Tag: Covid – 19

Iskcon Communication Ministry’s guidelines for speaking during COVID – 19 pandemic

COVID – 19 pandemic has killed thousands of people all over the world. It has brought a global crisis. Iskcon devotees too are suffering and unfortunately some have even lost their lives because of the pandemic.

Devotees do not want people to suffer. So, in Iskcon, devotees are trying their best to serve people of the entire world.

• At several Iskcon temples and Iskcon centres devotees are working hard to prepare food packets and are distributing it to the needy people.

As of now Iskcon in India is preparing meal for more than 5 lakh people daily.

• Iskcon devotees all over the world who are doctors, nurses and healthcare experts are working day and night to treat the patients. They are risking their lives and are serving wholeheartedly.
• Devotees are chanting extra rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra so that it creates auspiciousness in the whole world and end the pandemic.
• Iskcon Chowpatty has organized 1 crore japa yajna campaign where devotees from all over the world come in a conference call and chant and pray together for the people of the whole world.
• Some devotees have also taken the onus of helping elderly people who are extremely vulnerable during this time.
• Some devotees as per their capacity are trying their best to help people from humble background who are suffering because of no job.

But along with these commendable services, it is also important that devotees during their conversation with others or during classes (which are mostly happening online these days) speak in such a way that it should be soothing to the hearts.

Anuttama Dasa, GBC Member,  Minister of Communications, have advised that devotees should not speak anything which may appear insensitive and which tries to belittle the suffering of the people.

Sometimes neophyte devotees because of immaturity or lack of complete understanding of Krishna conscious philosophy may utter certain words which may appear insensitive. Mature devotees should guide them and make them understand that a devotee is always compassionate to others suffering.

Scriptures are filled with the stories of devotees who exhibited extraordinary compassion towards all.

Vāsudeva Datta had so much compassion for all the living beings of the world that with tears in his eyes he prayed to Lord Chaitanya, “Let me suffer for the sinful activities of all the people of the whole world. Let all their sins, all their karma fall upon me. Let me go to hell and suffer on their behalf. But please free them from all the sufferings. Please shower your mercy upon them. Please show your compassion to them.”

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was so moved hearing the prayers of Vāsudeva Datta that his eyes were filled with tears of love and he embraced him.

Mahārāja Rantideva whose glories are sung in Srimad Bhagavatam says, “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.” SB 9.21.12

Srila Prabhupada took all the pains to preach Krishna consciousness because he wanted to save entire humanity from degrading to hellish life.

The communication ministry quotes a lecture of Srila Prabhupada where he is speaking how a devotee should have feeling for others’ distress.

Vaishnava is always feeling for others’ distress. That is Vaishnava. Vaishnava—para dukha dukhi. They’re very much afflicted with others’, I mean to say, miserable life. Just like Lord Jesus Christ, he presented himself as very much afflicted with others’ miserable condition of life. So all the Vaishnavas, devotees—It doesn’t matter which country he belongs to or which sect he belongs to. Anyone who is God-conscious or Krishna conscious. . . para dukha dukhi.  Lecture July 21, 1971 New York

Whole world is in great distress.

Thousands of people have already died. Thousands of people are dying daily. Lakhs of people are in hospitals or are quarantined. Millions of people are suffering financially. The situation is so bad that family members of those who are dying because of Coronavirus are not even able to see their dead bodies. For fear of spreading the infection, the government authorities cremate the dead bodies and just inform the family members.

During this global crisis devotees should exhibit complete maturity and show compassion to all through their words and actions.

Iskcon Communication Ministry has issued following guidelines to the leaders while speaking about the pandemic, but it is applicable to all the devotees:  

• Express first your heartfelt concern and prayers for those who are suffering.
• Advise all to strictly follow government guidelines/restrictions that promote public safety. 
• Avoid statements that may be interpreted as callous, or lacking empathy for others’ suffering.  
• While our tradition teaches that karma impacts our happiness and suffering, teach and highlight for devotees that a more essential principle for followers of Lord Chaitanya and Srila Prabhupada is karuna, compassion and mercy for others. This should guide all we do and say. 

5 ISKCON devotees die of Covid – 19 in UK

Iskcon devotees in UK have been badly affected by Coronavirus. As of now there are twenty-one confirmed cases and five devotees have died.

In this tragic situation when the whole world should unite to fight the pandemic some people with vested interest are trying to blame ISKCON UK devotees for the spread of Covid – 19 in UK. This is totally fake.

'ISKCON temple as a source of Coronavirus in UK' –
Andh Bhakti, blind faith is the source of all problems not TJ or ISKCON. https://t.co/tx9ahN3LUq

— shahid siddiqui (@shahid_siddiqui) April 7, 2020

But the facts are totally different.  

ISKCON devotees in UK and worldwide have always believed in following the law of the land and they work hard to create peace and harmony in the society.

• When Iskcon held its program in UK at that time the government of UK had not declared any lockdown or had not issued any directive to close the religious places.

• UK GBC Praghosa Prabhu said that ISKCON UK closed all its temples in UK on March 16th, a week before lockdown was declared by UK government

• Even before the lockdown was announced in UK, all the temples were following the guidelines given by the government and devotees were taking all the precautionary measures like washing hands with soaps, using sanitizers etc.

• None of the devotees who were infected tried to hide their disease.

• None of the devotees hid in the temples or took shelter in the houses of Iskcon congregation members.

• None of them deliberately tried to spread the disease.

• The devotees who got infected immediately contacted the doctors, quarantined themselves and followed all the guidelines.

• All the devotees of Iskcon UK have tried their best to cooperate with the government agencies.

• In UK, the total number of confirmed cases are 51,608 and number of Iskcon devotees affected is 21. So only 0.04% of the affected people in UK are from Iskcon.

• In UK, the total number of deaths due to Coronavirus is 5373, and the number of Iskcon devotees who have passed away is 5.  So only 0.095% people who have died because of Coronavirus in UK are from Iskcon.

• Now contrast this with the action of Tablighi Jamaat. Many of their members had violated their visas and were illegally staying in India.  And many of them have hid themselves in different parts of the country risking their own lives, lives of their family members and lives of others too.

Those who are supporting them do not know that in fact they are doing a great harm to the entire humanity and even to the Muslim community because if the affected members are not quarantined then thousands more will have to suffer.

Moreover, Iskcon in India and all over the world is trying their best to serve the society to fight Coronavirus. Many devotees who are doctors and nurses are spending days and nights to serve the Coronavirus affected patients.

Iskcon monks are putting their efforts to serve the society by cooking food by themselves and trying to distribute it free of cost to the needy people.

Any sane man will appreciate the efforts of the devotees of Iskcon in this difficult time.

ISKCON monks at ISKCON Kolkata Packaging food to be distributed amongst needy people during Corona Lockdown. Pan India ISKCON is serving free meal to over 5 lacs people daily as of now. They are scaling it up every day. #Coronafighters #CoronavirusLockdown #CoronaWarriors pic.twitter.com/Ab7cN0lkSZ

— Purushottam Nitai Das (@Discoverursupe1) April 7, 2020

Related Articles:

• COVID-19: Sourav Ganguly lauds Iskcon’s efforts to serve the society

• How spirituality can help fight Coronavirus effectively?

• Collective 1 Crore Japa Yajna Campaign

How spirituality can help fight Coronavirus effectively?

1.3 billion Indians are observing Janata Curfew on 22nd March, to fight Covid-19. Billions of people in different parts of the world are already under lockdown.  Schools are closed, colleges are closed, offices are closed, malls and theatres are closed, flights have been canceled, trains and buses have stopped running. There is an undeclared curfew in almost all the parts of the world.

Coronavirus, the tiny little virus, which cannot be seen with our eyes have brought the whole world to a standstill.

Scientists are working to find a cure for the deadly disease and hopefully, they will succeed.

The virus is spreading because of human to human transmission and as of now there is no cure, so billions of people find themselves vulnerable.  Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, said in his nationwide address that this is more dangerous than World War 1 and World War 2.

As we are now locked down inside our houses it is the best time to ask ourselves as why such a calamity has dawned upon entire humanity. This disaster can also be a wakeup call for all of us.

The virus spread from seafood and animal market in Wuhan, China.  A report in CNN explains, “In the likely epicenter of the virus — the so-called wet-markets of Wuhan, China — where wild animals are held captive together and sold as delicacies or pets, a terrifying mix of viruses and species can occur.” 

It is now widely believed that bats are the carrier of the virus. They might have either directly passed it to humans or through some intermediate host.  Although as of now there is no conclusion about its origin but researchers agree that its origin is from non-human species.

It was transmitted to humans because some ate the animal which was carrying that virus.

Humans are not supposed to eat animals or drink their blood. But especially in China, the concept is – you can eat anything on the land except motorcars, anything in the sky except airplanes, anything in the sea except ships. Why blame China, people in many parts of the world are today practicing the same eating habits. Unfortunately, even in India too.  They are not just eating animals but are also drinking their blood. And surprisingly we call ourselves humans and them as animals.

Bird flu, swine flu, mad cow disease, and now coronavirus which have resulted in deaths of thousands of people all over the world have spread because human beings eat animals.

Have we ever read about potato flu, brinjal flu, tomato flu, milk flu, curd flu, paneer flu or mad cauliflower disease, mad spinach disease?

We are not supposed to kill animals and eat and drink their blood. We are supposed to live on food grains, fruits, vegetables, and milk.  As per my wife, Dr Ketaki, who is a dentist, “The human dentition and digestive system have been designed for the intake of vegetarian food and not non-vegetarian food.”

In fact, the scriptures go one step ahead and say that vegetarian food should first be offered to the Lord and then consumed. Bhagavad Gita 9.27.

The Lord purifies the food and when we take that pure food then we remain healthy. And a healthy body is generally free from diseases.

But if we go against the laws of the nature created by God, then nature will react. If we exploit the nature, then we will be exploited.

If we eat animals, we will have to live like animals in cages. Like animals we are now forced to lock ourselves inside our houses, we cannot go out. And eventually we will die like animals.

God has made us humans so why not live like humans?

Srila Prabhupada always cautioned that if we play with the nature then we will have to suffer. In one of the conversations, he explains, “We act according to our whims and the resultant action is there immediately. Nature’s law, God’s law, is there. It is not God’s creation that somebody is suffering from some painful condition and somebody is enjoying. No. We infect ourselves with some contamination because this material world is full of contamination. You must remain very cautious. Otherwise you will have to suffer.” — Conversation in Mayapur, 19th Mar 1976.

As we have isolated ourselves from the world to save ourselves from the virus it is also a time for us to go deep within and introspect why we are suffering and what steps we should take so that we do not suffer in future.

God does not want us to suffer. Therefore, he gave us sacred Vedas which explains how we can live happily in this world and how we can minimize our suffering. The Vedas elaborately explains how to live and how not to live, what to eat and what not to eat.

Srila Prabhupada writes in Srimad Bhagavatam 7.15.24 Purport, "By practice, one should avoid eating in such a way that other living  entities will be disturbed and suffer. Since I suffer when pinched or  killed by others, I should not attempt to pinch or kill any other living  entity. People do not know that because of killing innocent animals  they themselves will have to suffer severe reactions from material  nature. Any country where people indulge in unnecessary killing of  animals will have to suffer from wars and pestilence imposed by material  nature. Comparing one’s own suffering to the suffering of others,  therefore, one should be kind to all living entities. One cannot avoid  the sufferings inflicted by providence, and therefore when suffering  comes one should fully absorb oneself in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra."

So if we want to free ourselves from the sufferings then we should try to reconnect ourselves to our roots, to the teachings of the Vedas and to the Supreme Lord who is our best well-wisher.

As we are locked inside our houses, we have an option to spend time watching news channels, movies, serials or programs like big boss. We can also spend time tweeting, updating status on Facebook, forwarding unlimited WhatsApp messages, watching funny TikTok videos, posting pictures on Instagram or Pinterest.

Or else we can spend time reading books like Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam which will nourish our intelligence and bring us closer to God. 

When King Parikshit faced the biggest challenge in his life then he without wasting even a single moment took shelter of the Supreme Lord.  He spent his days hearing the transcendental teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam from Sukhadeva Goswami, son of Ved Vyas.

If we take shelter of the Lord, shelter of the sacred Vedas and pray to the Lord then our miseries will surely vanish. In Bhagavad Gita 3.10 Krishna explains the process by which we all can be happy in this world,

“In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, “Be thou happy by this yajna [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.”

The best yagya in this Kali Yuga, the age of downfall and suffering, is the sankirtan yagya. In Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.32 it is mentioned that in this age of Kali Yuga intelligent men and women chant the holy names of the Supreme Lord.

During World War 2, there was a danger that Kolkata may be bombed. Thousands of residents were fleeing Kolkata during that time but Srila Prabhupada was not afraid. He said let us do sankirtan and with few devotees he did sankirtan on the streets of Kolkata. No bombs were dropped on Kolkata.

As the coronavirus disease spreads from people to people contact so we cannot come together to perform sankirtan physically but each one of us can individually chant the holy names of the Lord.

As to protect ourselves from the coronavirus infection we are asked to wash our hands with soap constantly and also use sanitizer, similarly, we should clean our hearts and sanitize our consciousness from the contamination of the world by sincerely and regularly chanting the holy names of the Lord like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

This will protect us, protect our family members, friends and relatives, and the entire world.  If we take shelter of Krishna, the Supreme Lord, he will protect us and the whole world from this pandemic.

Let us contemplate:

• Is God responsible for our suffering or we are responsible for our suffering?
• Why eat animals when sacred Vedas asks us not to do?
• Why not follow the teachings of sacred books like Bhagavad Gita which is a manual for humankind and live happily in this world?