pancha-Tattva Maha Mantra:
Sri Krishna Caitanya Prabhu Nityananda Sri Advaita Gadadhar Srivasadi Gaura Bhakta Vrinda.
followed by the Hare Krishna maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
So if we want the best results we should follow this authorized process.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I am a responsible Family member. I residing in a Joint Family with my Father, Mother and Other Two brothers with their wives and childrens and I also have a Wife and Daughter. Here how can I attain Self-Realization and Is it possible to attain self-realization only by Nam-Job of Hare Krishna ? What can I do to meet with my Krishna ? And how can I get rid my bad habits like anger, vanity etc. etc.? and I want to serve the poor .. and others people.
Please please Reply my answere. I eagarly waiting.
Hare Krishna Surajit
The process of attaining self realization is something that we really have to dedicated ourselves to if we want to achieve it. It means having a different outlook to the other people in the world who are generally simply interested in satisfying their material desires.
It is not possible to give a complete answer to your question in a few paragraphs. That is why Srila Prabhuapda has given us so many books and the subject of these books is how we can attain self-realization. So to answer your question you need to study all the books of Srila Prabhupada.
In this age of Kali the only practical method of self realization is the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha mantra. But there is a science to this and so many other aspects that you need to learn through reading Srila Prabhuapda’s books.
Bad habits like anger, vanity, etc, will automatically disappear as you gradually make advancement in Krishna consciousness when you are following the process of Saddhana Bhakti. So you need to learn this process and follow it and the instructions for this you will find in Srila Prabhuapda’s books.
Serving other people can best be done by giving them spiritual knowledge. That is real service. There is no much point in serving the material body. The body is temporary. The soul is eternal. We should serve the soul by giving him spiritual knowledge. That is the best welfare work.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Respected Mahprabhu jee,
Thank u very very much for sending me your precious, valuable and encouragious E-mails in regular basis. I love my GOD , Almighty, Paramatma, my friend , Parampita, Parammata, … Sri Srikrishna, Sriradha and his all things. Please do not stop your e-mails to me. I am a devotee of Lord Srikrishna and I would like to meet WITH him under the guidance of GITA and your suggestion also. Meet with my LORD Radhakrishna is my ultimate desire before dying. I trying to chant Hare Krishna always – but the families and official activities compel me to stop and suddenly I forget to chant or Uttering Nam Jop.
Is it possible to feel his presence OR meet with him before dying? because we are not good enough… BUT I WANT TO FULFIL MY PURPOSE OF LIFE.
HARE KRISHNA
Jai Jagannath
I am form orissa thats why i represent lord Krishna to lord Jagannath becoz lord Jagannath is also lord Krishna, do u know the story of hw lord Krishna became lord Jagannath?
Your articles are very nice and should be read by every person in this world. I also chant Hare Krishna Maha Mantra most of the times in mind…Can you tell me can we attain Self-realisation by chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra? Plz reply me soon….
Yes. We can attain self-realization by chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra.
The reason this is possible is that Krishna and Krishna’s name are identical. So when we are chanting the Hare Krishna mantra we are actually associating with Krishna personally.
We develop the qualities of the people we associate with. This happens subtly, sometimes without our noticing it. If you associate with people who have bad habits then gradually you will also develop the same bad habits. Association also works in a positive way if you associate with good people or saintly people.
Of course the best association is to associate with Krishna, and in this age Krishna has made it very easy for us to associate with Him personally. So simply by chanting:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
you can get all spiritual benefits even way beyond liberation.
Liberation is only the beginning actually. There is a lot beyond the stage of liberation and understanding what that is is the science of Krishna consciousness.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I am satisfied that you replied me but i just want to repeat the question about Self-Realisation, I mean to say about Self-Realisation that awakening of Kundalini Energy. Can this energy be awakened by chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra? Please reply me.
This is a nonsense question. What are you talking about? Kundalini energy? Chanting Hare Krishna will awaken your love for Krishna and that is all you need.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Prabhu,
You are a patient man. All glories to you.
Radhe Giridhari dasa (ACBSP)
hare krishna tushar prabhu..
i answered you just now in the place where you put the question first time in this same page.
i saw your question again here. please read what i wrote. In devotional process or in the way of devotion there is no need to think of kundalini. it is automatically taken care. concentrate on chanting but not on things that u get by chanting.
hari bol.
hare krishna,
what is goloka and what is vaikunth and kshirsagar which are known as abodes of lord.
please reply
Hare Krishna Anurag
There are different parts of the spiritual world. Different abodes of the Lord. The topmost abode and the largest by far is Goloka. That can be called “The planet of the Cows.” Goloka is much larger than all the material and spiritual worlds put together and Goloka is the home of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There Krishna and the cowherd boys look after the cows. Taking them daily into the forests and fields for grazing.
It is perhaps very hard to understand that God is a cowherd boy and He spends his time playing with his cowherd boyfriends and dancing with His young girlfriends. But that is Krishna and Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes.
The Goloka planet is the topmost planet in the spiritual sky, below the Goloka planet there are many Vaikuntha planets, they are also spiritual planets and each Vaikuntha planet has a different form of Visnu as the worshipful Lord. There are many different Visnu forms and you can tell them apart by seeing in which hands they are carrying their weapons. Lord Visnu has four hands carrying four different weapons. He carries the conch shell, the club, the chakra and a flower.
In the Vaikuntha planets Visnu is worshiped in the mode of reverence. In the way one would worship a King. This is the way the Christians worship God, as the Almighty. That is the mood in the Vaikuntha planets. But in Goloka the devotees become Krishna’s cowherd boyfriends or His gopi girlfriends and play with Him or dance with Him. So the relationships between Krishna and His devotees are much more sweet and intimate in Goloka than in the Vaikuntha planets.
As far as “Ksirsagar” That is the island surrounded by the ocean of milk in this universe. On that island Ksirodakasayi Visnu is residing and He is the collective supersoul of all living entities in this universe. It is this form of Visnu who is present within everyone’s heart in the form of supersoul. This abode of the Lord is in one sense temporary as it is manifest and unmanifest as the universe becomes manifest and unmanifest.
When there is some problem in this universe, often caused by the demons, Lord Brahma and the leading demigods travel to the shores of the ocean of milk and from there Lord Brahma prays to Ksirodakasayi Visnu and although Lord Brahma does not directly see Visnu there is some message transmission to the heart of Brahma from Lord Visnu and in this way Lord Brahma and the demigods then understand how to solve the problems facing the universe.
Thank you for the nice question.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
i want to know who u r madhudvisa dasa
I have written many articles on http://www.Krishna.org
You can search for all the articles by me, it is possible to get all the articles by a particular author. And simply read them.
If you read what I have said on many different topics then you will come to know me.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabu.
How are you prabu?
Im very happy to receive prabu’s posts.
The post’s are very helpfull for me.
i want prabu send for me, more post’s like this.
Haribol.
From,
Yss.
Hare Krishna Madhuvias dasa,
Thanks for sending very important messages abour lord krishna, from to day, shift my focus from material literatures to spiritural literature.
Thanks again for guide me road to Krishna Dharshana.
Yours servant
Visweshwar Rao Potula.
hare krishna , your literature is so intoxicating that i dont want to come out of it. hare krishna.
Blessing to you Madhudvisa-Dasa Prabhu:
“We are associated with the three modes of material nature, ….”
Pl shed further light on this.
Thanks
Charles
Hare Krishna! I was just wondering, is it better to chant all the 16rounds at one time or can you chant them throughout the day?
You can chant Hare Krishna any time and we are not limited to chanting only 16 rounds. You can chant more rounds also.
Actually when we get a taste for chanting Hare Krishna we will chant Hare Krishna constantly, 24 hours a day. So that should be the goal, constant chanting of Hare Krishna mantra.
The early morning hours are very good for chanting Hare Krishna, but Hare Krishna can be chanted at any time. So yes, you can chant at different times during the day or you can also chant all 16 rounds in the morning…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Hari Bol prabhu,
Vedas say that brahma is infinite,all pervading,indivisible.
Parmatma is present in every particle of universe. If that means that consiousness is present everywhere & that consiousness is indivisible.Kindly clear my doubts regarding this.
All gories to srilaprabhpada,
Hari bol prabhu,
How are u prabhu?How is ur life going on?
Prabhu if i recite om namah shivay mantra apart from mahamantra is it contradictory.Why ISKON people prohibit for offering of prayers to lord shiva.If u prayer to any other hindu God apart from krishna ie. lord mahamritanjya & bhagvati sanjivni if we can pray to them for a cause as they have healing powers jurisdiction in the administration of universe .So if we pray to them apart for praying to krishna for the same is wrong.
AS impersonalists merge in impersonal brahma what is the final& highest destination of devotees during this life time.If i asked any thing wrong plz forgive me.
Ur humble servant
Hare Krishna prabhuji, You are saying in the following paragraph “Krishna means the highest pleasure. We are all hankering after pleasure. We, the living entities, like Krishna, are full of consciousness, and we are looking for happiness. Krishna is perpetually happy, and if we associate with Krishna and cooperate with Him we will also become happy.” that we are full of consciousness like Krishna. But what I feel is that my consciousness is almost completely lost. Forget about reading a technical book, i get lost in the simple conversations among my friends. I am unable to grasp the words of people while listening to them. My mind is agitating too much without having any concentration in any aspect of life. I feel too much frustration and always a feeling of guilty among my colleagues. Therefore, I cannot talk with confidence with anybody. How the above statement under discussion is true?
Hare Krishna,
Sunil Agrawal
Hare Krishna Sunil
The statement refers to one who is in purified consciousness. Our consciousness, like pure crystal clear water that comes down from the sky as rain, but when the rain mixes with the mud on the ground it becomes muddy. So what you are experiencing is this “muddy” consciousness. If you can purify your consciousness then you will see that you are full of consciousness like Krishna, then you will become perpetually happy.
Our original, pure consciousness is covered by the mud of this material world. And fortunately in this age there is a very easy and very powerful way to purify our muddy consciousness. That is simply by chanting:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
So please seriously try this chanting of Hare Krishna and you will see that your consciousness is quickly becoming purified and you will feel that you are coming back to life again.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
I must have alot of mud on me because I have no attraction to this chanting. I guess I’m doomed, eh ? No chant, no mercy. One of them eternally conditioned souls I guess. 🙁
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
Thank you very much for the reply. As you have suggested, I will try to chant the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra with full devotion. The only problem with chanting is that I can not control my senses and my dirty imaginations. They destruct me from doing my job of chanting. Even though I am forcefully doing my chanting.
Hari Bol,
Your servant,
Dr. Sunil Agrawal.
Hare krisna Provu
just give me an idea ..why so many religious are exist if lord krisna is the only one..why Muslim says without Allah there is nothing. what is the difference
between Krisna,Allah & other God. I believe myself is the servant of Krisna but sometimes confused. So Provu give me clear concept .
Hare Krishna Swapan
There is only one God. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that He appears time and time again whenever the principles of religion are not being followed properly. So Krishna Himself comes and also sometimes sends His pure devotees. So we are accepting Lord Jesus Christ and Mohammad as representatives of Krishna. Jesus says He is son of God and we accept that, Mohammad says he is a prophet and we accept that. When Krishna or His empowered representative appears naturally he explains things in the local language and according to the ability of the local people to understand. So when people compare the teachings of Krishna and Mohammad and Christ they may see some apparent contradiction. But actually the mission is one. Allah is just another name for Krishna. The Christian concept of the heavenly father or God is also another way of referring to Krishna. I strongly recommend you make a serious study of all the books of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhuapda and then these things and so many others will be very clear to you and you will no longer be confused.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
I use to wonder the samething.. why are there so many different religions in the world when there is only one God. Born and brought up as a sikh I always had faith in one God but never really knew who that God was, Sikhs usually worship the “Brahman” form of God. Nirankar (formless) but those who understand this fully know that Nirankar is just being used here not because God is formless, but because he and his forms are unlimited… One day I was reading some of the verses from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (the holy book of the Sikhs) and found this verse in there by Guru Nanak Dev which describes God. After reading this and many other verses from the SGGS I realized that it was Krishna whom we Sikhs refer to as Waheguru. So there might be many religions; like Madhudvisa-dasa prabhu said, each religion comes due to time place and circumstance to elevate those particular people to the level of human beings who would begin to engage their minds on God.
Heres a verse from the holy book of the Sikhs (Sri Guru Granth Sahib) that describes God (Krishna).
SORATH, FOURTH MEHL:
“The Beloved Himself commits some to His service; He Himself blesses them with the joy of devotional worship. The Beloved Himself causes us to sing His Glorious Praises; He Himself is absorbed in the Word of His Shabad. He Himself is the pen, and He Himself is the scribe; He Himself inscribes His inscription. || 1 || O my mind, joyfully chant the Name of the Lord. Those very fortunate ones are in ecstasy night and day; through the Perfect Guru, they obtain the profit of the Lords Name. || Pause || The Beloved Himself is the milk-maid and Krishna; He Himself herds the cows in the woods. The Beloved Himself is the blue-skinned, handsome one; He Himself plays on His flute. The Beloved Himself took the form of a child, and destroyed Kuwalia-peer, the mad elephant. || 2 || The Beloved Himself sets the stage; He performs the plays, and He Himself watches them. The Beloved Himself assumed the form of the child, and killed the demons Chandoor, Kansa and Kaysee. The Beloved Himself, by Himself, is the embodiment of power; He shatters the power of the fools and idiots. || 3 || The Beloved Himself created the whole world. In His hands He holds the power of the ages. The Beloved Himself puts the chains around their necks; as God pulls them, must they go. Whoever harbors pride shall be destroyed, O Beloved; meditating on the Lord, Nanak is absorbed in devotional worship.” SGGS Ji (Page: 606)
Hare Krishna!
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa,
Please accept my most humble obeisances to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
I already received my Bhagavad-Gita, The Perfection of Yoga, Beyond Birth and Death, and the Library of Vedic Culture. Thank you so much for all of these books. I was looking the pictures in Gita and I noticed that I saw some of them in my dreams. These are my dreams over and over. Srila Prabhupada, plate 3, plate 4, plate 5, plate 12, plate 24, plate 29, plate 31, plate 32, plate 43, and plate 44. Some of my dreams I saw myself inside the temple and singing, dancing, and worshipping the deties with lots of devotees I had never seen before. The things that made me wonder was that when I had these dreams and I woke up but then later I went back to sleep again, then my dreams was continued wherever it stops. When I was living at Lathrop, I went to temple with my brother and this is are first time see the temple. Everything I saw that night in my dreams were here. Deties, devotees, prasadam, and more. They were here and talking to me now. I was speechless at that time. I cannot expressed how I feel and how happy am I that day. When I moved to Sunnyvale, another dream came to me again. The Deteis, Prabhupada’s standing poster, and devotees. This time I found a closer temple in San Jose. I found this temple because my Prabhupada’s book that I never touch or read fell down by itself and came out a small paper with one devotee home number on it.I never known her in my entire life. I called her and she said she was a devotee. She was shocked how I got her number and I was shocked too because I don’t know the answer to that. She was nice and humble and trusted to gave me the number and address in San Jose temple and that is how I found out. The paper with the devotee number on it, I put back in my book that day but I never saw or found it again. Now I moved here to south in Long Beach but I don’t know any devotee or temple around that I can go to. This website krishna connect just pop out in front of me when I could no longer see and reach Krishna. Some of these dreams, I still don’t understand and why? Haribol, maybe you could help me understand or interpret my dreams? I would appreciate this so much. I am looking a closer temple around here in long beach or torrance but there is none. Thank you very much for your advice and especially to your devotional service to our Lord Krishna helping me and others to understand Him more and make advancement spiritual in our life. You are a very kindly and humble saint and devoted your time and life to serve our Personality of Godhead!!! Hare Krishna!!!!!!!!!
Your servant,
Mohan
Hare Krishna, Thank you for your wonderful service to Guru & Krishna, There is a paragraph which goes like this
“He comes as one of us and plays with us as a human being” , Does this mean while in the Material world Lord also has a material body made of up earth, water, fire, ether, sky, mind,intelligence and eog?
I understand that His consciousness is pure, not contaminated like us, in other words not conditioned like a jiva has. But does he takes a material body of bone and flesh like a common human being?
Pls forgive me if my question is offesive in nature.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Ashok
Krishna does not have a material body. Material body means being controlled by the material nature. But Krishna is the controller of the material nature. He is never controlled by anything.
However when Krishna appears in the material world he appears to be one of us and His associates and His enemies associate with Him as if He was one of us. That is Krishna’s yoga-maya. Yoga maya is the potency of Krishna that covers His real position and makes it appear that He is a small boy wandering in the forrests of Vrindavana. This yoga maya is the potency that Krishna uses in relation to His devotees to make His pastimes in the material world sweeter. The thing is there are devotees who want to have Krishna as their friend, devotees who want to have Krishna as their child, and devotees who want to have Krishna as their lover.
So it is not really possible for a devotee to be Krishna’s mother or father, but because some devotees want this, Krishna uses his yoga-maya potency to make it appear that He is an ordinary child and that a certain devotee is His mother and another devotee is His father. So in this way when Krishna appears within the material world He appears to be one of us, but he is always the Supreme Lord and he never accepts a material body like us.
But that doesn’t mean that Krishna is a ghost or that if you are playing with Krishna and you touch Him He will not be there. No. When He appears in the material world He appears to be exactly like us. Except He is exceptionally beautiful, strong, famous, wealthy, knowledgeable and renounced.
This appearance and disappearance of Krishna within the material world is a bit difficult to understand. There is one verse in Bhagavad-gita (4.9): http://prabhupadabooks.com/?g=1505
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna
TRANSLATION
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.
So if we can actually understand this, how Krishna appears and disappears within the material world aparently as one of us but actually not one of us, then we do not have to come back to the material world again after leaving this body, but we will go back home, back to Godhead…
Thanks for the nice question. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Hari Bol Prabhu,
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
As replied above u have not replied whether krishna had material body of flesh & bones when he descended 5000 yrs ago as we have or it is his trancendental form in cosmos which appeared for devotees to liberate them from material entanglement.Plz reply me categorically so that i can realize that if my understanding of realization of supreme science of Krishna is right or faulty.I put same questions to several persons but did not understood it properly.
Urs humble servant
Krishna does not have a material body.
If you understood this you would be liberated.
Some things you can not understand immediatly. You have to follow the process of Krishna consciousness as it is given by Srila Prabhupada and gradually you will understand this.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
All glories to Srilaprabhupada,
Hari Bol Prabhu,
Thanks for ur reply.AS impersonalists are
trasferred into impersonal effulegence of Lord Krishna by the path of gyana
in this life which they state as mukti or nirvan into brahma.Which is the
end goal.By following the path of Krishna consciousness what destination ,end devotee reaches in this particular life.If there is mukti also for the
devotee.I mean if a devotee is transferred to golok vrindavana during this
life.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
Plz reply my questions Madhudvisa dasa ji…My ques is, I mean to say about Self-Realisation that awakening of Kundalini Energy. Can the seven chakras and this kundalini energy be awakened by chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra? Please reply me.
quite the contrary
Please do not goto matter of kundalini power. it is very dangerous without a great spiritual master sitting beside and guiding you.
lord srikrishna will take care of such things , and you should not bother. Generally it is forbidden even to talk in open discourses and write in books about kundalini power.You risk your complete mental health and material life. Trust me in this.
yo man..lord krsna can take on any form in appearance,i know him…he can also see all things at once…he can also multiplie himself into being in two places at the same time,,on earth..word up!lord greenman.
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Hari Bol prabhu,
How are u prabhu?I wish u more & more bhakti & devotion to Shri Krishna with passing of everyday.So many days of my life passed since i wrote anything to u.My life is also passing with each day.Prabhu suggest me onthing if u have time that In some book it has written by aurobindo that Lord Krisna descends by leaning upon his para parkriti.It is only the nature of becoming not the nature of being.Para prakriti is not jiva mikkam but jiva bhutam.It is one with supreme being only in quality not in power of being.But srila prabhupada says that the jiva belongs to the supreme energy of the supreme.Which one is true.
Ur Humble servant
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan
We need to have faith in Srila Prabhupada. Auribindo is a mayavadi, an impersonalist. So naturally he is trying to establish that when Krishna descends into the material world He is somehow inferior to the impersonal brahman which the impersonalists take to be the ultimate source of everything. Ultimately they are saying Krishna is an emanation from the impersonal brahman and he comes here to the material world and performs His pastimes and then returns and again merges and becomes one.
So this is actually incorrect. The Krishna that appeared in India 5000 is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. And He is not touched by the material energy at all.
The Vaisnava understanding is that Krishna brings the spiritual world with Him. When Krishna is in Vrindavan He is not in the material world, He is in the spiritual world.
All the associates of Krishna are His eternal associates. Before Krishna appears in this world His devotees also appear to take part in the pastimes of Krishna.
So the real point is you have to have the faith that Prabhupada is right and the mayavadis and impersonalists are wrong. You will get that strong faith by carefully reading Srila Prabhuapda’s books. So please keep on reading Srimad Bhagavatam. And then read Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. These points are covered very deeply in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta.
Great to hear from you.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Haribolprabhu,
Thanks prabhu for sparing time for the ignorant & undesrving seeker like me.U are a very respected person for me as u are explaning things in detailed way.U know i was shocked to see the comments of different saints in india regarding BG explaining with logic that how their truth is superior to the form of krishna.U really deserve to answer all the queries on BG as it is as a most proper choice of beginers like me.May lord krishna gives u highest devotion & means to acheive it which is higest prasadam.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Thank you for the nice questions. Yes. Generally speaking practically all the commentaries on Bhagavad Gita you will find in India and in the West except Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is have all been produced to make some point by the author rather than to just present Krishna’s message humbly and “as it is” as Srila Prabhupada has done in Bhagavad Gita As It Is.
When we say this people sometimes think we are being unreasonable but the reality is a pure devotee of Krishna is a very rare thing indeed. And only a pure devotee of Krishna can understand Krishna. Therefore the only commentaries on the Gita that are useful are the commentaries made by pure devotees of Krishna.
We are very fortunate to have come in contact with Srila Prabhupada prabhu, so we should take full advantage of the association of Srila Prabhupada by reading his books, listening to his classes and watching the video recordings that were made of him.
So this is why I am suggesting that we should simply read Srila Prabhupada’s books. He is giving us the pure message about Krishna, and we know that. Others we do not know if they are giving the correct information or not.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
What activities are considered devotional service?
Thank you for the newsletter. I really appreciate receiving it.
Hare krishna.
Thankyou very much for sending me the articles and i am very impressed about the articles.Kindly mail me your next artcile asap becos i want to know how to get closer to god with our current occupation.
Hare krishnha maharaj,
thank you for your wonderful letters.I always wait for your letter it gives me more pleasure.since you gave info about spiritual world.I have radhashyamsundar deity in my house.I worship accordind the iskcon temple way. as abhishek , shringar with flowers,aarti,offering bhoga. it takes me 3 to 4 hours.I do job in call center i dont get time to chant 16 rounds but i do at least 2 rounds. but i wish to chant 16 daily. idoing deity worship i sing vaishanav songs during aarti and offering bhoga.i have prapbupada deity. praphupada books dvd lectures.i want to come that platform of chanting 16 rounds n worshipping my beautiful deities. please help me maharaj waiting for your reply
hello there, i am king billy,and i am definatly in agreement with what lord krsna has to offer me at the time of leaving the material universe, i cant wait…although gods creation earth is amazing,i dont like what goes on in this world,its not a good place to be,heaven is my origonal home and that is where i want to live for ever…as for spaceships,well actualy there still is spaceships on earth,i have got one and lord krsna has got one also..he is my friend..the technology hasnt vanished from existance,i now live in area 51 amoung all types of aliens,i love it…ha ha ha brrrrrpppp.do do do agabaga.
Hari Bol Prabhu,
All glories to srilaprabhupada.
Prabhu thanks for ur reply . Prabhu i read mails from iskon like thoughts of the day.If there is any bonafide guru in Iskon after the disappearence of srilaprabhupada.I have received a mail from thoughts of the day that srila prabhupada was 11th in disciple succession & 12th is disciples of srilaprabhupada.Plz guide me who is the bonafide guru after srilaprabhupada now in iskon.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan. All glories to Srila Prabhuapda!!
Yes. ISKCON Srila Prabhuapda said that. That he is the 11th in the line of disciplic succession and his disciples are the 12th. There is no question that Prabhupada’s disciples have the potential to become bona fide spiritual masters. And there is also no question that this is what Prabhuapda wants. But there is that little issue of qualification. And if you have been reading the answers I have been writing to the other devotees you will know that qualification, while seemingly quite a simple thing, is very rarely found.
But it is very difficult to find bona fide guru in ISKCON nowadays. This is more an organizational problem than an individual disciples of Prabhuapda issue. It is quite complex but really it is impossible to be a bona fide guru in ISKCON these days. One reason is ISKCON have changed many things and now do things in ways that are completely against the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and to be a guru in ISKCON one would have to agree to teach their disciples these things that are completely against the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. So any guru who agreed to go along with todays ISKCON would immediatly be non bona fide.
There are many examples of this but one very good example is deity worship. Srila Prabhupada taught us to first offer everything to the spiritual master, to him, and then the spiritual master would offer to his spiritual master and so on up through the disciplic succession to Krishna. So the idea is that we are not qualified to offer it directly to Krishna, but we will offer it to Prabhupda and Prabhuapda will offer it to his spiritual master and in this way the offering goes to Krishna, through the disciplic succession.
When it became obvious in ISKCON that most of the gurus were not qualified devotees started to worry and and not want to accept prasdam that was offered to these ISKCON gurus because they began to think that maybe the gurus were just enjoying the offerings themselves, and not offering them to Srila Prabhuapda.
So they decided to completely reject the system of deity worship given by Srila Prabhuapda and introduced a new system where now in ISKCON temples the pujari will directly offer everything to Krishna and then he will offer the disciplic succession “Krishna pradsadam.” This is because they do not trust that if the ISKCON gurus offer to Krishna Krishna will accept. So they are thinking let the pujari offer directly to Krishna and we will give the gurus Krishna prasadam.
I hope you are folowing this, it is quite a subtle point, but a really dramatic change to the system of deity worship that Prabhuapda introduced. And Prabhuapda warned us specifically not to change the deity worship system:
Letters : 1973 Correspondence : January : Letter to: Dhruvananda — Bombay 4 January, 1973 : 73-01-04 :
“Why you are pouring water over the head of Radha and Krsna deities? Big deities should not be bathed in this way, using water or other things. Rather they are bathed daily by mantra, do you not know these things? Under no circumstances shall we bathe the Jagannatha deities with anything water or liquid, they should be bathed with mantra also. Now you are asking if Lord Jagannatha carries flute? Why this nonsense question? You are asking me so many concoctions and manufactured nonsense. Don’t bother my head in this way any more. From now on unless I order you do something change or in addition, go on with the usual standard way. You manufacture ideas and then I have to waste my time. I have given you everything already, there is no need for you to add anything or change anything. Why you are asking these things? Who has given you such freedom? Pujari should operate entirely under the supervision of temple president and GBC, not independently. The greatest danger to our movement will come when we manufacture and create our own process for worshiping the deities. So don’t ask any more new questions, whatever is going on, follow it just to the exact standard as I have given you, that’s all.”
So you see the problem. ISKCON have completely changed the fundemental principles underlying the deity worship system and to be a guru in ISKCON one has to accept this and instruct his disciples in this new, bogus deity worship system. So that makes him a non-bonafide guru.
This is just one example, there are many.
Another point is in ISKCON guru is under the authority of GBC. He is not independent to instruct his disciples as he is inspired to from Srila Prabhuapda and Krishna. All his instructions to his disciples have to be in accordance with the GBC and the the Temple President. So in ISKCON guru actually has no authority over his disciples. The authority is with GBC and Temple President. If GBC doesn’t like the guru, maybe because he disagrees with them on some point, GBC can cancel his “guru licence” and throw him out of ISKCON and tell his disciples to take reinitiation from another guru.
So no bona fide guru would ever accept to work in such a situation where his ability to instruct and guide his disciples is restricted like this.
So the bottom line is you will not find any bona fide gurus in ISKCON at the present time. But you have found a bona fide guru in Srila Prabhupada, however you have not accepted his instructions, in that you are not yet chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily.
So forget about this searching for a guru business, you already have a guru, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, but you are not even following his first instruction: “chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha mantra daily.” Before you accept a guru you have to know who is a qualified guru and who is not. Because there are so many cheating gurus, even in ISKCON, who will accept you as their disciple, but who actually have no power to take you back home, back to Godhead. They will take your guru daksina but they can not fulfill their side of the bargin.
This is simply a historical fact. If you look at all the devotees who got initiated by ISKCON gurus since 1977 you will find that at least 90% took initiation from gurus who were not at all capable of guiding them back home back to Godhead. And now the gurus are gone and mostly the disciples are gone also. There is nothing more destructive that can happen in your spiritual life than accepting someone as your guru who is not a pure devotee of Krishna. Many devotees have in the past surrendered to such incapable gurus, and the result is disasterous for them, for the guru and for ISKCON. You have not really seen yet what happens to the disciples and to ISKCON when a big guru falls down. Overnight the preaching in the whole country is destroyed. We have seen this time and time again. A few years ago Harikesa fell down in Europe, now ISKCON in the whole of Europe is devastated because all devotees left in disgust and disapointment and temples are sold or empty and noone has any energy any more for service and no one trusts anyone else.
This happened in USA, in Australia, in England, in Europe. And we have not seen these countries recover since. In Australia up to the 80’s the preaching was so dynamic and powerful, then in 1987 it was revealed that “Visnupada,” Bhavananada was not at all a qualified guru and everything collapsed. And it never recovered. Devotees feel disgusted, cheated, used, abused. And they do not trust anyone anymore and will not surrender to anyone again.
I have seen thousands of my friend’s lives destroyed because they were unfortunate enough to accept bogus ISKCON gurus. There is nothing more dangerous than this. There is nothing that can destroy your spiritual life more effectively than this.
And it is not that the gurus were demons, mainly they were very sincere, trying to help the disciples, but they did not realize the incredible responsibility of the task they took on and didn’t realize they were not qualified to do it. It is like the example I have given before, if you see a man drowning in the strong ocean waves, but you can not swim yourself, it is a very nice sentiment to jump into the water and try to save him. But you can’t swim, so you will both drown.
So, you have the perfect guru now, in Srila Prabhuapda, but you are not even following the first instruction, “Chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily.”
So guru is only for people who are prepared to surrender to the instructions of the guru and follow them. Therefore you need to think carefully about this.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
You stated that the Gita states that in Krishna’s abode, it will not be illuminated by sun or moon or electricity. Since there was no electricity when the Gita was written, how is this word in there? Did Krishna know that thousands of years later we would have electricity? Thank you and
Hare Krisha!!
Chris
Hare Krishna Chris. It is a good question. How can they mention electricity if it is not invented. Actually in the Vedic time they had very, very advanced technology, much more advanced than the technology we have today. Our technology is very gross, their technology was more subtle. For example as you read further on in the Bhagavad Gita you will see they are fighting with many advanced weapons unknown to modern science. They had the brahmastra, a weapon like the nuclear bomb, but much more controlled and directed, they could use jewels and crystals to illuminate their palaces in the night time. They had space ships capable of interplanetary travel. So certainly they knew about electricity. They knew about everything. Since the beginning of time Indian astrologers have been able to plot the exact positions of all the planets and constellations in the sky, even the ones they could not see. They could predict to the fraction of a second the time of the solar and lunar eclipses. This is something that western astronomers have only worked out how to do in the past 100 years. So it is a mistake to think that now we are so advanced and five thousand years ago these people in India must have been primitive people living in caves. It is not correct. They were very advanced people knowledgeable in all aspects of science as well as philosophy.
Hare krishna! If vedic civilization used to be so advanced, how come there is not much evidence of this and what happened to all that advancement because it seems that it is not at all present on this planet.
There is plenty of evidence of the advanced Vedic civilization. You can see the buildings in India. If you just do a little research you will find that practically all science and knowledge traces back to the Vedic civilization. Practically everything in mathematics comes from the Vedic civilization. They invented the decimal numbering system, they invented the concept of zero, they invented trigonometry, and so many other advanced mathematical principles, they all originate in the Vedas. Indian astronomers have been able to always exactly predict the solar and lunar eclipese for example, even 5,000 years ago, 50,000 years ago, 50,000,000 years ago. But in the West we have only been able to do this for less than 100 years.
So the evidence of the advanced Vedic culture is there if you look for it.
This modern Western technology is not advancement. That is the business of the demons. It does not advance society. Society is advanced by simple living and high thinking. Not this complex stressful modern way of life.
So your idea of ‘advanced’ is not correct.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Prabhu six gosamies of vrindavana ,sriala bhaktivedant sarasvati,srila prabhupada all these great souls after disappearing from this material world if all these souls went to go lok vrindavana.I want to know if they were transferred to golok vrindavana after their disappearence from this material world.Secondly if any devotee wants to see universal form of krishna or two hand form of sri krishna ,krishna shows to him his both forms as he shown to arujna.so if there is any provision by krishna for his devotees to show his devotes his form so that devotees can follow the path of bhakti in their remaining life with greater determination.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan. Only Krishna knows where the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, Srila Bhaktsiddhanta Sarasvati and Srila Prabhuapda are now. They are all souls completely surrendered to Krishna and they will have gone wherever Krishna wants them to go. For such pure devotees carry Vrindavana with them and they can create Vrindavan wherever they are. So they could be anywhere. There are so many universes and somewhere right now all the pastimes of Krishna and going on and somewhere else all the pastimes of Lord Caitanya are going on. The pastimes of the Lord are called “nitya lila,” it means that they are eternal, going on constantly in some universe or other. So even though Krishna is not lifting Goverdhan hill now on this planet, He is lifting Goverdhan hill somewhere else. So it may be that these great devotees are with Krishna in the spiritual world, they may be with Krishna in his pastimes within the material world or they may be preching Krishna consciousness on some planet.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa-Dasa probhuji,
Thanks a lot for clarifying my doubt.My problem is that among the regulative principle till now I have been able to follow three only i.e. I do not eat meat (gave it up 4-5 years ago),I do not gamble and neither do I smoke or drink i.e. no itoxication but I have not been able to follow the other two i.e.chanting the Mahamantra 16 rounds everyday (till now I can only manage 1 round a day) and keeping away from illicit sex life.About chanting I am not that much worried because i am confident that my rounds will increase with time but I am really worried about that ‘no illicit sex’ principle.I have tried several times and in several ways to eliminte my lusty desire but in spite of all these it just keeps coming back.All kinds of hellish thoughts keep coming in my mind even if I try hard not to think like that.I feel that some kind of invisible force is driving me towards this dirty drain of lust.can you please please please please please help me out????????
Hari bol gautam prabhu,
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
These are all the activities of material desires present in our body.If u read bhagvadgita as it is & chant hare krishna mahamantra u mind will be attached to bliss & perfection which comes after chanting mahamantra instead of running towards sexual enjoyment.Always keep ur mind busy in the thoughts of krishna & try to live in the company of spiritual people.I think it will help u out but even if that does not help u then have some water in some bucket & put senda salt in it & dip ur feet in the water for 20 minutes& recite mahamantra or om namha shivae all negative energy in ur body will be sucked in water .After that dipose of all the water in toilet that water should not touch ur body while disposing .Ur all problems will cure this way.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
I wish someone would have told me about that “senda salt” 40 years ago ! 🙂
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Hari Bol prabhu,
Simply by putting ur feet in senda salt does not work.
We will have to follow the instructions of srilaprabhupada& chant mahamantra.That alone is sufficient .But the beginners who are not advanced in krishna consciousness can take help of this method as senda salt has quality to suck negative energy with the recitation of mantra shri gurudev dutta.Guta dutta trey is the combined representation of brahma,vishnu,mahesh.This mantra scintifically removes doshas of negative energy acc to vedas.I wish both of us would have got benifit if somebody would have told us about this.
Ur humble servant
Hare Krishna Gautam Prabhu
Yes, it is a difficult thing, but if you are to conqure this you have to follow the process. And the beginning of that process is chanting Hare Krishna at least 16 rounds a day. Unless we can somehow get a taste for chanting Hare Krishna our taste for the mundane things like sex life will remain. We can not artificially suppress these things. Sometimes people undergo great austerities to control their senses and for some time they are able to refrain from these things, but the desire remains within the mind, and as soon as there is a little break in the austerity then such a “yogi” again falls down into sense gratification. Srila Prabhupada has covered this point extensively in his books and classes and we have to take advantage of his instructions otherwise how we can expect to be able to control our senses.
There is really no question of not being able to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra at least daily. If we do not do this then we can not hope to become Krishna conscious, there is no way we can become free from the clutches of maya. I am putting a small section from one of Srila Prabhuapda’s classes on this point below, please read it and please become determined to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and actually do it. In the beginning it is difficult to chant. It is an austerity. But if we actually want to advance, if we actually want to become free of these lower desires, then we must undergo this austerity and chant Hare Krishna.
There are a lot of questions like this always. “Oh Prabhu, I can not do this I can not do that… Help me Prabhu… How can I do this, how can I do that.” And then we ask and they are not even doing the very basic things like chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and following the four regulative principles. So no wonder it is not working because we are not following the process. Krishna consciousness is a scientific process and like any scientific process there is a method that has to be followed. So we can not get the result without following the process, and in the beginning it can be quite painful actually to give up these things like illicit sex and to spend two hours a day chanting Hare Krishna. But we need to become convinced by the philosophy that if I do surrender to this process of Krishna consciousness, even though in the beginning it may be a little painful, in the long run the result will be very good for me.
The following is from: http://prabhupadabooks.com/g=157356&f=268758#268758
Simply by artificial controlling… Just like a child. The mind is just like child, sometimes accepting something, sometimes rejecting something. Saṅkalpa-vikalpa. That is the business. So it is very difficult to control the mind. Arjuna, when he was asked to control the mind by yoga practice, he said cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham: “My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are asking me to control the mind, but I think it is impossible. Especially we are in the political field, royal order. We have to deal with so many political subject matter.” So he said that
cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa
pramāthi balavad dṛḍham
tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye
vāyor iva su-duṣkaram
[Bg. 6.34]
“I do not think mind can be controlled. It is very, very difficult, as difficult as to control the breeze or wind, strong wind blowing. It is not possible to control them.” That was the verdict of Śrī Arjuna. It will be explained in the sixth chapter.
Actually, it is very difficult to control the mind. So artificially, by controlling the breathing system, there is the process, but still, it is difficult. As I explained yesterday, even a great yogi like Viśvāmitra, he also failed. There are many instances. There was another, Saubhari Muni. He was practicing yoga system within the water. And as soon as he was little agitated by the fish, he wanted to come out and marry and one king’s daughter. He wanted to marry all the eight daughters. So there are many instances like that. It is very difficult to control the mind.
But our process, as it is stated here, that ātma-saṁyama-yogāgnau. Ātma-saṁyama. Saṁyama, control. The mind is the principle sense. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ [Bg. 3.42]. Mind is the central figure of all the senses. Just like madman. Because he cannot fix up his mind, he cannot work properly. Therefore he is called madman. So our process is that we cannot control the mind. But if we engage the mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then everything is controlled. Kṛṣṇa will help. If some way or other, you engage your mind at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ [SB 9.4.18]. then gradually everything will be controlled.
There is another version that sevonmukhe hi jihvādau [Brs. 1.2.234]. Jihvādau, to control the jihvā. The jihvā means the tongue. It is very difficult to control the jihvā. People do not know it, but actually this is there. Everyone becomes a servant of the senses just beginning from the tongue. They eat anything and everything. Therefore they cannot control others senses also. This is the experience of big, big yogis. Therefore in the yoga practice, yama-niyama… In the yoga practice also, it is forbidden, not to allow the tongue to eat anything and everything, no. That is not possible. Similarly, we also ask our devotees not to allow your tongue to touch anything except kṛṣṇa-prasādam. Tongue’s two business: eating, tasting something, and vibrating sound. So if we can control the tongue not to touch anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa, and if we do not allow the tongue to talk anything except Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, then you become the greatest yogi. The greatest yogi. Simply two things. Of course, we have to eat. That’s a fact. Without eating, we cannot exist. So eat. We have got so many nice things, offered to Kṛṣṇa. We offer to Kṛṣṇa all nice things.
As Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, kṛṣṇa baṛo doyāmoy, koribāre jihwā jay, swa-prasād-anna dilo bhāi. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he was a gṛhastha, practical. He experienced. He said, śarīra abidyā-jāl: “This body, material body, is a network of ignorance.” Śarīra abidyā-jāl. Just like a network. If you are put into a net and bound up and thrown into the ocean, then what is your condition of life, just imagine. Similarly, we, pure souls, we have been put into this network of material body, and we are thrown into the ocean of nescience. This is our position, struggle for existence. How to get out of the network? How to get out of the ocean? This is… Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati [Bg. 15.7]. This is our position.
So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says this body is the network of ignorance, simply sense gratification. “I shall eat this. I shall eat that. I shall hear this. I shall…” The ear is engaged in hearing nice cinema songs, and the tongue is engaged, going to the restaurant, so many so-called palatable dishes. Similarly, other senses, they are engaged. So the… According to bhakti-yoga system, the first control is recommended to the tongue. That is said, that ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc. Madhya 17.136].
Now, we receive knowledge through the indriyas, but if the indriyas are impure—senses, they are impure—they cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi, na… Beginning. Because beginning is śravaṇam. Bhakti-mārga begins by hearing.
Now, what is śravaṇam? Chanting. If there is chanting or there is some speaking, then we can hear. That is recommended by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that simply hear. There are many places, recommended, that “Hear.” So but it is said, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. These present blunt senses, material senses, cannot receive even this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. They say, “This is nuisance.” Bhagavān says in the Bhagavad-gītā, catur-vidhā bhajante mām: “Four classes of men who begins bhagavad bhajana,” sukṛtina, “those who are pious…” But the modern leaders, they say, “This bhajana nuisance.” This is our misfortune. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ [Bg. 9.14]. These are the explanation in the Bhagavad-gītā.
thankyou for your news letters my brother peter smith has been involved with hare krishna for 8 years he is helping me understand l love krishna and wont him in mylife now for ever l no l have a lot to learn and am looking forward to learning please could you answer me in my life l have been strugling with a lot of fears and need help with this l wont krishna to come into my life and to help me to live the right way thankyou so much for sending me the newsletters my brother is so happy and he gave me this book called on the way to krishna its helping me thankyou jay
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa-Dasa probhuji,my question is:
1.what kind of sex activities falls under the category of illicit sex life? Is masturbation considered illicit sex?
Hare Krishna Gautam. Any kind of sexual activity that is not within marriage and then not for the purpose of having children is illicit sex. The whole idea that we can enjoy through sense gratification is a mistaken idea. But as conditioned souls in the material world the desires to satisfy the senses of the body are very strong. However, if we want to advance spiritually, then we have to control these desires. We have to become masters of the senses, not servants of the senses. There is no actual benefit from masturbation. Actually, on the contrary, it takes so much blood and energy to produce a drop of semen and if that is kept within the body then one becomes very strong and determined and his brain develops very nicely. He gets a very good memory and whatever he sets out to do he has the determination to complete it. So controlling the sex desire has very good results, even from the point of view of material things.
You know the history of India. For two hundred years India was under the subjugation of England, and really the way India became free from the British Empire was through the determination of Mahatma Gandhi. And his strength to do this came from the fact that he was a strict brahmacary. So this is a material, polititcal, thing, but I am just making the point that brahmacari life also makes one very powerful and successful even in his dealings with the material world.
The whole idea of Krishna consciousness is to get off the bodily concept of life. Practically everyone here in the material world is in the bodily concept of life, thinking “If I satisfy the senses of my body, I will be happy.” However this is a mistake. We will simply become more and more frustrated by this attempt to satisfy our senses. The only way to be truly happy is to work to satisfy Krishna’s senses. Anyhow, the first step to getting free from the bodily concept of life is to strictly follow the four regulative principles: no illicit sex life [including no masturbation], no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication. In addition to this we must vow to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha mantra daily:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Hare Hare
This is the beginning of the spiritual process. So please read Srila Prabhuapda’s books more and more and become convinced, at least intellectually, about the importance of giving up sex life, and take to chanting the Hare Krishna mantra seriously and surely you will be able to follow the regulative principles.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
Hari Bol Prabhu,
I am feeling good with the sublime & pure thoughts u expressed.Prabhu practically by selling srilaprabhupada books we can not earn for our needs.We should have means so that we can earn for our all needs & also for future when we will be old as then there will be no body who will look after us .Only lucky persons can remain healthy & independent in old age.Prabhu if i am not financially independent how can i involve my self for my remaining life in krishna consciousness.That is the biggest problem in front of me.Because now i dont want to remain in the company of materialistic people & if i will be financialy independent i can involve my 100% in krishna consciousness.Prabhu plz do write to me ur personal mail id also.What ever u expressed that is 100% right but everybody has differnt circumstances so i think blessings of krishna are needed in every case so that he gets means & atmosphere to go ahead for krishnaconsiousness.I can give lectures after studying books & taking guidence from u .But that is not going to give me food & place to live so that is why i have left myself to the will of Krishna what ever direction he wants to give to my life i go in that direction.But sometimes i feel very sad when maya pulls me in the world as i am not living in the company of spiritual people like u.I am of krishna only.But i have 200% experince from my past life that without the will of krishna u can not go for this path unless u are blessesd with krishna mercy.Plz do write to me ur personal mail id if u dont mind.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
You can be Krishna conscious in any situation of life. So it is better not to worry about all these things and just become Krishna conscious by chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and following the four regulative principles and reading Srila Prabhuapda’s books and preaching in whatever condition of life you are in now. You do not have to change your position to become Krishna conscious. And yes, we have to work to maintain ourselves. We need the blessings of Krishna’s pure devotees to go forward on this path. So stop worrying about all these things and just go forward on the path of Krishna consciousness. We have to surrender to Krishna and what will happen then is up to Krishna.
Hari bol prabhu,
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Prabhu upload ur photo on this website & plz send me details, where are u located .I always want to be in touch with the devotees of sri krishna.I pray to krishna to shower mercy on everyforgotton soul who wants to go back to godhead.I have went through so many difficulties in my previos life & now i want to live in that environment in my remaining life where i can feel presence of krihna every moment.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan. Yes. I will upload photo when I have one some time. I am currently in Sydney, Australia and trying to organize the distribution of Srila Prabhuapda’s original books here as well as running these websites. I want to create that environment that you want to live in because I want to live in it also. When Srila Prabhuapda was physically present on the planet that is what ISKCON was like, but unfortunately it is not like that now. So we do need to recreated this atmosphere where we can feel the presence of Krishna at every moment. It is difficult to do this by ourselves. We need to live in the association of like minded devotees, and that will make us all much stronger. So, yes, I have a plan to establish “Prabhupada Sankirtan College” here in Sydney and you can come here and we can learn from Srila Prabhupada and preach together. But it is not established yet. If you pray for this and ask Krishna to bless this plan then it may well happen. But in the meantime, chant Hare Krishna and be happy. We can have so many plans but the real practical thing is to be Krishna conscious now and we can always immerse ourselves in that environment where we can feel the presence of Krishna always by chanting: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare….
All glories to Srilaprabhupada,
Hari bol prabhu,
Prabhu u have a very nice plan.Prabhu build some temple even if it is small in vrindvan of shri radha krishna after the name of srila prabhupada & rooms there so that anybody from around the globe can stay over there & recharge the spitual battery.That came to my mind.For that funds are needed & u can approach Krishna devotees who might be helpful in this great work
Well any how what ever u are thinking of doing in sydeny is really great.Prabhu give that platform to eligible krishna devotees where they dont have to pay for getting knowledge about krishna.I think that will be the greatest service to krishna what a person can think.I can not think of that level as i am a very small person but persons who have funds & knowledge of shatras & have faith in srilaprabhupada should take initiative.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan Prabhu
There are plenty of temples in Vrindavan. It is full of temples and dharmshalas and everyone is a devotee. There are so many temples there. We need temples in the big busy cities of the world where the poor conditioned souls are suffering. We need to create Vrindavan all over the world. That is our mission. Yes. Vrindavan is nice. I was living there for six months last year, but that is not where our work is. We have this mission given by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu the the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra should be heard in every town and village of the world. We can not do that by sitting in Vrindavan. This sitting in Vrindavan, while nice, if you have some practical service there, otherwise it is not very good. We have to be fully engaged in the preaching work. We are not so advanced that we can sit down like Haridas Thakura and chant Hare Krsihna all day.
And you say that you want to live in a temple without paying? Why? That is the whole point of living in a temple. To pay with service. The Karmis are working so hard for sense gratification, so we also have to work for Krishna. So temple life is not some lazy life and expecting some rich businessman to pay the bills. No. We will go out on Sankirtan and chant Hare Krishna and sell Srila Prabhuapda’s books. And this way we will make money also for Krishna. So in that way you have to pay with your life, with your energy. We have to take the responsibility for paying for the temple. Anything worthwile that you want, one way or the other there is a price for it and you have to pay the price. Actually the price for Krishna consciousness is the highest price. Surrender.
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Hari bol prabhu,
Plz start that place where the beginners like me can start spiritual practice.I am obliged that u repy to my queries from ur heart .Plz come to my home in delhi (india) whenever u visit india.If u have any work in delhi where i can be helpful to u plz let me know regarding that.Once again thanks for everything.
Dandvat to u
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan Prabhu, All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Thank you for the kind invitation to your house and your offer for helping with some work in Delhi. I am trying to start something on the interenet with this “Krishna Connect” newsletter and my humble request is that you patiently read the newsletters I am sending every few days and try to apply the information in your life and please ask any questions you would like answered and it will develop like that.
I think there will be many more programs in the future but at the moment this is the start, “Krishna Connect Newsletter.”
dandavath pranam to the devotees and guru Madhudvisa-dasa” my mind wandeers when i sit for japa and it again again goes and i am not able to concentrate. I am aged 78 and i am entangled in the smsara still. kindly help me
Hare Krishna Bala
It does not matter if your mind wanders or not. The point is that we must chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day. This MUST be done. The mind may wander. It does not matter. KEEP CHANTING HARE KRISHNA. It is the nature of the Hare Krishna mantra that it will control the mind and bring it back on Krishna. So you just keep on chanting Hare Krishna and your mind will stop wandering. It is a process. You have to follow the process. In the beginning when you chant Hare Krishna your mind will wander but if you keep chanting then over time your mind will become controlled and will not wander. So the point is to keep chanting Hare Krishna even if the mind is wandering…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Hari bol prabhu,
As u have rightly said it is very difficult to find right spiritual guru.Plz suggest me that whom should i approch to take diksha?who is the person who can take me back to godhead.I want to have diksha from that person who will take me back to god head.Plz guide me what is the difference between diksha guru & shiksha guru.I think i need shiksha guru first who can give me knowledge of ultimate.Plz guide me in this.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan
Only someone who is already a pure devotee of Krishna can guide you how you can become a pure devotee of Krishna.
But this is not a one way process. You say “Who is the person who can take me back to Godhead.” The bona fide spiritual master can show you the way back to Godhead but you have to follow his instructions and actually he helps but you have to make the journey yourself.
Siksha Guru and Diksha guru is the same. Different manifestation of the same principle. One can only have one Diksha guru but he may have many Siksha gurus. Diksha guru is also siksha guru and in addition to giving knowledge & instruction [siksha] he also initiates the disciple [diksha].
The only qualified diksha and siksha guru that I know of who is capable of showing you the way back home, back to Godhead is Srila Prabhupada.
There are so many others claiming they know the way. But time has taught us to be very careful about so-called gurus making these claims. One simply has to look at how many men ISKCON have advertised as “Bona Fide Spiritual Masters” since Srila Prabhuapda left our material vision and see how many are left now. It is not many. And the unfortunate disciples of these fallen gurus have had a very devastating blow to their spiritual lives, a blow that is very, very difficult to recover from. So you have to be very careful not to make the mistake of accepting someone as your guru who is not capable of guiding you back home, back to Godhead.
ISKCON have turned the guru into such a cheap thing. But guru is not cheap. Guru is heavy. Real guru is very rare. Sa mahatma sudurlabha.
My suggestion is you take shelter of Srila Prabhupada. Everything is available. You can get all of Srila Prabhuapda’s books and audio and video recordings at http://www.KrishnaStore.com and simply study them. You will find everything you need there. You will have to take the help and guidance from Srila Prabhupada, he will show you the way, but then you have to follow the path. Knowing the way is not enough. Even if you know the way, if you do not follow the path you will be lost.
Hari bol prabhu,
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Prabhu as u explained, The only qualified diksha and siksha guru that I know of who is capable of showing you the way back home, back to Godhead is Srila Prabhupada.
U have explained the things in a very nice manner.Plz clear my doubt, to consider srila prabhupada as my diksha guru if i have to take initiation from some disciple of srilaparbhupada or what is the process to have srilaprabhupada
as my guru.Why srilaprabhupada did not evolve a system so that after him someone can do initiation on behalf of him for the beginers like me .It is high
time that ISKON should think of something if they want to really spread the movement of srilaprabhupada .Otherwise all the efforts srilaprabhupada made to take the disciples back to godhead will fail.& devotees will forgot their way to backgodhead.As i am a beginner but i want to spend my remaining life in service of krishna but i dont know whom to approach who will take me back to krsnaloka.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
Srila Prabhupada did establish a system so that disciples could accept initiation from him after he left our physical vision. He clearly described this in a letter on July 9th 1977. That he was appointing eleven priests to accept disciples on his behalf. Not that they would be their disciples, they would be Prabhuapda’s disciples. But unfortunately as soon as Srila Prabhuapda disappeared they changed the system and claimed that Prabhuapda appointed them as his successor acharyas and they took all the disciples for themselves. Unfortunately they were not able to guide the disciples properly and the whole thing has turned into a huge disaster.
I am just suggesting that you take shelter of Srila Prabhuapda and follow his instructins. Chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha mantra daily, strictly follow the four regulative principles: no illicit sex life, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication, and read all of Srila Prabhuapda’s books in a systametic way. In this way Prabhupada will instruct you and you will know what to do.
Prabhupada is with us in his books. We simply need to take advantage of his association by reading the books and all of our dobuts and problems will be cleared away.
I am telling you that if you want to go back to Krishnaloka then you should approach Srila Prabhuapda and he will take you, if you surrender to him and follow his instructions. So the process for you should be that you are very seriously studying Srila Prabhuapda’s instructions and you are also applying them in your practical life.
For the time being the guru system in ISKCON is broken and you will not get any help there. So take shelter of Srila Prabhupada. Do you have all of Prabhuapda’s books, do you have the Prabhupada MP3 set, do you have the Prabhuapda DVD set? The first thing is to have all these things and if you do not have you can get from http://www.KrishnaStore.com
The important thing about our relationship with our spiritual master is that we hear from him. So all of Srila Prabhuapda’s classes are recorded and we can hear them, we can read aloud from his books and in this way hear from Prabhupada. And when we practically follow the instructions we find there in Prabhupada’s books gradually all the material contaminations will be cleared away. So there is no mystery about this process. It is chanting Hare Krishna mantra, following the four regulative principles and hearing from Srila Prabhupada and following his instructions…
Currently there is no place you can go to get trained up as a disciple of Srila Prabhupada but I do have a desire to start such a place and we will be offering three year courses. After the first year of the course if the students are doing nicely they can get Hari-Nama initiation from Srila Prabhupada and if the three year course is properly completed and the devotees are nicely advancing in Krishna consciousness then they can get the second initiation. So this idea is there and hopefully we can get the blessings of Srila Prabhupada and the blessings of Krishna and the blessings of the Vaisnava’s to establish this college so that the devotees who want to take initiation from Srila Prabhuapda will be able to go somewere and undergo the training which is required for this. But right now I am suggesting that you make a very serious program in your life that you are rising early in the morning, chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha mantra daily, strictly following the four regulative principles and studying Srila Prabhupada’s books carefully. This will keep you safe.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Hari bol prabhu,
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Prabhu i take tea 3 times a day.if it is contrary to the spiritual
advancement.Secondly to chant hare krishna for 16 rounds need lot of time.I dont have that much time .But i always think of krishna while walking & doing work & chant mahamantra in between .Plz suggest me how to make time for chanting as it needs lot of time to do that.Let me know if u have any questions.
Ur humble servant
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan
If we want to make advancement we have to follow the principles. Otherwise it is just a show. We have to adjust our life so we can do these things. We need to get the priorities right. It only takes 1.5-2 hours to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra and there are 24 hours in the day so finding just 1.5-2 hours to chant Hare Krishna should not be a problem. We must find this time and chant, otherwise there is no question of Krishna consciousness for us. These things are minimums. It is not that we can chant less than 16 rounds and really expect to make much advancement. Of course it is very good to do anything for Krishna. So chanting one round a day is wonderful. But we can not be satisfied with that. We can not think, “I am chanting one round a day and that is very nice.” We have to think actually that I am such a rascal that I can not even come up to the minimum standard set by Srila Prabhuapda of chanting 16 rounds. We have to be a little hard on ourselves and force ourselves to come up to the proper standard.
Ultimately Krishna consciousness is a voluntary thing. No one can force you to chant Hare Krishna, you have to come to the realization of the importance and value of chanting Hare Krishna yourself and then when you realize how important and powerful chanting Hare Krishna is you will naturally chant at least 16 rounds a day.
Like I have been writing in some other comments this is not an easy thing to do in the beginning. We have to become very determined to do it and set aside the time to do it. The early morning hours are very good for chanting Hare Krishna. If you get up at say 4:00 am, then that is a very peaceful time and no one will bother you. You will be free to chant Hare Krishna, to worship the Deity, to read the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. No one will distrurb you, the phone will not ring, you will not have to go to the office. This morning time is just for you and Krishna. And if you live with your family and can convince the other family members to join you also in the early morning hours chanting Hare Krishna and worshipping Krishna, that will be so good for the whole family.
And this getting out of bed early in the morning is simply a matter of practice. You set the alarm for 4:00am and get out of bed and have a shower when it goes off. First couple of days you may feel a bit tired, but you very soon get used to it. And you can take rest in the evening at a reasonable time like 9:00pm. So then you will get still 7 good hours of sleep which is plenty for anyone and you will have that time from say 4:00 am to 6:30 am to chant Hare Krishna and read the books and worship Krishna. And still you can do all your material duties. You can go to work, do your duties for the family. And you will be able to do everything much better because of the clarity and higher consciousness you get from your morning program.
And why not stop drinking tea? You will not die if you stop drinking tea.
HARE KRISHNA PRABUJI, please accept my humble obesiences,
AGTSP,
Prabhuji please clarify my doubt that when Lord Krishna said to Arjuna “Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me, and at the same time you should continue your prescribed duty and fight. With your mind and activities always fixed on Me, and everything engaged in Me, you will attain to Me without any doubt.” -How to do the activities and think of Loard simultaenously. for example i am working in office and how to think of the Lord both at the same time. if i am doing some work means i will concentrate on it at the same time i would not be thinking of anyother thing. please clarify prabhuji.
Hare Krishna
your servant
T.Suryaprakash, Gurgaon, India
Hare Krishna Suryaprakash
It is a very good question. The answer is that yes, when performing our duty there may be times when we are concentrating on performing that duty and not directly thinking of Krishna. So the solution to this problem is you are going to the office to earn money basically. So you are doing the work to make money, therefore if you take the result of that work, the money, and do something with it that is related to serving Krishna, then that work that you did to make the money becomes devotional service. This is actually called “Karma Yoga.” It means doing some work and then offering the result of that work to Krishna.
That is why in India throught the ages many big Kings and big businessmen have built temples with their profits. Because they know that while they are busy working in their business they are not directly remembering Krishna, so they feel an obligation to do something for Krishna with the profits of their work.
Even if you are using the money you earn at work to maintain your family this can also become a service to Krishna if you install the Deity of Krishna in your house and together with the other members of your family each morning you worship Krishna by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and reading from and discussing books like Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. Then because you have the Deity in your house when you go shopping for vegetables and grains you can be thinking that “I am going shopping for Krishna.” Because if the Krishna Deity is there in the house whatever you cook in the house that will be first offered to Krishna and the prasadam will be distributed to the family members and the guests.
So when you have everything organized like this and you are sitting in your office working you can be quite peaceful knowing that the only reason you are there in the office is to earn some money so you and your family can worship Krishna very nicely in Krishna’s house.
Everything can be transformed from material to spiritual if we can simply transform the mentality, instead of thinking “I am working in the office to get money for me and my family,” if you think “I am working in the office to get some money so my family and I can worship Krishna nicely,” then it is a completely different thing. The first activity is simply a material activity and you will get implicated in so much karma with this mentality, but the second mentality, thinking I am working so my family and I can worship Krishna nicely, is a completely spiritual activity. And even though the work itself may be quite mundane and have no connection with Krishna, simply changing your mentality like this turns it into a completely transcendental activity and as you work in this way you will feel very happy and very quickly make advancement in Krishna consciousness.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Hare Krishna,
I am delighted to read your newsletter.I love reading Vishnusahasranama and lalithasahasranama.But whenever I read any article of god or goddess I keep remembering that god.Do I have to think of one name of god only ?If I read Bagavadgita I think of Krishna If I read Lalitha sahasranama I think of Durga.How to think of only one god when all gods are same.How to surrender myself which I am trying to do it for a long long time because of this materialistic world we are so surrounded by the materialistic things that we forget to remember god at almost all the time Please advice me…………….
I have answered a similar question just now at:
https://krishna.org/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=332
If you can please refer to this and ask me any further questions.
Hare krishna,
Well i am not qualified to answer ur query but with my limited knowledge i would say as a person u take help of hands for eating ,use feet for movement,use eyes for seeing surroundings ,use ear for listning.Similarly god is full of different energies which are looking after the functioning of universe.All energies resides in him only.So as a person he is one only but when we worshop any god then it personifies a particualr governing power or part of him.Every power or god when we worship denotes a particular path to follow & a particular destination to be reached by yogi.So that is why there are diffrent religions in world.Impersonalists reach brahamjyoti after liberation & krshna devotees reach golok vrindavan so are other destinations.Every path says they following the supreme destination & there god is greater than other.But where that supreme person has hidden himself even i like any other person does not know but everybody has known & realised that supreme person in his different manifestations.
Dear Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
Many thanks for your e-mail abought Lord Krishna I am looking foreward to the next installment of knowledge
Regards
Wayne
All glories to Srilaprabhupada,
Hari bol Prabhu,
I am from delhi(India).I am very grateful to u that u are replying to the mails of krishna devotees out of ur precious time.U are really fulfilling the objective of srilaprabhupada to make this society spiritual.This is the higest service to the society which u are providing.Prabhu plz clear one thing how can i get sadguru within me so that i may get all spiritual knowledge from him .If i will get that sadguru ever so that i will be replied all questions within me from that sadguru.I dont know why i have this feeling that u can not get libration even after reading so many books untill & unless sadguru present within u gives u all knowledge.Plz clear my doubts on this.
Dandvat to u prabhu,
Rajan
Hare Krishna Rajan
Guru within is there. But we can not expect to get without the mercy of pure devotee guru from outside. That is the only way. We are thinking somehow by my strength, by my studies of the Vedas, by my austerities, then I can please Krishna and He will appear in my heart and instruct me personally. This is not the process. Krishna recommends in the Bhagavad Gita, tad viddhi pranipat… “You must approach a spiritual master, offer obeisances, enquire submissively and render service. Such a self-realized soul can give you real knowledge because he has seen the truth.” So many people try for spiritual life but fail because firstly mostly the do not find a spiritual master who is a self-realized soul and who has seen the truth. Without this there is no hope. And even if they are so fortunate to find such a person generally they do not surrender to him, serve him, make his order their life and soul. So this is the only way. Otherwise Krishna consciousness will remain a mystery. It is not possible without a liberated soul, a pure devotee, as your spiritual master, and it is also not possible if you do not surrender to such a liberated soul and offer him obeisances, hear from him, serve him, make his order your life and soul. It is only by pleasing Krishna’s pure devotee that you can get any access to Krishna. Krishna is not so easy to approach…
All glories to srilaprabhupada,
Hari bol prabhu,
Prabhu if i put my faith in srilaprabhupada as my spiritual master and after following his instructions ,reading his books can i get liberation or if i have to approach some spiritual master in second case then plz suggest me whom should i approach to accept as my guru.
Dandvat to u prabhu
Rajan
Thank you, All glories to Srila Prabhupada, I really liked the Article Sanatana Dharma as well as this article. There is this great video tour on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEyZznOXpPw Journey to Goloka Vrindavana. the Srimad Bhagavatam says in canto that ” The Illusory Energy of the Lord cannot take prescendece being aware of her position those who are bewildered by her always talk non-sense thinking in terms of I and mine. Chant Hare Krsna, Think of Krsna, eat foods offered to krsna and be happy and go back home to Godhead!
Hare Krishna madhudvisa
you mention that approaching Krishna is not so easy.
you are right, but usually it is customary to think that the bhakti path is an easy path, or the easiest path of all, though we can see practically that this is not true for everyone, look how many things a devotee has to do in order to attain the goal, so we can see it is very hard actually. in other paths like the path of prapatti one can attain the goal much more easily by letting the gurus and saints have a blessing on you and take away your karma.
in scriptures it also says that there are many conditions for a soul to practice bhakti yoga, conditions that even the demigods are hardly able to commit.if i will find these verses or sentences i will send them to you if you want.
Hare Krishna
Indu.
Hare Krishna Madhuvisa-Dasa
Thank you for the wonderful emails
I have so many questions and I feel so confused , I am hoping that you could shed some light for me.
I have found Krishna in my life (actually , Sri Krishna found me ) I was led to him at a difficult time in my life and he came through into my dreams.
My husband and I then started reading the Bhagavad Gita , found and Iskcon Temple and started attending Bhagavad Gita Classes.
The devotees were good to us, I am not so sure to approach them with my questions as they are quite sensitive.
Please dont get me wrong , but I just need to know these things which are really troubling me alot.
In the Bhagavad Gita , Sri krishna says that we should not worship anyone , just worship Him, why does Isckon worship Prabupa as an equal to Krishna. His pictures , his stautes are bigger than Krishna , infact there is no statue of Krishna and Radha. Why is there small deitys of Caitanya thats worshipped on the altar and not of Krishna in his form with Radha?
Why are women in Iskcon subordinate , yet they know just as much as the males , in some cases, even more. Radha is half of krishna , thats not the case with the males and females here.
Is it because Prabupa said the women are less intelligent and have small brains , I totally disagree with many things that Prabupa says.
How do we know for a fact the Prabupadas version of the BG is thge real one, what about Mahatma Gandhis version.
Who said that Prabupa is the representative of an unbroken chain of spiritual masters.
There is so much negativaty surrounding Prabupa , and at the temple we are supposed to pray to him , why dont we pray to Vishnu , or Raam.
Why was he poisioned?
Did he know about the child molestation at the gurukuls?
Why do people in India say its a foreigners temple , hippies temple.That they recruit druggies and hippies and promise them that Krishna will look after them , they dont need to work and study?
Also why do we need to sing praise to him before krishna?
Even before we start the Maha Mantra , we are supposed to sing to him.
I believe in Krishna and Krishna only…
Prabupa also talks about Gandhi negativeky , Gandhidid greta things and won independance for India, yet he didnt ask for Fame like Prabupa does, although he is dead , his pictures fight for attention in the temples. It
You see Prabu , all this has been in my mind and I have stopped going to temple.
Will Krishna not hear me when I pray to Him only. WIll I not reach Him.
Looking forward to your reply.
Hare Krishna.
Shamini
Dear Shamini your mail touched me. Ofcourse it’s all about Krishna and not the messenger as I see it.
Prabhupada as far as I know never said that He is equal to Krishna and I saw a video that he streched himself lying on the ground in total surrender to Krishna. Glory to Prabupada is good in my opinion because he is the only guru who explains a lot about Krishna and the Veda’s .
Is Goloka one of the Vaikunth planets ?Ive heard that in Goloka there are no sorrows and is lord Krishna
an avatar of Lord Vishnu or are they both the same because Different schools of Vaishanivism different views on Lord Vishnu .Gaudiya vaishnavism teaches lord Krishna is the supreme lord while other schools claim Vishnu is the supreme lord please enlighten me.
Regards,
Anubhav
very nice! simple for the simple. A reminder of what REALLY matters in this life.
I love your post and totally agree. Very beautifully said. Keep comming out with these posts for they are very informative. Seldom we find people kind enough to spread the vast knowledge and information of Lord Krishna in such a wonderful way.
“That abode of Mine is not illuminated by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. And anyone who reaches it never comes back to this material world.” (Bg. 15.6)
i got small doubt do we have Electricity during those days because it is mentioned above in Bg.15.6, please don’t mind my materialist mind prompted me to ask this question.
Hare Krishna Satish
All these things, electricity, television, space travel, airplanes, etc, they were all known in the Vedic times. It is not that they were invented recently. There is an English saying: “There is nothing new under the sun.” No one actually invents anything. The ideas are there in the ether and at the right time Krishna gives some ‘inventor’ the intelligence to discover these things. No one invented electricity. The electricity is already there, it is all around us. it is not a new thing at all.
If you read the Bhagavatam, which is written more than 5000 years ago, you will see they knew so many things only recently discovered by modern science. They knew about atoms for example. How could they know about atoms 5000 years ago you may ask. But they did, atoms are described in the Bhagavatam, they knew that light was composed of photons for example, they knew how to calculate time based on the atoms, they knew how to make spaceships and could use them to travel to other planets. There is a whole series of Vedic texts about this called Vimana-sastra.
So none of these things are new. In the vedic age they were not very concerned with this very gross technology because they had better technology. But that does not mean they were not aware of things like electricity. They did not need it. They had jewels they could put in their palaces that would brilliantly illuminate them in the night time. They had extremely powerful weapons like the Brahmastra that was so powerful it could even destroy a planet, something modern science can’t do, and not only that it could be controlled so finely that it would seek out and destroy the target without damaging anything else. And the Brahmastras simply required one to touch water and chant the correct mantra and fire the arrow and that mantra chanting would empower the arrow with unimaginable power. So many things could be done with this science of mantra chanting which is not spiritual, it is still material but it is a much more subtle and advanced science than what we know of today. You know the brahmins would light the sacrificial fires by chanting a mantra. They did not use matches… And they could chant a mantra and put an old animal in the fire and because of the strength of the matra the same animal would come out the other side of the fire in a new, regenerated, youthful body.
Yogis could create great palaces just by chanting mantras. One yogi was able to produce men on palm trees. By growing them like fruits. So they could do every scientific thing and had much more advanced, much more subtle sciences than what we have today, so really they had no need for our gross science, they had something better, but they knew about electricity and could use it….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
I have recently started reading Bhagavad Gita and it is mentioned that there are multiple universes taking birth from the pores of Maha Vishnu’s body. So my question is are all the laws similar in another universes? are all the avatar of the lord same there? Is it like another ‘You’ and ‘Me’ living in its planetary systems? Do we go there after death for the rebirth?
I am really interested in reading all the Vedas, Puranas and all forms Vedic literature’s. Please guide me Sir Madhudvisa Dasa
Regards!
Yes. There are many other universes and yes things are similar in all the universes. The same 8,400,000 species of life are everywhere, throughout all the universes. Not all of them are present on one particular planet, so there are of course variations from one planet to another. The living entities on each planet have bodies that are suitable for living on that planet. As the atmospheres differ so the material bodies also differ.
It is not that we exist in more than one place. We are individual spirit souls and we only exist in one place. So we are here now, on this earth planet, and at the time of death, depending on our consciousness, we can take our next birth in any planet in any universe or in the spiritual world. Best thing of course is to be Krishna conscious at the time of death and to go back home, back to Godhead, to Krishna’s planet, at the time of death.
So please read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books. You will find everything you are looking for in Prabhupada’s books.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa