Spirituality Tips Guides

This mood of intolerance of others service represents an insecurity. If we are truly convinced about the potency of our service, we don’t need to belittle others. We should appreciate all services done for Krishna. Its like the story of Hanuman and the spider which Srila Prabhupada told us. Both the spider and Hanuman were engaged in building the bridge to Sri Lanka. Of course the spider was only able to kick up some dust whereas Hanuman was throwing big boulders in the water. Hanuman said to the spider: “Get out my way, you little runt, I am serving Lord Rama.” But, Lord Rama interceded and told Hanuman that the spider was doing as much service as he was. I advised her that we have our relationship with Krishna and Krishna knows our heart. Actually the service that we do is performed on the subtle platform within ones heart, and mind.

Krishna doesn’t need anything, except for our hearts. We need to learn the art of encouraging others and appreciating their service. We should be so happy if someone is doing any service for Krishna.

Yesterday I mentioned the desire for independence and that I still had this. I think it is important that I clarify what I meant by independence. I was not indicating independence from Krishna. No one is independent from Krishna and the thought that one is or can be is Maya. However as personalists we recognize that each and everyone of us is an independent person. That is we are not all one but eternal individuals that are part and parcel of Krishna. Now that is our ontological position. It is interesting though how independence plays out both in the eternal rasa sense and the context of Bhakti rendered in this world.

We can not be forced or cajoled to render service to Krishna. It is a purely voluntary act of the heart that is the essential aspect of Bhakti. Too often in an institutional setting we lose this understanding of the soul’s free will and we try to push people into Krishna consciousness using expressions such as “you must”, “you have to”, “you are supposed to”, “don’t be in maya Prabhu”, “I am your authority and you have to listen to me”, “shut up and act properly”, “if you don’t do this Krishna will punish you”, “you are going to get a heavy reaction for this or for not doing this”, “I’ll give you a the mahasweets if you do this”, “if you don’t do this, I will be very disappointed in you”, “you are causing me pain”, etc. These are manipulative techniques that actually separate the person from real bhakti, and may ultimately give someone a distaste for devotional service. Krishna says in the Gita (9:2):

This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.
For something to be done joyfully, it must be done voluntarily. The person must retain his sense of individuality and freedom of choice-his autonomy, or else there is no love. There can be no love without a lover and a beloved, and when we function on the platform of blind obedience we do away with one of the two. I have found that as individuals we do have individual needs even in spiritual life and even in the spiritual realm.

The need for autonomy is one of the needs that must be met both in the stage of devotional practice and devotional perfection. Of course our autonomy is never absolute, it is always relative. The only person who has absolute autonomy is Krishna (He is Svarat), and I am not even sure about Him-He is controlled by Radharani! So, ISKCON has to be very careful of attempting to kill the voluntary serving mood of the individual by imposing too much authority. Srila Prabhupada was very very much against centralization. Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action, not for making bureaucracy. Once there is bureaucracy the whole thing will be spoiled. There must be always individual striving and work and responsibility, competitive spirit, not that one shall dominate and distribute benefits to the others and they do nothing but beg from you and you provide.

So, the business of the leaders is to facilitate the individual expressions of Bhakti in the members and to guide people to Krishna’s lotus feet. By guide I don’t mean push (by threats, guilt, etc), I mean pull by attraction.

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There are positive and negative injunctions for those wishing to be successfull in spiritual life. For example, if one wishes to start a fire he must apply heat(positive injunction) as well as avoid pouring water(negative in junction) which would hurt his recovery.

There are four pillars of sinful life: the eating of meat, fish and eggs; the taking of intoxication;the attempt to enjoy illicit sex(sex outside marriage); and gambling. These activities pollute the consiousness, where as devotional service purifies the consciousness.

On addition, one who performs these activities will have to suffer a heavy karmic burden. That is, he will have to experience very negative reactions in the future for the activities performed at present.

One normally thinks that regulations are restrictions on freedom, but a little reflection will help one realize that this is not so. When crime in activity is restricted, citizens are “free” to walk of the streets. When one regulates his eating and exercising, one becomes “free” to enjoy healthy life. Likewise, by not engaging in meat eating, intoxication, illicit sex and gambling, the individual becomes free of their negative effects. His consciousness becomes less restricted by material conditions and bad karma so that he is able to better understand spiritual truths.

One who does not follow these restrictions, is not considered to be truly a human being, even though he may possess a human body.

Service to God. The Vedic literatures recognize that each person is an individual, with specific abilities and propensities. A devotee is engaged in Krishna’s service in accordance with these proclivities. What makes the activity devotional service is that the results are offered to Krishna.

In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna stresses that all of the results of all of our activities should be offered to Him. l The devotee consults the spiritual master to determine which activities are in harmony with his psychophysical nature, and how to offer the results of such activities to the Supreme Lord. The devotee may be engaged in a variety of activities, but in each of them the devotee is thinking of pleasing Krishna and the spiritual master.

Devotional service is open to everyone, regardless of caste, creed, race, or sex. Devotees see beyond the body to the soul, and therefore are free from all material bias. A devotee is never to be considered a man, woman, black, white, or any other designation that pertains to the body. A devotee is simply seen as a servant of God.
1. Bhagavad-gita 9.27

The Six Senses. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna explains that we have six senses, including the mind. At the present time, because we are identifying with the material body, we are controlled by these senses. Depending upon which of the three modes of nature (goodness, passion, and ignorance) we happen to be affected by, we seek certtain objects for each of these senses in order to satisfy them (the senses). As one thinks about the sense objects one develops a desire or attachment for them and this desire causes one to attempt to obtain them. However, once obtained, the senses demand more or different sense objects. The person who relies on his senses to obtain knowledge is bewildered since his senses are faulty.

This world is full of variety. Businesses are creating and providing products not only to fulfill all types of desires for sense gratification, but to stimulate new desires with the aid of the mass media. Thus, the living entity is being pulled here and there by his senses in an never-ending attempt to become satisfied.

Only by engaging the senses in the service of God can one be freed from slavery to the senses.

1. Bhagavad-gita 2.62

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In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna states that He comes to this world whenever there is a rise in religion and a decline in religion. He comes to re-establish religious principles, annihilate the miscreants, and protect the devotees.By the phrase “rise in irreligion,” Krishna indicates that irreligious activities such as meat eating, illicit sex, intoxication, gambling, and Godlessness in general are widespread. In the modern age, we not only find the majority of the populace performing these irreligious acts, but the government and leaders in general are encouraging irreligion.

One who performs irreligious acts is breaking the laws of God, which are immutable. Modern theologians very enthusiastically declare that religious principles must be changed or adapted to meet the changing conditions in this world. But God does not see things this way. He holds one responsible for breaking His laws regardless of what excuse one may offer, or what theologian one may quote.

In this age of Kali (quarrel) Krishna appears as His Holy Names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare’ Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Simply by worshiping Him by chanting these names, one can attain all spiritual perfection and be freed from the influence of this dark age.
1. Bhagavad-gita 4.7
2. Bhagavad-gita 4.8

In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna explains the four types of persons who reject Him, as well as the four types of persons who approach Him.

The types that reject Him are: 1. The man who works like an ass and tries to enjoy like one, forgetting God completely, 2. Someone who is not even civilized enough to think of God, 3. Someone who is caught up in the pursuit of mundane knowledge, and 4. The out and out atheist who is determined never to worship God and attempts to convert others to his view point.

God is approached by those: 1. Desiring relief from distress, 2. Desiring knowledge, 3. Desiring wealth or other material benefits, and 4. Who are inquisitive or curious. Of course these are mixed.motives, but ultimately one will be purified of these if one sticks to the spiritual path.

“Pure love of God” means that one simply wants to please God, and one is ready to sacrifice his own happiness to accomplish this end. When one feels this way, he experiences the greatest happiness. Pure love of God is the greatest gift that God can give.
1. Bhagavad-gita 7.16, 7.19

Many transcendentalists attempt to escape the miserable conditions of this world by approaching God. Unfortunately, many of them think that the highest realization of God is His energy. Thus, they realize the eternal aspect of the Lord, but never get to enjoy the knowledge and bliss that accompany personal realization.

Impersonalists often speak of God as “The Light” or “The Force”, but these (the light and the force) are His energies. God is a person, the controller and proprietor of these energies, and when the impersonalists seek to merge with His energies, they miss the joy of a personal relationship with Him. The impersonalist thinks that by losing his personality in “oneness” with God he will find relief from suffering; but the devotee knows that the soul’s individual identity is never lost. By having a spiritual relationship with the Lord, the individual soul will discover, and be able to express his real personality, experience complete satisfaction, and be free from all suffering.

The soul is by nature active and pleasure seeking; therefore, in the unnatural situation of impersonal realization, the soul is dissatisfied, and again falls down to this world, attempting to enjoy the material variety, being unaware of the spiritual variety that a devotee enjoys in the association of the Personality of Godhead, Krishna.

The sun is the energetic source of the sunshine ,(the energy). The energetic is comparatively more important than its energy. In the same way the devotees recognize Krishna as the energetic source of all energies. The devotees worship the energetic (Krishna) rather than His energy, and reject the idea of merging into His energy.

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Two months prior to 2006 Gita Jayanti festival, I requested inmates, who regularly write to me, to write down a few lines about how they received the 1st copy of Bhagavad Gita As It Is and what they learned from the Gita and what are their favorite verses. I have tried to keep the inmates responses as it is in order to keep the originality of the text. The following is a compilation of inmate’s quotes:

Supreme Knowledge: I got Bhagavad Gita As It is from the Vedic resources. I learned it is Divine instruction for the battlefield of one’s life to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. My favorite verse is in chapter 9, This knowledge of Gita is king of education, the secret of all secrets. It is the purest of all knowledge and because it gives direct perception of self realization, it is the perfection of all religion. This is Raja-Vidya as there is no higher knowledge than Bhagavad Gita. It is spoken on the battlefield of Kuruksetra between Sri Krishna and His disciple friend Arjuna. (Mark Barnett, Canon City, CO, he is seriously practicing Krishna Consciousness)

Bhagavad Gita must be understood in Disciplic Succession: I found a Bhagavad Gita As It Is in a used bookstore, as soon as I saw it I purchased it immediately, I was already familiar with Srila Prabhupada’s books by reading BTG (Back to Godhead Magazine), BTG was given to me by sankirtana devotee. Under Srila Prabhupada’s expert qualified guidance, I learned that Gita must be understood in the disciplic chain of succession. When approached by a sincere student, a bona fide guru transmits knowledge of the Absolute Truth, namely knowledge of soul, the relationship between soul and supersoul, understanding of the time activity and cosmic manifestation. This knowledge is contained in the Bhagavad Gita, and Bhagavad Gita must be accepted in the manner Arjuna, disciple accepted from Sri Krishna the original guru. (Anonymous inmate, he holds a very nice Krishna Conscious program on festival days in the prison)

Krishna reveals Himself in Bhagavad Gita: I read all the books on Buddhist philosophy and I was not satisfied. As I read Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Krishna began to reveal Himself to me and the realizations were so deep. The information of Bhagavad Gita totally made Buddhist literature seem weak. Besides reading Gita, I decided to chant one round of Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. By doing these two things I had a spiritual experience, this is something I will never forget, something that has changed my life forever. (Kyle Weatherwax, Mineral Wells, TX)

Give up all forms of religion and surrender unto Me: Once I was child in the juvenile lock up in the Orange County, CA, where I met a long haired boy who would read Bhagavad Gita very nicely, he had a name like Arjuna, may be it was John or Aaron. He would sit up perfectly straight and read the Bhagavad Gita and he would teach me how to pronounce the Sanskrit. My favorite verse in the Gita is where Krishna says to Arjuna, give up all forms of religion and just surrender unto Me. (H. Sullivan, CA)

Everyone has to follow Krishna’s will: I received the copy of Bhagavad Gita from H. G. Chandra Sekhar ACBSP in 2001. I have learned from the Gita that I am not this body I am spirit soul, I am eternal and once dwelled with God. My goal is to return home back to Godhead, and only way to do this is through devotional service unto Lord Krishna; and I must become His devotee. To become Lord Krishna’s devotee I must render service unto Him and follow His will which is set forth in the Vedic literature specifically set forth in the Gita. The basic of devotional service is the hearing and chanting of Krishna’s glorious pastimes and names and to follow the four regulative principles. (Travis Becker, Parchman, MS)

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Now comes the controversial part where I attempt to explain how many of our habits (that we confuse with Kcon) or activities may be harming us or at least not contributing to our health. Lets take eating for example. Most of us were brought up in Kcon eating tons of Halvah, Sweet Rice, fried foods, etc. We thought: Its prasadam, so how can it be bad for our bodies?”

Well I got news for you. A saturated fat or sugar even if it offered to Krishna has the same affect on our arteries, kidneys, liver, etc. that a saturated fat has when it is not offered to Krishna. That may be a radical statement but it is true. Ask any devotee who is suffering from high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, etc. whether it is true or not. Ask an ayurvedic physician about the saturated fat, high sugar diet and see what he says about it. He will advise you to avoid this type of diet. Even in the face of all this evidence we may deny reality.

Another example is most of the kirtans that we have in our ISKCON temples and programs. We think that because we are chanting the holy name no ear damage will occur even the sound level is high enough to freak out a regular disco club customer. Now we have many devotees with tinnitus (constant ringing of the ears) or partial deafness. As we know, the ears are the most important sense in Krishna consciousness, so we need to keep them functioning properly.

I now carry a decibel (sound level) meter with me and have seen that it a rare kirtan in ISKCON that falls within the safe level (below 90 dB) or is softer than the sound of a jet taking off from 50 ft away. Another example is that we ignore the fact that the byproducts of combustion (ie: incense, etc.) may cause cancer or lung disease even if it is spiritual combustion or even if the ingredients are completely natural and organic. Interestingly enough, we oftentimes ignore even Ayurvedic injunctions in the name of religion. But, the Ayurveda has been given to us by Krishna.

For example one Ayurvedic injunction is that one should wait at least 6 hours between heavy meals. Nowadays in ISKCON (it wasn’t like that in the early days) devotees will load up on a super heavy meal for breakfast (that is usually eaten too late due to a much too long morning program), then eat lunch 4 hours later (10 AM to 2 is 4 hours for you non- mathematicians). There are many other examples of devotees ignoring reality (such as sleeping habits, safety habits etc), but my intention is not to attack those things that are near and dear to you (habits that you may have confused with Krishna consciousness), but to help you understand how to live longer in the present body so that you can serve Krishna and Prabhupada with more energy for a longer period of time.

I state these things simply out of a desire to serve the Vaisnavas. It pains me to see devotees unnecessarily suffering or leaving their bodies. I have seen too many of my fellow devotees succumb to illnesses that could have been prevented, by lifestyle adjustments. So, please do not be in denial of reality in the name of religion. I am not going to prescribe a diet for you or lifestyle for you, but I am going to advise you to do some research into Ayurveda and common sense nutrition. Don’t do things because: “that’s the way we always did things.”, or “that’s the way I was taught to do things.” number of years ago my health was declining because of improper lifestyle habits. My diet was full of saturated fats (I loved cheese on everything and also fried foods in ghee), tons of salt, etc. I got a wake up call when I collapsed one day with heart pain (it wasn’t an attack but some indication). I had high blood pressure (180/108 an auspicious number!).

For more Krishna conscious philosophy, please visit http://www.BKGoswami.com/. If you want to buy Hare Krishna gifts and books, please visit http://www.KrishnaShop.info/. If you are a Krishna Conscious artist and you want to sell your artwork, Click Here To Create An Artist Account.

The new thought movement which took place under the aegis of theoreticians like Ernest Holmes spoke in favor of a value-based social structure, where an individual would be at the seat of power. The movement was for rational thinking and a rational attitude to life and negation of concepts like magic or reincarnation. The theory supposed that ones rewards in life is directly related to ones contributions towards the fulfillment of your mission. The theory, like the law of attraction works on methods such as developing a positive outlook, meditation, reaffirmation and affirmative prayer. All the methods suggested by the new thought movement and the law of attraction are aimed at making an individual conscious of their powers and helping to making their dreams come to fruition by the rightful application of positive energy.

The law of attraction is a school of thought that states that a persons thought process, emotions and attitude influence their life. The theory explains that we are capable of bringing about remarkable changes in our lives, through effective thought management and rightful utilization of our positive energies. The law of attraction also supposes that strong adherence to an optimistic way of thinking can also help one to overcome negative situations in life.

The law of attraction is often closely associated with new thought theories and the two are similar in a number of ways. The new thought theory refers to are a set of religious ideas that emerged under Phineas Parkhurst Quimby in the United States towards late 19th century. The theory is inspired by Transcendentalist philosophy and the believers preach monism and use of affirmative prayers and thoughts for the fulfillment of their ends. The theory operates on a scientific way of thinking focusing upon positive thought and belief in individual abilities. Both law of attraction and new thought theories agree upon the power of mind in creating reality.

The new thought theory like the law of attraction places the individual above society and goes a little further by speaking in favor of a value-based society where the individual mind is the driving force behind all activities.

The law of attraction parallels new thought theory by speaking in favor of positive thinking and mental integrity. Positive thinking leads one to take a positive attitude towards life and this is reflected in changed circumstances. He who chalks out the pros and cons of every situation is able to make the best even out of an unpromising condition. The ability to learn from failures by adapting a positive mental attitude helps overcome drawbacks by turning them into strengths. Positive thinking, which is one of the chief principles of both the theory and law of attraction, also underlines the importance of a strong mental integrity.

Mental integrity or unity of thought, in the light of the theory implies a feeling of confidence and belief for ones thought. The law of attraction and the new thought theory both suggest we should have a full understanding of our wants, the ends we wish to achieve and the means to accomplish it. Thus, the it is in harmony with the law of attraction, and is in favor of self analysis and examination along with transparency of thought and action.

The goal or the end, according to the law of attraction is aimed at bringing about our maximum happiness by employing our mental powers. The new thought theory, on the other hand, transcends to universal goodness which implies that individual contribution leads to the fulfillment of a cosmic end. This again points out those collective efforts, which is a combined work of all individual leads the accomplishment of a mission, which may seem impossible to attain otherwise. Thus, the theory, which is a commonly association with the law of attraction, is similar to it in a number of ways and is also an extension of the latter.

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