Unnecessary Suffering
Suffering is unnatural and unnecessary because we are constitutionally meant to enjoy unlimited happiness at every minute. The only reason we suffer is that our original pure consciousness is covered by illusion. Therefore those who are fortunate and intelligent dedicate themselves fully to getting free from the influence of the illusory energy.
If one can somehow or other surmount the influence of the illusory energy, his original, natural, pure state of consciousness again becomes fully manifested. This process is wonderfully described as follows in the Srimad Bhagavatam:
yady esoparata devi
maya vaisaradi matih
sampanna eveti vidur
mahimni sve mahiyate
"If the illusory energy subsides and the living entity becomes fully enriched with knowledge by the grace of the Lord, then he becomes at once enlightened with self-realization and thus becomes situated in his own glory."
--Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.34
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Thank you.
Love always...
Tommi.
You mention our having one lifetime of memories. But the fact is that we do not even have that. Can you tell me what you were doing at this time exactly one year ago? Can you tell me what you you were thinking, what you were saying, and what you were doing? No. You cannot.
Our nature is that we are forgetful. Remembering our past lives would not be any more helpful for getting us out of the cycle of birth and death than remembering what we were doing a year ago today. So why should we be interested to know our past lives? This is not very important.
When we walk down the street do we look forward or do we look backward? We look forward because that is how we will make progress. Looking behind at the places we have been will not allow us to move forward. So it is better that we look forward to see how we can advance in Krishna consciousness. This is the proper utilization of the human form of life, not trying to figure out who we were in our last lives.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
If one can somehow or other surmount the influence of the illusory energy, his original, natural, pure state of consciousness again becomes fully manifested. This process is wonderfully described as follows in the Srimad Bhagavatam:
yady esoparata devi
maya vaisaradi matih
sampanna eveti vidur
mahimni sve mahiyate
"If the illusory energy subsides and the living entity becomes fully enriched with knowledge by the grace of the Lord, then he becomes at once enlightened with self-realization and thus becomes situated in his own glory."
--Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.34
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Answers According to the Vedic Version:
Question: Why Do We Easily Forget?
Namaste. Why is it that we don't ordinarily have past-life memories, except on rare occasions? Why are we thus limited to only one lifetime of memories? What causes us to forget so easily?Thank you.
Love always...
Tommi.
Answer: Because We Chose to Forget Krishna
Ever since we chose to forget Krishna our memory has been very meager.You mention our having one lifetime of memories. But the fact is that we do not even have that. Can you tell me what you were doing at this time exactly one year ago? Can you tell me what you you were thinking, what you were saying, and what you were doing? No. You cannot.
Our nature is that we are forgetful. Remembering our past lives would not be any more helpful for getting us out of the cycle of birth and death than remembering what we were doing a year ago today. So why should we be interested to know our past lives? This is not very important.
When we walk down the street do we look forward or do we look backward? We look forward because that is how we will make progress. Looking behind at the places we have been will not allow us to move forward. So it is better that we look forward to see how we can advance in Krishna consciousness. This is the proper utilization of the human form of life, not trying to figure out who we were in our last lives.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Comments
Post a Comment