Gauradasa

When we are on the material platform, there are different types of religions—Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and so on. These are instituted for a particular time, a particular country or a particular person. Consequently there are differences. Christian principles are different from Hindu principles, and Hindu principles are different from Muslim and Buddhist principles. These may be considered on the material platform, but when we come to the platform of transcendental devotional service, there are no such considerations. The transcendental service of the Lord (sädhana-bhakti) is above these principles. The world is anxious for religious unity, and that common platform can be achieved in transcendental devotional service, the verdict of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. When one becomes a Vaiñëava, he becomes transcendental to all these limited considerations. Puñöa Kåñëa: "The traditional charge against Hinduism is that it is fatalistic, it inhibits progress by making people slaves to the inevitability of what is to happen. How far is this charge true?" Çréla Prabhupäda: The charge is false. Those who have made that charge do not know what "Hinduism" is. First of all, the Vedic scriptures make no mention of such a thing as "Hinduism." but they do mention sanätana-dharma, the eternal and universal religion, and also varëäçrama-dharma, the natural organization of human society. That we can find in the Vedic scriptures.It is a false charge that the Vedic system inhibits the progress of mankind. What is that "progress"? A dog is running here and there on four legs, and you are running on four wheels. Is that progress? Pusta Krsna: Question number three. "It is said that the greatest strength of Hinduism is its catholicity, or breadth of outlook, but that this is also its greatest weakness, in that there are very few common prescribed religious observances which are obligatory for all, as in other religions. Is it necessary and possible to outline certain basic minimum observances for all Hindus?" Srila Prabhupäda: So far as the Vedic religion is concerned, it is not simply for the so-called Hindus. This is sanätana-dharma, the eternal and universal nature and duty of every living being. It is for all living entities. That is why it is called sanätana-dharma. The living entity is sanätana, or eternal; God is sanätana; and there is sanätana-dhäma, the Lord's eternal abode. As Kåñëa describes in the Bhagavad-gitä [8.20] "Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal." Krsna Himself is described as sanätanaù, the supreme eternal. So actually, the Vedic system is called sanätana-dharma, not Hindu dharma. This is a wrong conception. This sanätana-dharma is meant for all, not just the so-called Hindus. The very term "Hindu" is a misconception. The Muslims referred to the Indian people, who lived on the other side of the river Sind, as "Sindus"—actually, due to the peculiarities of pronunciation, as "Hindus." In any case, the Muslims called India "Hindustan," which means "the land on the other side of the river Sind, or 'Hind.'" Otherwise, "Hindustan" has no Vedic reference. So this "Hindu dharma" has no Vedic reference.The real Vedic dharma is sanätana-dharma, or varnasrama-dharma. Sanätana-dharma, or Vedic dharma, is being disobeyed, distorted, and misrepresented and come to be misunderstood as "Hinduism." That is a fake understanding. Study sanätana-dharma, or varëäçrama-dharma. Then we'll understand what the Vedic religion is.Every living entity is eternal, sanätana. God is also eternal, and we can live with God in His sanätana-dhäma, His eternal abode. This reciprocation is called sanätana-dharma, the eternal nature and duty of the living being. So Vedic religion means this sanätana-dharma, not "Hindu dharma." India, like the rest of the world, has given up the real religious system—sanätana or varnasrama-dharma..India has accepted a hodgepodge thing called "Hinduism." So there is trouble. Everywhere, but in India especially, people should know that the real religion is this Vedic system. Vedic religion means varnäsrama-dharma. Krsna says—God says—cätur-varnyam mayä srstam: [bg. 4.13] "For spiritual and material progress, the four occupational divisions of society have been set up by Me." So that is obligatory, just as the state law is obligatory. You cannot say, "I don't accept this law." No. You have to accept it if you want to have a happy life. You cannot become an outlaw. Then you'll not be happy. You'll be punished.

Sometimes the members of the Krsna Consciousness Society are afraid of the impending danger of world war and ask what would happen to them if a war should occur. In all kinds of danger, they should be confident of their protection by the Visnudütas or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gitä (kaunteya pratijänhi na me bhaktya prayaçyati [bg. 9.31]). Material danger is not meant for devotees. This is also confirmed in Srimad-Bhägavatam. Padam padam yad vipadäm na tesäm: in this material world there are dangers at every step, but they are not meant for devotees who have fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord. The pure devotees of Lord Viñëu may rest assured of the Lord's protection, and as long as they are in this material world they should fully engage in devotional service by preaching the cult of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu and Lord Krsna, namely the Hare Krsna movement of Krsna consciousness. When the residents of this earth become atheistic and godless, they descend to the status of animals like dogs and hogs, and thus their only business is to bark among themselves. This is dharmasya gläni, deviation from the goal of life. Human life is meant for attaining the highest perfection of Krsna consciousness, but when people are godless and the presidents or kings are unnecessarily puffed up with military power, their business is to fight and increase the military strength of their different states. Nowadays, it appears that every state is busy manufacturing atomic weapons to prepare for a third world war. Such preparations are certainly unnecessary; they reflect the false pride of the heads of state. The real business of a chief executive is to see to the happiness of the mass of people by training them in Krsna consciousness in different divisions of life. A leader should train the people as brähmaëas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and südras and engage them in various occupational duties, thus helping them progress toward Krsna consciousness. Instead, however, rogues and thieves in the guise of protectors arrange for a voting system, and in the name of democracy they come to power by hook or crook and exploit the citizens. Even long, long ago, asuras, persons devoid of God consciousness, became the heads of state, and now this is happening again. The various states of the world are preoccupied with arranging for military strength. Sometimes they spend 65% of the government's revenue for this purpose. Why should people's hard-earned money be spent in this way? Because of the present world situation, Kåñëa has descended in the form of the Hare Krsna movement. This is quite natural, for without the Hare Krsna movement the world cannot be peaceful and happy. The world is so conceived that even if we make a very good arrangement, it will gradually deteriorate. After World War I an armistice was signed, and there was a short period of peace, but World War II soon came, and now that that is over they are making preparations for World War III. This is the function of time (käla) in the material world. We build up a very nice house, and after fifty years it deteriorates, and after one hundred years it deteriorates even more. Similarly, when the body is young, people care for it, always lavishing affection upon it and kissing it, but when it grows old no one cares for it. This is the nature of the material world—even if a very good adjustment is made, it will in course of time be vanquished. Therefore adjustments are periodically required, and from age to age the Supreme Lord or His representative come to make adjustments in the direction of civilization. Thus Sri Krsna descends many times to establish or rejuvenate many different religions. From Raja Vidya : The world is so conceived that even if we make a very good arrangement, it will gradually deteriorate. After World War I an armistice was signed, and there was a short period of peace, but World War II soon came, and now that that is over they are making preparations for World War III. This is the function of time (käla) in the material world. We build up a very nice house, and after fifty years it deteriorates, and after one hundred years it deteriorates even more. Similarly, when the body is young, people care for it, always lavishing affection upon it and kissing it, but when it grows old no one cares for it. This is the nature of the material world—even if a very good adjustment is made, it will in course of time be vanquished. Therefore adjustments are periodically required, and from age to age the Supreme Lord or His representative come to make adjustments in the direction of civilization. Thus Krsna descends many times to establish or rejuvenate many different religions. ( 7 of 217 quotes )

A living being is placed in a particular position or moved by the order of the Supreme Lord. In modern history, Napoleon, Akbar, Alexander, Gandhi, Shubhash and Nehru all are servants of the Lord, and are placed in and removed from their respective positions by the supreme will of the Lord. None of them is independent. Within this material world, one should understand the value of material opulence, longevity and influence. There have been many great politicians and military commanders like Napoleon, Hitler, Shubhash Chandra Bose and Gandhi, but as soon as their lives were finished, their popularity, influence and everything else were finished also. Prahläda Mahäräja gathered the same experience by seeing the activities of Hiraëyakaçipu, his great father.Prahläda Mahäräja did not give any importance to anything in this material world. No one can maintain his body or material achievements forever. A Vaiñëava can understand that nothing within this material world, not even that which is powerful, opulent or influential, can endure. At any time such things may be vanquished. And who can vanquish them? The Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should understand that no one is greater than the Supreme Great. Since the Supreme Great demands surrender, every intelligent man must agree to this proposal to be saved from the wheel of repeated birth, death, old age and disease. Mahatma Gandhi started the hari-jana movement to purify the untouchables, but he was a failure because he thought that one could become a hari-jana, a personal associate of the Lord, through some kind of material adjustment. That is not possible. Unless one fully realizes that he is not the body but is a spiritual soul, there is no question of his becoming a hari-jana. Those who do not follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu and His disciplic succession cannot distinguish between matter and spirit, and therefore all their ideas are but a mixed-up hodgepodge of problems. They are virtually lost in the bewildering network of Mäyädevé. Gandhi is known for having started the movement of nonviolent civil disobedience in India, but about five hundred years before him, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu started His movement of nonviolent civil disobedience to the order of Chand Kazi. It is not necessary to commit violence to stop the opposition from hindering a movement, for one can kill their demoniac behavior with reason and argument. I was one of the managers of Dr. Bose’s laboratory in Calcutta. I was a newly married young man, addicted to Gandhi’s movement and dressed in khadi. Fortunately, even at our first meeting His Divine Grace ( Srila Bhaktissidhanta Sarasvati Thakura ) advised me to preach the cult of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu in English in the Western countries. Because at that time I was a complete nationalist, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi’s, I submitted to His Divine Grace that unless our country were freed from foreign subjugation, no one would hear the message of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu seriously. Of course, we had some argument on this subject, but at last I was defeated and convinced that Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s message is the only panacea for suffering humanity. In the Viñëu-dharmottara it is said "Only a person who is initiated as a Vaiñëava and executing devotional service in Kåñëa consciousness has the right to touch the body of the Deity." In India there was agitation during Gandhi's political movement because the lowborn classes of men like street-sweepers and caëòälas are prohibited, according to the Vedic system, from entering the temple. Due to their unclean habits they are prohibited, but also given other facilities to be elevated to the highest grade of devotional service by association with pure devotees. A man born in any family is not barred, but must be cleansed. Gandhi wanted to make them clean simply by stamping them with a fictitious name, harijana ("children of God"), and so there was a great tug-of-war between the temple owners and Gandhi's followers. Only one who is properly initiated & following the rules and regulations, can enter, and touch the Deity—not all. And one who touches the body of the Deity, following such regulative principles, is immediately delivered from the contamination of material sins, and all of his desires become fulfilled without delay. ( 23 of 1,402 quotes )

Prabhupada: Swastika is also there, Vedic mark. Especially for the impersonalists. But we take direct, beautiful Krsna, and worship Him. There was no swastika on Arjuna's chariot. Kapidhbaja means whose flag is marked with a picture of Hanuman. So Arjuna's chariot had the flag of Hanuman on it. Satyaraja Dasa ( Prabhupada's disciple, from his book Om Shalom ) Satyaräja Däsa: Oh, yes. The swastika as well. Er...actually it is a swastika in reverse. Let me make that perfectly clear. These are ancient Vedic symbols. To my knowledge, they were utilized in the Vedic tradition centuries before they were used by the Germans, for the swastika, and the Star of David, by the Jews. Syamasundara: Just like when we investigate different folklores, different mythologies all over the world, we find certain symbols which are the same. For instance the swastika, we find that in the Indian mythology and you find it in Mäyä or Inca, western Indians' mythologies as well. And different symbols which are common to man all over the globe, whether they are primitive or whether they are advanced, Carl Jung says that these are archetypal images which for thousands of generations have been passed on in men's consciousness. So that we are composed not only of our own individual thoughts and ingredients but also the ingredients of our ancestors. Is this a fact? Prabhupäda: Yes. That is called tradition. That is called tradition. But that is not paramparä. Paramparä is different. Paramparä means we get the right knowledge from the supreme. It is not something archetypal. Syämasundara: Acquired. Archetypal. Means the original type. Prabhupäda: My acquired knowledge can be changed by understanding from superior. Just like generally we have got bodily concept of life, but Krsna says, "No. You are not this body." So this knowledge is not coming to me from tradition, but I learn it from great authorities like Krsna.