“You cannot eat anything , even grass without the sanction of God”—SP

June 23, 2012 in Articles, Damaghosa Dasa

Hare Krsna to all
Pranams
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Below is a very interesting conversation wherein Srila Prabhupada explains  the difficult
situation all kali yuga inhabitants find themselves.
Machines and so called “easy living” vs. working hard in a rural  setting and producing your own food. The first is easier for that kind  of work only requires one sit at a desk for many, and push some buttons/shuffle  some papers-not very physically taxing. But as we see from that kind of inactive  sedentary lifestyle all kinds of very serious health and mental problems  ensue.  On the other hand, when one operates his or her body in a moving  physically active way, that is the way God intended us to live-by working hard  to produce our necessities. And tremendous health and mental benefits  come  from this type of satisfying work which one does not get by pushing  buttons.
And finally just to be fair, Srila Prabhupada points out that to stop ones  kind of city occupation in this age and go live in the country is almost  impossible to do  So he recommends that one keep his job, but add the  chanting of Hare Krsna maha mantra to that work. And if one does this, he will  get purified of so many anarthas, or unwanted things in his heart. So much so  that he may even want to give up city living and the fat pay check and simply go  and live more simply so that his pursuit of God consciousness is made easier by  living in the mode of goodness instead of the mode of passion and  ignorance.
Hari bol,
Damaghosa das
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740524r2.rome                 Conversations                Richard Webster: What civilization there is comes chiefly from  the television, I’m afraid. I mean the public opinion is made by  the television. Atreya Rsi: The television today is setting up the  standard for the civilization, for today’s civilization. Richard Webster:  But they talk about nothing but name war (?) and… Prabhupada: (indistinct)  pictures. Richard Webster: It’s much easier. They’re producing more  television sets (indistinct) Yogesvara: It’s a great science. My mother  is an executive in a public relations firm. Her business is to show products,  goods, to people that otherwise they have no need for and to convince them  that there is some value. It’s a very big industry, especially in the  United States, public relations, advertising. It’s very psychological  too. They use all kinds of psychological techniques for inducing people  to take things they have no need for. Prabhupada: All right  but thing is that after all our prime necessity is food. So why people  are not engaged to produce food? Richard Webster: Well, in Italy  they don’t like to work on the land any more. They all want to live in  town.

How to solve all ones economic problems-SP

April 23, 2012 in Articles, Damaghosa Dasa

Hare Krsna
Pranams to all
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Below are some excerpts from various conversations wherein Srila Prabhupada explains
very nicely how anyone can live easily without much anxiety  in this world, grow his or her
own food for his family, and have more than ample time for spiritual life.
This lifestyle is contrasted with modern city living where one has to work  most of the day, drive for hours back and forth to work, be in total anxiety all  the while, and in the end get ulcers, headaches, or some
other serious disease for your reward for all this work.
Krsna does not want His part and parcels to suffer like this. He gives us  the recommendations
for how to live in this or any age.
Every once in a while I get some negative feedback where a devotee will say  to me-so I am in ignorance if I dont grow my own food? How can I possibly live  in the country if I have so many obligations here in the city?
Who is going to afford this place?
All these questions are answered below by Srila Prabhupada.
One who thinks a little soberly about these things will ask  himself-what does it mean to live simply with high thinking? Isnt this  supposed to be the motto of all Hare Krsna devotees? If so, then why do the  majority of them not do it? Do we just read these words from our Acarya and  think they are meant for someone else?
They will say-I am not a farmer, I am an engineer, or a Doctor, or a  technologist, or whatever. I have so many responsibilities in this city. How can  I possibly leave all this? And furthermore, why should I ? I can hear them  all now.
One point Prabhupada is trying to make in all these talks is this- we, as  spirit souls really dont belong here, and the work we do to sustain  ourselves for the most part does not further the betterment of human society  towards the goal of liberation. Present day society is a nuts and bolts  conglomeration of humanity which produces unfit humans for any kind of  progressive path towards ultimate liberation of the soul from the material  tabernacle. Nobody knows the actual goal of human life, except for the devotees  of the Lord. And what do the devotees do as work which practices what we  preach? We work right along side of the karmis whom we will criticize in our SB  classes.
And yet we have all the answers to all the problems. Prabhupada many times  has said, that any question you may encounter in preaching about Krsna  Consciousness can be answered from Bhagavad Gita.
OK, do we accept that?
Yes?
Then what does Krsna tell us about how  to solve all our economic  problems? Annad bhavanti bhutani
750524BG.FIJ                    Lectures                      Nowadays they are facing a scarcity of food. The solution is there in the  Bhagavad-gita. Krsna says, annad bhavanti bhutani: “Bhutani, all living  entities, both animal and man, they can live very nicely without any  anxiety provided they have got sufficient food grains.” Now what  is your objection to this? This is the solution. Krsna says, annad bhavanti  bhutani. So it is not utopian; it is practical. You must have  sufficient food grain to feed the human being and the animal, and everything  will be peaceful immediately. Because people, if one become hungry, he is  disturbed. So give him food first of all. That is Krsna’s injunction. Is  that very impossible, impractical? No. You grow food more and distribute.  So much land is there, but we are not growing food. We are growing or  busy in manufacturing tools and motor tires. Then now eat motor  tires. But Krsna says that “You grow anna.” Then there is no  question of scarcity. Annad bhavanti bhutani
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So to sum up what you will read  below–
Srila Prabhupada  tells us  —
….how to make the transition from city to  rural life.
….tells us    that everybody should grow  food
…shows us how important and sacred are  grains
…self preservation is the first law of nature  and the fear of not having food, or being unable to afford it for daily  sustenance is eliminated by growing owns own
…having owns own food source means you become  independent of the karmis rat race
..growing owns own food is “our  mission”
…how to start this? he  started his movement under a tree!
..everyone should live on farms, not just  householders
..Indian farmers are clever-they move to city,  get a job and send
most of the money back to the family, Then when  they have enough money-quit their
job, buy land and start to grow their own  food and become independent !!
…and  more….
Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das
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1)  740418mw.bom                 Conversations
Prabhupada: (Sanskrit) From our childhood, if there was a rice  grain on the floor, my father, er, my mother would ask me, “Take it  and touch it on your head.” Dr. Patel: We were advised not to tread on the  grains. (break) Prabhupada: Because by chance, if the grain is struck with  the leg, she asked, “Take it and you touch it on the head.” Dr. Patel:  That is the culture. That is real culture. Prabhupada: Means from the  very beginning he understands anna-brahma. Dr. Patel: Even it is not  spoken, you practice it. Prabhupada: Yes, practice it. According to Vedic  culture, the higher class, in every home there is narayana-sila for worship,  especially of the brahmanas.