Guest guest Posted January 31, 2003 Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 Digest 51, Jan 31, 2003 Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja *** You are welcome to send in your questions to HH Romapada Swami at iskcondc (AT) prastha (DOT) com with the word "Inquiry" in the subject. *** Modes of Material Nature ************************ Q.1) I would like to really understand what humility is. Can you please explain the same to me? Answer.) Humility is often mistaken to simply be some sort of meekness in behavior. Vaishnava humility is, however, a completely spiritual quality, not a material one. It comes from understanding one's real self in relation with God. Real humility is the understanding that one is but an instrument or ordered servant of the Supreme Lord: "I do not have any good qualities whatsoever; on my own strength I cannot accomplish anything independently, and I am of no special significance in the vastness of creation. My only qualification is the order of my spiritual master and Krishna. By Their potency I may be empowered to do anything as They wish." Srila Prabhupada defines humility as "not hankering for the satisfaction of being honored by others." (Bg 13.8 p) Thus a vaishnava does not endeavor to prove his/her worth to others or to themselves; they simply endeavor to serve and please Krishna. Ironically, when the meaning of humility is not properly understood, one could be "acting humbly" just to attract others' attention to appreciate how so-called humble one is! In the mood of real humility, one can act very boldly and confidently. On one's personal behalf, a vaishnava is very meek and tolerant, but when Krishna's service demands a humble vaisnava will do the needful in a complete mood of service. In mundane humility, the focus is on one's own inadequacies rather than upon Krishna's mercy; 'I' am in the center, not Krishna. That is the crucial distinction. In a previous issue, we discussed the example of Hanuman regarding his burning down Lanka. He did many other mighty tasks such as crossing over the ocean, and even carrying Lord Rama across the stone bridge and bringing Lakshman back to life. But he was not in the mood of a doer; it was by the power of Rama's Holy Name alone that he was able to accomplish these feats and he was simply an order carrier. Srila Prabhupada himself was such an example of perfect humility. At an advanced age, he single-handedly pioneered and established a world-wide movement, and accomplished many humanly impossible tasks. But he passed on all the credit to his spiritual master and admitted that his only credit was that he followed his spiritual master's instructions and repeated his words with strong faith. He never attracted any attention to himself, so much so that most people did not even know his name or who he was! The 'founder of the Hare Krishna movement' was all they knew, and he was content simply to popularize Hare Krishna and canvas for Krishna. Q.2) Are dreams real? Do they represent anything or does it only represent our subconscious mind? Answer.) In most cases, dreams are just activities of the subconscious mind. The soul is active by nature, and even when the gross body is asleep, the subtle mind is also active, acting out one's deeply buried fears and fantasies, which manifest in different forms as dreams. In some cases, it is considered that a karmic reaction which one is due may be experienced subtly in the form of a dream, without having to actually endure the grosser form of that karma's reaction. Rarely, as in the lives of those who are highly elevated in spiritual consciousness, one may receive some experience of or direction from Krishna or His representatives in a dream. Such dreams may be truly from a spiritual plane, provided they do not prove contrary to any scriptural indications. For most of us, however, who are not so highly spiritually qualified, we can understand dreams about something very spiritual to be a manifestation of some kind of descending mercy, but not necessarily to be taken literally,! or gospel, if we receive some instruction. Q.3) Why does it say in the Nectar of Devotion that a devotee should not wear clothes that are colored red or blue? Answer.) When Srila Prabhupada was asked this question after the first printing of Nectar of Devotion, he indicated that this particular prohibition is not so important for us to concern ourselves with; there are prohibitions of far greater concern. Generally, while coming before the Deities to worship Them, one should wear simple and clean clothes that are in the mode of goodness. Saffron and white colored clothes are generally recommended for men devotees, because they promote goodness and are simple and pleasing. Our attire has a subtle influence on our consciousness, and this can be readily experienced; but beyond that, a devotee wants to present himself very pleasingly before the Deities. The most important ingredient is our mood of devotion, and the all-important activity is to chant Hare Krishna. Q.4) There is a simple argument for mind being a material element: mind can be controlled with breath exercises, which are a material process. Are there more obvious arguments like this, for mind, but also for intelligence and false ego being material? Answer.) We derive conclusive knowledge from scriptures, whereas logic and argument are always inconclusive. We can easily understand, with a little introspection that mind, intelligence and false ego are all contaminated by matter and influenced by material circumstances. As the soul changes from one body to another, his mental disposition, intelligence and false conception of who he is - all change. The only unchanging entity is the soul himself, and he is spiritual. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that mind, intelligence and false-ego are His material energies, and the living entities are part of His superior energy (Bg 7.4-5). Lord Krishna also gives a detailed analysis of the distinction between matter and spirit in Chapter 2. On this scriptural basis, we can firmly conclude that mind, intelligence, false ego, etc. are all material. Vegetarianism ************ Q.5) How can we consider milk as vegetarian food since it is coming from the cow, being an animal and how come the milk is sacred? Ans.) Please refer to Digest 38 Q 2&3. (http://208.37.99.177/cgi-bin/uncgi/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest28) ------- x ------------- x ---------- x ----------- x ---------- x ---------- x ---------- x ----------- ----- Festivals over the next week ------ Jan 31 2003, Friday Ganga Sagara Mela Feb 06 2003, Thursday Appearance Srimati Visnupriya Devi Appearance Sri Raghunandana Thakura Appearance Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi Appearance Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami Disappearance Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura Vasanta Pancami Sarasvati Puja *** NOTE: All times are for Washington D.C, USA, EST *** For festival information for your city please go to http://www.iskcondc.org and click on 'Calendar' - --------------------- ** A brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami available at :http://www.prastha.com/cgi-bin/uncgi/renderphilo.pl?ndx=2 ** This and all previous digests are available on the internet, sorted by topics and date. ** They can be accessed at: http://www.iskcondc.org -> Philosophy -> Inquiries into the Absolute You can also directly link to our Philosophy website by add the following URL to you website: http://www.prastha.com/cgi-bin/uncgi/renderphilo.pl - ---------------------------- This Email has been sent to you by the ISKCON temple of Washington D.C. 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