Socrates was a great philosopher.

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Socrates Was a Great Philosopher

August 10 2025

In a lecture given on 9 Octobef 1966 in New York Srila Prabhupada describes the great Greek philosopher Socrates as follows:

Socrates was condemned to death because he believed in the immortality of the soul. So he was condemned to death, and he was asked to take hemlock poison. And the judge wanted, "Well, Socrates, how do you want to be put into the grave?" He replied, "First of all, you catch me. Then you put me into the grave. You are dealing with my body, nonsense. I am out of this. So you kill me or you put me into the grave or whatever you like, I don't mind. First of all, you catch me. Then you put me into the grave."

Socrates’s death came through the drinking of poison hemlock, the method prescribed by the Athenian government after he was found guilty of impiety and corrupting the youth. In 399 BCE, a jury convicted him, and he was sentenced to die in this manner. Hemlock poisoning induces gradual paralysis, eventually leading to respiratory failure and death, while the mind remains conscious.

Plato’s Phaedo offers a vivid account of Socrates’s final moments, portraying him as calmly accepting his fate and even using the occasion to discuss the immortality of the soul with his followers.

So we can learn from Socrates to be more concerned about the well-being of our souls than the well-being of our bodies. Our bodies can die at any moment. But our souls will live forever.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

The Death of Socrates

Socrates

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Transcendental Reply

Hare Krishna, please accept my humble obeisances.

My shiksha-guru has instructed me to wholeheartedly prepare for the medical entrance examination, but after reading what is quoteed below, I have become very confused. I would be extremely grateful if you would kindly guide this fallen soul.

Dhyey

Jaḍa-bidyā, the material education, they are simply paraphernalia of this illusory energy, māyāra vaibhava. And the effect of this advancement of material civilization means stopping one's relationship with God.

From Prabhupada Lecture on BG 6.47 -- Ahmedabad, December 12, 1972:
Anartha means unnecessary things. We have practiced so many unnecessary things in our life. Unnecessary things, when they are too much strong, that becomes sinful life. Unnecessary. The modern civilization is simply meant for creating unnecessary necessities of life. That's all. So we are becoming deviated from God. The more we are advancing in so-called material civilization, we are more becoming far away from God. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung: jaḍa-bidyā jato, māyāra vaibhava, tomāra bhajane bādhā. Jaḍa-bidyā, the material education, they are simply paraphernalia of this illusory energy, māyāra vaibhava. And the effect of this advancement of material civilization means stopping one's relationship with God. Jaḍa-bidyā jato, māyāra vaibhava, tomāra bhajane bādhā, anitya saṁsāre. Anitya means this temporary life, this... Everyone, we are in this material world, say, for fifty years, sixty years, hundred years. That is temporary. In the unlimited time, a duration of life, say of hundred years, that is nothing. Even, not even a point. It is very temporary, but in this temporary life, we are addicted to so many unnecessary things, and we are forgetting our real business, how to go to home, back to home, back to Godhead.

Answer

From: Austin, Texas USA

My Dear Dhyey,

Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Material knowledge used in the service of Krishna does not bring bondage. If you are dedicated to using the fruits of this knowledge in Krishna’s service, you may pursue it without fear. It is like learning to drive a car: if you use that knowledge to drive to a liquor shop, it will bind you to the cycle of birth and death. But if you use it to drive to Krishna’s temple, that same knowledge will help liberate you. The principle is that anything used in the service of the Lord becomes spiritualized/ transcendentalized.

I hope this meets you in the best of health and in a cheerful mood.

Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari

How I Came to Krishna Consciousness

In a world obsessed with money, fame, and fleeting pleasures—leading nowhere but to the grave or the crematorium—I walked away. Life felt so meaningless, I couldn’t stand it. This is the true story of how I turned my back on the American materialistic dream and discovered something far greater: Krishna consciousness. A gripping journey of inner revolution and a call to awaken a world civilization on the edge of collapse.

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