Discover Your Super Soul

How to gain control over your mind as per Bhagavad Gita?

Purushottam Nitai Das October 27, 2020

In Chapter Six of Bhagavad Gita, Lord Sri Krishna describes in detail about the importance of controlling the mind. He tells Arjuna that by controlling the mind he can attain complete perfection in life. He makes it clear that without mind control, no one can attain peace and bliss in life.

Let us see the verses related to mind control spoken by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, Chapter Six.

Bhagavad Gita quotes on mind control

“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

“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.” Bhagavad Gita 6.6

“For one who has conquered the mind, the Supersoul is already reached, for he has attained tranquillity. To such a man happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.”B hagavad Gita 6.7

“A transcendentalist should always engage his body, mind and self in relationship with the Supreme; he should live alone in a secluded place and should always carefully control his mind. He should be free from desires and feelings of possessiveness.” Bhagavad Gita 6.10

“Thus practicing constant control of the body, mind and activities, the mystic transcendentalist, his mind regulated, attains to the kingdom of God [or the abode of Kṛṣṇa] by cessation of material existence.” Bhagavad Gita 6.15

“When the yogī, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in transcendence – devoid of all material desires – he is said to be well established in yoga.” Bhagavad Gita 6.18

“As a lamp in a windless place does not waver, so the transcendentalist, whose mind is controlled, remains always steady in his meditation on the transcendent Self.” Bhagavad Gita 6.19

“Gradually, step by step, one should become situated in trance by means of intelligence sustained by full conviction, and thus the mind should be fixed on the Self alone and should think of nothing else.” Bhagavad Gita 6.25

“From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self.” Bhagavad Gita 6.26

“The yogī whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest perfection of transcendental happiness. He is beyond the mode of passion, he realizes his qualitative identity with the Supreme, and thus he is freed from all reactions to past deeds.” Bhagavad Gita 6.27

Why Arjuna says it is extremely difficult to control the mind?

Arjuna was hearing Krishna patiently. But at one point of time he looked confused. Krishna understood Arjuna had some doubts. So, he paused. Without wasting a moment Arjuna said, “O Madhusūdana, the system of yoga which You have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady.” Bhagavad Gita 6.33

It is true that one who has controlled his mind can attain anything in his life. But our mind is most of the time unsteady, uncooperative, and restless.

Arjuna goes to the extent of saying that if you instruct me, I will conquer all the enemies. If you order me, I can even control the wind. But if you tell me to control the mind then it won’t be possible.

“The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kṛṣṇa, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.” Bhagavad Gita 6.34

We are completely helpless in front of our mind. Just like a lamb is helpless in front of the tiger.

Many yogis and mystics have tried in the past to gain control over their mind, but they failed. Sage Viswamitra renounced everything, retired to the forest, and did penance(tapasya) for several years. But he too failed to control his mind. As soon as he saw Menaka, he could not resist himself and got allured.

There are innumerable such examples. Even great personalities face so difficulty in controlling the mind.

You suffer because of your uncontrolled mind

You and I too face so many challenges in life because of our restless mind. Whether it be your personal life or professional life, you face difficulties because your mind does not allow you to act wisely. It compels you to indulge in certain activities for which you regret later.

You easily get distracted because of your uncontrolled mind.

Your restless mind does not allow you to focus on your work.

A student knows that if he studies hard, he will get good grades. But as soon as he opens his books within few minutes his mind takes him to some other world. His attention span is so short.

This is why we see many students who may be sitting with their books for hours but does not get good grades. Because they never studied.

Working professionals too face similar problem. You may be sitting at your work desk trying to complete your task, but you are not able to focus. It is not that you do not know how to do your work, but your mind does not allow you to concentrate. You are not able to sit for long hours and work. You easily get distracted.

After every few minutes, you begin checking your emails knowing very well that no important email is going to come. But you check because you are not able to focus on your task.

Again, you start working but after few minutes you start browsing internet. You look for some breaking news. You again and again check Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. You take breaks which are not required. You chitchat with colleagues to kill time.

So, a piece of work which you could have easily completed with few hours of focussed work, you take several hours or even days to complete it.

Just before an important meeting you frantically try to complete your presentation or status report. It is only after repeated reminder emails that you complete internal trainings. You keep on procrastinating.

You do not work proactively. You work only when an external force is applied. Just like a horse does not pull the cart unless it is whipped.

It is not because of lack of knowledge or talent that you do not grow in your professional life. But it is due to lack of self-discipline and commitment.

You remain mediocre because your mind remains distracted. It always overpowers you.

What advice Krishna gives in Bhagavad Gita to control the mind?

Arjuna, 5000 years ago was facing similar problem. Arjuna was not an ordinary personality. He was a formidable warrior. The best archer of his time. He had defeated many enemies. Had won many battles. But he too appeared helpless in front of his mind.

Krishna completely agreed with Arjuna. He too said that controlling mind is indeed difficult.

But he did not stop there. He immediately said that “It is not impossible!”

Krishna gave Arjuna hope. In fact, he is giving hope to you and me.

Arjuna is not asking questions for himself only. He knew that everyone in this world face similar challenges. So, he is asking questions on behalf of you and me.

And Krishna is not answering only to Arjuna. But he is even answering to us.

He is asking us not to get disheartened. He is assuring us that there is a way by which we can control our restless mind.

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, “O mighty-armed son of Kuntī, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.” Bhagavad Gita 6.35

So, he recommends two process:

Practice
Detachment

Controlling the mind by practice (abhyāsena)

Practice means to do something repeatedly till we become proficient.

For example, when a child for the first time tries to ride a bicycle, he falls. He may start thinking that it is impossible for him to ride a bicycle. During the process of learning he fails many times. But by trying again and again he learns the skill. He then fearlessly enjoys his bicycle ride.

It is true that controlling mind is more difficult than learning a bicycle.

But think when you were a child. You also initially thought riding a bicycle is impossible. You envied when you saw your elder brother or sister riding the cycle. You desperately wanted to be like them. And one day you succeeded.

Similarly, with practice you should try your best to gain control over your mind.

When you were a kid, you had enthusiasm. You had hope. You had a strong desire to learn something new. Now when you grow old, you lack enthusiasm, hope and a desire to take up challenges.

But you need to nurture childlike enthusiasm. You should have hope in the words of Krishna. And a strong desire to subdue the mind.

What practice to do to control the mind?

You should practice focusing the mind on the activities you are doing currently. You should not allow the mind to get distracted. You should bring back the mind to the present state as soon as it wanders.

Will you succeed immediately. Definitely Not. Will you fail initially. Definitely Yes.

But you have to keep on trying.

And by repeated practice, you will ultimately attain victory over your mind.

The great Vedic sages practiced meditation to control the mind.

They meditated on the holy names and transcendental forms of the Lord. When their mind got distracted, they would force their mind to focus on their object of meditation.

Mantra meditation is the best way to gain control over your mind

In the present age mantra meditation is the recommended process to gain control over our restless mind.

You should chant the holy names of Krishna. While chanting you should focus on the words of the Mahamantra (Hare, Krishna & Rama) and simultaneously try to hear the transcendental sound.

We all who chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra have the experience that during chanting, our mind wanders many times. It is not unexpected.

But immediately we should bring back the mind from wherever it has gone and focus on chanting.

Initially when one starts chanting, mind wanders frequently. I remember during my college days when first time I held the beads in my hand and began chanting it was impossible to chant. I was not even able to chant for 5 minutes.

But by constant practice today I can chant for around 2 hours daily. I have spoken to many devotees and almost everyone has similar experience.

So, when we start chanting, our uncontrolled mind does not allow us to chant. But you should not give up. You should force yourself to chant. After repeated practice for few weeks, you will find that mind is not giving the same trouble as it was giving earlier.

It takes several years of repeated practice to attain complete control over the mind. But during your initial days also, you will experience that you are in a much better situation. The mind is now not wandering a lot.

Mind has become more controlled. And if with patience you continue the process of practicing mantra mediation then eventually you will win over the mind.

The mantra which you will say are not ordinary words. When you chant ‘Hare Krishna’ it means you are praying to Srimati Radharani (Hare) and Krishna, the Supreme Lord. When we chant ‘Hare Rama’ you are calling the names of mother Sita and Lord Rama.

So, when you chant these holy names your mind gets purified of all bad thoughts and harmful impressions. You start getting freedom from negativity, freedom from lamentation and hankering.

As mind starts getting pure it becomes less restless. It becomes easy to control the mind.

How detachment (vairāgyeṇa) helps to gain control over the mind?

Vairagya or detachment means freeing your mind from those material activities which is harmful for the mind. When your mind associates with matter it becomes impure. And an impure mind troubles a lot.

So, you should not expose your mind to those environments which aggravates lust, anger, and greed.

But you should always expose your mind to such environment where it becomes peaceful and calm. Where it gets filled with positivity.

Chanting the holy names of Krishna, reading literatures like Bhagavad Gita, being in association of sincere devotees of Krishna will help a lot in purifying the mind of all impurities.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “The more one hears about Krishna, the more one becomes enlightened and detached from everything that draws the mind away from Krishna. By detaching the mind from activities not devoted to the Lord, one can very easily learn vairāgya. Vairāgya means detachment from matter and engagement of the mind in spirit.”

Also, you should not do any activity which is not authorized in the Vedic scriptures like Bhagavad Gita.

When you spend significant time in practicing Krishna consciousness then gradually your mind will get free from all the impurities which is the root cause of your uncontrolled mind. A purified mind is easy to control.

And a controlled mind becomes your best friend. You are then able to accomplish great results.

Conclusion

Controlling mind is a herculean task. But by following the formula given by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, you can gain control over your mind. Krishna is teaching that by practice and detachment it is possible to control the mind. And a controlled mind will become your best friend.

Once your mind becomes your best friend, it will assist you in whatever activities you will do.

If you are a student, then you will be able to study hard with single minded attention. You will no longer face failure but will always get very good grades in exam.

If you are a working professional then you will be able to do your work with sincerity, with complete attention. You won’t get distracted. You will be able to complete your work in time and even before time. No last minute hurry. No stress. No fear of being reprimanded by the boss. No fear of being laid off because of poor performance.

One of the most important point you need to remember is that all activities should be done by keeping Lord Krishna in the centre.

If you do your duty sincerely by keeping Krishna in the centre, then it will become a spiritual activity. It will please Krishna. When Krishna gets pleased by your endeavour your life becomes successful.

In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna gives an invaluable tip as how to gain control over the mind.

You should follow it as it is and enrich your life.

You will surely attain success and enjoy a peaceful and blissful life.

Controlling the mind with intelligence as per Vedic literatures

Purushottam Nitai Das October 17, 2020

Controlling the mind as per Bhagavad Gita

Just imagine a scenario where you are in complete control of your mind. You instruct the mind and mind faithfully obeys you. How pleasurable the life will become!

The Vedic literatures have always emphasized the importance of controlling the mind. So, we find yogis and ascetics going to the forest and meditating for several years to gain control over their mind.

Because they know that real happiness does not come from worldly positions and possessions. But it completely depends on our ability to calm and control our agitated mind.

A multi-millionaire in his skyrise building may be completely miserable if his mind is agitated. He may be gulping down sleeping pills to get few hours of sleep. This is why we see many materially successful people become so frustrated with their life that they even commit suicide.

But a man living in a humble house with little possession will be celebrating his life if he has succeeded in subduing his mind.

One who conquers the mind conquers the world

Once a king who had conquered many kingdoms was passing through a forest. He saw a sage sitting in meditation. The king ordered his soldiers to ask the sage to move from his way.

The soldiers asked the sage to give the way. The sage did not respond. The king had the option to choose another path. But he was the world conqueror. How can a frail ascetic residing in a forest wearing tattered cloth disobey him? In his kingdom, his words were the law. No one could disobey him.

But the saint had disobeyed him today. The king decided to confront the sage on his own.

“Who are you? Why are you not moving from my way?”

The sage again did not say anything. With his hand gesture, he requested the king to choose the other path.

The king became agitated.

“How could you disobey me? Probably you do not know who I am. I have defeated great armies. I am today the undisputed king of the whole world.”

The sage with his hand gesture again requested the king to choose the other path.

The king took out his sword. He laughed uncontrollably and angrily.

“Before I sever your head from your body, I ask you again, who are you?”

The sage with all calmness not fearing death replied, “I am the greatest conquer in this world, more powerful than you.”

The king laughed. His soldiers numbering in thousands also could not control their grin.

“Old man, are you insane? You are the greatest conqueror? What have you conquered in your life till now?”

The sage remained indifferent to the king’s sarcastic comment.

He replied with same calmness, “You have conquered the world. I have conquered my mind. Tell me who is the greatest conqueror?”

The king did not say anything. He took another path.

Some say the king was Alexander. And who was the sage? No one knows because he had no desire that others should know him. Unlike lesser mortals of this world, he had no desire for name and fame.

A man who has mastered the art of controlling the mind lives like a king. But a man who fails to free himself from the clutches of mind always lives like a slave of his unchaste mind.

So, as long as we remain under the control of our mind peace will elude us and anxiety will overwhelm us.

But if we succeed in taking control of our mind, we will enjoy every moment of our life.

Mind is the cause of our pleasure and pain

How we suffer or enjoy because of our mind is explained in Katha Upanisad 1.3.3–4,

“ātmānaṁ rathinaṁ viddhi
śarīraṁ ratham eva ca
buddhiṁ tu sārathiṁ viddhi
manaḥ pragraham eva ca
indriyāṇi hayān āhur
viṣayāṁs teṣu gocarān
ātmendriya-mano-yuktaṁ
bhoktety āhur manīṣiṇaḥ”
Katha Upanisad 1.3.3–4

Srila Prabhupada explains, “The individual is the passenger in the car of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and senses. So, it is understood by great thinkers.”

Katha Upanisad 1.3.3–4, which is the part of the Vedas, compares our body with a chariot. It further says that you and I are the passenger of the chariot. Intelligence is compared to the driver of the chariot. The five horses are driving this chariot. These five horses are our five senses. Mind is compared to the rope which controls the horses.

It is the responsibility of the charioteer to drive the chariot in a way so that the journey is smooth, and it takes the passenger to the desired destination.

Now suppose that the driver is too weak. What will happen? He won’t be able to properly control the reins of the chariot. If his grip on the reins is weak, the horses will go berserk. The passenger sitting in the chariot will become utterly miserable.

Now suppose that the reins are too fragile. In that scenario too the driver won’t be able to properly control the horses. Here again the passenger will have tough time during the journey.

In both the cases the passenger will suffer and most probably, he won’t reach his desired destination.

But if the driver is strong, he has the skill to control the reins of the chariot and the horses then the journey will be smooth. The passenger will enjoy the ride and will also reach his destination.

How intelligence can help to control our mind

Let us see how the chariot example can help us to control our mind.

If the intelligence (driver) is weak then the mind and the senses start behaving whimsically. And we the passenger (soul) sitting inside the chariot of the body become miserable.

But if our intelligence is very strong then we will have strong hold over our mind, we will have the strength to control our senses. And in that scenario, we will always enjoy the journey of our life.

So, it is important that we properly nourish our intelligence else our mind and senses will overpower the intelligence.

Bhagavad Gits 3.42 explains that mind is superior to the senses and intelligence is superior to the mind.

“The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.” Bhagavad Gita 3.42

So, if we have purified intelligence, we can give proper direction to our mind. And our mind will too properly direct the senses in the right direction.

The below allegorical story will help us understand how we can control the mind with intelligence.

Story of a husband & an unchaste wife

A husband came to know that his wife has many paramours. They come to visit her when he is not at home. In fact, he came to know that some of them are even planning to murder him so that they can always be with his wife.

His wife in front of him would behave in a nice way. She would project herself as a chaste and committed wife. But the man had understood that she is cheating him.

He loved his wife, so he did not want to lose her. He did not even want to harm her. In fact, as a husband he thought it his responsibility to save her from those lusty miscreants.

So, he decided to recruit a security guard.

He instructed the guard not to allow anyone inside the house without his permission. And not even allow his wife to go out without permission.

The security guard was very strong. He was armed with weapons.

Next time when the miscreants came to visit the lady in the absence of her husband then the guard stopped them. They got thrashed by the guard when they tried to force themselves into the house. When they tried to sneak into the house through the backdoor, the alert guard caught and beat them up.

They again tried to enter the house in the night but again they were kicked out.

They tried again and again but every time they failed. They were not just unsuccessful in their attempt but were even thoroughly beaten by the guard every time they tried to get in.

The lady desperately wanted to meet her paramours but was helpless. Neither she was allowed to go out and nor her paramours were able to come inside.

After trying for several days her paramours understood that there is no use in trying to enter the house. They now even feared to be near the house.

The wife eventually gave up all the hope to meet them. And slowly she started realizing that how foolish she was. She was destroying her life. She saw her husband was so caring and loving. He was her best well-wisher.

She fell on her husband’s feet and begged forgiveness. Husband became so happy. Both started living happily.

And what about the security personnel? The husband was so grateful to him. He continued with his service as he did not want to take any risk. The security guard with same alertness continued guarding the house.

How this story is relevant in our life?

Now let us see how this story is relevant in our life.

Here the wife is compared to our mind.
The paramours are compared to different vices (anarthas) like lust, anger, greed, pride, envy, illusion which keeps on attacking us again and again.
The husband is compared to the soul
And the security guard is the intelligence.

Just like the wife, our mind is always vulnerable. Lust, anger, greed, and other vices keep on attacking our mind again and again.

Sometimes we get exposed to lusty environment. Sometimes anger attacks us and make us insane. Sometimes pride and envy overpower us. Sometimes impatience and greed torment us. And most of the time we are put in illusion.

Not just external situations and circumstances trouble us but many past impressions of our mind to haunt us. Mind initially acts in a wrong way and when suffering comes it laments.

Mind is like a blotting paper. It captures all the impressions. On its own it cannot decide what is good for it and what is harmful for it.

Intelligence helps to make right choices

But the intelligence can discriminate. Srila Prabhupada explains, “Intelligence refers to the power to analyze things in their proper perspective.” Bhagavad Gita 10.4-5 purport.

It can decide what is good for our life and what can destroy our life. Intelligence like a security guard should always guard the mind.

When mind gets attacked by lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion then intelligence should shield the mind from these vices.
When mind gets overwhelmed with negativity and wants to act in a harmful way then intelligence with all its might should not allow the mind to act in an unrighteous way.
When past impressions of our mind surfaces then intelligence should not allow those impressions to overpower our mind.

Mind will try to work independently but the intelligence should skillfully control the mind.

When mind starts acting righteously it starts understanding the dangerous consequences of acting as per its whims and past impressions.

Mind sees that it has been successful in avoiding many sufferings.

Since the intelligence stops the vices to enter the mind, the mind gets purified.

Mind slowly stops troubling us. It becomes obedient. It stops acting on its own. A calm and controlled and pure mind experiences bliss.

Mind starts understanding that intelligence is its best friend, best well – wisher and best adviser.

Before doing anything, it consults the intelligence.

Intelligence keeps on giving good advice to the mind. It continues guarding the mind and make sure that no vices enter the mind.

3 steps to improve the intelligence

Intelligence plays an extremely important role in our life. With intelligence we can subjugate our uncontrolled mind. Once our mind is controlled, we can lead a happy life. So, let us discuss the 3 important activities which can help us to improve our intelligence

1. Taking the association of saintly people who have mastered the art of self-control

We should associate with saintly personalities who have mastered the art of controlling the mind with intelligence.

Such saintly personalities do not get distracted by temptations. They are always in complete control of themselves. Even in provoking situations they remain calm and composed.

Just be being in their presence we can learn a lot from their life.

Their life will teach us:

How to not succumb to the demands of our mind.
How to always utilize our discriminatory ability to make decisions.
How to not get carried away by momentarily pleasures.

Chaitanya Charitamrita (Caitanya-caritāmṛta) 22.54 sings the glories of saintly association.

“The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.”
Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya 22.54

So it is advised that we should always seek the association of saintly people, sadhu sanga.

Merely by being in their presence we can learn lots of tips to improve our intelligence.

2. Nourishing intelligence by reading wisdom literature

As we nourish our physical body for a healthy life. Similarly, we should nourish our intelligence by reading literatures like Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. These sacred books contain pearls of wisdom.

When we read such literatures, we get enlightened. Our ignorance is gone.

We get to know what is good for us and what is not. It teaches us that we are suffering because we are making wrong choices in our life.

These wisdom literatures explain in detail how this material world works, how our body works, how our mind works. It further tells us about the types of activities which becomes the cause of our suffering. And tell us about the activities which bring joy in our life.

These holy books give guidelines to always make right choices. It teaches us the art of saying no to the mind. If we take shelter of these books, we will always remain enlightened and always make right choices in our life.

3. Purifying our mind with Mantra meditation

We should also regularly meditate on the holy names of the Lord. Mantra meditation especially chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is of great help.

When we chant, we get connected to Krishna, the Supreme Lord. Krishna in Bhagavad Gita tells that he is the source of all the intelligence. So, when we chant Krishna awards us intelligence which helps us to control the mind.

In the association of the holy names of Krishna our intelligence gets purified. Our intelligence becomes strong. And it becomes so easy to control our uncontrolled mind. Mind becomes our best friend.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, “For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.”
Bhagavad Gita 6.6

Our controlled mind and purified intelligence bring unlimited joy in our life.

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The best food for your spiritual growth

Purushottam Nitai Das September 29, 2020

What role does food play in our spiritual growth? Can we eat anything and everything and expect to attain love of God? Definitely Not.

This is why Vedas recommend the type of food we must take for our spiritual awakening.

Vedic scriptures also tell the type of food we must give up if we want to grow in our spiritual life.

So, let us reflect upon those food which are best for our body and also best for our spiritual life.

We all eat. None of us can live without eating. So, we see countless food outlets thriving in almost all the parts of the world.
But if we want to grow in your spiritual life it is important that we are aware of the food we are eating. It is because:

The type of food we eat affects our consciousness.
The quantity of food we eat affects our consciousness.
Unregulated eating habits affect our consciousness

Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 6.16, “There is no possibility of one becoming a yogī, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.”

And immediately in the next verse, he says

He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system. Bhagavad Gita 6.17

Similarly, Sri Rupa Goswami, the leader of the Goswamis of Vrindavan and a disciple of Lord Chaitanya, in his book Nectar of Instruction, Text 1 writes about the importance of controlling the urges of tongue and belly. And in the next verse he writes about the necessity of giving up overeating.

The holy books and the holy sages have given guidelines to consume right food in right quantity.

They do not ask us to give up eating. But they teach us to eat in such a way that we elevate our consciousness.

Just like an uncontrolled mind becomes our biggest enemy in our spiritual life and a controlled mind facilitate our spiritual awakening.

Similarly, an uncontrolled eating habit impedes our spiritual growth and a controlled eating habit helps in our spiritual progress.

Food plays an extremely important role in our overall well-being. It not just gives nourishment to the body but if we take proper food then it nourishes our soul too.

If we eat food which is pure then it can completely transform our life. So, the Vedic literatures extol the glory of pure spiritual food. The sage Narada got purified just by eating spiritual food.

The pure spiritual food transforms the son of a maidservant

Narada Muni in his previous life was the son of a maidservant. Once he got an opportunity to eat the remnants of food from the plates of Bhakti Vedantist who were pure devotees of the Lord.

And by tasting few morsels of sanctified food, he got completely purified.

He developed intense desire to practice devotion to the Lord and became a pure devotee of the Lord. And in next life he became Narada Nuni, the celestial sage, who guided many great souls like Dhruv Maharaj, Prahlad Maharaj in attaining love of God.

What type of food to eat?

It is very easy to find out. If the food can be offered to the Lord, we can eat those food. If the food cannot be offered to the Lord, we should not eat those food.
To simplify,

If Lord Krishna can eat, we can eat.
If Lord Krishna cannot eat, we cannot eat.

What Lord Krishna can eat has been said by Krishna himself. In Bhagavad Gita 9.26, he says,

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.” Bhagavad Gita 9.26

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport of the same verse Bhagavad Gita 9.26:

One who loves Kṛṣṇa will give Him whatever He wants, and he avoids offering anything which is undesirable or unasked. Thus meat, fish and eggs should not be offered to Kṛṣṇa. If He desired such things as offerings, He would have said so. Instead He clearly requests that a leaf, fruit, flowers and water be given to Him, and He says of this offering, “I will accept it.”
Bhagavad Gita 9.26 PURPORT

If Krishna says give me vegetarian food, then let us give him that. Krishna also does not take onion and garlic, so we should give up onion and garlic too.

Since Krishna eats only vegetarian food without onion and garlic, so we should eat only vegetarian food which is without onion and garlic.

And we should give up non vegetarian food like meat, fish and eggs.
Killing an innocent animal and eating its flesh is extremely sinful.

The person who kills an animal is punished by the laws of nature.

What happens when one kills an animal for food?

There is a story in Gita Mahatmaya.

Once a man was about to slaughter a goat. And the goat started laughing. The man was shocked. The goat said in human voice,

“In my previous life, I too was a butcher. I killed many animals. So, I got this body. And as per the laws of Karma I am now being killed by you. You are killing me. In next life you will become an animal and will be slaughtered in the same way.“

The butcher was surprised. He came to his senses. “Killing an animal will make me an animal in next life,” he thought. So, he decided not to kill the goat.

But it so happened that it started raining heavily. There was storm and lightening. The lightening fell on the goat and the goat died. Every living entity has to die one day.

But we are not supposed to take the lives of other living entities. Let animals live and die as per the laws of nature, just like we die, we should not interfere with it.

Sanskrit word for meat

The Sanskrit word for meat is māṁsa. When someone kills an animal, he actually says, “māṁ saḥ khadati iti māṁsaḥ.” I am now eating the flesh of an animal by killing and in future the animal will be eating my flesh.” :

In this world, as per the law, if a human being kills another human being, he is punished. But human being is not punished if he kills and eat animals. But as per the Vedic laws killing innocent animals is an offense.

So, when one kills an animal, he is preparing himself to be killed in similar way in future. The laws of God are very stringent. We can escape from man-made laws but not from the laws made by God.

Once a person asked Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura,

“When we kill animals then are we not liberating them from animal life? They get freedom from the bondage.”

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura explained to him:
Suppose that a person has been put in a jail because of some crime. And you feel pity on the person. You decide to help him escape from the jail.

Then what will happen? The police will launch a manhunt to catch the prisoner. The prisoner will be caught and but behind the bars again. And since you helped him to escape, so you too will be caught and put in prison.

Similarly, if someone kills an animal then the killer will be punished. And if the soul had not exhausted his karma of being in an animal body then the soul will again get another animal body.

So, we should give up the habit of eating meat. If we have this habit, then slowly and gradually we should give up.

We cannot keep on killing an innocent animal, enjoying its flesh and simultaneously hope to attain God.

Are we not killing plants for food?

Is killing and eating plants not sinful? Many argue that we kill plants for our food. What about that? Now before answering this question let me tell that before the modern science discovered that plants have life Vedas already mentioned that plants have life.

The sacred scripture informs that soul migrates into 8.4 million species of lives which includes plant life also. We have the example of Nalakuvara and Manigriva who got the body of plants because they had committed sins. They were finally delivered by Lord Krishna.

We do not always kill the plant for food

When we eat vegetarian food then it is not that we always kill the plants. Suppose that we eat fruits. For that we do not kill an apple tree or a banana tree or a guava tree.

We only pluck the fruits the way we pluck the flowers. Plucking fruits is like cutting hairs and nails from a body. If someone cuts nails and hairs from our body, then it is not that they are killing us. They are in fact cleaning us.

At my home there was a guava tree. When we used to see that the fruit has ripened, we used to pluck the fruit. But if we forgot then the next morning, we used to find that the guavas have rotten and have fallen on the ground.

Similarly, if the rice and wheat crops are not harvested on time, they get spoiled.

Points to note:

When we eat vegetarian food then it is not that we always kill the plants or trees.
The vegetables or grains which are taken out from the farm have mostly completed their lifespan.

Why not visit a slaughterhouse and a farm?

If you get a chance visit a farm especially during harvesting time. You will enjoy the sweet fragrance emanating from the soil and the ripened crops. Harvesting is accompanied with song and dance. Men, women, children all will be celebrating. It’s a festive atmosphere.

Can the same be said about slaughterhouses?

How many of us would like to visit a slaughterhouse? How many of us can stand and see the animals being killed? Will any parent take their children to slaughterhouses and make them see how animals are killed?

In fact, majority of the people just buy meat from the butcher or from supermarket. They do not directly kill the animals. And the flesh of this dead animals smells so bad.

In houses many times family members sit together; laugh and joke and simultaneously chop vegetables for lunch or dinner.

Can they do the same thing with animals?

I mean to say that, can they sit together, laugh and joke, and simultaneously cut the neck of chicken or goat or any other animals? The answer is obvious.

Most of the people do not realize that they are committing gravest sin by killing animals. They will have to suffer in a terrible way. Scriptures warn again and again that we should not kill animals and eat its flesh.

Does vegetarian food not have sufficient nutrients?

Many people have developed wrong notion that if they do not eat meat, they will not get sufficient nutrition.

One of my friends started becoming serious in devotional life. He began chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, started attending classes in the temple and became vegetarian. His wife too became interested in devotional life. He had a small child.

Once he invited me to his house so that I can show him how to offer food to the Lord, what prayers to say while offering food and what prayers to say before eating the offered food.

After that they began offering food to Lord Krishna at home.

After few months his parents came to his house. They saw that they have completely become vegetarian. His parents who were elderly had the habit of eating non vegetarian food since childhood days, especially fish.

Out of parental affection they started feeling that if their children will not eat meat and fish they will become weak. The grandfather became concerned about his grandson.

He said, “It is his growing age. He needs proper nutrition, especially protein. And it is there in meat and fish only.”

My friend was worried. He called me, “My son will grow weak if he does not get non vegetarian food. What should I do?”

I gave the example of devotees’ children who are pure vegetarian and are in good health. I quoted the verses from the scriptures. He was intellectually convinced that eating meat is not necessary.

But within the core of his heart he was apprehensive. “Am I doing injustice to my child?”

He did not want to take risk. Slowly, he started becoming less serious in spiritual life. As of now I am not in touch with him. Or it could be that he does not want to be in touch with me or with any other devotee.

Many prominent leaders of the world are vegetarian

There are many people in the world who have never touched meat, fish and egg since birth. Such people are leading a happy and successful personal and professional life.

One of the greatest political leaders of the world, Mahatma Gandhi, was vegetarian. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, is also a vegetarian.

Great spiritual leaders like Ramanujacharya, Madhavacharya, Madhvendra Puri, Srila Prabhupada all were vegetarian.

So being a vegetarian does not mean that we are compromising with our health. It is also not that vegetarian food does not give us sufficient nutrition.

Vegetarian food is extremely healthy and much better than non-vegetarian food. The coronavirus pandemic which has affected the entire world and is killing thousands of people had its origin in China’s wet market, the place where animals are sold as food.

Also just being a vegetarian is not a great thing. Many animals are also vegetarian and could be possible that some people who are indulging in many abominable activities are also vegetarian.

The most important thing is that the vegetarian food should be first offered to the Supreme Lord with love and then we should eat it. If we are not offering food to the lord, then we are committing sin.

What happens if we eat food not offered to the Supreme Lord?

What happens if we do not pay tax to the government? We are punished.
What happens when we eat contaminated food? We get sick.

Similarly, when we do not offer food to Krishna who is the proprietor of the entire universe, we are punished. Also, when we do not offer food to Krishna then food remains impure and when we eat such impure food we suffer.

The food we eat, the water we drink has been provided to us by the Supreme Lord. We should be grateful to him for providing us food. So, with love and with gratitude we should cook and offer food to him and then eat the remnants left by the Lord.

The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.
Bhagavad Gita 3.13

Offering food to the Lord is extremely important

Once when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura was just a child, he ate a mango which was not offered to the Lord. Bhaktivinod Thakura, a great Vaishnav acharya who was his father also, said that we should not eat anything which has not been first offered to the Lord.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura regretted his action. He thought that he has committed a sin.

And he took a vow to not eat mango ever in his life. When he took this vow, he was a small child.

Later on, whenever he was offered a mango, he used to say that he is a sinner to the Lord and he would refuse to eat mango, the king of all fruits. He never ate mango ever in his life again.

These great personalities through their personal conduct is teaching us the importance of offering food to the Lord.

Since our childhood days we have eaten so many unoffered food items. For us, it will not be possible to give up all those food items. But at least after getting educated in the science of devotional life, we should start offering food to Krishna with love and then take the remnants.

Offering food is not just about our personal purification. Most importantly, it is to express our love to Krishna.

Food should be cooked with proper consciousness

Those of us who want to become serious in devotional life, it is also important that we eat food cooked only by the sincere devotees.

Once Srila Prabhupada came to Pune with a group of devotees. One rich person had invited him for a three-day program in his house. He had also promised to help build a temple in Pune.

The rich man had a big house. For each devotee he arranged a separate room. He made a big feast for the devotees. The devotees enjoyed the feast.

Next morning when Srila Prabhupada came for Mangala Arati he saw no one was there. The leader of the brahmacharis was there. Prabhupada asked where are other devotees? He said that others are still sleeping.

Prabhupada said, “I know because I can hear them snoring.” But why are they sleeping. The leader said, “Last night they ate the feast and I think because of that they are not able to get up.”

Prabhupada said, “It is not just about the feast. It is because of the karmi food. The food was not cooked by the devotees. So, it has affected their consciousness. And so, they are not able to get up in the brahma muhrat which is very conducive for devotional life.”

Prabhupada said that we will immediately leave the place and return back to Iskcon Juhu temple in Mumbai. The program was for 3 days but they stayed for only one night and one morning.

Prabhupada was always protecting the devotees from getting entangled in this material world.
Prabhupada was very particular about the food.

The devotee who is cooking the food should cook with a desire to offer it to Krishna. The food should not be cooked with a desire for personal enjoyment.

While cooking there should be devotional ambience. One can play Prabhupada lectures or some senior devotees lecture or some nice kirtan. It helps to purify the consciousness.

And with love the food should be offered to Krishna and then we all should take it.

But if we cook and eat food for sense gratification, then we will not get purified.

The type of food we eat affects our spiritual growth

In Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 17, Krishna explains in detail about the different types of food: Food in the mode of goodness, in the mood of passion and in the mode of ignorance.

Food in the mode of goodness:

Foods in the mode of goodness are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart.
Such foods purify one’s existence and give strength
It also increases the duration of life

Food in the mode of passion

Such foods are too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning. Here hot means spicy.
These food causes distress, misery and disease

Food in the mode of ignorance

Such foods are tasteless, decomposed, putrid.
They are prepared more than three hours before being eaten i.e. they are no fresh.
Foods containing untouchable things like meat, fish and egg are in ignorance.

Those of us who want to grow in our spiritual life, we should prefer food which is in mode of goodness. If we eat food in the mode of goodness, then we will also come in the mode of goodness which is very conducive for spiritual growth.

While consuming food we should also be cautious about the quantity of food we are eating.

We should not overeat because it is neither good for our physical health and also detrimental for our spiritual life.

So, in NOI Text 2, Srila Rupa Goswami says that we should not do atyāhāraḥ i.e. we should give up overeating. Even the spiritual food we consume, we should eat it in a regulated way and not unregulated way.

The purpose of human life is not to get attached to food but to get attached to Lord Krishna.

The purpose of human life is not to eat, drink and be merry

Suppose that a student gets admission to a premier institute like MIT, IIT or AIIMS. But during his stay in the hostel instead of focusing on studies he becomes too obsessed with eating good food.

In fact, he looks for new restaurants, new recipes and spends maximum time going out to eat. During the time of exam when other students are absorbed in their studies, he remains absorbed in finding new cuisines. He runs here and there for food. What will be the future of such a food addict?

He will fail in the exam. His parents will chastise him saying, “Why did you get obsessed with eating food? Why did not you study properly? Eating is essential but what was the need to get obsessed with it.”

The story is relevant for you and me.

The human life which we have got is for self-realization. It is not for sense gratification.

Animal life is meant for sense gratification and suffering. But human life is meant for sense control and self-realization.

If we overeat, we invite disease, we become lethargic, we become obese. We do not have quality time for practicing devotional life.

So at the end of our life’s journey, Krishna will tell us, “I gave you human body so that you can purify yourself. But you used it like an animal. So better you taken an animal body.”

What steps we can follow to give up overeating?

Following steps can help us overcome overeating:

We can give up overeating by regulating our eating habits.
We should have fixed time for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is better to take dinner as early as possible. We should not keep on eating at any time of the day.
Most importantly, we should eat only Krishna prasadam, sanctified food. If we start eating prasadam our mind gets purified. If our mind is purified, we will have better control over our life, and gradually we will be able to give up overeating.
Also, when we start eating prasadam, we will stop eating outside and stop buying all kinds of fast food which are extremely harmful for our spiritual health and physical health.
We should give up fried foods. So, at home we should not prepare such food and stock it. We will surely keep on munching it throughout the day. We mostly overeat fried items and fast food. People overeat items like pakoras or samosas or burger or sweet items like gulab jamun or sonpapdi. I have never heard or found or experienced that we overeat apples or oranges or green (not fried) vegetables.
Try to eat fruits and green vegetables more. These are healthy, nutritious and does not cause wait gain.
We should never ever eat non vegetarian food like meat, fish, and eggs. If anyone is still having this habit, then one has to give it up if one wants to grow in his/her spiritual life.
We should also take milk and curd more. But not sweets made from milk. Occasionally one can take sweets but not on a regular basis.
If untimely we feel hungry then we should tolerate the hunger. Remember the body does not need the food but our uncontrolled mind needs it. So, ignore the mind. Drink water during that time. It may appear difficult initially but slowly we get used to it and then it becomes easy to give up overeating.

Conclusion

If we want to grow in our spiritual life, then we have to be very careful with the food we are eating. It’s not that we can eat anything and everything and expect to attain love of God.

Food plays an important role in our spiritual awakening and so the scriptures have given many guidelines about the food we should eat and how we should eat. If we follow these principles as it is then we will be able to grow in our spiritual life.

Following points can help us decide best food for our spiritual growth

The best food for our spiritual growth is the vegetarian food which is without onion and garlic and which has been first offered to the Supreme Lord Krishna.
We should never eat non vegetarian food like meat, fish and egg.
Sanctified vegetarian food is good for our physical health and is also good for our spiritual growth
We should also give up overeating by regulating our eating habits.
We should eat only those food which is in the mode of goodness.
If we eat only prasadam i.e. spiritual food, then our heart will get purified and we will be able to attain love of God which is the only purpose of human form of life.

A Confession

Just to confess that although I am writing about this important topic, but I am also trying to follow this process. Hope by the mercy of Krishna and the blessings of all of you I will also be able to control the urges of tongue and belly and will be able to give up overeating. I am writing so that I can keep reminding myself about the importance of eating only Krishan prasadam in a regulated way.

If you like the article then please do share, like and comment!

Vyasa Puja celebration of Srila Prabhupada at Iskcon Kolkata

Purushottam Nitai Das September 9, 2020

Although the pandemic has shut down the whole world but the devotees’ zeal to continue practicing Krishna consciousness hasn’t diminished. Janmashtami was celebrated with great fanfare by the devotees at home. And after Janmashtami was the 124^th Vyasa Puja celebration of Srila Prabhupada which is very dear to all the devotees of Iskcon. In fact, we all are eternally indebted to him for revealing us the supreme reality that we all belong to Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada rules the heart of millions of people

Alexander, the Great, conquered the world with the weapons of mass destruction but Srila Prabhupada conquered the hearts of millions of people all over the world with the weapon of the holy names.

Who was the best conqueror? Alexander or Srila Prabhupada? Alexander is today alive only the pages of history books. But Srila Prabhupada is present in the hearts of millions of people. Alexander after leaving this world was unsure of his destination but Srila Prabhupada was always with Krishna, is now also with Krishna and will forever be with Krishna. So, the answer is obvious.

Srila Prabhupada came to take us to our eternal home

Srila Prabhupada appeared in this world to take us back to the abode of Krishna, which is our eternal home, which is free from all kinds of sufferings and which is filled with unlimited transcendental pleasures.

He is our supreme well-wisher and will continue to remain so for eternity. So, whenever his appearance day comes devotees’ heart gets filled with gratitude and they want to celebrate it in a big way.

Srila Prabhupada’s appearance day was celebrated next day of Janmashtami in the temple and by all the grihasta devotees at home.

But the temple authorities decided to again have a special celebration on 1^st Sep.

Significance of 1^st Sep

Why 1^st Sep?

Because as per English calendar Srila Prabhupada appeared on 1^st September.

And as per Vedic calendar, Srila Prabhupada appeared next day after Janmashtami.

It was decided that through zoom all the devotees will come together and celebrate the festival.

The best way to celebrate the festival is to glorify Srila Prabhupada, offer our prayers to him, seek his blessings, and thank him for bringing joy in our lives.

Devotees expressed their deep love while making offerings

The program started in the evening at 5 pm IST. We connected to zoom. There were brahmacharis from Iskcon Kolkata temple and Iskcon Goshala, which is in New Town, grihasta devotees which included both prabhujis and matajis.

After a short kirtan, devotees started making their offerings. Some spoke extempore and some had already prepared it beforehand and read it.

Devotees shared their joy, their sorrow, their challenges, and their intense desire to continue practicing Krishna Consciousness. They were speaking from their hearts.

While hearing offerings of other devotees, I was wondering what will I say when my turn will come?

When I got an opportunity, I made my offering.

But I felt that I did not speak from the bottom of my heart. Because of material conditioning I am still not able to realize the sacrifices which Srila Prabhupada made for people like me.

In my offering I said to Prabhupada that “You taught us how to be engaged in Krishna Consciousness 24hours a day.” And during this pandemic when we are forced to stay at home, I can fully experience it. Many of my office colleagues, friends, neighbors, relatives say that they are getting mentally disturbed because of lockdown. They feel frustrated. One person said that these days he is losing his temper quite often. And it is natural. In the history of humankind never such a situation came when the entire world was shutdown.

But for devotees this is not such a big problem.

Why?

Because there are so many positive spiritual engagements available.

How to remain always engaged in Krishna’s service?

From the time we get up in the morning (around 4 am) to the time we go to bed (around 10 pm), we have so many things to do.

As soon as we get up, we take bath.
We then have to clean the altar and do Mangala Arati.
Mangal Arati is followed by Narasimha Arati, Tulasi arati and Guru Puja.
Then we chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra on beads. Chanting takes around 1.5 hours to 2 hours. Devotees who chant fast can finish in 1.5 hours and some may take 2 hours.
After that we have to cook breakfast for Krishna. While cooking we hear lectures of Srila Prabhupada or of our spiritual master or of some senior devotees or we can hear kirtan.
After breakfast, we read Srila Prabhupada’s books like Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita, Chaitanya Charitrmrta.
By the time we complete all this it is almost 9:30 am. So, the entire morning goes in spiritual activity.
In the noon again we prepare lunch for Krishna. If we get time, then we do arati of the Lord in the afternoon.
Then evening time is for gaur arati.
We also work on plans for preaching. During this period devotees have come with many innovative ideas to preach. Iskcon NewTown Kolkata Facebook page was started during this period. It already has 11,000 followers. Recently HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu who manages the Facebook page and other social media accounts was discussing with me how to preach to those people who visit our Facebook page. So, devotees are exploring so many avenues to spread Krishna Consciousness.
While being engaged in devotional activity, we also have one important service. And that is our office work. The job which we have is Krishna’s gift to us and we have to do our work with utmost sincerity and seriousness. As a devotee we should follow the footsteps of Bhaktivinoda Thakura and do our work efficiently. I have to work for 9 hours daily. Along with our work it is also important to enhance our skills by doing certification courses and by doing trainings.
And if we get some extra time then we can read more & hear more. The more we hear about Krishna and read about Krishna, the more we get purified. And it brings more joy in our life.
In fact, there is no limit to hearing and reading. And no limit to chanting too. Prabhupada asked us to chant minimum of 16 rounds. And HG Radheshyam Prabhu, President Iskcon Pune, in many of his classes emphasizes that as much as possible we should try to chant more number of rounds.

So, there is no time to waste.

I am practically seeing how devotees are completely engaged in devotional activities throughout the day. It inspires me a lot. In the spiritual world this is what we will be doing. Always serving Krishna. And this life is a preparation for that life.

In this lockdown I am learning how to cook for Krishna. Cooking was big no for me. In fact, I hated to get inside the kitchen. But somehow, I dragged myself in the kitchen and now I am trying to learn new recipes which can be offered to Krishna. And one good advantage of cooking is that while cooking we can hear lectures which enhances our knowledge about devotional life.

Glorifying Prabhupada is like showing a lamp to the sun

Srila Prabhupada gave a direction to our life. He taught us how to lead a happy life. So, all the devotees are so grateful to Prabhupda. They have given their hearts to him. For lesser mortal like me it is not possible to glorify Prabhupada properly.

Glorifying Prabhupada is like showing a lamp to the sun.

After my offering, HG Acharyaratna Prabhu sent me a private message on zoom messenger that my offering was thoughtful. I know devotees praise us for whatever little we do and, in their praise,, there is also a hidden message which we should understand. So, I think I should be thoughtful more while contemplating on the glories of Srila Prabhupada, contemplating about his sacrifices and contemplating about his struggle to spread Krishna Consciousness throughout the world.

HG Acharyaratna Prabhu read the offerings of the GBCs of Kolkata – HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj, HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj and HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj.

We all know that HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj has left to serve Srila Prabhupada in the spiritual world. But before leaving this world he wrote his offering. His offering was so wonderful. As usual he poured his entire heart into it and expressed his deep desire to serve the instructions of Srila Prabhupada.

HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj shares pastimes of Prabhupada in Kolkata

One of the best parts of the ceremony was reserved for the last. And it was the class of HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj. Maharaj in detail spoke how Prabhupada after establishing Iskcon in the west, established the first temple of Iskcon in India in Kolkata. Maharaj narrated many pastimes with Prabhupada in Kolkata. It is so amazing that almost after 50 years, Maharaj remembers the details so clearly. This shows that he constantly meditates on the days he spent with Prabhupada.

Maharaj said that when Srila Prabhupada was in Kolkata then thousands of people used to come for his programs in 1970s. It was the time when communism was expanding in West Bengal. And communists do not like spiritual people, they propagate atheism. They are also known for resorting to violence. someone sent a letter to Prabhupada that either you leave Kolkata or be ready to die. Prabhupada remained unperturbed. When the police came to know about the letter, they told not to worry.

Maharaj also said there is a small deity of Radha Govinda which Prabhupada personally used to worship. And that deity is still in Kolkata temple. This was exciting for the devotees. They will have an opportunity to serve the personal deity of Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada risked his life to save the suffering souls

HG Dayaram Prabhu, President of Iskcon Kolkata, in his offering highlighted a very important point. He said that we all know that Prabhupada went all alone to the west at the age of around 70 years with no money on a cargo ship to spread Krishna Consciousness. During the journey, he had two heart attacks and he was almost about to die, but Krishna intervened and asked Prabhupada to continue his journey so that he can deliver millions of suffering souls.

He said that we have heard this story so many times that today many of us take it casually. We may not understand the seriousness of it. We may not realize that what extraordinary risk he took for all of us. Going all alone with no support to an alien land was suicidal.

In fact, Sumati Morarjee who reluctantly allowed Prabhupada to travel on her Jaldutta cargo ship had bluntly said, “You are going to die there.”

Srila Prabhupada was fearless and determined

If we pause for a moment and reflect on it then we can understand how fearless and determined Prabhupada was.

Within India only if we have to travel then we make so many arrangements. We make sure about the place where we are going to stay. We make sure that we have sufficient amount of money with us. We call and check the person where we are going to stay multiple times.

When I was going to UK then I carried around 2000 pounds with me in cash. I spoke to the person where I was going to stay multiple times. Took multiple printouts of the address. Had also taken address of other office colleagues so that if one option does not work then I can opt for other. Took a sim card of UK from a friend who had recently returned from UK. And had all the important numbers with me. But still I was worried.

And Prabhupada had no such options. He had only one address. And he had not ever seen or spoken with the person in whose home he was going to stay. And he did not have any money to stay in a hotel or any guest house.

What if the host would have not been able to come to pick him up because of some emergencies?

He would have no place to go. He would have no other option but to spend his days on street without food and proper winter cloth. In US, nobody would have understood that he is a sadhu and would have treated him like that.

He would have died because of cold and hunger in US on the road.

And this is why Sumati Morarjee said that you are going to die there. It was so true.

And what was the need for him to do all these things. Because his guru had told him to go and preach in the west. But this instruction was given to many. But not all took it that seriously. But Prabhupada had complete faith in the orders of his spiritual master.

Like Shabari Prabhupada had complete faith in his guru

When Shabari was told by his guru to stay at a place because Lord Rama will come, then she believed him. And when her guru told her that you will get an opportunity to serve the Lord then she immediately began making all the preparations. When this instruction was given to her then she was a little girl. And the guru did not tell him when Lord Rama will come. And she even did not ask her guru. “If my spiritual master has said that the Lord will come then he will come.” So, every morning she used to clean the place with the water from the nearby pond, decorate the place with forest flowers and pick berries for the Lord. Chanting and meditating on the Lord she used to wait for entire day for the Lord. But the Lord did not come. Next day again in the morning she used to make all the preparation and would wait for Rama. And again, the next day she used to make the same preparations.

For how long Shabari waited for the Lord?

One day? Two day? Three day? One week? Two weeks? One month? Two months? Three months? One year? Two years?

No. She waited for the Lord for several decades. When she had got the instruction, she was a little girl and when Lord finally came to meet her, she had become an old day.

But while waiting, did she lose her enthusiasm? No. Did she become impatient? No. Did she become morose? No. Because she had firm faith in the orders of his guru.

And finally, Lord Rama came to meet her. She was overwhelmed with joy.

It is said that by the time Lord Rama came to her cottage she was not able to see properly because of old age. And so, when she used to pluck berries for the Lord, she was not able to identify the best berry. So, when she was serving the Lord then she used to taste it to make sure the Lord Rama is getting the best berry.

Like Shabari, Srila Prabhupada had complete faith in the orders of his spiritual master. He had complete faith in the words of Lord Chaitanya.

Prabhupada had complete faith in Lord Chaitanya’s words

He did not have any doubt. In fact, he would answer convincingly to anyone who questioned his journey.

So, when someone asked him why you are going to west?

His prompt reply used to be, “My guru asked me to share this knowledge with the western people, so I am going?

But who would listen?

I am not sure but since my guru has said then for sure there will be people who will listen to me.

But what can you do all alone? You are old? You are penniless?

Yes, but my guru said me to go. I should have gone earlier. And now I am already around 70. I should not delay any further.

But why west? Why not just preach in India?

Because Indians are imitating the west. If the western people become devotees of Krishna, then Indians too will start practicing Krishna Consciousness seriously. And why should western people be deprived of Krishna? Krishna is not an Indian God or Hindu God. He is the Supreme Lord of the Hindus, Muslims, Christians., Sikhs, Parsis, atheists, agnostics, male, female. He is the Lord of the entire universe. Some know this fact. Some do not know this fact.

But how will you survive there all alone? You may die?

We never die. We just change our body which is an external covering. And I am the servant of Krishna. Krishna knows what is best for me. As long as he wants me to serve on this earthly planet, I will serve here. And when Krishna will ask me to go and serve somewhere else, I will go there. Wherever I will go I will be with Krishna.

What about your food, clothing, and shelter?

Krishna arranges these things for all. Even for birds and animals. And although man thinks that they have made their own houses, but this is actually given to them by Krishna. Krishna will make all arrangements for me.

But who will listen?

Lord Chaitanya said that his name will be chanted in all the towns and villages of this world. So, there are already people ready to take up Krishna Consciousness. I just have to go and tell them about Krishna & Lord Chaitanya. They will immediately begin practicing devotional life.

But why did it not happen till now?

Because Lord Chaitanya wants me to do it. He could have done it on his own as he is the Supreme Lord, an incarnation of Krishna. But as a loving father he wanted to get this done by me. And so, I am going.

So, Srila Prabhupada went. And the rest is history.

The best gift to Prabhupada

Prabhupada was born in Kolkata and he left to preach to the whole world from Kolkata. So, Kolkata is so special for all the devotees.

Those of us who are staying in Kolkata have a great opportunity to serve Prabhupada. One of the desires of Prabhupada was to build a magnificent temple of Krishna in Kolkata. And the devotees have taken a big initiative to build the temple. We all can be part of this wonderful project. This human life is so rare. We have an opportunity to make our life perfect by living as per the guidelines of Prabhupada. This is the best gift we can give to him.

What is the best way to stop committing sins?

Purushottam Nitai Das August 27, 2020

None of us want to commit sins. But still we commit sins. Why is it so? Many times, we take a vow to not indulge in any wrong activities but some unknown force within us compels us to indulge in sinful activities. So, is there any way by which we can overcome sinful tendencies? What is the best way to stop committing sins? What the Vedic literatures say about sins? What solution the Vedas give to give up indulging in sinful activities? Let us explore.

What is sin?

Any activity which is against the religious principles is sin. Any activity which keeps us away from God is sin. Vedas tell that meat eating i.e. killing animals for food, gambling, intoxication, and illicit sex are sinful activities. So, we should give it up. The scriptures also say that we should give up lust, anger, greed, pride, envy, illusion, and false ego. These tendencies are detrimental for our spiritual growth.

What happens when we commit sins?

Sins cause suffering. Suffering which you and I are experiencing now is because of our past sins. So, if we want to free ourselves from suffering then we must burn all our previous sins. And to stop future suffering we should stop committing sins.

Why we commit sins?

In Srimad Bhagavatam, King Parīkṣit asked his teacher Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī an important question. It is so relevant for you and me. He wanted to know why people despite knowing that sins cause suffering indulge in it? Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.1.9–10)

He gave the example of a thief. A thief knows that stealing is bad. He might have seen thieves being caught and punished but still he does not change. He might have also been caught, might have been brutally punished, imprisoned but still his tendency of stealing does not go away.

It is not just about the thieves. But even applicable for religious people as well.

Why seeking forgiveness from the Lord for the sins does not help?

Srila Prabhupada in Nectar of Instruction Purport 1 gives the example of Christians. Many Christians go to the church every weekend to seek forgiveness for the sins they committed last week. And then during the weekdays they again do all kinds of sinful activities and again come to church in the weekend begging forgiveness from Christ for their sins. And this cycle continues. What is the use of such prayer?

Similarly, people go to the temple pleading Lord to free them from suffering. I have seen people holding their ears in front of the Lord seeking forgiveness. Some even have tears in their eyes. I am not sure whether the tears are genuine or not. The purpose is to show the Lord that they are sorry for whatever mistakes they have done. And the Lord should not punish them anymore. But again, after coming out of the temple they begin doing prohibited things. The Lord will not be pleased by such duplicitous behavior.

People may chant the holy names of God but continue committing sins. They believe that their chanting will nullify their sins. In the Vedic scriptures it is mentioned, “It is an offence to commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy names of the Lord.”

So, we know that committing sins are bad, it displeases God, it brings us miseries. But why do we indulge in it.

We may say that because of ignorance people commit sins. But this may not be always true. Almost all are aware about the consequences of the wrongful activities. We all know that if we do not do our prescribed duties sincerely, we will suffer.

From our day to day life we can see many such examples.

Despite knowing the consequences, we fail to act righteously

A student knows that if he does not study well, he will not get good marks. He is reminded by his parents and teacher to study hard but still he does not study.

I remember one of my friends had developed the habit of chatting with unknown people on internet. Once I asked him, “Why is he wasting his time on internet?” He said, “I know it’s wrong. I am wasting my time, my parent’s money. But I cannot stop myself from doing so.”

An employee in an organization knows that if he is not punctual and sincere in his work, he may not get promotion or increment and may even lose his job. But he continues to remain mediocre.

Similarly, in our spiritual journey too, our spiritual teachers and the sacred books constantly remind us about the righteous and unrighteous behavior. But still we regularly fall prey to our lower nature. When temptations allure us, we fail to control ourselves. And after indulging in it we feel guilty, most of the times extremely terrible. We take a vow at that moment to not repeat the mistake again, but our determination is as fragile as a bubble in the ocean.

Self-help books & motivational gurus tell us what we already know

These days so many self-help books and motivational videos are available on YouTube channels. They try to teach us how to develop determination, how to remain focused on our goals, how to control our mind and senses. When we read such books and watch such videos, we feel so inspired. Their words are music to our ears.

But I have minutely analyzed the lessons they try to teach us. And again, I find the same pattern. What they try to teach you and me, we already know.

Don’t we know the importance of controlling the mind and senses?
Don’t we know the importance of remaining focused on our goals?
Don’t we know the importance of having strong will power?
Don’t we know that if we resist temptation and work hard, we will have a better future?
Don’t we know that if we give up smoking and drinking, we will have good health?
Don’t we know that if we exercise daily just for 20 – 30 minutes and eat healthy food we will have good health?
Don’t we know that if we are not short tempered, we will have good relationship with our spouse, colleagues, neighbors and with everyone?

We know all these. And we have tried hard to implement it in our lives. Many times, I have observed that when I read or watch political news for hours, I am simply wasting my time and even polluting my consciousness. But I continue doing so. Some amount of news is fine, but we should not be obsessed with it. Similarly, we waste our time on social media or watch entertainment videos or channels or movies. They just suck our time and does not do any good to us.

We all want to free ourselves from these self-destructive habits. But again and again, we get knocked down by our mind and senses.

Reading self-help books and watching motivational videos gives us a positive direction. We may even take steps to improve our life. And we may also succeed to some extent.

But what I have observed is that it never solves our problem permanently.

And let me explain why.

Limitation of self-help books and motivational videos

An example:

Suppose that a person has skin infection. He goes to a doctor. Doctor gives him an ointment. He applies the ointment and the infection goes away. But it reoccurs again after a week. He again goes to the same doctor. The doctor gives him the same ointment which again relives him from the disease for a week and it re-occurs again. He does not get any permanent cure.

The patient decides to visit another doctor, an experienced one. This doctor asks him to go for blood test. The blood test reveals that the problem is not in the skin but is in the blood. Now the doctor gives him medicine to cure his blood infection. And once his blood becomes pure, his skin disease automatically vanishes, it does not reoccur again.

The 2^nd doctor was successful in treating the patient because he did a root cause analysis. It helped him to find that the problem is not in the skin but in the blood.

The material solutions provided by the self-help books and by motivational gurus provide superficial solutions. It does not address the root cause of our problems. So, it is not completely effective in freeing us from our lower modes and helping us to stop committing sins.

In fact, some of the motivational speakers does not even consider a sin a sin. For example, they will not tell people that watching pornography is bad, eating meat is wrong and drinking/smoking should be completely given up. They will only say do these things but in a balanced way.

If these are not sins according to them then how will they help us in giving up sinful habits.

So, what is the best way to stop committing sins? What solution we should look for?

What is the best solution to give up sinful habits?

The Vedic scripture provides an alternative solution. The sacred literature talks in detail about sins, the suffering it causes.

And it explains in detail how to give up sinful habits forever.

It addresses the root cause of our sinful habits.

It explains, we commit sins because of our lower modes. Lower modes means being in mode of ignorance or passion. As long as we are in these two modes, we will continue committing sins and continue suffering.

So first we should elevate ourselves to the mode of goodness. Once we are in mode of goodness, we become self-controlled and we are able to take control of our lives in a better way.

Now to come to the mode of goodness we first have to free ourselves from the modes of passion and ignorance. When our heart and mind is filled with the impurities of lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion and false ego, we remain in passion and ignorance. So, we have to cleanse our hearts of these impurities.

And the scriptures provide ABCD formula which guarantees complete success. Following this process many have been able to free himself/herself from all sinful habits.

Association (A): Associate with those who are pure in their habits

A popular proverb is “Show Me Your Friends and I will Show You Your Future.” The people with whom we associate plays an important role in shaping our thoughts and our life.

Take the example of Kaikeyi, she loved Lord Rama more than her own life. But she associated with Manthara, an evil-minded lady. And the association made her so contaminated that she developed hatred for Lord Rama.
Mrugrari was a hunter. He was so cruel that he used to enjoy killing animals and seeing them die. But he got the association of sage Narada. The association transformed him so much that later he was careful to not harm even an ant.
Hippies in the western countries were indulging in all sorts of sinful activities. But by associating with Srila Prabhupada they got totally transformed. They gave up all sinful habits and began leading a pure life.

So, the Vedic books tell us that we should be extremely careful in choosing the people with whom we associate with. If we associate with those who are impure in their habits, we will also develop bad habits. But if we associate with people who are pure in their habits, are self-controlled then we will become like them.

If as a student, we want to excel in our academics then we should spend time with students who spend most of their time in studies and are controlled enough to not get distracted.
If we want to be successful in our profession, then we should spend our quality time with those who are sincere in their work.
If we want to be happy in our life, then we should surround ourselves with happy people.
If we want to give up habits like smoking and drinking, then we should always seek the company of those who do not drink or smoke.
If we want to give up addiction to social media, to political news, to watching movies then we should associate with people who do not indulge in these time-wasting habits.
If we want to grow in our spiritual life, then we should seek the association of devotees who are sincere and focused in their spiritual journey.

So, let us ask ourselves – Who are our friends? Who are the people with whom we spend good amount of our time?

Their thoughts, their beliefs have a great impact in our life. So, we should choose our friends carefully.

Choosing friends should not be a matter of chance but should be a matter of choice. And our choice should be based on our values and principles based on which we want to live. It will determine our destiny.

Books (B): Read sacred Books

The books we read, the movies we watch, the news we hear, the time we spend on social media like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp etc. also shapes our life. We must be careful as what input we are giving to our mind.

GIGO principle always works – Garbage in Garbage Out. Good in Good out.

We should read books like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, life stories of great personalities. When we read such books then we associate with the thought process of the character of the book which transforms our thought process.

Chanting (C): Chant the holy names of God regularly

One of the most effective means to rise above the lower modes is mantra meditation.

Chanting the holy names of Lord is very effective in purifying our hearts of all the impurities. Vedic scriptures tell that in this age, Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the most effective mantra. Millions of people today are chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra all over the world. And the holy name is helping them to give up old bad habits.

Chanting helps in many ways. Initially when we begin chanting, we find that it is difficult to chant with complete attention. In fact, when I started chanting, I was not able to complete even one round of chanting.

But if we pursue with determination, we find that slowly we can sit at a place and chant for long number of hours. Chanting has so many benefits.

HG Radheshyam Prabhu, President Iskcon Pune, India, and one of the respected preachers all over the world tells the following benefits of chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

Benefits of chanting:

Chanting gives us will power.
Chanting helps us to gain focus.
Chanting calms our mind.
Chanting removes unwanted habits of lust, anger and greed.
Chanting gives us thrill and joy because of connection with Krishna.
Chanting produces happiness because Radha and Krishna is in the name – Hare and Krishna.

Chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra destroys sinful reactions, burn sinful seeds, counteracts sinful proclivities, and uproots ignorance.

So, when King Parīkṣit asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī as how people can give up sinful habits completely then the revered sage said, “Only a rare person who has adopted complete, unalloyed devotional service to Kṛṣṇa can uproot the weeds of sinful actions with no possibility that they will revive. He can do this simply by discharging devotional service, just as the sun can immediately dissipate fog by its rays.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.15

Diet (D): Eat pure food

What we eat also plays an important role in our life. Eating dead animals are harmful to our consciousness. When the animals are about to be slaughtered, they become extremely fearful and tries hard to save themselves.

Their body gets filled with passion and ignorance and so when we eat such food it degrades our consciousness. Also killing animal is sinful. People may not kill animals directly but buying it from slaughterhouses also means they are participating in the killing; they will get karma for that.

God has provided us enough vegetarian food and milk for our survival, so we should eat such foods. Not just that we should even offer the food to the deity of Krishna before we eat it. When the food is offered to the Lord it becomes pure and spiritual.

Conclusion

So, if we want to stop committing sins then instead of looking for material solution, we should look for spiritual solutions.

Material solution like reading self-help books and watching motivational videos will give temporary solutions. But it will not be able to completely uproot our sinful tendencies.

But if we choose spiritual path then we can completely give up all our sinful habits. So, to stop committing sins, we should focus on following four activities.

We should try our best to be in the company of those people who are pure in their habits.
We should read good books like Bhagavad Gita and life of great personalities.
We should eat pure food and not eat dead animals as it degrades our consciousness.
And most importantly we should chant the holy names of the Lord. Chanting has many benefits. Chanting connects us to the Lord and as Lord appears in our hearts our heart becomes completely pure and we lose all taste for sinful habits.

After 500 years of injustice, Lord Rama’s temple to be built in Ayodhya

Purushottam Nitai Das August 16, 2020

Prayers of millions of devotees of Lord Rama have been finally answered. After 500 years of injustice, Lord Rama’s temple is going to be built in Ayodhya

Bhoomi Pujan or groundbreaking ceremony was organized in Ayodhya on 5^th August 2020 in which Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, too participated.

Hindus or the followers of Vedic culture are finally getting justice after 500 years.

The barbarian Babur had demolished the temple of Lord Rama in Ayodhya in 1528–29 AD. He had tried to build a mosque there. Ayodhya is the place where Lord Rama appeared. A beautiful temple was there exactly at the same spot where Lord Rama had taken birth. And the same temple was demolished by barbarian Babur.

The foreign invaders had razed thousands of temples of the Hindus. Many temples in Vrindavan too were either demolished or desecrated. Many times, the priests of the temple risking their lives saved the deities. They either hid the deities or took them to some safe place. Sometimes they succeeded, sometimes they got killed. Millions of Hindus were either savagely eliminated or forced to convert.

The history books talk about how Jews were mercilessly killed in gas chambers. But unfortunately, the plight of millions of Hindus is never highlighted because the communist historians who control academic institutions in India are biased against Hindus.

Why did Babur not succeed in destroying people’s faith in Lord Rama?

In Ramayana, we see Kaikeyi banishing Lord Rama to forest for 14 years. She wanted her son Bharat to become the king. She would have thought if Rama is away from Ayodhya for 14 years then people will eventually forget Rama and accept Bharat as king.

Out of sight out of mind.

But the opposite happened. When Lord Rama was away from Ayodhya, the Ayodhyavasis, the residents of Ayodhya, developed immense longing for him. Their hearts got flooded with his thoughts. The separation was unbearable for them and they desperately wanted him to come back.

So, when barbarian Babur razed the temple, he thought he will also succeed in erasing Rama from the hearts of all. But just like cloud cannot cover the splendor of the sun similarly the demons like Babur and his ilk can never ever succeed in checking the glories of Lord Rama.

The devotee’s hearts were filled with anguish and pain when the temple was demolished. They developed intense desire to rebuild the temple exactly at the same place because that is the place where Lord Rama appeared.

500 years of struggle and sacrifice

It was an extremely difficult battle. As India was under the subjugation of Mughals and then the British so the devotees did not have sufficient power to reconstruct the temple. But they continued their struggle. After independence, millions of devotees of Lord Rama hoped that now their dreams will be realized. They will be able to again build a beautiful temple for their lord.

But unfortunately, after independence India got a government and a Prime Minister who had no interest in respecting the sentiments of the Hindus. In the garb of secularism Hindus were most of the time sidelined.

In fact, the unofficial line from the government was “Hindus should always feel ashamed that they are Hindus.”

Indian history was purposefully modified to show Hindus in bad light. Vedic culture was criticized and demonized. Scriptures were manipulated. Some of the incidents mentioned in the scriptures were taken out of context so that Vedas and its followers can be shown in poor light.

The plight of the devotees of Lord Rama did not end. In fact, it even increased. But the devotees continued their struggle. Soon even the common man started participating in this movement. It became a mass movement. But still the political parties practicing pseudo secularism and vote bank politics did everything to stop this mass movement.

In fact, in 1990s, Mulayam Singh Yadhav, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh ordered the police to fire on kar sevaks, the devotees of Lord Rama.

In the firing hundreds of devotes died. Scores of dead bodies of innocent sadhus could be been floating on the Saryu river.

But devotees fearlessly continued the struggle.

When Lal Krishna Advani started Rath Yatra in 1990s for the construction of the temple then millions of people supported him.

Eventually thousands of people on 6^th December 1992 removed the disputed structure built by Babur.

Devotees were simultaneously fighting the legal battle too. Archaeological Survey of India confirmed that temple existed below the disputed structure.

And finally, on 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court of India in a remarkable judgement ruled that a temple existed of Lord Rama below the disputed structure and so the temple of Lord Rama should be rebuilt there.

And finally, the day has come when there will be a magnificent temple of Lord Rama.

While we are celebrating the construction of a grand temple, we should also pay our heartfelt gratitude to those devotees who lost their lives in this struggle. Surely, they will get the blessings of Lord Ram.

Why did Lord Rama not intervene to build his own temple?

A question may arise in our mind that why did Lord Rama allow all this to happen. If he would have wanted, he could have easily got his temple rebuilt. He is the supreme Lord. He can do anything he wants.

It is true that Lord Rama could have easily intervened to get the temple rebuilt but he wanted his devotees to take the initiative and get all the glories.

For example, Lord Rama could have easily built a bridge to Lanka, but he engaged all the monkeys who were his devotees to build the bridge. Even a little squirrel participated.

Lord Rama who is omniscient knew where Sita is, but he engaged his dear devotee, Hanuman, to find Sita.

Lord Rama could have single handedly killed Ravana and his armies, but he engaged everyone in this epic battle. In fact, he could have effortlessly killed Ravana without lifting any weapon but to give pleasure to the devotees he fought.

He enacted all these pastimes so that everyone can be engaged in his devotional service. And by engaging in his service, we develop love for him which is the perfection of our life.

In Ayodhya too, he could have built his own temple. But he did not. Because he wants us to be part of it. In the deity form of Ram Lalla he lived in a makeshift tent and accepted service there.

He was happy in the makeshift tent too because he wants only our love. It was so painful for the devotees to see Ram Lalla residing in a makeshift temple. They always wanted a beautiful temple for him. So, millions of people from all over the world are coming to together to build a grand temple for him. and for the pleasure of the devotees Lord Rama is willing to reside in a magnificent temple.

The magnificent temple of Lord Rama in Ayodhya will declare loudly and boldly to the entire world that the miscreants who have been trying for hundreds of years to destroy the Sanatana dharma have failed miserably.

The wonderful temple in Ayodhya will sing the glories of Lord Rama & will attract millions of people from across the world to the lotus feet of Lord Rama.

The lovers of Lord Rama will now be able to visit Ayodhya without any fear, take darshan of Ram Lalla to their hearts full content and feel blessed.

What led to the decline of Vedic culture from the world?

While we are celebrating the construction of a beautiful temple it is also a time for introspection. Vedic culture once not just thrived in present day India but was spread all over the world. Therefore, we see many idols of Vedic gods and many Vedic artifacts in different parts of the world.

But what led to its decline? How can invaders like Babur come and destroy thousands of temples? Were they too powerful or we had become too weak?

In Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12: The Age of Deterioration, it is mentioned that as Kaliyuga will advance irreligion will be considered as religion and unrighteous behavior will be considered as righteous. And people will stop following the fine teachings of the Vedic scriptures.

Since our forefathers stopped living as per the guidelines of the Vedas so the Vedic culture started disappearing from the world. As sun sets darkness appears. And in the night thieves and rogues become active.

Similarly, when spirituality started declining miscreants started gaining strength. The devils started destroying people’s faith in pure spiritual principles. Those who refused were eliminated. The sacred land of India where Lord Rama appeared to teach the ideal behavior of an ideal human being was attacked innumerable times. Temples were destroyed. Devotees were killed. Most unfortunately these barbaric invaders got the support of traitors like Jaichand.

The enemies of Lord Rama are the enemies of entire humanity. They are even present today and are still powerful. They are still waging a war against the followers of Vedic dharma. Several Jaichands are still present today. These Jaichands call themselves as Hindus, have Hindu names, may even wear the dress of a Hindu but their hearts are filled with hatred for the Supreme Lord Rama. These Jaichands are more dangerous than the barbarian invaders.

Let us spread the glories of Lord Rama all over the world

So, what can be done to re-establish the sacred teachings of the Vedas. What steps can we take so that Vedic culture start flourishing all over the world again?

It may appear an impossible task. But if all the genuine devotees of Lord Rama come together and start propagating the teachings of the Vedas then the whole world can become flooded with love for Lord Rama.

Srila Prabhupada, the founder acharya of ISKCON, has practically demonstrated it. With his extraordinary purity and determination, he singlehandedly spread the teachings of these transcendental literature all over the world. And it is because of him that today millions of people all over the globe are chanting the holy names of Lord Krishna and Lord Rama.

Lord Rama lives in the hearts of all. Love for Lord Rama is in the heart of all. We have to only reignite that love. This is what Srila Prabhupada did.

Srila Prabhupada taught us that we should purify our life first by practicing devotion to the Supreme Lord sincerely. And simultaneously with enthusiasm and determination should spread the message of holy Vedas.

If we want that the glories of Lord Rama to spread on this planet earth, then we should first start living as per the teachings of Lord Rama. He taught us selfless love, compassion, and gratitude. Let us assimilate all these values in our life. He taught us to shun hatred and spread love. So, let us utilize this wonderful opportunity to spread the message of peace and love all over the Lord.

Lord Rama is the Lord of the entire universe. He is the father of all the living beings. Although today we may call ourselves as Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and so on. We may be Indians, Americans, Europeans, Russians, Pakistanis and so on. But this entire world belongs to Lord Rama. We all are his children. And our Supreme father will not be happy to see if one of his sons is hating his another son.

Yes, there are miscreants, the enemies of humanity who do not like Lord Rama, there are Jaichands too. But while fighting them if we should also start spreading the teachings of Lord Rama following the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada.

If most of the people of the world again start loving Lord Rama, Lord Krishna then the evil-minded people and Jaichands will automatically get defeated.

As sun rises darkness disappears. As the world will get illuminated by the sacred teachings of Lord Rama the thieves and rogues and those whose hearts are full of hatred will disappear.

Let us all come together to build this beautiful temple and enthrone Lord Rama in our hearts. Let there be no enmity among the people based on religion, caste, creed and nationality. And most importantly let us all become a sincere devotee of Lord Rama and live our life as per his teachings.

This is the best gift we can give to our beloved Lord Rama.

Let me know what you think is the best way to spread the teachings of Lord Rama in the entire world and what is the best gift we can give to him. Leave your message in the comment section below.

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Vyasa Puja offering to Srila Prabhupada

Purushottam Nitai Das August 13, 2020

Dear Srila Prabhupada,

I was aimlessly wandering in this world trying to look for pleasure. Some told me that the only way to be happy in this world is to become materially successful. “If you have power and position and possessions, then you will become the happiest person in the world.”

I thought I got the formula to be happy and peaceful in this world.

But during the course my journey I found that happiness eludes me. When I looked at the life of so-called materially successful people, I found that they too are miserable. Although they might not be aware of it. And the one thought which always haunted me was that even if I become the richest person on the planet earth, even if I become the most powerful person on this planet earth but it won’t last for long. Any day without any prior information death will come knocking at my door and will take me away.

With all my intelligence I will not be able to save my life. I will not be able to bribe death with all my wealth. And even with all my power I will not be able to overpower death. Death will not allow me to carry anything of this world. Whatever I have accumulated I will be forced to leave here. I will have to leave behind my family members and my friends.

What is the value of money, power, and position in this world? All are useless.

So, what should be done? What is life? Who am I?

If everything is meant to end finally then let it end now.

If I have to die, then why not I kill myself and end everything.

I thought let me finish my life because it is useless.

But I found that I do not want to die. I want to live. I want to exist. I want to feel happy. I want to enjoy my life. I want to sing. I want to dance. I want to have wonderful relationship with the people.

If I am nobody just meant to die, then from where these feelings are coming. Why my heart wants love? Why my eyes want to see things which are beautiful? Why I am looking always for happiness? Why I do not want to suffer? What is this world? Why the sun rises every morning and then sets every evening? Why every living creature of this world are struggling to live? Why no one wants to die? Everyone wants to live. Everyone wants to just enjoy their life.

I found I am pleasure seeking. I hate to be miserable.

But I had lost interest in the world. I had lost interest in the studies. I had lost interest in the people. Because nothing gave me any pleasure. I was not living my life. I was simply dragging my life. Yes, my impurities were forcing me do get involved in non sensical material activities.

But it was not me. My mind was dragging me to get indulged in such activities. After wasting my time in worldly pleasure-seeking activities, I cried with tears sometimes and without tears many times.

I read several books of the scientists to know about the world. It did not give me any answer. I turned towards many religious people, read their books but did not get any satisfactory answer.

And then I met the devotees of Krishna. I was desperate to know the truth. They gave me your books. I began reading your books, hearing your lectures. In started attending the classes.

One by one my doubts were getting answered. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything.

I remember during one of my first few visits to Radha Kunjabihari temple in Iskcon Pune. During Guru Puja I saw devotees happily worshipping you and dancing in front of you. I thought who are you? Why all are worshipping you? Why should I worship you?

When I read your books, I found that it is filled with pearls of wisdom. For the first time ever in my life, I found that your books, your lectures have all the answers to all my questions. The answers were convincing, filled with logic.

The more I read your books, more I heard your lectures, more I read about you my love for you kept on increasing.

This flickering material world was frustrating me, burning me, torturing me. I did not know what to do.

But you came in my life like a monsoon rain. You cleared all my doubts.

I do not want to die because as a soul I am eternal. So, I want to live eternally.

I seek pleasure because because as a soul I am pleasure seeking. So, I hate to suffer.

I want wonderful relationship with all because in the spiritual world every soul has wonderful relationship with others. So, I hate to be alone.

I was wandering in the forest filed with thorny bushes and venomous serpents. But like a caring father you held my hand and revealed to be the most important secret which was the cause of all my sufferings.

You revealed to me that I belong to Krishna. Krishna is my father, my mother, my friend, my best well-wisher. You told that Krishna is the Supreme Lord; he is the Supreme Truth. But unfortunately, I left him to enjoy away from him.

You also revealed to me the spiritual world and told me that I belong to the spiritual world which is eternal and full of bliss. This temporary material world is not my original home, but the spiritual world is my original home.

I do not know why I left Krishna. But today I know that I want only to be with Krishna.

My frustration with the life ended by your mercy.

However, during my spiritual journey, I have understood one important thing – the process to attain Krishna is simple, but it is not easy. No one in the entire universe can stop me from becoming a devotee of Krishna but my mind. It is my mind which is my fiercest enemy. I see other people as my enemy. I see others doing harm to me. I see people making plans to insult me, to put me down. But when I go deeper, I find that it is my mind which is creating feeling of pain and pleasure for me.

Dear Srila Prabhupada, you gave me the address of the eternal world where you reside eternally with your and my beloved Krishna. You also showed me the path following which I can reach you in the spiritual world.

But my mind, always knocks me down. And almost all the time I am helpless in front of my mind. I know that if I ignore my mind, if I do not surrender to my mind and with grit practice devotion to Krishna then all the miseries of my life will vanish in a moment. But I am extremely weak in front of my mind. Because for millions of lives, I have served only one master faithfully which is my mind.

I have become so accustomed to serving my mind that I do not have courage to say no to it. My mind has become extremely powerful. It has bound me from all the sides. No matter how much I try I fail to free myself from its clutches. So, on this auspicious occasion of your appearance day, I pray at your lotus feet to free me from the clutches of my evil mind. It has devastated my life.

Dear Srila Prabhupada, Please give me strength so that like Avantī brāhmaṇa in all situations and circumstances I should tolerate the urges of my mind. Nothing in this world should agitate me. Nothing in this world should allure me. For me pleasure and pain remain the same. Happiness and distress should not distract me from my eternal goal.

I never had much desire to continue living in this world. At this very moment too I to not have any love for my life. I do not fear death. In fact, I never feared death. I always feared life.

But after coming to Krishna Consciousness I neither fear death nor life. But I only fear one thing a life devoid of Krishna consciousness.

Dear Srila Prabhupada, please shower your mercy upon me that in whatever situation and circumstances I may be in I continue chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra minimum 16 rounds a day. And I never break any of the four regulative principles.

I pray at your lotus feet millions of time again & again to free me from the clutches of my mind.

There are so many wonderful devotees of Krishna who are doing wonderful service for Krishna as per your instructions. But most of my time gets wasted in struggling with my life. Please bestow your mercy upon me so that I may also do at least something for Krishna.

My heart is filled with lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion and false ego.

I came away from Krishna because I wanted to be away from Krishna. I was selfish. Today also when I look within then with utter shame, I want to admit that I am still selfish. Whatever I do I do it for myself. I always think about myself.

The foremost quality of a devotee is that he does not have any selfish motive. He does not have any enjoying mentality. But I try to enjoy my life without Krishna, without you and without the devotees.

And even when I try to serve you then my mind forces me to serve my ego.

I am in a helpless situation because of my mind. I know that as long as this material body remains, I will have to live with my mind. So, the only way to defeat the mind is to purify it. And I do not have the willpower and purity to purify my mind.

Dear Srila Prabhupada, I beg at your lotus feet to purify my mind free me from the clutches of my evil mind.

And shower your unlimited mercy upon me so that I can serve Krishna selflessly, I serve you selflessly, I serve the devotees selflessly and I serve the entire humanity selflessly.

Dear Srila Prabhupada, I am eternally grateful to you for all you have given to me. I am not qualified enough to express it in proper words. Or I think there are not enough words which can ever glorify you.

Today the whole world especially the devotees are celebrating your Vyasa Puja. On this most auspicious day, I just want to say “Thank You” for everything. And I beg you to continue guiding me forever.

Your eternal insignificant servant

Purushottam Nitai Das

How to control the urges of speech, mind, anger, tongue, belly, & genitals?

Purushottam Nitai Das August 1, 2020

The first instruction which Srila Rupa Goswami gives in Nectar of Instruction (NOI) Text 1 is that we should control the six urges: urge to speak, urges of the mind, urges of the anger, and urges of the tongue, belly, and genitals.

Srila Prabhupada has elaborately explained as how we can control all these urges and make our life successful. If we do not control these urges, then they become the cause of our downfall in our spiritual journey.

How to control the urge to speak (vaco vegam)?

Vaco means speech and vegam means force. Rupa Goswami’s first instruction is to control our urge to speak.

So, should we stop speaking? Should we take a vow of silence i.e. maunvrat?

Definitely not.

Controlling the urge to speak means controlling the urge to speak on subject matters not related to Krishna. Srila Prabhupada compares the speech of a materialistic person with the croaking of a toad. When a toad speaks, it is not aware that its sound is inviting snakes. Its croaking becomes the cause of its death.

Similarly, the materialistic people invite death by speaking non sensical stuffs. How is it so? As his talks are full of politics, sports, movies, world affairs he wastes his invaluable time and precious human life. The agents of death will finally snatch away his human body and he will again have to transmigrate through different species of life. He may even get a non-human body.

Even the talk of the Mayavadis who wrongly interpret the Vedic literatures and think that they can become God is categorized as materialistic talk. Mayavadis desire to become God because they want to enjoy like God. No one can ever become God. God is always God and we are fortunate servants of God.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that those who write novels and those who read them are wasting their life. These days people waste tonnes of time on social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, twitter, tiktok, Instagram, Pinterest etc. Even devotees should be careful not to waste their time on these platforms in the name of preaching.

Tukaram Maharaj had even declined to meet Shivaji Maharaj because he thought why to waste even a fraction of second in meeting a king.

Steps to control the urge to speak (vaco – vegam)

We should engage our speech in chanting the holy names of Krishna like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.
We should always try our best to glorify Krishna’s name, forms, transcendental qualities, and his sweet pastimes which are pleasing to the heart.
In fact, we should also always glorify devotees of Krishna who are full of divine qualities.
We should read Krishna conscious literature like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and Chaitanya Charitamrita. Srila Prabhupada and many prominent Vaisnava acharyas have worked very hard to write many Krishna Conscious literature for our benefit and we should make best use of it.

How to control the urges of the mind (mansa vegam)?

Mind is the reservoir of all the impressions and experiences.

Srila Rupa Goswami says that the urges of the mind should be controlled. If we become a puppet of our mind, then mind will make us dance to its tune.

Let us pause for a moment and ask ourselves that “are we in control of our mind or is the mind controlling us?” Many of us have the experience that mind compels us to do certain things which we know we should not do.

“I do not want to watch a YouTube video.” But mind forces us to watch.

“I want to stop scrolling Facebook pages for hours.” But mind compels us to do.

Why is it so?

Externally we may portray that we are in complete control of ourselves but internally we may be torn apart by the dictum of our mind. We have become so accustomed to follow the commands of our mind that most of us do not even dare to say no to the mind.

Yes, it is true that mind is extremely powerful, and we find ourselves helpless in front of our mind. But if we take Krishna’s shelter then Krishna will surely help us. Controlling the mind does not mean emptying the mind because we cannot create a vacuum in our mind.

Controlling the mind basically means purifying the mind

We can purify the mind by inundating it with spiritual thoughts. As soon as the mind gets flooded with positive spiritual thoughts it will not drag us towards self – destructive habits. In fact, the mind will cooperate with us and with the help of our mind we can succeed in our life. If our mind is controlled, we can even succeed in our material life and be happy in this world too.

And the best way to purify the mind is by chanting the holy names of Krishna like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

Steps to control the urges of the mind (mansa vegam)

Associating with people who have good control over their mind and who are serious and sincere in their devotional practice.
Reading good literatures like Bhagavad Gita and not reading literature filled with materialistic subject matters like politics, movies, sports etc. because such literature aggravate lust, greed, and anger.
Similarly, we should avoid watching sexual and sensual entertainment channels or videos. Watching such programs degrade our consciousness. Our mind gets stuffed with nasty images and impressions. In fact, the people who have watched horror movies earlier have the experience that they get lots of dream of ghosts and they struggle to sleep peacefully.
We should eat sattvic or pure food. The best food is the one which is offered first to Krishna and then eaten. The kind of food we eat, the consciousness with which the food has been cooked affects our mind and our thought process. So, we should eat carefully.
And one of the most important activity which plays an important role is chanting the holy names of Krishna like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

**How to control the urges of the anger (krodha-vegaṁ)**?

In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna’s say that lust, anger, and greed are three gateways to hell. People have destroyed their life by not being able to control their anger. Unfortunately, in the modern world anger is many times justified and many times even glorified.

But anger does more harm to us than to others. As soon as we become angry our whole consciousness changes. Our heart starts beating rapidly, we start sweating, we raise our voice. And sometimes when anger crosses the threshold limit then the person even resorts to physical violence. All these things ruin our life. So, anger at any cost should be curbed. Anger destroys relationships, anger brings disrepute and anger does irreparable damage to our life. So, we need to train ourselves to control our anger.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that devotees should always maintain a humble mood.

tṛṇād api su-nīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly. Sri Siksastakam Text 3

Using anger for a right cause

Sometimes anger can be used for a right cause.

For example, Hanuman and Arjuna used their anger to protect religious principles. But they did not use anger whimsically. Anger should be used only against a wrongdoer and not against any vulnerable person.

Before exhibiting anger, Hanuman tried his best to make Ravana understand that he should return mother Sita. He argued that how can he kidnap a woman and imprison her? But Ravana who was full of arrogance began blaspheming Lord Rama and mother Sita. He ordered to imprison Hanuman. Hanuman tolerated to a great extent but when he found that Ravana was unwilling to shun his arrogance and was not ready to return Sita he decided to burn Lanka. But while burning Lanka he made sure that none of the residents die.

Similarly, before waging a war against the Kauravas, Pandavas led by Lord Krishna tried their best to stop war. In fact, Lord Krishna even went to Kauravas as a peace messenger. But evil Duryodhana was not willing to listen to anyone. So, to establish righteousness Krishna finally ordered Arjuna to use his anger in the service of entire humanity.

Even Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu showed his anger when miscreants Jagai and Madhai were trying to harm Nityananda Prabhu.

But in all the cases we see that the anger was not used for any selfish purpose but was used to serve the Lord and the devotees of the Lord. Anger was always used for a right cause. And anger was used in rare circumstances only.

It should not happen that we yell, shout, and insult a person and later justify it saying that they deserved it. We can check for ourselves. If any of our actions are not helping us to be peaceful, happy, and more absorbed in devotional life it means that our anger is unreasonable.

At our level it is always better that we avoid anger and not try to create disturbance in our life and other’s life.

How to control the urges of the tongue(jihvā-vegam)?

Our tongue always wants to taste delicious food. And so, it drags us to different restaurants, forces us to munch on unlimited packets of lays, and compels us to eat more and more even though we are not hungry. We helplessly surrender to the demands of our tongue.

But Srila Rupa Goswami says that we should control the urges of the tongue. We should not allow our tongue to decide what it wants to eat. But we should conscientiously choose the food, which is healthy, nutritious, and fresh to eat.

But the most effective way by which the tongue can be controlled is by eating Krishna prasadam i.e. food which is offered to Krishna. When the food is offered to Krishna with love then Krishna showers his mercy upon it. It no longer remains an ordinary food. It becomes divine. And when our tongue touches such divine food then it gets purified. And in purified state it stops hankering for unhealthy food.

We should also eat at regulated time and not at any time of the day. Even if we are eating prasadam then also we should eat it at fixed time and should never overeat.

In one of the lectures Srila Prabhupada explains, “Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has taught that our tongue is very fastidious, wants to eat this thing, that thing, this thing, that thing. Even after… We have seen. He has eaten sumptuously at home but as soon as he comes out, “Let us go to the restaurant, let us have a cup of tea, a little this or that.” The tongue is always dictating. “You eat this, you eat that, you eat that, you like that.” That is going on. So if you want to control your tongue, then give him Kṛṣṇa prasādam. That “I’ll not accept anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa.” Then your tongue becomes controlled. And if you can control your tongue, your other senses will be automatically controlled.”

One of the biggest advantages of controlling the tongue is that if our tongue is controlled then all our other senses automatically is controlled.

**How to control the urges of the belly (udara vegam)**?

If we can control the urges of the tongue, then it becomes easy to control the urges of the belly.

We should never overeat. It is said that we should fill one-third of our belly with food, one-third with liquid and the remaining one-third should be empty so that our food gets properly digested.

Also, we should eat healthy food and not fast food. We should consume more fruits, green vegetables, and milk.

If we eat unhealthy food or overeat then we will suffer from stomach diseases. Also, if we eat in an unregulated way then too, we will suffer from stomach disease.

One of the prescribed ways by which we can control the urges of the belly is by observing fast during festivals like Janmashtami, Ram Navami, Gaur Purnima. We should always observe Ekadasi and fast on grains on that day.

Many times, we have the fear that if we do not stuff our belly completely with food, we will fall sick. But if we start observing fast then we experience that we do not require too much food for survival. If we observe fast with right attitude, we will feel rejuvenated the following day. Observing fast on holy days also purifies us and gives us determination to control our eating habits.

How to control the urges of the genitals(upastha vegam)?

We should put in our best efforts to control our sexual desires. Else it will create havoc in our life. Most of the people in this world is obsessed with the desire to enjoy with the opposite sex. Thousands of movies, television serials, YouTube videos are made about the relationship between a man and woman. And people love watching them.

But Rupa Goswami says that we should control our urge to enjoy with the opposite sex.

The desire to enjoy with the opposite sex is even in the animals. Animals are not expected to lead a regulated life, but we humans are expected to follow certain principles. At the present age we see that men and women are freely mixing with each other just like animals. The human form of life is a precious gift given to us but if we are behaving like animals then for sure we will get animal body in the next life and we will suffer terribly.

If we are not able to control our sexual urges, then we are bound to suffer terribly even in this life.

A True Story

In one of the class HG Radheshyam Prabhu narrated a true story about five friends whose life was ruined due to illicit relationship.

There were five friends from the same village. They studied hard and got a good job in Bangalore. All were earning good amount of money and living a good life in the city. One of the friends somehow got in contact with a call girl and he frequently started visiting her. To spend more time with her, he took a separate flat on rent for her. He was not disclosing this to his friends for obvious reasons.

He started spending lots of time with the call girl. He got very much attached to her.

The girl one day said that you are in office all day and I am getting bored here. I had many clients, but I left them for you. If you want me to stay here, then buy me a TV and other gadgets else I will leave. The man did not want to lose her at any cost. So, he promised to make all the arrangements. He had already spent lots of money on her. He did not have enough money to buy her the things.

So, he requested money from his friends. Initially they were surprised that why he suddenly needs that much amount of money. But anyway, they gave him the money. He promised to return the money as soon as possible.

But since he had to spend lots of money to maintain the girl, he was not able to save much and so was not able to return the money. Several months passed, he did not return the money. His friends were very angry with him. They demanded the money. But he was not able to return. His friends started threatening him that if he does not return the money then they will beat him.

Meanwhile all these friends too came to know that he visits a girl. So, they too started visiting her and the girl had no problem in entertaining his friends as she was getting money for it.

The man came to know that the girl is having relationship with his friends also. He felt cheated. He felt disgusted. He felt so humiliated by all these incidents that he committed suicide. Eventually the girl also ran away with all the money.

The other friends who were keeping illicit relationship with her got AIDS. There life too was ruined.

They had come to Iskcon temple in Pune and narrated all these incidents. They said that they have come here to collect chanting beads. Their parents had called them back to village. They said that we do not know how long we are going to live. It could be one year or five year or may be before that also we can die.

Therefore, scriptures warn us that we should never indulge in any kind of illicit relationship. The present society tries to normalise illicit relationship between man and woman and so we see today the families are breaking and the marriage does not last long.

Attraction towards the opposite sex is most difficult to give up. History is testimony to the fact that many mighty kings have fallen prey to the opposite sex and lost all dignity and power.

The genitals should only be used in a legal way. Sexual relationship is only allowed in married life. As per the scriptures husband and wife should come together so that they can give birth to a Krishna Conscious child.

Any sex outside marriage is illicit. Watching pornography or any such kinds of movies or videos also comes under the category of illicit sex.

Srila Prabhupada says, “When one indulges in illicit sex life, as defined by the śāstras, either by thinking, planning, talking about or actually having sexual intercourse, or by satisfying the genitals by artificial means, he is caught in the clutches of māyā.”

In the kingdom of Krishna there is no physical relationship between man and woman. So, if we are keen to be part of the spiritual world then we should put in our best efforts to free ourselves from the desire of enjoying with the opposite sex. Then our life will become perfect.

Quiz on Kartik Month

Devotees engage in following spiritual activities in the month of Kartik

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Ramayan Quiz

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How to gain control over your mind as per Bhagavad Gita?

Bhagavad Gita quotes on mind control

Why Arjuna says it is extremely difficult to control the mind?

You suffer because of your uncontrolled mind

What advice Krishna gives in Bhagavad Gita to control the mind?

Controlling the mind by practice (abhyāsena)

What practice to do to control the mind?

Mantra meditation is the best way to gain control over your mind

How detachment (vairāgyeṇa) helps to gain control over the mind?

Conclusion

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Controlling the mind with intelligence as per Vedic literatures

One who conquers the mind conquers the world

Mind is the cause of our pleasure and pain

How intelligence can help to control our mind

Story of a husband & an unchaste wife

How this story is relevant in our life?

Intelligence helps to make right choices

3 steps to improve the intelligence

1. Taking the association of saintly people who have mastered the art of self-control

2. Nourishing intelligence by reading wisdom literature

3. Purifying our mind with Mantra meditation

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The best food for your spiritual growth

The pure spiritual food transforms the son of a maidservant

What type of food to eat?

What happens when one kills an animal for food?

Sanskrit word for meat

Are we not killing plants for food?

We do not always kill the plant for food

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Why not visit a slaughterhouse and a farm?

Does vegetarian food not have sufficient nutrients?

Many prominent leaders of the world are vegetarian

What happens if we eat food not offered to the Supreme Lord?

Offering food to the Lord is extremely important

Food should be cooked with proper consciousness

The type of food we eat affects our spiritual growth

Food in the mode of goodness:

The purpose of human life is not to eat, drink and be merry

What steps we can follow to give up overeating?

Conclusion

A Confession

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