HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE,HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
The words "Matchless Gifts" means something very special to the followers of this Hare Krsna movement.The founder and Acharya of this movement,His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,arrived in the United States from India.Alone,and at the late age of 69,and practically penniless;in September of 1965,on the order of His Spiritual Master,Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Swami,He came by freighter steamboat,to attempt to spread this Krsna Consciousness to the western countries. He also asked Him to print books.In July 1966,in a storefront in New York City,He began the International Society for Krsna Consciousness,ISKCON,practically single-handed;except for a small group of bohemians and hippies,whom He attracted,while walking the streets of New York City.This small storefront building,had been a curiosity shop before Srila Prabhupada rented it,and someone had painted "Matchless Gifts" over the storefront window.At that time,no one
realized just how prophetic these words were;for it was there,that this worldwide movement was started,at the storefront called "Matchless Gifts".So,as the second part of this site,I decided to tell how it was then,at the beginning, from one of Srila Prabhupada's first disciples,who was there,Hayagriva dasa,who is now deceased.------Krsnadas
SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE THROUGH KRSNA part1
The aim of this Krsna consciousness
movement is to bring all living entities back to their original
consciousness.All living entities within the material world are,to
varying degrees,afflicted with a type of madness.This Krsna
consciousness movement aims at curing man of his material disease
and reestablishing his original consciousness.In a Bengali poem a great Vaisnava poet
has written,"When a man is haunted by ghosts,he can only speak nonsense.Similarly,anyone who is under the influence of material nature should be considered haunted,and whatever he speaks should be considered nonsense."One may be considered a great philosopher or a great scientist,but if he is haunted by the ghost of maya,
illusion,whatever he theorizes and whatever he speaks is more or less
nonsensical.Today we are given the example of a psychiatrist who,when
requested to examine a murderer,proclaimed that since all the patients with whom he had come
in contact were more or less crazy,the court could excuse the murderer
on those grounds if it so desired.
The point is that in the material world it is very difficult to find a sane living entity.
The prevailing atmosphere of insanity in this world is all caused by the
infection of material consciousness.The
purpose of this Hare Krsna movement is to bring man back to his original
consciousness,which is Krsna consciousness,clear consciousness.When water
falls from the clouds,it is uncontaminated like distilled water,but as soon as it touches the ground it becomes muddy and discolored.
Similarly,we are originally pure spirit soul,part and parcel of Krsna
and therefore our original constitutional position is as pure as God's.In Bhagavad-gita Sri Krsna says,"The living entities in this conditional world are My fragmental parts,and they are eternal.But due to conditioned life,they are struggling very hard with the six senses,which include the mind."
Thus all living entities are part and parcel of Krsna. It should always be remembered that we are speaking of God,Krsna denoting the all-attractive Supreme
Personality of Godhead.As a fragment of gold is qualitatively the same as a gold reservoir,so the minute particles of Krsna's body are therefore qualitatively as good as Krsna.
The chemical composition of God's body and the eternal spiritual body of the living entity
is the same-spiritual.Thus originally,in our uncontaminated condition,we possessed a form as
good as God's,but just as rain falls to the ground,so we come in contact with this material world,
which is manipulated by the external material energy of Krsna.When we speak of external energy or material nature,the question may be raised,"Whose energy?
Whose nature?"Material energy or nature is not active independently.Such a concept is foolish.In Bhagavad-gita it is clearly stated
that material nature does not work independently.
When a foolish man sees a machine he may think that it is working automatically,but actually it is not-there is a driver,
someone in control,although we sometimes cannot see the controller behind the machine due to our defective vision.There are many electronic mechanisms which work very wonderfully,but behind these intricate systems there is
a scientist who pushes the button
PRESS this button to see why someone,(GOD), is pressing our buttons
This is very simple to understand:since a machine is matter,it cannot work on its own accord but must work under spiritual direction.
A tape recorder works, but it works according to the plans and under the direction of a living entity, a human being. The machine is complete, but unless it is manipulated by a spirit soul, it cannot work. Similarly, we should understand that this cosmic manifestation which we call nature is a great machine and that behind this machine there is God, Krsna. This is also affirmed in Bhagavad-gita where Krsna says:
mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa caracaram
hetunanena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
"This material nature is working under My direction, 0 son of Kunti, producing all the moving and unmoving beings, and by its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again." (Bg. 9.10)
There are two kinds of entities-the moving (such as human beings, animals and insects) and non-
moving (such as trees and mountains). Krsna says that material nature, which controls both kinds of entities, is acting under His direction. Thus behind everything there is a supreme controller. Modern civilization does not understand this due to lack of knowledge; it is the purpose of this Society for Krsna Consciousness, therefore, to enlighten all people who have been maddened by the influence of the three modes of material nature. In other words, our aim is to awaken mankind to its normal condition.
There are many universities, especially in the United States, and many departments of knowledge, but they are not discussing these points. Where is the department for this knowledge that we find given by Sri Krsna in Bhagavad-gita.When I spoke before students and some faculty members at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the first question raised was:
Where is the technological department which is investigating the difference between a dead man and a living man?" When a man dies,
something is lost. Where is the technology to replace it?
Why don't scientists try to solve this problem? Because this is a very difficult subject matter, they set it aside and busily engage in the technology of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. However, Vedic literatures inform us that this is
animal technology. Animals are also trying their best to eat well, to have an enjoyable sex life, to sleep
peacefully, and to defend themselves. What then is the difference between man's knowledge and animals' knowledge? The fact is that man's knowledge should be developed to explore that difference between a living man and a dead man, a living body and a dead body.That spiritual knowledge was imparted by Krsna to Arjuna
in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita.
The Original Bhagavad Gita As it is
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
I am Distrbuting This 1973 Gita,Newly Printed,With a Beautiful Hard Cover,Unchanged,With Vedic And English Traslations,and original Paintings,for a small Donation of $10.50 plus shipping,just to cover printing.I am trying to get started Distributing, these Beautiful Big Books,worth 20.00 to 40.00 dollars easly, in a book store,So Please take advantage of this oppertunity!Make a Donation,And Get this Wonderful,Beautiful Book!
I am Just Tring to Give these books away,For the cost of Printing!
Just Came in--Original Krsna Book Back In Print!!Krsna Book [1970 edition, 2 Volume Set, Introduction by George Harrison].
Completly unchanged in original Two Volume Set,Just asking For a Donation of $10.50 a Book,Plus shipping,Or $20.00 plus shipping for the Set!Limited Books on Hand ,So please take advantage of this offer!I am giving these books away at cost of printing ,as my service to everyone, who took the time ,to read this page!Hare Krsna. Your Servant KRSNAJOE (Jaya Kesava Dasa)
Being a friend of Krsna 's, Arjuna was a very intelligent man,but
his knowledge, as all men's, was limited.Krsna spoke, however, of subject matters which were beyond Arjuna's finite knowledge.These subjects are called adhoksaja because our direct perception by which
we acquire material knowledge fails to approach them.
For example, we have many powerful microscopes to see what we cannot see
with our limited vision, but there is no microscope that can show us the soul within the body. Nevertheless, the soul
is there.
Bhagavad-gita informs us that in this body there is a proprietor. I am the proprietor, and others are the proprietors
of their bodies. I say, "My hand," but not " I hand," Since it is "my hand," I am different
from the hand, being its owner. Similarly, we speak of "My eye," "My leg," "My this," "My that." In the midst of all of these objects which belong to me, where
am I? The search for the answer to this question is the process of meditation. In real meditation,we ask,
"Where am I? What am I?" We cannot find the answers to these questions by any material effort,
and because of this all the universities are setting
these questions aside. They say, "It is too difficult
a subject." Or they brush it aside: "It is irrelevant."
Thus engineers direct their attention to creating and
attempting to perfect the horseless carriage and wingless
bird.
Formerly, horses were drawing carriages and there was no air pollution, but now there are cars and rockets, and the scientists are very proud.
"We have invented horseless carriages and wingless
birds," they boast. Although they invent imitation wings for the airplane or rocket, they cannot invent a soulless body. When they are able to actually do this, they will deserve credit. But such an attempt would necessarily be frustrated, for we know that there is no machine that can work without a spirit soul behind it. Even the most complicated computers need trained men to handle them. Similarly, we should know that this great machine, which is known as the cosmic manifestation, is manipulated by a supreme spirit. That is Krsna. Scientists are searching for the ultimate cause or the ultimate controller of this material universe and are postulating different
theories and proposals, but the real means for knowledge is very easy and perfect: we need only hear from the perfect person, Krsna.
By accepting the knowledge imparted
in Bhagavad-gita, anyone can immediately know
that this great cosmic machine, of which the earth is a part, is working so wonderfully because there is a driver
behind it-Krsna.Our process
of knowledge is very easy. Krsna's instruction, Bhagavad-gita, is the principal book of knowledge given by the adi-purusa Himself, the Supreme Primeval Person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is indeed the perfect person. It may be argued that although we have accepted Him as a perfect person, there are many others who do not. But one should not think that this acceptance is whimsical; He is accepted as the perfect person on the evidence of many authorities. We do not accept Krsna as perfect simply on the basis of our whims or sentiments. No-Krsna is accepted as God by many Vedic
authorities like Vyasadeva, the author of all Vedic literatures. The treasurehouse of knowledge is contained in the Vedas, and their author, Vyasadeva, accepts
Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and
Vyasadeva's spiritual master, Narada, also accepts Krsna as such. Narada's spiritual master, Brahma, accepts Krsna not only as the Supreme Person
but the supreme controller as well-isvarah paramah krsnah: "The supreme controller is Krsna."
There is no one in the creation who can claim that he is
not controlled.
Everyone, regardless of how important or powerful, has a controller over his head.
Krsna, however, has no controller; therefore He is God. He is the controller of everyone, but there is
no one superior to Him, no one to control Him; nor is there anyone equal to Him, no one to share His platform of absolute control. This may sound very strange, for there are many so-called gods nowadays. Indeed, gods have become very cheap, being especially imported from India. People in other countries are fortunate that gods are not manufactured there, but in India gods are manufactured practically every day. We often hear that God is coming to Los Angeles or New York and that people are gathering to receive Him, etc. But Krsna is not the type of God manufactured in a mystic factory. No. He was not made God, but He is God.
We should know then on the basis of authority that behind this gigantic material nature, the cosmic manifestation, there is God-Krsna -and that He is accepted by all Vedic authorities. Acceptance of authority is not new for us; everyone accepts authority in some form or another. For education we go to a teacher or to a school or simply learn from our father and mother. They are all authorities, and our nature is to learn from them. In our childhood we asked, "Father, what is this?" and father would say, "This is a pen," "These are spectacles," or "This is a table." In this way from the very beginnings of life a child learns from his father and mother. He learns the names of things and the basic relations of one thing to another by questioning his parents.
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Thanks for reading this far, if you have any Questions or Comments, please write to me at krsnajoe@hotmail.com
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GO TO SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE THROUGH KRSNA part 2-just click on the TITLE
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