disease
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Imported quote 13119 The material disease is to declare independence from the supreme controller. Factually, our material existence begins when we forget the supreme controller and wish to lord it over material nature. Everyone in the material world is trying his best to become the supreme controller-individually, nationally, socially and in many other ways. Dhruva Maharaja was advised to stop fighting by his grandfather, who was concerned that Dhruva was adhering to a personal ambition to fight to annihilate the whole race of Yaksas. In this verse, therefore, Svayambhuva Manu seeks to eradicate the last tinge of false ambition in Dhruva by explaining the position of the supreme controller. The words mrtyum amrtam, "death and immortality," are significant. In Bhagavad-gita the Lord says, "I am ultimate death, who takes away everything from the demons." The demons' business is to continually struggle for existence as lords over material nature. The demons repeatedly meet death after death and create a network of involvement in the material world. The Lord is death for the demons, but for devotees He is amrta, eternal life. Devotees who render continuous service to the Lord have already attained immortality, for whatever they are doing in this life they will continue to do in the next. They will simply change their material bodies for spiritual bodies. Unlike the demons, they no longer have to change material bodies. The Lord, therefore, is simultaneously death and immortality. He is death for demons and immortality for devotees. He is the ultimate goal of everyone because He is the cause of all causes. Dhruva Maharaja was advised to surrender unto Him in all respects, without keeping any personal ambition. One may put forward the argument, "Why are the demigods worshiped?" The answer is given here that demigods are worshiped by less intelligent men. The demigods themselves accept sacrifices for the ultimate satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
(More...) Imported quote 15427 Diseased and conditioned, the living entity is transmigrating all over the Universe. Sometimes he is situated in the upper planetary system, and sometimes he is travelling in the lower planetary system. That becomes his normal conditioned life. This disease can be cured only when the expert physician, the bona fide Spiritual Master, is met and followed. When the conditioned soul faithfully follows the instructions of such a bona fide Spiritual Master, the material disease is cured and the living entity is promoted to the liberated stage, and again attains to the devotional service of Krishna, and goes back Home, back to Krishna.
(More...) Imported quote 16137 Let me first offer my fallen head under the petal-soft soles of your lotus feet, where I hope it will eternally remain. Out of pure causeless mercy and kindness you have given this coarse, gross materialist a taste of real pleasure derived from the ocean of devotional service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani. For that extraordinary gift I shall always be grateful and I beg you for the benediction that I shall never leave the service of your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace, the all-blissful Personality of servitor Godhead, and all glories to those most fortunate souls who are engaged by you in their real business of devotional service. I roll in the dust of their lotus feet! I just wanted to take the opportunity of expressing my heartfelt thanks for Your Divine Grace's kindness in allowing me to serve you these last sixteen months. I can honestly say that I have never been more satisfied at any time than when I had the opportunity to associate with you personally. Sri Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that a person who knows Him in truth is a very rare personality, and actually, as I have traveled all over India and the world with you I have seen these words substantiated. I am convinced beyond a doubt that only one person on this entire planet has really realized who the Supreme is and how to serve Him, and that person is you. There may be so many panditas, big big scholars, but Krsna says that the real pandita is the 'sama darsi,' that one who sees the equality of all living entities as part and parcels of the one Supreme Whole (mamaivamso jiva loke jiva bhuta sanatana [Bg 15.7]). If anyone can be called 'pandita' it is you because you have practically demonstrated this equalness to all by engaging all persons from all parts of the world in service to Krsna, something which no one else, despite big words and much expellation of air, has been able to do. Even amongst the Vaisnavas you are a rare jewel set in the purest gold. The brightness of your devotion to Krsna outshines all others, and while they stay at home with the Deity and their bhajan, you boldly set forth to preach the message of Lord Caitanya and your Guru Maharaja. In recognition of this the Supreme Lord has agreed to live amongst the mlecchas and accept their poor hearted offerings. Without your devotion He could never have agreed to do this. Once in 1971, after you had installed Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krsna in Sydney in a 'temple' that was actually a converted garage, you prayed to Krsna that "Now I am living you in the hands of these rascals, so You kindly look after Yourself and see they serve You nicely.'' The following year you told us that story and commented that now you could see that He has done this and you encouraged us to go on increasing our service to the Lord more and more. Just recently also, you told us how, when the Bombay land dispute was going on and the demons tried to throw us off the land, you prayed to Krsna, "Sir, You kindly sit down tight and do not move from this place and I shall manage everything.'' Krsna did that; when the demons came to demolish the temporary temple you had constructed, they were stopped by 'outside' intervention just as they were about to remove the roof of the Deity room. Now, in fulfillment of your promise you have erected a most wonderful temple structure, certainly the best in Bombay, if not in India. These are proofs of your pure, unalloyed devotion and your determination to serve Him under any circumstance, 'ahaituki apratihata.' Just now in the west, the demons are combining to try and stop this wonderful movement of yours, but that will never be. Because you desire the welfare of all living entities Krsna will spread this movement everywhere and the demons will be vanquished. Now I am feeling very mixed emotions as I take leave of your lotus feet and venture off to try and enter the fire of preaching. I want very much to try to please you in all respects and I will do my best to spread whatever I have learned from you without envy or interpretation, and I beg of you your blessings in this regard. I also feel very much attached to your personal service, massaging your feet and doing whatever menial service I can, and if at any time in the future Your Divine Grace sees fit to have me back, I will immediately come. I know that my only business is to try and please you and that is all that makes me happy. Anything else is simply artificial and simply gives me suffering. Somehow or another I have become the most fortunate person to be your servant, so let that good fortune continue, forever, and wherever you go, kindly take this foolish person with you and engage him in your service in whatever way you see fit. Jaya, all glories to you Srila Prabhupada, the full moon of devotion to Sri Krsna. Imported quote 18701 Material life means everyone is trying to become victorious in the struggle of existence without God consciousness. That is our material disease. krsna-bhuliya jiva bhoga vancha kare [Prema-vivarta]. We may revolt. That independence we have got, little independence, and we can misuse it, that "Why shall I serve Krsna? Let me serve myself." "Let me serve myself" means "Let me serve my different propensities-kama, krodha, lobha, moha, matsarya," like that. My independence means "I will not serve God; I will serve my lusty desires." You cannot become independent. This is a concoction only, that "I will not serve Krsna." But you have to serve. What is that? "Then I serve my lusty desires." Indriya-trpti, indriya-trpti. Yad indriya-pritaye. Simply to satisfy... Krsna consciousness means there is no such thing as indriya-trpti, or sense gratification. Everything for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord: hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate [Cc Madhya 19.170]. Hrsika means the indriya, or the senses. That is stated here also, manasas cendriyanam ca bhūtanam mahatam api, that different types of indriya for sense gratification, we develop. This is the creation, every one of us developing, and it is become complicated with so many other desires. Each life is full of desires. Therefore in the Guru-stotra in the morning we recite, ar na koriho mane asa. Is it not? What is that?
(More...) So some way or other, originally, we are all Krsna conscious, pure, svaccha. Svacchatvam avikaritvam. Now vikurvanat, now, being transformed or agitated somehow or other... Anadi karama-phale, paḍi' bhavarnava-jale. We cannot ascertain when this transformation took place. There is no necessity of making research how we fell in this material contamination or envelopment. But we should be intelligent enough to understand that we are fallen now. That is... How we fell, you can trace out the history, but it is very difficult because anadi karama-phale-nobody can ascertain. Just like when a man is diseased he goes to doctor. So when he goes to the doctor, the doctor gives him medicine according to the symptoms and the diagnosis. There is no necessity of find out the history, how he fell diseased. There is history, but that is not possible to trace out. Therefore it is said, anadi karama-phale. Anadi. Anadi means... Adi means the creation. Creation... Before creation I contaminated this desire, iccha-dvesa samutthena [Bg 7.27]. I became revolting to the desires. Krsna says... Every one of us revolting now also. Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg 18.66], but we are revolting: "Why? Why shall I surrender to You? This is too much You are demanding." This is going on. This is going on. This is the disease. And to cure the disease Krsna Himself comes. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati, tadatmanam srjami [Bg 4.7]. But we are so stubborn that we won't..., do not like to be cured.
(More...) Imported quote 19738 Now I do not know the situation in your particular case, I am simply giving you the general policy or background understanding. We should never think of our so-called advancement as being conditioned by or dependent upon some set of material circumstances such as marriage, vanaprastha, or this or that. Mature understanding of Krsna consciousness means that whatever condition of life I am in at present, that is Krsna's special mercy upon me, therefore let me take advantage in the best way possible to spread this Krsna consciousness movement and conduct my spiritual master's mission. If I consider my own personal progress or happiness or any other thing personal, that is material consideration. If there was unhappy adjustment for becoming married, why you got married at all? Whatever is done, is done, that is a fact, but I am only pointing out that once before you did something without proper study of your real responsibility, now you are contemplating again some drastic action in a similar manner. Therefore consider it carefully in this light. There is one verse from Bhagavad-gita: yasman nodvijate loko lokan nodvijate ca yah/harsamarsa-bhayodvegair mukto yah sa ca me priyah, "He for whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anxiety, who is steady in happiness and distress, is very dear to Me." (12.15) One mistake of judgment often made by the neophyte devotees is that any time there is some disturbance or some difficulty they are considering that the conditions or the external circumstances under which the difficulty took place are the cause of the difficulty itself. That is not the fact. In this material world there is always some difficulty, no matter in this situation or that situation. Therefore simply by changing my status of occupation or my status of life, that will not help anything. Because the real fact is that if there is any difficulty with others, that is my lack of Krsna consciousness, not theirs. Is this clear? Krsna says that His dearest devotee is one who does not put others into difficulty, in fact, who puts no one other into difficulty. So try to judge the matter on these points, whether or not you are putting either your wife or yourself into some difficulty. The right understanding of Bhagavad-gita is Arjuna's understanding. In other words, Arjuna came to the conclusion that he must perform his occupational duty, not as a material obligation, for reasons of wife, family, friends, reputation, professional integrity, like that-no. Rather he must conduct the functions of his station of life only as a devotional service performed for Krsna. That means that devotional service is what is important, not my occupational duty. But it does not mean that because occupation duty is not the real consideration, that I should give it up and do something else, thinking that devotional service may be carried on under whatever circumstances which I may whimsically decide. Krsna recommended Arjuna to remain as he was, not to disrupt the order of society and go against his own nature just for convenience sake. Our occupational duty is not arbitrary, that means once we have taken up some field of action, if we are advanced in our understanding, then we shall not change it for another. Rather our devotion is the important factor, so what does it matter what I am doing so long my work and energy are completely devoted to Krsna? Just like Krsna, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He has no work, neither He has anything to do, still He comes here to teach us this lesson. He accepts not only His occupational duty as cowherd boy, royal prince, but also He accepts married life, He enters politics, He is philosopher, He is even chariot driver during a great battle, He does not give example of Himself avoiding His occupational duty. So if Krsna Himself is exhibiting by His own conduct what is the perfection of existence, then we should heed such example if we are intelligent. Even supposing there is wife at home, with children, that does not matter, that is no hindrance to our spiritual life. And once we have accepted these things, occupational duties, we should not lightly give them up. That is the point. Of course, our occupational duty is as preachers of Krsna consciousness. So we must stick to that business under all circumstances, that is the main thing. Therefore married, unmarried, divorced, whatever condition of life, my preaching mission does not depend on these things. The varnasrama-dharma system is scientifically arranged by Krsna to provide facility for delivering the fallen souls back to home, back to Godhead. And if we make a mockery of this system by whimsically disrupting the order, that we must consider. That will not be a very good example if so many young boys and girls so casually become married and then go away from each other, and the wife is little unhappy, the husband is neglecting her in so many ways, like that. If we set this example, then how the thing will go on properly? Householder life means wife, children, home, these things are understood by everyone, why our devotees have taken it as something different? They simply have some sex desire, get themselves married, and when the mater does not fulfill their expectations, immediately there is separation-these things are just like material activities, prostitution. The wife is left without husband, and sometimes there is child to be raised, in so many ways the proposition that you, and some others also, are making becomes distasteful. We cannot expect that our temples will become places of shelter for so many widows and rejected wives, that will be a great burden and we shall become the laughingstock in the society. There will be unwanted progeny also. And there will be illicit sex life, that we are seeing already. And being the weaker sex, women require to have a husband who is strong in Krsna consciousness so that they may take advantage and make progress by sticking tightly to his feet. If their husband goes away from them, what will they do? So many instances are already there in our Society, so many frustrated girls and boys.
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