Cool In Spite of Chaos

It is not surprising that sometimes things get really chaotic in this material world because after all this is the world of chaos. This can easily happen while traveling by air. For example, a delayed flight from Amsterdam to Budapest with a toilet that does not work can lead to missing a flight from Budapest to Sofia, and all of sudden you find yourself stuck in Budapest waiting at the airport for ten hours to catch a midnight flight to Sofia with no proper facility for getting a good night's sleep before another departure the next morning from Sofia to Copenhagen at 6:00 am four hours after your 2:00 am arrival in Sofia. It does not make sense to get angry and disturbed about such situations. All you can do is make your best effort to deal coolly and intelligently with the situation to adjust it as far as possible. And for whatever you are not able to adjust you simply have to tolerant it seeing it as Krishna's arrangement. If we realize that our happiness is not based on our enjoyment that it is based instead on Krishna's enjoyment, we can always be happy by always dealing with each situation we find ourselves in in a way that is pleasing to Krishna.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Can You Accept Me As Your Disciple?

In regards to accepting a guru, can one accept a guru through the internet, or does a student have to live in an ISKCON temple for a period of time in close proximity to that guru? If so for how long? Can you accept me as your disciple only through communication via the internet.

Mamdouh

Answer: Yes, Provided You Qualify Yourself

I certainly can accept you as my disciple provided you become solidly fixed in the chanting the Hare Krishna at least 16 rounds every day on japa beads along with your strictly following these regulative principles:

1. No illicit sex
2. No intoxication
3. No meat eating
4. No gambling

Although it is required that one should have personal contact with his guru, it is not required to live in close physical proximity to him. One can establish and deepen one's relationship with his guru through personal meetings, hearing his lectures either in person or by hearing recordings, reading his writings, corresponding with him, and by carefully following the instructions given in Srila Prabhupada's books.

The essence of the guru/disciple relationship is that the disciple should be fully obedient to the the following the orders of his spiritual master. Indeed, the disciple accepts the orders of his spiritual master as his very life and soul. Although the training one receives by living in an ISKCON temple will greatly facilitate one's getting ready for initiation, one can also prepare himself for initiation while living at home.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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