I Must Be a Warrior Against Illusion

To try to become God conscious or Krishna consciousness in today's materialistic world is tantamount to declaring war against the illusory energy. It requires great courage to exert one's energies in defiance of the present day bodily conscious mass psychosis.

Why should one adopt such a socially unacceptable posture? Most people feel, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," that it is much better to merge in with everyone else and not make waves.

But my experience is different. I personally cannot stomach a life of irrelevancy, of merging into the herd and like them trying to squeeze some happiness out a temporary existence of birth, death, old age, and disease.

Although highly unpopular, it is much more enlivening and exciting to live for the Absolute Truth and take a strong stand against illusion. If one sincerely seeks the Absolute Truth, the Lord within will bring him into contact with a bona fide spiritual master, who will enlighten him with transcendental knowledge and empower him to successfully wage war against the illusory energy within and without.

My practical experience is that if I slack off from being a warrior against illusion, I very soon find myself worrying about my temporary existence in a very shaky, illusory material situation. And as soon as I take up a fighting spirit to defeat the illusion which always vies for the upper hand within my heart and which presently pervades the entire world society, I become enlivened like anything.

For me there's no choice. I must be a warrior against illusion. Where do you stand?

Answers According to the Vedic Version

Question: Do You Think that You are Better Than Everyone Else?...

When you say you are not worthy of praise, but that Prabhupada is, you sound like you have low self esteem. I understand you do not want to inflate your ego, but come on, you do not have to knock yourself down.

I have a hard time with all the judgment that goes on in this movement. How can you really judge that Prabhupada was so much better than you, and that you are so much better that the rest of the population?

We are human, just as Prabhupada was, wasn't he? Or was he in between worlds, like not 100% human, to be held so high? I would guess that most people would be surprised at who really makes it back to Godhead during this round of life, and who comes back again.

Heidi

Answer: No, the Servant of Everyone Else...

You do not understand humility. The more we try to take the credit, the less we deserve it. The more we try to give credit to others, the more we attract it.

That Srila Prabhupada was higher than me, I can easily discern by studying his character and qualities and comparing them with mine.

We do not feel ourselves better than anyone. We accept everyone else as higher than us because it is our mission to serve them by delivering them from birth, death, old age, and disease.

Srila Prabhupada is a fully self-realized soul completely beyond the four defects of conditioned existence. He was perfectly situated on the transcendental platform. Therefore we hold him with highest esteem.

If you have some inside knowledge about who is going back to Godhead and who is not, please share it with us. Krishna clearly describes in the Bhagavad-gita that those who remember Him at the time of death, will attain Him, and those who do not, will not. Krishna not has altered His policy regarding who will go back to Godhead and who will not. It remains the same now just as it was 5,000 years ago when he spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari