How to Balance Materialism and Spiritualism .

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Question: Balancing Materialism and Spiritualism...

I am new to Krishna-bhakti , at least in this birth. I am developing faith and love in Sri Krishna.

I want to ask you about how to make a practical balance between materialism and spiritualism . I understand that the human birth is for developing love and devotion to Lord Krishna and in elevation to Him, getting back to Godhead . But aren't our material requirements equally important ? If we get materially inclined, then we spend most of our time in earning for our material needs. So how to make a balance? Shall we suppress and curb down our material needs?Another question I want to ask : Why is chanting on japa beads prescribed ? If I have faith in Krishna and I just take His name once a day won't it give me bhakti & mukti .Please enlighten me...your student,Rupesh

Answer: Emphasize Spiritual Life...

IThe principle of balance between Spiritualism and Materialism is presented in the ancient Vedic scripture, the Sri Isopanisad :vidyam cavidyam ca yastad vedobhayam sahaavidyaya mrtyum tirtvavidyayamrtam asnute"Only one who can learn the process of material knowledge and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality." ---Sri Isopanisad Mantra 11Since we are already solidly situated in material life from the day we were born, our balancing is to now give more emphasis to development of our Spiritual life . We must now focus our energies on awakening our dormant Krishna-bhakti which will fulfill all our requirements .Material requirements are important but they are not as important as the Spiritual requirements. What is more important: to feed the bird within the cage or to polish the cage? Feeding the bird is more important . So this body is just a cage for the spirit-soul who is seated within . Along with keeping the body fit we must more importantly focus on keeping our consciousness fixed on Lord Sri Krishna , the Supreme God .On the material side we should accept the basic comforts for keeping body and soul together. There is no need for extravagance. The balance time and energy saved by plain living should be utilized for high thinking on the transcendental subject matter of the relationship between the individual being and the Supreme Being. Lord Sri Krishna is extremely compassionate to His devotees . He says in Gita (9.22) :

"However, for those Devotees who are always absorbed in thoughts of Me, and who worship Me with one-pointed devotion by every means, I Myself attend to their needs (i.e., achieve what they lack and preserve what they have. "It's a fact that one pure utterance of the Hare Krishna Mantra is sufficient for our liberation. But at the present moment we cannot currently chant with complete purity. Therefore we must practice everyday by chanting on the Japa beads . By this daily practice, gradually our chanting will improve and we will one day be able to utter the holy names with 100% purity. Even after reaching that stage one will continue chanting on the japa beads to set a proper example for others who are trying the perfect their chanting .Sankarshan Das Adhikari