24 February 2014

Interesting Verses from Manu Smriti

1.64. Eighteen nimeshas (twinklings of the eye, are one kashtha), thirty kashthas one kala, thirty kalas one muhurta, and as many (muhurtas) one day and night.

1.85. One set of duties (is prescribed) for men in the Krita age, different ones in the Treta and in the Dvapara, and (again) another (set) in the Kali, in a proportion as (those) ages decrease in length.

1.86. In the Krita age the chief (virtue) is declared to be (the performance of) austerities, in the Treta (divine) knowledge, in the Dvapara (the performance of) sacrifices, in the Kali liberality alone.

2.33. The names of women should be easy to pronounce, not imply anything dreadful, possess a plain meaning, be pleasing and auspicious, end in long vowels, and contain a word of benediction.

2.55. Food, that is always worshipped, gives strength and manly vigour; but eaten irreverently, it destroys them both.

What is the necessity of pleasing Krishna?

Prabhupada: prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. By pleasing the spiritual master, you please Krsna. That's nice. But why Krsna should be pleased? Why? What is the necessity of pleasing Krsna?
Devotee (1): To please the representative of Krsna.

Prabhupada: No, no, that is all right. Guru is representative of Krsna, but why one should bother himself for pleasing Krsna? Answer this.

Devotee (1): 'Cause our real position is to serve Krsna, and because we've fallen in this illusion of the material energy, so we forgot our position.

Prabhupada: We shall do it otherwise. Why shall I please Krsna? We are making scientific progress. What is the use of bringing God?

Devotee (2): Because we shall never become perfect or see the answer.

Prabhupada: That is begging the question.

Indian man (3): For spreading the name of the Krsna, in the world.

Prabhupada: No, no. It is not the question of guru. Guru is doing all right. Why you should be so much anxious and feel obligation to please Krsna?

Indian (4): Everybody has to serve somebody, so Krsna is the reservoir of all pleasure and everything exists from Him. So instead of serving anybody, we should serve the Krsna.

Prabhupada: "That's all right. Without serving Krsna, I am getting pleasure by drinking wine. Why shall I...?"

Cyavana: That pleasure will not last. That pleasure is only temporary.

Prabhupada: "No, I will not also last. (laughter) that..."

Cyavana: But to accept such a mentality, we say that is third class. Actually our life is eternal.

Prabhupada: That is your statement, "third class," but my statement is "It is first class." (laughter)

Harikesa: Is it first class if every time you are going to eat something nice I was standing over you with a stick, and as soon as you took, I would beat you? So every time you have some enjoyment, there is some concurrent suffering. Like you enjoy the wine, but then you have a headache, hangover. You enjoy. Then you get sick.

Cyavana: Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita in the Tenth Chapter, He says, "For those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I will give the understanding by which they can come to Me." So this is our desire.

Prabhupada: "I don't want to go."

Cyavana: You don't want to go to Krsna?

Prabhupada: "Yes."

Harikesa: All right, suffer. (laughter)

Prabhupada: "I don't suffer. (laughter) I am enjoying."

Harikesa: You are enjoying death and old age?

Prabhupada: "Yes, you are putting upon me some impression, 'suffering,' but I am enjoying."

Harikesa: Your knee is hurt. Is that enjoying?

Prabhupada: "That I am curing. That is also nice." (laughter)

Harikesa: But soon the whole thing will be finished. You will not... No one enjoys death. No one will take voluntarily a death pill.

Prabhupada: Nobody of you could answer the question. Now I give you again chance to answer this question very properly. Why one should be obliged to please Krsna? Why?

Harikesa: Just like this finger. Its position is to serve the body. Just like the stomach. Everyone may be jealous of the stomach and not want to feed the stomach, but if all the hands and the legs and the mouth went on strike not to feed the stomach...

Prabhupada: This is the right answer.

Harikesa: ...they would ultimately be destroyed.

Prabhupada: This is right answer, that you cannot non-cooperate with the stomach. You must serve the stomach. Otherwise your position is very precarious. That is the answer. If the finger thinks that "I shall remain independent and be happy," that is not possible. The stomach must be supplied food, and then all the parts of the body, they'll be happy. That is the point. So you cannot non-cooperate with the stomach. Similarly, Krsna is the central enjoyer. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram [Bg. 5.29]. He is the center. Just like ordinarily this African state, if you do not satisfy the state or the president, then you cannot remain happy. Independently you cannot be happy. We require in every step sta... We have come to this park because state is cooperating. In the morning we shall come, and they have prepared it nicely. We are not going to the jungle. So if we actually want happiness we must cooperate with the state. This is crude example. Similarly, if our ultimate aim is to become happy, then we must cooperate with Krsna. This is obligatory. You cannot escape it. Then you'll be unhappy. This is the... Stomach. Pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam. Therefore the natural process is you pick up... A child even. He picks up some something, but he does not put anywhere -- immediately in the mouth. Why he does not bring it in the ear? Why? The child immediately takes it. He does not know what is what. But the nature is that as soon as he captures something, even he does not know... Because his position is eating, he knows this much, sense gratification. Other senses are not yet developed. So the child, he knows taste with tongue and eats. That he knows. So immediately anything he captures, he brings to the mouth, naturally. He hasn't got to be educated. So our position is like that. We being part and parcel of Krsna, our natural tendency is to serve Krsna. Natural tendency. It is not artificial. When you forget Krsna, that is artificial. So our normal life means to love Krsna, to serve Krsna. That is our normal life. Without serving Krsna our life is abnormal, madman's life. Therefore Krsna says... When you forget Krsna, He comes to preach the normal life. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam [Bg. 18.66]. This is normal life. So Krsna does not require your help. He can create many helpers. But for your good Krsna comes, that "If you want normal, happy life, then surrender unto Me." This is the proposal. Therefore the whole Bhagavad-gita, all Vedic knowledge, is there. We have forgotten our position. Our posit..., normal position, is to love and serve Krsna. Therefore anadi bahir mukha jiva krsna bhuli gela ataeva krsna veda purana karila. Because we do not know... From time immemorial we cannot ascertain when this incidents have happened, to forget Krsna, but it is practically... Life after life, life after life, we are changing body, but forgetting Krsna. So here, in the human form of life, there is the opportunity to revive our original position, and we require the help of knowledge, perfect knowledge. And that is there in the Vedas. Atha eva krsna veda purana karila. If we don't take advantage, although we have got... We can read Bhagavad-gita, and if we don't take advantage of Bhagavad-gita and go on whimsically, then we'll suffer. You cannot non-cooperate with Krsna as you cannot non-cooperate with the stomach. This is the... You must. There is no question of alternative. You may, may not know. It is not. You must. This is the position. Otherwise you'll never be happy. And happiness is your aim of life. Atyantika-duhkha-nivrttih. We are... I'm suffering from this knee's trouble because I am in this material world. I have got this material body. So atyantika-duhkha-nivrttih means no more material world, no more material body. And for that purpose we have to cooperate with Krsna. Otherwise it is not possible. Any question about this? Just like these African women. They are going to work. There is no question of no work. They must. Otherwise they cannot eat. Anyone, if by working his livelihood is going on, how he can non-cooperate? This is not possible.

20 February 2014

Where Cows Are Happy and Food Is Healthy

 Check out this video!

Karuna Bhavan: ISKCON Scotland Temple

We finally made it to Karuna Bhavan temple at Lesmahagow two weeks ago. Here are a few pictures:





The temple experience was good. A few points that drew me are:
  • Beautiful Sri Gaura Nitai deities.
  • A devotee gardener who thinks he needs to grow fresh flowers to make daily garlands for Their Lordships.  
  • More local western devotees compared to Indians. Prabhupada wanted to preach mostly to westerners in western countries. It pleased Prabhupada when more and more westerners took to Krishna Consciousness. In US and Australia, today we see temples are not preaching to local people anymore. It is easy to preach to Indians instead.
  • Non-stop ecstatic bhajans lead by multiple devotees giving short explanations to songs that were being sung for the pleasure of Sri Gaura Nitai. It was Sri Nityananda Triyodasi celebrations; what better time to have visited the temple than this. Hari nama for the sake of hari nama is an art lost to most of Indian ISKCON temples lately but here at Scotland it was purely ecstatic. Hours of ecstasy!
  • Beautiful Vrindadevi deity and a pool of hundreds of Salagram silas to worship.
  • Creche for kids. Yes, the temple had a well-designed creche for kids. Thoughtful!
  • Amazing prasadam that came with special srikhand at the end.
I couldn't have asked for anything better. 


About Trees from Manu-Smriti

1.47. Those trees which bear fruit without flowers are called vanaspati (lords of the forest); but those which bear both flowers and fruit are called vriksha.

1.49. These (plants) which are surrounded by multiform Darkness, the result of their acts (in former existences), possess internal consciousness and experience pleasure and pain.

1.50. The (various) conditions in this always terrible and constantly changing circle of births and deaths to which created beings are subject, are stated to begin with (that of) Brahman, and to end with (that of) these (just mentioned immovable creatures).