Perfect Love
What is the perfect love for Krishna , and how can one generate it?
– Sachin Sharma
Via the Internet
Our reply: You can read in Srila Prabhupada’s books about the activities of the residents of Vrndavana, where Krishna lives eternally with His most dear devotees. In the example of these devotees, you will see what is perfect love for Krishna .
The devotees in Vrndavana have no desire for their own enjoyment but want only to satisfy Krishna . They don’t forget Him for a moment, and when He is out of their sight, they feel intense separation from Him, which makes them think of Him even more. Their meditation on pleasing Krishna generates intense love in all their actions. They are always thinking what to cook for Him, how to decorate Him, how to tease Him, how to see Him, and so on.
Srila Prabhupada has given us the program by which we can gradually generate – or, rather, awaken – such love within ourselves. He has designed a program that promotes constant meditation on how to serve Krishna . That devotional service leads to attachment, and ultimately pure love.
Where’s the Soul?
I want to know where the soul of the human being is located in the body.
– Bakosi
Via the Internet
Our reply: Srila Prabhupada said that the soul is located in the region of the heart. The soul is not attached to the heart, but merely resides there. Not only do we, the individual spirit soul, reside in the heart but the Lord resides there as well. Therefore, we should keep our heart pure, making it a temple where Krishna will be happy to reside.
The Svetasvatara Upanisad compares the Lord and the individual soul residing in the heart to two birds sitting in a tree. One bird is trying to enjoy the fruits of the tree, and the other is witnessing. The bird attempting to enjoy is the individual soul (the jiva) in the material world. The witnessing bird is the Supreme Soul, or Paramatma, who is waiting for the jiva to stop trying to enjoy the material body and senses and turn toward Him.
Bad Parents
I was never able to get along with my parents. My dad was a womanizer. Sometimes he was a threat to my womanhood even. And my mom was totally hysterical and hostile because of him. As a result, I hated them and never cared for them. Is it still advisable to worship parents who suck out your life, who make you go mad and wreck your life?
– T. Venkat
Via the Internet
Our reply: It is unfortunate that you had such a negative experience with your parents. It seems they have not met their responsibility as parents and are therefore not worthy of worship. That said, however, for your sake it would be good to pray for their welfare and remove the hate and resentment from your own heart. The best thing would be to find in your heart the willingness to pray for the elevation of their consciousness. If you keep hate or negativity in your heart, that is like drinking poison and expecting them to die from it, while in reality it is killing you.
Retrieving Krishna Consciousness
How to retrieve my Krishna consciousness?
– Vinodsingh
Via the Internet
Our reply: It is interesting that you use the word retrieve, because actually that is just what is happening. We are by nature Krishna conscious, but we have forgotten that. Because we have become enamored of material things and the quest for happiness separate from Lord Krishna , we are always unhappy and bewildered. The solution is to uncover our consciousness and retrieve our original Krishna consciousness.
We do that by hearing and reading about Krishna , by associating with Krishna ’s devotees, by eating only food that has been prepared for Krishna’s pleasure and offered to Him (Krishna prasada), and by chanting His holy name, as in the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna , Hare Krishna , Krishna Krishna , Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Doing these things regularly, even a little bit each day, will help us regain our original Krishna consciousness.
How to Control the Mind
What can a devotee do, along with chanting and book reading, to fully control the mind?
– Vipin Kumar
Via the Internet
Our reply: There are many choices you can make daily that will help you control your mind, including living a regulated life, rising early, going to bed early, not eating heavy meals at night (so you can wake up easily and concentrate on your chanting), keeping good association (even on the Internet), and avoiding commercial media and other materialistic association (very important). Strictly follow the four regulative principles: no meat-eating, no illicit sex, no intoxication, and no gambling. Be very careful what you eat. Eating food cooked by people in the modes of passion and ignorance will adversely affect your consciousness. Doing just these few things will be very good for you and will help you a great deal in controlling your mind. May Lord Krishna give you strength.
Sensing the Soul
How can I feel the soul in the body? I think that in my body the feeling of “I” is the soul. Am I right or not?
– Amit Talukdar
Via the Internet
Our reply: We can understand the soul in the body in several ways. If we have a loving relationship with someone and that person dies, the body is there, perhaps lying on the bed, yet we fully understand that something, that thing we loved, is no longer there. We are anxious for the body to go away, and at the same time we miss the person we loved. So obviously that body and the person (soul) are different.
Also, the body is constantly changing, but the soul is the unchanging observer. Once you had the body of a baby, then you had the body of a child, and now your body is older. When you look upon the bodies you had when you were a baby or a child, it is difficult to identify with them. At the same time it is obvious that the same person was in those different bodies. This too shows that the body and the person (soul) are different.
We are soul and are within any given body for a short time. But we are thinking we are the body and spend much time, money and energy trying to make the body happy – acting as if the happiness of the body will give us the satisfaction we always anxiously seek.
Unfortunately, we are never really satisfied because we are soul and are not offering our real self the opportunity to be happy. The soul does not find happiness in contact with matter. If we keep connecting with matter in seeking opportunities to obtain happiness, we will always feel disappointed. To find true satisfaction, the soul requires connection with Krishna , the Supreme Soul. Until we, the soul, begin to engage in spiritual practices and seek our happiness in the spiritual realm, we will find that we are never satisfied.