Degraded governments

In the present day also, people all over the world may join together in the Krishna consciousness movement and protest against the present degraded governments of the world’s godless societies, which are based on all kinds of sinful activities. Srimad-Bhagavatam states that in the Age of Kali, thieves, rogues and fourth-class people who have neither education nor culture capture the seats of governments to exploit the citizens. This is a symptom of Kali-yuga that has already appeared. People cannot feel secure about their lives and property, yet the so-called governments continue, and government ministers get fat salaries, although they are unable to do anything good for society. The only remedy for such conditions is to enhance the sankirtana movement under the banner of Krishna consciousness and protest against the sinful activities of all the world’s governments.
The Krishna consciousness movement is not a sentimental religious movement; it is a movement for the reformation of all the anomalies of human society. If people take to it seriously, discharging this duty scientifically, as ordered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the world will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless under useless governments. There are always rogues and thieves in human society, and as soon as a weak government is unable to execute its duties, these rogues and thieves come out to do their business. Thus the entire society becomes a hell unfit for gentlemen to live in. There is an immediate need for a good government—a government by the people, with Krishna consciousness. Unless the masses of people become Krishna conscious, they cannot be good men. The Krishna consciousness movement that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu started by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra still has its potency. Therefore people should understand it seriously and scientifically and spread it all over the world.

Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 17.141 (Click)

What is real happiness? Part 1

Everyone wants to be happy. Whether one be a European, American, African, Jew, Christian or whatever, still happiness is sought by all. We endeavor to cultivate those activities or situations which bring us pleasure, and conversely try to avoid unpleasant things. Of course, happiness is relative and what may be happiness for one may be poison for another. Each species has a certain standard of happiness it may hanker for, and what is happiness for a human is different than that of a pig. At least it should be.

The ancient teachings of the Bhagavad Gita explain that basically there are two types of happiness, one being material and the other spiritual. The former is the general pursuit of this world, whereas the latter is a mystery to many, but a truth to a few fortunate persons.

Material happiness is pleasure derived from stimulation of the body through the senses, having the mind as their hub. Someone may stimulate the tongue with some palatable foods or the ears with their preferred music. One may derive his happiness from sporting activities, whilst another through use of intoxicants. However, the problem with such bodily pleasures is that they are limited and temporary. As the body is temporary, so any happiness derived through it's stimulation is also temporary. Whilst performing our activities we become attached to those situations which bring us pleasure, yet they must come to an end at some point, ultimately being completely lost at the time of death. Such happiness is therefore a source of unhappiness. Whether it be a romance with a loved one or a vacation from work, we wish it could last forever, yet when our partner dies or the holiday is over, it often bring us great pain or remorse. Material happiness is always accompanied by it's converse in the shape of distress within this world of duality. They are two sides of the same coin, we can not have one without the other. To bathe in cold water during the scorching summer brings great relief and refreshment, yet in the freezing wintertime it is, for most, a terrible experience.

Some believe that sex life is the highest form of happiness, but if this were the case then the prostitute would be the most joyful person. However, they are generally the most unhappy and frustrated with their sex life, and if one contracts one of the numerous diseases through sex, then suffering is the only outcome. Even unexpected pregnancy often leads one to reconsider whether it was all worth it, not to mention if abortion of the unprotected child is opted for, as this is said to be one of the most cruelest and sinful acts, bringing only future suffering.

Relief from an unpleasant or disturbing situation is often taken to be happiness. We may be hungry and find happiness from filling our bellies, or through erotic acts we may find relief from sexual frustration. We may even think "As soon as I pay off my debts or get money, then I will be happy". However, in the true sense this is not real happiness but a mitigation from some frustration. Whether it be one's own body or mind giving some difficulty such as toothache or depression; or from another living entity such as a mosquito; or from natural disturbances such as rain or drought, this world is full of unpleasant situations. To find relief from these disturbances does not necessarily mean that one has found happiness, one has simply removed a disturbance. In fact, material happiness is compared to attempting to quench one's thirst with a single drop of water when one is in the desert. Certainly more than a drop is required if one is dehydrated.

Another example is of a medieval torture practice whereby the victim is held under water just until he would die and then brought up for air. Upon drinking that desperately needed air the victim thinks, "Oh, how wonderful and sweet, now I am fine." However, immediately he is thrust again under water for repeated pain. Relief from frustration is not actual happiness.

All of the pleasures of this world have been regurgitated for countless centuries that they are like finding a piece of chewing gum under your desk and thinking that you may find some joy in eating it, chewing what so many have already chewed. So many have tried to enjoy with these temporary facilities, yet many have realized the futility and sought to deepen their existence and experience on levels of permanent and ever increasing happiness. In fact it is said that only two persons are happy in this world; the self realized soul engaged in spiritual acts, and the foolish person oblivious to the consequences of his activities.

Only when we know what is our actual identity beyond these temporary bodies will we understand what is our real happiness and where to find it.

To be continued........

An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them. Bhagavad Gita 5.22

Suffering

The whole world is suffering for want of knowledge. The present civilization is animal civilization. They do not know anything beyond eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That's all. This is animal civilization. Animal does not know beyond these four principles of life: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That's all.

Human life is meant for something else: "What I am? What is God? What is my relation with God? What is this material world? Why I am here? Where I have to go next?" So many things one has to learn. Athato brahma-jijnasa. This is human life. Not that eat and sleep and have sex life and die someday like cats and dogs. Therefore, there is need of acaryas, teachers, for propagating spiritual knowledge, Krsna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada speaking on the occasion of the appearance of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, September 23, 1969

Ghostbusters- conclusion

"Oh no, it's started....it's started!"
The expression on the woman's face changed rapidly as did ours. What we had been expectantly awaiting was now immediately happening. As soon as we crossed the threshold of the apartment our hearts had taken on a new gear, sensing the thick heavy atmosphere. As if to ignite fear within us, two pictures of Christian saints had sprung from the hallway wall and crashed to the floor. Was this a message from our apparently hostile poltergeist suggesting our own immanent destiny? As each devotee individually deepened their soft recital of Krishna's names, we confidently ventured forward. Within a second a dining chair in the adjoining kitchen seemingly leaped up and smashed to the ground, sending the woman into a state of hysteria, as she frantically moved from room to room. We had been in the apartment for about ten seconds and had already experienced more than we could have imagined.

Standing in the centre of the main room we all looked at one another for a moment and then spontaneously erupted into kirtan, the loud calling of the names of Krishna, themselves feared by fear personified. The leader of the chanting requested we all chant in unison with full voice instead of the usual call and response style we are familiar with. What with the accordion sounding, clay drum booming and countless hand symbols chiming, along with the resounding call of a conchshell being blown, overall the effect was quite tumultuous. Placing all of our breath into the chanting we searched to find the protection promised from these all powerful names of the Supreme. What the neighbours were thinking was far from our thoughts as we absorbed our minds in the pure transcendental vibration;

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

One of our party had brought several sacred Narasingha stones called Salagram, and proceeded to bath them with pure water. These transcendental manifestations offer powerful protection as well as removal of inauspicious obstacles on our spiritual path. Spraying the bathing water all around we gradually moved from one room to another ardently chanting the recommended mantra for this age, Hare Krishna.

Noticing that the heavy wooden dining chairs had each begun to vibrate, the woman lay them down under the table, all the while rambling through prayers in a frenzied manner. Her mother tried to console her but had little effect. Just then a wooden drawer from a cupboard in an adjacent room came flying across the ceiling and smashed against the wall just behind the woman, spraying its contents everywhere. We instinctively moved closer to the woman and desperately called out the names. Meanwhile, in the kitchen a devotee was offering the bathing water to drink for protection to the family, when a chair rose one metre from the floor and within a split second zoomed across the room colliding with the boyfriend. Seeing no other means to assist, the devotee practically threw the liquid down the boyfriends throat only then to see the coffee machine also begin its levitation.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

We had been hoping to experience something and this local spook was certainly entertaining us.
Whilst the dining chairs were continuing to vibrate we moved through to the parents bedroom all the while intensifying our chanting of the all purifying names of Krishna. Vedic scripture explains that these names, the Maha-mantra, being completely spiritual, have the unlimited power of God by which the dirt of our hearts can be cleansed. Just as the sun can cleanse urine and waste from the earth by its scorching rays yet remain unpolluted, similarly the names of Krishna can never be contaminated, yet themselves clean even the reservoir of dirt in our consciousness.
As we danced to the sweet sound, the woman along with her Mother and Father was standing in the doorway, nervously chanting to herself. She appeared distant, lost in her racing thoughts. At that moment, seemingly thrust up against the wall, she was pinned by her invisible assaulter. As if held by the throat she was dragged along the wall banging into her parents. Pandemonium arose amongst them as we chased after throwing our weapon of the Maha-mantra in an act of rescue. Again she was released, although severely shaken.

We had now been chanting intensely for forty minutes and still the atmosphere seemed thick and heavy with darkness. Although violent events had occurred to the family members, nothing had touched any of us who were taking refuge in the sound incarnation of Krishna's names. We all felt completely protected and fearless. With such faith in Krishna names as well as the mood of compassion to help both the family and their uninvited phantom, we courageously danced and span around the home. Gradually we managed to involve the family in dancing and chanting with us which brought unlimited heights of bliss as the father of the family smiled for the first time. Then the atmosphere lightened and everyone felt the overwhelming joy of freedom whilst chanting Hare Krishna. It felt like a wonderful sunrise clearing away the darkness and fog of the evening, whilst simultaneously eradicating fear of thieves and dacoits. Carrying on for another fifteen minutes we all tasted the true happiness of the soul as he reawakens his relationship with his long lost friend, Krishna. With the mood considerably transformed we sat together on the floor and recited the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita in both Sanskrit and Italian, entitled Devotional service. We were refreshing ourselves with knowledge of our pure loving relationship with Krishna, whilst also praying that our poltergeist friend be now fully purified and able again to reawaken his own love.

We cannot be know what has happened to this ghost, although we are sure that immense purification took place not just for him but also the family and ourselves who came as menial servants of the sweet, all-powerful names of Krishna. By chanting the Maha-mantra we can purify our existence and fully reawaken our dormant love for Krishna and consequently each other. That love is within us all, even ghosts, but due to absorption in material pursuits we forget our real treasure within.

Since that day there has been no further disturbances in that home. That night was there first peaceful night in nine years. All glories to the unlimited glorious names of Krishna and all glories to the pure devotee of those names who has compassionately spread them throughout the entire world, Srila Prabhupada.

Ghostbusters

As soon as we entered the apartment we understood we were in for some excitement. We'd heard different stories of how this young woman had been terrorized by a ghost for the last nine years, of how just the other week she had been hospitalized due to a flying chair striking her in the head, and how she was now at the limit of her sanity. We'd been told of knives flying across the room, pictures leaping from the walls and levitating coffee machines. Chairs and other objects independently shaking and smashing into walls was a daily occurrence in this home.

"Hey, but ghosts don't exist". Well for many people and cultures they do. Ancient Indian culture explains that a ghost is someone, a soul, who upon dying is not awarded a new physical body, but painfully lingers around in their subtle body made of mind, intelligence and false ego. Such a situation may occur due to a sudden death or extreme negative acts such as suicide, and is a position of suffering as one has a mind full of desires yet no body to enact them. Ghosts often take advantage of weak minded persons or those under intoxication, entering their physical bodies and attempt to enjoy through this borrowed facility. Many people cannot believe what they have done whilst under intoxication or depression, acts they normally would refrain from.

So, such was the situation we found in a quiet village just outside Rome. The woman and her boyfriend had tried everything they knew to free themselves from this terrifying situation. On one occasion they'd lit incense and chanted prayers in order to purify the atmosphere only to find the nearby wardrobe seemingly come to life and violently vibrate, splitting into two equal pieces. Upon moving the ruptured closet they had been horrified to find a swarming mass of bleach-white worms, quite different from the indigenous species, covering the wall and floor.
The woman explained that nine years before she had been the object of attraction for one boy in her school. Repeatedly denying his requests for a relationships, she had found herself cursed by the boy's satanic mother, who was well practiced in the black arts of witchcraft. She was told that she would suffer for the rest of her life for this refusal. That had been nine years before, yet with some incident every evening it already felt like a lifetime. One may ask why they stayed in the same apartment, why not move? Well, theirs was a family home for several generations , and they still lived with her parents. Whilst her mother was very sympathetic to her daughter, the father had been always skeptical. Most of the happenings had been directed only to his daughter, until he also started to experience strange things.

Out of desperation, they had once invited the local Catholic monks to come and assist. The monks explained that they could perform an exorcism on the woman but they couldn't guarantee the ghost would leave the property. "Anyhow, at least let's do something", they decided, although they were not prepared for what they would witness.
At one point in the ceremony with the woman white like a sheet, trembling and covered with sweat, they beheld countless 3-inch nails shooting from her mouth, followed by a deep ghastly roar clearly not from such a simple lady. Whilst the couple were completely shocked, the monks explained that it was all quite normal in these situations and that the Vatican was full of such incidents.

Seeing no alternative, the boyfriend called upon his parents for help. As they were Vaisnava practitioners, Hare Krishnas, for more than twenty years, they enthusiastically seized the opportunity and organized a troop of devout spiritual followers, we were seven in total. We meditated not only on trying to help the disturbed family but also on helping the ghost who was himself imprisoned in such an agonizing situation. Our strategy would be to perform loud, intense chanting of Krishna's names which purify everything and are feared by fear personified. It is said that all negativity flies away when one chants the holy name of Krishna. This would be a chance to see how much we believed in what we had dedicated our lives to, were we really taking our spiritual life seriously or were we just pretenders.
We were not sure what to expect but we were certain that we wanted to experience something extraordinary. Were we ready for what was to come?

This is a true story from March 2009, the conclusion will come soon....

Deep roots

Once, a wealthy man requested an old scholar to wean his son away from his bad habits.

The scholar took the youth for a stroll through a garden. Stopping suddenly he asked the boy to pull out a tiny plant growing there. The youth held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out. The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant. The youth pulled hard and the plant came out, roots and all.

"Now pull out that one," said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy had to use all his strength to pull it out.

"Now take this one out," said the old man, indicating a guava tree. The youth grasped the trunk and tried to pull it out. But it would not budge.

"I – It's impossible," said the boy, panting with the effort.

"So it is with bad habits," said the sage. "When they are young it is easy to pull them out but when they take hold they cannot be uprooted."

The session with the old man changed the boy's life.

Often we believe that we are young and should enjoy life now to the max, "spiritual life can wait till I'm older, let me experience this world now, then later meditation.."

This sounds very nice, yet whilst trying to enjoy the facilities of this world, fulfilling our material desires, we acquire certain mindsets and conditionings contrary to our pure nature. Contact with materialism brings material attachments and conditionings. "I am just acting according to my nature!" Yes, but our conditioned nature not our pure spiritual nature. How we think determines how we will talk. As we talk, so we will act. As we act, so we form habits. From our habits, we develop our character, and from our character is born our destiny. All throughout our life we are planting seeds and strong roots are forming that will affect not just this short life but our future existence also. And who knows how long this life will last? For one who is born, death is certain. But when? Could be today, could be tomorrow.

However, if we take advantage of our human intelligence we can instead sow the seeds of purity and cultivate a forest of pure love and selfless service. We can become an expert gardener and protect our forest from the weeds of envy, lust, greed, pride and anger as well as the deep roots of material illusion. Why delay tasting the sweet fruits of spiritual life! Instead let us daily water these pure seeds with the life-giving nectar of Krishna's everfresh names and pastimes.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Freedom

One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds darting and dancing in the heady atmosphere above the earth. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check.
Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the restraining string and the cumbersome tail kept them in tow, facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say, "Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!" They soared beautifully even as they fought the imposed restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose. "Free at last" it seemed to say. "Free to fly with the wind."
Yet freedom from restraint simply put it at the mercy of an unsympathetic breeze. It fluttered ungracefully to the ground and landed in a tangled mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. "Free at last" free to lie powerless in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to lodge lifeless against the first obstruction.

How much like kites we sometimes are. We all have potential to climb to great heights, but if we act unrestricted then we may find that we lose control of ourselves and our situation. Different spiritual traditions recommend following certain rules and regulations from which we can grow and gain strength. Restraint is a necessary counterpart to the winds of opposition. Without some restriction we may become victim to the material winds in forms like lust, anger and greed, which further deepen our conditioning and prevent spiritual growth. Personally I choose to observe 4 regulative principles avoiding; intoxication, animal slaughter, illicit sex and gambling. These four are said to destroy the four foundational pillars of spirituality; austerity, compassion, cleanliness and truthfulness, which may be seen as the qualities of the humane. To restrict our lower conditionings and urges facilitates our cultivation of higher qualities which are true to our real nature as pure spiritual loving persons, who love all forms of life and simply desire peace for all.

But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord. Bhagavad Gita 2.64

One who restrains his senses, keeping them under full control, and fixes his consciousness upon Me(Krishna), is known as a man of steady intelligence. Bhagavad Gita 2.61

Eagle in a storm

A nice story I received and often quote in lectures,
Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?
The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.
The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.
When the storms of life come upon us - and all of us will experience them - we can rise above them by setting our minds on Krishna. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow the power of Krishna's names to lift us above them.
Krishna enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above the storm.
Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare