Something Wrong

[laxm_thirtha]

Why is it that wealthy people are respected, even thought they would have earned it in unappropriate ways?

 

Are MBA, MS, ME degrees really important to life? I think its useless to study. I feel that I will be wasting my time studying useless stuff and dumping useless information into my mind. I would forget God because we need to put in lot of time and effort for it, in doing so, I will not be having time to think of God, read Bhagavata or Gita or recite Vishnusahasranama. I feel that I will waste precious 2 years in doing so.

[Guest guest]

Quite simply, wealthy people are respected because of their opulence.

 

Secondly, I think it is very important for some one to go on and study higher degrees in life because then you can accomplish something good in life. For example, many doctors decrease pain and suffering and fix bodies, this is all witnessed by paramatma who is in everyone's heart.

 

We need to accomplish higher things in life, not for us, but for God. However, you can read Gita and other books on God and say thats all I care about, but I do not think that it is a practical way to approaching the problems of life.

[laxm_thirtha]

What if I dont like studying it???

 

I have no interest in Science or Buisness, I like creative things like Designing, Animations and Photography etc. But my parents want me to get a Master's degree, so that I can earn lotza money in the future, get a wealthy husband etc. They say that designing etc will not get me money and I shld get a master's degree. I feel its soo stupid.

 

I feel that I dont need their type of husband cause My Vishnu, my Guru Raghavendra and Madhva saints are there to protect me for life long and after.

[Guest guest]

Your duty is to trust your parent's judgement and do what you need to do sincerely considering it as your duty. Krishna never says that you can deviate from your duty.

 

Secondly, why can do masters in Science/business etc but also develop your talents of photography and animation by taking classes in them. There is a difference between passion and duty. Do your duty, easier way is not necessarily the right way.

 

[gHari]

You could let your parents get masters degrees, and you can follow your feet to Krsna. While they may be impressed by the empty praise the pedigree brings, you seem to need something real.

 

Perhaps you will do both?

 

It sounds to me like you know better how to choose a husband than your parents.

 

gHari

[Haridham]

listening to your parents is one thing but you should also follow your heart. Do a degree in which you are satisfied. Your parents have lived their life, that doesnt mean they can live yours for you.

 

You should go to school for something that will benefit you. By getting a degree in what you want is better and serving krsna with it is even better then that.

 

Yes, you should always love and respect your parents but this is your life. Your parents are trying to gratify their sense towards you.

 

I may seem like I am bitter or something but I went to something similar you are going through.

 

It has to do with marriage more then school but you will suffer later if you dont do what is your natural inclination and natural duty.

 

Hare Krsna

[Haridham]

"Yes, you should always love and respect your parents but this is your life. Your parents are trying to gratify their sense towards you"

 

What I meant above was that your parents are trying to gratify their senses through you.

 

Your parents duty is to take you towards Krsna. You should go to school for Krsna.

[trupti]

i worked very hard to get my degree. really hard. i have an older sister and when she went to college, she went for one semester. when the school year was over, she left home. she is 6 years older than me. so after that, i kind of felt that when i was in school i have to do this more for my mom and dad so they can be proud of me. it took me five years to finish school. i first started out has a chemistry major then two years later i changed to eletrical engineering. then one sesmster, i took off to help my parents with our business. then i went back and finished a year and a half later. in that time, there were so many things that i wanted to do but because i was in school i could not do.

 

after i graduated, i could not find a job so, for the last two years, i have been working for my parents in their business. it is really boring here. the business is not where we live it is out of state, so we have to drive 6 hours to get here. still, i cannot do those things i want to do. i am always here 24hours a day 7days a week. stuckin the same place everyday.(motel business)

 

so, dear maya s, i understand your fustration and i have felt the way you do many many many times, i think the important thing for you is to find something you enjoy doing. i know that your parents may tell you that you have to study this field or that field. that is the only way you can make it through.

 

to be comepletely honest, the reason i changed majors is because my dad kept on telling me that you should become an engineer. so finally i gave in. i dont know if i would have been happier just sticking to chemistry or engineering is right for me. but i know that i am content with my choices. i enjoy learning, so any major could possibly make me happy.

 

just stick to it, in the end, the result is worth it! i know right now you think that you are better off without dealing with the nonsense of schooling, but, education is important.

[Guest guest]

but there are many ways to attain Krishna Consciousness than just chanting and going to the temple. Think of what one can do if he/she becomes a great architect? He/She can fund and build great temples for krishna. The person can do service to krishna by building ashramas for the poor who have no place to live, you can do great things.

 

So, I agree with Haridham in this case. Get a degree and try to excel in it , considering it as your duty to krishna, then everything else will fall in its place.

 

[trupti]

you already know what you like, so study that...if you are truely good at what you do, that again you will make alot of money....passion in what you do is a key factor in whether you suceed or not..that is a very important thing to remember!!!!

 

there is alot of money to be made in Designing, Animations and Photography etc.dont think that the arts arent rewarding, they are. photography is a big field. Make a portfolio of you photos. the possibilties are endless. be positive.

 

it is your duty to go to school. but, it is you decision what you study.

 

my dad told me, that i pushed you to be an engineer, you can do your masters in anything. but i like engineering so im going to do my masters in EE too.

[laxm_thirtha]

My Parents are tooo tooo toooo Good, I think i'm the most luckiest to have such nice and lovely parents. My mother is most caring and father tooo is very goood.

 

I know I want to study something,but really confused at this point. Anywanys I'll write an entrance test in IIM and other institutes this year end just to get a feel of those tests. I have to start preparing for the next year entrance tests. I had given myself 1 year to do the sadhana and then study. But I wasted that time although I did it to some extent.

I have to start preparing from coming January. But what worries me is that I cannot do anything like sadhana later cause I work. My routine will be like Work, study for tests, Work Prepare, Work Prepare day after day for the next 10 months from Jan and then if I get selected, then routine will be like Go to College, come back , study, etccc and nooo time for GOD. I know stuff like Karma Yoga, but gradually I forget everything.

 

Madhvacharya has explained very beautifully abt Karmayoga in Gitatatparya and GitaBhasya that Everyone has to perform Karmayoga and it will make our minds to be strong enough to continue sadhana.

[ShegavichaRana]

Why should we study, why should we do research in labs, what are we going to get out of these? Very true. The knowledge, if it can be called so from the University Degrees, can be obtained by hard work, sincereity etc. But is this knowledge eternal? Is this knowledge useful for Self-realisation, certainly not. We should ponder over these questions. On the other hand, have we developed Vairagya (detachment from the material world and ephemeral human relationships)? A big no. Are we like saint-poetess Meerabai, to throw away riches and live in the company of Shyamsundara? A big no.

We are very ordinary people, may be Sadhakas, in whose heart a seed of Moksha (salvation) remains to take the shape of a big tree. Until, we drop all the incorrect desires, this seed will not get proper nourishment and its growth will be retarded. But, yes, it will steadily grow from birth to birth and after several births we might achieve perfection. At that time, the desires, ambitions, money, wealth, name, fame would have no meaning for us. Until such time, we have to live (I had great difficulty in accepting this fact myself) like others, keep doing what others do, albeit not leave the holy name and Him.

Conditioned souls think of happiness that can be derived from materials, which can be bought by money, OBviously, rich people are respected.

[ShegavichaRana]

can as well construct hotels, gardens, mansions etc. forgetting Him easily. Afterall, lure of money is not that easy to abstain from. An individual has to solve his/her problem himself/herself.

[Haridham]

It is easier to pass an elephant through an eye of a needle then for a rich man/woman to go to heaven.

 

So use everything for krsna's service.

 

I want to opologies if you felt I was disrespecting your parents. I wasnt doing that.

 

I was just saying some of the old school indian parents who try to be desi and american at the same time annoy me.

 

 

Chant hare Krsna and serve krsna by using everything in his service.

 

He says, I am the ability in man so he has given you the ability now you should use your ability to do things in his service.

 

 

[trupti]

remember that bhagavan is always with you....

good luck with whatever you choose to do

i hope it makes you happy

/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Haridham]

Trupti is right.

 

Krsna is with you at everystep. He will guide you.

[Guest guest]

I believe the hardest thing for people to realize is what their gift is. But if you know what you love to do, then do that. The money will follow your passion. Materially people won't do well if they follow something against their nature. They just will feel frustrated and have no ambition for it. So study what you want, find your gift, and serve the Lord through that gift.

[Guest guest]

If it's your intention to reside in a temple for the rest of your life and devote yourself to KRSNA consciousness pursuits in that way--then yes, you would probably be wasting your time studying for a degree. You will have no worries about the shelter over your head or the food to sustain you.

 

However, if it's your intention to live outside of the temple and sustain yourself while living the life of a devotee, getting a degree is only one step toward setting the stage for a materially sustainable existence so you can pursue your devotional life without the dependence of the temple and earn money to even donate some.

 

Face it, we're here and it costs a lot to live. I don't know where you live, but where I live, 1 bedroom apartments run up towards 1500 (or more in a very nice neighborhood) Right now in New York it's $3k in some parts for a 1 bedrrom. You can find rentals for as low as 400 a month if you are prepared to live amongst prostitutes and drugdealers as neighbors.

 

Back to the education thing. A degree is not a promise that you will land a job nor be a moral individual. It's your free will what you are --at the end of obtaining a degree. In this dotcom bust time era, numerous people with degrees or experience working with salaries of 180k a year have been humbled to living on $2 a day for food as they have seen their stock options worth thousands disappear, and their savings dwindle after being unable to secure a job after being laid off for over 2 years. I have conversed with so many people who do seem sincerely humbled (only a small percentage do not), regretting their past years of indulgence and extravagance.

 

I myself spent almost 10 years getting a degree because I spent 5 years pursuing a degree in the medical field with a lot of pressure from my mother. After she realized that the stress of doing something I really didn't want to do (I was getting sickly), she told me I could pursue what I wanted and I obtained a degree in something I have skill in and that I enjoy, and supports the many mouths I have to feed.

 

But undoubtedly, these education and employment considerations are a big endeavor. How should we apply or time? Do we like it? Do we compromise? Are we planning ahead or do we live for the moment?

[Guest guest]

I have come to understand this: we should choose what facilitates our service. A homeless man cannot help much. If one can develop a vision and love for Krsna without facility, then why bother? But it's hard to image a place for those people in our society.

 

Prabhupada, with all his detachment and wisdom, pursued education and career for much of his life. He was certainly a person that could trade mundane life for the spiritual. But he has left us his example.

 

Hare Krsna