Welcome to the KrishnaSoft's Electronic Newsletter.
This is the November 2000 issue entitled: "Some Demons Dress Like Devotees!"
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This newsletter goes to over 1100 people who either have an interest in Vedic science and/or spiritually entertaining multimedia technology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
(1) Some Demons Dress Like Devotees!
(2) Bhagavatam Explains How to Live Forever!
(3) Editorial Policy and Product List
1. Some Demons Dress Like Devotees!
In the October 2000 newsletter we discussed how various materialists concoct theories and promote their various isms:
"To the gross materialist who cannot see anything beyond the gross material body, there is nothing beyond the senses. Therefore his occupational activities are limited to concentrated and extended selfishness. Concentrated selfishness centers around the personal body-- this is generally seen amongst the lower animals. Extended selfishness is manifested in human society and centers around the family, society, community, nation and world with a view to gross bodily comfort. Above these gross materialists are the mental speculators who hover aloft in the mental spheres, and their occupational duties involve making poetry and philosophy or propagating some ism with the same aim of selfishness limited to the body and the mind.... " (Bhag. 1.2.8)
We also discussed how these isms lead to schisms and continued dissatisfaction of the conditioned living entities. Intelligent people looking for Krsna consciousness can look at various isms and reject them on the basis of sastra and lack of realizations from following such isms. This rejection of isms becomes somewhat difficult for the common man when certain people pose themselves as belonging to a bona-fide Krsna conscious process when in essence they do not. These pretenders are extremely dangerous to human society for many innocent people become committed to follow such pretenders thinking they are going back to Godhead when in reality they are just following someone's mental concoctions (ism):
"This is because other occupational duties (whatever ism they may belong to) cannot give liberation to the soul. Even the activities of the salvationists are considered to be useless because of their failure to pick up the fountainhead of all liberties. The gross materialist can practically see that his material gain is limited only to time and space, either in this world or in the other. Even if he goes up to the Svargaloka, he will find no permanent abode for his hankering soul. The hankering soul must be satisfied by the perfect scientific process of perfect devotional service." (Bhag. 1.2.8)
"Apart from the class of impersonalists or nondevotees, there are also classes who pose themselves as devotees of the Lord but at heart maintain the idea of salvation by becoming one with the impersonal Brahman. They wrongly manufacture their own way of devotional service by open debauchery and mislead others who are simpletons or debauchees like themselves. All these nondevotees and debauchees are, according to Visvanatha Cakravarti, duratmas, or crooked souls in the dress of mahatmas, or great souls. Such nondevotees and debauchees are completely excluded from the list of transcendentalists by the presentation of this particular verse by Sukadeva Gosvami." (Bhag. 2.2.18)
As discussed many times in previous newsletters, the pure devotees follow the order of the Supreme Lord coming down through disciplic succession. Thus, their actions are in harmony with the Supreme Lord's will:
"The transcendentalists desire to avoid everything godless, for they know that supreme situation in which everything is related with the Supreme Lord Visnu. Therefore a pure devotee who is in absolute harmony with the Lord does not create perplexities, but worships the lotus feet of the Lord at every moment, taking them into his heart." (Bhag. 2.2.18)
"Pure devotees of the Lord are absolutely in harmony with the Personality of Godhead, or in other words, they always think of the Lord as their only dependable friend and well-wisher. They do not care for any mundane creature, up to the status of Brahma, the lord of the universe. Only they can definitely have a clear vision of the Vaikuntha planets. Such pure devotees, being perfectly directed by the Supreme Lord, do not create any artificial perplexity in the matter of transcendental understanding by wasting time in discussing what is Brahman and what is non-Brahman, or maya, nor do they falsely think of themselves as one with the Lord, or argue that there is no existence of the Lord separately, or that there is no God at all, or that living beings are themselves God, or that when God incarnates Himself He assumes a material body. Nor do they concern themselves with many obscure speculative theories, which are in actuality so many stumbling blocks on the path of transcendental understanding." (Bhag. 2.2.18)
"The devotee tries to engage everything in His service and does not create perplexities by falsely lording it over the creation of the Lord. He is so faithful that he engages himself, as well as everything else, in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. In everything, the devotee sees the Lord, and he sees everything in the Lord. The specific disturbance created by a duratma, or crooked soul, is due to his maintaining that the transcendental form of the Lord is something material." (Bhag. 2.2.18)
The duratma uses the property (assets) of God for his own benefit not in devotional service to Krsna and thus the resulting work is a product of the illusory energy:
"O Brahma, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness." (Bhag. 2.9.34)
"In Bhagavad-gita (4.11) it is said, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme judge who rewards or punishes different persons according to their surrender unto His lotus feet. Therefore it can actually be seen that although karmis and bhaktas may work in the same place, at the same time, with the same energy and with the same ambition, they achieve different results. The karmis transmigrate through different bodies in the cycle of birth and death, sometimes going upward and sometimes downward, thus suffering the results of their actions in the karma-cakra, the cycle of birth and death. The devotees, however, because of fully surrendering at the lotus feet of the Lord, are never baffled in their attempts. Although externally they work almost like the karmis, the devotees go back home, back to Godhead, and achieve success in every effort. THE DEMONS OR ATHEISTS HAVE FAITH IN THEIR OWN ENDEAVORS, but although they work very hard day and night, they cannot get any more than their destiny. The devotees, however, can surpass the reactions of karma and achieve wonderful results, even without effort. It is also said, phalena pariciyate: one's success or defeat in any activity is understood by its result. THERE ARE MANY KARMIS IN THE DRESS OF DEVOTEES, BUT THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD CAN DETECT THEIR PURPOSE. THE KARMIS WANT TO USE THE PROPERTY OF THE LORD FOR THEIR SELFISH SENSE GRATIFICATION, BUT A DEVOTEE ENDEAVORS TO USE THE LORD'S PROPERTY FOR GOD'S SERVICE. Therefore a devotee is always distinct from the karmis, although the karmis may dress like devotees. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (3.9), yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra loko 'yam karma-bandhanah. One who works for Lord Visnu is free from this material world, and after giving up his body he goes back home, back to Godhead. A karmi, however, although externally working like a devotee, is entangled in his nondevotional activity, and thus he suffers the tribulations of material existence. Thus from the results achieved by the karmis and devotees, one can understand the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who acts differently for the karmis and jnanis than for the devotees." (Bhag. 8.9.28)
2. BHAGAVATAM EXPLAINS HOW TO LIVE FOREVER!
"Srimad-Bhagavatam is a narration about the Personality of Godhead and the devotees of the Lord like the Pandavas. The narration of the Personality of Godhead and His devotees is absolute in itself, and thus to hear it WITH A DEVOTIONAL ATTITUDE is to associate with the Lord and constant companions of the Lord. By the process of hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam one can attain the highest perfection of life, namely going back home, back to Godhead, without failure." (Bhag. 1.15.51)
The key phrase here is "with a devotional attitude". The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna so making offenses will impede the process of hearing.
"A living being is eternal by constitution. He is, so to speak, in the whirlpool of birth and death due to his contact with material energy. Freed from such material energy, a living entity is liberated and is eligible to return home, back to Godhead. Those who want to live forever without changing their material bodies should not waste valuable time with topics other than those relating to Lord Krsna and His devotees." (Bhag. 1.16.6)
"The living entity, as he develops from lower animal life to a higher human being and gradually to higher intelligence, becomes anxious to get free from the clutches of death. Modern scientists try to avoid death by physiochemical advancement of knowledge, but alas, the controller of death, Yamaraja, is so cruel that he does not spare even the very life of the scientist himself. The scientist, who puts forward the theory of stopping death by advancement of scientific knowledge, becomes himself a victim of death when he is called by Yamaraja. What to speak of stopping death, no one can enhance the short period of life even by a fraction of a moment. The only hope of suspending the cruel slaughtering process of Yamaraja is to call him to hear and chant the holy name of the Lord. Yamaraja is a great devotee of the Lord, and he likes to be invited to kirtanas and sacrifices by the PURE DEVOTEES, WHO ARE CONSTANTLY ENGAGED IN THE DEVOTIONAL SERVICE OF THE LORD. Thus the great sages, headed by Saunaka and others, invited Yamaraja to attend the sacrifice performed at Naimisaranya. This was good for those who did not want to die." (Bhag. 1.16.7)
Once again the main point is that the sacrifice of reciting, reading, or hearing Bhagavatam must be done in devotional service to the Lord not some mental exercise or some fruitive act or an act of catering to the whims of materialistic audiences. If one reads, hears, or recites with devotion, one will live forever! This is because Yamaraja himself, the controller of death, will be attracted to such devotion!
"As long as Yamaraja, who causes everyone's death, is present here, no one shall meet with death. The great sages have invited the controller of death, Yamaraja, who is the representative of the Lord. Living beings who are under his grip should take advantage by hearing the deathless nectar in the form of this narration of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord." (Bhag. 1.16.8)
"Every human being dislikes meeting death, but he does not know how to get rid of death. The surest remedy for avoiding death is to accustom oneself to hearing the nectarean pastimes of the Lord as they are systematically narrated in the text of Srimad-Bhagavatam. It is advised herein, therefore, that any human being who desires freedom from death should take to this course of life as recommended by the rsis headed by Saunaka." (Bhag. 1.16.8)
Some atheists and mayavadis may object that this is just an exaggeration to encourage people to read the Bhagavatam like politicians promise things and can not live up to their words. That is all nonsense. The words of the Bhagavatam have to be understood AS THEY ARE [explicitly]:
"The Vedic injunctions are self-authorized, and if some mundane creature adjusts the interpretations of the Vedas, he defies their authority....[Vyasadeva's] work, the Vedanta-sutra, is as dazzling as the midday sun, and when someone tries to give his own interpretations on the self-effulgent sunlike Vedanta-sutra, he attempts to cover this sun with the cloud of his imagination." (Bhag. Intro)
To act in devotion to Lord Krsna is to act on the real platform of the spirit soul and thus there is no need for a change of bodies:
"One must take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and by his instruction increase one's knowledge in devotional service, become detached from the material world and thus become liberated. An advanced devotee, therefore, does not live within the material body but within his spiritual body, just as a dry coconut lives detached from the coconut husk, even though within the husk. The pure devotee's body is therefore called cin-maya-sarira ("spiritualized body"). In other words, a devotee's body is not connected with material activities, and as such, a devotee is always liberated (brahma-bhuyaya kalpate), as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (14.26)." (Bhag. 4.22.26)
"As described by Srila Rupa Gosvami (anyabhilasita-sunyam), one must be devoid of all material desires. When a person becomes devoid of all material desires, there is no longer need for speculative knowledge or fruitive activities. In that condition it is to be understood that one is free from the material body. The example is already given above-- a coconut which is dry is loosened from its outward husk. This is the stage of liberation. As said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.10.6), mukti (liberation) means svarupena vyavasthitih-- being situated in one's own constitutional position. All material desires are present as long as one is in the bodily concept of life, but when one realizes that he is an eternal servant of Krsna, his desires are no longer material. A devotee acts in this consciousness. In other words, when material desires in connection with the body are finished, one is actually liberated." (Bhag. 4.22.27)
3. EDITORIAL POLICY AND PRODUCT LIST
"One should engage in practical service to the Lord. In our Krsna consciousness movement, *ALL* our activities are concentrated upon distributing Krsna literature. This is very important. One may approach any person and induce him to read Krsna literature so that in the future he also may become a devotee.... By fully concentrating on distributing books for Krsna, one is fully absorbed in Krsna."
Our newsletters are geared to show you the benefits of the instructions contained in the transcendental books of Srila Prabhupada so you can judge for yourself the value of these books and obtain them in book or CDROM format. We also have video demos of the Gita CDROM and Bhagavatam CDROM available for those without computers or those who want to get a glimpse into what is on the CDROM.
Krishna Software Inc. has produced some multimedia CDROMs and all the details and reviews of these CDROMs can be found at our website http://www.krishnasoft.com. Here is our current list of products:
(a) Multimedia Bhagavad-gita As It Is CD: Lord Krsna's eternal instructions to Arjuna and the rest of the world about Isvara (Supreme Lord), jiva (the soul), karma (activities), kala (time), and prakrti (nature). This is a 30-hour audio-visual CDROM. Also available with Hindi translations.
(b) Multimedia Srimad-Bhagavatam CD: An encyclopedia on the science of Krsna consciousness. This CDROM deals in detail with bhakti-yoga and covers various subjects-- the creation of the universe, Vedic astronomy, transmigration, birth-death, etc. This is about 35 hours of audio-visual presentations.
(c) Multimedia Krsna CD w/Vedic Astronomy: This is a 51-hour audio-visual presentation of the Krsna book and a Vedic Astronomy simulation based on the Srimad-Bhagavatam. All on a single CDROM. Free sample demo downloadable from our website.
(d) Multilingual Word Processor CD [version 4.00/5.00]: Type in diacritics, Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, and Assamese without knowing the alphabet. This is for those who want to write articles using multiple languages. Free demo downloadable from our website. New version now supports Marathi script.
All of the above software was tested on various Intel 486 and Pentium processors running Windows 3.1, Windows '95, Windows '98, and Windows NT (client and server).
Latest information and secure ordering is available at our web site: http://www.krishnasoft.com. Any upgrades can be downloaded from this website as well.
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End of Newsletter- written and edited by KSI staff; (c) 1998-2000 Krishna Software Inc.
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All glories to Lord Sri Krsna and His transcendental potencies! All glories to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the literary incarnation of Lord Sri Krsna!