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His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
(founder of the Hare Krsna movement) |
 BY HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA
There are many stories of chaste woman. Many stories. There was one disciple of Ramanujacarya, a very poor. So Ramanujacarya came in that poor disciple's house and he saw there was no one in the house. So he thought: "What is this? This is my disciple's house. He's family man. Why there is none?" That means he could understand that the door is not locked. Door was closed only. Then he could understand that within the door his wife is there. Therefore he knocked the door, and there was response also, knocking, but she could not come out. That means she, she was so poor that she had no garment. She was keeping herself within the room, naked. So Ramanujacarya could understand that "There is his wife. Maybe she has no sufficient clothing." So immediately, his own cloth he gave her, within the room, and the woman came out, putting on that... And then offered obeisances. So he could understand the position. They were very, very poor. Even no clothing. So after putting on the cloth, she went to the grocer's shop. Because Ramanujacarya is there. She must receive. Grocer shop. The grocer knew that this woman is very woman, uh, very poor, so his business was to entice her. But she never agreed, although she was young. Now this woman went to the grocer's shop that: "You know that I am very poor. I require immediately some grains, ghee, and other things. My Guru Maharaja has come at home. I must receive. So tonight I agree with your proposal. Please give me. Even at the sacrifice of my chastity I want this." So the grocer was very glad. "Oh, this woman, I have canvassed her, I have tried to induce her. She never agreed. And now she's agreeing." So: "All right, you take, whatever you like. Take." So she was given all kinds of food grains, as much as she wanted. And she cooked and gave to the spiritual master and his associates, his servants. Everything was very nice. In the meantime, the husband came, working whole day. And he saw that everything was nicely done. "Guru Maharaja is fed, and his associates, they're fed." So he asked his wife: "How did you get all these things?" Then she narrated the whole story. Then husband also said: "Yes, you have promised. All right. Take some prasadam and go to him. Because you have promised to meet him this evening. So go." Then the grocer heard the whole story and his mind became changed. "Oh, such a chaste woman. Such a faithful... You are my mother. You take more ingredients, grains, as much as you like, you shall..." Bhagavad-gita 1.40 -- London, July 28, 1973  by Purujit Dasa
It is a very common and fashionable slogan to say: "everyone has his own way". Majority of people in our society have become totally disillusioned with absolutes. Absolute is just not cool anymore. As soon as science came on the scene with its new discoveries challenging the Bible’s teachings, the absolute went out of fashion. Science then completely replaced religion and unofficially brought a new absolute ideal –revolution, evolution, progress and technology. Science became the alpha-omega. The people(perhaps reincarnated) who used to burn a folk or two on a pyre for questioning the scripture just a while ago, now as scientists scoffed all puffed up at anything which could not be rationally, empirically proven in a lab or something. But because we live in a material world, where everything is temporary, this did not last forever either. Atomic bomb blasting shook us all in 1944 and shook the pride off the scientific man, who could no longer claim that he had things under control with confidence. Bummer. So where are we now? We’re in post-modernism, man! There are no absolutes! Everyone is right! Everyone is wrong. Depends on who’s looking. We got like unlimited variety of options to choose from. Whoooo. No fixed rules. Forget the aim of life. Let’s undress everything from meaning and have fun! Definitions are illegal. Discrimination has been arrested. And the new top ten word is “whatever”. Although people think they’re more original and more individualistic than ever before, they all ironically say the same thing: I have my own way. So the “own way” fashion is making it big. When we challenge them though and ask: “What if my way is not to follow my way but surrender to Krsna instead?”, they surprisingly do the most contradictory thing one can commit in the Postmodernia –they reject it as unacceptable and tell us to skate off. “Why don’t you do what everyone else is doing? Just be a so-called “yourself” like everyone else.” They complain…  So anyone who is declaring himself God, immediately you should know he is the greatest sinful man. And if you study his private life, you will see that he is number one sinful man. This is the test. Otherwise nobody will say that I am God, this false representation. Nobody. Any pious man will not do it. He knows, "What I am? I am ordinary human being. How can I claim to take the position of God?"
Bhagavad-gita 1.20 -- London, July 17, 1973  BY HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA
One has to hear this philosophy from a pure devotee of the Lord; otherwise it is impossible to understand whether the Absolute Truth is a Person or an impersonal substance. RTW 5.1: The Highest Use of Intelligence |
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