"Why we cannot eat meat", to answer this question the staight reply is that "because Krishna does not eat meat". We are concerned with Krishna Consciousness so our eating is dependent on Krishna Consciousness. We cannot eat, cannot do, cannot think, cannot will or can do nothing without Krishna consciousness. By nature one has to eat some weaker living being and therefore animals are eaten by man, vegetables are eaten by animal or the weak is eaten by the strong and therefore one living being is eaten by another stronger living being. But there is a systematic rules and principles for eating and a human being is to eat Krishna Prasadam. If Krishna would have eaten meat, we would have also eaten His meat Prasadam. We are concerned with Krishna Prasadam. In this connection please consult my writing in Srimad-Bhagavatam third volume page 822 "One living being is the food for the other" also please consult page 984 "The principles of Cow Killing"
By nature... (Letters)
Correspondence
1967 Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
Therefore the conception of Brahmajyoti is advanced realization than conception of nirvana. Nobody can be satisfied in void or Impersonalist philosophy; they are against the nature of the spirit soul. We understand from Vedanta philosophy that the spirit soul is by nature joyful. There is no joy in voidness or Impersonalism and because such imperfect philosophers do not know of the association of Krishna which is full of bliss and knowledge, they will fall down repeatedly into voidness and Impersonalism with the result that they cannot stay there and they fall down to the material atmosphere. In Bhagavad-gita it is said by the Lord that these people, void and Impersonalist philosophers, are in great trouble. If they are fortunate enough to meet a pure devotee of Krishna and if they are sincere in their search for the absolute truth, they will find Krishna Consciousness as the last resort of their philosophical researches.
1969 Correspondence
You say that there is a communist menace, and materialism is trying to dominate, but at the same time, religious faith is also progressing. Two things cannot go on simultaneously. Actually, India is the country of religion. The present government policy to kill religious faith of the people is resulting in frustration of religious life because it is not organizedly taught. But by nature the people of India have a hankering for spiritual advancement, and therefore the present situation is a natural result of the clash between two opposite ideals. In this case also the best treatment is to give the people scientific religious ideas which are very clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gita. But unfortunately, unscrupulous and rascal so-called scholars, religionists and philosophers have misinterpreted the teachings of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, and they have misled the whole population. Bhagavad-gita is popular not only in India, but also all over the world.
It is not unusual that a little child is often very jolly, but in the material situation this jolliness passes very quickly. But in Krishna Consciousness, because the spirit soul is by nature very jolly and blissful, this jolliness only increases more and more as the bliss of serving Krishna increases more and more. So now your daughter has a very good opportunity to make final solution to her births in the material world, so keep her very nicely. Krishna will be kind upon you for this.
I can understand that you are feeling for a playmate for your child. In New Vrindaban we were thinking of having such place for many children, but at the present it appears to be difficult because there is no sufficient accommodations there.
This is the position of Krishna Consciousness that if anyone will take to it seriously, he will find instant improvement in his life's condition. By nature every living entity is joyful and in Krishna Consciousness, but due to association with material contamination certain souls have gotten their joyful spiritual nature covered up by the cloud of Maya. The purpose of our centers for Krishna Consciousness is to give everyone the opportunity to remove this cloud of Maya from their consciousness and resume their natural, blissful life of rendering devotional service to Lord Krishna. The process is very simple: chanting, dancing, eating Krishna Prasadam and associating with Krishna's nice devotees. And these four items will make one advance very quickly.
The more you serve Krishna, the more you get better strength to serve Him. Please remember this valuable advice and you will find it very convenient for your progressive march. The BTG French edition is very nicely done. Even if our endeavor is not always successful, because it is done for Krishna, by nature it becomes nice. We have nothing to do with material considerations. Janardana came to see me about one fortnight ago, and he is also eager to do something in Paris, so be in correspondence with him. I am very glad to learn that Yasodanandana's name is given as the editor, and encourage this nice boy more and more. I have received your shawl duly and I have already acknowledged it. It is very nice. I am using it for my dress garments.
Regarding the Mayapur center, this is almost settled up that we shall have a temple there. Very soon we shall purchase a piece of land there, so when you return to India it will be in your charge for constructing a temple in grand scale there.
1970 Correspondence
The newspaper reporters advertise about these boys and girls as the "bright faced," and actually it is so. By nature these American boys and girls are fair complexioned or white. They are beautiful also, and when they take to Krishna Consciousness with symbols of mala and tilaka they appear to be coming directly from Vaikuntha Planets.
Regarding Mayapur land, practically my jurisdiction of preaching work is covered mostly in these Western countries; and because Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura wanted it that the American and European devotees should come to Mayapur, therefore I am trying for it. If you kindly help in this connection it will be a great assistance. I have already written to Acyutananda in this connection and whichever plot of land you altogether select, I will accept it. I have already written one letter to Sripada Yayabar Maharaja, but until now I have received no reply from him. Sripada Paramahamsa Maharaja has promised to help me in this connection.
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 19 February, 1970, with your embroidery work on my Guru Maharaja's picture.
Women are by nature endowed with many artistic tendencies, and from the Vedic age we find that high grade women and girls were highly qualified in sixty-four arts. Srimati Radharani was fully qualified in those arts, and therefore, by Her super-excellent transcendental qualities, she could charm Krsna who is the charmer of the three worlds. One of the Principle Gopis was Syama dasi, and you are supposed to follow the footsteps of Syama dasi.
It is something like Milton's idea of "Paradise Lost." This material world is created, developed, maintained, produces many by-products, then gradually dwindles, and at last it is dissolved or annihilated. The spirit souls or living beings, are by nature eternal. This condition of life for the living beings are by nature eternal. This condition of life for the living beings, namely to go through repeated births and deaths, is unnatural for him. Therefore the whole Vedic knowledge is devised to regulate the life of the living entities not in the animal form of life, but in the human form of life, so that he can fulfill his material desires, but at the same time he becomes elevated to his original spiritual position. This process of evolution from the lowest aquatic life up to the stage of brahminical culture is delineated in the whole Vedas.
As Krsna is saying in Bhagavad-gita that He is sitting in everyone's heart and especially to His devotees who are constantly engaged in His Transcendental Loving Service He gives special instruction so that the devotee may make easy progress of the path of back to home, back to Godhead.
By nature you are a willing volunteer in this Krsna Consciousness Movement, then certainly you will be able to render more and more important service to the cause.
I received the pictures previously along with your letter and I have replied the same to your Sydney address. Now in New Vrindaban you will be meeting all your God-brothers, especially the GBC members and try to make a strong program for pushing this movement on. Our immediate program is to send a strong party of sankirtana to India. By Krsna's Grace our place to stay is already arranged both in Calcutta and Mathura.
1972 Correspondence
We are, like you, the good public leaders of your nation, interested in material improvement, but also there must be spiritual improvement as well. It is not that I should be concerned only that my wife and sons eat and get satisfaction, but I must be concerned for the ultimate well-being of everyone. By nature, everyone is endowed with individual tastes and preferences, therefore what satisfies one many may not satisfy another, so there will always be some dissatisfaction and discrepancies of all sorts. Therefore, if we try to satisfy everyone's well-being on the material platform, we shall never find the end of it, and we shall be frustrated in our attempts, and there will be protest, etc.
In addition, there should be a little ABC, then prasadam, then worshiping the Deity, then more playing Krsna games, some kirtana, a little more ABC, like that. In this way, always keep their minds and bodies engaged in different activities because children are restless by nature so they will want to change often.
I am feeling more and more the urge to retire behind the scenes and translate these Vedic literatures for the greatest benefit for mankind in general. So I have given you my all senior disciples and leaders everything so if you will kindly take this matter very seriously and do my work for me I shall be very much thankful to you always. Of course, if there are some questions which are of extreme importance and cannot be answered by the GBC men then I am always very glad to advise and hear from my beloved disciples.
I am discussing one of your western philosophies and so far we have discussed many, many philosophers like Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Marx, like that, and now we are discussing Darwin and other scientists from your western countries. Because they have missed the central point that we are not the controllers of nature, rather we are controlled by nature, and because they do not see that there is a Supreme Controller who is controlling even the nature, therefore their vast research and display of intelligence is only so much waste of time. It is just like a child. A child may play with the imitation of another child and the child will hold the doll and play with it as if it is real. But the parents who gave the child the doll, they know good and well the child is nonsense but they tolerate and enjoy sometimes. Just like my sisters used to prepare for me some imaginary puris from their toys of very small cooking things, and I used to pretend I was eating them and we were quite happy that this was the same thing just like our parents were doing.
Whether they have been contacted? If we can open a Center in Dvaraka or Dakor, that will be very nice. In Gujarat State we can open a Center in every city because the people are so much dedicated to Krishna. In Gujarat we can very soon make our movement very popular, because by nature they are devotees of Krishna.
There is no question of selling the flats, as you had proposed this idea before of our own men owning the flats and leasing or renting them to devotees. Somehow or other, all of our tenants should be our devotees, and we can give them concession rents, but they should be devotees and at least in our colony there should be no violations of our rules and regulations. Actually make it a Hare Krishna land or a pilgrimage for Vaisnavas and the Indian people in general. I am very much especially pleased that you have had such a nice meeting with Sumati Morarji.
When the moment of death is there, no one may protect us, and if we are not prepared for that moment by practicing Krishna Consciousness or God-consciousness, then we shall be struck with fear and we shall not know where we are going after and what kind of body we may be forced by nature to take.
But this kind of householder life of "grihameda" consciousness does not apply to our marriages in Krishna Consciousness Movement. No. Because the sex-urge is so strong in young persons, and because they are used to mixing freely with one another, I encourage my students to get themselves married. But our point is not that hard knot as above described. It is simply a relationship of mutually helping each other, man and wife, to make advancement in spiritual life, nothing more. We are not after home, money, fame, like that. But that does not mean that he shall not support her nicely, no.
It is the duty of husband to protect wife in every way from the onslaught of material nature, and he must act always as her spiritual guide by being perfect example of devotee. Women are not so quick to learn, and they are weak by nature, so they should be protected in this way. In our Vedic science of living, it is enjoined that the society should be organized in such a way to protect women, children, old people and cows, because factually all of them are innocent. So children have parents, elderly persons must have grown up children to protect them, and woman must have husband. And it is recommended they should be married at very early age, then the wife will remain always chaste and devoted to her husband.
1973 Correspondence
He wanted to kill her. But the earthly deity replied, that she has reduced the supply of food because she did not like to supply the demons. So there is no question of overpopulation, it is a question of demons. The number of demons has increased and therefore by nature that supply is minimized. As we were discussing that verse from Bhagavad-gita that "The production of food depends on sufficient pouring of water from the sky" that is not in our hands. Because we have become Godless, because we have stopped sacrifice or Yajna, which means to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supply of rain may be stopped. God may not be angry, but his agents like the material nature, she does not like to give sufficient food stuffs to the demons. That is the version of the Vedic literature.
1974 Correspondence
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated September 12, 1974 with enclosed copies of issue No. 6 of the New World Harmonist. Simply to criticize what is gong on in the material world, what is the profit? Nature is working, and unless one is a devotee he will be disturbed by nature. Daivi esa guna mayi/ mama maya duratyaya (BG 7.14). The rascals are such that they do not even ask why they are suffering. So if we discuss the food shortage, what is the benefit for us?
A human being must put the question of why am I suffering. Animals also suffer but they have no sense to put the question of why. The materialists are trying to adjust the disturbances of nature in so many ways. But after so many attempts at adjustment have they been able to stop suffering? They are so rascal that still they are suffering after so many adjustments, and yet they do not ask why.
1975 Correspondence
I am in due receipt of your letter dated Dec. 24th, 1974 and have noted the contents carefully.
The thing is, we should have a little common sense in all activities. The example can be given that women by nature do not forget to dress very nicely although always engaged in household affairs. Deity worship or lecturing in the colleges is just as important as book distribution. So, these things must be done very nicely and at the same time, book distribution should be done. Not that we should do one thing at the sacrifice of another. That requires a little common sense. Factually, we should be engaged 24 hours in Krishna's service and everything should be done very nicely and perfectly.
I am in due receipt of your letter dated Dec. 18th, 1974 and have noted the contents. Thank you for your nice pictures of Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha in Toronto.
The thing is, we should have little common sense in all activities. The example can be given that women by nature do not forget to dress very nicely although always engaged in household affairs. Deity worship is just as important as book distribution. As we sing in the Gurvastakam prayers, srivigrahara dhana-nitya-nana-srngara-tanmandira-marjanadau. So, it should be very nicely done, and at the same time, book distribution should be done. Not that we should do one thing at the sacrifice of another. That requires a little common sense. Factually, we should be engaged 24 hours in Krishna's service and everything should be done very nicely and perfectly.
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 11, 1975, I have noted the contents carefully. The program you have outlined is very nice, however I cannot go on long time procession because I am called by nature, I can go at most one hour.
1977 Correspondence
This material world is created, developed, and maintained; it produces many by-products, then gradually dwindles, and at last it is dissolved or annihilated. The spirit souls or living beings are by nature eternal. This condition of life for the living beings, namely, to go through repeated births and deaths, is unnatural for them. Therefore the entire Vedic knowledge is designed to regulate the life of the living entity, not in the animal form of life, but in the human form of life, so that he can fulfill his material desires but at the same time become elevated to his original spiritual position. This process of evolution from the lowest aquatic life up to the stage of brahminical culture is deliniated in the Vedas. This is called knowledge, and when one is liberated from the material contamination, the same knowledge, further advanced, becomes transcendental knowledge.
| Page Title: | By nature... (Letters) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 08 of Nov, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=23 |
| No. of Quotes: | 23 |