Natural prosperity

and

Obedience 1/3

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Mathajis,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.8.40, Kunti Maharani prays to Krishna as follows

ime jana-padaah svrddhaah / supakvaushadhi- veerudhah

vanaadri-nady- udanvanto / hy edhante tava veekshitaih

"All these cities and villages are flourishing in all respects because the herbs and grains are in abundance, the trees are full of fruits, the rivers are flowing, the hills are full of minerals and the oceans full of wealth. And this is all due to Your glancing over them."

In this verse the words "tava ikshitaih" - "Your glancing over them", is worth meditating. The whole cosmic maifestation was created simply by the glance of the Lord. It is mentioned in Vedic scriptures that sun and moon are Lord's eyes. So through the agency of sun and moon Lord Krishna is ensuring that all the vegetaion and herbs flourish. If the Lord stops His glance or closes His eyes, the whole universe will be doomed to darkness. Moonshine is very much important for the fruits and vegetables. In Bhagavad Gita verse 15.12 and 15.13 Krishna says

yad aaditya-gatam tejo / jagad bhaasayate 'khilam

yac candramasi yac cāgnau / tat tejo viddhi maamakam

gaam avishya ca bhutaani / dhaarayaamy aham ojasaa

pushnaami caushadhih sarvaah / soma bhutvaa rasaatmakah

"The splendor of the sun, which dissipates the darkness of this whole world, comes from Me. And the splendor of the moon and the splendor of fire are also from Me. I enter into each planet, and by My energy they stay in orbit. I become the moon and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables."

No matter how much ever advancements we make in technology, we cannot replace the sun, moon and rains. In olden days people very well knew that rains will come only when Krishna sanctions and so whenever monsoon fails they used to do sankirtanam and pray for the mercy of the Lord. Those who do farming will be able to very appreciate on the timing and quantity of rains. Both floods as well as untimely monsoons will wash away the crops and cause havoc in the form of floods. And very less rainfall or no rain will result in drought. Lord Krishna says in verse 9.19 of Bhagavad Gita - "tapaamy aham aham varsham / nigrihnaamy utsrijaami ca" - "I give heat, and I withhold and send forth the rain." Kuntidevi very well knew that whatever opulence they had in their kingdom was simply due to the presence of Supreme Lord Krishna and so she is earnestly requesting Him not to leave. In yesterday's mail HG Anuradha mathaji was also mentioning the prosperity and opulence of the land when Lord Ram was ruling over it.

But now-a-days we are wrongly considering industrially developed countries as advanced or prosperous countries in the world. Srila Prabhupada very nicely makes it clear in his purport to the above verse that - "The gigantic industrial enterprises are products of a godless civilization, and they cause the destruction of the noble aims of human life. The more we go on increasing such troublesome industries to squeeze out the vital energy of the human being, the more there will be unrest and dissatisfaction of the people in general, although a few only can live lavishly by exploitation." And indeed we find his words very true. The more advanced a country - more is the increase in the number of people suffering due to mental and heart diseases. Our health is at its best when we live in natural surroundings, breathe in fresh-air, drink fresh-water and cosnume natural food (free from pollution and industrial wastes).

During the reign of Prithu Maharaj, Mother Earth once stopped producing vegetations. Seeing this Prthu Maharaj was very angry and upset. When he threatened to kill Mother Earth - she very nicely explains in Srimad Bhagavatam verses 4.18.6,7 and 8 the reason why she has stopped producing grains. Mother Earth says - "My dear King, the seeds, roots, herbs and grains, which were created by Lord Brahma in the past, are now being used by nondevotees,who are devoid of all spiritual understanding. My dear King, not only are grains and herbs being used by nondevotees, but, as far as I am concerned, I am not being properly maintained. Indeed, I am being neglected by kings who are not punishing these rascals who have turned into thieves by using grains for sense gratification. Consequently I have hidden all these seeds, which were meant for the performance of sacrifice. Due to being stocked for a very long time, all the grain seeds within me have certainly deteriorated. Therefore you should immediately arrange to take these seeds out by the standard process, which is recommended by the acaryas or shaastras."

During the time of Krishna's appearance in this material world also we have learnt that the whole environment in the universe, the position of stars, the flowers, fruits - whole of Mother Nature was in complete bloom. Similarly when Krishna appears in our life, everything will be alright. But when will all these good things happen ? Only when the Lord glances. Srila Prabhupada very nicely mentions in his purport -"But all these natural gifts are dependent on the mercy of the Lord. What we need, therefore, is to be obedient to the laws of the Lord and achieve the perfection of human life by devotional service." Instead if we keep disobeying the laws of Lord and harm mother Earth, we can never dream to be receptacle of Lord's mercy. Our spiritual master HDG Srila Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj used to say - "We should behave in such a manner that Krishna should be willing to come to us. But most of the time, we behave in manner that Krishna wants to depart !".

Krishna willing, I shall continue on this topic in the forthcoming mails.

Thank you very much.

Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,

Sudarshana devi dasi.

Chant,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama

Hare Hare

and be happy.