Meat Eating and the Kingdom of God
Sometimes we hear it said that anyone who believes in God will attain His kingdom at the time of death. Although this is certainly a very comforting thought, it ignores some basic facts about the Lord and His kindness upon us. The actual fact is that the Lord is our most loving father. Therefore He very kindly fulfills all of our desires. If at the time of death we have any unfulfilled material desires, the Lord kindly allows us to enter another material body in our next lifetime for the satisfaction of those desires. Therefore, if we are actually serious about achieving the kingdom of God, we must become very serious about becoming completely free from all material desires.
If we have any desires that can be fulfilled only in this material world, we must give them up in order to enter into God's kingdom. For example, meat eating is an activity that goes on in this material world, not in the spiritual world. This is confirmed in the Bible where it is stated:
"The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain."
----Isaiah 11:6-9
In this world many, many people are fond of eating McDonald's hamburgers. If somehow or other one of these Big Mac eaters were able to enter into the kingdom of God, what would they do? They would be fine for a while until they got their first "Mac attack", a strong urge for eating another Big Mac. They would ask God where is the nearest McDonald's hamburger stand and God would tell them that we don't have that chain up here. They would then have to come down again into this material world to fulfill their Mac desire. Therefore such persons do not attain the kingdom of God until they become free from their desire for eating the flesh and blood of their brothers and sisters.
Thank you.
Kaspars
The following verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam describes how you will know if you are becoming purified or not:
bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir
anyatra caisa trika eka-kalah
prapadyamanasya yathasnatah syus
tustih pustih ksud-apayo 'nu-ghasam i
"Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things -- these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating."
--Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.42
In other words just as by eating you will personally experience satisfaction, by advancing in Krishna consciousness you will feel great peace and happiness and you will begin to more and more experience that everything is within Krishna and that Krishna is within everything.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
If we have any desires that can be fulfilled only in this material world, we must give them up in order to enter into God's kingdom. For example, meat eating is an activity that goes on in this material world, not in the spiritual world. This is confirmed in the Bible where it is stated:
"The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain."
----Isaiah 11:6-9
In this world many, many people are fond of eating McDonald's hamburgers. If somehow or other one of these Big Mac eaters were able to enter into the kingdom of God, what would they do? They would be fine for a while until they got their first "Mac attack", a strong urge for eating another Big Mac. They would ask God where is the nearest McDonald's hamburger stand and God would tell them that we don't have that chain up here. They would then have to come down again into this material world to fulfill their Mac desire. Therefore such persons do not attain the kingdom of God until they become free from their desire for eating the flesh and blood of their brothers and sisters.
Answers According to the Vedic Version
Question: How to Quickly Become a Pure Devotee?...
What to do to become pure devotee, quickly and sure and stay like that forever? How can I see, am I pure enough or not?Thank you.
Kaspars
Answer: Here's How...
To quickly become a pure devotee chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra on japa beads every day, follow our regulative principles strictly, and fully dedicate your life's activity to the sankirtana activities of spreading Krishna consciousness all over the world.The following verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam describes how you will know if you are becoming purified or not:
bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir
anyatra caisa trika eka-kalah
prapadyamanasya yathasnatah syus
tustih pustih ksud-apayo 'nu-ghasam i
"Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things -- these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating."
--Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.42
In other words just as by eating you will personally experience satisfaction, by advancing in Krishna consciousness you will feel great peace and happiness and you will begin to more and more experience that everything is within Krishna and that Krishna is within everything.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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