Free will, the Lord's plan, and the Lord knowing the future: an illuminating story

Posted by dinesh

By Urmila Edith Best on Friday, February 18, 2011 at 6:24am

CaitanyaBhagavata 2: Mahaprabhu Starts Sankirtana at the House of

Srivasa Pandita:

Srivasa is most dear to the Lord; therefore, the Lord blessed him and

everyone present, by placing His lotus feet upon their heads. Smiling,

Visvambhara said, "May your attachment and attraction for Me increase."

The Lord spoke loudly like a roaring lion, and addressing Srivasa said,

"Oh Srivasa, are you afraid of something? News has reached Me that the

government men want to capture you, and they have come with two boats. I

am the Supersoul within everyone's heart. Thus, I control and direct

everyone's activities according to My sweet will. The king can only

capture you if I, being situated in his heart, prompt him to do so.

"Yet, if for some reason, he acts independently and gives the order to

capture you, then I will do the following. I will be the first to step

into the boat and present Myself before the king. Upon seeing Me, do you

think that he can remain seated upon the throne? I will delude him, take

control of him, and drag Him down.

"Should not this happen, then I will tell the king, 'Listen to the

truth, O king. Call all of your religious heads and judges to the court.

Collect all of your elephants, horses, animals, and birds. Whatever

creatures you have, bring them to your palace. Then order all of your

Kazi priests to read from your scriptures and inspire the creatures to

such a state of spiritual emotion that they begin to cry.' When his

priests fail to do so, then I will reveal my potency to the king.

"I will say, 'Oh king, on the instructions of these same Kazi priests,

whose lack of spiritual power we have already witnessed, you want to

forbid the congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Krsna. Now you

shall see My power to the full satisfaction of your eyes.' Then, I shall

capture a mad elephant and bring him before the king, along with other

elephants, horses, deer, and other animals, and instantly make them all

cry in ecstasy and chant Krsna's name.' I will make the king and all his

men cry and chant Krsna's name. I know that you don't believe that it is

possible, but I will show you right now and you can see for yourself."

The Lord noticed a small girl, who was the daughter of Srivasa Pandita's

brother, named Narayani. Lord Gauracandra, the Supreme Godhead, the

Supersoul within everyone's heart, ordered the little girl, "Narayani!

Chant Krsna's name and cry in ecstasy." The four-year-old girl became

extremely agitated with ecstatic spiritual emotions and cried out, "Oh

Krsna!" She began to weep, losing all perception of the external world.

Tears streamed down her body, and she fell to the ground. Smiling, Lord

Visvambhara asked Srivasa, "Are your fears pacified now?" Vaisnavas will

remember for many years to come how Narayani was a recipient of the

Lord's mercy.

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Does evil exist?

Posted by dinesh

Does evil exist?

The university professor challenged his students with this question. Did God create everything that exists? A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did!"

"God created everything? The professor asked.

"Yes sir", the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are then God is evil". The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name — Albert Einstein.

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Let it be

Posted by dinesh

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,
there will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,
there will be an answer. let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,
shine until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....