The Wealth Of The Soul

Unlock the eternal treasure of love and bliss from your immortal soul by connecting with Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead and reservior of pleasure by chanting: 

Help People By Giving the Gift of Krishna Conscoiusness

There are many very nice people in this world. They help their fellow human beings to the best of their ability. I'll give just one example that comes to my mind. Once, in 1982 on the coldest day of the year, a plane crashed into the Potomac river in Washington D.C. One man, a bystander, dove into the icy water to rescue a woman. Another man, a survivor of the crash, helped others to grab the rescue line and finally drowned after saving others. These are inspiring examples of goodness in this world. Then there are some very rare persons, great souls, who come into this world to deliver people from the otherwise endless cycle of birth and death (karma samsara). Sometimes God Himself comes to deliver the fallen souls and sometimes his dear devotee comes. Around 5000 years ago Krishna Himself appeared with His personal expansion Balarama in Vrindavan, India. In 1486 A.D. Krishna and Balarama appeared again as Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda in Bengal, India. Great devotees who came include Madhvacharya, Ramanujacharya, Jesus Christ, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, H.D.G. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja and many others. They and/or their followers are still present giving the gift of Krishna consciousness to others.

Devotional Service To Krishna frees One From Sinful Reactions

We all have a karmic bank account, so to speak. We are suffering because of our past sinful actions or enjoying because of past good deeds. Devotional service to Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, frees the performer from past bad karma. Krishna is pure and powerful like the sun. The sun purifies a contaminated place by its powerful rays, and by Krishna's power we can be purified of sins. When we are completely free from sin then we can get out of this material world of repeated birth and death. So the process is to dedicate our lives to Krishna's service and avoid sinful activity.  As per the Vedas the 4 pillars of sin are 1]  meat eating  (meat, fish, and eggs)  2] intoxication, 3] fornication, and 4] gambling/cheating.

Protecting Freedom and the Right to go to Hell

Modern secular societies guarantee certain human rights and freedoms. This is very good, but according to the timeless Vedic wisdom, human beings also need to be protected from sinful life. People are acting sinfully, accumulating vikarma (bad karma), all of this being condoned by the state. The result is suffering in this life and after death also. Sinful actions result in suffering for the performer. Pious actions result in material happiness for the performer, but hapiness in the material world is temporary. All here are subject to aging and death. Action in Krishna consciousness (devotional service to Krishna), however, results in promotion from the material world to the eternal Kingdom of God. Under the circumstances it is in the interest of all sincere persons to accept the path of Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness means becoming situated in our constitutional position as eternal servant of Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna is the original source of everything and service to him brings about transcendental happiness and pleasure. This transcendental happiness of Krishna consciousness, or bhakti-yoga, is the natural alternative to sinful activities.

How I Came To K. C.

When I was a young boy I used to wonder if there was a next life or if death was the end of my existence. Sometimes while thinking about it I would become distracted by opportunities for fun with friends etc. but the issue would always come back to my mind. I looked for the answer by listening to music lyrics; reading books; talking to people about religion; etc. I had not really embarked on a serious study of different philosophies as I was still relatively young. One Sunday in 1978, when I was 16 years old, my older sister asked me to come with her, dad and step mom to the Hare Krishna temple in Potomac, Maryland. I didn't want to go, but my sister smiled and insisted, so I went.

Rupanuga prabhu at Prabhupada's lotus feet

After the first visit I didn't know what to make of it. The temple served a free vegetarian feast on Sundays. I had recently become a vegetarian and the feast was delicious. My dad also liked the feast so we went again. On my second or third visit I was listening to Bhagavad-gita class by Srila Rupanuga prabhu, an early disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Rupanuga prabhu was making the point that the secular leaders of society are actually in ignorance of the fact that we are not our material bodies; we are eternal individual spirit souls each residing in a material body. And we are eternal servants of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Somehow his words entered my heart and my faith awakened. I started reading Bhagavad-gita As It Is and my faith and understanding increased. So with the help of my sister and by the mercy of Rupanuga prabhu and Srila Prabhupada, I was fortunate enough to find the truth and begin devotional service to Krishna.                                                                                                     

With my sister circa 1965

Imagine

 His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acharya of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness once discussed the following idea. I will look for the exact quote later but the following is the gist. He said he was ready to join with the Christians and Muslims to spread God consciousness throughout the world. That he would put pictures of Christ and Mohammed on the alter to worship along with Krishna.  -------   So I was thinking about this idea because there are many values that the Krishnaites, Christians and Muslims have in common. Belief in One Supreme God; Traditional  marriage and family values; Sobriety; Cleanliness; Austerity; Etc. These values are under attack by many so called leaders in government, media, entertainment industry, etc. So all the believers in One Supreme Lord can form an alliance to resist the onslaught of degradation in the world today.

Krishna Thesaurus

Krishna Consciousness noun    Synonyms: bhakti-yoga, devotional service, Vaishnavism, Hare Krishna, monotheism, pure knowledge, pure goodness, Vasudeva sattva, samadhi, spiritualism, love, redemption    Antonyms: materialism, atheism, ignorance, delusion, evil, hate, ruin

The Heavenly and Hellish Planets

 Shukadeva speaks the Bhagavatam circa 3000 B.C.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam and other Vedic scriptures, we get information about the heavenly and hellish planets in this material universe. In the heavenly planets there is an extremely high standard of material enjoyment. The denizens of the heavenly planets also enjoy a fabulously long (not eternal) duration of life. In the hellish planets there is extreme suffering. The term of suffering in the hellish planets may be profoundly long, though not eternal, according to ones individual adverse karma. 

Don't Miss The Chance of The Human Form of Life

On this planet Earth there are a great number of life forms such as plants, insects, aquatics, birds, animals, humans, etc. From the Vedic scriptures we find that a different individual spirit soul inhabits each and every living organism. As of 2014 A.D. there are around 7 billion human beings on this planet earth. That is only a small percentage of the total living beings on Earth. For example, by some estimates, the ants alone number 10 quadrillion on Earth. So the human form of life is very rare, and only the human has the intelligence to understand the science of God. The Vedas say that if a human does not use his/her rational intelligence for this higher purpose in life, then in the next life, he/she falls down to a lower species. Again, according to the Vedas there are 8,400,000 species of life, and the soul has to transmigrate through each one until he/she reaches the human form of life again. The concession is, as per the Vedas, that if one simply begins the process of Bhakti-yoga or devotional service to Krishna, then one is guaranteed at least another human form in the next life. If one completes the course then he/she is transferred to eternal life in Krishna-loka or Vaikuntha.  http://krishnaite.blogspot.com/2014/03/krishna-loka-and-vaikuntha.html

Can't Have The Kingdom of God Without God

According to the law of karma when a nation is very religious then prosperity eventually follows. But after achieving prosperity if the people give up religion then the prosperity will eventually fade. People who try to do good but endorse irreligious principles are not real friends of society because irreligious activities result in suffering.

Self Realization

At present we are imprisoned by the illusion that we are our material bodies which get old, diseased, and die. But we are not a material body. We are individual identities transcendental to matter. We are without beginning or end. But we are under the illusory energy of God, and therefore we are suffering. By Krishna's (God's) mercy we can be freed and realize our spiritual identities. The reality is that we are eternal servants of Krishna. Now we have to realize that, and that is self realization. In the present era the principal process for self realization is mantra-yoga, specifically chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Krishna-loka and Vaikuntha

Krishna-loka and the Vaikuntha-lokas are the eternal planets beyond the material world. In Krishna-loka, Krishna resides with his devotees; in the Vaikuntha planets, Krishna's various Vishnu (Narayana) expansions reside with their devotees. In these planets there is no birth, death, old age, disease, or any kind of misery. One can be promoted to this region by becoming a pure devotee of Krishna or Vishnu. 

The Krishna Lifestyle

Accepting the Krishna lifestyle means having a sane, clean, enlightened, happy life and a very bright future in the next life. It is based on the teachings of the Vedic scriptures and spiritual masters. One worships, glorifies, and serves Lord Sri Krishna while avoiding drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, nonvegetarian food, and gambling. According to the Vedas, suffering in this life and the next life is due to ignorance. People do not know that many of their activities are producing adverse reactions according to the laws of nature or karma. Any person who accepts that he or she is an eternal servant of The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, and tries their best to follow the path given by the Lord in the Vedas and taught by the spiritual masters in disciplic succession is liberated from the cycle of birth and death in the material world. It may appear that such a person is of defective character but he/she will quickly advance and attain Krishna very soon. We have been in this material world for an inconceivably long time so even a  few more births is relatively soon.

Japa

 Japa is chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare / hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare. In ISKCON Srila Prabhupada set the standard that devotees should chant at least 16 rounds of japa per day. Without chanting on the Krishna bead one starts on the first bead next to the Krishna bead chanting the mantra once per bead to the other end then start at the end bead going back in the other direction etc. There are 108 beads on a strand of japa beads, so one chants the full mantra 108 x 16 times a day. One should also chant the Pancha-tattva Maha Mantra once at the beginning of each round: sri-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda.  Click here for a good resource: http://krishnastore.com/other-items-tulsi-japa-beads-om-69_72.html

The Three Modes of Material Nature

As per Vedic philosophy, as jivas or spirit souls we are always under the influence of God's energy. The liberated souls are under the influence and protection of the Divine Nature and the prominent symptom is that they love the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This love of Godhead avails happiness trillions of times greater than the love of this material world. The fallen souls are under the influence of the material energy or maya. This is also called the illusory energy. By eternal constitution we are loving servants of God, not independent enjoyers. The illusory energy facilitates the illusion of being an independent enjoyer, but this illusory "enjoyment" is temporary and not fully satisfying to the soul. The illusory energy is actually functioning as three energies called the three modes of material nature. The three modes are 1) goodness  2) passion and 3) ignorance or darkness. In the mode of goodness one can see things as they are. In the mode of passion one is not sure what is right or wrong. In the mode of ignorance one considers  irreligion to be religion and religion to be irreligion. A complete course on this subject matter is found in Bhagavad-gita Chapters 14 and 18. Please click here for the complete Bhagavad-gita As It Is, translation and explanations (purports) by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acharya of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).  

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada

Today is the holy appearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada is the son of the great Bhaktivinoda Thakura and the founder of the Gaudia Math society with over 64 temples of Krishna in India. He is also the Spiritual Master of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, as well as B.R. Sridhara Maharaja, B.P. Keshava Maharaja, B.P. Puri maharaja, B.S.R. Siddhanti Maharaja, B.D. Madhava Maharaja and many other great Gaudiya Vaishnavas.

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between a Krishnaite and a Vaishnava?  A: A Krishnaite is a Vaishnava whose ultimate goal is Krishna, the original Vishnu.    ----   Q: Do you believe in reincarnation?  A: Yes, reincarnation or transmigration of the soul is discussed extensively in the Vedas. One principal citation is from Bhagavad-gita 2.13: "As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change."  This process takes place throughout different species of life and different planets (heavenly, earthly, and hellish) perpetually until one is transferred to one of the planets of the transcendental eternal nature where is no death.    ----   Q: How can one be transferred to the transcendental nature?   A: By the process of Krishna consciousness, aka Bhakti-yoga or devotional service to Krishna. One gradually advances from beginner to the stage of perfection in Krishna consciousness where one is able to see Lord Krishna always and feel unlimited happiness; and to go to His Supreme Abode/planet in the next life. A very special benefit of the process of Bhakti-yoga is that whatever progress we make in this life is never lost, and  just by beginning the process one is guaranteed at least a human body in the next life. "In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear." -Bhagavad-gita 2.40

Yoga and Meditation: Fixate Your Mind on Krishna

 Yoga also means to connect. Connect to who or what? Connect to Krishna. We are fixating our mind on mundane things like money, material love, sensuality, etc. but these are not making us happy. In fact in the modern age our minds are very much filled with these things but depression and anxiety are bigger problems than ever. Krishna is the Eternal Reality Who is the unlimited source of REAL happiness. The culture of Krishna consciousness gives us the opportunity to always think of Krishna and become happy forever.

God is Maintaining Everyone

According to the Vedas there are an unlimited number of eternal individual souls both in this material world (prison) and the transcendent world (Kingdom of God). Beyond the innumerable souls there is one Supreme Soul and that is Krishna. That one Supreme Soul is alone maintaining all the unlimited spirit souls (jivas) supplying all their necessities of life.

Who is Krishna?

Krishna is the Supreme Reality. Everything that exists is an expansion of His energy. In this regard, our Gaudiya Krishnaite spiritual masters cite a scripture called the Brahma-samhita:  "Krishna, who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes." 

Hare Krishna Nursery Rhyme

This old man, he sells rice. He sells knick-knacks with his rice. With a knick-knack bric-a-brac Hari Hari bol, this old man chants Hare Krishna.

The Jewel of Faith

 Faith means to trust in something that we can't perceive with our material senses. To subscribe to the tenets of scripture and the teachings of saints of which there is no empirical proof for or against. Abiding by such values, however, the faithful perceive God acting in their lives in many ways. Faith is the beginning of the path of devotion. 

Today is the Divine Appearance Day of Lord Nityananda

Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Who manifests Himself in various Vishnu-tattva forms. His first expansion is Baladeva from Whom unlimited Vishnu-tattva forms subsequently expand. Lord Nityananda is Baladeva. The Lord occasionally appears in the material world to perform pastimes which include saving the fallen souls from the bondage of material existence. Circa 500 years ago Krishna and Baladeva appeared in Bengal as Chaitanya and Nityananda. 

You're Not That Body

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, false ego, spirit soul, Supersoul. The first eight are the total ingredients of our material body. We are all individual spirit souls separate from yet within our respective individual material bodies. As spirit souls we are not material and cannot be seen by material eyes or any material instruments. We are the conscious entity within the material body. The Supersoul, God, is with the spirit soul in the heart. There is One God and there are an unlimited number of individual spirit souls called jivas (in the original Sanskrit language). Although God is with us in our hearts, He is always free, whereas we are in material bondage. By Krishna sharanam, or surrender to God we can be freed from material bondage and awarded an eternal spiritual blissful body.

No Exaggeration!

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the greatest exponent of authentic Vedic knowledge worldwide in the modern age. He unlocked the truths of Vedic wisdom and gave their essence, Krishna consciousness, in a way that could be understood by the masses. Before 1966 this clear understanding of the Absolute Truth practically did not exist outside of India. In India, though some understood, the majority of people did not. Even most Hindus, the heirs of Vedic culture, were confused and without actual knowledge. Today there are devotees of Krishna all over the world and tens of millions have Srila Prabhupadas books. Prabhupada's glories cannot be exaggerated and in fact are still expanding!                                        
In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism. And one who has achieved this enjoys the self within himself in due course of time.  -Bhagavad-gita ch.4 verse 38

Age of Kali

From the Vedic scriptures we learn that there are different cosmic seasons. The present one is called the age of Kali, or the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. In the age of Kali the sinful activities in human society increase. According to His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-achayra of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the two gravest of these sins are abortion and animal slaughter.

Vedic Truth

According to the Vedas this material universe is a prison within the cosmic manifestation of God. Some of the charactaristics of this prison are as follows: There are miseries arising from 1) the process of birth; 2) death 3) old age; 4) disease; 5) other miseries caused by the material body and mind; 6) miseries caused by other living beings such as enemies, insects, snakes, etc.; 7) miseries caused by material nature such as heat, cold, wind, drought, etc. People are anxious to solve the world's problems but the above 7 problems will always be present in the material world whether for a homeless person or a billionaire or anybody in between. There is, however, another nature, a trancendental nature, free from misery and indestructable. We are in prison because we don't have pure love for God but rather we have some envy of him. If we rectify our attitude so that God is pleased with us then we can live peacefully in this life and eventually be transferred to the eternal nature of which this material nature is a reflection.

Pot

In my humble opinion, the pot (or alchohol or any other intoxicating drug) habit is a liability in a persons life. If you don't need pot then you are relatively more free. Instead of dealing with ones mind through pot, I recommend meditation. We will talk about mantra meditation in later posts. Depression can be overcome by chanting. In fact the meaning of mantra, in the ancient sanskrit language is to deliver or free the mind. According to ancient tradition some people chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra  a minimum number of times a day. You can start with 108 times a day or 1 "round"  called as such because there are 108 beads not including the one large end bead on a strand of traditional chanting beads. If you don't have beads you can count in some other way for starters. Here's something cool  to check out:  http://www.krsnabook.com/george/

Vegetarian Diet

               I am a vegetarian since 1978. I eat dairy products from cows (no eggs).  Reasons for not eating meat could make a long article or even a long book. in fact there are many books on this subject. My idea for this blog, at least for now, is to  avoid long winded posts that may be tedious for the reader. I'll just make one point here. Eating the flesh of a dead animal does not seem desirable to me. That's my opinion. Here's a link for the online version of The Higher Taste- a book on vegetarianism. It's small but filled with useful information including some nice recipes.                                                           http://harekrishna.com/col/books/VEG/ht/