Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

India’s #MeToo movement not answering all the questions

India’s #MeToo movement has arrived and is haunting the sexual predators who till few days back where the best known faces in India.  These culprits controlled the narratives and set the narratives. They presented themselves as most progressive, the torchbearers of modern day India who knew what the common man did not know. Some are famous comedians from AIB who cracked vulgar jokes, passed lewd comments, used abusive words and the top stars from the movie industry graced their shows. Any opposition to their brand of comedy immediately invited the wrath of the left liberals. They championed the cause of the women, advocated free sex and mocked those who loved to live a cultured life.

Media magnets, senior editors, reporters who write opinion pieces in the famous newspapers of India and teach us what is good for us and what is not good for us have now been exposed by women who once worked with them.  They have degrees from the best universities of the world, they work (or worked) at a very responsible positions but still they did not shy away from indulging in such heinous acts.  How can the Bollywood stars be left behind? Actors like Nana Patekar and Alok Nath who are inspiration for many budding actors have also been accused of sexual misconduct.

Every day or rather every hour one new incident is coming out wherein a woman is narrating how she was sexually exploited by men in power.

Whether all these allegations are true or not it is for the investigative agencies to determine but all the allegations are not false either. Many men accepted their misconduct and offered apology. Chetan Bhagat, one of the best-selling authors of India, accepted the charge and said sorry for his behavior.  In many of the cases the victims have posted the vulgar messages which were sent to them by the sex maniacs. AIB comics Tanmay Bhat and Utsav Chakraborty famous for their indecent comedy got completely exposed and their shows have been cancelled. Men from media like Mayank Jain of Business Standard, Prashant Jha of Hindustan Times and others  have been forced to quit or sent on leave till further notice for similar offences.

Many are lauding the courage shown by the women in naming and shaming their sexual harassers.  But India’s #MeToo movement is not answering all the questions.  One question which is pertinent to ask here is why at first place did it happen? What emboldened the men to indulge in such a crime? Was it possible for the victims to protect themselves from the vultures?

First I believe we should reconsider the meaning of ‘success.’ One of the victims while narrating her ordeal mentioned that “I was a successful woman. I smoked and I drank.”  Her statement imply that a successful woman smokes and drink or if you are not drinking and smoking then you are not sufficiently successful.  If one have such a definition of success then there is a great possibility that they will expose themselves to men having questionable character. There are many women who are successful but does not indulge in smoking and drinking and most importantly knows where to draw the line.

The vulgar shows of AIB were lauded by so called eminent people and so young boys and girls trying hard to be part of the modern society got forced to like such programs. When such men find that their substandard jokes laced with vulgarity gives them instant success they muster courage to send vulgar messages to innocent girls.

This world is filled with good people, not so good people and terrible people. One need to be careful and take all precautionary measures at first place so that people with wrong intention do not get a chance to take undue advantage of them. 

Competence without good character does not make a good person.  This is why Indian tradition based on teachings of Vedic books not just laid emphasis on material knowledge but also gave great emphasis on character building. And the society never judged a person based on his/her material achievements but his/her overall conduct also mattered a lot.

So those who drink, watch porn and crack vulgar jokes are not progressive whether they are media personalities, business tycoons, movie stars, famous comedians or people from any other field. There are great chances that such people are pervert or on the path of being one.

It is important that we as a society introspect and purge the evil forces who bring disgrace to humanity. This could be possible if we start leading a principle centred life and in the name of modernity do not compromise with our values.

Kolkata – the blessed city

The Himalayan musk deer teaches a very important lesson of life.  The musk is extremely expensive fetching more than 3 times its weight in gold.  The aroma of the musk is so alluring that when it catches the deer’s nose, he runs frantically in the forest day and night to find its source. Little did he realize that the source of the aroma lies within him. The musk is produced by the gland present in the stag’s navel.

Like the musk deer we also most of the times look outwards instead of inwards. We try to search happiness externally and not internally. The true treasure many a times is very near to us but unware of our surroundings we fail to appreciate it.

Scriptures teaches us that the true treasure is the love of the divine which is within us. The human life is meant to uncover and discover that treasure. On this holy land of India time and again many saintly personalities have appeared to distribute the treasure of divine love. The land where these great saintly persons appear becomes blessed.

The city of Kolkata is sacred because prominent Vaisvana saints Bhaktivinod Thakuara, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada laid the foundation of worldwide Krishna Conscious movement here and distributed the treasure of Krishna’s love all over the globe.

In the present secular world we mostly fail to give importance to spiritual personalities whose only business is to connect the forlorn souls to Krishna. Rather those who assist in gratifying our senses immediately occupies our heart and gain wide acceptability in the society.

So the media and the academia may many time ignore their massive contribution but if we try to study their life, their teachings and their conduct with an open mind then we would find that how these personalities selflessly strived hard to give us unadulterated love of Krishna.

Let us try to analyze the lives of these great saintly personalities who distributed the sublime teachings of the Vedas and how Kolkata occupied its prized position in shaping the future of the worldwide Krishna Conscious movement.

Reestablishing the mission of Lord Chaitanya

After few hundred years of Lord Chaitanya’s disappearance, His pure teachings were lost. Bhaktivinod Thakura aka Kedarnath Datta who appeared in the 19^th century revived the teaching’s of Lord Chaitanya, the writings of Goswamis and prominent acharyas in such a way that the modern secular world could understand it and appreciate it.

When the famous novelist Bankim Chandra wrote a book on Krishna, Krsnacarita, then he being influenced by western scholars had portrayed Krishna as an ordinary person having extraordinary qualities. But when the Thakura came to know about it then for four days without caring for food and sleep, he presented many arguments and logic from the scriptures to convince the famed novelist that Krishna is just not a mortal being but He is the Supreme being. Bankim Chandra incorporated many changes as suggested but when his book was published then the biased scholars criticized it because contrary to their views Krishna was not a mythical or an ordinary person in the book. It was a proof that Thakura was all alone fighting against the forces who wanted to belittle the scriptures. In fact Thakura’s deep scriptural understanding and purity was helping in re-establishing the pure teachings of Lord Chaitanya.

Kolkata becomes the center of the spiritual movement

In Kolkata, Bhaktivinod Thakura wanted to establish a preaching centre. He got a place at 181 Manikatal Street (presently Ramesh Dutt Street). It came to be known as Bhakti Bhavan. The price of the house was Rs 6000.  Many learned persons would assemble for meetings and discussions here and it was here where many books and articles were written.  In 1885, the Thakura opened a press in Bhakti Bhavan and named it Caitanya yantra (Caitanya Press). He started regularly publishing Sajjana – tosani magazine. He published books such as Gita with his commentaries, Sri Caitanya Siksamrta, Sanmodana – bhasyam – a Sanskrit commentary on Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s siksastakam and many more.  He founded Sri Visva Vaisnava Sabha in 1886 in Kolkata in which many educated people became its member.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings reaches west

In 1896 he decided to reach out to the west with his book, Sri Gauranga – lila smarana stotram, which is based on the life and teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and contains 104 Sanskrit slokas. The book begins with 47 page introduction in English entitled – Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: His Life and Precepts. The introduction was especially meant for the English audience so that they can comprehend the meaning  of the Sanskrit slokas. The book found its place in many educational institutions of the world.  In fact several decades later one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples found it in McGill University in Montreal. In 1896 for the first time the teachings of Lord Chaitanya reached to the western world from Kolkata, it was also the same year when Srila Prabhupada was born in Kolkata who inundated the western world with Krishna Conscious message. Is it mere a coincidence or was Krishna’s plan?

For establishing the temple of Lord Chaitanya

To construct Lord Caitanya’s temple in Mayapur, Thakura began going from door to door in Kolkata. Anand Bazar Patrika wrote on December 6, 1894:  Babu Kedar Nath Dutt, the distinguished Deputy Magistrate, who has just retired from the service, is one of the most active members. Indeed, Babu Kedar Nath has been deputed by the committee to raise subscription in Kolkata and elsewhere and is determined to go from house to house, if necessary, and beg a rupee from each Hindu gentleman for the noble purpose….we hope, no Hindu gentleman, whose house may be honoured by the presence of such a devout bhakta as Babu Kedar Nath, will send him away without contributing his mite, however humble it may be, to the Gaur Vishnupriya Temple Fund.”

The mission continues

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura carried the legacy of his father, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakuras. Acknowledging the fact that Kolkata has been the cultural centre of India,  Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura too established his base in Kolkata.

He established Bhagawat Yantra (Bhagawat Press) in 1913 and Gaudiya Printing Works  in 1923 in Kolkata. He continued publishing many magazines and books including the magazine Sajjana Tosani which he renamed as The Harmonist.

He preached boldly and asked his disciples to not compromise with philosophy at any cost. When his disciples went to Dacca (present day Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh) then they faced huge opposition from the professional gurus. These fake gurus asked people to boycott the preachers and not give them any support – money, place to reside, food, and even water.  The disciples immediately sent a telegram to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati narrating their hardships and in reply he said, “If necessary, survive by drinking the water of the Buriganga, but do not stop distributing the teachings of Lord Caitanya.”

He established Sri Gaudiya Math in Kolkata at No.1 Ultadanga Junction road in 1920, it was later shifted to the marble temple in Baghbazar. The foundation of a new temple at Bag – bazar, Kolkata was laid in September, 1928. When it was finally inaugurated then it attracted large number of people.

On 12 October 1930 the Liberty reported:

On Sunday the 5^th October last the streets of North Kolkata were scenes of a record procession on the occasion of the new Gaudiya Matha constructed in Bag-bazar. Devotees from different provinces of India, viz, Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Madra, United Provinces, and the Punjab had been pouring into Kolkata for days before the ceremony.  The sri – vigrahas of the Gaudiya Matha, Sri Gaura – Vinoda – Ananda Ji, preceded and followed by congregational chant of the holy name….the procession was about two miles long, the whole city seemed to be in a tremor, and it was a sight for the gods to see.

The procession attracted humongous crowd and was so popular that a local theatre replayed film coverage of it for nine consecutive days.

Sowing the seed of worldwide Krishna Conscious movement

Kolkata is the place where Srila Prabhupada was born, he spent his childhood here under the love and care of his father and mother. His father always prayed and asked everyone to bless that his child, Abhay, becomes a devotee of Srimati Radharani. He studied here, got married here and worked here. And most importantly it was in Kolkata he met his spiritual master who planted the seed in his heart to preach the message of Lord Chaitanya. And it was from Kolkata on August 13, 1965 that Srila Prabhupada boarded the cargo ship M V Jaladutta to go to west to lay the foundation of worldwide Krishna conscious movement.

After successfully establishing ISKCON in the west and preaching to tens and thousands of people all over USA and Europe, Srila Prabhupada came to Kolkata to establish first temple of ISKCON in India at 3C Albert Road in 1971. Srila Prabhupada also inaugurated the Kolkata Rath Yatra in 1971.

Kolkata – the blessed city

People who are living in Kolkata are blessed because the beautiful city was chosen by great spiritual personalities to execute their mission. They have revealed to us the treasure of Krishna’s love. Kolkata is also the gateway to Mayapur and within and around Kolkata are many places where Lord Chaitanya, Lord Nityananda and many acharyas have performed many pastimes.

References:

• Seventh_Goswami
• A_Ray_of_Vishnu
• Sri_Bhaktisiddhanta_Vaibhava
• Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita

With tears of sorrow, he said, “I was forced to leave Krishna”

India TV has been conducting programs wherein they bring the monks (brahmacharis) who have joined Iskcon temples and the parents who are completely against their sons becoming a monk together.  The parents of the monks are always furious, they display their emotions publicly. They blame the temple authorities for making their sons brahmacharis. In fact the parents curse the devotees saying that they will ultimately be destroyed.

Many times we think that the Vedic literatures are of bygone eras and not relevant today.  But the reaction of the parents is exactly the same as that of Prajapati Daksha whose sons became renunciates after being educated by sage Narada in the science of self-realization.  Prajapati Daksha said the sage Narada, “You have made me lose my sons once, and now you have again done the same inauspicious thing. Therefore you are a rascal who does not know how to behave toward others. You may travel all over the universe, but I curse you to have no residence anywhere.” Srimad Bhagavatam 6.5.43. May be the incidents mentioned in the Vedas happened thousands of years ago but the attitude of the parents and that of Prajapati Daksha is the same.

Although we may be considering the current relationship we are having as permanent. But this is not the case. Whatever relationship we have with our parents, brothers and sisters, with other relatives, with our country is temporary. In our previous lives we had different parents and siblings, we might have been born in a different country.  In our next life who our parents will be we do not know.

Srimad Bhagavatam narrates the story of King Citraketu who had a great desire to have a son. With the blessings of sage Angira he finally got a son from his wife Kṛtadyuti. But the co-wives of Kṛtadyuti out of envy poisoned the kid and killed him. The king was devastated, he was crying like a mad man, he was totally broken hearted. During that time sage Angira came along with sage Narada. Through his mystic power sage Narada brought back the soul in the dead body and told him to enjoy his life again in the company of his father, mother, friends and relatives. The little boy who was dead sometime back spoke,  “According to the results of my fruitive activities, I, the living being, transmigrate from one body to another, sometimes going to the species of the demigods, sometimes to the species of lower animals, sometimes among the vegetables, and sometimes to the human species. Therefore, in which birth were these my mother and father? No one is actually my mother and father. How can I accept these two people as my parents?”

Yes it is true that in this world all the relationships are temporary. The purpose of this life is to endeavour for a destination where every relationship is permanent and this can be possible only in the kingdom of Krishna.

For most of the people it is not easy to come out of the clutches of material energy and surrender to the lotus feet of Krishna. Those bravehearts who try for this faces severe opposition and criticism many times.  Those with strong determination continue with their devotional life amidst all the opposition but sometimes some devotee succumb to parents emotions and give up devotional life.

I remember one person few years back visited the Rath Yatra festival and there after meeting some devotees he started crying. With tears of sorrow, he said, “I was forced to leave Krishna”

He said that several years back he was a brahmachari in the temple but his parents forced him to leave the temple. He was forced to get married, take a job and was even forced to give up his devotional life.  If he would have not yielded to parents emotional pressure he would have not lost a great opportunity to practice devotional life. And on that day instead of having tears of lamentation he would be having tears of joy in his eyes.

Challenges will be there in this world for the devotees and it may appear in multiple forms. But we should never leave the lotus feet of Krishna, we are very fortunate that we got to know the purpose of life. And if we pray to Krishna then Krishna will surely protect us from those people who are creating hurdles in our devotional journey.

Iskcon Sannyasi – India TV fails to understand why an IITian became a monk

India TV recently had a program “Iskcon Sannyasi” (https://www.indiatvnews.com/video/india-tv-exclusive/watch-special-show-on-iskcon-sannyasi-465686) in which they invited a Iskcon brahmachari and his parents  who were against his son joining the temple as a monk. First the program title, Iskcon Sannyasi, was incorrect, the devotee had become a monk and not sannyasi. This showed that India TV had not done their homework properly and they did not know the difference between a sannyasi and a celibate monk.

Nevertheless the program gave chance to the parents and his son, now a monk, to present their viewpoints.

It is natural for the parents to become very disturbed when they find their son has given up everything, has left home to become a monk in the temple.

For most of the people it may appear as an irrational decision but those who are the students of Gita and Vedic literature would not be surprised to find someone dedicating his life completely to serve the Supreme Lord, Krishna. Majority of the people in this world are interested in gratifying their senses, are busy pursuing their material goals. This is why Krishna in Gita says, “After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” Bhagavad Gita 7.19.

The mother was inconsolable, for most part of the program she kept weeping and pleading his son to return back home.  Father was in control of his emotions but he was angry that his son has become a monk.

Both the father and mother levelled many non-verifiable allegations against Iskcon such as – Iskcon has brainwashed their child, they forcibly took away their 28 year old son, they taught their son to speak lies, Iskcon devotees did not treat them nicely and so on.  Having spent more than a decade in Krishna Consciousness movement I am not surprised to see the reaction of the parents.

For most devotees who become a monk they rarely get the approval of their parents and their family members.

It is true that to practice devotional life one does not have to become a monk. One can become a grihasta – get married, have children, stay at home and work in the outside world. However different devotees have different nature and based on that they choose their ashram i.e. if they want to become a grihasta or a brahmachari.  As far as I know, I have never seen any devotee being forced to choose a particular ashram.  Also it is equally true that there is a tug of war in devotees’ mind during the initial years regarding choosing between being a monk or getting married.

My parents also had great fear that I may join the temple and not get married. But eventually I decided to get married and practice my devotional life. But I have great respect for the devotees who decide to just serve Krishna and so join temple as a celibate monk. Not getting married and staying in the temple gives one an opportunity to focus most of their time and energy in serving the Lord and sharing the message of the Lord.

But one may ask what about their responsibility towards their parents and family members?

Most of the monks whom I know never leave their parents suffering. For example after finishing their studies they work outside, earn money and give it to their parents so that their parents do no have to suffer financially. If their sister is unmarried then they make sure that their sister gets married.  While trying to serve the Lord they do not shun the family responsibility. In fact after they join the temple they continue visiting their parents and also their parents visit them in the temple and they continue to remain in touch with each other through phone.

In fact when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to take sannyas then his mother, Saci mata, was also disturbed but finally gave her permission when Mahaprabhu told her that he want to choose this life so that he can serve the humanity. Later Chaitanya Mahaprabhu decided to stay at Jagannth Puri on the request of his mother so that his mother, Saci mata, continue to get information about him. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu through his own example showed that he had not abandoned his mother and he cared for her emotions.

When media or common people are raising objections on devotees becoming a monk they fail to understand that the celibate monks are not relinquishing their responsibility towards their parents but while serving their parents they have chosen a life for a higher cause. Parents should feel proud about their children.

In the present world there are many sons who are earning lakhs of rupees in multinational companies but have no love and respect for their parents. Their parents are forced to stay at old age homes. Their was an incident of an elderly lady whose son was in USA and she was staying all alone in India. When she died no one was around her, in fact no one knew that she is dead. When her son came from USA after several months and broke open the door he found his mother’s skeleton (https://www.indiatoday.in/india/maharashtra/story/rituraj-sahni-asha-sahni-us-returned-nri-old-age-home-1029606-2017-08-14).  Although her son was earning in dollars was comfortably settled in his life but had no place for his mother.

However there are many instances wherein Iskcon monks have gone extra miles to serve their parents. One example is of Sankirtan Anand Das and Sundervar Das, both are brothers and are monk in Iskcon temples. When their mother and father became sick then both the brothers served their parents for several months and both the mother and later (after many years) the father left their body in the presence of their sons. They never gave up their service towards their parents.

While India TV is trying to portray that the son has done injustice to their parents by becoming a monk but if one thinks rationally one would find that the son has not left the parents. Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, does not stay with his mother but it does not mean that he has left his mother. For serving a higher purpose some sacrifice has to be made and this what the monks are doing.

India TV would do a great service to the society if they start showing the plight of the parents who have been abandoned by their wealthy sons and are suffering in old age homes.

Should a devotee give up his duty?

When Arjuna wanted to run away from the battlefield of Kurushetra, Krishna told him not to do so.

When Arjuna wanted to leave everything and go and beg, Krishna told him not to give up his prescribed duties.

When Arjuna overwhelmed with emotion was trembling and was not able to lift his Gandiva weapon Krishna wasn’t pleased. Why? Because Krishna wanted Arjuna to do his duty with all seriousness and sincerity.

Like Arjuna many times those of us who are practicing (or at least trying to practice) Krishna Consciousness try to run away from the field of action and justify it by saying that the action will entangle us in this material world. But how can we be sure that our non-action will not entangle us in this material world?

Scriptures never asks us to give up our prescribed duties which is not against the religious principles. If we study the lives of great devotees we would find that they were extremely hardworking and expert in their professional fields. Whether one is a monk or a householder, men or women one has to work. Materialists also work hard and devotees also work hard. The difference is that materialist work to gratify their senses, their aim is name, fame, money, power and positions. But a devotee works hard to satisfy the senses of Krishna, whatever he achieves he offers it to Krishna. A devotee tries to put in his best efforts and does not bother about success or failure. He knows that his sincere efforts will please Krishna and not its outcome. Whereas for materialists if the endeavor does not bring desired result he becomes miserable and he gets more entangled in this world.

Bhaktivinod Thakura was a high court judge and he was so expert in his work that when he wanted to take retirement then the government pleaded him not to do so. In fact when the authorities found that it is becoming difficult for him to go to office because his house was far from the court they constructed a railway line from his home to office because they did not want to lose such an expert professional.  And while doing his duty he practiced and preached the teachings of Lord Chaitanya. He has set a standard which we all should try to follow.

But many times I have observed that in the garb of devotional life we become less enthusiastic in our occupational duties and family responsibility. This creates a negative impression not just about us but about the entire Krishna Conscious movement. And since this is not what Krishna wants us to do so eventually it starts affecting our devotional life too.

So as a devotee it is imperative that while practicing our devotion, while diligently following the principles of devotional life we should also sincerely execute our responsibilities in this world. This will help us to become stable in our devotional life and will also help in building a happy and productive Krishna Conscious society. 

Let The Lord Not Leave Us Again

Is there anyone of us who want to suffer? How many of us want to be insulted by others? How many of us want to fail in our life? How many of us want to be separated from our loved ones? How many of us want to get diseased? But almost all of us go through these phases in our life and most of the time we find we are so helpless to do anything, we silently weep. Suppose our boss in the office shouts at us we feel humiliated but we can’t do anything else we may lose our job. And some people develop thick skin to such an extent that in spite of insults and sufferings they continue with their lives behaving as if nothing has happened.

Just like cats, dogs and donkeys do not bother for self-respect and continue serving their hostile masters for few morsels of food. We two legged being too do the same thing for our survival. We may think that this is an exaggeration but it is not so. Just look around or google and we can find many such instances of people being humiliated at home, at workplaces and even in public sometimes. In fact scriptures tell us that soul even gets used to suffer in hell. Many of us may not be realizing that we are suffering because we have got so used to suffering. Just like a hog, who gets so used to eat stool that even if someone tells that it is abominable he will just ignore the message.

Animals are always helpless they cannot do anything. But human beings have got the opportunity to change their destiny.  We souls are not meant for suffering. We are not meant for humiliation. We are not meant to suffer the cycle of birth and death. We are meant to enjoy eternally just like the Supreme Lord enjoys eternally. As long as our desires are separate from the Lord as long as we try to enjoy with our senses we will suffer. Let us not get fooled by the false promises of enjoyment of this temporary world. Let us stop serving the pseudo masters of this world who exploits us and instill fear in our heart. 

Let us seek shelter of the original master of the entire creation who is the supreme protector who promises to burn all our sins because of which we suffer. Let his glance enlighten our hearts with transcendental knowledge. Let his sharp arrows pierce our hearts to vanquish all our desires, which binds us to this mortal world. Let us bind our hearts to his lotus feet and cross over the turbulent ocean of material existence.  Let his abode become our permanent abode where we can serve him, love him and live with him forever. Let our sweet Lord not leave us again. We without him are like flower without fragrance, river without water and life like a barren island.

Published in ISKCON NEWS

We may have to leave at any moment

Once a visitor came to a sadhu’s ashram. He saw the sadhu was living in a very simple house. He looked around and found there was nothing worthy in his house –  no bed, no wardrobe, no chair, no table, no refrigerator. The visitor was surprised.  He immediately inquired, “Sir, where are your belongings.” The sadhu asked, “Where are yours?”

The visitor reasoned, “I am just a visitor here and will be here for a short period of time.” The sadhu said, “So, am I.”  While travelling we try to carry minimum luggage so that we travel without much hassle. We carry only essential items. In this world too we are a traveler, we cannot live here permanently although we may wish. But almost all of us believe that we will live here forever and so we keep on hoarding things.  Krishna tells us that to attain peace in this world we should give up all desires for sense gratification and give up all sense of proprietorship. B.G. 2.71.

But we think, “The more we have the more happy we will become.” And so we work hard, to earn more so that we accumulate more. The more desire we have more miserable we become, we also cannot fulfill all our desires. And since we are a cosmic traveler we are asked to vacate the place as soon as our visa expires. All our plea to extend our visa in front of the agents of death fall on deaf ears.  Death can come at any moment. It can come while I am writing this piece or it can come while you are reading this article.  Most of the time it comes without intimation. Using our worldly positions we cannot defy the order of the agents of death, through our wealth we cannot bribe them.

When we have to leave we have to leave and we may be asked to leave at any moment. Stephen Hawking, the renowned scientist, had solutions to many of the mysteries of the world but he too had to wind up all his research work and leave with the agents of death when they came calling. Sridevi, a very popular movie actress, was getting ready for a dinner date with her husband in Dubai. She went to take bath and her husband was eagerly waiting for her to get ready. Little did she or her husband know that there was also an uninvited guest who was waiting to take her with him.

Govinda Dasa Kaviraja, a poet and a devotee of the Lord reminds us that how everything in this world is temporary – e dhana, yaubana, putra, parijana/ ithe ki äche paratiti re/ kamala-dala-jala, jivana talamala/ bhajahu hari-pada niti re.  “What assurance of real happiness is there in all of one’s wealth, youthfulness, sons, and family members? This life is tottering like a drop of water on a lotus petal; therefore you should always serve and worship the divine feet of Lord Hari.”

When we love God we serve all

 

As soon as we get up early in the morning all our actions are centered around us and around those people whom we consider as our own. How best I can lead my life and what best can I provide to my dear ones is the driving factor behind any of our activities.

 

Some people rise above this and start thinking about the society and they are willing to extend himself or herself to serve the people. For this they are willing to endure pain too. Many say that the social activists are driven with a desire for name and fame. It is not possible to judge others’ motives and it is not required too but we can for sure try to learn what selfless service means from the story of King Rantideva.

 

Rantideva was a virtuous person and always tried his best to please the Supreme Lord. Once after fasting for forty eight days he was given foodstuff made with milk and ghee and some water. 

But as he was about to eat, a brahmana guest arrived. Rantideva immediately offered a share of the food to the brahmana.

 

After that he divided the remaining food among his relatives. But again as soon as he was ready to eat, a sudra arrived and King Rantideva without any hesitation gave him also a share of the food.

Again as he was about to eat, a man came with dogs and said that he and his dogs are very hungry. Rantideva immediately offered them the remaining food.

 

Now only water was remaining for him but as he was about to take water, a candala appeared and asked for drinking water.

 

The king was shivering for want of water and food, if he would give water then his death would be for sure. But the king’s heart melted seeing the pitiable condition of his guest and he gave him water too.

While giving the water the king said, “I want only to stay among all the living entities and suffer all distresses on their behalf, so that they may be freed from suffering. By offering my water to maintain the life of this poor caṇḍāla, who is struggling to live, I have been freed from all hunger, thirst, fatigue, trembling of the body, moroseness, distress, lamentation and illusion.” SB 9.21.12 – 13.

 

The demigods Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma were so pleased seeing the sacrifice of the king. In fact it was they who had come in the form of brahamana, sudra, candala etc to test the king’s resolve to serve the people. They manifested their identities before the king and blessed the king and sang his virtues.

 

The king was able to exhibit such a selfless attitude and kind heartedness only because he saw every individual as parts and parcel of the Supreme Lord. When we love God we love all, we serve all.

 

“Maya Times” – The fake news agency

 “Fake News” is in the news, everyone seems to be or pretend to be worried about it. A news or an information or a story or a data is considered “fake” when the truth is suppressed and is manipulated to suit a certain narrative. Political parties, journalists, twitter warriors, social activists today do not hesitate to spread fake news to further their agenda.  The civilized society are up in arms and are vociferously demanding to check the menace of fake news.

 

But since time immemorial we have been victim of fake news from a very powerful news agency and most of us just do not care about it. When the intelligent men and women caution us we ignore their warning.  The Lord’s illusory energy’s powerful news agency “Maya Times” has been peddling the fake news and we gullible people have been its victim for ages.

 

Two important lies peddled by Maya Times are:

 

·       Material positions and possessions is panacea for all the sufferings: 

Believing in it, we work hard to accumulate wealth and struggle for power and positions. Most of the time we partially succeed in achieving our goals and even if we achieve we still find that our heart remains dissatisfied. The joy which we had hoped for eludes us.

·       We are here to live forever:

Although we know that life here is as permanent as a bubble in the ocean still we try our best to live here as if we are going to be here for eternity.

If we refer to the fact checking books especially holy Vedasand listen carefully to holy sages we would find that they have been logically and with data have been exposing the nefarious design of “Maya Times.” The “Maya Times” fake assurance of happiness and permanence have been effectively countered in the holy literature.  The Vedic books tell us that running behind happiness in this world is akin to running behind mirage in the desert.  Once we start utilizing our intelligence and start scrutinizing the false claims of “Maya Times” then we would find that how we have been fooled.

Is my brain my enemy?

 

“My brain is my enemy,” wrote Telugu news anchor V Radhika Reddy before jumping from the fifth floor of a residential complex in Hyderabad.

 

Mind is the engine which gives direction to our lives. And if our mind is not in control then our life will go out of control. As the body needs food similarly mind needs food for proper functioning. Not just any kind of food but healthy food. If we put junk food in our body then we would get sick similarly if the mind is not given healthy food then it will become sickmaking our life miserable.

Our mind absorbs anything and everything we see or we hear or we speak about. The people with whom we associate, the surroundings where we live, the movies we see, the books, the magazines, the newspapers we read, the songs we hear affects our mind. So we need to carefully observe if our activity is spoiling our mind or is elevating our consciousness. 

 

It is true that sometimes circumstances makes our life miserable but even in those despondent situation if we choose the right path then gradually despair will disappear and happiness will reappear.

 

In Bhagavad Gita 6.6. Krishna says, “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.”  To make our mind our best friend we need to constantly associate with our ever well-wishing friend Krishna by chanting his holy names, reading the wisdom words of Vedic literatures such as Bhagavad Gita and associating with holy sages. This will inundate our mind with Krishna Conscious thoughts and will drive away all evil thoughts. And then our mind or our brain will never be our enemy but will become our trustworthy friend.