Peace and Prayer

Peace and Prayer
by Tridandiswami B.V. Vana Maharaja
Material sense gratification should not be the main aim of human life. One should lead a simple existance and use one's valuable time to inquire into the absolute truth. There is no meaning what-so-ever in endless material activities.
All mankind inquires after complete peace and happiness, therefore the Vedas explain:


"natalpa sukham bhumeva sukham"
This world is called the 'incomplete creation,' therefore no one can fulfil all their own desires, but still everyone searches after happiness. Scripture gives evidence about the happiness of the transcendental world only. This transcendental world is called the 'complete creation.' Krishna told Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita:

tam eva saranam gaccha sarva-bhavena bharata
tat prasadat param santim sthanam prapsyasi sasvatam
"O Bharata, surrender exclusively to that Isvara in every respect. By His grace, you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme eternal abode."
(18.62)
Attempts are made from time to time to make the kingdom of heaven descend on earth. Those attempts are of different natures. One type is to bring about world peace.
Peace-makers have been glorified at different tiimes. The political history of the world has seen many. Their extrordinary qualities of heart and mind bring them into promanancy and even among their peers they are noteworthy. This enables them to control the minds of millions who, in their eagerness to have peace, gather round ready to work under their dictation. Very soon these exalted personalities succeed in establishing an era of 'world peace.' But soon after, people realise they have been cheated. The peace they attained is just the seed of more unrest ready to sprout at any moment. The reputation of those great peace-makers soon becomes degraded and they are forced to give up their position. Somebody else is then pushed into that position to carry on. Such is the fate of every human conception of peace.

There are two types of jivas that manifest from the Lord, the bound and the liberated. The liberated souls always remain in the transcendental world and the bound souls live in this material world. Those who are bound in this world are of two types: pious and impious. The pious jiva who is situated in the material body is controlled by eating, sleeping and sensual activities, as his material sense desires dictate. In order to enjoy material comforts he engages in a variety of activities that are born from his material desires. Performing the purifying ceremonies prescribed in the Vedas, his intention is to gather pious credits so that he can enjoy material pleasures by taking birth in a high class family in this world and after attain godly pleasures in the higher planets. Thus he undertakes the path of karma.

In contrast, impious souls take shelter of irreligion and enjoy sense gratification by performing various types of sinful activities. The conclusion is that the aim and object of both types of jivas, pious and impious, is sense gratification, but the Srimad Bhagavatam explains that we should give up gratifying our own senses to gratify the senses of Lord Krishna.

In His Siksastakam Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (who, appearing in this age of kali-yuga, is non-different from Lord Krsna,) declared:


na dhanam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi
"O Jagadisa ! I do not desire wealth, followers such as wife, sons and friends and relatives, or mundane knowledge expressed in poetic language. My only desire is that in birth after birth I may have pure devotional service unto your lotus feet."
(no.4)
World peace is only possible when we stop identifying our real selves with this material world, and when the mundane happiness of this world stops being our aim and object.
Vaisnavaism deals with the religion of the soul as distinguished from the body or the mind. Neither the body nor the mind is eternal, only the soul, and therefore it is the religion of the soul that is eternal. Vaisnavaism is the eternal religion of the soul. The object of the pursuit of other religions is one of the following four things: virtue, wealth, desire and salvation. But Vaisnavas have nothing to do with any of these things as none of them is the real object of the soul. Vaisnavaism begins with distinguishing between temporary and permanant things. Both the body and the mind are noticed by the Vaisnavas to be subject to birth and death and therefore temporary, but the soul is eternal as we can see in the Bhagavad Gita: " The soul is eternal and not born or destroyed with the distruction of the body." (2.20)

The Srimad Bhagavat discourses on who is the greatest benefactor in this world:


tava kathamrtam tapta-jivanam
kavibhir iditam kalmasapaham
sravana-mangalam srimad atatam
bhuvi grnanti ye bhuri-da janah
The gopis of Vrindavan declare "The nectar of your words and the discriptions of your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one's sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent."
(10.31.9)
We must hear the dictation of the soul in this matter. Soul is all love, and hence peace established on the principles of soul is what is real peace. The soul loving God loves all. It is all accommadating.
Teachers of this devine love are genarally misunderstood; people who are unaccustomed to the study of things without reference to flesh and blood, see disturbance of all social and moral ettiquette in their teachings. Addressing such an assembly Christ said, "Think not that I come to send peace on earth. I come to set a man against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (New Testament) He meant to say that love built on the stands of blood relationships is no love. A God loving son is sure to go against his father who does not love God. Here, in going away from one's father there is peace. There is peace in rebellion against all the social and moral conventions, if that is prompted by Devine Love. There is peace when Prahlad disobeyed his father Hiranyakasipu who pleaded with him not to worship Lord Krsna. There is peace when Arjuna commanded by Lord Krsna, killed in the battle of Kuruksetra his relatives including Bhisma, his own grandfathers step-brother. There is peace when Christ, crucified alive, prayed to God saying "father forgive them they no not what they do". There is peace in peace as well as in disturbance. God knows how to maintain peace, even if it appears apparently harmful to its cause it is in fact favourable.

Some are karmins (performers of fruitive actions), some are jnanins (followers of the path of knowledge), but we are the servants of the true devotees of Hari. One who cultivates a bonafide spiritual process for cleansing his heart and mind and prepering for the hereafter, is considered to be an intelligent person and knows the real goal of life. Bhakti-yoga or devotional service to Krsna, is the fastest means of achieving happiness and real security for the future. In this age of chaos and confusion, known as kali-yuga, the easiest method recommended is the hearing and chanting of the sublime names of God, the Supreme person, Krsna.


Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
These 16 names are all that is required to deliver one from the darkness of ignorance and situate him or her on the highest platform of God-realisation. Krsna is not an Indian God, or the head of the "Hindu" religion. "Hare" is the vocative or spoken word used to address the supreme Lord "Hari." Krsna is an address we use for the Lord, asking him to please deliver us from the maya of material existence. And when we say "Rama" we are requesting the Lord to please sport with us. We humbly request every one to take this sublime procces of bhakti-yoga and become truely happy in this life.



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Contemporary Disciples Page








Material sense gratification should not be the main aim of human life. One should lead a simple existance and use one's valuable time to inquire into the absolute truth. There is no meaning what-so-ever in endless material activities.
All mankind inquires after complete peace and happiness, therefore the Vedas explain:


"natalpa sukham bhumeva sukham"
This world is called the 'incomplete creation,' therefore no one can fulfil all their own desires, but still everyone searches after happiness. Scripture gives evidence about the happiness of the transcendental world only. This transcendental world is called the 'complete creation.' Krishna told Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita:

tam eva saranam gaccha sarva-bhavena bharata
tat prasadat param santim sthanam prapsyasi sasvatam
"O Bharata, surrender exclusively to that Isvara in every respect. By His grace, you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme eternal abode."
(18.62)
Attempts are made from time to time to make the kingdom of heaven descend on earth. Those attempts are of different natures. One type is to bring about world peace.
Peace-makers have been glorified at different tiimes. The political history of the world has seen many. Their extrordinary qualities of heart and mind bring them into promanancy and even among their peers they are noteworthy. This enables them to control the minds of millions who, in their eagerness to have peace, gather round ready to work under their dictation. Very soon these exalted personalities succeed in establishing an era of 'world peace.' But soon after, people realise they have been cheated. The peace they attained is just the seed of more unrest ready to sprout at any moment. The reputation of those great peace-makers soon becomes degraded and they are forced to give up their position. Somebody else is then pushed into that position to carry on. Such is the fate of every human conception of peace.

There are two types of jivas that manifest from the Lord, the bound and the liberated. The liberated souls always remain in the transcendental world and the bound souls live in this material world. Those who are bound in this world are of two types: pious and impious. The pious jiva who is situated in the material body is controlled by eating, sleeping and sensual activities, as his material sense desires dictate. In order to enjoy material comforts he engages in a variety of activities that are born from his material desires. Performing the purifying ceremonies prescribed in the Vedas, his intention is to gather pious credits so that he can enjoy material pleasures by taking birth in a high class family in this world and after attain godly pleasures in the higher planets. Thus he undertakes the path of karma.

In contrast, impious souls take shelter of irreligion and enjoy sense gratification by performing various types of sinful activities. The conclusion is that the aim and object of both types of jivas, pious and impious, is sense gratification, but the Srimad Bhagavatam explains that we should give up gratifying our own senses to gratify the senses of Lord Krishna.

In His Siksastakam Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (who, appearing in this age of kali-yuga, is non-different from Lord Krsna,) declared:


na dhanam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi
"O Jagadisa ! I do not desire wealth, followers such as wife, sons and friends and relatives, or mundane knowledge expressed in poetic language. My only desire is that in birth after birth I may have pure devotional service unto your lotus feet."
(no.4)
World peace is only possible when we stop identifying our real selves with this material world, and when the mundane happiness of this world stops being our aim and object.
Vaisnavaism deals with the religion of the soul as distinguished from the body or the mind. Neither the body nor the mind is eternal, only the soul, and therefore it is the religion of the soul that is eternal. Vaisnavaism is the eternal religion of the soul. The object of the pursuit of other religions is one of the following four things: virtue, wealth, desire and salvation. But Vaisnavas have nothing to do with any of these things as none of them is the real object of the soul. Vaisnavaism begins with distinguishing between temporary and permanant things. Both the body and the mind are noticed by the Vaisnavas to be subject to birth and death and therefore temporary, but the soul is eternal as we can see in the Bhagavad Gita: " The soul is eternal and not born or destroyed with the distruction of the body." (2.20)

The Srimad Bhagavat discourses on who is the greatest benefactor in this world:


tava kathamrtam tapta-jivanam
kavibhir iditam kalmasapaham
sravana-mangalam srimad atatam
bhuvi grnanti ye bhuri-da janah
The gopis of Vrindavan declare "The nectar of your words and the discriptions of your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one's sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent."
(10.31.9)
We must hear the dictation of the soul in this matter. Soul is all love, and hence peace established on the principles of soul is what is real peace. The soul loving God loves all. It is all accommadating.
Teachers of this devine love are genarally misunderstood; people who are unaccustomed to the study of things without reference to flesh and blood, see disturbance of all social and moral ettiquette in their teachings. Addressing such an assembly Christ said, "Think not that I come to send peace on earth. I come to set a man against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (New Testament) He meant to say that love built on the stands of blood relationships is no love. A God loving son is sure to go against his father who does not love God. Here, in going away from one's father there is peace. There is peace in rebellion against all the social and moral conventions, if that is prompted by Devine Love. There is peace when Prahlad disobeyed his father Hiranyakasipu who pleaded with him not to worship Lord Krsna. There is peace when Arjuna commanded by Lord Krsna, killed in the battle of Kuruksetra his relatives including Bhisma, his own grandfathers step-brother. There is peace when Christ, crucified alive, prayed to God saying "father forgive them they no not what they do". There is peace in peace as well as in disturbance. God knows how to maintain peace, even if it appears apparently harmful to its cause it is in fact favourable.

Some are karmins (performers of fruitive actions), some are jnanins (followers of the path of knowledge), but we are the servants of the true devotees of Hari. One who cultivates a bonafide spiritual process for cleansing his heart and mind and prepering for the hereafter, is considered to be an intelligent person and knows the real goal of life. Bhakti-yoga or devotional service to Krsna, is the fastest means of achieving happiness and real security for the future. In this age of chaos and confusion, known as kali-yuga, the easiest method recommended is the hearing and chanting of the sublime names of God, the Supreme person, Krsna.


Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
These 16 names are all that is required to deliver one from the darkness of ignorance and situate him or her on the highest platform of God-realisation. Krsna is not an Indian God, or the head of the "Hindu" religion. "Hare" is the vocative or spoken word used to address the supreme Lord "Hari." Krsna is an address we use for the Lord, asking him to please deliver us from the maya of material existence. And when we say "Rama" we are requesting the Lord to please sport with us. We humbly request every one to take this sublime procces of bhakti-yoga and become truely happy in this life.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------









Contemporary Disciples Page