Solidly Positive

Even though we may sometimes be inclined to gloss things over and think that this world is nothing but wonderful, the reality is that this is a world of danger where disaster can strike at any minute. Therefore those who are wise do not base their happiness on this material existence. They look beyond this material dimension to the transcendental existence far, far beyond the clutches of birth and death. There they find actual peace and satisfaction in the association of the Supreme Person and His eternal associates. Thus the perfection of positive vision is to see both the negative and positive aspects of reality so that one can solidly situate himself fully in the positive energy. Without the ability to distinguish between these two energies, one will not be able to situate himself solidly in the positive energy, the spiritual energy. This is confirmed in the Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 11 as follows:

vidyāḿ cāvidyāḿ ca yas
tad vedobhayaḿ saha
avidyayā mṛtyuḿ tīrtvā
vidyayāmṛtam aśnute

"Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality."

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Who is More Advanced?

Some of the community leaders in our spiritual society feel that only a married man or married woman is eligible for attaining higher consciousness or eligible for going back to Godhead. Is being a strict brahmacari (celibate monk) greater than a devotee who is married man? Kindly share your knowledge on this topic.

Some of them argue that donating to Krishna conscious while indulging in sinful activities will not hamper their spiritual growth.

Does Krishna see a man's financial eligibility or a poor mans spiritual growth? According to you, who is greater a donor or a practitioner? Kindly share your knowledge on this topic at your convenience.

Hare Krishna

Anil Kumar

Answer: Whoever is Most Surrendered

Everyone should a strictly practitioner of Krishna consciousness: married and monks both.

It does not matter whether one is a married man living with wife and family or whether one is celibate monk living in an ashram. If one is strictly following the rules and regulations of his order of life and is chanting Hare Krishna and strictly following the four regulative principles, he is fully qualified for going back to home, back to Godhead upon leaving his present material body.

Whether one is householder earning money and donating to the temple or a renounced monk living in the temple, both must strictly follow the regulative principles of Krishna consciousness. Krishna does not distinguish between someone who is earning money and someone is renounced from money. He simply sees who is fully surrendered at His lotus feet. The disciple should simply fully surrender himself to his spiritual master and follow whichever pathway his spiritual master prescribes for him: a moneyed man or a renounced man. Neither position is good or bad in itself. The real standard of advancement is to see who is the most surrendered to strictly following the regulative principles of the bhakti yoga system.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari