See Everything as the Mercy of Krishna

A devotee sees everything as the mercy of Krishna. Therefore he is never disturbed in any situation. Srila Prabhupada elaborates on this as follows in a lecture he gave in Vrindavana on 13 September 1976:

--Not that because one is Krishna conscious there will be no material suffering. Actually, those who are Krishna conscious, they have no material suffering. Although it appears that they are suffering, they are not suffering. They can accept any so-called suffering and accept it as mercy of Krishna. They never take it as suffering. Tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam [SB 10.14.8]. A devotee, when he's in suffering, so-called suffering, he accepts it as the mercy of Krishna. Tat te 'nukampām . And he rather thanks Krishna, that "I had to suffer many more times, but You have minimized it, giving me little suffering. So it is Your mercy." And if anyone lives on that attitude, everything taken as Krishna's mercy, then he is guaranteed to go back home, back to Godhead. Mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk. Dāya-bhāk means his going back to home, back to Godhead, is exactly like the inheritance of property by the son. Mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk . So we should learn from the Pandavas that Krishna was always present with them, still they had to suffer so much material tribulations. So they were never unhappy, neither they requested Krishna that "My dear friend Krishna, You were always with us. Still we had to suffer." Never expressed that. That is pure devotion. Never try to take any benefit from Krishna. Simply try to give benefit to Krishna. Do not take any benefit from Krishna. This is pure devotion.--

So the next time you find yourself in distress try to see your distress in the above light, and your distress will melt away. You will discover a great treasure of transcendental happiness within your so-called unhappiness.

Pandavas and Kunti Devi in the Forest

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

Question: Is There Sex in the Spiritual World?

I have two important questions: 1) is there any sex life in the spiritual world? Since sex is a big thing in the material world. And 2) can one have sex and still be in the quality of goodness?

Best wishes,
Göran Holm in Sweden

Answer: They Have a Better Standard of Pleasure

Regarding your question about whether there is sex in the spiritual world, Srila Prabhupada explains as follows in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 3, Chapter 15, Text 20:

"They have ample opulences for enjoyment, but they need not labor to achieve them. It is also stated that in the Vaikuntha world the consorts of the residents are many, many times more beautiful than we can find in this material world, even in the higher planets. It is specifically mentioned here that a woman's large hips are very attractive and they stimulate man's passion, but the wonderful feature of Vaikuntha is that although the women have large hips and beautiful faces and are decorated with ornaments of emeralds and jewels, the men are so absorbed in Krishna consciousness that the beautiful bodies of the women cannot attract them. In other words, there is enjoyment of the association of the opposite sex, but there is no sexual relationship. The residents of Vaikuntha have a better standard of pleasure, so there is no need of sex pleasure."

The answer to your second question is that sex is spiritual when it used to produce saintly children under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna states that such sex is He Himself. But if one engages in sex unrestrictedly ignoring the Vedic injunctions he comes down to a platform lower than animals and remains entangled in the cycle of birth and death.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari