hare Krishna,
i am working as a engineer in a private company, i am working for money to protect my parents and myself, so money is a material, however without money i cant protect my parents. am i materialist?
but when i reading bhagavad-gita every sloka meant to surrender to god. on weekends i am really enjoying in participating kirtans and bhajans and i want to be in this happy in rest of my life. while chanting my heart feels like that i am talking to krishna directly. in 5 days of work make me feel as bit far to krishna. at evenings after returning to home i regain my spiritual happiness.
but my job is really interesting but makes me to think for promotion and hike etc. is these are symptoms of materialistic person or not
please advice
regards
syam
hari bhol
Replies
Yes indeed. I mean, everyone has a role to play. The scientist is the scientist. Maybe the shoe makes prepares shoes for people to wear. Not everyone is to be a monk. And it is not necessary, nor is it better then any other path. All are equal. Any task can be undertaken in the name of the lord...well most...yes any task, although of course there are some that should not be done even though you can still remember God. You know what you need friend. Spiritual ideals are necessary and great, but don't let the ideal override your sense of practicality as well. You are providing for your family through the grace of God. I prostrate myself before your divinity and see you as most excellent. :D
Much Love,
Adam
Hare Krishna Prabhuji, Dandvat, PAMHO, AGTSP! Prabhuji I will fully try to resolve this confusion of yours. You said that doing a job, earning the money, occupation growth this is all material stick. I think it is fully depend on up to us that how do we take it. If we are earing the money and misusing it like for the purpose of eating non-veg food, Drinking, gambling and parting out in the wrong places with wrong people then it is absolutely materials tick and will take to us in the darkness of the world where we will find only tears, sorrows disappointation only but other side as you said that you give your best at your job and looking for good hike and designation, there is nothing wrong but you spend your weekend with Bhajan & Sankirtan. I hope you do chanting on regular basis with morning aarti and prayer, the same in evening also. I think you doing at your best keep going like this and do not feel guilty at all. What you have to do just centralized Lord Krishna in your work place also think that you are not working for your self, you are working for Lord Krishna. In Bhagwad Gita its been mention that one should donate its 50 percent of earing salary to the Temple for spiritual progress of the world 50 percent should keep with us for running our life. But now a days it is very difficult to donate 50 percent but atleast donate some amount in ISKCON on monthly basis. So through this way your earning will be spritualitic. If Arjuna would have left the battle field so it might be a wrong message deliver in the society but Lord Krishna taught him the Lesson of Krishna Consiousness Karma. I hope you would have got some correct information. Hare Krishna
For me, as a grihashta, "earning a living" is really all about my duty to protect the innocent, this includes of course my children so they can be sheltered from the monsters of humanity, and also to give support to others who deserve such support, and to support the temples and religious events and rites.
So I have no shame that I work, my job in the computer high tech field, and my job does not ask me to do things counter to religion such as to eat the Cow or deny The Lord. Not everyone can be a sanyasa or a full time monk, nor should everyone. And actually, in the Kali Yuga, full of horror and evil and selfishness, yet it is in the Kali Yuga that liberation comes very easy by the Names of the Lord.
For me, honestly, I can do two things at once easily, meaning yes I can do my job while also being absorbed in thoughts of the Lord, I can feel Caitanya standing right next to me while I am standing next to a super computer.
It actuallt isn't that hard to do.
Your well wisher in devotion, Jai Sri Krsna
i am thrilled you figured it out. I love when I make progress myself, but I am even happier when another smiles. I am so glad for you my friend.
i also studied hard, will study more if needed.
If needed i will also do job.
Or else i will inspire my future husband to do job and earn money.
I will also have kids, family, wear nice sarees, golds...
But at the same time offer everything to Krishna: food, house, ...
Train my kids to chant the Holy Names; read books;
...
So in this way Krishna Consciousness does not mean one has to sit and chant bhajans whole day and whole life.
In some ways it means that also. If one is able to do that and do not wear expensive cloth, eat once whatever is coming on it own...so one can sit and chant.
But if we cannot be satisfied with whatever is coming on its own we have to go out and do job.
In order to maintain this gross body we have to work and earn.
So as Devotees here told, we have to balance our lives.
Enough food for the soul, mind and body.
Remembering always Krishna in our consciousness and of course chanting His Holy Names in beads, 4 regulative principles.
Your servant,
hare Krishna mathaji,
explained very clearly regarding my doubt and your brief explanation clarifies and makes me more clear and removed the foolish layer on my heart.
thank you
hare krishna
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
Yes, working for money is a material activity. Our endeavour is to convert it into a spiritual activity aimed at elevating ourselves spiritually so that we can go back home, back to godhead. How to do that?
We must get up early in the morning - 4.00 am and take bath, do mangalarti, sit and chant as many rounds as is possible before getting into morning duties that each of us have, towards family or work. Then take simple prasadam and leave for work. By chanting in the morning, you have fortified yourself and you carry the chanting consciousness with you to office. You should be silently chanting all the time, esp while commuting. In office, do work as a service to Krsna and not with promotion/ recognition in mind. How to do that?
Lord Krsna has mentioned in the GIta - whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever to give, do it as an offering to me. The entire challenge for all of us weekend devotees is to be able to do this. Therefore, we should do our work as an offering to Krsna. Then we will not get involved in dirty office politics and gossip. Yes, be friendly with people around, but draw a line. Beyond a point, one should not get involved in other people's life. Whenever you get time in office, try to chant silently, read something on the net or carry some small book. At lunchtime, carry prasadam from home and after eating, try to read Gita. If you can find someone in office to do this with, its more fun and keeps the momentum. YOu also get association. Otherwise do it alone.
Come back home, take bath, do sandhya arti and then sit and read or watch KC videos or on youtube.
Give some of the savings of the money you earn in charity or for devotional purposes.
Weekends you can spend in the temple activities like what you are doing. Then life is blissful.
Yes, do get married to a devotee girl. She will not only help you in devotional activities, she will also push you at times towards devotion.
Best of luck,
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi
hare Krishna mathaji,
really wonderful suggestion i worked on that.
what ever i did today and yesterday i did by thinking Krishna is my boss. and it makes me very strong than before
once again thanks mathaji
hare krishna
well, in this ones opinion...no. If we all became sanyasa nobody would eat, we would all die. We would all be begging beggers. If all became pure materialist then we...well we'd be destroying the world like is happening now. Balance in everything. Depends on what your money is used for. Everyone is dependent upon community, first and foremost. You can escape everything and go farm for yourself in the middle of the woods until you are too old and physically able to do so. How many can do that? The mistake so many make is thinking it is either material or spiritual. It is a spiritual life. Why can't your job be spiritual? Everyone has a role to play. If we were all the same enlightened persona in action, we would all cease to be. If your happy let yourself be happy, just share that happiness. You can not keep it if you do not give it away. It comes down to yourself. What is there in life to transcend but your own experience? If i never have experienced anger, how can i ever say I overcame anger? it offers an opportunity to look at yourself. If you feel bad, find out why you feel bad and make a change if need be. Like it or not, embodied we are stuck within these communities. You are forced to eat the food thats grown and sold, and if ur lucky you can grow it yourself. Even if you beg, someone still is giving. We live in a world community and we are all dependent on each other and God ( as if its seperate). Sometimes its some ideal we hold of ourselves that creates the negative feeling. I must be this in order to be this. Or I am not good enough. Its just another opportunity to look at yourself.
This is my opinion.
Much love :)
hare Krishna prabhu,
i agree with your valuable points. and realized my misunderstanding about my job. i just overlooked in my profession.
thanks for your valuable suggestion
hare Krishna