3706082689?profile=RESIZE_710x

At a lecture that Srila Prabhupada gave on April 6, 1972, at Tarrawarra Abbey, in Melbourne, one of the members said to Prabhupada, “Swami, in the Christian history, one of the people that many of us look up to is a man called Francis of Assisi, and he talks about knowing God, and he rates it up with experiences such as on the occasion when he embraced a leper. And he says, ‘If we turn away from our fellow, then we are not reaching God, or God consciousness.’ And this is in line with one of the central teachings of the Christian scriptures, which is that if any man says he loves God and does not love his neighbor, then that man is a liar.”

“If actually one loves God,” Prabhupada replied, “he must love everybody. That is the sign. Just like my mouth is now thirsty. I am quenching with drinking water and putting here. As soon as I put the water here, immediately the energy is distributed all over the body. So a God conscious person cannot be neglectful or envious of anyone. That is the test. Sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah (SB 5.18.12). [All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge, and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.] All good qualities. So, this is a good quality—to love your neighbor, to give them service. So, if a person is actually God conscious, he must be sympathetic with the troubles of his neighbor, or anyone—not only human beings, animals also. They are also living entities. A God conscious person makes no discrimination between human being and animal or trees or plants, because they are also living entities.”

Source: http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=15109

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT to add comments!

Join ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT