Wake Up from Your Dream (Nightmare)

Our material existence is actually a nightmare of birth, death, old age, and disease but because we have been dreaming it for so long and because our awakened state is unlimitedly blissful, we are now imagining this nightmare to be a something wonderful. If we want real happiness, all we have to do is wake up. The waking up process is known as the science of self-realization. And the topmost level of being awakened is known as Krishna consciousness.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Waking Up to Unlimited Bliss by Hare Krishna Japa Chanting

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Krishna Consciousness and Other Faiths

My Dear Guruji, many thanks for your inspiration, I am returning to Krishna Consciousness after many years of being in the wilderness; indeed, I was one of only fourteen devotees at Bhaktivedanta Manor (UK) in the early seventies and later entered a Benedictine monastery.

My question is: how can one be a follower of another religious faith ie. Judaism, Christianity or Islam when these faiths clearly advocate the eating of meat in the form of ritual slaughter and the drinking of wine and still be Krishna Conscious. Without wanting to get into a protracted theological debate the followers of these various faiths will not be able to offer food to Krishna as they clearly contain prohibited ingredients in the form of eggs, garlic etc. As I understand it Krishna Consciousness is an inclusive religion but adherents of various religious faiths have to adhere by certain basic principles and it seems that many other forms of religious expression are diametrically opposed to the regulative principles of the Bhagavad-gita.

Hoping to find you in an ecstatic mood, your humble servant,

Andrew Tullett-Court

Answer: Taste for the Kingdom of God

Even in the Vedas there are directions given for those who are very low class how they can sacrifice a goat to Goddess Kali. These sort of scriptural injunctions are given for those who are very low class and sinful to put some restriction on their sinful activities so that eventually they can give up their sinfulness and come to the transcendental platform. At the same time, for those who are serious about becoming spiritually perfect and attaining the kingdom of God, there are higher level instructions such as the Biblical commandment: Thou shalt not kill.

The bottom line is that anyone who has a taste for eating meat will not be happy in the 100% vegetarian kingdom of God. Just imagine for an example if a meat eater was allowed entrance into God's kingdom. After settling into his new home he would ask God where is the nearest McDonalds's restaurant. When he discovers that his beloved McDonald's does not have any branches in God's kingdom, he will want to come back to the earth planet for his double cheese burger. In other words, because the meat eaters do not have a taste for the activities of the spiritual world, they will not be allowed to enter there. They will remain in the cycle of birth and death and will have to take an animal birth for each time they enjoyed eating the flesh of one of their four-legged brothers and sisters.

If one wants to go back to home, back to Godhead he should adopt the mood and style of life as it goes on in the spiritual world even while he lives here within his earthly form. This sort of practice and cultivation will enable him to enter the kingdom of God at the time of death and happily remain there for all of eternity. In other words he should fully absorb himself in always remembering, glorifying, and serving that Supreme All-Attractive Personality of Godhead. To develop genuine loving sentiments for the Lord is his ticket to enter God's kingdom. Anyone who genuinely loves God will also naturally feel compassion upon God's creatures and will not want to unnecessarily cause them harm. A meat-eating diet is unnecessary, expensive, and unhealthy.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari