Hare Krishna to everyone,

PAMHO

   I want to enjoy my life by having food that I like (not non-veg), entertainment, friends and parties and of course everything limited. I feel I am missing something and honestly iam not getting taste of holy name.....Is it possible to be like this and at the same time dear to god or krishna consious.Please forgive if the question is appropriate.

 

Your servant

aakash

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  • Volunteer

    Hare Krsna,

     

    His Divine Grace, A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has given explanations which hopefully should guide us and tell us how we should act and behave. There are several explanations coming from different books and the quotes below should help.

     

    From the book "The path of perfection": 

    "No one wants to sit down and meditate. Why should we? We're meant for positive activity, for recreation, for pleasure. In Krsna Consciousness, our recreation is dancing and chanting, and when we get tired, we take prasada.

    Is dancing difficult? We don't charge anything for dancing in the temple. If you go to a ballroom, you have to pay to enter, but we do not charge. It is natural to enjoy music and dancing and palatable foods." 

     

    "In Vaikuntha, the spiritual world, there is no anxiety. Vaikuntha means "freedom from anxiety", and in Vaikuntha the liberated souls are always dancing, chanting and taking prasada. There are no factories, hard work and technical institutions."

     

    "Since our actual nature is anandamaya, blissful, we are always searching for happiness. In the cities, we are inundated with advertisements. Restaurants, bars, nightclubs and dance halls are always announcing 'come on, here is ananda. Here is pleasure.' That is because everyone is searching for ananda, pleasure. Our society for Krsna Consciousness is also announcing, 'Here is ananda,' but our standard of pleasure is very different. In any case, the goal - pleasure - is the same". 

     

    "Unfortunately, under illusion, people do not know where real pleasure is to be found. Real pleasure exists eternally in the transcendental form of Krsna."

     

    "Material tastes are different because they are tasted and quickly finished. Material tastes last only a few minutes.

    You may take a piece of candy, taste it, and say 'Oh that is very nice,' but you have to taste another in order to continue the enjoyment. Material taste is not unlimited, but real taste is without end. Spiritual taste cannot be forgotten; it goes on increasing." 

     

    "The pacific ocean is always tossing, but it is not increasing. By God's order, the ocean does not extend beyond its limit, and if it extends, there is havoc. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that there is another ocean, an ocean of transcendental bliss, an ocean that is always increasing. By chanting Hare Krsna, our pleasure potency increases more and more".

     

    There are on youtube some interesting video lectures by Divine Grace, A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada that will

    help to understand more and better how to serve Krsna and remain close to him.

    Hari Bol,

  • Volunteer

    Hare Krishna

     

    Nice set of questions you have asked once again Aakash pr. I will try to answer with my limited knowledge.

    We can get the knowledge by three ways

    1. Pratyaksa Praman
    2. Anumana Praman
    3. Sabda Praman 
    According to Pratyaksa pramana, “Seeing is believing” but there are many things we see but we don’t believe. Ex
    man seeing his image in convex or concave mirror, sun looking a one feet plate to our naked eyes, a straight stick appearing broken when dipped half in water – someone may say there are optical laws which make the stick appear broken, but the point is that our eyes show it broken though it is not. There are certain things which we don’t see but we believe in them. E.g. air, X-rays, alpha-rays, radio waves, EMW, existence of a country called America, electron, the fact that Mahatma Gandhi could have existed.We cannot acquire COMPLETE knowledge using our material senses like eyes, ears etc.
    Anumana pramana means simply speculating about something.In simple words, this is Guess theory. The best example for this is the theory of evolution. It is purely based on his guess work. According to him, Man has been evolved from Monkeys. But Monkey and Man have been co -existing. There are many things like this which can not be accepted. So, by guess work alone we can not get the perfect knowledge.
    Sabda Pramana is hearing from a bonafide authority. There is a famous story from Panchatatra in which there are 6 blind men speculate on the form of elephant. None of them could see it. By touching different parts of elephant, each of them thinks elephant is like a fan (ears), spear (tusk), Snake (trunk), rope (tail), wall (stomach), piller (leg). Non of them are actually wrong because different parts of elephant looks like the description they give. But is the elephant as a whole really like this? No. So, to help these blind men, a learned brahaman comes there and explains them that elephant is a 4 legged animal just like a cow but the size is much much bigger and how its different parts of the body are like fan (ears), spear (tusk), Snake (trunk), rope (tail), wall (stomach), piller (leg). Then the blind men gets an Idea of how the elephant looks like.
    Our position is like that of the blind men. We are blind from the truth of God. And a bonafide Guru is like the learned brahamana who can help us understand the God through bonafide scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavadgita.
    Just like when we buy a machine, say a mobile phone, there is a users manual for us to use the product properly without damaging it, God has made the manual for the most complex machine in the creation the human body. The manual he has made is the Shastras. If we do not operate the machine of this human body according to the manual which is scriptures, then we will be responsible for what ever damage that can happen.
    A criminal may be ignorant of the Law and commit some crime, but that does not mean he will be spared from the punishment. He will be certainly punished according to the degree of his crime. After the punishment when the criminal comes out of the jail, he is expected to mend his behavior. If he continues to do the crime, he will be further punished. In the same way, the material world is like the Jail in the creation. We are given different body to suffer and enjoy based on our Karma. But only in human form of life can we inquire about God and practice pure devotional service. If we think the life is to eat sleep and be marry, then we will have to be in the cycle of birth and death and can not get out.
    Regarding your question about next or previous life, Krishna says in BG Chapter 2 text number 12-15
    na tv evähaà jätu näsaà
    na tvaà neme janädhipäù
    na caiva na bhaviñyämaù
    sarve vayam ataù param

    dehino 'smin yathä dehe
    kaumäraà yauvanaà jarä
    tathä dehäntara-präptir
    dhéras tatra na muhyati

    mäträ-sparçäs tu kaunteya
    çétoñëa-sukha-duùkha-däù
    ägamäpäyino 'nityäs
    täàs titikñasva bhärata
    TRANSLATION

    Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.
    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 sober person is not bewildered by such a change.
    O son of Kunté, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
    A beggar on the street lives on the rejected food from the dustbin and he is happy about it. If some day we offer him most delicious palatable dishes, he will no more be interested in eating the rejected food. When we get a higher taste in life, we will no longer long for the lower taste. We can cook what ever vegetarian food we want without onion and garlic and offer it to Krishna and eat the prasadam. You can visit the Govindas restaurant in any of the ISKCON temple to eat what ever u wish as you get only Mahaprasadam there and that to very taste.
    I think it is very clear with what Krishna is directly instructing in these verse about rebirth. Please read the detail purport from Srimad Bhagavadgita As It Is.
    Coming for the entertainment part, Krishna conciseness is full of entertainment. We sing here, chant, dance, make friends and come together and enjoy as a family. you can have friendship outside devotee circle also and it is required to carry our daily activities.
    Lastly about the taste of chanting you have mentioned in your question. Srila Prabhupad gives a nice example of a patient suffering from jaundice. When we have jaundice, the most sweet sugercane juice tastes to be bitter. But the medicine for this disease is the very same suger cane juice. If the patient keeps drinking the sugar cane juice (medicine) then gradully he will start tasting the sweetness of it. When we taste the sweetness of the juice indicates that we are cured of our disease. Similarly, we are diseased by the material conditioning since many many life times. In order to come above this conditioning and realize the God, we need to take the medicine which is sweetest Holy name of Lord Krishna - The hare Krishna Mahamantra. We may have any taste nor have interest in chanting. But if we need to cure the disease we have then we must take the medicine which is chanting of Holly name.
    Krishna is little selfish. He does not want his devotees to see enjoyment in anything but in Krishna himself. It may appear difficult initially to practice, but we should take inspiration from senior devotees in the movement.
    I hope you find this of some use.
    Hari bol!!!
    http://something.In/
    • Hare Krishna sudheendra prabhu,

                 I thank you from bottom of my heart for such enlightening information, hope to recieve your

      mercy always.

      jai shree krishna

    • Volunteer
      Dear devotee Hare Krsna.   Yes we all are seeking Happiness and pleasoure.  Thats our nature.  And in Krsna consciousness you can fulfil all your desires.   Krsna will help you in such a way you will be always safe and protected by Him and His pure devotees.    We always pray to Krsna to save us from maya.    This maya is vey dangerous and can mislead us.    She covers our knowledge with the darkness of ignorance.   Like the dense darkness of night.   And in that darkness she directs us away from the path of pure bhakti.   So always stay in the association of the devotees who are never bewildered by Maya.     They always direct you on the right path back to Home ,  Back to Godhead.    Become the devotee of the devotees and you will be accepted by Krsna.    The dvotees are more merciful than Krsna.   Krsna demands that you surrender and then he will protect you but the devotee does not demand anything .  He only asks you.  Please chant Hare Krsna and come hear about Krsna ,  Take Krsna prasadam and party with us. 
      • very nice explanation prabhuji

        Hare Krishna!!!

      • Hare Krishna Jagadatma prabhu,

          I thank you for enlightening information and expect your mercy for my spiritual upliftment.

         

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