The regulative principles, association, and hinderances to our devotional service FAQ



THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLES

MEAT EATING

GAMBLING/SPECULATION

ILLICIT SEX AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS

INTOXICATION

TRUTHFULNESS

ASSOCIATION AND RELATIONSHIPS

OTHER HINDERANCES AND FORMS OF MAYA ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH









THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLES


I find I keep falling down though I am trying to stick to the principles.

We cannot advance in spiritual life by sheer will-power, but by gradually changing our taste for material enjoyment and exploitation into a taste for spiritual pleasure. The passionate mood of material enjoyment is always laced with anxiety and insecurity, because we know we may lose our material position at any time. But spiritual life is not like that; it is based on the real desire of the soul for eternal enjoyment and unconditional happiness.

By chanting the Holy Name, taking only food sanctified by offering it to the Lord with love and devotion, avoiding material sense gratification as far as possible and studying the esoteric Vedic scriptures, gradually the taste for spiritual activities develops. This transcendental taste is essential, and its development cannot be forced or rushed. We have lifetimes of impressions of material existence in our minds. This cannot be erased in a fortnight, but we have to create many impressions of spiritual quality to change the quality of consciousness. That is why we chant again and again over many years.



Are the regulative principles mandatory?




Could you give an overview of why we follow the regulative principles? Why are you strict about this?
We see in life that gambling serves as a center for all kind of sinful activities. Where there is a gambling place, there automatically are also meat eating, intoxication, strip shows, prostitution, material entertainment and all kinds of other nonsense available.

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is described that when Emperor Parīkṣit met the personality of Kali, he banned Kali from his kingdom:


Kali, afraid for his life, surrendered and begged from the King that he be allowed someplace to reside.


So Kali lives in any place where sinful activities are performed. Gambling defeats truthfulness, illicit sex contaminates cleanliness, meat-eating destroys mercy and intoxication sabotages any attempt at austerity. So we are to avoid all these nonsense activities. The idea of the Vedic regulative principles is that they are prohibitions intended to support cultivation of the positive principles of truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy and austerity. These positive principles are given in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.17.24:


So the actual Vedic principles of tapaḥ śaucaṁ dayā satyam―austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness―are spoiled by the vices of intoxication, illicit sex, meat-eating and gambling respectively. Therefore the actual followers of the Vedas avoid all forms of these materialistic activities so they can cultivate the virtues. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in the Purport to this śloka:


Anyone who attempts to weaken these principles is an agent of Kali; therefore like Mahārāja Parīkṣit, we have to be strong to defend against such bad influences and drive them far away from our sphere of influence. Otherwise if we compromise with the agents of māyā out of weakness before long we shall become simply dancing dogs:


Such fools may appear in the dress of devotees and speak eloquently with all reason and argument, but they are still in the animalistic consciousness of sense enjoyment; therefore their association must be avoided. Certainly they cannot be allowed to speak freely in an association of transcendentalists such as our esoteric school. Therefore we are very firm to restrict their influence and activities, just like Mahārāja Parīkṣit. This is the path that leads to knowledge.





Imagine a person who has never had the fortune of coming across the teachings of the the Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada, or Rupa Gosvami and has absolutely no glimpse of the Vedic system of living. Let's call him Ramdas. Ramdas is uneducated and has absolutely no 'spiritual knowledge.' Ramdas was born into a meat eating family and never thought about the consequences of his meat-eating habit, or the fact that he occasionally has a drink with friends. However, Ramdas is a true Ram 'Bhakt'. In his heart is true love for God and when he prays, his thoughts are pure undiluted devotion. He loves to sing the glories of the Lord and to chant his name everyday. Is he not dear to the Lord?

In other words, our scriptures say that in Kaliyuga simply chanting the name of the lord (even if one doesn't feel ecstatic about it or even if one is thinking of something else while uttering it) is sufficient to grant us the mercy of the lord. If this is really true, then how does it matter whether one observes the strict rules and regulations? Is it implied that one cannot completely devote oneself to the Lord if one does not follow the rules? But surely, that cannot be true because 'simply chanting the name of the Lord' grants us his mercy. And truly, its sounds so simple - just chant his name. Why then must one spend that time in adjusting to new rules and regulations? In the Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Gosvami says 'Meat eating destroys mercy, gambling destroys honesty..." and so on for each of the four legs of the Bull of Dharma. But is our aim to be merciful, honest.. etc.? Our aim is to seek the Lord - and if we can really do it by simply chanting his name then we do we need to do all these other things?


In almost 40 years of preaching I have never met a person like 'Ramdas'. Instead my observation has been that people who eat meat can never understand even the most basic tenets of Vedic spiritual philosophy, such as the immortality of the soul described in the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gita.

Claiming to love God without also taking good care of His children is mere lip service. If someone says that he loves you, but beats up your kids every day, are you going to believe him? A real lover of God does not kill and eat animals. What is the need when there is adequate vegetarian food available?

My experience is that meat-eating blocks spiritual intelligence due to accumulated bad karma. A violent person cannot develop love, because they are only interested in satisfying their senses. They are caught between greed for material things, and fear of losing them.

When I was in the US recently I observed that the people are extremely materially opulent, but they are also fearful and selfish. Practically everyone eats meat. If you try to talk to them about spiritual philosophy, with few exceptions they are not interested. There is a great deal of monistic pseudo-religion.

Actually they want to become God, and they express this by imitating God according to their conception. But their conception is that God is the Supreme Predator, at the top of the food chain. This demoniac idea is a projection of their own nature.


Impersonalists accuse devotees of making God in our own image, but the meat-eaters are really the ones who do this. Our conception of God is that He has innumerable wonderful transcendental qualities, of which 64 are prominent:


These transcendental qualities of the Lord are the impetus for love of Godhead. So unless someone accurately understands and directly appreciates these transcendental qualities of the Lord by realization of His transcendental form and activities, there may be some temporary religious sentiment, but there cannot be actual transcendental love of Godhead.

Here is another reply to the same question by one of our students:













MEAT EATING

FOR THE MAJORITY OF QUESTIONS ON MEAT-EATING PLEASE SEE THE "FOOD AND PRASADAM FAQ."


Do animals incur sin for killing?

Animals are directly guided by Supersoul, and they implicitly obey His direction. They act only according to natural law (their previous karma) and therefore according to the Vedas there is no sin for animals. Human beings may have more intelligence than animals, but what good is it when they misuse their intelligence to act against natural law? A human being can commit so many sins in one lifetime that he will have to take millions of births as an animal because of the heavy karma he has created. The secret of avoiding sin is controlling the tongue.









GAMBLING/SPECULATION


What is speculation?

There are two kinds of speculation: philosophical speculation and mental speculation. The difference is that philosophical speculation uses deductive logic, and mental speculation uses inductive logic. You can look up these terms on the web; we use the standard definitions. Also, here is a short discussion:

Can you please give some practical examples of what is and isn't speculation?

When we imagine about the facts that did not happen yet, are we speculating?

Yes. But speculation may be based on facts, on good evidence, or it may be pure imagination. Everyone has to think about the possible consequences of his actions; that is one of the primary functions of intelligence. But this may be philosophical speculation (based on facts) or mental speculation (pure imagination). For example:

Before seeing the results of our check-up, if we do fear that we have a disease, are we speculating?

Yes. There are no facts, but we want to come to some conclusion. The same symptoms could mean a flu or cancer; only a proper checkup and diagnosis will tell the difference. People who worry about every little ache or pain are projecting a negative emotional state onto their bodies, and the stress from this is probably more damaging to their health than any disease, especially in the long run.

Are "all sort of dreams" speculations?

Dreaming is necessary, because that is how we discover our real feelings and desires. We construct scenarios and imagine how we would act or feel. But we should then check our dreams with the scriptures, to see if they have any scope in Kṛṣṇa's devotional service. I may dream of becoming a great pop star, and get all excited about it. But this would be inconsistent with being a devotee.

If we make assumptions, are we speculating?

Yes. But whether our assumptions are factual or imaginary is exactly what makes the difference between whether it is philosophical speculation or mental speculation. For example, the scientists start from the assumption "There is no God; the universe is created by matter itself." Then they speculate to try to explain their theory. Of course this has led them and their followers into so much difficulty, because the basic assumption is wrong.

If we have money in the stock exchange, are we speculating or gambling?

That depends if we know what we are doing. There is some risk associated with any business, even something as conservative as farming and raising cows. If someone is incompetent, he may choose to go the safe route and just be an employee. But if one is expert he can run his own business successfully in the area of his expertise. That is not speculation; it is expertise, competence.

Most people lose money in the stock market, and that is precisely because it is a very clever business designed to take money from foolish people and transfer it to the expert capitalists. In a sense it is like gambling because the professionals in the stock market can trade without commission, just like the casino can set the odds of the gambling machines and games. But if one is expert, then there is no problem. Studies have shown that most people making guesses about the stock market are right only about 30% of the time; but an expert can be right as much as 80% of the time using various testing methodologies. That's good enough to make a good business, if you know how to manage the risk.

If it is gambling, than isn't it "gambling" just to have or own "money"? Because its value can raise or fall.

Yes, the present money is based on nothing but promises. But in Vedic society, money is actual physical gold, so its value is certain. Gambling means that one goes into something without certainty or knowing the risk, like when the Pāṇḍavas were invited to a cheating dice game. Just getting out of bed in the morning involves some risk. If we try to avoid all risk then we will become crazy, living in hermetically sealed room out of fear of everyone and everything. The key is to become expert enough to manage the risk intelligently.

Śrīla Prabhupāda used to say, "Make the best use of a bad bargain." In other words, human life is inherently risky and uncertain, is full of inconveniences and suffering, and ends in death. Therefore we should take the opportunity to use this short life to attain the highest aim. That is real intelligence. There may be so many uncertainties, but we can count on the path of the Esoteric Teaching to lead us to the greatest gain. To do this we have to use our intelligence, and there will be times when we will be wrong, but if we are humble we can adjust our thinking until we get the proper conclusions given by guru-śāstra-sadhu, as we have explained so many times.

So speculation is always more or less uncertain, depending on the validity of the assumptions and the logical process. Inductive logic based on false assumptions is mental speculation, and deductive logic based on infallible Vedic knowledge is philosophical speculation. Speculation is a necessary part of human life, like dreaming, planning one's future actions, business and strategy. There is some risk of error in any kind of speculation, but if one is expert or has access to expert advice from Vedic sources, then one can reach correct conclusions nearly all the time, and that is good enough to reach complete self-realization, the highest goal of human life.

So when we use the term speculation without qualification, such as "No gambling or speculation," we mean mental speculation using inductive logic on unproven assumptions. Actually some kind of speculation is necessary in so many human activities, but if we stay in harmony with Vedic knowledge and just use deductive logic, Śrīla Prabhupāda calls that 'philosophical speculation.' Then we will come to correct conclusions.





What is the difference between gambling and business?

Knowledge and competence. If someone has knowledge of a particular line of business, they can make a profit. But if they go into business without this knowledge, it is gambling or speculation and most likely, they will lose. This is true of any business, whether stock trading or real estate or baking bread. Why do 80% of restaurants fail? Why do 90% of stock traders lose? Why do most real estate brokers go out of business? Insufficient knowledge or competence. Why do most people fail to attain self-realization? The same. We also see that gambling, in the sense of games of chance like casinos, are a hub of sinful activity, therefore better to avoid that bad association.




Is the stock market gambling?

If someone attempts to play poker or the stock market without knowing what they are doing, then that certainly is gambling. Just like sitting down behind the controls of a plane or submarine without proper knowledge and training is dangerous.

If you know what you're doing, trading options is not so risky. If not, you can lose your shirt. Same with poker. Similarly, trying to advance in spiritual life without knowledge or experienced guidance is risky. At the very least, it is a waste of our irreplaceable valuable time.Expert knowledge is what makes the difference between a risky proposition and a steady living in any field.

So the devotees should be expert in whatever they do, but they should avoid risky activities that they do not have the expert knowledge necessary to succeed.




I find I come up with all sorts of speculative conclusions which end up being detrimental to my spiritual practice.

This is why Śrīla Bhaktisidhanta Sarasvatī Ṭhākur said, "One must beat his mind a hundred times in the morning with a stick, and a hundred times in the evening with a shoe." You cannot trust your mind; you must use your intelligence to determine whether its thoughts and reasoning are correct according to the Esoteric Teaching. If you do not censor and discipline your rascal mind, you will go on spreading its nonsense thoughts to everyone around you, and you will be a spiritual liability.

Try to use your God-given intelligence to understand this Esoteric Teaching; not just literally or superficially, on the mental level, but dynamically, on the level of intelligence. It is very difficult to understand this Teaching from the bottom up, but it is easy to understand it from the top down. By bottom-up I mean, understanding all the rules and regulations, details of the philosophy and practices etc. By top-down I mean understanding that we are spirit souls who have an eternal relation with Kṛṣṇa in a certain rasa. When we serve Kṛṣṇa according to our natural rasa (sthāi-bhāva) then we are happy, and He is happy. Otherwise we will continue to be miserable because of rāsābhāsa. Try to understand and realize this deeply.












ILLICIT SEX AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS


What is illicit sex?

 Illicit sex is any sexual activity that is not part of a Vedic garbhādāna-saṁskāra ceremony for the conscious creation of a pure devotee child. There is an in depth discussion of this and the offences one makes to the Maha-mantra in the Chanting FAQ under the questions "I am following the principles. I am still having sex within marriage though. Can I chant the maha-mantra?" and "But is sex within marriage illicit?" (in the WHICH MANTRA section).




I read the discussion in the Chanting FAQ and I still think sex within marriage is not illicit.

It sounds like you are completely in illusion. The romantic ideal is based on sex attraction, and it is just sense gratification. The Vedas are very clear about what is acceptable sex life under regulative principles. We are not interested in your personal opinion in the matter, we are interested in what the scriptures say:


This community is not for propagating your personal opinions, but for discussing the Absolute Truths of the Esoteric Teaching.

Kṛṣṇa teaches that all actions performed or personal enjoyment create karma, which binds us to material existence:


Therefore according to the Esoteric Teaching, the only acceptable use for sex life is creating God-conscious children by performance of the garbhādāna-saṁskāra:


If you still think any other kind of sex is not illicit then you have not understood anything of the Esoteric Teaching; all of our hard work is lost on you. Simply you remain on the sentimental platform of your own mental speculation. This is animal consciousness.


The only real love is Kṛṣṇa's eternal, unconditional love for His parts and parcels, the living entities. Everyone else will cheat you. All other kinds of love are temporary and conditional, therefore they are material and false, part of The Big Lie.

How many times do we have to say this before you get it? Your hope of finding love in this material world is a false hope, exactly like a mirage of water in the desert. There is no water in the desert, therefore if we think we see water in the distance, it is simply a mirage. Similarly, if we think that love is available in this material world, it is just an illusion. You have to get past this illusion once and for all before you can make any meaningful spiritual progress.





So can there be real love between a man and a woman?

The truth is that earthly so-called love is just animal lust and fine words. Actually no human being can keep the promise to love someone forever. That is not human nature. So the whole thing is a play of cheaters and cheated as usual.

One of my teachers explained it very nicely: it is like a magnet, which has two poles, north and south. The north pole is God and the south pole is the living entity. Since opposite poles attract, when we love God we are spontaneously attracted to Him, and He to us. But when two living entities try to come too close together, just like similar poles of the magnet there is a repulsive force.

So this material love will always result in disaster; it is meant to fail. If nothing else, in material life one or the other will always die first. This is one of the great lessons of life, and it is better to learn it while young, otherwise one makes such foolish choices and spends one's middle years regretting them. Better to avoid the whole mess if possible, and just love God. He can and will actually reciprocate our love and affection.




So what about any kind of love for other humans?

Yes, of course we can have the highest kind of compassionate relationships with people when we develop love of God. In fact, the process of spiritual development is learning what real love is! Until we know that, we won't know what it really means to love someone and we end up loving them on the wrong platform - usually the temporary bodily platform - because we do not have the proper knowledge. Vaisnava compassion is compassion for the whole world, full of people suffering in material consciousness - not limited to bodily relations or family or society or country or other mundane things like that.It is compassion on the platform of spirit, because we must first restore our connection with the fountainhead of all perfect love.






Even though I want follow the principles I feel impelled by the sexual urge. How do I overcome it? I read OSHO and he says, to grow spiritually its very necessary that you enjoy sex fully and then you start. Is this true?

Well, this is the question.


The Esoteric Teaching follows the original Vedic scriptures and yoga principles. That means that we are Vaisnavas: transcendentalists working with pure spiritual methods in the mode of goodness. Sex life is in the mode of passion, and indulging in it leads to the mode of ignorance. As such, we do not accept the false idea that pandering to the senses results in satisfaction, and then we can make spiritual advancement free from material desire. For a transcendentalist, or pure follower of Vedanta, that is like associating with the enemy.
 
Read the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad-gita on the three modes of material nature, for background on what follows.
 
The idea that enjoying sex fully will lead to diminishing desire is false. This is an imaginary proposal only. Anyone who is experienced in life knows that the opposite is true: feeding the senses simply makes them stronger and harder to control. Indulging in sex life, or any kind of sense gratification, only makes the mind more agitated for material enjoyment, and real spiritual life becomes impossible. It is like trying to extinguish a fire by pouring gasoline on it.
 
Do not be seduced by this nonsense. The Osho people are envious; they like to use unrestricted sex life as a ploy to attact good people into their circle and then destroy their marriage. Even if you had the material facility to indulge in unrestricted sex life, by the time you learned from experience that indulgence only increases desire, it would be too late for you to make significant spiritual advancement in this lifetime. The path of indulgence (the left-hand path of the dark side) is an impractical fantasy. It leads only to destruction.
 
The real cure for sex desire is to control the senses by reducing our association with the modes of passion and ignorance, and increasing our association with the mode of goodness and spiritual energy. There are three ways to do this: with the body, mind and spirit.
 
As far as the body is concerned, first of all one must purify the diet. Agitating foods in the mode of passion and ignorance must be completely avoided. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and strong spices like chilis should be cut out, as well as all restaurant food and commercial processed products such as pancake and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, commercial masalas and processed white flour and white sugar.
 
Whole fresh organic foods, local grown if possible, prepared simply with the minumum of oil, salt and spices, is the recommended diet. Vegetables, grain, fruits and milk products are the best foods. Anything fried should be prepared in pure ghee.
 
All food partakes of the energy of the person who prepares it. Therefore one should take only pure sattvik food cooked by spiritually advanced people as an act of devotion, and offered to God. This is called prasadam. If you are married you should train your wife how to cook properly, offer the food to your Deity at home and take a tiffin to work. Never eat from street stalls or cafes. Do not take any drugs or liquor, or smoke. All these things will degrade your mind and agitate your senses.
 
Practice some light hatha-yoga exercise, especially stretching, sitting in padmasana and inverted poses such as plough and shoulderstand. This will help you calm the sex energy and train your mind to control your body, instead of the other way around.
 
Do not read popular literature, especially sex literature or novels, or watch TV. TV and cinema are full of sexually stimulating images that agitate the mind. Don't listen to filmi music; read Vedic literature instead. Educate yourself on the three modes of material nature, and avoid any association with the modes of passion and ignorance.
 
A man is known by the company he keeps. Do not go to ordinary parties, dinners or social events where you will mix with materialistic people. Try to make friends with spiritual-minded people who are detached from material enjoyment and follow the principles of spiritual life.
 
Do some charity work or volunteer with a local religious organization; this is karma-yoga or action in the mode of goodness. We have already several times suggested organizing a group of local people for studying the Esoteric Teaching. Helping to attract people to this Teaching will engage your mind and senses in devotional service, and you will forget all about sex life.
 
Study the Bhagavad-gita, especially the original edition by my Guru Maharaja. You can get a copy here. Educate yourself on the real methods of spiritual life, devotional service, and practice them as much as possible.
 
Finally, chant your mantra as much as possible. The Holy Name of God is extremely powerful association of transcendental sound vibration. In the beginning it may be difficult to concentrate your mind, due to too much association with passionate and ignorant people. But by steady practice you will master the senses and mind. Gradually increase your chanting to 3-4 hours a day.
 
The process of devotional service leads to detachment of the mind from the material senses and attachment for the spiritual name, form, and devotional service of the Lord. His body is made of pure transcendental bliss. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so attractive that if you see Him only once, you will never want to experience the so-called enjoyment of rubbing two material bodies together again. Our bodies are fragile bags of skin filled with rotting flesh, blood, stool and various diseases. Anyone who has even a little actual spiritual realization finds material sex life completely disgusting.
 
Add to this the fact that no materially conditioned living entity can love us nicely. Everyone in this material world is selfishly trying to gratify their own desires. We do not really care for others, only for ourselves. In this materialistic atmosphere, no one can give or experience real love.
 
But the Lord states in the scriptures that He accepts anyone who tries to love Him in any relationship, whether as a servant, friend, parent or conjugal lover. If we transfer our loving propensity from fallible human beings to the infallible Lord, then we shall achieve the emotional satisfaction that we are vainly trying to get from our relationships in this material world.
 
It is a fact that everyone we love in this world will eventually betray us. Human beings are limited, fallible, ignorant and ultimately subject to old age, disease and death. The pretty young women you now desire, in a few short years will be old, wrinkled hags. Do not be deceived by temporary appearances. All in this world is vanity, all is death. Be sober and use your intelligence to discriminate what is really worth your precious time and energy.
 
It is best to begin to develop spiritual habits and lifestyle while you are still young. Every devotee, even my spiritual master, regrets toward the end of life that he did not begin to serve the Lord in earnest sooner, before so many years of good energy are wasted. Your education, career, fortune, marriage and children, house and family are all temporary and illusory, and will be vanquished and devastated by the force of time.
 
But all effort on the path of spiritual life yields permanent results:







I have always seen masturbation as normal but am starting to realize the detrimental effects. How do I control the sexual energy? Is it possible?

Of course it is possible to stop illicit sex life. That is the normal condition. Anything else is a diseased condition of life. Once the illict sex habit is started, it is very difficult to stop, but it can be done by proper engagement in good association. If you are in good consciousness then you will forget all about the material body, its pleasure and pains.

If you try to fight against the material mind, you will just give it more strength. The trick to controlling the mind is to distract it from the senses with the mode of goodness and transcendental sound vibration. That's why going for a walk in the forest while hearing from Śrīla Prabhupāda works so well.

cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa
pramāthi balavad dṛḍham
tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye
vāyor iva su-duṣkaram

"For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kṛṣṇa, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind." [Bhagavad-gītā 6.34]


Here are some tips:

- Eat lightly, particularly if you are agitated. Avoid spicy foods.
- Do Sun Salutation exercise in the morning, followed by shoulderstand or other inverted postures.
- Count your blessings. Be happy for your wonderful relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
- Take long japa walks in the forest or countryside.
- If you have some ability in music, doing long kīrtanas and bhajanas is also helpful.
- And most of all, chanting and hearing your daily rounds very nicely.



Thus the best response to the ills of Kali-yuga is to leave home and live among sages in a monastic situation. I always recommend that every man shold devote at least 2-3 years out of his life to monastic training. That way he will never be overcome by the influence of sex life. Celibacy is very important in spiritual life.


Once we become addicted to sex life, it is very difficult to break this habit. The cure is to spend every moment in spiritual service. We recommend chanting 64 rounds of one's transcendental mantra daily. If one can not do that, then he must take up some practical service for the Supreme cause. One must be very motivated to escape the clutches of Māyā, which penetrates even our hearts with the desire for illicit sense enjoyment.






I heard that retaining the semen is good for spiritual life. Is this true?

Yes. Please listen to the start of this darshan for a discussion on the subject.

Also please review this book in the Vedabase: 24. Handbooks and reference.  Brahmacarya in Krsna Consciousness -  Bhakti Vikas Swami.  Chapter 26: Retention of Semen.

Here is an excerpt:


Is it OK to entertain sexual thoughts?

No. Here are some quotes about subtle sex:


TRANSLATION

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. Thus a sober and faithful person who knows the religious principles is temporarily purified of all sins performed with his body, words and mind. These sins are like the dried leaves of creepers beneath a bamboo tree, which may be burned by fire although their roots remain to grow again at the first opportunity

PURPORT

Tapah is explained in the smtti-sastra as follows: manasas cendriyanam ca aikagryam paramam tapah. "Complete control of the mind and senses and their complete concentration on one kind of activity is called tapah." Our Krsna consciousness movement is teaching people how to concentrate the mind on devotional service. This is first-class tapah. Brahmacarya, the life of celibacy, has eight aspects: one should not think of women, speak about sex life, dally with women, look lustfully at women, talk intimately with women or decide to engage in sexual intercourse, nor should one endeavor for sex life or engage in sex life. One should not even think of women or look at them, to say nothing of talking with them. This is called first-class brahmacarya. If a brahmacari or sannyasi talks with a woman in a secluded place, naturally there will be a possibility of sex life without anyone's knowledge. Therefore a complete brahmacari practices just the opposite. If one is a perfect brahmacari, he can very easily control the mind and senses, give charity, speak truthfully and so forth. To begin, however, one must control the tongue and the process of eating.

-Sb 6.1.13

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....Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the teacher of the entire world, and therefore He enforced this exemplary punishment to establish that illicit sexual connections are never allowed by Vaisnava philosophy. This was His purpose in chastising Junior Haridasa. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is in fact the most magnanimous incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He strictly prohibited illicit sex.

TRANSLATION

After all the devotees saw this example, a mentality of fear grew among them. Therefore they all stopped talking with women, even in dreams.

PURPORT

In connection with stri-sambhasana, talking with women, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that talking with women for the purpose of mingling with them for sense gratification, subtle or gross, is strictly prohibited. Canakya Pandita, the great moral instructor, says, matr-vat para-daresu. Thus not only a person in the renounced order or one engaged in devotional service but everyone should avoid mingling with women. One should consider another’s wife his mother.

-Antya 2.144

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....The more you advance in spiritual consciousness, Krsna consciousness, you'll dislike this material happiness. This is the test.
How it is? Now, just like if you are hungry and if you get food, then the more you eat, your appetite or hunger will be minimized, and at last you'll say, "No, no, I don't want any." Similarly, advancement in Krsna consciousness means, "No no, I don't want." Not only saying, "Don't want," but yad avadi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde nava nava dhaman udyata rantum asit tad avadhi bata nari-sangame. Here our feelings of happiness is sex life. Sometimes we think, "Oh, how I was enjoying sex life with my wife, with my husband." That is also pleasure. They read so many novels because there is sex life. They feel very happy: "How this man is talking with this woman, woman is talking, this woman, and how they are enjoying." So that is subtle, subtle enjoyment. There are eight kinds of subtle sex life. If you see one beautiful woman and if you appreciate, "Oh, how nice the face is," that is subtle sex. If you read books, that is also subtle sex. If you endeavor how to approach that woman or man to find out the opportunity, that is subtle sex. There are eight kinds of subtle sex life. So it is forbidden for a brahmacari even to think of woman. That is brahmacari. Even thinking of woman is subtle sex life. It is very, very difficult. But mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te [Bg. 7.14]. If you catch the lotus feet of Krsna very tightly, these things will not disturb. That is said by Yamunacarya. Bhavati mukha-vikarah. If you become pure devotee of Krsna, then as soon as you think of sex, you'll spite. "Eh! Nonsense. What is this?" This is the result. That is the certificate, whether you have got that attitude—spite on it. Then you understand that you are increasing. Otherwise you are in the same hellish condition. You may show that you are becoming a devotee, very great devotee. So test yourself, how much you have advanced.

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... Sometimes we enjoy subtle pleasure, thinking of sex life. That is called nari-sangame. Nari means woman, and sanga means union. So those who are practiced, so when there is actually no union, they think of union. So Yamunacarya said that "Not actually union with woman, but if I think of union," tad-avadhi bata nari-sangame smaryamane, smaryamane, "simply by thinking," bhavati mukha-vikarah, "Ah, immediately I becomes disgusted: 'Ah, what is this nasty thing?' " Susthu nisthi... (spits) This is perfect. (chuckles) This is perfection. Yes. So long we'll think of, that is called subtle sex, thinking. They read the sex literature. That is subtle sex. Gross sex and subtle sex. So one has to become completely free from these lusty desires, not to become implicated which will never be satisfied, unsatiated, duspuram.
So the demons, they have taken shelter of these lusty desires, duspuram, never to be satisfied. Dambha-mana-madanvitah. Why? Mohat, by illusion. And on account of this illusion, grhitva asad-grahat. Asad-grahat. Asat means which will not stay, nonpermanent, for the time. Just like we have accepted this body. This is asad-graha. This body will not stay. Everyone knows, but still, I am too much attached to this body. This is called asad-graha. And so long we are attached to this nonpermanent body, there should be anxiety. Prahlada Maharaja says, asad-grahat, sada samudvigna-dhiyam asad-grahat [SB 7.5.5]. Because we have accepted this temporary body, therefore we are full of anxiety. Full of... He was asked by his father, "My dear son, what nice thing you have learned? Kindly say." Father wants to know how his son is being educated.
So Prahlada Maharaja replied that "My dear asura father..." He said. Asura-varya. He did not say, "father." He said, "My dear asura, the best of the asuras," asura-varya. Asura-varya, means best... That is the foolishness. The best—He heard the best, but he is addressing him as "asura, best asura." Still he is pleased, "Because I am best. I am best, best asura." So Prahlada Maharaja, a devotee, is very humorous, so he did not address his father as "father." He said, tat sadhu manye asura-varya: "O best among the asuras." (laughter)

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We don't say, "Don't sleep," but we say, "Reduce sleep as much as possible. Reduce your eating as much as possible." So this is called tapasya. And brahmacaryena. Brahmacaryena means completely cessation of sex life. So that is not possible to completely give up eating or completely sex life, but make it regulated. That is tapasya: eating, sleeping, mating, and defense as much as it is required. The aim should be to make it nil. That is called tapasya. Tapasa brahmacaryena [SB 6.1.13]. Brahmacarya means, strictly. Brahmacarya means that one should not look upon woman, "Oh, here is a very beautiful girl." That is also sex, subtle sex. And to talk, "Fsh, fsh, fsh, fsh," that is also subtle sex. So these things are to be avoided. There are eight kinds of subtle sex life. This is called brahmacarya. So according to Vedic sastra, if one lives with one woman, one man, they are also brahmacari. Not many. This is... If one cannot give up sex life, let him be satisfied with one man and one woman. That is also tapasya, that is also brahmacari. But not that jumping from here, there, there, there, there, no, like monkey, no. (laughter) This is training. This is training.

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....So we should be very... Brahmacari, there are so many restrictions. Even to see woman—"A beautiful woman is going, let me see"—that is also forbidden. That is also subtle sex enjoyment. Gross and subtle, there are so many subtle sex enjoyments—to think of woman, to see a beautiful woman going on the street, or to talk about woman, to read about woman. There are eight kinds of subtle sexual intercourse. So it is restricted. But in the Kali-yuga it is very difficult to follow all the rules and regulation. ....

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This ayam deho nrloke, in the human society, is not meant for working so hard simply for sense enjoyment because this spirit is visible even in the hogs. Then what it is meant...? Tapah. Tapasa brahmacaryena [SB 6.1.13]. That is the point. Samena, damena. Satya-saucabhyam. Everything is there. And there are different types of sense enjoyment: rupa, rasa, gandha, sabda, sparsa, six kinds. And each sense, there is an object of sense enjoyment. There is eyes, oh, beautiful woman, sense enjoyment. Maithunam, sex life, there are eight kinds of sex. If one thinks within the mind about sex enjoyment, that is also sex.

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It is exemplified just like we change our shirt and coat and take another set, similarly, this gross body, material gross body, five elements, earth, water, air, fire, sky, and then mind, intelligence, ego, subtle body, within that subtle body the soul is there, and after annihilation of this gross body, the subtle body takes to another gross body. The nature is going on like that. And we are wandering in different species of life, in different planets. But our real purpose is God-realization. That we are missing. That chance is in the human form of life. So if people are not educated to this goal of life, that is not helping the country or the society or the human beings. If we simply engage them in the activities of animal life—how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex life, and how to defend, no more—then it is simply advancement of animal civilization.

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Is there anything in Bhagavad-gita about homosexuality?

Bhagavad-gita does not mention homosexuality directly, but try to understand the meaning of this:


Religious principles are described in the Second and Third Chapters of the Gita: in a nutshell they are renunciation of material activities, and engagement of all other activities in the service of the Lord. Sex life is generally considered sinful, except when used according to Vedic samskaras to generate high-quality offspring. Therefore the Gita and other Vedic scriptures recommend celibacy.


Brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ means 'situated in a vow of celibacy.' Without practicing celibacy there is no question of actual spiritual advancement. Especially homosexual activities have no engagement in the devotional service of the Lord. Such things are material sinful activities in the mode of ignorance only.

If you have not heard homosexuality discussed like this in meetings on the Gita, maybe it's because no sane person who is actually spiritually inclined would ever imagine that homosexuality is anything but a sinful act. You don't need to ask me; this is common sense.

One of our students has also answered this nicely:







Are you the only spiritual leader recommending celibacy?

No there are many. From a recent news story:


We have always had great respect for the Dalai Lama; views like these are why.





Since practicing this teaching for a while I have been feeling some nice advancement. Thanks for all your help. I am recognizing the material desires I have for what they are. However, I feel I need to get free from my environment to move forward. Most people are meat-eaters here and my girlfriend gets upset with me when I choose to chant instead of going to bars with her. How can I move forward even more?

I am very happy to hear that you are making spiritual progress. Study and practice of the Esoteric Teaching go hand-in-hand. And we also find that Kṛṣṇa makes good on His promises. One time, Kanai and I were talking on the way into town to get our vehicle serviced, and he observed that Kṛṣṇa promises that He will protect anyone who surrenders to Him from all sinful reactions:


He remarked that since he surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, he has easily gotten free from the desires for sinful activities, and been able to maintain a pure lifestyle without effort or struggle. I replied that this is Kṛṣṇa's mercy, without which we cannot maintain our purity. Therefore as Jesus prayed, "Lead us not into temptation," we should also pray to Kṛṣṇa not to give us those things that we cannot resist and which would make us fall down.

Girlfriends are māyā; if you really want to get married you can find a nice devotee girl and settle down. The fact that your girlfriend refuses to chant means that you will sooner or later break up; my guess is, it's going to be sooner. If your faith continues to grow then you will leave her behind on your path of spiritual advancement. You cannot force another living entity to take up spiritual life against their will. So if I were you, I would get used to the idea that this relationship is very temporary. Actually all material relationships are temporary by definition.

I'm very glad that you are benefiting from our teaching and writing work; if you knew how much thought and labor goes into our website and books, recordings and videos you would understand why it is so rewarding when someone 'gets it.' Basically I have dedicated my entire energy since I attained self-realization to helping others, and now seeing the results is very satisfying. Please continue to advance in your study and practice of the Esoteric Teaching, and Kṛṣṇa will make all arrangements for your happy life, as He always does for His dear devotees.





Well my girlfriend and I broke up. She said there must be changes in the relationship so we satisfy each other, and I said we should just try to serve Krsna. She asked if I loved her and I said no. We are now splitting our things. I don't feel upset, but do feel frustrated that I didn't present the Vedas to her properly. I did feel a pain in the solar plexus though. It is like something just ripped apart inside, but I know it will heal very fast as this was arranged by Krsna.

This is actually very good news. When a materialistic woman says "We have to adjust our relationship to meet each others' expectations," the translation is, "I am māyā; I am the illusion of material enjoyment; I am the abode of false promises, and you must serve me." So then you are supposed to exchange many false promises, and everyone is happy (and cheated).

Instead you told her the truth: "I want to serve Kṛṣṇa and my spiritual master." Translation: "I am not any more under your control." Of course, then the next step is the breakup. In this stage, she will present many false arguments, all based on the premise that "Sex is necessary to enjoy life; without serving me you will be miserable." You already know better than that. So you have been released by māyā.

If you continue to resist, then comes the payback. Women instinctively know how to hurt a man, and will vindictively do so when they feel rejected. "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." [William Congreve in The Mourning Bride of 1697] So you will have to endure much criticism and many insults. The most painful part may be the move-out scene, where you divide the things you falsely thought were shared between you, but now you will see that she coveted all along as her property.

If your ego can survive the battle, then you will have earned your status as a Vaiṣṇava the hard way. Don't feel bad that you were unable to interest her in the Esoteric Teaching. Even Viṣṇujana Swami, the great preacher and kīrtan leader, had to leave his girlfriend when he became a devotee because he could not convince her—and they had two kids together. You were a different person when you met your girlfriend, and now you have changed. No point in trying to pretend that you are the same, because the Esoteric Teaching means a fundamental change in consciousness, and consciousness is who we really are.

The pain in your solar plexus is from the energetic attachment being removed. It is really over; you have been rejected by māyā! This is very wonderful. It reminds me of what happened with Kanai when he became a devotee. His marriage simply evaporated within a very short time.

You're very fortunate. Mundane relationships are only possible to maintain when no one is growing, because growth means change; and usually when people change they go in different directions. So if you are growing, it will be difficult to maintain your mundane friendships and other relationships, and the faster you are growing the more quickly they will disappear.

You are right, our advancement in devotional service is arranged by Kṛṣṇa Himself.















INTOXICATION




I am finding it difficult to give up smoking. Any advice?

Giving up smoking is very difficult. Nicotine is more addictive than heroin. Usually one has some emotional addiction, such as an anger-management problem, and is using the nicotine to cover it up. Unless and until the underlying psychological problem is resolved, it will be impossible to give up the nicotine intoxication.



I am on some psychiatric drugs due to some previous emotional problems. Since this medication has mood-altering effects, does it have an effect on one's level of consciousness and if so how much? I am thinking of giving them up.

Well it's very courageous that you are attempting to get off all those medications. They are very very toxic and dangerous, so take your time and just gradually stop one at a time. There is a famous story about a doctors' strike in Israel. The doctors stopped working for 3-4 weeks, and the mortality rate went down by 40%!

One of the companies I worked for as a consultant compiled a database of drug interactions showing how different combinations of drugs produce toxic effects. The AMA stopped this company from making their database available to doctors, because it would discourage them from selling more drugs. So doctors prescribe lots of different drugs, then the patient develops symptoms from the drug interactions, so they prescribe another drug to stop that symptom, and it creates more symptoms, et cetera.

The best thing is to just take your karma straight, and chase it down with the Holy Name.

Of course it is preferable to be free from psychotropic drugs; the question is, which ones do you need to remain stable? They certainly will influence your consciousness, but if you stop taking them too quickly there could be bad side-effects, because by now it is likely that you have become dependent on them.

My understanding is that the human mind is a very robust and self-healing mechanism. People generally do not go crazy unless they are associated with a crazy-making situation or person. We tend to concentrate our clinical attention on the person who presents the symptoms, and not on the person or situation that created those symptoms.

I went through years of intensive Primal therapy to discharge the negative emotions resulting from my experiences in ISKCON. Belonging to ISKCON was part of a pattern resulting from growing up in a household with a person who was a crazy-maker. My mother was even committed, but after many years was never diagnosed, because she was not crazy! Neither was I, but we both had symptoms from too much association with a person who was really nuts!

Anyway I hope you are out of whatever association led to your symptoms, and can get your life together on the basis of the Vedic Esoteric Teaching. This is really the solution to all problems of material suffering, because it allows us to end material existence itself.

Our emotions must be expressed in the moment, otherwise if they are suppressed, they can poison our whole system. If our social environment does not permit free expression and uncensored communication, then things can build up to the breaking point.

Now I can anticipate that someone is going to complain, "Well Babaji, you kick people off of the Forum when they say things you don't like..." That's not exactly true: I remove people's posting privileges when they become spiritually offensive and/or a disturbance to the community process, because that actually interferes with others' open expression of spiritual ideas and feelings. Even if someone loses their posting privileges, if they want to contact me privately and convince me that they understand what they did and will not do it again, I will restore them.

So it is very important to take responsibility for one's state of consciousness. It is all too easy to blame others for our condition, when leaving is always an option. Unfortunately when we are kids, leaving a stressful situation is often not possible; so we have to deal with the consequences later as an adult.

If you know yourself well enough to understand what you can give up slowly, then by all means you should carefully do it. Don't be proud; if you find yourself getting symptomatic, start it up again and try again twice as slowly. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, (except maybe a Hare Kṛṣṇa witch doctor ) so consult a qualified physician before messing with your meds. My inner lawyer made me say that.





I am in a relationship with someone on psychoactive drugs. Can I help her? Is this detrimental to spiritual life?

Well you are between a rock and a hard place, and all because of some bad choices. Maybe in the beginning you thought you could help her, but she is far too damaged even to accept your help, and you are coming from a position of weakness. Psychoactive drugs are dangerous, whether prescription or recreational, because they distort consciousness in ways that are impossible to predict.

Association is very powerful, even more powerful than drugs. If you associate with a drug-intoxicated person, then you will become too much influenced by her insanity; you will not be able to find your own sanity, even if you are not using drugs. You cannot help because your role is 'the boyfriend,' therefore by definition you are entangled and on an equal level. You don't have the altitude or authority to help; you gave that up when you accepted that role.

The best thing is simply to stop wasting your time and get out of the relationship as quickly as possible.









TRUTHFULNESS



Is it an offence to lie for a good cause?

No, but obviously, that depends on what one means by a 'good cause.' For example, once some robbers were chasing their victim, and he ran into a sadhu's hermitage and hid. The robbers asked the sadhu, "Where is the person we are chasing?" The sadhu replied, "I cannot speak an untruth. He is hiding in that hut."
 
The robbers took the man out into the woods and killed him for his gold. Later the sadhu was brought before Yamaraja to be punished. He objected, saying that he had taken a vow to tell the truth, and because he kept his vow, he was blameless. Yamaraja replied that the vow was only considered obligating as long as the truth did not cause any injury.
 
So protecting people from injury is more important, from the point of view of dharma, than telling the truth in a literal sense. But we must be careful to understand what is beneficial and what is harmful from a spiritual point of view.
 
If I say, for example, that the British creation of 'hinduism' was a great crime, some people may claim that I am harming them by offending their religion. But if their religion is based on a lie, then is it really a religion? And if practicing their so-called religion makes them perform greivous spiritual offenses, am I not doing them a great benefit to expose the truth?
 
The Hippocrates' Oath that doctors swear begins, "First, do no harm." But during a recent doctors' strike in Los Angeles, the death rate sharply decreased! So is modern medicine actually following Hippocates' Oath?
 
There is no blanket, simple rule of thumb that covers this deep and complex question. We need to understand deeply what is good and what is harm from a spiritual point of view. Then we can weigh each incident on its own merits.



It seems to me everyone around me is brainwashed by the media and has no interest in spiritual life. If this is the true path, why aren't more people following?

This is exactly why Kṛṣṇa teaches truthfulness and detachment from the general mass of people in Bhagavad-gītā. We know from the common bell-shaped curve that the average or mass view of anything is inferior, incompetent and mediocre. The masses want security and direction from superior knowledge; the elites give it in the form of popular media, mass culture and predigested history, etc. which are full of self-serving lies.

If we are attached to material security and conditioned to let others determine our opinions, then we accept The Big Lie and try to make the best of chasing rainbows and waiting for the post-dated check to clear. If we are more intelligent and have better integrity, then we do research until we come across the Vedas.




I sometime feel I can be happy if I can just get "this" or "that." I find I am usually illusioned though, and do not obtain the desired happiness. Why is this?

We have a 'technical' (actually slang) term for when someone allows themselves to be placed into illusion for some perceived temporary gain: under "the whammy."


When a person is under the whammy, they cannot see reality; they are inside of a Reality Distortion Field, and don't want to see reality even if they could. When confronted with reality, even when supported by mountains of proof, they simply refuse to recognize it. They behave like someone in a hypnotic trance or suffering from a mild psychosis.

Or maybe not so mild: there were ISKCON devotees who were so under the whammy that they committed murder. Of course, the same people who convinced them to do the dirty deed "for the good of Śrīla Prabhupāda's movement" later turned on them, rather than go to prison themselves; but that's a different story.

An important symptom of being under the whammy is being happy with a post-dated check: a promise of future gain that is not supported by any concrete evidence. Often the person making the promise is in a close relationship with the whammied individual: spouse, friend, boss, guru. They can make it appear that believing this posted-dated check a condition of being in the relationship.

But just as a scrupulously honest person cannot be conned or scammed, neither can he be put under the whammy; there is always some complicity on the part of the person being whammied, some need or greed that makes them vulnerable and fall for the scam. Or the wham; whatever, same principle.

We who are presenting the Esoteric Teaching insist that our students wake up and throw off all the whammies they are under. In fact, it is a condition of being a close student or accepting initiation. Thus there is a long series of tests built in to the path of the Esoteric Teaching, specially designed just to reveal people who are under the whammy. It works very well.

This teaching is for honest people; people who want to get out from under all the whammies of false relationships, false love, false enjoyment, false religion, false everything. It's not easy and it's often not much fun, but the final state is wonderful: complete clarity of consciousness and complete understanding, fresh life and pure love. Real life means being out from under the whammy.




I tend to somehow or the other rationalize my pathological behavioral patterns so that they seem perfectly reasonable - to me. For example, I can be diplomatic at times. Sometimes I wonder if focusing on problems like this is beneficial, or if it is only a distraction from the holy name. In other words, if we were somehow able to just be completely preoccupied by devotional service then all these other diseased parts of our personality will wither and fall away because they're not nourished by our attention - is that how it works? Or is it better to pause and give them attention?

There are many devotees who are getting up early, performing austerities, chanting, reading and hearing the śāstra, doing service etc. Yet they cannot perceive the truth clearly because they are "under the whammy" of political and diplomatic behavior.

"Kuṭīnāṭī, or diplomatic behavior, cannot satisfy the ātmā, the soul. It cannot even satisfy the body or the mind. The culprit mind is always suspicious; therefore our dealings should always be straightforward and approved by Vedic authorities. If we treat people diplomatically or duplicitously, our spiritual advancement is obstructed." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 19.159 Purport]

In our experience, as soon as someone compromises the brahminical principle of truthfulness, he can no longer perceive the truth clearly. He has to rationalize his duplicitous behavior, so he twists the truth so he can make himself 'right', even though what he is actually doing is wrong.

For example the devotees who conspired to kill my Godbrother Sulocan were convinced they were acting for the spiritual benefit of all humanity. Why? Sulocan wanted to publish Śrīla Prabhupāda's correspondence, where he discussed the shortcomings of his neophyte disciples. Because these disciples wanted to pose themselves as very advanced devotees, they tried to suppress the truth. Somehow they were able to rationalize all this nonsense and justify their behavior, at least to themselves. As a result so many sincere disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda, including myself, were forced out of ISKCON by various political strategies.

There are many other examples of being under the whammy in ISKCON, including the use of illegal fundraising strategies and the replacement of spiritual knowledge and mature discussion with materialistic political methods of resolving issues. And of course in the current subhuman materialistic society, everyone is convinced that they are very advanced, when in fact they are not even acting on the platform of human life. The whole system of working for an impersonal corporation as a wage-slave, spending 80% of one's income just to maintain one's ability to keep working, while being robbed of one's assets and savings by inflation, is a huge whammy.

Why do people fall for this nonsense? It means that they have some vested interest that they are trying to protect by ignoring the truth. They are addicted to sense gratification, and even though on some level they must know that it is wrong, they go along with the whole exploitive program because they don't want to rock the boat. They are afraid of the consequences because they do not know anyone who has survived them.

But we have; we are in fine health, despite not having health insurance. We travel all over the world, though we don't even have a car. We have so much fun, even though we do not have TV or any other form of entertainment. We have not worked for a corporation since 2001, yet we have more money and nicer tools than we did when we were a wage slave.

Anyone can do this, but very few people do—simply because they are afraid. So they accept the whammy and live cowering in fear, rather than standing up for themselves and for the truth. So unless we are scrupulous about maintaining our integrity, we will have no defense against the whammy.













ASSOCIATION AND RELATIONSHIPS


I have been practicing for a while, following the principles, etc, but still am very ignorant. Why?

If the knowledge of the Esoteric Teaching is not becoming manifest in your heart, maybe you should consider that you associate intimately with people who are not interested in Vedic knowledge. We are known by our association, just like a person who associates with thieves or drug addicts is automatically implicated when they are caught. Do you think you are strong enough to defeat maya alone? Maybe you should consider taking better association on a regular basis.



My family are very sinful and so I am trying not to associate with them too much. I find it so hard though, going against my nature. Is this normal?

You have got it backwards, The natural condition of the spirit soul is to be related to Krsna, because He is spiritual just like we are, and He is our actual source. The relations with the material energy in terms of the material body, family, country, occupation and so forth are a diseased, unnatural condition of the spirit soul.


In other words, the family attachment is actually animal life. Animals have no conception of, or possibility for self-realization; their sense of self is totally based on the material body. The possibility of attaining self-realization or God consciousness is only available in the human form of life.


Srila Prabhupada states in the Purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.2.4,


So we should not remain in the spiritually diseased animalistic condition of material attachment, but become attached to Krsna in an eternal exchange of devotional service and love. This is real human life.




I want to follow this path but I keep getting distracted by my rascal friends. What should I do?

An advanced student writes:


This detachment from the material senses, mind and identity creates steadiness, which Prabhupada in his Purport calls sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence. Steadiness is also called niṣṭhā, and it is actually a very advanced stage of devotional service. Until we attain sthira-buddhi, or niṣṭhā, there will always be a tendency to deviate from the progressive path of devotional service. One day we will be chanting blissfully, and the next going to talk and do nonsense activities.

Steadiness comes from the commitment made at the time of initiation. One promises before the Lord, the guru and the sacred fire never to swerve from the path of liberation. If one takes this commitment seriously, then he can make all spiritual advancement and attain full enlightenment and complete liberation in this very lifetime. If one does not honor the pledge made at the time of initiation, he offends the Holy Name, loses his taste and falls down.

One who does not accept spiritual initiation into the Esoteric Teaching is like a boat without a rudder on the turbulent ocean of the material world. He cannot help himself; he has to go whichever way the wind blows. Even if it's into the surf and rocks.

I will say it again: the Esoteric Teaching is the solution to all the problems of material life. But we have to live by it, take it seriously and not just play with it, or we can lose everything we have gained.




I still live with my parents and they are interfering with my practice. Should I continue to chant even though they are discouraging it? Shouldn't we obey our parents?

The main yajña for Kṛṣṇa in Kali-yuga is chanting the Holy Name. You can chant the Holy Name in any condition or any situation and no one can stop you. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advocated civil disobedience, not for any material purpose, but for having the clear right to chant God's Holy Name. One should certainly obey one's parents, but when they try to stop your worship of God, then because of contradicting God's clear instructions in the Vedic scriptures, they lose their authority.

You are going to have to defeat your parents' ignorance and establish the Absolute Truth of the Vedas. To do this you will have to quote from the scriptures and practice it yourself. When your parents try to stop you with their ignorant, superstitious nonsense, you have to question them relentlessly until the foolishness of their baseless prejudices is exposed.

If it is bad to force someone to accept God, then it is just as bad to force someone not to accept God. Take the same argument and turn it around. Obviously you are ready for God, so why don't your parents let you pursue your interest? They don't have to accept, but why should they stop you from accepting? You can always defeat an idiotic idea by asking "Why?" Most of the time they cannot explain or answer, because there is no answer that makes sense. Every 3-year-old knows this, and uses it to control their parents.

You can also bring up the story of Prahlad and Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva. You should become familiar with all of Prahlad's arguments and use them on your parents. No one has any right to interfere in the relationship between a devotee and the Lord. This is the one exception to the rule that one should obey his parents and other superiors. If they tell you something that is against dharma, you don't have to obey.




I am 14 years old and really want to serve Krsna. My parents are trying to stop me chanting though and also make me eat meat. What can I do?

This is so typical of the demonic, materialistic West. The boy wants to do something wonderful, and the parents discourage him. What would they do if you tried to become vegetarian, so you could actually realize the Esoteric Teaching?

I'm not going to tell you to defy your parents. If you want to do something covertly, you have to do it on your own initiative. That way when (not if) they discover you, you can't blame me. You have to take the whole responsibility. After all, it would be the first time in history that a young boy did something and hid it from his parents [cough, cough, hack, cough].

Actually no one can stop you from chanting, no one can stop you from being a vegetarian, and especially from thinking about Kṛṣṇa and loving Him.

"Everyone's prescribed duty is glorious if it is performed in devotional service of the Lord, without desire for profit. Such loving service must be performed without reason, without impediment, and spontaneously. Kṛṣṇa is lovable, and one has to serve Him in whatever capacity one can. That is pure devotional service." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.29.25 Purport]

My parents have been saying I am crazy and trying to sway me from the teaching. I feel my love for Krsna dissipating. Why?

Your parents are insane, they are demoniac they are bullying and abusing you just like Hiraṇyakaṣipu abused his son Prahlāda, and you are so weak that you are allowing them to get away with it. Because you are hearing their offensive statements and not fighting back, you are implicated in their offenses and consequently you are losing your feelings of love for Kṛṣṇa.

kateka śuniba prabhu tomāra nindana
nā pāri sahite, ebe chāḍiba jīvana

“How long can we tolerate the blasphemy by Your critics against Your conduct? We should give up our lives rather than hear such blasphemy." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi 7.50]

PURPORT

One of the most important instructions by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu regarding regular Vaiṣṇava behavior is that a Vaiṣṇava should be tolerant like a tree and submissive like grass.

tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.” [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 17.31]

Nevertheless, the author of these instructions, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, did not tolerate the misbehavior of Jagāi and Mādhāi. When they harmed Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, He immediately became angry and wanted to kill them, and it was only by the mercy of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu that they were saved. One should be very meek and humble in his personal transactions, and if insulted a Vaiṣṇava should be tolerant and not angry. But if there is blasphemy against one’s guru or another Vaiṣṇava, one should be as angry as fire. This was exhibited by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One should not tolerate blasphemy against a Vaiṣṇava but should immediately take one of three actions. If someone blasphemes a Vaiṣṇava, one should stop him with arguments and higher reason. If one is not expert enough to do this he should give up his life on the spot, and if he cannot do this, he must go away. While Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in Benares or Kāśī, the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs blasphemed Him in many ways because although He was a sannyāsī He was indulging in chanting and dancing. Tapana Miśra and Candraśekhara heard this criticism, and it was intolerable for them because they were great devotees of Lord Caitanya. They could not stop it, however, and therefore they appealed to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu because this blasphemy was so intolerable that they had decided to give up their lives.

You are in an intolerable situation. If you were an adult I would certainly advise you to leave immediately, but you cannot do that because you are still a child. I don't know why you let your parents control you; my parents certainly never were able to dominate me like that.

As long as you are hearing blasphemy and your devotional activities are being interfered with, how can you attain anything? Hearing offensive talk is itself an offense, so by not taking a hard line with your parents, you are losing all your spiritual qualifications.

I never did like eating meat; it was so gross, it made me gag. I used to feed it to the dog under the table. When I turned 16 I said, "I am now a vegetarian." Period. I just refused to cook or eat anything with meat in it, and my family had to get used to it somehow or other.

So I don't have much sympathy with using your tender age as an excuse to tolerate interference with your spiritual life. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī renounced his family life at an early age and took sannyāsa directly from Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:

mahāprabhura priya bhṛtya—raghunātha-dāsa
sarva tyaji' kaila prabhura pada-tale vāsa

"Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, the forty-sixth branch of the tree, was one of the most dear servants of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He left all his material possessions to surrender completely unto the Lord and live at His lotus feet."

The forefathers of Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī were all Vaiṣṇavas and were very rich men. His spiritual master at home was Yadunandana Ācārya. Although Raghunātha dāsa was a family man, he had no attachment for his estate and wife. Seeing his tendency to leave home, his father and uncle engaged special bodyguards to watch over him, but nevertheless he managed to escape their vigilance and went away to Jagannātha Purī to meet Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 10.91 Purport]

kṛpā-guṇair yaḥ kugṛhāndha-kūpād
uddhṛtya bhaṅgyā raghunātha-dāsam
nyasya svarūpe vidadhe 'ntaraṅgaṁ-
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanyam amuṁ prapadye

"With the ropes of His causeless mercy, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu employed a trick to deliver Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī from the blind well of contemptible family life. He made Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī one of His personal associates, placing him under the charge of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. I offer my obeisances unto Him." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 6.1]

You should read the chapters describing Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī's escape from the dark well of family life. Maybe it will give you some solace, and some hope.




It seems my scientifically oriented friends are "worried" that I am getting caught in a religious sect. They do not understand this teaching and are trying to find fault with you and the teaching. How should I approach this situation?


This happens to anyone who radically changes their beliefs or lifestyle. Their so-called friends try to influence them because of their own insecurities. You can look at this situation in several different ways.


So first of all, because in the past you did not have transcendental knowledge, you accepted the association of materialistic people as equals. This is always a bad idea, because such people are selfishly motivated and will always try to block or restrict any change or spiritual growth. Americans have a saying, "How can you fly like an eagle when you flock with turkeys?" 

If you accept ignorant people as friends and associate with them as equals when they really are not, then you will be cheated, and you will not be able to understand who your real friends are. In my life and relationships, I was never happy until I took a firm stand on the platform that "I am a spiritual teacher, a self-realized soul, and while I respect your right to choose to remain in ignorance, you would be wiser and happier if you choose to accept Vedic knowledge instead."

In the beginning this may seem like a lonely path, but actually if you respect yourself and also insist on being treated with respect, then the insincere people may put you down and reject you. But in the longer term, more intelligent and sincere people will be attracted, and you can gradually build up a new social foundation on a platform of transcendental knowledge.

Western society is built on the principle that all ancient knowledge is 'mythology', 'superstition' or 'religious fanaticism', and that in recent times we have made great 'progress' toward 'scientific enlightenment.' This is all just self-serving propaganda based on the ancient conflict between the Vedic Empire and the non-Vedic mleccha (demoniac) cultures.

The actual historical fact is that the Vedic culture is the source of all civilization on this planet. Philologists all agree that Sanskrit is the mother tongue of most of the languages on this planet, especially the Western languages, beginning from Greek and Latin. But the politics is that the Western leaders, whose dynasties were violently kicked out of Bharata by the divine incarnation Parasurama, hate the Vedic culture and everything it stands for. So they invest tremendous resources in covering it up and trying to substitute a materialistic culture of killing animals and exploitation of the populace.

This means they have to deny the value of the Vedic culture, even though it made so many important discoveries thousands of years before Western science, such as the correct value of the speed of light, the spherical shape of the earth, the diameter of the solar system, the distances, speeds and masses of the planets, the use of zero in mathematics, and so on. All these important discoveries are attributed to other sources, but they appear first in the Vedic writings more than 5,000 years ago. The first writings on astronomy, astrology, architecture, medicine and so many other sciences are from the Vedic culture.

The Western cover-up of the Vedic wisdom is astonishing in its thoroughness and length, beginning from early Roman days through the present. The British even created a complete synthetic history of 'India' and a phony religion, 'Hinduism' to try to destroy the actual Vedic tradition. All your so-called friends have been brainwashed by this false education, which is actually just political propaganda and cultural warfare.

If you expose them to the actual facts, if they are fortunate and sincere they may be able to see the error of uncritically accepting Western education and philosophy as truth without looking for the covert manipulation behind the scenes. If they read the actual Vedic scriptures, then they would be in a better position to understand the grandeur and power of the Vedic conception. Maybe you can leverage their criticism into motivation to study the actual Vedic source materials. "You want to criticize the Esoteric Teaching, but you have never even read Bhagavad-gita. So you don't know what you're talking about, and therefore I refuse to discuss it with you because you are just ignorant. Here's a link. Read it and then we can talk."

Cook for them, feed them prasadam, offer flowers to Krsna and give them to your friends. Prasadam is spiritually powerful, and it can change their hearts.

But with all this, you may find that you have to reject all these people you formerly thought of as friends. Their materialistic conditioning may not allow them to approach the Vedic tradition with an open mind. That is unfortunate, but it often happens. Liberated souls are very rare, and so are souls with the qualification to attain or even appreciate spiritual liberation.

Once I made the decision to become a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, I had to give up all my association because they were incapable of understanding that the 'change' they observed in my personality was actually a symptom of the fulfillment of a long-frustrated desire for spiritual life. At the time I was playing in a really good jazz band in Orlando, Florida. I was the only white guy in the band; it was smokin' and we swung hard. But one night I walked offstage at 2AM and saw the scene for what it really was: a bunch of drunken sex-mongers leeching a buzz from our musical inspiration. Passion and ignorance, darkness with no spiritual redemption in sight. I realized I couldn't do it any more, and outside in the parking lot, told the band leader I was quitting. The next day I packed up my things and headed to Miami to join the temple. It was the end of one lifestyle and the beginning of another.

There is always a kind of nostalgia associated with old friends; we wish we could bring them along into our new life of ecstatic devotional service. But they are often cursed to be offenders, and we find that we must reject them. This is the price that we must pay to redeem our spiritual integrity and attain the purity that we know is the real platform of human life.

I appreciate your dedication and understand what you are going through. It is nothing short of a complete revolution in your life, and when you are through your life may look nothing like it did in the past. But you will be cleansed of the infection of material consciousness, which is the cause of all suffering, and on the pure path of devotional service, the cause of eternal bliss.




 I feel guilty and selfish to those around me who seem to suffer because of my changes. They feel there is something wrong and try to help me. They throw their own self made hypothesis at me hoping I see their angle.They call me selfish and self centered. I'm only new at this and when I try to explain it to them it comes out all wrong. I will have the learn more and be comfortable with the knowledge to share it. I have also sent many links from this teaching to my friends who I thought were intelligent people. I got nothing back from them. The rascals really got them good, how sad. Thank you for your guidance and patience.

There is a saying, "From whom much is given, much is expected." I was given very much by my spiritual master, and I do not want to be a miser, so I am sharing it all with anyone and everyone.

If people are upset by your spiritual growth then they are exploiting you for their sense gratification, and are afraid that if you become too spiritually aware then you will not let them do that anymore. So they throw their illusions at you, hoping you will get caught in their net. The guilt trip is a way to prevent you from growing or changing too much. This is your karma from allowing yourself to become materially attached. It will take some serious determination on your part to get through it.

No one is intelligent unless they have absolute knowledge. Speculation is not intelligence; it is foolishness because one can never arrive at truth that way. Anyone who accepts The Big Lie is befooled, whatever intelligence they have is crippled. That is the nature of the lie; it is carefully constructed to make us lose our intelligence.

Now you have seen beyond that lie, you can see that that there are a whole host of spiritual issues we have to deal with to be a human being in the real sense of the term. Most people are too lazy to see these issues through to the end. But that is where real self-realization lies. It doesn't matter if you end up living under a tree with just your beads, as long as you maintain your spiritual integrity. All things in this material world shall pass. Hang in there.




I was born in a Vaisnava family. I also want to follow this path but feel I should get a good career too to help my family.

If we have some material opulence or facility then we should utilize it for spiritual service, otherwise we become weighed down by the karmic debt it represents.

You know the saying that, "If Lord Krsna likes someone, He gives material opulence; but if He loves someone, then He takes it all away." Lord Krsna in particular among all aspects of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is known to be the exclusive property of those who are finished with material existence. It is also common knowledge, at least in India, that demigods like Laksmi, Siva, Durga and Ganesh are worshiped by those who desire material prosperity and enjoyment; while Visnu, Narayana and Krsna are worshiped by transcendentalists who have no desire to enjoy the material world.

So considering all this, you are very fortunate to be born in a family whose ancestors were very involved with worship of the Holy Name. Chanting—both japa (solo chanting) and sankirtan (congregational chanting)—of the Holy Name is the best way to make spiritual advancement in kali-yuga.

mamāham iti dehādau
hitvāmithyārtha-dhīr matim
dhāsye mano bhagavati
śuddhaṁ tat-kīrtanādibhiḥ

Simply because I chanted the holy name of the Lord in the association of devotees, my heart is now becoming purified. Therefore I shall not fall victim again to the false lures of material sense gratification. Now that I have become fixed in the Absolute Truth, henceforward I shall not identify myself with the body. I shall give up false conceptions of “I” and “mine” and fix my mind on the lotus feet of Krsna. (S.B. 6.2.38)

The whole world is running under the misconceptions of 'I' and 'mine'. Actually the body we take as 'I' is not the self. The body is a temporary bag of bones, blood and meat which is gradually rotting away from the inside. Similarly, the material things in temporary association with this body are not 'mine', they are the external material energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, meant to be engaged in His service. Therefore any money, facility or other possessions we have are meant for the purpose of devotional service alone.

It is not a bad idea to have a career and earn money, except that with the exhaustion of the world's oil reserves will come a global economic collapse. We have already passed the peak of the oil bubble, and it is downslope from here on. For most of the world's people, economic development is not an option; life in the future will be more and more about sheer survival. Most will not survive, because they are not privy to this information and will blindly keep trying to amass wealth.

We are on the cusp of tremendous worldwide changes. So do not think that the future will be like the past, and you will be able to peacefully attend school and build a career, then help your family emigrate to America where they can become rich. Within a very short time the Middle East, then the whole world will be plunged into the chaos of war and destruction over the shrinking oil reserves. (NOTE: This was written in 2005).

But the Lord protects His own, and the proof of this was our recent experience here at New Talavan. Even though hurricane Katrina devastated the surrounding countryside, we were safe and had very little damage, only to buildings we had not constructed properly in the first place. Immediately after the storm, I was shooting video for the Introductory Seminar DVD! So Krsna protects His devotees.

etāvatālam agha-nirharaṇāya puṁsāṁ
saṅkīrtanaṁ bhagavato guṇa-karma-nāmnām
vikruśya putram aghavān yad ajāmilo ’pi
nārāyaṇeti mriyamāṇa iyāya muktim

Ajamila was a thief, prostitute-hunter, dacoit and all-around rascal, but because he named his son Narayana, at the time of death he accidentally chanted the Holy Name of Narayana while calling for his son. As a result, he was saved from going to hell, and in fact, attained complete purification and liberation from material existence. So just see the power of the Holy Name.

In illusion, we think that the aim of life is to have nice material comforts, money and sense gratification. But none of these things will help us at the time of death, when the karmic debts from this lifetime become due and payable. Being born in a nice family will not help us when it is time to leave the body, because the body is not the self. Only God consciousness will help us, and God consciousness is easily attained by hearing and chanting the Holy Names of the Lord, and engaging in the other processes of devotional service.

Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge. (S.B. 7.5.23)

So if anyone can perform one, two, three or all nine of these—beginning with hearing and chanting the Holy Name of the Lord—then his life becomes perfect in all respects, and he gets the highest benefit of entering into the exalted spiritual pastimes of the Lord.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Prahlāda, O most pure, O great saintly person, your father has been purified, along with twenty-one forefathers in your family. Because you were born in this family, the entire dynasty has been purified. (SB 7.10.18)

The influence of a pure devotee is so powerful that even his family members become purified by the Lord because of his devotional service activities. Just like in the case of Prahlada, who even though he appeared in a dynasty of demoniac kings, purified 21 generations of his family. Similarly the best service for the spiritual well-being of your family is if you become a pure devotee, free from all material activities, always chanting the Holy Names and engaging in the nine activities of devotional service.




I want to reach pure devotional service. Is it OK to go to reggae kirtan parties organized by ISKCON? After all, it is chanting the Holy Name with other devotees.

These parties are usually very passionate.


We have had so many talks about how the ISKCON people have established a false standard of devotional service. Everything is there in the scriptures, but it is hard to realize it in that association. If you really want to attain pure devotional service, you have to detach yourself from that association of mixed devotional service.

Simplify your life to the bare minimum. Keep to yourself, and find silence and solace within, and in the Holy Name. Observe your consciousness, and meditate on the transcendental nature of the self and the Holy Name. Become a real mystic.

When I talk about consciousness and ontology and stuff like that, it is not just theoretical philosophical speculation; it is observation based on experience. I was forced to go through this discipline by circumstances [Kṛṣṇa's arrangement]; you may have to arrange it for yourself so you can concentrate your energy.

It may be valuable for very, very neophyte devotees to have a party like that once in a while. But in general, the focus should be on brahminical training and Vedic standards of behavior. Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted Gurukulas and Varnasrama colleges in every temple. The passionate kirtans of today are a mere reflection of the divine ecstasy that the devotees felt when Śrīla Prabhupāda was present; but now they have become only outward imitation. You can read descriptions in the Vedabase of kirtans when Śrīla Prabhupāda was leading or dancing, when the devotees were jumping up and down out of sheer ecstasy, and crying with love of Kṛṣṇa. Now they are just jumping, but there is no real ecstasy; no one is crying out of love, rather they are thinking "I have to jump because everyone else is jumping." The passionate energy of the cities has warped the devotional communities and contaminated them with material energy. They have lost the ecstasy, and the path back to it has become covered and inaccessible because of their politics. That is why we are following Śrīla Prabhupāda's instructions and moving to the country, and concentrating on brahminical culture.

If you listen to Śrīla Prabhupāda's recorded kirtans and bhajans, they are very sober and thoughtful. This is brahminical style. He often criticized the devotees' passionate kirtans. Let the materialistic neophyte devotees have their silly reggae parties; we will concentrate on authentic kirtan styles, real devotional dancing and studying Vedānta-sūtra.





I am finding it very hard to remain in the mode of goodness here in the city. Is it possible?

This is what I mean about association: as long as you are in the city and associating with work, neophyte devotees etc. it will be very difficult to become situated in the mode of goodness.


So contact or association with the mode of passion begets lust, which when unsatisfied or disappointed turns into anger, and ultimately leads to falling into material consciousness, as described in the following verses of Bhagavad-gītā.

Just like in times of war, people can get into trouble for associating with the enemy; if lust is the enemy of the world, then associating with passionate, lusty people is like associating with the enemy. In the city they are all around, because the most lusty people come there just to enjoy and do all kinds of sinful activities.The environment affects us more than we can see, because even if we fight against it—"I will not look at that 10-story high billboard of a naked woman next to the highway"—the senses still take in the impressions and they do affect the mind and the quality of our consciousness.

That is why it is good to live in the country. Once you are here you will mellow out, and wonder how you could have stood being so stressed out. Then when you are satisfied with your attainment of self-realization, it will not matter where you live; you will always remember Kṛṣṇa in every situation. But until you reach that point, you should be careful about your association.

Śrī Prahlada Maharaja said to Lord Nrsimhadeva:


He could say that because he was already perfectly self-realized. Also Śrīla Prabhupāda once said, "I could walk into a room full of naked women and not be disturbed." That is because once one is in love with Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one else is attractive as an object of love. But until we reach that stage, certainly we need to remain in association that is conducive to our spiritual growth.




If we are comforting someone who is distressed, are we providing them with sense gratification?

In general you should use your own intelligence to figure out these little details. Research the scripture and figure it out; it's not that hard.

A certain amount of sense gratification is necessary to maintain the body; the problem is that people have become used to much more than they need. Consequently no one has any spiritual discipline, humility or submissiveness. The Vedas are not short of comfort for the distressed, but these qualities are necessary to receive their relief.

For example the Vedas provide the teaching of the eternality of the soul as an antidote to the lamentation of grief. But if someone is a total materialist, they cannot accept this cure for their suffering. No amount of sense gratification can erase the suffering of material existence, but if we become self-realized, then we can transcend it because all suffering is related to the body and sense perception, and by cultivating spiritual life we realize that we are not the body.

So devotional service and self-realization really are the cure for all suffering, but we have to become qualified to receive them.





I am ready to join you but want to leave my material situation responsibly. Will this be possible?

It is good you want to leave your present material situation in a responsible manner. But my experience and that of many other devotees is that it is very difficult, because people have an investment in material consciousness and you are exposing that for what it really is: a post-dated check based on a false promise of future enjoyment.

So they will not let you leave for the forest smoothly; they will try to trick or manipulate you into staying, and you will have to just tear yourself away despite their strategies. We are heading into a very difficult time for the world in general; so you must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to safeguard your spiritual life, even if it means leaving under a cloud.

It is good to minimize your entanglements, because soon you will have to leave there. So if you start becoming detached now, then when the time comes it will be easier. You can't do everything; there is a limit to what we can accomplish and still maintain good consciousness. We have to recognize and respect our limitations, and say yes only to the essentials. Then we must have the strength of character to say no to the other things that fall beyond our scope.













OTHER HINDERANCES AND FORMS OF MAYA ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH


I find I keep making plans to put myself in a better situation but they never work out. Why?


The nature of Maya is a false promise of enjoyment. Therefore one may think, "As soon as I get my citizenship, then I will be happy," or "As soon as I get my degree, then I will be happy," or in general, "As soon as I get _________, then I will be happy." Fill in the blank with your favorite material plan-making fantasy. But the only happiness in such plan-making is in daydreaming about how happy we will be in the future. It never actually happens the way we envision it.

The "pitiless intrigues of Maya" ensure that even if we get our cherished desire, there is always something wrong. Every endeavor, even the greatest sense gratification always includes some fault. Back in the 60s there was a hippie cartoon of a Mayan human sacrifice, and after it was over the priest walked away, bloody knife in hand, muttering "Too far to the right again..."

So even if we get what we want, it is never what we actually desire. It always comes with a boatload of unintended consequences. This is because we do not want to understand the simple truth: that everything we do to please ourselves just results in misery instead. The only way to experience real happiness is to work for the Lord out of pure devotional love. This is the actual standard of pure devotional service.



How do I overcome my various problems so I can advance in spiritual life?

The situation into which a soul is born is the result of the karmic reactions of his previous life's activities; therefore the issues with which you are confronted are a problem unique to your individual nature, for which you, and you alone, have to find the solution. That is called 'the human condition,' and it applies to everyone. There is all transcendental knowledge in Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, and we can offer suggestions, but ultimately you are going to have to use your intelligence and initiative to solve the unique problems of your life. That is your specific challenge.

But no problem is insoluble. There is so much information on this site about problems and how to solve them with spiritual knowledge. Take advantage of it and educate yourself in spiritual knowledge. Then you will be in a position to advance in spiritual life.



I am finding my material problems are slowing my progress. What can I do?

We have given the teaching many times that the cure for all material problems is to chant Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma. If one chants this prayer daily, following the instructions in Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma itself, then all material problems are automatically solved.

The section at the end of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma called Phala Śruti that describes the results of chanting Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma:


If you take up this chanting process nicely, it will act very quickly to resolve all your material difficulties in a pious way. That is the specific result of chanting Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma.




I want to surrender but I find I am often full of fear. I wonder how I will be protected, how I will eat, etc. Is fear normal?

Fearlessness is the first symptom of transcendental realization. As soon as we realize that we are eternal spiritual living entities, then there is no fear, even fear of death:

The Blessed Lord said: "Fearlessness, purification of one's existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, self-control, performance of sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity and simplicity; nonviolence, truthfulness, freedom from anger; renunciation, tranquility, aversion to faultfinding, compassion and freedom from covetousness; gentleness, modesty and steady determination; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy and the passion for honor—these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature." [Bhagavad-gītā 16.1-3]

Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in the Purport:

For a sannyāsī, the first qualification should be fearlessness. Because a sannyāsī has to be alone without any support or guarantee of support, he has simply to depend on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If he thinks, "After leaving my connections, who will protect me?" he should not accept the renounced order of life. One must be fully convinced that Kṛṣṇa or the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His localized aspect as Paramātmā is always within, that He is seeing everything and He always knows what one intends to do. One must thus have firm conviction that Kṛṣṇa as Paramātmā will take care of a soul surrendered to Him. "I shall never be alone," one should think. "Even if I live in the darkest regions of a forest I shall be accompanied by Kṛṣṇa, and He will give me all protection." That conviction is called abhayam, without fear. This state of mind is necessary for a person in the renounced order of life.

The initials A.C. in Śrīla Prabhupāda's name stand for Abhaya Caranāravindam: "The fearless lotus feet of the Lord." When one surrenders unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa wholly and with full faith, that is the end of all fear. The Lord is as strong, faithful and affectionate to His devotees as a lion. If we have the constant protection of a transcendental Lion, then what fear is there for us?

The real cause of happiness is being in love with the Lord. Simply loving Him is the release from all fearfulness. People in general think that they have to work very hard and accumulate all kinds of material possessions in the name of so-called 'security'; yet, all this material happiness and security are actually just like a cage of iron bars in which one is imprisoned. The bars of this cage are one's own fear and attachment.

In my life I have roamed here and there, and traveled all over the world very freely. I never suffered, either from hunger or thirst or from lack of shelter or disease, except when I put myself into an inferior position in respect to people who were less self-realized than myself, in the name of trying to obtain material results from my activities. That was very painful and full of anxiety. But the normal spiritual condition of the soul is to be free from fear and all suffering:

yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā
śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa
phale sakto nibadhyate

"The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled." [Bhagavad-gītā 5.12]

PURPORT

The difference between a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and a person in bodily consciousness is that the former is attached to Kṛṣṇa, whereas the latter is attached to the results of his activities. The person who is attached to Kṛṣṇa and works for Him only is certainly a liberated person, and he is not anxious for fruitive rewards. In the Bhāgavatam [11.13.29, quoted below], the cause of anxiety over the result of an activity is explained as being due to one's functioning in the conception of duality, that is, without knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no duality. All that exists is a product of Kṛṣṇa's energy, and Kṛṣṇa is all good. Therefore, activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are on the absolute plane; they are transcendental and have no material effect. One is, therefore, filled with peace in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One who is, however, entangled in profit calculation for sense gratification cannot have that peace. This is the secret of Kṛṣṇa consciousness: realization that there is no existence besides Kṛṣṇa is the platform of peace and fearlessness.

ahaṅkāra-kṛtaṁ bandham
ātmano 'rtha-viparyayam
vidvān nirvidya saṁsāra-
cintāṁ turye sthitas tyajet

"The false ego of the living entity places him in bondage and awards him exactly the opposite of what he really desires. Therefore, an intelligent person should give up his constant anxiety to enjoy material life and remain situated in the Lord, who is beyond the functions of material consciousness." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.13.29]






I have trouble aligning my thoughts and words with my actions, especially when it comes to interacting with Vaisnavas.


The story of the scholar and the boatman apples here:

Śrīla Prabhupāda: The learned scholar and the boatman. The boatman... In Bengal there are many rivers, and so people generally transport by boat service. So a learned scholar from Calcutta, say, was going home in the village on a boat, and he was very happy. So he was asking the boatman, "My dear boatman, do you know what are these stars, this astronomy, how they are working?" "No, sir, I do not know." "Oh, your life is twenty-five percent lost. You do not know anything." Then after some time, "You know the geology, how this earth, water, they are working?" "No, sir, I am poor man. What can I know?" "Oh, your fifty percent of your life is lost." Then all of a sudden there was a cloud, black cloud on the sky, and there was storm. Then at that time the boatman asked, "Sir, do you know how to swim?" "No, I do not know." "Then one hundred percent you have lost. (laughter) You are going to be drowned." He jumped and he drowned. [Lecture, Paris 6/14/74]

So it is very nice that you can look up quotes from scripture, but if you cannot actualize them, what is the value? They are just empty words. They will not help you to stay afloat on the storm-tossed ocean of material existence.

nṛ-deham ādyaṁ su-labhaṁ su-durlabhaṁ
plavaṁ su-kalpaṁ guru-karṇadhāram
mayānukūlena nabhasvateritaṁ
pumān bhavābdhiṁ na taret sa ātma-hā

[The Supreme Lord said:] "The best of bodies, a human body, is a great attainment, rarely achieved, and may be compared to a boat. The guru is an expert captain for this boat, and I have sent favorable winds (the Vedas). Thus I have given all facilities for crossing over the ocean of material existence. Any human being who has achieved these excellent facilities of human life but does not cross over the material ocean is to be considered the killer of his own self." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.20.17]

Here the human body is compared with a boat, the Vedas with favorable winds and the guru to the captain. But if the mutinous crew does not listen to the instructions of the captain, then the boat cannot reach the destination and the whole thing is a failure. One must show the fruit of his self-realization by his exemplary actions.

yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas
tat tad evetaro janaḥ
sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute
lokas tad anuvartate

"Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.21]

So especially if you cannot show a good example of Vaiṣṇava behavior, then you should be very humble:

"Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains that a mundane person, being enriched by mundane opulences, must always know that the transcendental opulences of the advanced devotees are far more important than the materialistic opulences of a person like himself. A materialistic person with material opulences should not be very proud or puffed up before a transcendental devotee. If one approaches a transcendental devotee on the strength of one’s material heritage, opulence, education and beauty and does not offer respect to the advanced devotee of the Lord, the Vaiṣṇava devotee may offer formal respects to such a materially puffed-up person, but he may not deliver transcendental knowledge to him. Indeed, the devotee sees him as a non-brāhmaṇa or śūdra. Such a puffed-up person cannot understand the science of Kṛṣṇa. A proud person is deceived in transcendental life and, despite having attained a human form, will again glide into hellish conditions. By His personal example, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu explains how one should be submissive and humble before a Vaiṣṇava, even though one may be situated on a high platform. Such is the teaching of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the ācārya of the world, the supreme spiritual master and teacher." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.127 Purport]

Your actions, not your words create your destiny. The road to hell is paved with many fine and erudite words. Your future is in your hands. Be careful.




I often feel depressed. Why?

Depression is anger plus frustration, and it is natural for the spirit soul in the material world, because nothing here can really satisfy us. Real satisfaction is only in the spiritual world. So when we cultivate spiritual life as revealed in the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas, we get lasting satisfaction. Anyway, that is our experience.



What are your thoughts on suicide?

Suicide is not accepted in our sampradāya, because the material body of the devotee is considered to be the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, we have no right to terminate the body independently. Sanātana Gosvāmī was stopped from committing suicide by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:


If we commit the sin of destroying the material body, we only increase and prolong our suffering due to bad karma. Actually there is no question of committing suicide, since the soul is immortal by constitution.




I can be quite obsessively compulsive and angry at times. Can you give any advice?

Obsessive-compulsive is a good quality for a devotee, but the temper has to go. Uncontrolled anger is a symptom of the mode of ignorance.


When lust is frustrated it becomes anger. Anger says, "You are the cause of my problem!" But we know from Vedic philosophy that whether enjoying or suffering, actually we are always the cause of our condition. Actually in this material world one cannot experience happiness for very long; something always happens to spoil it. Then if we become angry instead of taking responsibility for our own condition, we simply create more sinful activities that ensure that we will continue to suffer in the future.

śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ
prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ
sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ

"Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogī and is happy in this world." [Bhagavad-gītā 5.23]




How do I overcome anger?

Anger comes from too much material desire. Kṛṣṇa says:


When our material desires are frustrated, it creates anger which leads to loss of intelligence and detachment. So the key to overcoming anger is to scale back our material desires. Renunciation and humility are powerful spiritual methods by which we can gain so many benedictions. Please keep on this spiritual path and you will get so many benefits.

The proper attitude to have towards the material body is to transcend it by realizing oneself to be a pure spirit soul, a being of pure consciousness. Then as long as the material body continues to exist in this material world, we have to engage it in the devotional service of the Lord.




I sometimes have competitive thoughts regarding my Godbrothers. Should we aim to be the first one to attain self-realization?

You should be careful of the competitive spirit. Here is a nice essay by a senior Vaiṣṇava on the subject. I agree completely with the point of view he expresses. Who would want to join a community at war with itself? This is the main reason that we are careful to keep separate from other Vaiṣṇava communities.

It doesn't matter who attains self-realization first; what matters is that all of my students attain it when it is your time. You cannot force the fruit to ripen before the tree is in season. Similarly, you cannot force yourself to attain self-realization before it is time. In the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad [3.2.3] and Kaṭha Upaniṣad [1.2.23] it is stated: yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām—“The Lord is obtained only by one whom He Himself chooses. To such a person He manifests His own form.” No one can force the Lord to reveal Himself, because He is completely independent. But you can qualify yourself by your service and sādhana to receive the great blessing of self-realization when He is ready to reveal Himself to you.

Pride and competition are based on the deep fear that "Maybe I am not really as good as the other guy." So we pretend to be better, put up a big act, and cultivate an attitude of superiority. We try to put the other guy down at every opportunity. All this does, however, is to make us had to be around. The stink of pride drives away the really good people, who are secure in themselves and know the taste of love.

The best way to rise above competitiveness is not to suppress it, but to compete with ourselves alone by always trying to become a better person. After all, the real measure of success in spiritual life is how far we have come compared to where we started. Comparing ourselves to other people will always give a distorted view, and depending on whether they are ahead of us or behind us, can lead to becoming insecure or complacent.

Ultimately we should cultivate love. Once we really have love of God, we automatically love others because they are also children or creatures of God. Everyone is a jīva soul, so we are all equal in the sight of God and His devotees.


We all start out this life in ignorance and foolishness, and then if by some great good fortune we get the blessings of the Lord and His pure devotees, we can make advancement in spiritual life. But we are all ordinary souls, so what is the use of false pride and competitiveness? We are not in a race with anyone except ourselves.




I feel I have many negative qualities and traits. Should I try to supress these?

The idea is that Kṛṣṇa knows what He is doing when He creates us in a certain way. The qualities and character traits we have are for particular engagements in His service. Rather than suppress them, we should find ways to engage them in in devotional service effectively


Every jīva soul has a particular eternal engagement in Kṛṣṇa's service in the spiritual world. The very things that we may think are imperfections may be essential traits required for that service. The test is that even if we try our best, if we can't get rid of a particular quality, then we have to find a way to engage it in the Lord's service, because it is part of our spiritual personality (real ego).




I find I am quite lazy. Any advice?

Laziness means ignorance. Especially if you are not observing the four regulative principles—abstaining from meat eating, illicit sex, intoxication and gambling or speculation—you will be covered by ignorance. That means:

tamas tv ajñāna-jaṁ viddhi
mohanaṁ sarva-dehinām
pramādālasya-nidrābhis
tan nibadhnāti bhārata

"O son of Bharata, the mode of ignorance causes the delusion of all living entities. The result of this mode is madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul." [Bhagavad-gītā 14.8]

So you have to overcome ignorance by eating a pure vegetarian diet, avoiding illicit sex life and intoxication and studying the Vedic scriptures so you know the truth and don't have to speculate anymore. Have you started reading Bhagavad-gītā yet?

You should get up early, before sunrise, and take a cold shower. Then chant the Holy Name of the Lord at least one hour a day. Keep up that discipline for a few months, and that would a good start towards purifying your mind. We live like that all the time, but even more strict.




How do I overcome sentimentalism?

Chanting is the most powerful method. Sentiment is material because it has a cause in time and is related to the body. For example, in the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā Arjuna became extremely sentimental because he wanted to neglect his duty of fighting on religious principles.


He goes on to rationalize eloquently why he should not have to fight, quoting examples from religious principles. But Kṛṣṇa is not impressed. He says:


Why? Because they are based on the material bodily conception of life. Therefore Kṛṣṇa goes on to explain the soul and the spiritual conception of existence.

So if you are suffering from sentimentalism, it is because of lingering attachment to the material body and its extensions. The best cure, besides chanting, is to study the first and second chapters of Bhagavad-gītā very scutinizingly. By 'scrutinizingly,' I mean to look up each and every word in a good dictionary until to you can identify its precise meaning. Try to understand Kṛṣṇa's arguments, and apply them to your own particular type of sentimental attachment. That will help to overcome undue material sentiment.




I am feeling fearful while approaching the Lord. Why?

Fear means absence of devotional love for the Lord.


Every living entity has a relationship with the Lord, but this relationship may be in a healthy or diseased condition. When it is healthy, then we love the Lord in the primary mood of servitorship, friendship, parenthood or conjugal love; but when it is unhealthy then there may be the secondary emotions of anger, wonder, comedy, chivalry, fear, shock and so on.

So to get past this fear you have to develop one of the primary rasas. The easiest in the beginning is simply to identify yourself as a servant of the Lord. That is why all the devotees take names ending in dāsa, meaning servant. If one can learn to serve the Lord by following His instructions then we earn His protection and ultimately His friendship, and need no longer fear Him.




I am very fallen. I still have a desire for meat, I have sexual desires and other material desires. I am lazy, and have so many other bad qualities. I am still in high school but am wondering whether I should give it up; I just want to love Krsna.

This is very courageous of you. I can see it involved a great deal of self-observation and self-criticism. These are good qualities for a devotee. “Look within. Amend yourself rather than pry into the frailties of others.” These are the words of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

Jesus also said, "You cannot serve two masters." But this is exactly what you are trying to do by cultivating material desires at the same time as trying to approach the Esoteric Teaching. It won't work, because the Teaching has some built-in safeguards that prevent it.

For example, you cannot understand this Esoteric Teaching while you are eating meat. In all my years of presenting Vedic teachings all over the world, I have never seen a meat-eater gain more than a glib superficial understanding of it. Nor can you cultivate sex desire and self-realization. You have to choose which one you want and pursue it, or you will be unsuccessful at both.

However, you definitely should not give up on your education. This is an example of being lazy. Of all the wonderful things that Kṛṣṇa gives us, good intelligence is the most precious because we can apply it to the Vedas and understand Him. Finish your education!

You should cultivate good relationships with the other devotees and good spiritual practices in your own life. There is no shortcut to the Absolute Truth.

This is a song sung by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in Vaiṣṇava humbleness. A Vaiṣṇava is always meek and humble. So he is describing the life of the people in general, taking himself to be one of them. [Srila Prabhupada Purport]

Purport to Āmār Jīvan

I am in school and I find they teach things opposed to spiritual teachings. How can I proceed to the process of spiritual elevation, and at the same time accelerate in my classes?

Well of course it's demonic; that is what we have been saying here all along. The purpose of school is to train you to be a good little demon and just go along with their plan. If you have some different idea, then there will be trouble.

śrī-nārada uvāca
śrutvā putra-giro daityaḥ
para-pakṣa-samāhitāḥ
jahāsa buddhir bālānāṁ
bhidyate para-buddhibhiḥ

Nārada Muni continued: "When Prahlāda Mahārāja spoke about the path of self-realization in devotional service, thus being faithful to the camp of his father's enemies, Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the demons, heard Prahlāda's words and he laughingly said, 'Thus is the intelligence of children spoiled by the words of the enemy.' " [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.6]

It would be good for you to read the entire story of Prahlāda Mahārāja in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Chapters 5-10. He was in the exact same situation, forced to attend demoniac school. Prahlāda was fortunate enough to have the association of Nārada Muni when he was within the womb of his mother. But you will have to create your own good association by chanting the Holy Name, reading the scriptures and researching this web site.

Also I cannot over-stress the importance of pure diet. The demonic mentality gets its first entry through the tongue. Similarly, the way out of material consciousness is also through the tongue. You must be very sure not to eat meat, fish, eggs, onion or garlic. Unfortunately these polluted things are in every school cafeteria, in every deli and grocery store and vending machine. The only solution is to cook for yourself according to Vedic directions. Then your intelligence will become purified.

Until you take this responsibility to purify your tongue, you will be fighting a losing battle. In all my years of preaching, I have never seen anyone make real spiritual advancement unless they eat a pure diet offered to Kṛṣṇa as prasādam. Then chant, chant, chant the Holy Name. These are the secrets of spiritual advancement; if you accept this instruction, you will be successful.



I feel attacks from the psychic weapons of other spiritual groups. What can I do?

Sometimes people become falsely identified with a certain spiritual organization, and wrongly think that defending that organization justifies the use of gross or subtle material force. Of course, the use of black magic is in the mode of ignorance, and such activities degrade the living entity who is foolish enough to take shelter of them:

urdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha madhye tisthanti rajasah

jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha adho gacchanti tamasah

Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the abominable mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.

karmanah sukrtasyahuh sattvikam nirmalam phalam

rajasas tu phalam duhkham ajnanam tamasah phalam

The result of pious action is pure and is said to be in the mode of goodness. But action done in the mode of passion results in misery, and action performed in the mode of ignorance results in foolishness. [Bg. 14.17-18]

Nevertheless such powers of the mode of darkness do exist and are dangerous, and therefore followers of the Absolute Truth are given potent defenses against them. So if anyone feels attacked by psychic weapons, please take shelter of the Narayana-kavaca spiritual shield, which can be found here.

Actually, our practice of chanting the dvadasaksara-mantra, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, comes from this shield. The link contains both a simplified version and the complete and most powerful version of the practice. If anyone attacks a person wearing this armor with psychic weapons, the weapons simply bounce back and consume the attacker.

They don't call it the mode of ignorance for nothing!

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