Inquiries Into the Absolute: Digest 192: What is the point of livingif there is death? How do we know if God is real and Lord Krishna'spastimes are real?

10-26-2006, 04:23 PM

Digest 192, October 31st 2006. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja
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Why live if there is death?
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Question: I have been wondering about a lot a issues related to religion. I
wonder if you can help me find some answers and direction. I sometimes feel
confused.

Knowing that we are going to die, what is the point of living?

Answer:[NOTE: This question was presented by a 13 year old. The language within
the answer has been chosen accordingly.]

Thank you for your very thoughtful questions. In answering your questions, I
will share with you the timeless wisdom as found in the Bhagavad-Gita, which
systematically addresses all these vital questions about the meaning and
purpose of our life.

According to Bhagavad-Gita's teachings, we are eternal living beings -- we are
not this body but eternal spirit souls residing in this body. Our real self,
the spirit soul, is never subject to death. The body is just like an outer
garment, or a vehicle, and it is the soul only that animates the body. When the
body becomes old or useless, the soul leaves that body and takes on a new body,
just like a person changing his dress, or giving up an old car and getting a
new one. Death, therefore, is not an end as it seems to us, but merely a
changing of body.

This present life and body, of course, are temporary and will come to an end,
and therefore too much absorption in accumulating material knowledge, wealth,
position, or superficial bodily relations in one sense does not have any
lasting value and thus are futile, because they will all be taken away at
death. And yet, whatever we do in our present life *IS* quite important in
another sense, because it decides what kind of future we are going to have.
Therefore it behooves us to live our life responsibly and in proper knowledge.

At death, we acquire a new body based on our previous activities (karma) and
desires, taking birth in any of 8.4 million species of life in any planet
within the universe! This continues in repeated cycles of birth, death and
transmigration. The human form of life is a very special opportunity in this
cycle, because in this human body alone, unlike those of animals, we are
endowed with intelligence to inquire into the purpose of this repeated cycle,
just as you are inquiring now. Unless one comes to this point of inquiry, his
human life is considered to be wasted, or lived in vain.

Because we are eternal, the prospect of death and changing bodies is very
unnatural, unpleasant and depressing. But the reason we find ourselves subject
to the unpleasantness of birth, death, diseases or old age or any other misery
of this world is only due to our having forgotten our real spiritual nature and
our relationship with God. Just like if you turn the lights off in your room
one night, you would neither be able to see yourself, nor the objects around
you, in the same way, God, Krishna is compared to the Sun and when we forget
Him or turn away from Him, then we are subject to a type of darkness called
ignorance or the illusory energy called Maya. Under its influence, people think
themselves to be identical with the body and think life as having no ultimate
goal or meaning, and abruptly ending in death. But as soon as we turn our
attention back to God, this illusion is removed.

The real purpose of this life then is to understand our real spiritual nature
and transfer our desires from matter to spirit, turn our attention back to God.
When we start acting in our relation with God, then even the ordinary
activities and relationships that we pursue in this life take on new meaning
and significance, instead of being temporary and illusory. Moreover, ultimately
it will put an end to this cycle of birth and death and enable us to go back to
our eternal home, where we can eternally engage in blissful loving service to
the Supreme Lord, without being subjected to the stringent laws of birth,
death, old age, disease and suffering.

This message, in effect, is the essence of any true religious system.
Bhagavad-Gita gives us very detailed, scientific descriptions of how we can
understand God, ourselves and our place in this material world. It also teaches
us the methods by which we can revive our forgotten relationship with God, the
best process being bhakti yoga, or performing devotional service to God and
calling upon His Holy Names, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare
Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

How do we know if God is real?
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Question:>> How do we know if God is real?

Answer: One way we can come to understand or verify the existence of God is
simply by studying the meticulous organization of this universe and all the
things happening around us. There is such precise design, order and control in
the way everything in nature functions, from the gigantic planetary movements
down to the intricate workings of a cell. Is it not illogical to propose that
this vast universe is conducted so meticulously just by chance and for no
purpose?

>From our practical experience, we know that without much laborious planning,
organization and maintenance, everything quickly degrades to chaos. So who has
planned, organized and is maintaining the universe? Consider how is it that the
sun rises every morning without fail or why there isn't a tsunami or earthquake
every week, consider who has supplied all our necessities like fresh water, air
and food? Scientists would try to explain that away as natural laws which have
come by blind chance, but law means there must be a law-maker. Nothing in our
experience works automatically or by chance. A child may be amazed to see a
remote-controlled car and conclude that it is moving by itself, but an
intelligent person knows that somebody is operating it from behind the scenes.
Just because we cannot see the operator does not mean he doesn't exist!

Not just in the physical laws governing the universe, but there is order even
in subtler laws that govern human interactions. It is hardly rational or
meaningful to suppose that someone is born rich and another poor for no reason,
some are endowed with brilliant intelligence, and others are born blind or
crippled. There is reason and justice behind all these and there is a
Controller or law-maker -- we can come to this conclusion simply with a little
introspection, although our modern ways of education and artificial living
styles often rob us of opportunities for such introspection.

How do we know Lord Krishna's pastimes are real?
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Question:
>> How do we know if the stories of Krishna or of any other god ever
>> happened? Are they real? If you could answer these questions, I
>> would very much appreciate it.

Answer: By logic and reasoning, like we just did, we can come to the conclusion
that there must be God, or a Supreme Controller behind everything. But in order
to conclusively know Him and understand more about Him, what His name is, what
He looks like, what are His qualities - to know these we need to take the help
of scriptures and realized souls who already know Him. In this way, we come to
know that one of His principal name is Krishna, and of His various activities
and pastimes, because they are revealed in the Vedic scriptures. On their
authority, we accept Krishna.

How can we know for sure about anything at all, which is beyond the reach of
our sense perception? Only by hearing from proper authorities. How does someone
who has never been to Australia know that there really is such a continent on
the other side of the globe? By hearing from someone who has been there -
either in words or pictures or some such form. Similarly, if one wants to know
who his father is, the only way to be sure is to take the authority of the
mother. In the same way, we can be positively sure of God's existence and
particularly of the descriptions of Krishna being that Supreme Personality of
Godhead because of the fact that so many saintly personalities, with such
remarkable personal characters, have come throughout the ages and taught us the
science of God.

If you study the characters, credibility and conviction of these saintly
representatives of Krishna, it is one surely compelling reason which will
strengthen our faith in God. If you have not already had a chance, you might
appreciate acquiring a copy of the biography of Srila Prabhupada and studying
it. You will come to admire what an incredibly qualified individual he was -
his humility, compassion, concern for entire humanity and the sacrifices he
made, his deep faith and inner stability in the face of all kinds of
adversities and challenges, these are equally matched by his deep scholarly
knowledge, the brilliance of his logic and penetrating insight into all aspects
of life, even his astuteness in business, organization and leadership -- surely
such a person was not going to believe in some fairy tales and dedicate his
life for propogating them and worship Him, nor did he have any personal
motivation to mislead us with unverifiable facts. It would be hard to favorably
compare the caliber of such a person
with the personal lives & character of any other authorities in science or
philosophy that we so commonly tend to believe but rarely know. And this was
not just some individual's self-styled ideas, but that of an entire parampara,
generations of such highly qualified teachers striving to pass down these
messages to us intact and without any corruption, for the welfare all. In fact,
there were many such disciplic lines, all over the world and most certainly at
least in India, dedicated to purely worshiping Krishna for thousands of years.

We can also meditate and reflect upon the gravity and seriousness of the
setting in which the messages of Krishna are spoken. It was narrated by
Sukadeva Goswami while instructing King Pariksit, the emperor of the world at
that time, on the verge of his predicted death, to enable the king to fix his
mind on the transcendental activities of Krishna. At this most crucial time, in
the context of discussing one's duty at the time of death and other such
profound topics, we would not suppose that they would have discussed some
fictional stories which have no reality or substance.

Another very compelling proof is to study the lives of those who are, even
today, sincerely taking to hearing about Krishna regularly and living by these
messages. They are left with not just a few minutes of feelings of peace or
sense of well-being, but it brings about a total transformation of their lives
and character, making them very sober, compassionate and responsible
individuals developing all godly qualities. This is the potency of chanting
Krishna's holy names and hearing about His pastimes. Is it possible that any
ordinary person's name & activities, what to speak of a fictional character,
have such potencies that can bring about such transformations in the hearts of
people?

The merit of something is known by the result it produces. Or we could say, the
proof of the pudding is in eating. Of course, one who does not follow quite
faithfully, or due to misfortune follows an unauthorized person who is not
representing Krishna purely, these changes do not manifest for them, as in the
case of many so-called religious followers today. But those who do apply
themselves by proper means, the difference in their person is self-evident. And
you yourself can also personally not only verify but get to know God, Krishna,
personally and feel His reciprocation in your life by following these messages
given by Him and coming through His devotees in disciplic succession.

I hope this brings some clarity to you. I would be more than happy to try to
answer any further questions you may have.

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Past Questions and Answers: All previous digests with responses to about 485
questions can be accessed at http://www.romapadaswami.com/Inquiries/

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Brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami:
http://www.romapadaswami.com/bio.html
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