Birth of a New Era

Five hundred years ago in what is now West Bengal, India Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this world. He is none other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna Himself, Who manifested Himself in the form of His own devotee in this material world for the deliverance of all living beings from the clutches of birth and death. The process of deliverance that He taught is very simple. One simply has to sing and dance in transcendental ecstasy the holy names of God and feast on the delicious remnants of multi-varieties of foodstuffs which have been offered with love and devotion to Krishna. What could be easier and more enjoyable? What powerful, self-controlled austere yogis take many, many lifetimes to attain can be attained in one lifetime through this sublime process of singing, dancing, and feasting. Who will object to taking advantage of this amazing powerful system for quickly and easily attaining spiritual perfection? Until 1965 Lord Caitanya's movement was only being practiced in India. But at that time His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta traveled to America and in 1966 founded ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, for making this sublime process easily accessible for everybody in every part of the world. ISKCON now has hundreds of centers all over the world. Everyone is invited to participate in the activities of their nearest ISKCON center for making rapid progress on the pathway of spiritual perfection.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: How to Conquer Over Depression?

I have a question. If a person is suffering from depression and it is not easy to move on. How does that person relate her/his life to Krishna Consciousness and move on? What are the steps to be taken to overcome depression? Sorry if this question is more about personal development, yet I hope you can help me with something.

Your student

Answer: Use It as the Stepping Stone to Unlimited Happiness

The easiest way for one to conquer over depression is to see it in a positive way as the stepping stone to unlimited happiness. Depression is actually the special mercy of Krishna to help us detach ourselves from the illusory so-called enjoyment of this material world, which entangles us in the repetition of birth and death. According to the Vedic culture human life actually begins when we inquire, "Why am I suffering?" So to have a life without any suffering would in this sense be more of a curse than it would be a blessing. So we should feel blessed if depression comes, taking it as an impetus to become solidly connected on the transcendental platform.

In the material world there are many techniques for conquering over depression. But all of them are more or less a waste of time. If one wants to truly conquer over depression once and for all, he or she must fully surrender at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna and thus attain an eternal existence, full of bliss, and full of knowledge.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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