Lord Sri Krishna is our Anna-data (Provider of Food)

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Hare Krishna, Lord Sri Krishna is our ‘Anna-data’ (Provider of Food). Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 3.14 : annad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad anna-sambhavah yajnad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karma-samudbhavah ("All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties." ) Food production depends on rain and rain depends on performing sacrificial activities for pleasing the Lord. The recommended sacrifice for this age is the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra . Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare

Hare This is practical food production. Rain cannot be manufactured in factories. It comes to us by the grace of God. We should not expect to receive the proper balance of rain if we do not gratefully acknowledge the one who provides the rain. Therefore, if for no other reason than to have sufficient foodstuffs, the entire world should take up chanting Hare Krishna. uddhared atmanatmanam natmanam avasadayet atmaiva hy atmano bandhur atmaiva ripur atmanah ("One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well." Bhagavad-gita 6.5) How we deal with our minds is crucial for realization of Sri Krishna. In our conditioned state the tendency of the mind is to keep dragging us into the gutter of material sense gratification. But

when we become liberated the mind will spontaneously stick to the lotus feet of the Lord just as naturally as the River Ganges flows to the Bay of Bengal. How then do we transform ourselves from conditioned souls into liberated souls? This is the most important question we can ask. The answer is that we have to develop our love for Krishna. How do we develop love for someone? By associating with them in a favorable way. So that we have to do with Krishna. We must serve Him, hear about Him, chant His glories, bow down to Him, remember Him, serve His devotees, etc. In this way our dormant

propensity to purely absorb ourselves in Krishna-bhakti will become fully reawakened and we will taste the sweetest nectar at every minute. If you are too much anxious to taste the sweetest nectar and can't wait until the time when you achieve spiritual perfection, all you have to do is find out some genuine devotees of Lord Krishna and associate with them. Lord Krishna will do the rest for you . Sankarshan das Adhikari QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Question -1 How Come I

Didn't Come With That? Dear Gurudeva, Thank you for your nice simple logical explanation of how and why we exist. When I read it I was wondering how come I didn't come up with that. All glories to you. Thank you so much. You satisfy all my questions with very beautiful answers. I know you always will. Your lowest servant, Steven Krishna Will Personally Bless Your

Intelligence My Dear Steven, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. If you sincerely try to spread Krishna-bhakti , Lord Krishna Himself will personally bless your intelligence with many, many arguments to establish the truth of the Vedic wisdom. I am hoping this meets you in the best of health and in an ecstatic mood. Your eternal well-wisher, Sankarshan Das Adhikari --------------------- Question -2 The Return of a Long Lost Seeker My dear Gurudeva, I do not know how to begin this email. I have

stopped subscribing to Krishna related thoughts for some time, allowing questions in my mind to form doubt and fear in me. Through Krishna's mercy, I realize that I should have told His devotee the questions that bothered me and allowed myself to be guided by Him. I so want to be faithful, but I realize that even this desire has to be surrendered to Lord Krishna, since He alone can help me in my unfaithfulness. I got scared of the way Deities are worshipped in the temple. Idolatry? I saw from a video how devotees pour oil and some other things lovingly on the statues and my heart was filled with questions. aren't these acts idolatrous? It must have been ignorance that spurned my fear. Please enlighten me in this matter. I now re- to Lord Krishna’s teachings lessons. May Krishna’s message reach many souls..... humbly, (name withheld for confidentiality) Lord Krishna Has Brought You Back to Him My Dear Student, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I am so happy that Krishna has brought you back to Him. Some devotees of Krishna go away from the Lord only because of failure to overcome Maya's influence . But when they return they experience the greatest happiness. Because of your sincerity to know Him, Lord Krishna within your heart has revealed to you that instead of leaving you should place your doubts before His

devotee. Regarding your doubts about deity-worship, kindly try to carefully understand the following points : Idolatry means to worship a false god. In the modern day misdirected society, many people are very idolatrous because they are worshipping so many false gods: money, fame, sex

pleasure, etc. However, there is a right type of worship that is sanctioned in the revealed scriptures. This is called Deity worship. Because Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is omnipresent and omnipotent He can choose to accept worship through a particular form that He has specifically authorized. This is compared to when the post office agrees to accept letters through a neighborhood post office box. We can mail our letters at the post office or at the neighborhood

post office box. Either way our letters will go to the desired destination. Similarly, we can directly serve and worship Lord Sri Krishna in His transcendental kingdom, and we can serve and worship Him through His authorized Deity form. The difference between idolatry and Deity-worship is that the form has to be authorized. Mailing our letters in an unauthorized mail box is a useless waste of time. Our letters will go nowhere. The authorized process to be followed for Deity-worship is given by Lord Sri Krishna Himself in the Vedic scriptures. Authorized priests conduct rituals in Krishna’s temples , according to the requirements mentioned in the Vedic scriptures. Whimsical worship is not Deity-worship and is considered idol worship. The Deity-worship has to strictly be done according to Vedic standards. Your eternal well-wisher, Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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