All Glories to srilaprabhupad
why so much of suffering in my life,i lost my job,since frm last 3 motnhs im at home not doing anything i just do chat sometimes and visit temple on sundays and prerna festival,
But i have experienced the power of krishna its been great as long as im chatting the holy name and visiting temple,
But I have one serious problem i have tried many ways to come out frm this situation, i Cant Control my LUST,it ruins Everything,it makes me feel guilty, bcoz of this i miss chatting and my mind get depressed and i go beyond it out of track depression,Wen im in such state i feel like to commit sucide,and i feel that krishna is that harsh for his devoties that make them thinks to do sucide,
Im enable to concentrate on my works,bcoz of this IN and OUT Situation i lost in Interest to Live the life, Im the backbone for my Parents,WHY KRISHNA IS THAT HARSH FOR HIS OWN DEVOTIES,I Just Wanna live simple Life were i can earn some for my family to support my parents and serve more to lord krishna,but i tried very way out i feel like i have that spiritual soul but not the balance mind.
Plz do give me some pratical tips to deal with such situation wer i continue to serve krishna and balance my life
Replies
I do understand your position and miseries it has caused you.I am amazed and overwelmed to see how simply and wonderfully you have penned down your problem.This needs courage. It is difficult place to be in but can be overcome.You will have to agree that if you become determined and disciplined you can face the situation and come out succesfully from this.
It is no rocket science.Please get all the help(Talking to ppl that can help you network with employers, update your skills and CV) to get into positive frame of mind.Please be confident in yourself first and seek positive influences in your surroundings.there is a saying "When the going gets tough...the tough get going".So dont worry about the hardship. It is definetely challenging you so that you motivate yourself to be better.These little hardship make us take steps to overcome the hurdles.
You will have to keep doing little things every day and gradually in month time you will see the difference. It can be a skill, academic course...actually you are the best judge. I will suggest dont hesitate to volunteer or work for less money from an employeer who can help you to excel or build networking.Most of the time it works wonders.
If you will be positive you will attract positive energy for sure :) BE POSITIVE ALWAYS!!
And pray and chant to God so that he will help you and guide you to achieve success.
MY BEST WISHES AND PRAYER ARE WITH YOU.
Hare Krishna
Prabhu; Lust is the Last Station in the Material World. Dont be worried about it. It only says that you are normal nothing else. Dont get obsessed by the thought of Lust not coming under control. It will happen as you focus more on chanting without being too much concerned about Lust. You just have to continue to read the Bhagavad Gita and The Chaitanya Charitamrita of Srila Prabhupada as frequently as possible when u get bored of Chanting. This is just a small problem. Krishna cannot be harsh and it is a problem with our thought process. Do not expect yourself to be miraculously steadfast. It all takes too much time. What is required is re-inforced faith and diligent practice. Give yourself a good 3 to 4 years you are bound to settle down. The IN and OUT situation is common to the greatest devotees and we are nothing compared to them. Do not focus too much on forcing yourself. Ones in while you can chill out. Krishna is not a terror King. He understands the heart of His devotees and have faith that He will never let us down. Just have faith and enjoy judiciously without feeling guilt. Too much suppression causes problems like what you are undergoing
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"Plz do give me some pratical tips to deal with such situation wer i continue to serve krishna and balance my life"
there are 2 easy or main ways or paths
1) the path of reference, where one hopes to find a bona fide spiritual master; and possibly bounces from guru to guru from life to life seeking and adhering to different paths
2) there is the experimental path which is known as yoga. in which case, the yoga of krishna in bhagavad gita has been absolutely delightful; through bhakti yoga one can perform many hum... "overcomings"? skip many steps in a painful path, by virtue that in the end all is surrendered before God, this yoga, experimental, is the best.
yoga will give clearing of the breathing, or relaxation of the mind and peace of mind. then the occasions for service to Govinda are performed by service into the community and the deity all alike; one usually then replaces idols and gods with sevaks and gopis; it is not balanced way of being because at times, you are this, at times you are that. you compensate for others in that state. and people will come to love you; its very difficult, but follow ur dreams, either path has the same final goal and knowledge accrued in one can be seen in the other path, almost like our eyes change by exposure to different experience.
i heard/read somewhere, (this guys website doesn't exist anymore: "yoga brings freedom to yogis and bondage to fools".
i don't know 1 yogi who began life being yogi. everyone runs through some sort of their own tribulations, and if u have none because you're "avatar", then u take other's pain and miseries, so theres no exception there either ^____^
there is no need for sadhana; this was explained by the buddha.
then again, describe sadhana? sadhana that is done outside of normal life, as in, someone who deliberately sits down 5 minutes / day to read vedas or bagavatam accumulates karma, good karma, if he does that having listened to some scholar or devotee, that action although puts him on road to liberation, does not make him walk on that road; that has been my experience; divine realization or "blessing" or "God allowing us to proceed" has been in my opinion the beginning of sadhana, countless people go to church and temples and they dont have 1 ounce of realization. and yet! they do sadhana, and that ritual is their sadhana.
the need to punish others does not mean that one is bringing about Godly justice; its hard to explain, but justice is needed while humans live in societies under particular rules; without such things society collapses, justice is not given for the sake of justice; and THAT JUSTICE, is beyond the realm of human comprehension, it is so far-fair, that it is virtually invisible of even the realized. I have not seen anyone in bagavatam speak of THAT, and I think we just understand it as Order or Nature's Laws.
Human laws regifer human life or hasve to do with human activity. The laws of causation are but a branch of Order of things. All of us, included the sages can't do anything about those Laws, nor does Sadhana affect it; it;s like the paint on the canvas, the content of the painting doesnt change the nature of the action nor the overall object "a painting".
this is very esoteric...
The Absolute plain is like saying that the "canvas" where the painting is drawn has any judgement as to whether the painting is good ro bad, when it clearly doesn't the canvas never judges; nor does nature judge the massacre of innocents... in what we understand things to be... when people suffer through karma, that is not retribution, nor is it vengeance or justice... people call it reaction; but reaction inflicts something beynond.. like causality, which really is beyond the realm of human understanding.
for example; why did the apple fall form the tree?
we may answer because it was ripe, but another may answer because the wind brought it down, and yet another will say because gravity pulled it; all of them are right, but none of them bring about anything conclusive; therefore, some people and yogis at time say; becuase God allowed it to happen or fall. and that answer is overcoming and self-explanatory, becuase God is beyond the realm of causation as well.
Sadhana and the cause of Liberation of beings is beyond the realm of karma, one cannot free oneself from the ocean of karma by swimming in it. thats like saying one can swim from the ocena to the moon. its very complicated but a great subject of debate even within the enlightened devotees of God
like krishna said, sadhana must be performed becuase it purifies even the great souls; even with the greatest of understandings; devotees cannto reach God.
I ask of you all friends, why do some people when they are born, suddenly they become spontaneously enlightened? how does bagavatam explain such experiences? they are child, and poof suddenly; fully enlightened without even moving 1 finger? and why do some krishna devotees spend years reciting mahamantra without much apparent result.
First
Hare Krsna Asur prabhu,
PAMHO.
To ans your q - why do some people when they are born, suddenly they become spontaneously enlightened? how does bagavatam explain such experiences? they are child, and poof suddenly; fully enlightened without even moving 1 finger? and why do some krishna devotees spend years reciting mahamantra without much apparent result.
Pls read Prabhupada's Bhagavad Gita As It Is carefully. The answer is there.
Your servant.
prabhu your situation is very difficult; there are several members involved in your situation, this is my description, see it just as another point of view.
there is the you, the local and existential idea or the ego. You've had a good time in life, you know what you like "sex, nice foods, etc" and you have the you which is based on the principles and goals, that "you" is the hypothetical you.
You are basing what you are, on something you are not, for which you have no choice but to feel unwanted and dissatisfied.
Prabhu sri krishna had 8 main wives and had countless children to each of them; total of 80?
prabhu it is important that you keep reminding yourself and that you use this energy which you obtain in and through lust to mobilize yourself out of this hole you are in.
if you're motivated by lust, then work in order to satisfy that pleasure. when you'll be out of this hole, reassess your situation. work in consequence of who you are now, rather than the hypothetical you which you are not.
prabhu shri krishna is not involved in the matters which you relate.
devotees many such a times blame the Divine for the good and the difficult of life; but most of all these you've acquired if you believe the scriptures by your own merit or karma.
if you have duty and your family depends on you, then you ought NOT to take a path of neglect. that is not renunciation!
likewise prabhu, death is not renunciation neither.
unfortunately, your situation is dire, I've found myself without work for 2 years, it was perhaps the most difficult part of my life? during that time, I slept with countless women, enjoyed company of devotees every now and then. Lived a rather carefree life.
all these things are part of life.
also remember prabhu that lord krishna in previous life established or rather divided people's lives into 4 steps. there is a time for bramacharya, one for working, one for enjoying and one for meditation. all these things are taken into account, orient your goals so that you may honor your desires both of your egoic self which exists as yourself and has sexual desires. but also make place for "that" you, which is nothing other than that egoic self whose desires have been extinguished rather than denied.
peace has come to me prabhu when i have tasted the calmness which comes after the body is satiated form food and sexual cravings. even if just momentarily, at that time, one then or myself i can focus on meditation or any other spiritual practice. this system of incrementation is healthier for householders and people who live lives who are rich in competition and social expectations.
for the devotees that live a life of calmness and prayer, they do not need to compensate or ravage their minds so often since they have renounced life goals such as fortune and family, etc.
refusal and self denial is more cause of imbalance than anything else; example? people that want to be vegetarian, they do so for 1 week, then go to meat binging for 3 months after that.
prabhu, you are human, as human you must live. learn to teach yourself through experience, some things and "attunements" come on their own. pray to God always for guidance, be honest with yourself, if you don't deny yourself these 2 things, then perhaps you're more likely to understand how nothing that you are living right now is actually a punishment at all, but rather just a different turn of events. the feeling of victimization is not given to you by God, but by the incessant desires and your capacity to form comparison in your own mind with events that have not happened yet and may not need to happen.
prabhu, my recommendation is for you to enjoy every single second in the simplest way you can. By this, i can guarantee you that you will get to recognize that which inside is pleasurable.
having acquired the capacity to recognize that pleasure which is simple, you will let go the cravings for outer and physical pleasures, at that time, you won't need to go as far as to physically reach out... just do that; enjoy every moment, and the only way you can do that is by trying to do as much as possible the things that you like.
best luck nd keep us updated on your life quest
pranam
You say i say iskcon is childish when i didnt say that. Iskcon member that joins iskcon is considered enligjtened and liberated after having listened to the maha mantra one time? I think its even more offensive if you or anyone compares the life work of rishis and monks within the parampara days past bhagavatism arrived to americas, how can i compare the 5-10 minute devotion per week or month or year with the selfless lifetime work of others. There are childish and immature devotees in all religions, immaturity is a part of growing and natural, only pejorative if we wish to compare in terms of utility and worth for a secondary cause, just like a mango seed is useless if we are starving and need to eat now rather than planting tree and waiting 29 years for the same fruit. Even within vaishnavism iskcon is rather new and has had very few hardcore members like prabhupada, most seniors lived a life prior to even entering the movement, and as well the movement has not atood the test of time neither unlike older bhagavatism forms. We live in a time qhere everything becomes famius and shint overnight and dies just as quickly as well, the iskcon movement has to purify itself in countless ways and that can be only done by the hardcore members of which i have not met 1 personally yet.
Last thing; the liberated do not work or consider sin, they are advaitas or non dualists, neither wrong nor right. They fight when they must fight and make love when they must make love. They eat what is available and dont let the mind quarrel over these things.
Work for liberation is only performed by those who are notnliberated. Therefore prostitution and liberation can work hand in hand, lending miney and working for liberation can also be made hand in hand. You need very intelligrnt devotees to do such things, and in my experience these things are only possible when theres realization yet greater underneath. It is like doing complicated algebra from high achool after getting math phd. While advanced algebra is not typically covered in school; prostitutes, gamblers, addicts dont typically chose those things out of their own will, they have fallen prey and seek or koney or pleasure accordingly, to see a prostitute trn her prostitution into something liberating is almost impossible; and then again there are sects in india where women prostitutes have mixed both these things in. Also the favt that i mention this doesnt mean i support it; and THATs the childish perception. Like jesus did something right therefore am i saying that jesus is a good man? Let us not jump into conclusions about ehat others say n then indirectly aks fir them ti get bannes
I think asur prabhu what you want to convey is that there is no need for any sadhana as afterall Krishna will c to it irrrespective of the efforts made by the person..I don't know how many sincere sadhaks will adhere to this notion of kicking out the principles and adopting a life of hedonism
Regarding the point that liberated don't consider anything sinful..i'll say that even chaitanya mahaprabhu considered some things and behaviors as sinful..he banished one of his devotees for inappropriate behavior who commited suicide.
Just think why "Ravana" needed to be punished if his acts were not deemed sinful by Lord rama.
And prabhu g things are not wrong or right on the absolute plane and not on this material plane..
as well prabhu; understanding how things ultimately happen does not mean we know how or that we are enlightened by any chance; its like reading the last page of the book and u know the guy gets killed in a car accident; we may appear to know the end, but thats nothing, just the last page.
the liberated may act as they may act, it doesnt matter partly because all of them are dead at the end of their lives, and they never come back. if what they do as of their living is beyond reproach, that's purely form the perspective of the individual who studies their life...
I can tell u devotee, my opinion is that even the greatest among us, the greatest among avatars can be seen as a sinner before God.
that's why these things dont matter, chandala, brahmana, etc.
let he who has never sinned cast the first stone.
human reality is quickly forgotten when we live a life of rules and maxisms, THIS or THAT; and just as quickly in those BLACK or WHITE we lose sense of proportion, we adopt childish and adolescent mindsets of all is black or white; and we cast judgement on sadhanas, meditations, experiences, foods and rhetorics.
all these things have 0 worth in front of God; would God manifest before 1 000 000 philosophers of 1 000 000 different sects; they would all fall on their knees. without a word to see and in perfect agreement: silence.
that is not magic, that is not truth, that is not darkness, that is not justice, that just is. simple as that; thats the advaita philosophy as i understand it: reality above all things.
advaita does not dwell in worth of actions, it's like reading last page of book and saying: oh shit, this book isn't worth reading since the protagonist is going to die! that's advaita: ooh, we already know the ending, therefore screw it; lets throw the book away.
get it? it doesn't mean that sadhana is bad, it doesnt mean that prayer is unecessary.
whether people take 5 lifetimes or 100, the conclusion of the road will the same found in that same page: God... ; now you may define all in God and God in All or in whichever way you fancy, but even that is subject ot your interpretation and belief and therefore aloof form the Truth, whatever that Truth may be, existential or not.
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