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Black Friday The Material Disease

29 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Materializm Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhagavad-gita, birth death diease and old age, material comforts, material desease, material existence, wealth and economic development

The problems of material existence-birth, old age, disease and death-cannot be counteracted by accumulation of wealth and economic development. In many parts of the world there are states which are replete with all facilities of life, which are full of wealth, and economically developed, yet the problems of material existence are still present.

If economic development and material comforts could drive away one’s lamentations for family, social, national or international inebrieties, then Arjuna would not have said that even an unrivalled kingdom on earth or supremacy like that of the demigods in the heavenly planets would not be able to drive away his lamentations. He sought, therefore, refuge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that is the right path for peace and harmony.

Relief from Distress

03 May 2012 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Krishna Consciousness, Lectures Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, adhibhautic, adhidaivic, adhyatmic, happiness, Jaya Gopala, lecture by Prabhupada, Madhudvisa, material comforts, material conditional life, material world, miseries, prabhupada, relief from distress, Tamal Krishna, Visnujana

…So sufferings are always there. But we are trying to adjust by patchwork. Sufferings are always there. Everyone is trying to get out of sufferings, that is a fact. The whole struggle for existence is to get out of the suffering. But there are different kinds of prescription… But according to Krishna consciousness movement, you can get out of all sufferings if you simply change your consciousness, that’s all. That is Krishna consciousness.

In any case you are only servant
Lecture given by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Seattle, September 27, 1968

So our program is to worship the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Brahma-samhita: “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord”]. In this material world everyone is trying to get happiness and to get relief from distress. Two things are going on, attempt. There are different processes. Material process is completely absurd. That is already proved. No amount of material comforts or happiness, so-called happiness, can give us the actual happiness that we are hankering. That is not possible. Then there are different other processes also.

There are three kinds of miseries due to our material conditional life: adhyatmic, adhibhautic, adhidaivic. Adhyatmic means pertaining to the body and to the mind. Just like when there is some disarrangement of the different functions of metabolism within this body, we get fever, we get some pain, headache—so many things—so these miseries are called adhyatmic, pertaining to the body. And another part of this adhyatmic misery is due to the mind.

Black Friday / Material Fever

25 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Bhagavad-gita Tags: bhagavad-gita, birth and death, Black Friday, consumerism, economic development, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, material comforts, materialism, problems of material existence

Consumerism is a kind of Material Fever

Bhagavad-gita As It Is – Macmillan 1972 Edition
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 2, Text 8

na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād
yac chokam ucchoṣaṇam indriyāṇām
avāpya bhūmāv asapatnam ṛddhaṁ
rājyaṁ surāṇām api cādhipatyam

na—do not; hi—certainly; prapaśyāmi—I see; mama—my; apanudyāt—they can drive away; yat—that; śokam—lamentation; ucchoṣaṇam—drying up; indriyāṇām—of the senses; avāpya—achieving; bhūmau—on the earth; asapatnam—without rival; ṛddham—prosperous; rājyam—kingdom; surāṇām—of the demigods; api—even; ca—also; ādhipatyam—supremacy.

Translation

I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to destroy it even if I win an unrivalled kingdom on the earth with sovereignty like that of the demigods in heaven.

Purport

Although Arjuna was putting forward so many arguments based on knowledge of the principles of religion and moral codes, it appears that he was unable to solve his real problem without the help of the spiritual master, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He could understand that his so-called knowledge was useless in driving away his problems, which were drying up his whole existence; and it was impossible for him to solve such perplexities without the help of a spiritual master like Lord Kṛṣṇa. Academic knowledge, scholarship, high position, etc., are all useless in solving the problems of life; help can only be given by a spiritual master like Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the conclusion is that a spiritual master who is one hundred percent Kṛṣṇa conscious is the bona fide spiritual master, for he can solve the problems of life. Lord Caitanya said that one who is master in the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, regardless of his social position, is the real spiritual master.