Standard of Living

[Guest guest]

Srila Prabhupada

April 14, 1975

 

What is the difference between a human dying after forty years or hundred years? Trees dies after thousands of years. Does it mean the trees are better than humans? If one dies after one thousand years, does it mean his life is successful? Who is allowing you to live long? If you try to live longer, the trees are living longer than you. Then a tree is better than you? If by living longer you want to take some credit, then trees should be given that credit. That is the point. Many big, big men, they lived for short time. Just like Shankaracarya lived for thirty-two years, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu lived for forty-eight years. They're still living! There are so many followers of Shankaracarya, so many followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Krishna lived for 125 years and Krishna is still living.

 

 

[maadhav 0]

it is what you do, how much and how well,

for Krishna and His devotees;

for Hindus and Hinduism, and Hindustan,

how sin-free you lived and helped other live sin-free,

etc.

 

[barney 0]

If Srila Prabhupada wants to compare human to tree, I would sya the trees are better than human. They do not protest, sin against human beings, starve others to death, speak eveil of others, kill others for pleasure, destroy family, demand money to do service and many other sins known to man.

 

Trees for your inofrmation trees provide shade, fruits, its wood for man to bulit whatever he needs such as building his house, to make fire to cook his food, make a sampan to travel on water, bridge to cross a river and many other services thant man cannot provide. So to me a tree is much more better than human beings. Many other living creatures are far more better than man as what I have observed. Trees do not discriminate who is taking shelter under it but man will. If someone takes shelter at your veranda you would chase him away if he is below your status. So, I would say any living entity beside man are far more greater than man himself.

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna,

 

Excellent point, Barney.

 

Intelligence is such a thing that it gives the human being the potential to do so much good in the world to exceed the good of even millions of trees. Similarly, misuse of intelligence (which is now fulfilled potential as can be seen in the world today) causes more destruction by one human than millions of trees.

 

If intelligence is serving our senses, destruction is the result.

 

If intelligence is serving God, bliss is the result.

 

That's the only good thing about being a human.

 

Your aspiring servant.