Whereas Bhaktas will face so many problems to get the things.
Why this type of discrimination coming over here????
What Krishna tells about this???
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Whereas Bhaktas will face so many problems to get the things.
Why this type of discrimination coming over here????
What Krishna tells about this???
This reply was deleted.
Replies
Hare Krsna,
His divine grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupda and other devotees following in his footsteps such as Vrndavan Chandra Das, Bhaktin Carol and others have given advice on this subtle issue of suffering, karma.
His divine grace, A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has given wonderful examples in several books.
In the book, "Teachings of Queen Kunti", Maharani Kunti, who was a great devotee of Krsna and in family relation
with Lord Krsna, explains how one should react when facing difficulties and calamities.
From book "Teachings of Queen Kunti", page 15:
"We are simply sitting down and inquiring about Krsna, and this is what one should do. This is life. Why should one work day and night like an ass? What kind of life is this? No. This is not life. Therefore the
Bhagavatam says to one who is intelligent (kovida), "Your life should be engaged for this purpose--for understanding the Absolute Truth." Then how will my economic problem be solved? The answer is that happiness one desires from economic development will come automatically in due course of time. Tal labhyate duhkhavad anyatah (SB. 1.5.18). We are looking for happiness. Are you looking for distress? "No, sir." Then why does distress come upon you? If you are not eager for calamities and distress, why do they come upon you? According to our karma, our life holds some portion of happiness and some portion of distress. Therefore, if distress comes without invitation, happiness will also come without invitation."
"We are already destined to have a certain amount of happiness and a certain amount of distress, and we cannot change that. The change we should make, therefore, is to get free from this material condition of
life. That should be our only business."
In the lecture below from youtube, his grace Vrndavan Chandra Das, has explained that real happiness is spiritual.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2KFS1NQGco&feature=relmfu
His grace Vrndavan Chandra Das, has explained in the same lecture that the effects of karma and how
one should work, how much we should work.
In the next lecture, His grace Vrndavan Chandra Das explains brilliantly the search for happiness, success and the energies of Lord Krsna.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pkq8Lt0wDI&feature=relmfu
Hari Bol,
Material profit is nothing when compared to the spiritual profit!!! The atheists may apparently seem to enjoy but they have to undergo the cycle of birth and death and the threefold miseries of life. There is no liberation for them. Bhaktas may undergo sufferings, but that gives them a transcendental enjoyment. Meerabai left the worldly comforts for her beloved Krishna. She had to undergo tonnes of sufferings but she never gave in to them but was immersed in love for Krishna. The devotees are so intoxicated in love that they are simply blind to their sufferings. Krishna takes test of their love by putting sufferings in their way and He also provides them with the necessary strength to surmount them. So this becomes a transcendental interaction between Krishna and the devotee rather than a suffering. And what is the reward for this suffering?? Here is a nice instance---
In Brhad Bhagabatmrta, it is written that once, as Krishna and the cows were returning from the Vrindavan forest at the end of the day, a boy had just attained spiritual emancipation and entered Vrindavan as a cowherd boy [sakhya rasa]. Seeing His long lost servant, Krishna embraced him and both of them fainted in ecstasy.
All of Krishna's other cowherd friends were astounded, thinking, "What is this? Krishna has lost His senses by embracing this newcomer! How is it possible?" Then, as all of the cowherd boys looked on astonished, Balaram came to Krishna's relief and somehow managed to rouse Him.
Then Krishna addressed His friend with great affection: "Why did you stay away? Why have you been living away from home for so long? How was it possible for you? How could you bear My separation? You left Me, and you have been passing lives after lives without Me? Still, I know what trouble you took to return to Me. You searched for Me everywhere, and went to beg from house to house, and you were chastised by many, ridiculed by many, and you shed tears for Me. I know all these things. I was with you. And now, after great trouble, you have again come back to Me." Krishna addressed His long lost servant and welcomed him thus. And when Krishna returned home, He took the newcomer by His side to take Prasadam. In this way, a new recruit is earnestly welcomed by Krishna Himself.
HH Radhanath Swami said, once Krishna embraces you with His tender arms, you will get lost in His beauty and love and forget the world. What more can we want?? We are ready to be beggars for His sake, but like atheists, we can never enjoy the world forgetting Him.
http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...
http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...
http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...
http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...
Hare Krsna
I was reading and came across this:
By worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, instead of being puffed up with material opulences one becomes enriched with spiritual advancement of knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Advancement only in terms of material opulance is actually cause of entanglement in material existence. It is actually not advancement but degradation.
"A neophyte devotee may question, “If the ultimate goal of life, or the conclusion of the Vedas, is to elevate oneself to the platform of devotional service, then why is it observed that a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu
is generally not very prosperous materially, whereas a devotee of Lord
Śiva is found to be very opulent?” In order to clarify this matter,
Parīkṣit Mahārāja asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī, “My dear Śukadeva Gosvāmī, it
is generally found that those who engage in the worship of Lord Śiva,
whether in human, demoniac or demigod society, become materially very
opulent, although Lord Śiva himself lives just like a poverty-stricken
person. On the other hand, the devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, who is the
controller of the goddess of fortune, do not appear very prosperous, and
sometimes they are even found living without any material opulence at
all. Lord Śiva lives underneath a tree or in the snow of the Himalayan
Mountains. He does not even construct a house for himself, but still the
worshipers of Lord Śiva are very rich. Kṛṣṇa, or Lord Viṣṇu, however,
lives very opulently, whether in Vaikuṇṭha or in the material world, but
His devotees appear poverty-stricken. Why is this so?”
"...So Parīkṣit Mahārāja wanted to clarify the situation by asking this question of Śukadeva Gosvāmī. That Lord Śiva lives as a poor man although his devotees appear very opulent, whereas Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Lord
Viṣṇu, is always opulent and yet His devotees appear poverty-stricken,
is a situation which appears contradictory and puzzling to a
discriminating person.
"Replying to King Parīkṣit’s inquiry, Śukadeva Gosvāmī said that Lord Śiva is the master of the material energy. The material energy is represented by goddess Durgā, and because Lord Śiva happens to be her
husband, goddess Durgā is completely under his subjugation. Thus Lord
Śiva is understood to be the master of this material energy. The
material energy is manifested in three qualities, namely goodness,
passion and ignorance, and therefore Lord Śiva is the master of these
three qualities. Although he is in association with these qualities for
the benefit of the conditioned soul, Lord Śiva is their director and is
not affected. In other words, although the conditioned soul is affected
by the three qualities, Lord Śiva, being their master, is not.
"From the statements of Śukadeva Gosvāmī we can understand that the effects of worshiping different demigods are not, as some less intelligent persons suppose, the same as the effects of worshiping Lord
Viṣṇu. Śukadeva Gosvāmī clearly states that by worshiping Lord Śiva one
achieves one reward whereas by worshiping Lord Viṣṇu one achieves a
different reward. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: “Those who
worship the different demigods achieve the desired results the
respective demigods can reward. Similarly, those who worship the
material energy receive the suitable reward for such activities, and
those who worship the pitṛs receive similar results. But those who
engage in devotional service or worship the Supreme Lord—Viṣṇu, or
Kṛṣṇa—go to the Vaikuṇṭha planets or Kṛṣṇaloka.” One cannot approach the
transcendental region, or paravyoma, the spiritual sky, by worshiping
Lord Śiva or Brahmā or any other demigod.
"Since this material world is a product of the three qualities of material nature, all varieties of manifestations come from those three qualities. With the aid of materialistic science, modern civilization
has created many machines and comforts, yet they are only varieties of
the interactions of the three material qualities. Although the devotees
of Lord Śiva are able to obtain many material acquisitions, we should
know that such devotees are simply collecting products manufactured by
the three qualities. The three qualities are again subdivided into
sixteen, namely the ten senses (five working senses and five
knowledge-acquiring senses), the mind, and the five elements (earth,
water, air, fire and sky). These sixteen items are extensions of the
three qualities. Material happiness or opulence means gratification of
the senses, especially the genitals, the tongue and the mind. By
exercising our minds we create many pleasurable things just for
enjoyment by the genitals and the tongue. The opulence of a person
within this material world is estimated in terms of his exercise of the
genitals and the tongue, or, in other words, how well he is able to
utilize his sexual capacities and how well he is able to satisfy his
fastidious taste by eating palatable dishes. Material advancement of
civilization necessitates creating objects of enjoyment by mental
concoction just to become happy on the basis of these two principles:
pleasures for the genitals and pleasures for the tongue. Herein lies the
answer to King Parīkṣit’s question to Śukadeva Gosvāmī as to why the
worshipers of Lord Śiva are so opulent.
"Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is transcendental to the three qualities of material nature.” In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord states that anyone who surrenders unto Him
surpasses the control of the three qualities of material nature.
Therefore, since Hari’s devotees are transcendental to the control of
the three material qualities, certainly He Himself is transcendental. In
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is therefore stated that Hari, or Kṛṣṇa, is the
original Supreme Personality. There are two kinds of prakṛtis, or
potencies, namely the internal potency and the external potency, and
Kṛṣṇa is the overlord of both. He is sarva-dṛk, or the overseer of all
the actions of the internal and external potencies, and He is also
described as upadraṣṭā, the supreme advisor. Because He is the supreme
advisor, He is above all the demigods, who merely follow the directions
of the supreme advisor. As such, if one directly follows the
instructions of the Supreme Lord, as inculcated in the Bhagavad-gītā and
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then one gradually becomes nirguṇa, or above the
interactions of the material qualities. To be nirguṇa means to be bereft
of material opulences because, as we have explained, material opulence
means an increase of the actions and reactions of the three material
qualities. By worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, instead of
being puffed up with material opulences one becomes enriched with
spiritual advancement of knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To become
nirguṇa means to achieve eternal peace, fearlessness, religiousness,
knowledge and renunciation. All these are symptoms of becoming free from
the contamination of the material qualities
[after finishing the Aśvamedha sacrifice in the great sacrificial arena, King Yudhiṣṭhira, in the presence of great authorities, inquired from Lord Kṛṣṇa on that very same point]...
"Lord Kṛṣṇa answered the question of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira as follows: “If I especially favor a devotee and especially wish to care for him, the first thing I do is take away his riches. When the devotee becomes a
penniless pauper or is put into a comparatively poverty-stricken
position, his relatives and family members no longer take interest in
him, and in most cases they give up their connection with him. The
devotee then becomes doubly unhappy.” First of all the devotee becomes
unhappy because his riches have been taken away by Kṛṣṇa, and he is made
even more unhappy when his relatives desert him because of his poverty.
We should note, however, that when a devotee falls into a miserable
condition in this way, it is not due to past impious activities, known
as karma-phala; the poverty of the devotee is a creation of the
Personality of Godhead. Similarly, when a devotee becomes materially
opulent, that is also not due to his pious activities. In either case,
whether the devotee becomes poorer or richer, the arrangement is made by
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This arrangement is especially made
by Kṛṣṇa for His devotee just to make him completely dependent upon Him
and to free him from all material obligations. He can then concentrate
his energies, mind and body—everything—for the service of the Lord, and
that is pure devotional service. In the Nārada-pañcarātra it is therefore explained,
sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170], which means “being freed
from all designations.” Works performed for family, society, community,
nation or humanity are all designated: “I belong to this society,” “I
belong to this community,” “I belong to this nation,” “I belong to this
species of life.” Such identities are all merely designations. When by
the grace of the Lord a devotee is freed from all designations, his
devotional service is actually naiṣkarmya. Jñānīs are very much
attracted by the position of naiṣkarmya, in which one’s activities no
longer have any material effect. The devotee’s activities are freed from
material effects, and so they are no longer in the category of
karma-phalam, or fruitive activities. As explained before by the
personified Vedas, the happiness and distress of a devotee are produced
by the Personality of Godhead, and the devotee therefore does not care
whether he is in happiness or in distress. He goes on with his duties in
executing devotional service. Although his behavior seems to be subject
to the actions and reactions of fruitive activities, he is actually
freed from the results of action.
"It may be questioned why a devotee is put into such tribulation by the Personality of Godhead. The answer is that this kind of arrangement by the Lord is just like a father’s sometimes becoming unkind to his sons.
Because the devotee is a surrendered soul and is taken charge of by the
Supreme Lord, whatever condition of life the Lord puts him in—whether
one of distress or of happiness—it is to be understood that behind this
arrangement is a large plan designed by the Personality of Godhead. For
example, Lord Kṛṣṇa put the Pāṇḍavas into a distressed condition so
acute that even grandfather Bhīṣma could not comprehend how such
distress could occur. He lamented that although the whole Pāṇḍava family
was headed by King Yudhiṣṭhira, the most pious king, and protected by
the two great warriors Bhīma and Arjuna, and although, above all, the
Pāṇḍavas were all intimate friends and relatives of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they
still had to undergo such tribulations. Later, however, it was proved
that this was planned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, as
part of His great mission to annihilate the miscreants and protect the
devotees.
"Another question may be raised: What is the difference between a devotee and a common man, since both are put into different kinds of happy and distressful conditions—the devotee by the arrangement of the Personality
of Godhead, and the common man as a result of his past deeds? How is
the devotee any better than the ordinary karmī ? The answer is that the
karmīs and the devotees are not on the same level. In whatever condition
of life the karmī may be, he continues in the cycle of birth and death
because the seed of karma, or fruitive activity, is there, and it
fructifies whenever there is an opportunity. By the law of karma a
common man is perpetually entangled in repeated birth and death, whereas
a devotee’s distress and happiness, not being under the laws of karma,
are part of a temporary arrangement by the Supreme Lord which does not
entangle the devotee. Such an arrangement is made by the Lord only to
serve a temporary purpose. If a karmī performs auspicious acts he is
elevated to the heavenly planets, and if he acts impiously he is put
into a hellish condition. But whether a devotee acts in a so-called
pious or impious manner, he is neither elevated nor degraded, but is
transferred to the spiritual kingdom. Therefore a devotee’s happiness
and distress and a karmī’s happiness and distress are not on the same
level. This fact is corroborated by a speech by Yamarāja to his servants
in connection with the liberation of Ajāmila. Yamarāja advised his
followers that only persons who have never uttered the holy name of the
Lord or remembered the form, qualities and pastimes of the Lord should
be approached by his watchguards. Yamarāja also advised his servants
never to approach the devotees. On the contrary, he instructed his
messengers that if they meet a devotee they should offer their
respectful obeisances. So there is no question of a devotee’s being
promoted or degraded within this material world. As there is a gulf of
difference between the punishment awarded by the mother and the
punishment awarded by an enemy, so a devotee’s distress is not the same
as the distress of a common karmī.
"Here another question may be raised: If the Supreme Lord is all-powerful, why should He try to reform His devotee by putting him in distress? The answer is that when the Supreme Personality of Godhead
puts His devotee in distress, it is not without purpose. Sometimes the
purpose is that in distress a devotee’s feelings of attachment to Kṛṣṇa
are magnified. For example, when Kṛṣṇa, before leaving the capital of
the Pāṇḍavas for His home, asked Kuntīdevī for permission to leave, she
said, “My dear Kṛṣṇa, in our distress You were always present with us.
Now, because we have been elevated to a royal position, You are leaving
us. I would therefore prefer to live in distress than to lose You.” When
a devotee is put into a situation of distress, his devotional
activities are accelerated. Therefore, to show special favor to a
devotee, the Lord sometimes puts him into distress. Besides that, it is
stated that the sweetness of happiness is sweeter to those who have
tasted bitterness. The Supreme Lord descends to this material world just
to protect His devotees from distress. In other words, if devotees were
not in a distressed condition, the Lord would not have come down. As
for His killing the demons, or miscreants, this can be easily done by
His various energies, just as many asuras are killed by His external
energy, goddess Durgā. Therefore the Lord does not need to come down
personally to kill such demons, but when His devotee is in distress He
must come. Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared not in order to kill Hiraṇyakaśipu
but to save Prahlāda and to give him blessings. In other words, because
Prahlāda Mahārāja was put into very great distress, the Lord appeared.
"When after the dense, dark night there is finally sunrise in the morning, it is very pleasant; when there is scorching heat, cold water is very pleasant; and when there is freezing winter, hot water is very
pleasant. Similarly, when a devotee, after experiencing the distress of
the material world, relishes the spiritual happiness awarded by the
Lord, his position is still more pleasant and enjoyable.
"The Lord continued: “When My devotee is bereft of all material riches and is deserted by his relatives, friends and family members, because he has no one to look after him he completely takes shelter of the lotus
feet of the Lord.” Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung in this
connection, “My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, O son of Nanda Mahārāja, You are now
standing before me with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the daughter of King
Vṛṣabhānu. I am now surrendering unto You. Please accept me. Please do
not kick me away. I have no shelter other than You.”
"When a devotee is thus put into so-called miserable conditions and bereft of riches and family, he tries to revive his original position of material opulence. But although he tries again and again, Kṛṣṇa again
and again takes away all his resources. Thus he finally becomes
disappointed in material activities, and in that stage of frustration in
all endeavors, he can fully surrender unto the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Such persons are advised by the Lord from within to associate
with devotees. By associating with devotees they naturally become
inclined to render service to the Personality of Godhead, and they
immediately get all facilities from the Lord to advance in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. The nondevotees, however, are very careful about
preserving their material condition of life. Generally, therefore, such
nondevotees do not come to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
but worship Lord Śiva or other demigods for immediate material profit.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, therefore, kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ
yajanta iha devatāḥ: “The karmīs, in order to achieve success within
this material world, worship the various demigods.” It is also stated by
Lord Kṛṣṇa that those who worship the demigods are not mature in their
intelligence. The devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
therefore, because of their strong attachment for Him, do not foolishly
go to the demigods.
"Lord Kṛṣṇa said to King Yudhiṣṭhira, “My devotee is not deterred by any adverse conditions of life; he always remains firm and steady. Therefore I give Myself to him, and I favor him so that he can achieve the
highest success of life.” The mercy bestowed upon the tried devotee by
the Supreme Personality is described as brahma, which indicates that the
greatness of that mercy can be compared only to the all-pervasive
greatness of Brahman. Brahma means unlimitedly great and unlimitedly
expanding. That mercy is also described as paramam, for it has no
comparison within this material world, and it is also called sūkṣmam,
very fine. Not only is the Lord’s mercy upon the tried devotee great and
unlimitedly expansive, but it is of the finest quality of
transcendental love between the devotee and the Lord. Such mercy is
further described as cin-mātram, completely spiritual. The use of the
word mātram indicates absolute spirituality, with no tinge of material
qualities. That mercy is also called sat (eternal) and anantakam
(unlimited). Since the devotee of the Lord is awarded such unlimited
spiritual benefit, why should he worship the demigods? A devotee of
Kṛṣṇa does not worship Lord Śiva or Brahmā or any other, subordinate
demigod. He completely devotes himself to the transcendental loving
service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
"...Śukadeva Gosvāmī addressed King Parīkṣit thus: “My dear King, Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva, the principal trio of the material creation, are able to bless or curse anyone. Of this trio, Lord Brahmā
and Lord Śiva are very easily satisfied but also very easily angered.
When satisfied they give benedictions without consideration, and when
angry they curse the devotee without consideration. But Lord Viṣṇu is
not like that. Lord Viṣṇu is very considerate. Whenever a devotee wants
something from Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu first considers whether such a
benediction will ultimately be good for the devotee. Lord Viṣṇu never
bestows any benediction which will ultimately prove disastrous to the
devotee. By His transcendental nature, He is always merciful; therefore,
before giving any benediction, He considers whether it will prove
beneficial for the devotee. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
always merciful, even when it appears that He has killed a demon, or
even when He apparently becomes angry toward a devotee, His actions are
always auspicious. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is therefore known
as all-good. Whatever He does is good.”
-- from SP purport ch.88 Kṛṣṇa
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
Some where Krishna promised I will protect what you have and I will give you what you lack. Then dont you think its a contradictory statement.
If I'm a millionaire when I was not in KC, then if I come to Krishna then instead of protecting what I have he will take away my money, fame, fortune etc? Its really discouraging. Please suggest how then we can serve our responsibility in a material world. We have wife,kids, business organizations. If Krishna is meant to take away everything then how to move ahead in Bhakti.
I love him so much, but some where I am being discouraged. My tiny nonsensical pov states how Krishna will bless me such that I could be rich and prove to materialistic people that look...here is our father...I came to him and now I have everything. This will inspire other materialistic people to come towards Krishna.
Please clear my doubt. I know Im a materialist....but I love my Krishna.
Your Servant.
As you said it is thought that we feel so,
But sometimes it will reflect in real life situations.
How can we estimate these happenings are just only thoughts???
Please explain Clearly . . .
Jai Shri Krishna . . .
Ys,
Keith
HARE KRISHNA
easy-difficult, happiness- sorrow are all the perceptions of mind only.. what i feel is that one may be materially affluent owing to his past good karma but he cant be genuinely happy if does not follow the right path in present janam as well. on the contrary, the one who is less affluent but lives by His LORD, will always be in the state of ecstacy.. we all know that it is esier said than done but one can just look upto the examples of Sudama and duryodhon and hence can decide the kind of life one wishes to lead.. it is not about all that you have but about what you acknowledge as yours..
Regret if it offends anybody
HARE KRISHNA
HK,
I personally believe the rules are not as bad as the one's Christians believe they must complete because per the average Christian if you dont believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour then you will be in hell FOREVER... Thinking in that way is the big deal with temporary problems.. I hope this helps
Ys,
Keith
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