Dream World

 With the advancement of the ages, human consciousness had changed too. It is believed that today  modern society has advanced far more than the ancient civilization. With more technology and equipments available at disposal, everything has become fast paced and instant. Material science has achieved a lot of progress than the yester years. This progress is thought of as an advancement in Civilization and is looked upon as a great achievement by the society. Today any nation, not using the latest technology is considered underdeveloped . Most certainly materially passionate human endeavors has led to many inventions, for helping and accelerating the way things are done, which certainly is commendable, and this is possible for a human being to achieve since human beings posses higher intelligence than any other species of life on this planet.

Although we have made lot of material progress, from the Vedic literatures, we get the information that human intelligence should not be used only for material progress, since the prime occupation of a human being is to Enquire about the Absolute Truth. This is completely contradictory to the modern idea of advancement. Advancement as per  Vedic text means advancing in spiritual consciousness. Materially one must endeavor to a point where one is able to comfortably maintain the body and soul together.

Reflecting on the Vedic thought, it is very natural for a reader today to immediately shun from this idea and not believe in the Vedic literature right away, since the 99% of populace do not consider Vedic thought or do not have the information . Every one today is tuned in with the modern thinking and modern way of living . Everyone is working hard to compete with other to increase the modern facilities of life to enjoy this lifetime to the fullest. Nevertheless, people who have studies the Vedic literature in depth and tried to follow its examples, have found that a profound truth lies in these literatures. When studied with the right perspective and under the guidance of a bonafide spiritual teacher it makes a lot of sense and has a life changing affect on the person who studies it. Vedic literatures are called as apaurushya, which means these teachings are coming in disciplic succession from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna Himself, since Lord Krsna is beyond this material creation , he is not subject to four kinds of defects which a ordinary human being is subject to namely one makes mistakes, one has a tendency to cheat, one has imperfect senses and one is illusioned. So the knowledge flowing in  this disciplic succession is perfect and even though we may not understand or believe it right away owing to our four defects, the knowledge is perfect and sublime.

So accepting that Vedic knowledge is perfect, if one compares the modern thinking of advancement, one will conclude that this is not the purpose of life. As mentioned above, the purpose of life as per the Vedic Civilization is not to work hard day and night only for material advancement, but it is to make spiritual advancement by understanding who we are, what is the Absolute Truth, Who is God ,What is our relationship with God etc. If one is not interested in these topics one is certainly living in a dream world, full of illusions which is called Maya ( or that which is not). From practical point of view, we see that most of the people today  have created a world around themselves, where that person tries to be the center in every aspect. Some people feel safe in a group of friends who praise and respect them, that is their dream bubble , always trying to live life in terms of that . Some people think of their family as their world, for some the colleagues at work are everything . Everyone is thinking in terms of their surroundings and living in a relative truth. This as per the Vedic thought is Maya ( which is not) or illusion. Since we all are spirit souls and part and parcel of one Almighty Lord . Our constitutional position is to be the servant of Krsna. If we forget what our original constitutional position is and act in a way which we are not that certainly is like dreaming. Since just like in a dream, we may become a king of a country and become very happy  for the moment, until we are awake again, Similarly when s person is unable to identify its real identity he or she is living in a dream world.

As per Bhagavad Gita,  we are not the bodies but are eternal spiritual sparks, part and parcel of God. We are meant to serve God and enjoy with him in that relation. This service to God is not based on the material conception of service, it is based on  Love and not lust. Bhagavad Gita informs us that only when we realize our true nature, it is then only we will be able to become peaceful and happy. Now all this information is new and revolutionary to the modern thinkers, since it is very difficult to see these things with gross senses, but there are many things which can be perceived and need not be seen to realize their existence. For eg, wind , air, mind, intelligence,all are perceived ,  these things have no tangible form, yet one can understand that everyone has got a mind and intelligence or  when there is a air blowingetc . Similarly in order to perceive the existence of soul Sri Krsna gives a example in the Bhagavad Gita,

dehino 'smin yathā dehe
kaumāraḿ yauvanaḿ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati [ B.g. 2. 13]

" As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change."

He furhter mentions
avināśi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idaḿ tatam
vināśam avyayasyāsya
na kaścit kartum arhati [ B.g. 2.17]

"That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul."

For an intelligent person these descriptions are more than enough to realize that the consciousness in the body is the symptom of the presence of soul. So if we are the eternal spirit souls, meant to serve the lord, it is evident that we are not the center or the enjoyer or the proprietor in any way . When one fully realizes that the only enjoyer, proprietor is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna , it should be understood that that person has set foot into the real world and is beginning to awaken from the dream bubble.

One may wonder as to what is the use or necessity of understanding God , since even if  I am living in my dream world, I am happy  within my world of friends, family , society etc.  It should be understood that the nature of this world is temporary and full of miseries, so even if by influence of Maya one is convinced that he is happy, sooner or later this reality will dawn him or her that this place is not a happy place. It is generally seen, that people become disturbed , depressed and sometimes even commit suicide when their dream bubble bursts when for eg their loved ones leave them or betray them etc. In this condition they start blaming God  for their miseries. But one forgets that God has already warned us through scriptures and his devotees that material world is full of miseries and temporary. For our original position is with Him ( God)  in loving devotional service.

This chance of human form is very rare, only after 8400000 life forms one gets this intelligence , by which he or she can inquire about the Absolute Truth and become eternally happy without anxieties and miseries. It is very essential that every one should take this opportunity and burst their dream bubble themselves to realize the Real Truth, rather than waiting for the nature to burst it in a painful way.  Easiest way as recommended by all the scriptures of the world especially Srimad Bhagavatam in this age of Kali to understand the Absolute Truth is by chanting the holy names of God, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Responsibility

   Responsibility means accountibility, To be responsible means to take the matters seriously and carry out the neccessary actions to accomplish a task.  For example, for a manager the responsiblity may mean to manage the employees working under him and get the required work done from them, for a employee responsibilty may mean to deliver his or her work on time and with as much accuracy as possible, for a housewife responsibility may mean to take care of the house and children to bring them up as good individuals etc. Every person involved in these particular roles takes his or her work seriously with accountibility and tries to make it a success. A person who is not responsible is just like animal who does not know what to do and simply wastes the life, that is the verdict of all the religions of the world.

  When this idea of Responsiblity is mismanaged or  not taken seriouly thing begin to fall apart and create havoc in the society, which is evident in today's modern setup.   As per Vedic culture from India, every society needs to be divided into four scientific divisions for proper functioning of the social order, namely, Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. Sri Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself mentions this in Bhagvad Gita, cätur-varëyaà mayä såñöaà  guëa-karma-vibhägaçaù [ B.g. 4.13] .  Just  like for proper fucntioning of a body it is necessary to have head, arms , belly and legs.  Head is compared to the Brahamana class, Kshatriya is compared to the arms ,belly is compared to the Vaisya community and legs are compared to the sudra community.  In the Eighteenth Chapter of Bhagavad Gita Lord Krsna explicitly mentions the responsibilities of these four divisions of the society. These are called Varnas. which are natural sceintific divisions for the well being and proper functioning of the soceity .Similarly there are for Ashramas namely Brahmacari, Grahasta, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa, these four ashrams are designed for the spiritual upbrining of the living entity.

    This Varnashram system of Vedic civilization as created by the Lord , was specifically desiged to help a human being to progress towards self realization and ultimately attain the highest goal of life, which is Love of Godhead.  So it is the respoinsibility of human beings to follow this system and make their lives perfect. Human form of life is endowed with the necessary inteeligence and the mecahnism which can follow this system. Animals are not able to follow the specific rules and regulations of a Varnasharm system . It is important for a  human beings to understand the responsibility of this human form of life. Human form of life is obtained after 8400000 species of life forms and is extermely rare as per the Vedic scriptures. It is the responsibility of the living entity in this human form of life to enquire about the Brahman. The First injunction of Vedanta Sutra says  Athato Brahma Jijnasa   which means Now  Enquie about Brahman or God, since you have the  human form of life and you can now read and understand , so now enquire about God. The responsibilty of human beings in not just limited to working hard and providing for the family and  using all the money for sense gratification , but rather it has a higher purpose to Inquire about the Absolute Truth and our relation with Him.

  Unfortunately in today's misguided civilization people are only busy in eating , sleeping, mating and defending. Human beings are engaged in what is called ugra karma or very strenous jobs with no time left for Brahman Jijnasa or enquiring about God, which is the prime responsibility of the Human beings. Human body is the only gateway through which one can release one self from the repeated cycle of birth, death , old age and disease, but due to our gross ignorance human beings today are engaged in less important works trying to adjust the situation in this world to become comfortable , and considering them to be their responsibilities. Instead of trying to engage in activities in a God Conscious manner, today the human energy is being utlized to advance economically,  which has  left human being in a state of constant anxiety with the economic crisis and sterssful lifesytle, with so  much distrubance it is very difficult for any person to find time for enquiring about God. In order to get basic neccessity of life a human being now a days have to struggle and work hard  day and night, which was not the case a few years ago. The solution to this chaos and confusion lies in living simply to only accept things which are neccessary to ones sustenance and save time for the main Responsiblity of Human form of Life that is Brahman Jijnasa or Enquring about the Absolute Truth.

Truth and Beauty are Compatible

Hare Krishna,
A nice article

By A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead Magazine #15,1967

It has often been argued whether truth and beauty are terms compatible with one another. One would agree willingly, some say, to express the truth, but since truth is not always beautiful—indeed it is frequently rather startling and unpleasant—how is one to express truth and beauty at the same time?


In reply to this we may inform all concerned that Truth and Beauty are indeed compatible terms. Truth which is Absolute is always beautiful. It is so beautiful that it attracts everyone, including itself. Truth is so beautiful that many sages, saints and devotees have left everything for its sake. Mahatma Gandhi, the idol of the modern world, dedicated his life for experimenting with Truth, and all his activities were targetted towards Truth only.



Why Mahatma Gandhi?—every one of us is drawn by an urge towards Truth, because it is not only beautiful, but possesses all power, all resources, all fame, all renunciation and all knowledge as well.



Unfortunately, people have no information of the actual Truth, and 99.9 per cent of men in all ranks of life are following the principles of Untruth in the name of Truth and its quest. We are actually attracted with the beauty of Truth, but we are, since time immemorial, habituated to love untruth in the name of Truth. And therefore, to the mundane thinker, Truth and Beauty are incompatible terms.

Mundane Truth and beauty are explained as follows:



A man fell in love with a beautiful girl. He was very powerful and strongly built, but his character was doubtful. The girl, meanwhile, was not only beautiful in appearance, but also saintly in character. As such the beautiful girl did not like the proposal of the powerful man. The powerful man, however, insisted upon his lustful desires, whereupon the beautiful girl requested the man to wait for only seven days and after that she fixed up a time when they could meet. The strong man agreed, and with high expectations began to count the hours, waiting for the moment when he was fixed to meet the girl.



The saintly girl, however, in order to manifest the real beauty of relative Truth, adopted a means which is very instructive: She took a very strong dose of purgative medicine, and for seven days continually she passed loose stool and vomitted all that she ate. All the loose stool and the vomit she stored up in suitable reservoirs. As a result of this laxative medicine, the so-called beautiful girl became lean, thin as a skeleton, and turned gloomy of complexion, with her beautiful eyes pushed into the socket of the skull.



At the appointed hour, she was waiting anxiously to receive the man in love.

The man appeared on the scene well-dressed and well-behaved, and asked the waiting girl, who was depressed in appearance, about the beautiful girl who had called him there. The man could not recognize the waiting girl, as the same beauty whom he was asking for. The girl was in a pitiable condition, and the foolish man, in spite of repeated assertions, could not recognise her. All due to the action of the medicine.



At last the girl told the powerful man the story of her beauty, that she had separated the ingredients of beauty, and stored them up in the reservoirs. She told him that he could have and enjoy the juices of beauty stored up in these reservoirs if he wanted them. The man agreed to see the juices of beauty, and thus he was directed to the store of loose stool and liquid vomit, which were emanating unbearable odors. Thus the whole story of the liquid beauty was disclosed to him. The characterless man, by the grace of the saintly girl, was now able to distinguish between the shadow and the substance, and thus he came to his senses.



That is the real position of every one of us who are attracted by false material beauty. The girl above-mentioned developed a beautiful material body as she desired in her mind, but she was actually apart from that temporary material manifestation of body and mind. She is in fact a spiritual spark, and so also is the man in love, who was attracted by the false skin of the girl.



Many great thinkers, poets, artists and people in general, are deluded by the outward beauty and attraction of the relative truth, and are unaware of the spiritual spark which is both Truth and Beauty at one and the same time. The spiritual spark is so beautiful that on its leaving the body no one any longer wishes to touch it, even though the body may be decorated with the most costly jewels.



And because we are all after a false, relative truth, we find it to be incompatible with real beauty. The truth is so permanently beautiful that it maintains the same standard of beauty as it is for millions upon millions of years. Besides that, the spiritual spark is indestructible. The beauty of the outer skin can be destroyed in a few hours time by one small dose of strong purgative, but the beauty of Truth is always the same, and is indestructible just as it is. Unfortunately, mundane writers are ignorant of the beautiful sparks of spirit, as well as of the fiery resources of these spiritual sparks and their interrelations of transcendental pastimes.

When these pastimes are displayed here by the Grace of the Almighty, the foolish persons who cannot see beyond the gross senses mistake such pastimes of Truth and Beauty as being within the same field as the store of loose stools and liquid vomit. Thus they come to despair, and then declare that Truth and beauty cannot be accommodated at one and the same time.



The mundane thinkers do not know that the Whole Spiritual Entity is the beautiful Person attracting everything as the Prime Substance, the Prime Source and the Fountainhead of everything that be. And the infinitesimal spiritual sparks, as parts and parcels of the Whole Spirit, are qualitatively the same—beautiful and eternal entities. The difference is that the Whole is eternally the Whole, and the parts are eternally the parts. Both of them are the Ultimate Truth, Ultimate Beauty, Ultimate Knowledge, Ultimate Energy, Ultimate Renunciation and Ultimate Opulence.



Any literature which does not describe such Ultimate Truth and Beauty is a store of loose stools and liquid vomit of the relative truth. Real literature is that which describes this Ultimate Truth and Beauty