Take a Guru

According to the Vedanta-sutra it is the duty of everyone who has attained a human birth to inquire about the absolute truth. And if we are intelligent enough to rise beyond the animal platform by such inquiry, we are further advised that we should not speculate that we must instead approach a guru. We are advised thus because the absolute truth can only be revealed to us by someone who has already realized it himself.

But who to accept as our guru? This can be really confusing because nowadays there are so many persons being touted as gurus. So how do we know which one to accept? Obviously we have to approach that person who has genuinely realized the absolute truth, not someone who is pretending that he has realized the absolute truth. But since we are not yet realized in the absolute truth how will we be able to discriminate because he who has actually realized the absolute truth and someone who is dishonestly claiming he has realized the absolute truth? To be able to make this discrimination we must carefully study the Bhagavad-gita as it is, because it is in the Bhagavad-gita that Krishna gives us everything we need to know to be able to recognize the bona fide spiritual master and to know what we do when we are so fortunate as to come into contact with a bona fide spiritual master.

If upon finding the bona fide spiritual master, we take complete shelter of him, all of our life's problems will be solved, and at the time of our passing out of this body we will enter into the eternal pastimes of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Why Does Human Society Kill Cows?

Please accept my humble obeisances.

My name is Shane Burnham, I attend the temple in Vancouver, Canada. I am a friend of your disciple, Raghunatha Das. Please excuse any ignorance I may exhibit in my question. I'm still new in respect to being Krishna Conscious.

Krishna says to protect the cows. Now, obviously we haven't. That is evident in the display of slaughterhouses all over the world. I wonder if Krishna told us to protect them because He knew that slaughterhouses for cows were a possibility. If we as a society, as the human race, can murder such a peaceful animal such as the cow, what does that say about us? What does it say that we let that happen? The cow is the most peaceful of animals. The fact that we let cows or any other animal be lined up and slaughtered like we do says that we as a race, as a species have failed. That is probably why Krishna told us to protect them. If we did protect them, then there would be no slaughterhouses of any animals. Slaughtering peaceful animals such as cows, who give us milk shows that we are a fallen species...below cows, below pigs even.

Thank you.

Answer: Because We Have Become Lower Than Animals

It is a fact that Krishna is a perfect knower of past, present, and future. Therefore when He describes the duty of cow protection in the Bhagavad-gita we can understand that He knew how much the cows would be tormented and tortured in this horrendous age of Kali. The way we treat cows shows that we as a human society have degraded ourselves to the most abominable and despicable state of being. You have rightfully concluded that we are now a fallen species lower than the animals.

I will be returning to Vancouver as soon as another opportunity arises for me to come there. I hope to meet with you at that time.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari