AW: sad-acharity and ISKCON

[Guest guest]

>What about if we won't get the opportunity to become properly human in this

>life? And again isn't it that in Kali Yuga we become properly human

>exclusively by Krsna conscious process i.e. by trying to be transcendental

>through the appropriate practice and association?

 

Yes, it is.

 

But once again, being properly human is supposed to be INCLUDED in the

all-inclusive process of devotional service, rather than exluded from it.

 

Becoming transcendental first of all means becoming transcendental to ONE'S

OWN selfish desires and motives, and not to people's sufferings and

feelings.

 

Appropriate practice and association not only includes, not only demands,

but DEPENDS on proper behavior to all, as Srila BHaktivinoda Thakura says in

bhajana "Gurudeva" here:

 

sakale samm€na korite akati,

deho' n€tha! Jath€jatha

tabe to' g€ibo, hari-n€ma-sukhe,

apar€dha ha 'be hata

 

O lord and master! Please invest me with the power to honor all living

beings properly. ***Only then*** will I sing the holy name in great ecstasy,

free of offenses.

 

>BG 14.26:

>

>"One who engages in unalloyed devotional service to the Lord transcends the

>modes of material nature and is immediately elevated to the spiritual

>platform."

>

>Do you have any other means besides Bhakti to transcend your anarthas?

 

No, we do not.

 

BUT -- if anarthas are not being transcended, then we are doing something

wrong.

 

And, as vernacular wit holds: "If everything else fails, read the manual".

 

Here it [the manual] goes:

 

SB 3.29.21-27:

 

21.I am present in every living entity as the Supersoul. If someone neglects

or disregards that Supersoul everywhere and engages himself in the worship

of the Deity in the temple, that is simply imitation.

 

22.One who worships the Deity of Godhead in the temples but does not know

that the Supreme Lord, as Param€tm€, is situated in every living entity's

heart, must be in ignorance and is compared to one who offers oblations into

ashes.

 

23.One who offers Me respect but is envious of the bodies of others and is

therefore a separatist never attains peace of mind, because of his inimical

behavior towards other living entities.

 

PURPORT: It is expressed herein that the Lord is always eager to deliver the

conditioned souls, who have been encaged within material bodies. Devotees

are expected to carry the message or desire of the Lord to such conditioned

souls and enlighten them with KŠa consciousness. Thus they may be elevated

to transcendental, spiritual life, and the mission of their lives will be

successful. Of course this is not possible for living entities who are lower

than human beings, but in human society it is feasible that all living

entities can be enlightened with KŠa consciousness.

 

****Even living entities who are lower than human can be raised to KŠa

consciousness by other methods. For example, ®iv€nanda Sena, a great devotee

of Lord Caitanya, delivered a dog by feeding him pras€da. Distribution of

pras€da, or remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Lord, even to the ignorant

masses of people and to animals, gives such living entities the chance for

elevation to KŠa consciousness.****

 

Factually it happened that the same dog, when met by Lord Caitanya at Pur…,

was liberated from the material condition.

 

24.My dear Mother, even if he worships with proper rituals and

paraphernalia, a person who is ignorant of My presence in all living

entities never pleases Me by the worship of My Deities in the temple.

 

PURPORT: This gratitude and love for God is exhibited by a pure devotee, who

knows that the Lord lives in every living entity.

 

****As such, temple worship necessarily includes distribution of pras€da. It

is not that one should create a temple in his private apartment or private

room, offer something to the Lord, and then eat. Of course, that is better

than simply cooking foodstuffs and eating without understanding one's

relationship with the Supreme Lord; people who act in this manner are just

like animals. But the devotee who wants to elevate himself to the higher

level of understanding must know that the Lord is present in every living

entity, and, as stated in the previous verse, one should be compassionate to

other living entities. A devotee should worship the Supreme Lord, be

friendly to persons who are on the same level and be compassionate to the

ignorant. One should exhibit his compassion for ignorant living entities by

distributing pras€da. Distribution of pras€da to the ignorant masses of

people is essential for persons who make offerings to the Personality of

Godhead.****

 

25.Performing his prescribed duties, one should worship the Deity of the

Supreme Personality of Godhead until one realizes My presence in his own

heart and in the hearts of other living entities as well.

 

PURPORT: Worship of the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is

prescribed herewith even for persons who are simply discharging their

prescribed duties. There are prescribed duties for the different social

classes of men—the br€hmaŠas, the vaiyas, the katriyas and the ™dras—and

for the different €ramas-brahmacarya, ghastha, v€naprastha and sanny€sa.

One should worship the Deity of the Lord until one appreciates the presence

of the Lord in every living entity. In other words, one should not be

satisfied simply by discharging his duties properly; he must realize his

relationship and the relationship of all other living entities with the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. If he does not understand this, then even

though he discharges his prescribed duties properly, it is to be understood

that he is simply laboring without profit.

 

The word sva-karma-kt in this verse is very significant. Sva-karma-kt is

one who engages in discharging his prescribed duties. It is not that one who

has become a devotee of the Lord or who engages in devotional service should

give up his prescribed duties. No one should be lazy under the plea of

devotional service. One has to execute devotional service according to his

prescribed duties. Sva-karma-kt means that one should discharge the duties

prescribed for him without neglect.

 

26.As the blazing fire of death, I cause great fear to whoever makes the

least discrimination between himself and other living entities because of a

differential outlook.

 

27.Therefore, through charitable gifts and attention, as well as through

friendly behavior and by viewing all to be alike, one should propitiate Me,

who abide in all creatures as their very Self.

 

PURPORT:...The method of worshiping the individual soul is described here as

either giving charitable gifts or behaving in a friendly manner, free from

any separatist outlook. ...

 

 

 

In other words, if we take Lord Kapila's and Srila Prabhupada's words in

their face value and admit that mass distribution of prasada to all living

entities is not just a smart PR move BUT is an essencial and indispensable

part of OUR OWN maturing in Krsna Consciousness, we will do it by all means

-- at least for owr own purification.

 

And therefore, as Lord Krsna says in SB 11.20.9:

 

t€vat karm€Ši kurv…ta

na nirvidyeta y€vat€

mat-kath€-ravaŠ€dau v€

raddh€ y€van na j€yate

 

As long as one is not satiated by fruitive activity and has not awakened his

taste for devotional service by ravaŠaˆ k…rtanaˆ viŠoƒ [sB 7.5.23] one

has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions.

 

But even when we do rise to the transcendental level, we will still do it

spontaneously anyway -- out of pure and unalloyed compassion, as Srila

Prabhupada did it back in the "Matchless Gifts" storefront back in 1966,

cooking, distributing and cleaning up all by himself.

 

Your servant,

Madana-mohana das