Is Krishna A Dictator?

H.H. Shriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Question: Is Krishna a Dictator?

It is said in the Bhagavad-gita that we all are part and parcels of God and like Him are eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. My questions are : (i) If we are eternal souls, why do we always fear death? (ii) If we are full of knowledge, how can we say we are in darkness and trying to know more and more about everything? (iii) If we are full of bliss, why do we always hanker to enjoy more and more and are never happy? (iv) Somewhere in his books, Srila Prabhupada has quoted that when Lord Hari is especially pleased with any of His devotees, He takes away all his dear things on which he is depending like his family members, fame, wealth, and health so that he is so helpless that he will nothing to do except to fully surrender himself unto the Lord. Why would God make His dearest devotee so helpless and put him in such pitiful situation just to bring Him in His control. Is it not egoistic behavior on His part? Is this not like some dictator's behavior of modern days? Devchand N. Patel India

Answer: He is the Most Benevolent Father

Thank you very much for your very nice questions. We are foolishly afraid of death because due to misidentification with a temporary material body we have forgotten our eternal nature as deathless spiritual beings. Even though we are full of knowledge, at the present moment our unlimited knowledge is covered by the cloud of darkness. Therefore we have forgotten the reality of which we were formerly so perfectly aware. Our bliss is also covered, just as our knowledge is covered. If someone wants to fully surrender to Krishna but is held back by their material attachments, Krishna kindly removes them from their material attachments so that they can easily fully surrender unto Him. This is His sweet kindness. Krishna is not egoistic. He is the most benevolent father, who always does what is best for the ultimate happiness of each of His beloved children. If we do not understand Him, that is our fault, not His, because He fully reveals Himself in the Bhagavad-gita. If we do not understand Him, this means that we are not carefully studying and applying the Bhagavad-gita. Sankarshan Das Adhikari   My Spiritual Master can be reached at: sda@backtohome.com. You may enrol with Him for a free e-course in self-realization through Krishna Bhakti at: www.ultimateselfrealization.com

Chanting the Holy Name in Krishna Lila

Gopis of Vrindavana, the Epitome of Pure Krishna Bhakti

Unable to find Krishna, and completely absorbed in Krishna consciousness, the gopis gathered on the bank of the Yamuna and chanted the names of Krishna:

All the gopis, including Radharani, began to proceed further into the forest until they could no longer see the moonlight.

When they saw that it was getting gradualy darker, they stopped. Their mind and intelligence became absorbed in the thoughts of Krishna; they all imitated the activities of Krishna and His speeches. Due to their heart and soul being completely given to Krishna, they began to chant His glories, completely forgetting their family interests. In this way, all the gopis assembled together on the bank of the Yamnua, and expecting that Krishna must return to them, they simply engaged in the chanting of the glories of Krishna:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

(Srila Prabhupada in Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead)

Great Souls Chant the Holy Name

 

(Lord Krishna to Arjuna): Always chanting My glories, endeavouoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.

 

The mahatma cannot be manufactured by rubber stamping an ordinary man. His symptoms are described here: a mahatma is always engaged in chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord Krishna, the Personality of Godhead. He has no other business. He is always engaged in the glorification of the Lord. In other words, he is not an impersonalist. When the question of glorification is there, one has to glorify the Supreme Lord, praising His holy name, His eternal form, His transcendental qualities, and His uncommon pastimes. One has to glorify all these things; therefore, a mahatma is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

- (Srila Prabhupada's Purport to Bhagavad-gita As It Is 9.14)

The God of Death Has No Jurisdiction to Punish Devotees of Sri Krishna

What Can Yama Do 
To
Krishna Devotees?

 

Yamaraja said to the Yamadutas: "Considering all these points, therefore, intelligent men decide to solve all problems by adopting the devotional service of chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is situated in everyone's heart and who is a mine of all auspicious qualities. Such persons are not within my jurisdiction for punishment. Generally, they never commit sinful activities, but even if by mistake or because of bewilderment or illusion they sometimes commit sinful activities, they are protected from sinful reactions because they always chant the Hare Krishna mantra".

 

A pure devotee is one whose intelligence is clear; he is truly thoughtful because he engages in the service of the Lord - not as a matter of show, but with love, with his mind, words and body. Nondevotees may make a show of religion, but it is not very effective because although they ostentatiously attend a temple or church, they are thinking of something else. Such persons are neglecting their religious duty and are punishable by Yamaraja. But a devotee who commits sinful acts, which he may do unwillingly or accidentally because of his former habits, is excused. This the value of the sankirtana movement.

- (Srila Prabhupada's Purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.26)

Answer by Citing the Vedic Version H.H. Shriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Question: Do Non-Hindus Believe in Law of Karma?

My dearest Mahaguru, I have some questions to you as follows: 1. Is it true that non-Hindus like Christian and Islam do not believe in the concept of karma? 2. But my friends told me that from the Bible they come across a sentence, "As you sow so shall you you reap," which basically states the law of karma. How do you explain this? 3. If human suffering and happiness are entirely due to the will of God without any room for human's will? If so, does not it mean that God is quite unfair or unjust? On what basis does He elect a person to suffer for all his lifetime, for example since his birth to be crippled and blind, while the other person born in a rich and abundance family? I think the explanation given by the law of karma regarding this phenomena seems to be more acceptable. How do you think? Please kindly enlighten me about these . Thank you so much. Begging for mercy, Nyoman

Answer: Regardless of Belief It Applies to Everyone

The first point is that I am not telling you what I think. What I think is useless. Therefore I am telling you instead what I have learned from my spiritual master, who has revealed the knowledge which has come to him from Krishna through the chain of disciplic succession. If Christians and Muslims do not accept the principle of karma, it means that they are not reading there own scriptures carefully enough. Karma is a universal principle, which is applicable to all, theists, atheists and agnostics. Not only is it taught in the Bible, as your friends have pointed out. It is also taught as follows in the Koran: "Then, on that Day (Judgment Day), not a soul will be wronged in the least, and ye shall but be repaid the meeds of your past deeds. " (Surat Ya-Sin, 54) If a child runs away from home and is suffering while living on the street, is this his parents' fault or is this his fault? We are the cause of our own suffering. lf we try to blame God for our suffering, that is our foolishness. In fact, this mentality of blaming God for our suffering is the cause of our suffering. It is only when we accept that it is our own foolishness which has cast us in this ocean of misery that we can come out of the suffering and return to our eternal blissful situation in the kingdom of God. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

My Spiritual Master can be reached at: sda@backtohome.com. Please enrol with Him for a free e-course in self-realization through Krishna Bhakti at: www.ultimateselfreallization.com
 

வேணுகானம்

by J.K. Sivan

இது அன்றாடம் நடப்பது. ஆயர்பாடி சிறுவர்கள் சேர்ந்தே போவர், வருவர் எங்குமே. எப்போதும் உற்சாகமாக இருக்கும் அவர்களைப் பார்த்துஆயர்பாடி மக்கள் அனைவரும் பெருமிதம் அடைவார்கள்.
இத்தனை மகிழ்ச்சி ஆரவாரம் எல்லாம்.அவர்களுக்கு எங்கிருந்து வருகிறது என்பதன் ரகசியம் அனைவரும் அறிந்ததே.கிருஷ்ணன் என்கிற சிறுவன் தான் அவர்களை இவ்வாறெல்லாம் ஆட்டிப் படைக்கிறவன். அந்தச் சிறுவனே அவர்களுக்குத் தலைவன். பசுக்களும் கன்றுகளும் கூட மறக்காமல் அன்றாடம் ஒருமுறை கூட்டத்தில் மற்ற சிறுவர்களிடையே கண்ணன் இருக்கிறானா என்று முதலில் பார்த்துகொண்டு தான் சந்தோஷமாக இரை தேடச் செல்லும். கன்றுகள் தாவி தாவிக் குதித்து ஓட தாய் பசுக்கள் பெருமிதமாக மிதந்து செல்லும். கண்ணன் ஏதாவதொரு பசுவின் அருகில் தான் நிற்பான் கூடவே அதன் கழுத்தைக் கட்டிக்கொண்டு நடப்பான் அவன் இடையில் இருக்கும் சிறு மூங்கில் குழல் பகல் பூரா சில சமயம் அந்த காட்டு பிரதேசத்தில் அவனது வேணு கானத்தைப் பரப்பும். சில சமயங்களில் சிறுவர்கள் யமுனை நதியில் குதித்து நீச்சல் அடிப்பார்கள் விளையாடுவார்கள் . சில சமயங்கள் கூடி பேசி, பாடி ஆடுவார்கள். கண்ணன் வேணுகான நேரங்களில் பசுக்கள் எல்லாம் வயிறு நிரம்ப உண்டு ஒன்றாக கூடி அவனருகே மர நிழல்களில் கூட்டமாக அமர்ந்து அசை போட்டுக்கொண்டு கண்மூடி தலையாட்டி கண்ணனின் குழலிசையை கேட்கும்.
ஒரு கன்று குட்டி தாயைக் கேட்டது: "அம்மா உனக்கு என்னைப் பிடிக்குமா கண்ணனின் குழல் இசை பிடிக்குமா?”     
"ஏன் இரண்டுமே பிடிக்கும்”!
" ரெண்டுலே எது ரொம்பப் பிடிக்கும்”?
"உன்னைப் பார்த்துக்கொண்டே இருக்க ரொம்பப் பிடிக்கும், கண்ணன் குழலிசை கேட்டுக்கொண்டே இருக்க ரொம்பப் பிடிக்கும்" என்று பசு சொன்னது. ஒரு கன்றுக்குட்டி மற்றொரு ஆயர்பாடி சிறுவன் ஊதிய குழலைக் கேட்டது.
"ஏன் உன்னிடம் கண்ணன் ஊதும் குழலின் ஓசை வரவில்லை”? அந்தக் குழல் சொன்னது: "நானும் கண்ணன் கையில் இருக்கும் மூங்கில் குழலும் ஒரே மரத்தில் இருந்து வந்தவர்கள் தான். என்னை இந்தச் சிறுவன் கண்ணன் போல் உபயோகிக்கவில்லை"

இதை கேட்ட அந்தச் சிறுவன் தன் குழலை கண்ணனிடம் கொடுத்து அவன் குழலை வாங்கி ஊதினான். ஓசையில் எந்த மாற்றமும் இல்லை. அப்போது கண்ணனின் குழல் சொல்லியது:
"ஏ, சிறுவா, நான் மாற்றமே இல்லாத மரத்துண்டு தான். நீ ஊதினால் நான் அதுவாகவே இருக்கிறேன். கண்ணன் என் மீது அவன் காற்றைச் செலுத்தும்போது எனக்கு ஜீவன் கிடைத்து அவன் அருளால் அவனின் ஒரு பகுதியாகவே மாறிவிடுகிறேன். ஆகவே தான் கண்ணன் ஊதும்போது நான் அவன் ஜீவ நாதமாகிக் காற்றில் கலக்கிறேன்".
ஆயர்பாடி பூலோக சுவர்க்க பூமியாக திகழ்ந்ததில் என்ன ஆச்சரியம்?

The writer can be reached at: jksivan@gmail.com

 

My Spiritual Master Answers

H.H. Shriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Foreigners in ISKCON

I am very upset because my family members don't like ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness). They say that there are a lot of foreigners in ISKCON and that foreigners don't have the right to know about Indian religion. They say that you have to be an Indian to know Indian religion. I have also noticed that many Indian people also have the same idea. They look at the whole thing from the materialistic point of view. It pains me a lot. Please, Gurudeva, advise me what to do. Your servant, G.N.

Answer: Real Indians Share Their Culture

How poignantly ironic it is that they say that only Indians can know Indian religion when they don't even know the first thing about Indian religion. Not only is this ironic; it is downright shameful. As descendents from the greatest culture in the universe they should be doing their duty of spreading the teachings of Lord Sri Krishna all over the world to relieve the suffering world population from the ever-tightening knot of illusion and confusion. But when others come and do the duty that they are neglecting they criticize them instead of appreciating and assisting them. This is shockingly disgusting misbehavior on their part. Factually, it is the height of material consciousness to say that only Indians have a right to know about Indian religion. Any Indian who thinks like this is completely ignorant about his own scriptures. The very first point of the Vedic wisdom is that we are not these bodies, that we are eternal spiritual beings existing beyond these various bodily designations such as American and Indian. Indian religion sees everyone equally as confirmed by Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita wherein He states that the learned man sees everyone equally. The famous deity of the Supreme Lord in Jagannatha Puri is known as Jagannatha, the lord of the entire universe. He is not known as Hindunatha or Indiannatha. Since He is Jagannatha, the Lord of the universe, He is worshipable by all living beings throughout the entire universe. He is not only meant for the Indians as is thought by foolish people who are on the material bodily platform who do not even understand the most basic aspects of Indian religion. You should tell your relatives that ISKCON is the best ambassador of Indian's wonderful spiritual culture and that if they are real Indians they will give up their ridiculous non-Indian mentality and join ISKCON to dive deeply into India's original culture and share this greatest of all treasures with the world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari   My Spiritual Master can be reached at: sda@backtohome.com. You may enrol with Him for a free online course in self-realization through Krishna Bhakti at: www.ultimateselfrealization.com