by Shyamananda Das | Dec 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
One day after giving a lecture I was sitting on a wooden bench under a Kadamba tree in the forest, watching a butterfly.It looked such a beautiful creation of God. She was drinking nectar from flower to flower and I was chanting my mantra. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare” very softly and very peacefully. I felt a million miles away from the city of Mumbai. Suddenly through the iron gates three of our students ran after me. I can practically hear their hearts pounding. One of them told me that this student was just riding in a train and there was a bomb blast. He saw some bodies hanging with blood streaming. There were businessmen and laborers. There were women running with little babies screaming and crying. There were also beggars. There was no differentiation. As they were speaking and explaining this to me, I got a phone call. I ran upstairs and answered. He was one of the leaders of Bhaktivedanta Hospital. He said, “You should see the scene here”. It is horrible. Practically every minute, bodies are being brought in by ambulances, by rickshaws, on people’s backs. All our beds are full and practically the entire floor space of the Hospital every inch is covered with whether injured or dead bodies. This was July eleventh 2006. It was announced officially that 209 people died and about 700 were injured. Thousands of people lost loved ones and millions were terrorized. There were seven blasts in seven trains in a matter of eleven minutes. I reflected and remembered the...
by Mukundamala | Nov 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
There are at least 300 books available at your online bookseller dealing with anger. Many of themjust contain pop-culture variety of self-help advice on the dangers of uncontrolled anger. Anger is just one letter short of danger as these experts remind us. Lord Krishna, in the very beginning of the Gita encourages Arjuna to control anger and praises someone who has successfully done it as “a sage of steady mind.” It is quite natural to see many people today disbelieving in religion due to so many speculative theories spread by so-called scholars. These so called leaders take to the shelter of some kind of intoxication, and their affective hallucinations are sometimes accepted as spiritual vision. And after some time the dis illusioned followers become very angry at almost every kind of faith because they got cheated. Another important point about anger is that it is a pollutant. Srila Prabhupada says, “Even if there is provocation one should be tolerant; for once one becomes angry his whole body becomes polluted. Anger is a product of the mode of passion and lust, so one who is transcendentally situated should check himself from anger.” And at the same time it is important for a warrior like Arjuna to exhibit anger while fighting, because one cannot fight without becoming angry. In fact in the beginning of the discourse Arjuna refuses to go to war claiming pity for his opposition and is willing to accept the lowly position of a beggar. During the course of the dialogue Krishna explains that running away is never a good solution because once the battle begins the mode...
by Shyamananda Das | Nov 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
The German philosopher Hegel spoke very strongly of the principle “Die to live” which is very much in harmony with the essential knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Vedas. Die to live – if you want to live in truth, you will have to die as you are in your present state of consciousness. Material illusory consciousness is one of exploitation, and real consciousness of the soul is a consciousness of service. Death to the ego is a process; it is the most important process that it is the very basis of all spiritual paths. Just like purifying gold. When you put gold in fire, the fire burns away all the gross coverings, and the longer the gold is in fire, the more its original, natural shine manifests. It becomes more and more and more beautiful. Sandalwood is another example – the more you press sandalwood or rub sandalwood, the more its natural, beautiful fragrance is manifested. From one point of view, we can understand that theoretically we are the eternal soul, part of God. We are eternal servants of God. However, in our life and in the process of purification, in the process of making actual progress, there will be many challenges and obstacles that are threatening and fighting against the principle of what we want to achieve. However, if we, with proper integrity and proper spiritual direction, pass through those obstacles, they bring about realization. There is theoretical knowledge and through the process of overcoming so many obstacles on the path, we develop realization. In order to make progress on the spiritual path, in order to properly...
by Shyamananda Das | Nov 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
Conflict is the very nature of this material world. Even cells within our bodies are in conflict. The subtlest of all elements of creation is the false ego. And all other elements are both evolving as well as resting upon the false ego. What is the false ego? It is the false sense of identity. The Bhagavad Gita explains that besides these eight gross and subtle elements there is another nature, a spiritual nature which is the source of consciousness, the source of life. And that is our real identity: that we are spirit souls. We are conscious beings. “I am this body and all the designations of this body are me. I am man or woman, I am black or red or yellow. I am American, or Indian, or Pakistani or Russian. I am Hindu, Muslim, Jew, Christian, and Buddhist. I am rich, I am poor”. These are all temporary designations. They are not really the self, because they all change. The body is constantly changing. When you were an infant baby, you looked completely different. In your youth your body grew and as an adult you saw further change. Our spiritual master used to say that if you throw a stone in a pond it creates circles that expand to the end of the pond. If every stone is thrown in the same central place, all the circles will flow out harmoniously. If you throw many stones in different parts of the pond, each will have their center. Therefore all the circles will collide. The water will become chaotic. Unless human beings understand our common relationship with...
by Shyamananda Das | Nov 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
What do you see in this photograph? Do you not see a happy family – mother and two lovely children. Does it ever occur to you. that there is something missing here ? Well, to many so-called educated people this is exactly how they see the world around them. They see mother nature and they are in awe about her capacity to produce everything in such variety. People also see humans, animals, reptiles, plants, birds and an almost endless array of creatures. These are the ‘children’ of ‘mother’ nature. It is mentioned in the Vedas that this mother provides bodies for her children in four ways – eggs, seeds, perspiration and embryos. Birds are born from eggs, trees and plants are born from seeds, some species like bugs are born from perspiration and humans are born from embryos. In this way eighty four lakh varieties of material bodies are available for the living entity. How does one get a material body? It’s simple. Material thoughts generate material bodies. And confined in a material body it is just assumed that one will be forced to think in material terms and thus the process goes on and on. There is simply no escape. No, wait! There is still one face missing in our photograph. The father. How can a mother give birth to a child without the seed provided by the father. But some scientist can claim that I am not able to see the father, therefore I am presuming that either nature is producing on her own or that the father is dead. Even in the most modern industrial plants...
by Shyamananda Das | Nov 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
Over a 100 million in attendance, a mini-city springing on the banks of the confluence of three rivers,over 30,000 police personnel to give security, miles and miles of power cables, sewage pipelines and a budget of 1200 crore rupees. Unbelievable as it sounds, and all this for just forty days. No, this is not a political protest, rock concert or shopping extravaganza. In fact, in these days of religious and spiritual consciousness on the wane, nothing, absolutely nothing compares with this spectacular Vedic event. We are discussing the Kumbha-mela, dubbed the largest gathering of humanity on this planet. The exact historical origin of this gathering is a subject matter for scholars and empiricists to wrangle about, but when I visited the Mela on February 17, I was convinced that the Lord remains the most popular person – ever. I was not present during the busiest bathing dates, but yet I was very impressed with what I saw. Let me relate a personal incident. I was watching a group of pilgrims enter our camp and I saw that they were in front of our dismantled dioramas depicting Lord Vishnu saving the life of Gajendra the elephant. To my surprise, the group started to offer obeisance to those dioramas. I asked myself, “What is this that sustains their faith?” It seems that this is what is wrong with Hinduism today. People appear to just flock anywhere where salvation is promised. And especially at the Kumbha-mela, just one dip in the icy cold waters promises you mokse (liberation) from all your sins. But what could be the real reason behind this ancient...
by Shyamananda Das | Nov 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
“No one is born hating another because of the color of his skin/ his background/ or his religion. People must learn to hate/ and if they can learn to hate/ they can be taught to love/ for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” – Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela was born in racist South Africa. The then apartheid regime discriminated between whites and non-whites. The whites- only government declared some areas of the nation as the exclusive property of the white population and all other color groups were segregated and given their separate areas. Mr. Mandela dared oppose this discrimination and was labeled a terrorist and jailed for nearly three decades. Somehow, he prevailed, and after he was set free, he was elected the leader of the nation in the first elections in which all racial groups were allowed to cast their votes.lt is interesting to note that Mr. Mandela asserts that we need to be taught to hate. In today’s times it is not unusual to see a Palestinian mother say that she hopes that her children will continue to hate the Israelis and continue their struggle, or, as in the latest case of terrorism on US soil, the Boston Marathon bombings, where two American brothers of Chechen descent vented their hatred for all things American by planting two pressure-cooker bombs near the marathon event. In fact, one of the two brothers had let go of an ethnic Chinese taxi driver saying that, “We won’t hate you because you are not American.” Thus in this age it is easy for nations to hate other...
by Shyamananda Das | Nov 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
According to some calculations the world was supposed to end on the 20 December 2012 (20-12- 2012)!It was a Mayan (old South America) theory. Perhaps the numbers arranged in this fashion had something to do with this prediction. Anyway, if you are still reading this in the New Year 2013 then it is obvious that the world did not end. And you are ready to face the daily grind in your specific part of the cosmos. Talking about predictions, the Vedas are pretty clear about what is certainly going to be our lot in this particular age. The great sage Vyasadeva recorded a number of predictions in his Srimad-Bhagavatam, the essence of all Vedic knowledge. In a previous article written for this magazine Ravindra Svarupa Dasa described this event: “In his meditation, Vyasa sees a future of unrelieved horror unfold before him. He sees Kali-yuga, the age of iron, begin and bring with it universal deterioration. The decay is so deep-rooted that matter itself diminishes in potency, and all our food progressively decreases in quality as well as quantity. Vyasa sees the effects of chronic malnutrition on generation after generation; he watches it gradually diminish their span of life along with their brain power; no one can escape the progressive drop in intelligence and ability to remember. The harassment of hard times upon an increasingly witless populace hastens its moral and spiritual decline. People begin to slaughter animals for food; they become more and more enslaved by drugs; they lose all sexual restraint. These habits further their physical and mental deterioration. Vyasa watches them sink deeper and deeper...
by Mukundamala | Nov 18, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
So much struggle! Winning an Olympic medal, or any other sports championship, is not easy. One has to spend years of rigorous training under an expert coach, go through a strict and regulated diet, maintain a high level of fitness, and perform many such austerities. That is the price one has to pay to achieve any worthy goal. But no matter how precious the goal is, any achievement in the material world is temporary because someone else eclipses our achievement in the future. Even if no one performs better than us, imperceptible time erodes away the name and glory that once accompanied the achievement. Ultimately cruel death snatches away all that we cherish, forcing us to accept another term of imprisonment in the material world, thus keeping us perpetually engaged in pursuing flickering illusory goals. Human life is precious we cannot afford to lose it by trying to achieve cheap goals. Tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam suddhyed yasmad brahma-saukhyam tv anantam (Bhagavatam 5.5.1): One should undergo austerities in this life by which we can purify our existence and enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss. That is the only medal worth achieving. Please like &...
by Mukundamala | Nov 18, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
Unripe mangoes and ripe mangoes — both are mangoes, aren’t they? But no one enjoys eating unripe mangoes — they are sour, sometimes bitter, often detestable. The ripe ones, however, are delicious, juicy and succulent. If the unripe mangoes have to become ripe, all they need to do is stay attached to the tree. Over a period of time, they will soon become ripe and enjoyable for everyone. Srila Prabhuada explains that a devotee filled with material desires is like the unripe mango detestable and cannot be offered to Krishna. But if one remains “attached to the tree,” or, in other words, stays in the association of devotees and continues to perform devotional service, one will soon become a “ripe mango,” a perfect devotee who can be offered to Krishna. Krishna becomes greatly pleased to take such a devotee back home, back to Godhead. Please like &...
by Mukundamala | Nov 18, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
Can we reverse the arrow of time? Many in the past have tried to reverse it, many have tried to keep it stationary, but all of them have failed from Hiranyakashipu to Ravana to modern atheistic scientists. Hiranyakashipu, a demonic king of bygone ages, vainly attempted to become immortal by circumventing the laws of nature. Ravana also made a similar attempt, but he was vanquished by Lord Rama. Modern scientists make futile claims about their attempts to stop growing old. They even dare to say that they can reverse the aging process ”Future technology will help an old man grow young!” All sham. Aging is not the only way by which people die. There are innumerable ways in which people meet their end: accidents, wars, suicides, murders, terrorism. Can the scientists reverse the dying process? The struggle for existence leads to survival of the fittest, but how long can the fittest survive? Eventually relentless time wins over them, and they too become a part of history. Please like &...
by Shyamananda Das | Oct 18, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
A few days ago, my good friend Pranav, who is an avid trekker, shared this story with me. He hasled many groups into forests and hilly areas in many parts of India. On one such trek in a village in Maharashtra, they were attempting to begin their trek, when an old grandmother stopped them in their tracks and inquired about their plans. When she heard that they were about to spend most of their time on the mountaintop, she said that they wouldn’t find any proper facility for food or water. So she immediately decided to feed the entire group of fifteen some hot food before they began their walk. Although there was a murmur of protest, she did not pay any heed and proceeded to ask a few other ladies to help her. Within a short time, grandma was serving piping hot rice and vegetables to this group. Everybody was amazed at their service attitude and when they offered to compensate her, grandma wouldn’t listen at all. She flatly refused to accept even a token payment. Gradually the group made its way up the forest path and reached the top. There they were approached by a local shepherd who asked one member of the group whether they have any sliced bread. He explained that it was for his son who was rather fond of it. Since there were no shops around, he had surmised that these city folks should be sure to have some with them. As Pranav watched, the shepherd was simply brushed aside by the group, saying that they did not have any (although some were...
by Shyamananda Das | May 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
Tonight’s topic has been pondered, reflected, and pursued since time immemorial – how to create unity within this world? One of the greatest powers in all fields of life is unity. But there is a fundamental problem, that there are so many diversified distinctions between living beings. Everyone has their own conception of their identity, and this creates a natural conflict amongst those who look different, think different, or act different. There has always been conflict between the castes, not only in India but all over the world; it may go by different names. There is the educational class, there is the administrative class, there is the working class, and there is the class of trade and agriculture. There has always been distinctions and conflict between nationalities, between races, between religions, between generations of people’s ages, between sexes, between philosophers. On practically every level of the world, there is reason for conflict. Even with a family, there’s the older brother and the younger brother that creates conflict because everyone has their separate, independent interests. There is an example: if you throw a stone in a clear pond of water, wherever that stone falls it will create a circle and that circle will expand, expand, and expand. If you put another stone and throw it into another part of that water, it will create another center, and from that center more and more the circle will get bigger and bigger. However many different places you put stones, there will be different circles, and they will all collide and create a tumultuous situation in the water. However, if you put every...
by Shyamananda Das | Apr 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
Self-confidence is a very essential ingredient for success in any field of life. Without such confidence we are afraid to take risks. We also don’t have the courage to explore higher horizons in our capacity to perform our deeds within this world. Real self confidence is not based on our achievements or our successes in this material world but it is based on the fulfillment of who we are, what our purpose is and what we represent to ourselves, our families and to the world around us. If a person has such self confidence then he can generate confidence and faith in others .Actually to fail is not much of a loss, to lose one’s character & integrity is a major loss to our inner life. A person with proper disposition and attitude is willing to accept even major failures in the eyes of the world in order to preserve the high values that he or she believes in .If we’re willing to sell our ideals, our ethics, our character, our integrity, to sell our soul for the adoration of this world then our so called self confidence will be built on a foundation of sand. It has no real substance and it can bring us no real fulfillment. Six Common Indicators of Low Self Esteem Low self esteem really means a lack of really finding fulfillment within one’s inner life. 1. People with low self esteem like to gossip. Why? Because that’s what gives them pleasure. They do not have any substance inside. Whereas people who are actually self confident they speak of their ideals in life not...
by Shyamananda Das | Mar 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam we read about the story of Kardama Muni and his marriage with Devahuti. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Vishnu had consented to appear as the son of this saintly couple, in order to teach the science of self-realization. This particular avatara (incarnation) of the Supreme Lord is known as Lord Kapila and his science is famous as sankhya-yoga. Some time before the appearance of the Lord, Brahma comes to the ashrama of Kardama Muni and informs mother Devahuti as follows: “Your son will be the head of all the perfected souls. He will be approved by the acaryas expert in disseminating real knowledge, and among the people He will be celebrated by the name Kapila. As the son of Devahuti, He will increase your fame.” (Bhagavatam 3.24.19) I found it curious enough to do some investigation. Why would the Lord appearing as someone’s son increase the fame of that particular devotee? What follows are some observations gleaned from the Vedas. Fame is described in the Vedas as one of the original potencies, or shaktis, of Lord Krishna. His fame is eternal and ever-increasing. His lilas or pastimes enhance his fame furthermore. But there is one outstanding quality in the Lord: He is more happy to see His devotee becoming famous than Himself. Our first example is of Bhishmadeva. Although it was easily possible for him, Lord Krishna made Bhishmadeva famous by speaking to Yudhisthira Maharaja and relieving him of his distress. Yudhisthira was very much aggrieved due to the slaughter of many millions of soldiers on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. No greater an authority than...
by Shyamananda Das | Feb 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and while moving, how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In appearance, how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon among animals! – William Shakespeare Meet Mr. Steve Sewell from Cumbria, UK. At 58, unemployed and with a wife and two children to support, he tried to auction himself on the internet auction site eBay. But no one raised his starting bid from 99p (about Rs.90). He had listed his human body under Engineering Goods and described it as “some wear to moving parts, surface finish worn.” Since no one bid he has relisted himself. In case someone decides to sell himself in the black market then this is what one can expect for his body parts: human hair – Rs.4000, blood – Rs.1200 – Rs.4000, two eyeballs – Rs.9600, scalp – Rs.3600, skull with a full set of teeth – Rs.7200 (providing the jaw is in perfect condition and arthritis-free, a teetotaller’s liver – Rs.96000, human heart Rs.720,OOO. With recent successes in hand transplant procedure, a hand and a forearm could fetch you Rs.24000 and skin without tattoos goes for Rs.16000 for the full two meters. There is only one catch: as you would be making your body available after you die, you are probably worth more dead than alive! There is only one thing that the black marketers have missed consciousness. This is what the Vedic literatures like the Bhagavad-gita have pointed out as the real self. The eita defines consciousness as “that...
by Shyamananda Das | Jan 27, 2014 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
It was quite a remarkable sight: a small boy standing beside his middle aged father, and his elderlygrandfather standing next. For some reason, I found this sight interesting. It evoked some philosophicalthoughts in me. A few decades ago, the same grandfather was also a small kid, running and playing around. He thengrew up, fathered a child and took responsibilities. And now the same person has grown older and iswitnessing the activities of the latest generation. What’s so great about this? One may wonder; everyone passes through these stages. That’s part of life.But even though it’s part of life, most of us fail to perceive one very important principle: the immutableimperishable spark of consciousness that enlivens the body. The body, as we see, is continuously changing-from boyhood to adulthood to old age. The mind and the intelligence of the person alsochange. With time, one grows physically, mentally and intellectually. But all throughout, the person’s identity remains the same one retains the same name and other personal detailsal most always.. Faced with this information, a thoughtful person starts thinking: Who is the real person is it the body orsomething beyond it? Does everything finish at death with the end of the body, or do we continue toexist in some form or the other? If yes, what determines our new body? The process of accepting a new body is known as reincarnation. The Bhagavad-gitti explains this phenomenon in great detail. Dehino ‘smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara/ tatha dehantara- praptir: “As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, thesoul similarly passes into another body...
by Shyamananda Das | Dec 27, 2013 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
Worry in this world is caused due to a lack of inner spiritual fulfillment. The foundation of a building cannot be seen from outside. Externally we only see the architecture, furniture, marble etc. But it is the foundation that holds it up and gives it strength. Thus our mind is stable when it has a strong spiritual foundation. Storms may come in the form of reversals, but if we have that foundation of inner fulfillment we deal with it with a very clear and practical mind therefore they do not disrupt us. There could be numberless reasons for which we keep on worrying. We may be worried about our health, wealth, loved ones, friends, what happened yesterday or what is going to happen tomorrow, the environment or world politics. The nature of this world is that we have to face birth, old age, disease and death. Everything is always changing. The biggest problem is that we want to control our environment. However, the eternal reality is that you and I are not the controllers. To some degree we do have influence but ultimately things are out of our control. So to the degree we are attached to any thing or anyone on this worldly platform there will be worries. Attachment brings worry. During the monsoon rains a puddle of water gets bigger but during the dry season all the water dries out. It is very much affected due to rains. But the ocean whether it is the dry season or the monsoon rains it remains the same. What is the difference – the puddle has no depth. Therefore it’s...
by Shyamananda Das | Nov 9, 2013 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
We have independence. A thief can take away your money, disease can take away your health, time will take away your years – everything will be taken away from us inevitably – but there is one thing that no power in creation can take away. That is our free will. According to how we use our free will, we become conditioned to think in that way; to see the world in that way and to act that way. We become conditioned by whatever we associated with. For example one uses one’s free will to smoke cigarettes. No one can force it to do it but the association you keep could severely influence you to do it. When you start it tastes horrible but by your free will you keep doing it until your free will is so much conditioned to surrendering to that experience that you become addicted and then it practically seems that you do not have a free will anymore. By this addiction, you are practically being forced that you have to do it and I have to do it. I must do it. I cannot live without it. Alcoholism is same thing, drug addiction is same thing. You use your free will, you do it enough times and soon you become so conditioned by the modes of nature that you willingly surrendered to that. It appears that you lost your free will. But in fact, you haven’t. So whatever our consciousness is, whatever our way of thinking is, we should understand it is not our nature eternally, it is our acquired nature. It is the nature...
by Shyamananda Das | Oct 8, 2013 | WEB EXCLUSIVE
My spiritual master taught that everyone spends their lives within a series of questions and answers. When the bird rises in the morning it begins asking questions and searching for answers. When it comes back to the nest at the night it is still asking questions and trying to find answers. In human society the businessmen, politicians, lawyers, artists, farmers etc. – all are seeking answers to their questions. Life is a series of questions and answers. Such as – How to resolve our problems? How to find happiness? How to avoid suffering? Of course in today’s age the series of questions and answers is how to make money? How to make friends? How to gain power prestige? All the television shows, cinemas, all the newspapers, magazines, they are all about these questions and answers. The Vedic scriptures explain that now that you are a human being inquire about who you are? The questions of eating, sleeping, mating and defending and all of their various sub divisions exhibit the basic trend of human intelligence in today’s world but these are unimportant questions. Who am I? Why am I suffering? Where am I coming from? Where am I going? Who is GOD? What is the nature of this universe? What is my relationship with God within this Universe? When a human being comes to the elevated platform of making serious inquiry on these subjects then human life has real spiritual value. If we really want to digest food we have to have hunger. If you have no hunger you have very weak digestion. Hunger is a very important part of...
