Are You in Maya or in Krishna Consciousness?

We have a choice at every minute to either be in the material energy or the spiritual energy. To be in maya means to be under the influence of the material energy. And to be in Krishna consciousness means to be under the influence of the spiritual energy. If we want to stay out of maya and always be in Krishna consciousness, we have to very aggressively stand up to and counteract the all-pervading influence of maya. In this grossly materialistic age of Kali the influence of maya is everywhere. Practically every song, every movie, every magazine, every book, every university course, every web site, every conversation, etc. is being conducted under maya's influence. Therefore in order to be successfully situated on the transcendental platform one has to himself become a powerful spiritual influence upon the materialistic atmosphere rather than be powerfully influenced by it. In other words, one has to become spiritually empowered by taking complete shelter of guru, Krishna and Vaisnavas. In this way one will become a beacon, an illuminating influence, in the dark night of Kali and will not be pulled down into maya. Just as a doctor remains healthy even while associating with so many sick people, the devotee of the Lord does not become contaminated by his regular interactions with the material energy.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: How Do I Reply?

I am troubled today. I have a college classmate who insists that in my pursuance of Krishna Consciousness I am losing my identity. I beg to differ. I feel I am finding my identity. I used to think I was a crippled, middle-aged woman but through your grace and studying Bhagavad-Gita I have found that I am instead an eternal spirit soul encased in a physical body. And this physical body isn't even really alive. As soon as I leave it, it will rot and corrupt.

My classmate says that I am being misled, but I believe it is the first time in my life I have truly been led to truth. How do I reply to her? I have tried to explain but obviously didn't do a very good job because she won't budge from her position.

Thank You so much for Your time and attention... Hari Bol!

Your student,

Brenda Lee Riley

Answer: What is Her Conception of the Self?

Just because she did not budge from position does not necessarily mean that you did not do a good job of explaining to her. Some people are so intellectually constipated that even if your explanation is perfect in all ways, they will not budge even one millionth of an inch from their position.

You have not been misled. You are awakening your actual sense of identity, which has been sleeping within you for your entire life, but was covered over by false materialistic propaganda.

Ask her what is her conception of the self. If she explains her identity in relationship to her body, point out to her that even though the chemicals and molecules that constitute her body are changing at every second, she has a sense of identity going all the way back to her babyhood. This sense of identity which stands beyond so many changes of the body is the real spiritual self that you have discovered. If she takes the body as the self, it is she who has been misled.

If she says that you are misled because you have not accepted Jesus, you can explain that you follow Jesus better than the modern day Christians because you strictly follow all religious principles. The Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill", but all other the world the Christians are running gigantic slaughterhouses cruelly murdering thousands and millions of innocent animals. So who is being misled? Those who don't even follow their own scriptures or those who do follow their scriptures? Those who connect with their actual self or those who do not do so?

Sankarshan Das Adhikari