ancient_paztriot

Hayagriva dasa: Freud further writes: “The riddles of the universe only reveal themselves slowly to our inquiry. To many questions science can as yet give no answer; but scientific work is our only way to the knowledge of external reality… No, science is no illusion. But it would be an illusion to suppose that we could get anywhere else what it could not give us.” Srila Prabhupada: First of all, we have to learn what the object of knowledge is. The word veda means “knowledge,” and anta means “ultimate.” Unless you come to the ultimate point of knowledge, or Vedanta, your knowledge is imperfect or insufficient. The ultimate object of knowledge is God, and if we cannot define God or explain His nature, we have not reached the ultimate point of knowledge. God is a fact, but unfortunately we have no clear idea of Him. This means that our knowledge has not reached the ultimate point––that is, it is imperfect. If the knowledge of a philosopher or scientist is imperfect, of what value is it? According to the Vedic method, we recieved our knowledge from the perfect person: Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Syamasundara dasa: Yet by remembering some traumatic or shocking experience, our tensions are often relieved, and personality disorders rectified. This is a fact of psychoanalysis. Srila Prabhupada: That may be, but when a seed has fructified and grown into a tree, it is no longer possible to rectify the seed. The seed is no longer there. It has changed into a tree. Freud may be able to find out the cause, but does he know the cure? Our cure is to divert the attention to Krsna. By understanding Krsna, we automatically forget our problems. Krsna is the panacea for all diseases. Syamasundara dasa: Freud also investigated projection, that is attributing one’s own personality onto others. A man may regard others as a thief because he’s a thief himself. Srila Prabhupada: We accept that. Ätmana manyate jagat. Everyone thinks others to be like himself.

Hayagriva dasa: Still, Freud considers belief in God as infantile. In The future of an Illusion, he writes: “Man cannot remain a child forever; he must venture at last into the hostile world.” Instead of continuing to dwell in such a nursery, man should try to rid himself of the psychic crutch of religion. Srila Prabhupada: What is his definition of childishness? Everyone must be a child, and everyone must have a father. Just as we cannot deny our biological father, we cannot deny the ultimate Supreme Father. Hayagriva dasa: It is not that he is denying biological fathers, but the idea of a Supreme Father, which he felt arouse out of man’s initial helpless state. Srila Prabhupada: Helplessness is always there, because the threefold miseries will always exist in material life. There will always be miseries arising from the body and mind, miseries inflicted by other living entities, and natural catastrophes. In addition, there is always birth, old age, disease, and death. it is only a fool or a rascal who hopes against hope and makes plans to overcome all these difficulties. However we may plan, nature is so strong that it will smash our plans to pieces with the kick of death. Man hopes against hope to adjust material things so that he can be happy in this world, but this is foolishness. Man is helpless at every step. Hayagriva dasa: Freud felt that belief in God the Father is “so patently infantile, so incongruous with reality, that to one whose attitude to humanity is friendly, it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life.” Srila Prabhupada: So what is his reality? Belief in god may be infantile to him, but what is he except a child? How is it that he is more than a child? Can he give an ultimate solution that will rid man of his helplessness? Hayagriva dasa: Well, he personally hoped that psychoanalysis would provide the answers. Srila Prabhupada: How can a common man understand psychoanalysis? The fact is that there is a suprem controller who is present everywhere. Psychoanalysis should begin with this point. Why is he defying this fact? Hayagriva dasa: He sincerely believed that the maturation process necessarily entails ridding oneself of religion. He writes: “If one attempts to assign religion its place in man’s evolution, it seems not so much to be a lasting acquisition as a parallel to the neuroses which the civilized individual must pass through on his way from childhood to maturity.” Srila Prabhupada: He has reached this conclusion because he has seen so many sentimental religions, but first of all he must understand what religion actually is. Religion is not possible without an understanding of God, and a religion without God cannot truly be called a religion. According to the Vedic system, religion refers to the orders of God; therefore if we have no conception of God, we cannot be said to have a religion. If we do not know God or His nature, how can we know the orders God is giving?

Hitler was hated for attacking and killing the innocent. But it's now OK when YOUR GOVERNMENT does it. Nuking a city seems like a good idea! Hey! Let's start a war, kill all our problems, AND MONOPOLIZE what's left! Well make it the LAW!

Nor was Hitler a religious man. That egocentrism seems to accommodate the entitled who feel THEY CAN LIVE AT THE EXPESE OF ALL others… BECAUSE what they are doing is so God_amn important! No higher purpose! No higher brain! (… Maybe a bug's life; something like a praying mantis… I wonder what a praying mantis becomes… ??? Can you see where you've been and where you're going?). /images/graemlins/frown.gif Are you sufficiently concerned? What are you doing about it… [philosophically speaking (to all)] ? And what are you doing to preserve the time to pursue these engrossing subtle subjects… like spiritual life? Let's hear what the government dog boys say! And I'd like to know who is gonna raise the kids in this culture? I mean who can afford it? Let's see some objective numbers! (I Sorta feel'in like a Jew under Hitler) (But the marketing is better! …So is the killing of the innocent… so many sophisticated ways! …applied in the interest of all). Don't miss the commercial!

Syamasundara dasa: Being free, man is subject to what Sartre calls “bad faith,” a kind of self-deception. Through bad faith, man looses his freedom and responsibility. Srila Prabhupada: You certainly have limited freedom to choose, but if you choose improperly, you have to suffer. Responsibility and freedom go hand in hand. At the same time, there must be descrimination. Without it, our freedom is blind. We cannot understand right from wrong. Syamasundara dasa: A man in bad faith drifts along from day to day without being involved, avoiding responnsible decisions. Srila Prabhupada: This means that he has decided to drift. His drifting is a decision. Syamasundara dasa: Sartre believes that bad faith must be replaced by a solid choosing, and by faith in that choice. Srila Prabhupada: But if he makes the wrong decision, what is the value of his action? Moths fly very valiantly and courageously into the fire. Is that a very good decision? Syamasundara dasa: Due to bad faith, people treat others as objects instead of prersons. Sartre advocates rectifying this situation. Srila Prabhupada: He speaks about bad faith, but what about good faith? Syamasundara dasa: If bad faith is the avoidance of decisions, good faith would mean making decisions courageously and following them out, regardless of what these decisions might are. Srila Prabhupada: But what if your decision is wrong? Syamasundara dasa: For Sartre, it is not a question of right or wrong. Srila Prabhupada: then whatever decision I make is final and absolute? This means that the insect’s decision to enter the fire is a proper decision. This is the philosophy of insects. If man can do as he pleases, where is his responsibility? Syamasundara dasa: Sartre believes that the fate of the world depends on man’s decisions. Obviously, if man decides properly, the world would be a better place. Srila Prabhupada: Therefore we are trying to introduce this Krsna consciousness in order to make the world into Vaikuntha, into a place where there is no anxiety. But this is not a blind decision. It is the decision of a higher authority; therefore it is perfect. Syamasundara dasa: Many people call Sartre’s philosophy pessimistic because he maintains that man is a “useless passion” vainly striving in a universe without a purpose. Srila Prabhupada: Sartre may be a useless passion, but we are not. No sane man is useless. A sane man will follow a superior authority. That is Vedic civilization. If one approaches a bona fide spiritual master, he will not be bewildered. Sartre believes that the universe is without a purpose becasue he is blind. He has no power to see that there is a plan. Therefore, according to Bhagavad-gita, his philosophy is asuric, demoniac. Everything in the universe functions according to some plan. the sun and moon rise, and the seasons change according to plan. Syamasundara dasa: For Sartre, man stands alone in the world, yet he is not alone if he is a being-for-others. Man needs others for his own self-realization. Srila Prabhupada: This means that man requires a guru. Syamasundara dasa: Sartre does not speak of a guru but of interaction with others for self-understanding. Srila Prabhupada: If this is required, why not interact with the best man? If we require others to understand ourselves, why should we not seek the best man for our own understanding? We should receive help from the man who knows. If you take the advice of one who can give you the right direction, your end will be glorious. That is the Vedic injunction.Tad vijæanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet (Mundaka-upanisad 1.2.12). Syamasundara dasa: Sartre feels that in the presence of others, man is ashamed. Srila Prabhupada: Man is ashamed if he is not guided by a superior. If you are guided by a superior, you will be glorious, not ashamed. Your superior is that person who can lead you to the glory of Krsna consciousness.

Syamasundara dasa: Since man’s essential nature is an undetermined nothingness, Sartre believes that man is free to choose to be either a coward or a hero. Our situation is in our own hands. Srila Prabhupada: If you claim that you were tossed into the world by some superior power, or by accident, what can you do? How can you become a hero? If you try to become a hero, you will be kicked all the more because you are placed here by a superior power. If a culprit under police custody attempts to become a hero, he will be beaten and punished. Actually, you are neither a coward nor a hero. You are an instrument. You are completely under the control of a superior power. Syamasundara dasa: Well, if someone is attacking you, you have the power to choose to be a hero and defend yourself, or to run. Srila Prabhupada: It is not heroic to defend oneself. That is natural. If that is the case, even a dog can be a hero when he is attacked. Even an ant can be a hero. heroism and cowardice are simply mental concoctions. After all, you are under the control of a power that can do what He likes with you. Therefore there is no question of your becoming a hero or a coward. Syamasundara dasa: Suppose someone is in danger, and you rescue him. Isn’t that being heroic? Srila Prabhupada: All you can rescue is the exterior dress. Saving that dress is not heroism. It is not even protection. One can be a real hero only when he is fully empowered or fully protected. Such a person can only be a devotee, because only Krsna can fully protect or empower.

Prabhupada usually talks about responsiblility of duty to others in so many ways… This is a little different… ....................... Hayagriva dasa: Sartre believes that the task of existentialism is “to make every man aware of what he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him… And when we say that a man is responsible for himself, we do not only mean that he is responsible for hiw own individuality, but hat he is responsible for all men.” Srila Prabhupada: Suppose I want to benefit you, and you are free. Your freedom means that you can accept or reject my good intentions. How can I be responsible for you if you don’t obey? How can you be responsible for me? Sarte claims that you are responsible for others, but if others do not follow your instructions, how can you be considered responsible? This is all contradictory. Unless there is some standard, there must be contradiction. According to the Vedic version, God is the Supreme Person, and we should all be His obedient servants. God gives us some duty, and we are responsible to carry that duty out. Our real responsibility is to God. If we reject God, society becomes chaotic. Religion means avoiding chaos and meeting our responsibility to God by fulfilling our duty. Responsibility rests on us, and it is given by God. If we make spiritual progress by fulfilling our duty, we can finally live with God personally.

I think about how many can intimidate so few. I think how they use technology to do it. I think how we're paying for it. Bg 16.9 TEXT 9 Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world. PURPORT The demoniac are engaged in activities that will lead the world to destruction. The Lord states here that they are less intelligent. The materialists, who have no concept of God, think that they are advancing. But, according to Bhagavad-gita, they are unintelligent and devoid of all sense. They try to enjoy this material world to the utmost limit and therefore always engage in inventing something for sense gratification. Such materialistic inventions are considered to be advancement of human civilization, but the result is that people grow more and more violent and more and more cruel, cruel to animals and cruel to other human beings. They have no idea how to behave toward one another. Animal killing is very prominent amongst demoniac people. Such people are considered the enemies of the world because ultimately they will invent or create something which will bring destruction to all. Indirectly, this verse anticipates the invention of nuclear weapons, of which the whole world is today very proud. At any moment war may take place, and these atomic weapons may create havoc. Such things are created solely for the destruction of the world, and this is indicated here. Due to godlessness, such weapons are invented in human society; they are not meant for the peace and prosperity of the world.

Syamasundara dasa: But isn’t there still a process of becoming, even when we are fully Krsna consciousness and in association with Krsna? Srila Prabhupada: No. The becoming process ends. There are, however, varieties, which are spiritual. Everything is complete, but varieties are enjoyed. Sometimes, Krsna is a cowherd boy, sometimes he is Yasoda’s child, sometimes He is Radharani’s consort, sometimes He is in Mathura, sometimes He is in Vrndavana. There are many spiritual varieties, but everything is complete in itself. There is no question of becoming. we reach the point where we are simply enjoying variety. That is all.

Syamasundara dasa: Kierkegaard lamented the disintegration of Christianity as an effective form of worship. He considered modern Christendom to be a kind of sickness, a corruption of Christ’s original message. Srila Prabhupada: Christianity is Christianity, and you cannot call it modern or ancient, nor can you say that God is modern or ancient. We say that either a person is a Christian or not. Either he follows the orders of Christ, or he doesn’t. If you do not follow the tenets of your religion, how can you claim to belong to that religion? This applies to all religions? For instance, there are many so-called Hindus who do not believe in anything, yet they consider themselves Hindus and brahmanas. This is insulting.

… more like the flow of lying and cheating… a devotee doesn't infuse others with dessention and doubt. (I must admit I'm amused at watching them squirm)(On the other hand, it's heavy Maya. I make an effort to distance myself… except when I see them on the street I yell, "If you work for the government, you have your head up your _SS!). /images/graemlins/smile.gif When people have to shed their artificial authority and deal with life and living, they turn into dogs in trying to manufacture their own. Things are seldom what they seem. Did you think HMO's dealt with insurance or that your country is meant to protect you? I bet some of these big brain trolls really have… tiny little pinheads and a drug habit. They are definately licking RICH b_tt. Lick. Lick. It's lick licking money! These people are not very representative of democracy I'd say. But they'll tell you they are. Just wait till you hear 'em speak!

Hayagriva dasa: Kierkegaard writes: “The only adequate way to express a sense of God’s majesty is to wrship Him… It is so easy to see that one to whom everything is equally important and equally insignificant can only be interested in one thing: obedience.” Srila Prabhupada: Yes, and God demands that full obedience: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja (Bg. 18.66) Our original obedience should be to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we should obey the spiritual master becasue he is God’s representative. If a person does not directly receive the orders of God, he cannot be a bona fide guru. A guru cannot manufacture anything: he simply presents what God speaks in the sastras. When God comes as an incarnation, He also gives references to the scriptures, just as Krsna referred to the Brahma-sutra in Bhagavad-gita. Although Krsna is God, and His word is final, He still gives honor to the Brahma-sutra because in that work spiritual knowledge is set forth logically and philosophically. It is not that we accept just anyone’s proclamations about God. Statements must be corroborated by the standard scriptures.

Hayagriva dasa: Apart from suffering, Kierkegaard emphasized the importance of love in the religious life. In his book works of Love, he considers God to be the hidden source of all love. “God you must love in unconditional obedience,” he writes, “even if that which He demans of you may seem injurious to you… For God’s wisdom is incomparable with respect to your own… .” Srila Prabhupada: Yes, that is also the instruction of Bhagavad-gita. God demands that we give up all our plans as well as the plans of others, and accept His plan. Sarva-dharman parityajya (Bg. 18.66) “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” If we fully depend on Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He will guide us home. Hayagriva dasa: In defining love, Kierkegaard points out that St. Paul considered love to be “the fulfillment of the law.” “Love is a matter of conscience,” Kierkegaard writes, “ and hence it is not a matter of impulse and inclination; nor is it a matter of emotion, nor a matter for intellectual calculation. Christianity knows only one kind of love, spiritual love… ” Srila Prabhupada: Yes, love in the maerial world is impossible, because everyone is interested only in his own sense gratification. the love experienced between men and women is not actually love, but lust, because both parties are interested in their own sense gratification. Love means that one does not think of his own sense gratification, but of the sense gratification of the beloved. That is pure love, and that is not possible in the material world. We see examples of pure love, however, in the Vedic depictions of Vrndavana, a village wherein men, animals, fruits, flowers, water, and everything else exist only fo rhte sake of loving Krsna. They are not interested in any return from Krsna. Now, that is real love. Anyabhilasitasunyam. If one loves God with some motive, that is material love. Pure love is interested only in satisfying the desires of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When we speak of love in the material world, we are misusing the word. Lusty desires take the place of real love. Real love applies only to God––individually, collectively, or any other way. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the supreme object of love, and this love can be expressed through adoration, service, or friendship. Or we can love Him as a child, or as a conjugal lover. There are five basic relationships expressing true love of Godhead. Hayagriva dasa: For Kierkegaard, love of God is the decisive factor, and from it stems love of neighbor. “If you love God above all else” he writes, “then you also love your neighbor, and in your neighbor, every man… To help another man to love God is to love the other man; to be helped by another man to love God is to be loved.” Srila Prabhupada: That is the basis of our Krsna consciousness movement. We’re learning how to love God, and teaching the same principle to the whole world. We’re teaching that God is one, and that no one is equal to Him, nor greater than Him. God is never dead. If love of God is taught by a religion, that religion should be considered first class, be it Christian, Hindu, Muslim, or whatever. The test of a religion is this: “Have the followers learned how to love God?” God is the center of love, and since everything is God’s expansion, a lover of God is a lover of everyone. He does not discriminate by thinking that only man should be loved and given service. No. He is interested in all living entities, regardless of the forms in which they are existing. A lover of God loves everyone, and his love reaches everyone. When we water the root of a tree, we are nourishing all parts of the tree: the trunk, branches, twigs, and leaves. When we give the stomach food, we satisfy the entire body. God is everything. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, maya tatam idam sarvam (Bg. 9.4). Nothing can exist without God because everything is His expansion.Visnu Purana says that God is present everywhere, although situated in His own abode, just as the light and heat of the sun are present everywhere, although the sun is situated in one place. God is all pervading. Nothing can exist without Him. At the same time, this does not mean that everything is God. Rather, everything is resting on His energy. Despite His expansions, He maintains His personality. Syamasundara dasa: Kierkegaard also considered faith to be an important part of religion. For him, the opposite of faith is sin, which is the same as despair. Srila Prabhupada: If you are in Krsna consciousness, there is no question of sin. It is not a question of faith, but of fact. At the beginning of Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna did not want to fight, but he finally decided to abide by the order of Krsna. That is piety: satisfying the higher authority, God. In the material world, we imagine this or that to be sinful or pious, but these are mental concoctions. They have no value.

Syamasundara dasa: Dewey felt that the desirable course of action should meet certain conditions subject to prediction, and should be based on judgments or appraisals that might serve as guidelines to future activity. Srila Prabhupada: This is predictable. You say “I don’t want to die.” I say, “Come to this position, and you will not die.” Syamasundara dasa: Is there some experience that shows this to be a predictable result? Srila Prabhupada: Yes. You might not have the experience, but your superiors do. abrahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino ’rjuna mam upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Bg. 8.16) If we go to Krsna, we will never come back to this material world again. Who can excel Krsna's experience? Since He knows past, present, and future, it is to our good to accept His instructions. Syamasundara dasa: Dewey would recommend basing our judgements on personal experience. Srila Prabhupada: We may not have personal experience, but we can take the advice of a person who does. Such experience is as good as our own You may not have gone to New York, but because others have purchased tickets there and gone and returned, you can take advantage of their experience and learn something about that place. Syamasundara dasa: Dewey claims that value exists only where there is satisfaction. Srila Prabhupada: Unless you have faith in a person, how you can be satisfied? You should find a person in whom you can place your faith. Who can be a better person than Krsna?

Hayagriva dasa: In the realm of philosophy and religion, Dewey believes that certainty is impossible. He writes: “Any philosophy that in its quest for certainty ignores the reality of the uncertain in the ongoing processes of nature, denies the conditions out of which it arises.” Srila Prabhupada: There is uncertainty when you do not accept the eality. The reality is God, and God explains how nature is working. If we do not accept His explanation, our position is very precarious, very uncertain. But if God comes and reveals Himself and His activities, and we consider them mythological, how can we be convinced? How can we ever be certain?

Syamasundaraa dasa: For James, the mind must survive the body, since the mind is not dependent on the body for its existence. Srila Prabhupada: That is a fact. When the gross body is finished, the subtle body consisting of the mind, intelligence, and ego remains. These guide us to another gross body. They are like the aroma coming from a rose. We can see the rose, but we cannot see the aroma. Still, the aroma is being scattered by the air. Similarly, wheen the spirit soul gives up the gross body, it is carried by the mind, intelligence, and ego. According to our desire, that subtle body enters another gross body. Syamasundaraa dasa: If the mind and intelligence are not material, do they not die? Srila Prabhupada: To die means to disappear. The mind disappears when you are liberated. Syamasundaraa dasa: then I carry my mind with me throughout all my lifetimes? Srila Prabhupada: Yes, as long as you are not liberated. Syamasundaraa dasa: Is this the same mind I have now and have always had? Srila Prabhupada: Yes, but the body, which is material and gross, changes. the subtle material body-mind, intelligence, and false ego-accompanies us until we are liberated.

Syamasundara dasa: But what other authority is acceptable? If we dig up a bone and make a test with our senses, isn't that authoritative? Srila Prabhupada: That is bone authority. You may be satisfied with such authority, but we have our own. You will accept your authority, and I will accept mine. That is a different matter. Scientific authority is always relative, just like scientific knowledge. Theories are always being contradicted by other theories. Has Darwin gone down to the bottonm of the sea and excavated there? Who has dug into the layers of the earth below the sea to find out what is there? All Mr. Frog knows is that his well is only three feet deep and three feet wide. If you tell him of the existence of the Atlantic Ocean, he will say, “How big is it? Twice as big as my well? Ten times as big?” Since he can never conceive of the Atlantic Ocean, what good will his investigations do? what knowledge can he have of the vast ocean? Therefore we must take knowledge from one who has created the Atlantic Ocean. In this way, our knowledge will be perfect.

Hayagriva dasa: Concerning religion, Nietzsche felt that because Christ’s own disciples misunderstood him, Christianity as such never existed. “The last Christian died on the cross,” he wrote. Although Christ was totally pure and free from all resentment and envy, Christianity has had envy and resentment as its focal point from its very beginning, even though it calls itself the religion of love. Thus Nietzsche proclaimed, “God is dead,” in the sense that the God of the Christian religion is dead. Srila Prabhupada: If you create an artificial god, it is better that he is dead so that he cannot inflict more injuries. Hayagriva dasa: Then it is better to have no conception of God than a bad conception? Srila Prabhupada: Yes, better. But Christ was the embodiment of tolerance. There is no doubt about this. Hayagriva dasa: It is not that Nietzsche criticizes Christ himself, but his followers. Srila Prabhupada: Yes, actually we can see that the Christians hate the Jews because the Jews crucified Christ. They even utilize the symbol of the cross to remind people that the Jews crucified him. Even in the churches there are pictures of Lord Jesus, with thorns on his head, being forced to carry his cross. In this way, the people are reminded of all the troubles that the Jews gave to Christ. emphasizing Christ on the cross is a way of prolonging resentment against the Jews. But the fact is that Christ had many other activities, which are not brought into prominence. Actually, it is very painful for a devotee to see his master being crucified. Even though Christ was crucified, that scene in his life should not be emphasized.

Syamasundara dasa: Alexander believed that when one has attained the higher levels of evolution, he can see that everything on the lower levels is determined. Srila Prabhupada: Yes. For instance, we should not try to improve our economic condition because it is already decided. Why is one man born rich, and another born to work so hard? Srimad - Bhagavatam (1.5.18) says that we should not strive hard for material happiness, because material happiness and distress come automatically. an intelligent man utilizes his time to develop his Krsna consciousness. Syamasundara dasa: Alexander accepted Plato's three greatest values in life-truth, beauty, and goodness-as values to be accepted by the majority. Srila Prabhupada: Unfortunately, in the material world, no one likes the truth. At least in this age, the majority of people are not truthful. As soon as one becomes truthful, he becomes a brahmana. Where are the brahmanas in this age? Kalau sudra sambhava. In Kali-yuga, everyone is a sudra. If Alexander thinks that everyone will accept truthfulness as a great value, he is mistaken. Syamasundara dasa: For Alexander, there is a practical criterion for truth, but he preferred the coherence principle by which the majority opinion determined truth by mutual agreement. Srila Prabhupada: Because he is European, he is thinking in a democratic way. The hard fact is that truth is not accepted by ordinary men. Truth is truth. Either it is in your mind or not; truth is absolute. Only highly elevated persons can understand the truth. Out of many truthful men, perhaps only one can understand Krsna as He is. Syamasundara dasa: Alexander defines a good person as one who integrates and controls his impulses for the best interests of himself and society. Srila Prabhupada: This is also described in Vedic literature: tapasa brahmacaryena samena ca damena ca tyagena satya-saucabhyam yamena niyamena va “To concentrate the mind, one must observe a life of celibacy and not fall down. One must undergo the austerity of voluntarily giving up sense enjoyment. One must then control the mind and senses, give charity, be truthful, clean and nonviolent, follow the regulative principles, and regularly chant the holy name of the Lord.” (Bhag. 6.1.13) these are the processes by which we may become perfect, but if we bcome dvotees of Krsna, we immediately attain all good qualities. Yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah. “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.” (Bhag. 5.18.12) Syamasundara dasa: In the second sense of the word “good,” Alexander says that whatever enhances man's welfare or happiness is good. Srila Prabhupada: That is not necessarily so. One may open hospitals to help people, but spreading Krsna consciousness is greater welfare work. What is really good for man is Krsna bhakti. Nothing else. Syamasundara dasa: Alexander maintains that goodness consists of modifications in the environment that will aid man in his spiritual pursuits. Srila Prabhupada: That is what we are trying to do in this Krsna consciousness movement. It is not that everyone can follow the regulative principles strictly. We are proposing that people chant Hare Krsna. Whatever the situation, somehow or other, we must engage our mind in Krsna. Rupa Gosvami said: yena tena prakarena manah krsne nivesayet. “Never mind the rules and regulations. Just fix your mind on Krsna! As soon as you become Krsna conscious, the regulative principles will be your servants.”

lol, here it comes again!

Syamasundara dasa: Alexander believed that man, being part of God, is capable of cooperating with God to make further progress in the universe. Srila Prabhupada: Yes, that is real life, cooperating with God. But in this material world, man is uncooperative. Krsna says, “Surrender unto Me,” But no one wants to do this. Even when people attain the highest levels of human life wherein their karma is regulated and they possess knowledge and yogic abilities, they still will not surrender to Krsna. krsna-bhakta----niskama, ataeva ‘santa’ bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kami----sakali ‘asanta’ “Because a devotee of Lord Krsna is desireless, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jnanis desire liberation, and yogis desire material opulence; therefore they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful.” (Caitanya-caritamrta, Madh. 19.149) The karmis want sense enjoyment, the jnanis want mukti, liberation, and the yogis want yoga-siddhis, the yoga powers. All these people are demanding various things: sense gratification, liberation, mystic powers. Only the Krsna-bhakta makes no demands. he says, “Dear Lord, I am Your ternal servitor. I surrender unto You. Now do whatever You like with me.” bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram suhrdam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati “The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.” (Bg. 5.29) By understanding that Krsna is the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend, we can become santa, peaceful. Syamasundara dasa: Alexander felt that man should cooperate with God in order to usher in a higher stage of consciousness, the next stage of evolution. This is man's responsibility. Srila Prabhupada: But what is the next stage of evolution? when man is prepared to cooperate with God, he has already attained teh highest position. Unfortunately, no one wants to cooperate. There is simply enjoyment; there is no more evolution. You have already attained the highest form of evolution. mam ca yo ’vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate “One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” (Bg. 14.26) The Brahman platform is already attained; he doesn't have to strive to become Brahman. He immediately transcends the three gunas and comes to the platform of spirit. Without being Brahman, how can you serve the Supreme Brahman?

"Well if God didn't want us to eat animals then why did He make them taste like meat?" lol, that is very funny! Oh, I had to sober up though at thinking they're seriously saying that.

Yes. Prabhupada!

Syamasundara dasa: Alexander believes that lower organisms strive to emulate higher. Animals strive to become like men, and men strive to become like gods. Srila Prabhupada: There is no question of striving. It is by nature's way that the lower animals come to the platform of men. The living entity evolves from one life form to another, but this is with the help of nature. This law holds, up to the human platform. Having developed consciousness, the human being has the power of discrimination. Originally, the soul is given independence. Krsna tells Arjuna, “Whatever you like, you do.” (Bg. 18.63) God is the supersoul, and we are the jiva souls subordinate to Him. Therefore we are called tatastha, which means we are marginal; we can go either way. We may take God's side, or maya's side. that is our choice. When we don't want to serve God, we are sent to maya to serve her. Man's position as a subordinate remains the same, but in maya he thinks, “I am the master.” This is just like a child trying to act against his father's wishes. When he is given a chance to do as he likes, the child thinks, “Oh, I am independent now.” Actually he is never independent, but he thinks that he is. When death comes, no one is independent. Although man continually serves maya life after life, he still thinks of himself as independent. Only when we surrender to Krsna do we enjoy our real independence. Syamasundara dasa: But lower forms try to emulate higher ones? Srila Prabhupada: That is natural. Everyone wants a higher position because everyone is trying to be master. That is the whole problem. One can be a master to some extent: a head clerk in an office, a president, or prime minister. There is much ambition in hte material world because materialistic men are guided by the idea that “I shall become like Krsna.” When their efforts fail in the material world, they strive to merge into Krsna. This is Mayavadi philosophy. Not knowing that they are already Brahman, spirit soul, they consider themselves the Supreme Brahman, God Himself. therefore they sit and meditate, thinking, “I am moving the sun. I am moving the moon.” This is simply imagination. This is the last snare of maya. Maya first of all allures us to become a big merchant, a prime minister, a president. Maya is always saying, “Become this, become that, become, become.” Maya is always telling us to work under her direction. Finally, she says, “Now you have failed in all these things. It is better now that you become God, and attain your real status again.” So the living entity begins to think, “I am God,” but maya is still kicking him. As soon as this so-called God gets some toothache, he runs to the doctor. He dows not stop to think, “What kind of God am I?” Syamasundara dasa: But what is that urge for promotion? Srila Prabhupada: It is not the individual's urge. Nature is giving the impetus. For instance, when you were a child, there wa no sex urge, but when you attained adolescence, immediately the sex urge became manifest. Similarly, the perfection of consciousness is there, but unless you come to the platform of human life, it will not develop. Syamasundara dasa: Is there also an urge among lower animals to improve themselves, to be promoted? Srila Prabhupada: Yes, but all that is being carried out by nature. That is evolution. Darwin has taken this idea from the Vedas, but he has no idea of the soul. The only business of animals is eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. You may call this the struggle for existence. They are simply trying to live, they have no other ambition. If a man, having attained the human stage, is interested only in these things, he is no better than an animal. Nowadays, these are being taught by modern civilization. They teach you how to live comfortably with a car, a bungalow, a girl friend, and restaurants. All living entities in this material world have the propensity to enjoy. On one platform the living entity enhoys certain types of pleasure, but he is always wanting more. It is the spirit of material enjoyment that brings about the disease of materialistic life. Syamasundara dasa: So the urge to advance is perverted by the urge to enjoy? Srila Prabhupada: Yes, perverted. The living entity's position is to serve Krsna, but instead he is serving his senses and thinking that he is enjoying. You can see how everyone is working hard day and night in order to enjoy. Everyone is thinking that he will be happy if he just becomes a millionaire. Animals work hard to get some food, and as soon as they acquire food, they are satisfied. But human beings are not so easily satisfied. They are so passionate they are constantly working very hard to be happy. People do not understand that in material life, they cannot be happy in any position. Syamasundara dasa: Can the urge to advance be the desire to become godly? Srila Prabhupada: Desire means that one has lost his real happiness dancing with God like the gopis. Änanda-mayo ’bhyasat. The Vedanta-sutra says that by nature, the living entity wants ananda, bliss. Because he seeks ananda in a perverted way, he is confused and frustrated; therefore he thinks, “Not this state but that will give me happiness.” However, when he goes to his desired state, he again finds unhappiness. This is because he is seeking ananda in a perverted way. In Vaikunthaloka, there is eternal happiness becasue everyone is surrendered to Krsna. They are all concerned with making Krsna happy. Only on that platform will we avoid confusion and frustration. Syamasundara dasa: Alexander says that at this point, we cannot know the qualities of the next stage of evolution. Srila Prabhupada: He may not know, but we know. One who has Krsna as his master and teacher knows everything. Yasmin vijnate sarvam eva vijnatam bhavati. If you understand Krsna, you understand everything.