A Conversation With A Christian

David: Hi. Where do you come from?

Gopal Das: Hare Krishna. I come from Italy.

David: I am David Raja. What is you name?

Gopal Das: Gopal Das.

David: Oh, you have changed your name. What is your original name?

Gopal Das: Spiritual name is the original name.

David: No, I mean the name that your parents gave you.

Gopal Das: I had so many names, so many parents, so many lives. All these things I have changed, but the spiritual name refers to the spirit soul, and the soul is not going to change. So the spiritual name is the real name.

David: Oh, I see. I think that Italy is a Christian country. What is your original religion? You were Christian isn’t it?  And now you have been converted to Hinduism.

Gopal Das: Well, you do not look to me as someone who just came out of Jerusalem, so it must be that you are also converted Mr. David Raja.

David: No, no, I am a born Christian. My grandfather got converted.

Gopal Das: Dear Raja, actually no one gets converted. God is one, there cannot be two Gods. Just like the Sun is one. Is it a Christian’s sun, Muslim’s sun or Hindu sun?

David: The Sun is the sun, it does not belong to anyone.

Gopal Das: The Sun is the same for all, so God is also one for everyone and we all belong to Him. Every soul is an eternal servant of God. Every one of us is created by the same God, so all of us are  brothers and sisters. There is one God and one religion only – service to God. You  may call yourself Christian, Muslim or Hindu, or even change your belief, but the real point is whether you follow what God says or not.

David: So if God is one why then did you change from Christianity to Hinduism?

Gopal Das: I did not change from Christianity to Hinduism. After reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, I have changed from not serving God to serving Him. That is real change. So it does not matter which religion you follow. What matters is whether you have develop love for God or not. Just like your college degree. You may get it from this university or that university, but the real point is whether you have degree or not when you apply for a job.

David: But the Gita is written by man, and the Bible is the word of God, how it can be the same?

Gopal Das: No, in the Bhagavad-gita God speaks Himself, and the Bible is written by so many people like Paul, Mark, Luke etc.

David: But Jesus says that he is the only way and the only truth.

Gopal Das: Krishna says there is no truth superior to Him, and that one should surrender to Him only. So what to do now?

David: Contradiction.

Gopal Das: There is no contradiction. The Vedas say that the only way to come to God is through a guru. We accept Jesus as a guru.

David: No, he is our God.

Gopal Das: He said that he is the son of God, and Krishna says: aham bija pradah pitah I am the seed giving father.

David: But in Hinduism you have so many Gods, whereasin the Bible it says that there is only one God.

Gopal Das: Which one, Jesus or Jahve?

David: Well, there are three things. The father, son and the holy spirit.

Gopal Das: So there are three Gods?

David: No, they are all one.

Gopal Das: It seems like a big confusion.

David: But in the Hinduism there is even more confusion, there are so many Gods.

Gopal Das: The ones who are confused are only the ignorant people who do not read the scriptures. The Vedas say God is one, there are no two Gods. The Sastras describe 33 crores of demigods (God empowered beings), who are all engaged in management of universal affairs under the guidance of one Supreme Lord; Krishna. It is just like in the government where you have many ministers but ultimately one prime minister above them all. There are not two Gods. Ekale iswara Krsna.

David: All those devatas with elephant heads and many arms look to me like imagination.

Gopal Das: Those are beings superior to us and they have different powers, abilities and different bodies. The same thing you will find in the Bible, the angels – humans with the wings.

David: No, it is not the same. Jesus died for our sins. Krishna did not die for us.

Gopal Das: How can God die? Why should He die for your sins? Does He have no power to free you from your sins without suffering Himself? Krishna says in Gita; aham tvam sarva papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah. I will deliver you from all the sins, do not fear. And He does not have to suffer or die for that, thats why He is God.

David: But I have strong faith that Jesus will save me from the sins.

Gopal Das: Faith is not enough, you have to stop sinning. How many times does he have to die for you before you stop sinning.

David: No one can claim that he is sinless.

Gopal Das: Yes, that is true. But we shouldl do our best to avoid sin. Do you agree?

David: Yes, I agree.

Gopal Das: We should be truthful, merciful to other living beings, keep our minds and deeds pure,practice austerity. All religions should teach these basic principles. These are the four pillars of religion.

David: That is a fact.

Gopal Das: The Vedas says that there are four sins which we shall always avoid, otherwise they will destroy those four pillars of religion.

David: Which sins?

Gopal Das: Meat eating, illicit sex, gambling, intoxication.

David: Why meat eating?

Gopal Das: Why is it sinful?

David: Yeah, what is wrong with eating meat?

Gopal Das: It is wrong to kill innocent animals just for the sake of our tongue. Why should we cause unnecessary suffering to other living beings. Better to stop it by avoiding meat eating. The commandment is there in Bible “Thou shalt not kill”.

David: But that refers to the killing of a man.

Gopal Das: Thou shalt not kill means thou shalt not kill anyone. Meat eating is the direct disobedience of the Lord’s instructions. If you love Him, you cannot be disobedient to His orders. And if you are disobedient, your love is not true.

David: But many Hindus are eating meat.

Gopal Das: Again you are speaking about Hindus. Muslims, Christians, Hindus – these are all designations, but here we are discussing how to follow the laws of God. He says we should not kill, so we shouldn’t kill. All of us. Otherwise we are sinners, and we are not going to develop mercifulness towards other living beings, and what to speak of loving God.

David: Still I think that the main point is to have faith. If I believe in Jesus – that is enough.

Gopal Das: But it seems that you do not believe him when he says thou shalt not kill. I believe him, and simply by following Lord Krishna’s teachings  I am automatically following all  the 10 commandments and much more. So the true followers of Jesus or Krishna, must avoid sinful life, follow the laws of God, and glorify Him by chanting His name.

David: Yes, we shall praise the Lord.

Gopal Das: We praise Lord by chanting His holy name; Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. You can chant with us.

David: I will try.

Source : http://iskconbangalore.co.in/conversation-christian

happiness in making others happy

It will take just few seconds to read this and
change your thinking..

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same
hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an
hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from
his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on
his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their
homes, their jobs, their involvement in the
military service, where they had been on
vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the
window could sit up, he would pass the time by
describing to his roommate all the things he could
see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those
one hour periods where his world would be
broadened and enlivened by all the activity and
colour of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.

Ducks and swans played on the water while
children sailed their model boats. Young lovers
walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour
and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen
in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in
exquisite details, the man on the other side of
the room would close his eyes and imagine this
picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window
described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band -
he could see it in his mind's eye as the
gentleman by the window portrayed it with
descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring
water for their baths only to find the lifeless body
of the man by the window, who had died
peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital
attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man
asked if he could be moved next to the window.
The nurse was happy to make the switch, and
after making sure he was comfortable, she left
him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one
elbow to take his first look at the real world
outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window
besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have
compelled his deceased roommate who had
described such wonderful things outside this
window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and
could not even see the wall.

She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage
you.'

Epilogue:
There is tremendous happiness in making others
happy, despite our own situations.
Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness
when shared, is doubled.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things
you have that money can't buy.

'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .'

Why to avoid Tea ???

Chay! Chay!” The calls of tea vendors echo through India’s train stations at any time, whether it be two o’clock in the morning or ten at night. The vendors are always busy selling tea through train windows. Sometimes they climb aboard a train and get off at another station, sure that tea addicts will buy a cup. The voices wake the passengers, reminding them of their daily need, urging them to take a cup of hot tea. “One rupee!” the vendor says.

Drinking tea is not part of our Vedic culture. The British introduced tea in 1834, after they had conquered India.

Once I asked my grandmother, “Dadiji, did you always drink tea?”

“No,” she replied, somewhat embarrassed.

When she was a child, her father, a well-known attorney in town, would not permit tea in the house except to offer British friends. To keep up with the English “sahibs,” however, Indians in the last century have gradually adopted tea as part of our daily lives.

Indian households restricted tea because it is an intoxicant. Even today, the kids are not given tea. They are supposed to drink milk, which is good for them.

The caffeine in tea urges a person to drink tea again and again. I remember traveling in India once on a short bus ride. Halfway through the journey the bus driver had to stop to drink a cup of tea while the passengers waited.

The Vedic scriptures say that intoxication is one of the four pillars of sin. The others are gambling, meat-eating, and illicit sex. We Indians should not have a problem avoiding these sinful activities, but with the influence of Kali-yuga we have become somewhat lax. Most of us know that all of the above are non-religious habits — except when it comes to tea, coffee, or colas.

Devotees do not offer tea to Lord Krishna. Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter, “Yes, as you have understood, prasadam is offered only from the category of fruits, vegetables, grains, milk products and sugar. This is according to the Bhagavad-gita, wherein Krishna states what He accepts. We have four rules that all my students follow. They do not take any meat, fish, or eggs; no gambling, no intoxicants, including coffee, tea, or cigarettes; and no illicit sex life. Try to follow these four rules, and Krishna will bless you with quick advancement in spiritual life.”

While still in family life, Srila Prabhupada tried unsuccessfully to get his wife and children to give up tea. He once said about his wife, “She was very attached to drinking tea. I was always telling her not to drink tea, because I wanted to have a nice Vaishnava family. So although I was repeatedly telling her, this time [just before he left home] I finally said, ‘You choose between me or tea. Either the tea goes or I go.’ ”

Anything Krishna does not accept, the devotees reject. Eating food not offered to Krishna means bondage in the material world. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita (3.13):

yajna-sistasinah santo
mucyante sarva-kilbisaih
bhunjate te tv agham papa
ye pacanty atma-karanat

“The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.”

Tea drinking degrades our consciousness. The typical family in India gets up from bed and sips tea, and with tea they either read the newspaper or gossip about mundane affairs. The scriptures recommend that the morning hours are the best time to remember Krishna, perform devotional service, and elevate our consciousness for the day. If we start the day remembering Krishna, the whole day will be spiritual. But if we get up, take tea, and fill ourselves with the rubbish of the material world, we are wasting our valuable morning hours, in which the mode of goodness prevails.

On a recent trip to India I asked people why they drink tea. Most said that tea gives them energy to start the day. Research shows, however, that although tea temporarily increases energy, the body experiences a sudden letdown in activeness after the effect diminishes. The 1983 edition of The Foods and Nutrition Encyclopedia says, “The reason for the lift is that caffeine stimulates the central nervous system (brain) and promotes the breakdown of glucogen to glucose in the liver, which raises the blood sugar level. However, the elevation of blood glucose may be short lived. Hence they feel a letdown due to a drop in their blood sugar.”

Tea makes the body like the hare in the race with the tortoise. The stimulation in caffeine makes the body run. Afterwards the body takes a rest because it cannot function without it. When the body depends on its own strength, it gets much farther.

As with many other drugs, caffeine creates dependency in the body. It also robs the body of nutrients. The stimulation of caffeine has long-term effects and has been implicated in cancer, ulcers, birth defects, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

So the question remains how to give up the old habit of drinking tea morning, noon, and night. The only way to cure the addiction for tea is by getting a “higher taste,” a spiritual lift that will counteract the temporary boost one gets with tea.

One gets so much energy serving Krishna that there is no need of a stimulant. Devotees do not use tea, and still they sleep less, serving Krishna energetically throughout the day. The pleasure of bhakti-yoga, or service to Krishna, is thousands of times greater than the stale material happiness of drinking tea.

Chanting is one of the first processes in bhakti-yoga. The holy names of Krishna are nondifferent from Krishna. Pure chanting of Sri Krishna’s names, specifically the maha-mantra, drives out all desires for material sensations. Krishna’s names are like the sun. Any-thing that comes in contact with that sunlight becomes totally pure. So no material desire can stand before Krishna’s holy name.

In the Bhagavad-gita (2.59), Lord Krishna speaks of the need for acquiring a higher taste:

visaya vinivartante
niraharasya dehinah
rasa-varjam raso ‘py asya
param drstva nivartate

“The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.”

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport, “Unless one is transcendentally situated, it is not possible to cease from sense enjoyment. The process of restriction from sense enjoyment by rules and regulations is something like restricting a diseased person from certain types of eatables. The patient, however, neither likes such restrictions nor loses his taste for eatables. … But one who has tasted the beauty of the Supreme Lord Krishna, in the course of his advancement in Krishna consciousness, no longer has a taste for dead, material things.”

If we artificially restrict ourselves from tea, we will still aspire for that taste. But if someone gives us something better, we will naturally lose our taste for the inferior. If tea gives us a lift, Krishna consciousness gives us unlimited bliss.

By the way, my grandmother has given up drinking tea after fifty-five years. So can you.

Eight Rules for Better Japa

The rules start with basic mechanical arrangements and end with the proper mood and meditation. Anyone who follows these eight rules will surely improve his japa and receive delightful rewards from sri-nama.

 1. Night before-Give up rice and eating heavy foods at night.Take simple foods such as milk and fruits. By eating a light meal you will sleep soundly, rise early without difficulty, and have full energy for attentive japa the next morning. The night before make asankalpa or firm vow: "Tomorrow morning, I will chant with full concentration and sincere feelings."Upon waking, take a full bath or at least wash the mouth, face, hands and feet with cold water before chanting. If you feel sleepy or dull headed, a kirtana with karatals will immediately invigorate the dull mind and purify the enviroment.

 2. Time, Place, Mind-Start chanting very early in the morning, either with devotees, Tulasi-devi, Thakurji, or in a place free from disturbance. Sit before your Deities or Tulasi-devi and chant prayers

 to Sri Guru and the parampara, the six Gosvamis and the Panca-tattva. Remember Thakura Haridasa and pray for his mercy. Pray to the holy name to help you chant with full attention, purely, and free from offenses.If the mind starts "jumping," calm it down by prayer, pranayama, or loud chanting. Sri Caitanya's Sikasastaka is the ideal prayer to recite and reflect upon before and during japa. A very good technique of concentration is to remember the meaning of the third sloka (trnad api sunicena) throughout the japa period.

 3. Chanting Techniques-a) "Sit properly." Yoga sastras proclaim that sitting straight facilitates concentration: "Right posture makes the mind calm." (Tantm-mja-tantra 27,59) "For purification of the body and for success in yoga, posture is absolutely necessary." (Rudm-yamaia-tantm 2.24.38-39) "By the practice of good posture the body becomes disease-free, firm and efficient." (Gmha-yamaia 2.85)

 b) Chant without interruption. Once in Los Angeles, disciples asked Srila Prabhupada what would please him most. "Chant sixteen rounds of japa at one sitting without interruption!" said Srila Prabhupada.

 c) Be careful to clearly and distinctly pronounce the holy names.

 4. Concentration-Collect all thoughts into one; concentrate on the sound vibration.

 5. Control the Mind-a) Pull it back when it wanders. Chanters Beware!!! Yoga sastras say that tamo-guna and sleep usually attack a sadhaka after he has practiced one hour of meditation. In other words, after sitting peacefully and chanting japa for one hour,one should be watchful and check his energy and attention levels. If you feel drowsy or dull headed, then chant loudly to shake off tamo-guna; go outside for a japa walk; drink some cold water and splash some on your face; do sirsasana (headstand) for 2 minutes and 10 rounds of pranayama; or a few stretching exercises. Refreshed and invigorated, sit before Tulasi-devi again and renew your japa meditation.

 b) Cut the tendency to recall events from yesterday, last week or the year before. The bird of the mind flies on two wings: the past and the future. Cut off the wings. Be here now: Hear, chant and remember-love, serve and surrender! "Forget the past that sleeps; and never the future dream at all. Deal with times that are with you, and progress you shall call." (samnagati)

 c) Don't plan today's duties. If the mind persistenly dwells on the "shopping list" or "things to do today", then stop briefly, write down the points, and chant japa with a tranquil mind.

 6. Absorb Four Qualities-try to fill the mind with the four qualities recommended in the third verse of Sri Caitanya's Siksastaka: humility, tolerance, pridelessness and respect for all.

 7. Meditation-while chanting, meditate on the form of Radha-Syama, or the meaning of the holy names revealed by the previous acaryas.

 8. Mood-chant with a feeling of longing for Krsna, hankering for Krsna and crying for Krsna. "This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother's presence." (SSR) Of course, this should not be done in an artificial way. But rest assured, Sri Krsna will respond to the sincere and helpless cries of a humble devotee chanting with a repentant heart.

- See more at: http://harekrishnajapa.com/eight-rules-for-better-japa/#sthash.ePQlpO31.E1IZwe0c.dpuf

what is detachment ?

Sanyasa does not mean hating this world and leaving home and living in forests. We can never skip any people in this world. Instead, we can live with all these people and just avoid having attachments with them.

What is attachment? If the separation of anyone affects you, that means you have attachments. When you are not affected and stand as you are unoscillated even when you get a very big offer of Prize as well as you lose a very important person. Such an unoscillated mindset is called detachment.

In other words, Accepting all the happenings as it is!

This mindset coupled with chanting Hare Krishna will take you to Goloka. Not just chanting alone. If you sincerely chant regularly without offences, this detached mindset will automatically come. So, chant, but, sincerely without offences.