Self-Realization is Practical

Here in Burnaby, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver, is a most sublime community of highly advanced transcendentalists, devotees of Lord Krishna. To be here living in their association for several days is a most enlivening experience. At 4:30am we all gather in the temple (pictured above) to celebrate the most auspicious mangal arati ceremony, worship Tulasi devi, chant our daily quota of 16 rounds on japa beads, offer guru puja, and study the Srimad Bhagavatam. Then everyone takes breakfast together and proceeds on to their daily duties either doing service at the temple or working at outside jobs to cover their maintenance and give financial support to the temple. This is self-realization in practice by an entire spiritual family of devotees. Self-realization is not mere theorizing. It is practical, just like these devotees here are doing.

ISKCON Vancouver

Answers According to the Vedic Version

Question: Vegetarian Diet Clarification...

First let me introduce my self I am a Muslim, resident of India and working for a software company. I have been regularly getting your Q & A mails from my colleague and I have really developed keen interest towards teachings and concepts about consciousness. The most interesting thing about your messages are that is very universal in appeal and scientific and this got me hooked on to it.

I request you to clarify and enlighten further on your answer on the topic of "Why should an individual should consume vegetarian food" ( Q&A mentioned below for reference.) And i quote your specific sentence which i feel is specific to a sect or religion and thus does not apply to everyone "So if we want to be pure in our eating, we must first offer our food to the Lord before we consume it".

I am not convinced by the answer you provided here as i feel it is specific for the people who are members or followers of ISKCON. And according to me this is not a non sectarian and scientific explanation to convenience a person who is not associated to ISKCON.

My colleague could not give me an convincing reply which he usually gives and has thus asked me to contact you.

I find all your other explanations and examples very scientific and universal except the one mentioned above. I am sure you will help me to understand your explanation.

Thanking you in anticipation.
Best Regards,

Tanveer

Answer: Compassion is Non-Sectarian...

I am very happy to hear that you are appreciating our presentation of the science of God. One of our leading saints is Namacharya Srila Haridas Thakur, who comes from your Muslim community.

Compassion is a universal non-sectarian principle. If you think eating an animal is an of compassion just imagine if you were the animal and someone came to kill you and eat you.

Meat eating is allowed in the Bible, the Koran, and in the Vedas but under restriction. This is for those low class persons who lack compassion so that they can gradually make some spiritual advancement. But the saintly class of men always show compassion to all living beings and give up the consumption of flesh and blood.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Little Sparrow Who Conquered the Ocean

Image
In his purport to Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 6, Text 24 Srila Prabhupada wonderfully teaches us the power of determinations by telling us the story of the little sparrow who conquered the ocean: "As for determination, one should follow the example of the sparrow who lost her eggs in the waves of the ocean. A sparrow laid her eggs on the shore of the ocean, but the big ocean carried away the eggs on its waves. The sparrow became very upset and asked the ocean to return her eggs. The ocean did not even consider her appeal. So the sparrow decided to dry up the ocean. She began to pick out the water in her small beak, and everyone laughed at her for her impossible determination. The news of her activity spread, and at last Garuda, the gigantic bird carrier of Lord Visnu, heard it. He became compassionate toward his small sister bird, and so he came to see the sparrow. Garuda was very pleased by the determination of the small sparrow, and he promised to help. Thus Garuda at once asked t
Read more

Heart Melting Reunion with Amarendra and Gayatri

Image
On Friday 26 June 2015 I was blessed with the greatest good fortune of meeting with two of the dearest devotees of my entire life, His Grace Amarendra Prabhu and his good wife, Srimati Gayatri devi dasi. I am eternally indebted to these great souls for how much they helped me in my spiritual life when I was a young devotee. When I was young brahmacari monk in 1973 I joined with the two of them in Gainesville, Florida. We were a three person preaching center, and they were just like a mother and father to me. I had so many wonderful Krishna conscious experiences in their association that I can hardly begin to describe them here. But at least may it suffice for me to say for now that Gayatri taught me what it means to be a soft-hearted devotee of the Lord and she gave me my first cooking lesson, teaching me how to make cauliflower pakoras, and Amarendra taught me the art of how to preach strongly, intelligently, and coolly to defeat opposing arguments. Recently Gayatri almost died. But
Read more

Who is this Krishna?

Image
Krishna is not a myth, nor is He an ordinary historical personality. He is the Supreme All-Attractive Personality of Godhead. He is the oldest of all while simultaneously maintaining the form of a 16 year old youth. He is all-attractive because he exceeds everyone in all of existence by possessing unlimitedly all the qualities that are attractive namely power, beautify, renunciation, knowledge, wealth, and fame. There is no one who equals or excels Him in the possession of these attractive qualities. This is why is accepted by all enlightened spiritualists as being God, the original source of all existence. The perfection of our existence is to re-establish our long forgotten loving relationships with Him. There Is No One More Amazing Than Krishna Video for the Day Don't Be a Hypocrite Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: Was Krishna a Real Person? Was Krishna a real person who lived on Earth? Ray Galindo Answer: He Was and He Still Is My Dear Ray, Pleas
Read more