mark

Haribol! Please excuse my ignorance but I have a question regarding hell and karma. If we are punished for all our sinful deeds in hell why do we need to be punished in the next life by our karma ? I accept that this happens (and for a good reason I expect)but I just wondered why ? Is it because karma can be both good and bad, so if we performed some good deeds in one life, we receive some good karma in return ? It just seems we are punished twice for our bad deeds, although as many of us never seem to learn our lesson, this is probably necessary! Also, is it only humans that have karma, as animals do not have the ability to choose between good and bad actions, just acting and reacting with their instinct appropriate to the body they have taken birth in ? If I understand correctly, if we make the right choices we keep getting better, bit by bit, through our various lives and eventually we may develop Krishna Conciousness and escape our karma (both good and bad) to return to Krishna. Jaya Srila Prabhupada ! My humble obeisances Mark

Haribol, I thought this might be of interest: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4494747.stm Any comments ? humble obeisances to all devotees Mark

What is the purpose of mankind ? To achieve self-realistion and return to God, after struggling for so many past lives as animals, unable to reason Why has GOD created us ? We (our true-selves) are eternal spirit souls. God creates these bodies for us to live out our desires, but we will only be happy when we return to him, and not while we are struggling for existence in the material world, like fish out of water. why are there so many GOD ? means 1 would have been sufficient ? There is only One God - he has many names, and many servants, so many that it causes some confusion (and arguments) to those with little knowledge (this includes me too!) Why is GOD so selfish to make us worship ? He is not - we are the selfish ones, wanting to enjoy the material world and wanting to forget God who has given us what we desired (and in some cases what we deserve). When we start to worship its a sign that we are trying to find God and tell him that we love him and want to go back to him. Hope this helps, sorry for any mistakes on my part or any offence. Haribol and Hare Krishna Mark

Haribol I am very sorry to hear that you feel your devotion has waned. I am only a neophyte and only have a little devotion at the moment myself (and am so ignorant its embarrasing!) so I really do feel for you. Perhaps some proper, experienced devotees can give you some good advice, but the only thing I can suggest is that you start chanting again, even if you feel nothing, as while you may not be enjoying your chanting, I'm sure Lord Krishna would still like to hear you, and would appreciate your determination in the face of your feelings. I feel we should not necessarily be chanting to feel something ourselves but to please the Lord. I guess that if we do not feel anything while chanting the holy names most of us would assume we are not pleasing Lord Krishna, but perhaps we should not assume anything, and just hope that we are pleasing him. Perhaps you could do with a holiday, away from the noise ? A break at a spiritual K.C retreat perhaps or just in the quiet of nature ? I pray (literally) that you find your devotion again, and peace and happiness. I think living in a city would make me feel hopeless and unhappy, as cities seem to me to be mostly mad-made hell-holes these days - perhaps if you ever have the chance you could change your life and find a quieter life elsewhere ? Sorry if thats a useless sugestion, I know its hard just to get by, let alone change our situations these days. Its good that you are still reading though - this will surely help you in your progress. Please excuse me as I do not mean to criticise in any way, and just wish you all the best. Hare Krishna Mark

Haribol Many thanks for your post, it is very nice to read things such as this about Srila Prabhupada for those of us who are unfortunate enough never to have met him before he went back to Godhead. He lives on in his writings, but accounts such as this help to show his gentle loving humour and kind nature to those who never had chance to meet him. Hare Krishna! Mark

Haribol, Forgive me as I am rather ignorant, but I understand from reading the B.gita that Krishna put Arjuna into his position of forgetfulness so that he (Krishna) could explain the Gita to Arjuna, and hence the explanation could be passed onto all of mankind? So any apparent ignorance or uncertainty on Arjunas part was because Lord Krishna had made it so. From the introduction to the Bhagavad Gita written by Srila Prabhupada : 'Being an associate of Lord Kåñëa, Arjuna was above all ignorance, but Arjuna was put into ignorance on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra just to question Lord Kåñëa about the problems of life so that the Lord could explain them for the benefit of future generations of human beings and chalk out the plan of life. Then man could act accordingly and perfect the mission of human life' My apologies for any offence. Mark

Haribol, May I recommend the following webite/company for non-leather shoes and belts (in the UK) http://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk/ I have been very pleased with the shoes I bought from them. Humble obeisances Mark

I gave up alcohol and caffeine drinks such as tea and coffee as I became more serious about KC, but although I have reduced my choc intake, I still give into temptation sometimes and eat a little bit now and then, although I know I should not. I have noticed that when I eat one bit of chocolate though, I come close to losing control and feel like cramming my face full of choc... Its dangerous to give into even small amounts of desire for sense gratification, as this can open the flood gates ! Mark

Haribol in SB canto 1 chap 13, txt 10 purport Srila Prabhupada says: 'The Personality of Godhead is omnipresent by His diverse potencies everywhere, just as the power of electricity is distributed everywhere within space. Similarly, the Lord’s omnipresence is perceived and manifested by His unalloyed devotees like Vidura, just as electricity is manifested in an electric bulb. A pure devotee like Vidura always feels the presence of the Lord everywhere. He sees everything in the potency of the Lord and the Lord in everything' This suggests to me that just as material energy can vary in intensity, (ie as a magnetic field can be stronger or weaker in some places), is Krisnas energy more concentrated in holy places, temples and in the form of the deities, and wherever a devotee concentrates and focuses his mind on Krishna, than elsewhere ? I just wondered if that although Lord Krishnas energy is everywhere, as he is omnipresent, is there more of his energy in some places than others? Humble obeisances Mark

Haribol ! Many thanks for this post - I really found it interesting and helpful. I have printed it off and will try and read remember to read it every so often to remind myself not to get too puffed up and try and be humble. Mark

My humble obeisances and thanks With hindsight and a little more thought on my part I should not even have needed to ask such a question - giving my leftover wine to anyone would be like giving more heroin to a drug addict. It would not help them, just make things worse. Aplogies for my stupidity! Mark

Haribol My apologies to everyone - I am rather regreting making this post, which was really a question about karma, as I was trying to understand why we behave like we do. Could anyone answer the karma question at all? I did not intend to start a heated argument between various devotees. If the texts that went to make up the bible had not been tampered with by meat eaters and people who liked to drink alcohol (ie emperor Constantine), the bible would unequivocally prohibit meat eating - 'Thou shall not kill' and Genesis 9:4 specifically say we should not eat meat, but as with most laws, people like to misinterpret them or ignore them and do as they wish (and then whine about it later on when they get punished). I know very little of the Koran, but get the impression that it says if you are going to eat meat it should be Halal (sanctifed by God). I have read recently about Muslims who are vegetarian who could ask their Mullah for permission not take part in killing animals on holy days. It is not obligatory to eat meat in any religion is it ? All Muslims and all Christians (as well as believers in all other religions) could become vegetarian and not be committing any offence according to scriptures as far as I am aware. Most won't though, and will not even give the idea any thought or credence. The most sickening thing I find is when animals are abused or killed for 'religious' ceremonies. (In Spain there is such a ceremony each year where a goat is thrown alive from the top of a bell tower- This is definately NOT an instruction in the bible, just a vile local custom given a 'religious' dressing). In the vedic ceremonies in the previous yuga, animal sacrifices were made, but only so the souls of these could be reborn as humans and have the chance of liberation, not so that people could satisy their demonic taste for flesh. People eat meat because often thats the way they were brought up, as I was, and are told its necessary for health and survival (which is obviously a lie, if not in fact contrary to the truth). I can only thank Srila Prabhupada once more for showing me the proper way to live, and ask for forgiveness for my actions of the past. Mark

Haribol Why do some souls behave so badly towards other souls ? (see following link as an example) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4406665.stm Is it because the souls inhabiting the bodies of the seals being clubbed and sometimes skinned alive behaved like this to other souls in previous existences, and are now reaping the fruits of their karmic actions, and need to be made to suffer in return ? When we behave badly towards another soul is it ever the case that that soul has done nothing wrong and is the innocent victim of our hatred/anger, or is it always the case that the soul being made to suffer is suffering because of its previous actions ? Karma seems quite simple in principle but makes my head spin when I try to follow the course of actions. It seems strange that the most 'advanced' species in the world, one that can show kindess and mercy more than any other creature due to its ability to reason and feel deep and complex emotions, inflicts more unneccesary cruelty and exhibits more greed and hatred than the rest of the animal kingdom put together. I can't critise anyone too harshly as I am guilty of hurting many other souls in my past existences as well as this one, until by the grace of Srila Prabhupada, I finally chose to try and follow the K.C path. I will be grateful to Srila Prabhupada forever more, and offer my humblest obeisances to him. Mark

Haribol Is it ok to say the English version of the prayer, as I am struggling with sanskrit pronounciation ? Mark

Haribol Can anyone in the UK make a recommendation as to where I can get vedic standard milk from living in Warwickshire UK. I'm probably nearly a hundred miles from Bhaktivedanta Manor. Unless you personnally know a dairy farmer and can verify his practices then what can you do? Hare Krishna Mark

Haribol! Milk arguments aside (I have another post about Milk post if you want to keep arguing about it - it is an important issue though) its down the drain with the leftover wine then. Thank you for the advice. Mark

Haribol! The subject has been raised many times before, but what should we do about drinking milk taken from dairy herds where any unwanted calves are sent for slaughter ? I buy organic milk from the supermarket in the belief that they are better treated than cows in conventional herds, but still feel guilty because of the practices of non vedic cow keeping that lie behind it. If I had access to milk that was produced from a farm that did not kill any cows I would gladly pay a premium for it. I do not fancy going vegan, as I feel a little milk, yogurt butter and cheese is good for health. Srila Prabhupada had to use conventinally produced milk when he came to the west as there was little choice apart from going without. What was his graces feeling on the subject ? What should I do? Keep offering my milk to God to remove any bad karma or go without ? Does anyone want to set up a vedic farm community near me in Stratford-on-avon, Warwickshire in the UK? Lots of tourists come here because of Shakespeare. I would gladly sponsor my own cow and visit her regularly! Hare Krishna Mark

Hare Krishna! I gave up alcohol completely about 7 months ago as I became more committed to try and develop a little in K.C, but have some left over wine left sitting in a cupboard at home, and was wondering what to do with it. I have no desire to drink alcohol anymore and feel that it is not good to have any hanging around the house. Living in the UK where it is almost obligatory to drink and peoples stamina and worth is measured by how much alcohol they can drink, non K.C visitors would be dissapointed not to be offered a glass of wine with a meal, especially at times like Christmas (a strange way to honour Jesus who said wine makes a mockery of men!). Should I keep it to offer to non KC guests who want a glass of wine ? My feeling is that I should not. If I give it away as a present to someone who see's no harm in a glass of wine am I committing a sin against them? Should I just throw it away ? Acquaitances that drink wine would probably protest if they knew I was going to pour it down the sink and would probably gladly take it off my hands. Should I give it away to those that want it ? Any suggestions ? Haribol and humble obeisances Mark

Hare Krishna! Many thanks for finding this article Its short but to the point. Life is but a brief lesson and death is the exam, so we should start studying hard if we have not already, as we don't know when we will face the test. Humble obeisances Mark

Haribol! Thats OK Prabu.. The only thing I can do to temper you pessimism is to point out that I managed to change from my callous and barbaric ways, and that was mainly due to the mercy of Srila Prabhupadas writings. If more people were to recieve this mercy then perhaps more might change. We should try and distribute K.C literature, even if only to a few people around us , and not get too down. I can fully understand your feelings, there seems to be no end to the cruelty. I could kick my self sometimes for my past misdeeds, but if someone as weak and lazy as myself can change then I guess a lot more could, given the right prompting. More humble obeisances and regrets Mark

Haribol! On the subject of war, I have always wondered what happened to K.C males of draft age in the US during the Vietnam war era. Were they able to avoid the draft on religious principles or did any have to go and fight ? If there is a vicious dictator or other really ungodly (eg communist) regime that totally suppresses all religion, and that cannot be removed by peaceful methods, should a K.C person be willing to fight as part of a modern army if they were called up ? Arjuna had God driving his chariot for him, and telling him to fight, but if we face a violent situation how should we decide what to do, especially if theres no time to think ? Many war situations are never black and white - eg Saddam Hussein being removed from power was not a bad thing, but the basic reason why he was removed was so that the US and UK could get their hands on Iraqs oil, which was unjustified. What if a modern soldier for instance were to turn to K.C. What should he do ? His duty to follow orders from the govt and fight without considering whether the war was right or not, or should he leave the army ASAP. Just wondering.. humble obeisances Mark

Haribol, Modern science gives backing to KC/vedic view of animals as being feeling thinking creatures and not just fleshy 'robots' - please see following web link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4360947.stm Anyone in K.C probably knows all these 'findings' already, but its good to see the modern scientific view point catching up at last. Perhaps many devotees should join CIWF organisation (many probably have already I guess), and could help put forward vedic/K.C information to what I guess would be a sympathetic audience, and help press the case for vegetarianism as the only truly compassionate way forward. How I deeply regret all my years of meat eating now, caused by my weakness, laziness, lack of compassion, and by following convention rather than my heart. Giving up meat, fish and eggs (prompted by turning to K.C) was the best thing I ever did. I wish I had done it decades ago, rather than deliberately blinding myself to how I was living. I tell myself at least I'm doing the right thing now, but I feel I do not deserve to be forgiven for carrying on meat eating for so long when deep down I felt it was wrong, but convinced myself otherwise. What can one do about bitter regrets over past actions? Chanting may burn up your karma, but it will not erase memories of past wrong doings in this lifetime, and the regrets stemming from them. humble obeisances Mark

Haribol! Don't give up KC, just try not to expect too much of yourself .. I first recieved a copy of B.G when I was 18 and tried reading it but did not get very far with it. I read it all the way through when I was in mid mid 20's, and although I agreed with so much of it I felt there was no way I could follow even the 4 regs being a meat eating alcohol drinking, smoking, and genrally lustful rascal, let alone do meditation. I may have chanted the mahamantra once or twice and that was it! I felt I was too impure to follow. I suddenly turned to K.C at the age of 39, after becoming interested in meditation and metaphysics, and dug out my old copy of the B.Gita. I am still an ignorant neophyte at the age of 40, but very interested in K.C and fairly determined to make at least a little progress. My journey to KC has been tortoise like, but somehow I have feel made some little progress. Don't give up, just keep practicing in some way or other, you may eventually develop a taste for it again as you mature! My humble obeisances and best wishes Mark

Hare Krishna Many Thanks for the info Max. Could anyone recommend some traditional K.C music/bhajans as well please please, as I would like to get more devotional music. My humble obeisances Haribol

Haribol, George Harrison said (and I agree from personal experience in my youth) that psychedelic drugs were NOT the way to find God but that these experiences could open ones eyes to the fact that we are not just our bodies, but something more. Such experiences, though dangerous, are for many people the first step of a spiritual search. I had one such mushroom experience where I felt suffused by a pure and unconditional love, which, rightly or wrongly, I thought to be the presence of God. I felt so unworthy of this love that the tears pored down my face. A few weeks later my final experience was a flat cold, lonely empty one that put me off taking such risks again. I read a terrible news story last year about a student in Germany who took some powerful psychedelic and cut off his tongue and another tender bit of his anatomy - so be warned anyone who may be tempted to try and find God the chemical way. I was lucky in a way that I did not come to any harm, and shudder to think what could have happended to me For many people in the west there is even these days, little in the way of spiritual guidance, and (especially in my case) many are searching for something (God) even though they do not realise what they are searching for, and do not know where to start their search. Before my experiences 17 years ago I was very unsure about whether God/Heaven/souls even existed, but after I felt more certain they did, and very slowly began becoming more interested in searching for the absolute truth. The ONLY ways I would recommend people to search is by meditation, reading (preferably Srila Prabhupadas books!), and if they can, by finding a true devotee/guru. As has been pointed out, God cannot be achieved cheaply by a pill. Krishna created these mushrooms for some purpose I suppose.. and although such mushrooms are in the mode of ignorance, for me they did they kick start the process by which ignorance was dispelled. Perhaps like milk curd being used to cure problems caused by taking too much milk? The real solution to my ignorance though, was through reading Srila Prabhupadas writings, especially Bhagavad Gita As It Is, NOT mushrooms. Please forgive me for my foolishness, my humble obeisances and apologies to real devotees.