Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances.When we students study, we are to study as a service to Krishna. I do not understand how this is service to the Lord. Please enlighten me.Also, when we study, should we study without attachment to the subjects and with only determination to do it for Krishna or should we thoroughly enjoy the subjects and study to gain expertise in the field?Please forgive me if this post is inappropriate. But I do not know who else I can rely upon for the right advice.Thank you
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my humble obeisances dear Devotees, all glories to Srila Prabhupada!
In material world in order to maintain our body we have to earn money.
So for earning money we have to have some job.
And in order to get that job we have to have a degree. So for getting some nice degree we have to study in some universities.
And if we do not study well and fail exams then we won't be able to get certificate. So we have to study well.
And along with that all we continue our devotional sadhana of chanting 16 rounds, reading Srila Prabhupada's books, eating Prasadam, attending Sunday programs...
----
of course we have to select the field which we like. To which we are inclined.
For example, i love journalism so i love to study subjects connected to it. So we have to love our job, and subjects which we study. Our job should give us satisfaction. Mostly we have to do our job not for money but as a service to others. And as a result we will get money also. But that is secondary.
Main thing is that we are serving to others by doing our profession whomever we are: a doctor, a driver, a teacher...
And no matter what we do in life internally always do that for the pleasure of Krishna. Always chanting the Holy Names on our mind.
Externally we do everything - act according to our nature but internally always chant the Holy Names.
And yes, we should do proper sadhana also. Like 16 rounds, 4 regulative principles, reading of Srila Prabhupada's books...
Jagadatma das > Mohini Madhavi dd Maral AlymovaJune 13, 2014 at 9:20pm
Hare Krishna dear devotee. Being a devotee is so nice because weather you are a high or low academic student does not matter.
If Guru and Krishna is pleased by your sincere devotion you will be happy and at the end of this life go back home back to Godhead.
According to our karma we all get a type of bodily strength, intelligence, wealth, beauty etc and a devotee is satisfied with what is obtained without too much endeavor.
So do your study and at the same time remember Krishna.
Krishna says in the Gita. Second chapter.
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
O Dhananjaya, keep all abominable activities far distant by devotional service, and in that consciousness surrender unto the Lord. Those who want to enjoy the fruits of their work are misers.
A man engaged in devotional service rids himself of both good and bad reactions even in this life. Therefore strive for yoga, which is the art of all work.
By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries [by going back to Godhead].
When we say study for Krsna, it means that we should do our prescribed duty at any given point in time. Currenlty, you are in student life. Therefore, if you study with diligence, thinking you are doing your prescribed duty of studying as a service to Krsna, then you are rendering devotional service.
It is ok to enjoy the subjects and concentrate and try to understand the subject. Its ok to have a favourite subject and another that you dont like so much. Still you have to study both the subjects to get marks na.
By being unattached, we mean unattached to the results. I remember when I was in student life, everytime the day of the first exam, I would pray to God - pls give me the fruit of my hard work. That is wrong. We should pray that we have studied as a service to You, and now we are appearing for exam as an extension of taht service. Whatever the results, are Yours, not mine. And we should genuinely not let our marks affect us.
Finding out why we failed in a subject and what is the mistakes we have done is required - post mortem of exam is required to figure out what we did right and what we did wrong. That does not mean we get into a depression, I worked so hard for IAS entrance exam, my neighbour passed and I didnt. That is incorrect. I worked hard because that was my duty, I gave the exam with due diligence, now whether to pass or fail is Krsna's decision, not mine. I will accept the decision. That is not to say again that I will not appear a second time for the same exam - Krsna has failed me, so I should accept and not think of any exam any futher. It simply means that there is a lesson to learn from the failure and try better next time.
You can study and when you get a job because of that study, you can donate some money to Krishna's cause. Thus, it is service to Sri Krishna. You must maintain a strong sadhna - chanting 16 rounds - that will help maintain conciousness that you are doing it for the Lord.
Replies
my humble obeisances dear Devotees, all glories to Srila Prabhupada!
In material world in order to maintain our body we have to earn money.
So for earning money we have to have some job.
And in order to get that job we have to have a degree. So for getting some nice degree we have to study in some universities.
And if we do not study well and fail exams then we won't be able to get certificate. So we have to study well.
And along with that all we continue our devotional sadhana of chanting 16 rounds, reading Srila Prabhupada's books, eating Prasadam, attending Sunday programs...
----
of course we have to select the field which we like. To which we are inclined.
For example, i love journalism so i love to study subjects connected to it. So we have to love our job, and subjects which we study. Our job should give us satisfaction. Mostly we have to do our job not for money but as a service to others. And as a result we will get money also. But that is secondary.
Main thing is that we are serving to others by doing our profession whomever we are: a doctor, a driver, a teacher...
And no matter what we do in life internally always do that for the pleasure of Krishna. Always chanting the Holy Names on our mind.
Externally we do everything - act according to our nature but internally always chant the Holy Names.
And yes, we should do proper sadhana also. Like 16 rounds, 4 regulative principles, reading of Srila Prabhupada's books...
Your servant,
Hare Krishna dear devotee. Being a devotee is so nice because weather you are a high or low academic student does not matter.
If Guru and Krishna is pleased by your sincere devotion you will be happy and at the end of this life go back home back to Godhead.
According to our karma we all get a type of bodily strength, intelligence, wealth, beauty etc and a devotee is satisfied with what is obtained without too much endeavor.
So do your study and at the same time remember Krishna.
Krishna says in the Gita. Second chapter.
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
O Dhananjaya, keep all abominable activities far distant by devotional service, and in that consciousness surrender unto the Lord. Those who want to enjoy the fruits of their work are misers.
A man engaged in devotional service rids himself of both good and bad reactions even in this life. Therefore strive for yoga, which is the art of all work.
By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries [by going back to Godhead].
Hare Krishna.
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
When we say study for Krsna, it means that we should do our prescribed duty at any given point in time. Currenlty, you are in student life. Therefore, if you study with diligence, thinking you are doing your prescribed duty of studying as a service to Krsna, then you are rendering devotional service.
It is ok to enjoy the subjects and concentrate and try to understand the subject. Its ok to have a favourite subject and another that you dont like so much. Still you have to study both the subjects to get marks na.
By being unattached, we mean unattached to the results. I remember when I was in student life, everytime the day of the first exam, I would pray to God - pls give me the fruit of my hard work. That is wrong. We should pray that we have studied as a service to You, and now we are appearing for exam as an extension of taht service. Whatever the results, are Yours, not mine. And we should genuinely not let our marks affect us.
Finding out why we failed in a subject and what is the mistakes we have done is required - post mortem of exam is required to figure out what we did right and what we did wrong. That does not mean we get into a depression, I worked so hard for IAS entrance exam, my neighbour passed and I didnt. That is incorrect. I worked hard because that was my duty, I gave the exam with due diligence, now whether to pass or fail is Krsna's decision, not mine. I will accept the decision. That is not to say again that I will not appear a second time for the same exam - Krsna has failed me, so I should accept and not think of any exam any futher. It simply means that there is a lesson to learn from the failure and try better next time.
I hope I have been able to explain.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi
You can study and when you get a job because of that study, you can donate some money to Krishna's cause. Thus, it is service to Sri Krishna. You must maintain a strong sadhna - chanting 16 rounds - that will help maintain conciousness that you are doing it for the Lord.
also agree. Thank You Prabhu!