| Bhagavad-gita As It Is | Part [BG.10.07] |
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(Purport to 10.4-5 continued)
Ahimsa, nonviolence, means that one should not do anything which will put others into misery or confusion. Material activities that are promised by so many politicians, sociologists, philanthropists, etc., do not produce very good results because the politicians and philanthropists have no transcendental vision; they do not know what is actually beneficial for human society.
Ahimsa means that people should be trained in such a way that the full utilization of the human body can be achieved. The human body is meant for spiritual realization, so any movement or any commissions which do not further that end commit violence on the human body. That which furthers the future spiritual happiness of the people in general is called nonviolence. Samata, equanimity, refers to freedom from attachment and aversion. To be very much attached or to be very much detached is not the best. This material world should be accepted without attachment or aversion. That which is favorable for prosecuting Krishna consciousness should be accepted; that which is unfavorable should be rejected. That is called samata, equanimity. A person in Krishna consciousness has nothing to reject and nothing to accept save in terms of its usefulness in the prosecution of Krishna consciousness.
Tushti, satisfaction, means that one should not be eager to gather more and more material goods by unnecessary activity. One should be satisfied with whatever is obtained by the grace of the Supreme Lord; that is called satisfaction. Tapas means austerity or penance. There are many rules and regulations in the Vedas which apply here, like rising early in the morning and taking a bath. Sometimes it is very troublesome to rise early in the morning, but whatever voluntary trouble one may suffer in this way is called penance. Similarly, there are prescriptions for fasting on certain days of the month. One may not be inclined to practice such fasting, but because of his determination to make advancement in the science of Krishna consciousness, he should accept such bodily troubles when they are recommended. However, one should not fast unnecessarily or against Vedic injunctions. One should not fast for some political purpose; that is described in Bhagavad-gita as fasting in ignorance, and anything done in ignorance or passion does not lead to spiritual advancement. Everything done in the mode of goodness does advance one, however, and fasting done in terms of the Vedic injunctions enriches one in spiritual knowledge. |
Translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
| Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:30 PM PDT  (Kadamba Kanana Swami, Berlin 2011) In the earlier days of Iskcon austerity was a big thing, it was considered spiritual, the more austere the more spiritual: the colder the water the better, the less you could eat the more Krishna consciousness you were! 'How many chick peas do you eat?' The days of austerity where everything was taboo; 'A book that is not Krishna conscious' 'It should be burned!' 'If we found it in the ashrama it would be confiscated and..burned, burned it was' 'Such books are not to be read, such books are maya, and such books are contaminating us, we do not even wish to see them or smell them, …..burn them, destroy them, annihilate them, burn them deep in the ground and let the worms devour them that they will never return in our life! So that we will be safe from maya and it will not in any way disturb us and we will just have our purity in our devotional life……………………………………………oh, there's just one thing that we forgot.' 'Oh what's that?' 'We forgot that we were human, we forgot that we have taste, we forgot that we have likes and dislikes, we forgot that we desire, to enjoy and feel good.' 'Maya Maya, are you serving Krishna? Are you serving Krishna?' 'But I want to take a walk in the forest' 'Sense gratification, Sense gratification' 'But the green is good for my nerves' 'You're not your nerves'
'I'm tired….' 'The soul, the spirt soul is full of unlimted energy, the soul is never tired!'
So those days were moving along and yes…it couldn't last.   |
An unbridled horse is dangerous for the horse rider&passenger taking a
ride,similarly the senses when not kept in control of the mind also
endangers the travelling passenger of the body-the soul from reaching
the destination,which is back2Home back2Godhead.
--
Yours
Dinesh
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