Posted by Jagannath Das on October 4, 2008 at 10:44am
Basic General Questions asked by everyone when you come in Krishna Consciousness?Part 1Category : Chanting - Why 16 Rounds?Q. Why sixteen rounds of chanting is recommended, and why there are 108 beads?A. Sixteen rounds is the number recommended by Srila Prabhupada and all Vaishava Acharyas for all Gaudiya Vaishanav devotees. This is the prescription to perfect the life of a conditioned soul given by the most recent acharya. We accept it without questioning just as a patient accepts the doctor's prescription for his ailment.108 beads represent 108 Upanishads. They also represent 108 chief gopis of Krishna. When we chant, we take the blessings of these gopis befor e approaching Radha-Krishna.Category : Onion and Garlic - Why to avoidQ. Why should we avoid Onion to eat? I don't eat onion. I want to know so that I can convince other persons.A. Onion and garlic come under the category of foods in the mode of passion and ignorance. Therefore, they cannot be offered to Krishna. They also have a foul smell, a sign of tamasic food.There is also a Vedic reference: The Manu-smriti (5.5) says, lasunam caiva palandu abhaksyani—"Garlic and onions are unworthy of eating."Category : Krishna and Vishnu - The differenceQ. Can you let me know what is the difference between Vishnu and Krishna? I do agree that Krishna is the supreme but can you answer me that how Krishna is supreme than Vishnu. Please provide me with some references from Srimad Bhagavatam.A. Krishna in Vrindavan is like God at home, while Krishna, as Vishnu in various Vaikuntha planets, is like God at office. A person at home is most comfortable and relaxed and has intimate loving dealings with his family members, while at office he has very formal dealings with his associates. Similarly in Vrindavan, all the Vrajavasis have very intimate dealings with Krishna in sakhya (friendship), vatsalya (parental) or madhurya (conjugal) rasas. No one there is aware of Krishna's supreme position as God that usually results in very formal and reverential dealings. In the Vaikuntha planets, however, all the residents are always aware of Vishnu's supreme position as the controller and maintainer of the whole creation. Therefore, all their dealings with Him—including those of sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya are tinged with the feelings of awe and reverence.So, from an impartial study we can see that Krishna's pastimes are more sweet and enchanting than those of Vishnu. In that sense, Krishna is superior to Vishnu.Krishna also has four additional unique qualities not found in Vishnu. Srila Prabhupada explains them in The Nectar of Devotion:1.Lila-madhuri—He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes).2.Bhakta-madhuri—He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead.3.Venu-madhuri—He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute.4.Rupa-madhuri—He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in the creation."Brahma-samhita compares Krishna to a candle from which several other candles are lit. These candles are compared to Lord Vishnu and the various incarnations. Diparcir eva hi dasantaram abhyupetya . . . . (Bs. 5.46) Although all candles have the same potency, the original candle still retains its uniqueness. Krishna is like that original candle, the source of all the incarnations.After describing the various incarnations of the Lord, Suta Gosvami quotes t he following verse (Bhag. 1.3.28):ete camas kala pumsahkrsnas tu bhagavan svayamindrari vyakulam lokammrdayanti yuge yuge"All the incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord but Lord Sri Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists."Srimad-Bhagavatam also describes the pastime of Maha-vishnu stealing the sons of a brahmana in Dvaraka so that He could somehow get the darshan of Lord Krishna. This incident proves how Lord Krishna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead and Vishnu an expansion. You may read t his pastime in the Krishna book, chapter eighty-nine, The Superexcellent Power of Krishna.Category : Do Krishna Consciousness require leaving everybody?Q. Do krishna consciousness movement require to leave our family and friends?A. One can become Krishna conscious in any ashram. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said:gåhe thäko, vane thäko, sadä 'hari' bole' òäko,sukhe duùkhe bhulo nä'ko, vadane hari-näm koro reWhether you are a householder or a sannyäsé, constantly chant "Hari! Hari!" Do not forget this chanting, whether you are in a happy condition or a distressful one. Just fill your lips with the hari-näma.=2 0So, Krishna consciousness movement does not require one to leave one's position in the society. However, if there are special circumstances, then one can. This could be due to unfavourable atmosphere for Krishna consciousness or a very sincere and strong desire to leave everything and devote one's life fully to the service of the mission. Even in this situation, one should do it under the instructions a bonafide spiritual authority. If one does leave the family behind and joins Krishna consciousness out of immaturity or unnecessary over-enthusiasm, then that bliss of association with devotees will not last long. The mind will be always flickering.One should also try to see in such a situation that the family is taken care and are not left to hell. Of course, in one sense the family will eventually go back home back to Godhead as this person is set to purify himself of all material conditionings. But that does not mean that they should be just dumped mercilessly. One should see that they are also spirit souls and hence one should try to bring them back to their eternal position.Happily enjoying in the company of devotees is a natural state. But one should try to also bring the family members in the company of devotees so that they also are happy. That is the perfection of Grihasta life.Also, one should set a good example in the society and see that when we take to Krishna consciousness, it 20inspires the friends and family members also to take to Krishna consciousness and hence any action that is going to raise lot of criticism should be avoided or done carefully. At the end, if one's motive is honest, then things will be accepted eventually.Category : Lust and LoveQ. In Gita chapter 3, Srila Prabhupada said that our original love for God has got converted into lust. If we want to get love for God then we have to convert this lust into love for Krishna. Does this mean that lust is inversely proportional to love for Krishna? Can't we have lust and love for Krishna both in our heart? Is not there anything else that can be converted into love for Krishna? Does this mean that t he more I break lust in my heart the more I can get love for Krishna and there is no other way? -Mr.MihirA. In Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila (4.165), we find this definition of love and lust:atmendriya-priti-vancha—tare bali 'kama'/ krishnendriya-priti-iccha dhare 'prema' nama: "The desire to gratify one's own senses is kama [lust], but the desire to please the senses of Lord Krishna is prema [love]."Lust does not only mean the desire to enjoy the opposite sex. Any desire to enjoy separate from Krishna is lust, either gross or subtle. So the more we develop love for Krishna, the lust or the desire to enjoy sense gratification, reduces. Thus it is true that lust=2 0is inversely proportional to love for Krishna.Artificially breaking lust by repressing or subduing it will not help to attain love for Krishna. Love of Krishna is a positive thing that we need to develop.ChantHare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hareand make your life Sublime !!!You Can Join Free Mobile SMS group in INDIA where you get Krsna Slokas, Bhagavat Gita Quotes, Srimad Bhagavatam Quotes.Send a sms from your cell type JOIN NITAIGAURANGA to 567678-Your Servant,Jagannath Das, alias Ranjan GhoshRADHA GIRIDHARI Temple,ISKCON Mira Road, MumbaiIn loving service to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaFounder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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