Hopelessly Surrounded by a Blazing Forest Fire
Just imagine if a person was surrounded on all sides by a blazing forest fire that was closing in on him from all sides. And no matter which way he turned he could see that there was no escape and that his situation was absolutely hopeless. It was certain that within minutes he would meet a fiery, excruciatingly painful death.
I realize that this is not a very pleasant example. What makes it even less pleasing is that describes the situation each of us here in this material world face at every minute. We are trapped in a place where death is relentlessly closing in on us step by step, minute by minute and we have no escape.
Now back to the forest fire example. What if just minutes before the flames consumed our poor friend who was trapped in the fire, by the arrangement of Providence a tremendous rain cloud appeared on the scene and proceeded to drown those scorching flames in tons of cooling water. This of course would be the cause of the most greatest, must exuberant gratitude, jubilation, celebration in the heart of that person.
So what is the raincloud which will save us from certain death? This is described as follows by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur:
saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-
trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam
prāptasya kalyana-guṇārnavasya
vande guroḥ śrī caraṇāravindam
"The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as the cloud pours water on the forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master extinguishes the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master." (Sri Gurvastakam, Verse 1)
By surrendering ourselves fully unto the lotus feet of the bona fide spiritual master through the authorized process of known as initiation we immediately become deathless and are thus rescued from the all-devouring flames of this material existence.
We are not saying that your body will not die. We are teaching how to revive your fire-proof, bullet-proof, deathless self in which you will live forever even after leaving behind the garment of your present body.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
I want to know if one has a desire to have sex within marriage and he/she is not able to control it, what should be done? What is the tolerance level acceptable? As a young man it's becoming difficult for me to control it every time. We have sex at least three times in a month.
I am worried because my name may be forwarded for initiation and I fear to tell this to my mentor or any senior devotee.
Please answer....
Your Aspiring Servant
You have mentioned that sex outside of marriage is illicit, but kindly note that according to the sublime bhakti yoga system so carefully handed down to us by the great acharyas who have guided the Vedic civilization for millions of years, sex inside of marriage is also illicit if it is not for the purpose of procreation and is more than once a month.
Therefore as an honest, responsible gentleman you should refuse to accept diksha until you are able to get over this animal propensity. I understand that this is too embarrassing to tell your seniors. Therefore you may simply refuse initiation on the grounds that you are not yet qualified. Otherwise your illicit sex will force your future spiritual master to suffer sinful reactions.
In our Hare Krishna movement no one should take diksha unless they have been strictly following all the regulative principles for at least one year and they are solidly promising to do so for the rest of their lives. Otherwise initiation within our society will become degraded into a cheap, show bottle phenomenon with no potency to deliver the disciples from birth and death. And gurus who allow such initiations will be dragged down to material life by the sinful reactions they receive from their disciples. If such things become the official or unofficial established standard in ISKCON, our movement will be completely ruined following the pathway of so many other great spiritual traditions which gradually become corrupted by material sense gratification. So we cannot and will not allow this to happen to Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON.
So even if you have to wait twenty or thirty years for your initiation, you must not take initiation until you are able to strictly follow our regulative principles. It is better to be an honest non-initiated member of ISKCON than to be a charlatan initiated disciple who is heaping sinful reactions upon his Guru Maharaja.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
I realize that this is not a very pleasant example. What makes it even less pleasing is that describes the situation each of us here in this material world face at every minute. We are trapped in a place where death is relentlessly closing in on us step by step, minute by minute and we have no escape.
Now back to the forest fire example. What if just minutes before the flames consumed our poor friend who was trapped in the fire, by the arrangement of Providence a tremendous rain cloud appeared on the scene and proceeded to drown those scorching flames in tons of cooling water. This of course would be the cause of the most greatest, must exuberant gratitude, jubilation, celebration in the heart of that person.
So what is the raincloud which will save us from certain death? This is described as follows by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur:
saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-
trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam
prāptasya kalyana-guṇārnavasya
vande guroḥ śrī caraṇāravindam
"The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as the cloud pours water on the forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master extinguishes the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master." (Sri Gurvastakam, Verse 1)
By surrendering ourselves fully unto the lotus feet of the bona fide spiritual master through the authorized process of known as initiation we immediately become deathless and are thus rescued from the all-devouring flames of this material existence.
We are not saying that your body will not die. We are teaching how to revive your fire-proof, bullet-proof, deathless self in which you will live forever even after leaving behind the garment of your present body.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
This Material Existence is Like a Blazing Forest Fire
Answers According to the Vedic Version:
Question: Regulative Principle: No Illicit Sex
I am practicing Krishna Consciousness since last three years. Recently I got married. In ISKCON we have four regulative principles i.e. no meat eating, no gambling, no intoxication and no illicit sex. We say that sex outside marriage is illicit.I want to know if one has a desire to have sex within marriage and he/she is not able to control it, what should be done? What is the tolerance level acceptable? As a young man it's becoming difficult for me to control it every time. We have sex at least three times in a month.
I am worried because my name may be forwarded for initiation and I fear to tell this to my mentor or any senior devotee.
Please answer....
Your Aspiring Servant
Answer: Don't Take Initiation Until You Can Strictly Follow
Thank you very much for your honest and genuine sincerity. The question you have asked is most important not only for you but for many others.You have mentioned that sex outside of marriage is illicit, but kindly note that according to the sublime bhakti yoga system so carefully handed down to us by the great acharyas who have guided the Vedic civilization for millions of years, sex inside of marriage is also illicit if it is not for the purpose of procreation and is more than once a month.
Therefore as an honest, responsible gentleman you should refuse to accept diksha until you are able to get over this animal propensity. I understand that this is too embarrassing to tell your seniors. Therefore you may simply refuse initiation on the grounds that you are not yet qualified. Otherwise your illicit sex will force your future spiritual master to suffer sinful reactions.
In our Hare Krishna movement no one should take diksha unless they have been strictly following all the regulative principles for at least one year and they are solidly promising to do so for the rest of their lives. Otherwise initiation within our society will become degraded into a cheap, show bottle phenomenon with no potency to deliver the disciples from birth and death. And gurus who allow such initiations will be dragged down to material life by the sinful reactions they receive from their disciples. If such things become the official or unofficial established standard in ISKCON, our movement will be completely ruined following the pathway of so many other great spiritual traditions which gradually become corrupted by material sense gratification. So we cannot and will not allow this to happen to Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON.
So even if you have to wait twenty or thirty years for your initiation, you must not take initiation until you are able to strictly follow our regulative principles. It is better to be an honest non-initiated member of ISKCON than to be a charlatan initiated disciple who is heaping sinful reactions upon his Guru Maharaja.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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