Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 11

A householder should not engage himself in severe hardship

TRANSLATION
Even if one is a householder rather than a brahmacari, a sannyasi or a vanaprastha, one should not endeavor very hard for religiosity, economic development or satisfaction of the senses. Even in householder life, one should be satisfied to maintain body and soul together with whatever is available with minimum endeavor, according to place and time, by the grace of the Lord. One should not engage oneself in ugra-karma.

PURPORT
In human life there are four principles to be fulfilled — dharma, artha, kama and moksa (religion, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation). First one should be religious, observing various rules and regulations, and then one must earn some money for maintenance of his family and the satisfaction of his senses. The most important ceremony for sense gratification is marriage because sexual intercourse is one of the principal necessities of the material body. Yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham. Although sexual intercourse is not a very exalted requisite in life, both animals and men require some sense gratification because of material propensities. One should be satisfied with married life and not expend energy for extra sense gratification or sex life.

As for economic development, the responsibility for this should be entrusted mainly to the vaisyas and grhasthas. Human society should be divided into varnas and asramas — brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa. Economic development is necessary for grhasthas. Brahmana grhasthas should be satisfied with a life of adhyayana, adhyapana, yajana and yajana — being learned scholars, teaching others to be scholars, learning how to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, and also teaching others how to worship Lord Visnu, or even the demigods. A brahmana should do this without remuneration, but he is allowed to accept charity from a person whom he teaches how to be a human being. As for the ksatriyas, they are supposed to be the kings of the land, and the land should be distributed to the vaisyas for agricultural activities, cow protection and trade. Sudras must work; sometimes they should engage in occupational duties as cloth manufacturers, weavers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, brass-smiths, and so on, or else they should engage in hard labor to produce food grains.

These are the different occupational duties by which men should earn their livelihood, and in this way human society should be simple. At the present moment, however, everyone is engaged in technological advancement, which is described in Bhagavad-gita as ugra-karma — extremely severe endeavor. This ugra-karma is the cause of agitation within the human mind. Men are engaging in many sinful activities and becoming degraded by opening slaughterhouses, breweries and cigarette factories, as well as nightclubs and other establishments for sense enjoyment. In this way they are spoiling their lives. In all of these activities, of course, householders are involved, and therefore it is advised here, with the use of the word api, that even though one is a householder, one should not engage himself in severe hardships. One’s means of livelihood should be extremely simple. As for those who are not grhasthas — the brahmacaris, vanaprasthas and sannyasis — they don’t have to do anything but strive for advancement in spiritual life. This means that three fourths of the entire population should stop sense gratification and simply be engaged in the advancement of Krsna consciousness. Only one fourth of the population should be grhastha, and that should be according to laws of restricted sense gratification. The grhasthas, vanaprasthas, brahmacaris and sannyasis should endeavor together with their total energy to become Krsna conscious. This type of civilization is called daiva-varnasrama. One of the objectives of the Krsna consciousness movement is to establish this daiva-varnasrama, but not to encourage so-called varnasrama without scientifically organized endeavor by human society.

SB. 7.14.10, rendered by Srila Prabhupada

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Desirable madness

One madness you have to give up — this material madness — and you have to become mad after Krsna. Then your life is successful. That madness is exhibited by Caitanya Mahaprabhu:

yugayitam nimesena
caksusa pravrsayitam
sunyayitam jagat sarvam
govinda-virahena me

That madness is wanted. Yugayitam nimesena: one moment appears to be one yuga. One yuga means twelve years. So yugayitam nimesena caksusa pravrsayitam. Crying. There is tears in the eyes like the torrents of rain. Yugayitam nimesena caksusa… Sunyayitam jagat sarvam: “I feel the whole world is vacant.” Why? Govinda-virahena me. This madness is wanted, without Govinda; that madness. So that madness fully exhibited in Vrndavana by the gopis. They were mad after Krsna. When Krsna left Vrndavana, went to Mathura, they became so mad that they had no other business than caksusa pravrsayitam, simply crying torrents of rain. That is wanted. That is Vrndavana life.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.11 — September 10, 1976, Vrndavana

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Distributing knowledge

If you have got some knowledge, you distribute the knowledge for Krsna’s satisfaction. How you can do that? Whatever knowledge you have got, you try to describe Krsna. Kavibhir nirupitah yad uttama-sloka-gunanuvarnanam (Bhag. 1.5.22). This is the first-class distribution of knowledge. Whatever you know, you try to explain Krsna by that knowledge. Just like our Dr. Svarupa Damodara. He’s a scientist, and now he is trying to explain Krsna through his scientific knowledge. Similarly, if you are a medical man, you can explain also Krsna through medical science. If you are engineer, you can explain also Krsna through engineering. Krsna can be explained. But the person who is explaining, he must be intelligent. Because Krsna is everything, so simply we must have the intelligence how to explain engineering and come to the conclusion of Krsna.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.21 – October 1, 1974, Mayapur

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Krsna consciousness in Italy

Italian people they are really just by nature religious, just like they gather in this big square, St Peter’s square to hear the Pope speak. So they gather there sometimes a million people at one time will gather there. So they are very eager to receive the Pope’s blessings but they are very lazy when it actually comes to doing something for religion. That is their defect, because they have not been taught how to engage in the Lord’s service.” He said “that is our goal, that is our mission here in Italy. That we will engage the Italian people in devotional principles and our movement will be very, very successful. It will spread very quickly in this country.

Told by Dhananjaya Prabhu

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Varnasrama to solve societal problems

Now people are becoming sudras by so-called education. So they cannot make any solution of the problems. If that daiva varnasrama again established, then the whole problem will be solved.

From Srila Prabhupada’s discussion with Shyamasundara Dasa about philosopher John Dewey

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Nondevotees will always be inimical toward us

SB 6.5.39 Translation and purport by Srila Prabhupada:

All the devotees of the Lord but you are very kind to the conditioned souls and are eager to benefit others. Although you wear the dress of a devotee, you create enmity with people who are not your enemies, or you break friendship and create enmity between friends. Are you not ashamed of posing as a devotee while performing these abominable actions?

Such are the criticisms that must be borne by the servants of Narada Muni in the disciplic succession. Through the Krsna consciousness movement, we are trying to train young people to become devotees and return home, back to Godhead, by following rigid regulative principles, but our service is appreciated neither in India nor abroad in the Western countries where we are endeavoring to spread this Krsna consciousness movement. In India the caste brahmanas have become enemies of the Krsna consciousness movement because we elevate foreigners, who are supposed to be mlecchas and yavanas, to the position of brahmanas. We train them in austerities and penances and recognize them as brahmanas by awarding them sacred threads. Thus the caste brahmanas of India are very displeased by our activities in the Western world. In the West also, the parents of the young people who join this movement have also become enemies. We have no business creating enemies, but the process is such that nondevotees will always be inimical toward us. Nevertheless, as stated in the sastras, a devotee should be both tolerant and merciful. Devotees engaged in preaching should be prepared to be accused by ignorant persons, and yet they must be very merciful to the fallen conditioned souls. If one can execute his duty in the disciplic succession of Narada Muni, his service will surely be recognized. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (18.68-69):

ya idam paramam guhyam
mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyati
bhaktim mayi param krtva
mam evaisyaty asamsayah
na ca tasman manusyesu
kascin me priya-krttamah
bhavita na ca me tasmad
anyah priyataro bhuvi

“For one who explains the supreme secret to the devotees, devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” Let us continue preaching the message of Lord Krsna and not be afraid of enemies. Our only duty is to satisfy the Lord by this preaching, which will be accepted as service by Lord Caitanya and Lord Krsna. We must sincerely serve the Lord and not be deterred by so-called enemies. In this verse the word sauhrda-ghnam (“a breaker of friendship”) is used. Because Narada Muni and the members of his disciplic succession disrupt friendships and family life, they are sometimes accused of being sauhrda-ghnam, creators of enmity between relatives. Actually such devotees are friends of every living entity (suhrdam sarva-bhutanam [Bg. 5.29]), but they are misunderstood to be enemies. Preaching can be a difficult, thankless task, but a preacher must follow the orders of the Supreme Lord and be unafraid of materialistic persons.

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How to understand the principles of religion

[Bhagavata-dharma, the principles of religion] is understandable if one follows the parampara system of Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, the four Kumaras and the other standard authorities. There are four lines of disciplic succession: one from Lord Brahma, one from Lord Siva, one from Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, and one from the Kumaras. The disciplic succession from Lord Brahma is called the Brahma-sampradaya, the succession from Lord Siva (Sambhu) is called the Rudra-sampradaya, the one from the goddess of fortune, Laksmiji, is called the Sri-sampradaya, and the one from the Kumaras is called the Kumara-sampradaya. One must take shelter of one of these four sampradayas in order to understand
the most confidential religious system. In the Padma Purana it is said, sampradaya-vihina ye mantras te nisphala matah: if one does not follow the four recognized disciplic successions, his mantra or initiation is useless. In the present day there are many apa-sampradayas, or sampradayas which are not bona fide, which have no link to authorities like Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, the Kumaras or Laksmi. People are misguided by such sampradayas. The sastras say that being initiated in such a sampradaya is a useless waste of time, for it will never enable one to understand the real religious principles.

Srila Prabhupada, Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.20-21 purport

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Mayavadi way of insulting Krishna

The Mayavadis’ proposition that God has no legs, no eyes, no ears, and no hands is an indirect way of insulting Him by defining Him as blind, deaf, dumb, lame, helpless, etc.

Srila Prabhupada CC Adi 7.99 purport

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Modern civilization: heaps of stones and bricks

Enamored by these big, big buildings, that’s all. “Oh, they are so advanced.” And naturally, the common man comes to a European or American city, he says, “Oh, Americans are so rich.” “Rich” means they have piled up stones and bricks, that’s all. This is their richness. What is there in the richness here? But people are common men. They think that this piling of bricks and stone is like real civilization. What do you think? Is that real civilization? Piling of bricks and stones? Heaps of stones and bricks? That is emblem of civilization?

Srila Prabhupada; Conversation, 31 May 1974

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The highest method of worshiping

TEXT
It is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone’s heart.

PURPORT
Here is an explanation of how those engaged in activities for the welfare of others are very quickly recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (18.68-69), ya idam paramam guhyam mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyati… na ca tasman manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamah: “One who preaches the message of Bhagavad-gita to My devotees is most dear to Me. No one
can excel him in satisfying Me by worship.” There are different kinds of welfare activities in this material world, but the supreme welfare activity is the spreading of Krsna consciousness. Other welfare activities cannot be effective, for the laws of nature and the results of karma cannot be checked…. If one tries to spread Krsna consciousness all over the world, he should be understood to be performing the best welfare activity. The Lord is automatically very pleased with him. If the Lord is pleased with him, what is left for him to achieve? If one has been recognized by the Lord, even if he does not ask the Lord for anything, the Lord, who is within everyone, supplies him whatever he wants…. The best welfare activity is raising people to the platform of Krsna consciousness, since the conditioned souls are suffering only for want of Krsna consciousness…. All the sastras conclude, therefore, that spreading the Krsna consciousness movement is the best welfare activity in the world. Because of the ultimate benefit this bestows upon people in general, the Lord very quickly recognizes such service performed by a devotee.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.7.44 rendered by Srila Prabhupada

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