Ramayana of Tulsidas

 

Title: Shri Ramacharitamanasa

ISBN: 8120804430

Author: Goswami Tulsidas, translated by R.C. Prasad

Versions: Print

Synopsis: This is probably the greatest book ever written. The Ramacharitamanasa, or the “Holy Lake of the Acts of Rama”, is the biography of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Krishna, written by Goswami Tulsidas several hundred years ago. The original story of Lord Rama was written by Maharishi Valmiki during the Lord’s time on earth. Tulsidas’ version is similar in spirit, but more of a devotional work and doesn’t contain as much detail as Valmiki’s. Considered an incarnation of Valmiki, Tulsidas wrote the Ramacharitamanasa in a dialect of Hindi so as to make it more accessible to the people of His time. The writing is beautiful and one who reads this book with firm faith will be a devotee of Lord Rama forever. Already a staple in the homes of most Hindus living in India, this version, translated into English, gives everyone a chance to enjoy the wonderful pastimes of the Lord, His wife Sita, His brother Lakshmana, and His devotee Hanuman.

The Mahabharata

Title: The Mahabharata

ISBN: 8121505933

Author: Krishna-dwaipayana Vyasa, translated into English prose by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

Versions: Print, Kindle

Synopsis: This is probably one of the longest books ever written, making it worthy of being called an epic. Literally meaning “Great India”, this work is very famous and revolves around the historical events that took place in India some five thousand years ago involving the plight of five brothers, known as the Pandavas, to regain their kingdom. This book has everything: riveting stories, details on the origin of man, the proper rules of conduct for all classes of society, and descriptions of the spiritual world. The most appealing part of this book is the inclusion of even more pastimes of Lord Krishna. As with most Vedic literature, the Mahabharata was originally recited orally by learned sages. Because of that, it was assumed that the audiences already knew about Lord Krishna, thus the details of His early life aren’t included. However, the Mahabharata contains many conversations and dialogues between Krishna and others that aren’t found in any other book. The translator doesn’t appear to be a devotee, but rather a high scholar. Regardless, the translation appears to be done very well and the content alone makes this book worth reading.

14th for Federer

Congratulations to Roger Federer for winning his fourteenth Grand Slam title and completing the career Grand Slam with his victory at the French Open over Sweden’s Robin Soderling. In professional tennis, there are tournaments held almost every week of the year, but four of them stand out as the most prestigious. Known as the Grand Slams, the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open are held annually and known as the toughest tournaments to win due to their best of five set format. Federer, with fourteen Grand Slam titles under his belt, now shares the record with former player Pete Sampras.

The French Open title didn’t come easy for Roger. Since the beginning of the 2004 season, he has dominated professional tennis, setting unprecedented records of excellence. He won Wimbledon five years in a row, the U.S. Open five years in a row, and the Australian Open three times. He appeared in a record ten consecutive Grand Slam finals, and twenty consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, a streak which is still active. However, the one titled that eluded him was the French Open. The only Grand Slam played on a clay court, Federer had lost to Rafael Nadal the last four years at the French Open, the last three years in the finals. To make matters worse, Nadal ended Federer’s streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles last year in a thrilling final that many regard as the greatest match ever played. Nadal also took over the number one ranking which he still currently holds. At this year’s Australian Open in January, Nadal stopped Federer’s initial bid at fourteen Grand Slam titles by beating him in the final. Federer was so devastated that he was drawn to tears during the trophy presentation.

The future didn’t look good for Federer, whom many considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest player to ever play. Many were wondering if he’d ever win another Grand Slam title. During this year’s clay court season, which consists of a series of smaller tournaments leading up to the French Open, Nadal dominated throughout, winning three titles. However, in Madrid, the last tournament right before the French Open, Federer surprised everyone by beating Nadal in the final. That made this year’s French Open all the more intriguing. As with the other Grand Slam events, the French Open is a single elimination tournament where a player is required to win seven consecutive rounds or matches to claim the title. At this year’s tournament, Federer struggled to get through the early rounds, surviving tough matches against lower ranked players. However, good fortune seemed to find him when Nadal lost in the fourth round to Robin Soderling. Nadal had won the previous four French Opens, so this opened the door for Federer to take the title. He would never get a better opportunity to win the one title that had eluded him. With a tremendous amount of pressure on his shoulders, Federer fought his way to the finals, digging himself out of two matches where it appeared he was headed for defeat.

For the final with Soderling, the crowd at Roland Garros Stadium, the main show court at the French Open, was completely behind Federer. They gave him a standing ovation when he walked on the court for the match. Generally tennis fans are very respectful to both players in a match, applauding good shots played by either player. This time however, they were solidly behind Federer. The most striking scene was when Roger served for the match at 5-4 in the third set. The crowd it seemed was pushing him across the finish line, cheering him on before every point. Such a sight is almost never seen in tennis. Towards the end of a one-sided match, tennis crowds almost always pull for the underdog, hoping that they will get to see more tennis. This was not the case on this occasion. After the match, the crowd erupted in a thunderous applause. They kept cheering for Federer, sharing their love for him.

This incident is reminiscent of the time when Lord Rama triumphantly returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared on earth in human form as Lord Rama many thousands of years ago. Born as the eldest son of the king of Ayodhya, Maharaja Dashratha, Rama was loved and adored by all. He was completely devoted to the rules of dharma, or religiosity, and to the welfare of His fellow citizens. When the Lord reached the appropriate age, the citizens were eagerly anticipating His coronation as the new king. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, Rama was instead ordered by His father to leave the kingdom and spend fourteen years in the forest as an exile. His wife Sita and younger brother Lakshmana would accompany Him, and they would meet hard times in the forest. Sita would be kidnapped by the evil Rakshasa demon Ravana. Having lost His wife and kingdom, the Lord had plenty of reason for despair, but He persevered and eventually rescued His wife and killed Ravana. Once the fourteen years had expired, the Lord triumphantly returned to Ayodhya, where He was greeted with great pomp and celebration. The citizens loved Rama very much and they had tied their fortunes to Him. Their happiness only came from seeing Rama happy. Just as with Federer at the French Open, the people of Ayodhya derived great pleasure and bliss from cheering on their man.

Deep down, everyone has a soft spot in their heart. This is due to the living entity’s eternal relationship with the Krishna, or God. The spirit soul is part and parcel of God, but coming under the influence of the three qualities of material nature (goodness, passion, and ignorance), its judgment has been clouded. Everything in this material world is a perverted reflection of things that exist in the spiritual world. The pleasure we derive from praising others stems from the same feelings that exist in the spiritual world. We are all more comfortable rooting for someone and cheering them on, than being against someone and wishing them bad fortune. If it feels so good to praise our favorite athletes, family and friends, just imagine how great it would feel to praise God. This is actually the aim of life, our reason for being on this earth. This human form of life is meant for God realization, to elevate our consciousness to where we become devotees of the Lord. The devotees’ minds are always with Krishna, and He in turn, is always thinking of them, as declared by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad-gita:

“For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.” (Bg, 6.30)

“No one is envied by Me, neither am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all; yet whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me; and I am a Friend to him.” (Bg, 9.29)

Instead of spending all our time forgetting about God or thinking ourselves to be God, we simply need to show Him our love. This will give us true happiness.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

 

Title: Bhagavad-gita As It is

ISBN: 978-1-60293-000-1

Author: Krishna-dwaipayana Vyasa, translation and purports by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Versions: Print, Kindle, Web

Synopsis: This is the equivalent of the Bible in Vedic literature. It contains the conversation between Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His dear friend and cousin Arjuna. During Lord Krishna’s time on earth, some five thousand years ago, there was a great war that took place on the battlefield of Kurkshetra between the families of cousin-brothers, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Pandavas were the rightful heir to the throne held by the Kauravas at the time. Arjuna, one of the five principles Pandava brothers and their most skilled warrior, was preparing for battle but suddenly had a weakness of heart. Since he had close ties with many of the warriors on the Kaurava side, Arjuna was hesistant to fight. Lord Krishna, acting as Arjuna’s charioteer and spiritual master, gave him a discourse on the meaning of life and the constitutional position of the soul. This conversation makes up the bulk of the Gita. Though originally only a small chapter in the much larger book, the Mahabharata, the Gita has become the most famous and widely read Vedic doctrine since it was first delivered by Krishna.

The Gita has been studied by scholars, theologians, and great spiritual leaders for thousands of years. Many English translations exist but mostly they are tainted with the commentator’s personal views on religion. This version, by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhuphada, is translated and commented on without any adulteration to the original meaning of the text. The ultimate conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita is to surrender everything unto Krishna, or God, and become His devotee, and Prabhupada’s translation and commentary remains true to that message. This is a must-read for anyone interested in a higher form of knowledge.

Karma – It’s Our Choice

Question: “In one lecture Prabhupada says that we (spirit souls) have voluntarily accepted this material condition and in another he says we have been forced to accept it. Which one is correct?”

Answer:

According to the Vedic scriptures, we living entities are spirit souls at our core. The Sanskrit saying is aham brahmasmi, “I am spirit soul.” Yet we are living in this material world clouded by Krishna’s illusory energy known as maya. It is due to maya’s influence that we are falsely identifying with our gross material body instead of our soul. So how did we initially take birth in this material world?

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was asked this question many times as he travelled around the world preaching Lord Chaitanya’s message. The answer he would give was that we spirit souls forced Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to let us take birth in this material world. God is independent and the ultimate enjoyer. Since we are molded after God, we too wanted our independence and our freedom to enjoy. So against Krishna’s wishes, we were allowed to come to the material world and take birth amongst the 1,400,000 various species of life. At the same time, the Vedas teach us that the soul repeatedly accepts new bodies after death.

“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.22)

This naturally begs the question of who determines what our next bodies will be? We were given the choice to come to this world, but why are we forced to keep accepting new bodies after death?

To help explain the apparent contradiction, one can look at the example of playing sports, namely American football. The National Football League, NFL, is administered by a commissioner, who in accordance with the owners of franchises in the league, determines the rules and regulations of the sport. The commissioner decides who will be eligible to play football, i.e. how old they must be, what requirements they must fulfill, and what teams they are allowed to play for. Though the commissioner and the owners run the game, the choice to participate is completely up to the player. Players coming out of college choose to participate in the NFL by entering a draft system. Once they agree to play, they are then forced to abide by the rules and regulations of the league, such as wearing helmets, and submitting to drug testing. The NFL gets very high television ratings, and this is due in part to football’s violent nature. In order to be successful in the game, defensive players must tackle offensive players, and offensive players must elude the defenders. Successful defenses are the ones that tackle the hardest. Because of this, injuries are very very common in the NFL. Many times players will by lying on the field motionless after a big hit. The fans in attendance and fellow players are left praying for the player’s welfare. Now the commissioner is not to blame for these injuries. The players made the choice to play football, and they are thus forced to accept the positives and negatives associated with the game. The dualities of victory and defeat, success and failure, pleasures and pains, and happiness and sadness are forced upon football players as a result of the choices they voluntarily made.

In the same way, we spirit souls have chosen to “play” in this material world. Hence we are forced to abide by its rules. The rules of karma, or fruitive work, are absolute. Karma is created when we perform activities with the desire for material results. Our karma in this and previous lives determine what type of body we will accept in our next life. Good karma results in elevation to the higher planetary systems, and bad karma results in travelling to the hellish planets or demotion to a lower grade animal species. Whether in heaven or hell, our merits or demerits eventually expire, and we take birth in the material world again, repeating the cycle of karma.

The laws of karma are absolute for those on the material platform. However, similar to the football player, we have the choice of opting out of this material world. If we change our consciousness to the spiritual platform, then karma does not affect us. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita,

"Anyone who quits his body, at the end of life, remembering Me, attains immediately to My nature; and there is no doubt of this." (BG 8.5)

So our goal in this life is to ensure that we think of Krishna at the time of our death. Lord Chaitanya recommended all of us to constantly chant the holy names of God,

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare”

Lovingly chanting Krishna’s name immediately takes our mind to the spiritual platform. If we practice chanting now, then we are guaranteed to permanently go home after this life, back to Godhead. The choice is ours.

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Reincarnation

Hindus are known to believe in the idea of reincarnation. A common misconception is that reincarnation only refers to the idea that a sinful person comes back in their next life as a rat or a tiger or some lower animal. Reincarnation actually means the soul accepts a material body and that after death, the current body is discarded and the soul enters a new one.

In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna says,

“For the soul, there is no birth or death. The soul has never not existed in the past, nor it will it cease to exist in the future.” (BG 2.20)

The soul is eternal, but our material bodies aren’t. We have accepted our current bodies due to our past karma. Birth, death, old age, and disease are guaranteed for the body. At the time of death, we give up our present body and accept a new one based on our karma.

We have knowledge of reincarnation based on our own life experience. Our bodies are constantly changing. We started off as a fetus in our mother’s womb, then we went through infancy, childhood, adulthood, etc. Throughout this time, our soul hasn’t changed, but our body has. Krishna also says in the Gita,

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (BG 2.13)

We may not remember all the details of our childhood, but we can understand through authority, the word of our mother and father, that we indeed were once infants. In the same way, we previously existed in different bodies in previous births, but we don’t remember them. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita,

“Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!” (BG 4.5)

So simply because we don’t remember our previous live doesn’t mean that we didn’t previously exist.

The idea of reincarnation isn’t exclusive to the Vedas. Though the “official” doctrines of other faiths may deny reincarnation today, references to it can be found in early Christianity and Judaism. Origen, a third century Christian theologian, wrote,

"By some inclination toward evil, certain souls … come into bodies, first of men; then through their association with the irrational passions, after the allotted span of human life, they are changed into beasts, from which they sink to the level of … plants. From this condition they rise again through the same stages and are restored to their heavenly place."

Jesus also hinted in the Bible that John the Baptist was a reincarnation of the prophet Elias.

The most important thing to understand about reincarnation is that it can be stopped. Lord Krishna tells us that thinking of Him at the time of death will stop the perpetual cycle of birth and death.

“One who, at the time of death, fixes his life air between the eyebrows, and in full devotion engages himself in remembering the Supreme Lord, will certainly attain to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (BG 8.10)

The best way to assure that we think of God at the time of our death is to practice thinking about Him today, and the best way to practice is to constantly chant the Maha-mantra “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.”

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Economic Stimulus

 

“(British Prime Minister Gordon) Brown also says the 20 countries at the summit will enact common policies to crack down on tax havens, regulate hedge funds, and rebuild trust in the financial system to ‘prevent a crisis such as this from happening again.’” (AP, 2009.04.02)

World leaders met recently in London as part of the Group of 20 Summit to combat the global financial crisis. Countries from around the world, with varying and sometimes competing interests, came together to form a consensus on the proper action needed to be taken. U.S. President Obama and Great Britain’s leader, Gordon Brown, both admitted that the measures agreed upon wouldn’t guarantee a reversal in the current economic situation, but they did say that their proposed policies would be successful in preventing a future slowdown. However, Brown did say that the policies enacted would prevent future crises of the current magnitude from happening.

Now these summits are all well and good. The leaders have very good intentions. They are all trying to do something to help the struggling people in their countries. Sometimes just knowing that somebody is trying to help can make a difference. However, like most meetings that involve group think, very little policy of substance is produced. Leaders become more interested in crafting any sort of policy that all parties will agree on, versus actually coming up with something that will be effective. As the saying goes, “Consensus is the absence of leadership.”

According to Vedic philosophy, such meetings over economic policy are unnecessary. The great sages of India were highly advanced in knowledge because they received it directly through the chain of disciplic succession. The original Veda, knowledge of the Absolute, was passed down from God Himself at the beginning of creation. This knowledge was later divided in various categories by God’s literary incarnation, Shrila Vyasadeva. The Vedas contain knowledge on all subjects of importance. The great sages all learned this knowledge directly from their teachers and without the need for group meetings and position papers. True knowledge comes to us by linking our consciousness with that of the Supreme. Lord Krishna has expanded Himself separately into each and every one of us through His Paramatma, or Supersoul feature. By dovetailing our activities with Krishna through the process of devotional service, we connect with the Paramatma, and then true knowledge is revealed to us.

According to the Mahabharata, considered the fifth Veda, economic success comes through cow protection and through low taxation. Cows are considered the ultimate sign of wealth since one can live off of the milk produced from them. Possessing a large bank balance may be nice, but paper currency and other commodities can devalue very quickly, as we’ve seen the past few months. A cow represents a tangible value since it can provide so many food preparations simply from the milk that it freely offers. Therefore the food problem is solved. Low taxation is important, because if taxes are too high, then producers will not have any incentive to create wealth.

The proposed plans from the G-20 are in direct contradiction to this. They don’t address the mass slaughter of cows that goes on today, nor do they tackle the issues of high taxes and regulation. Instead, they focus on taking more money from producers and giving to non-producers. Such policies are destined to fail.

In the end, whatever plan of action is enacted, the ups and downs of the economy can never be completely prevented. Just as birth, old age, disease, and death are guaranteed for the spirit soul in the material world, happiness and distress are also guaranteed. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, tells us that we should be tolerant of these fluctuations.

“O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.” (Bhagavad-gita, 2.14)

So this eagerness of the politicians to act is unnecessary. Compromising and forging consensus will never solve any problem. All it does is pad the egos of the participant. “We have done something. We have solved the problem. Never fear, we were able to get along. There will be no more suffering.” These are the statements of our leaders. The true fact of the matter is that the government is mostly to blame for this crisis due to its encouragement of banks to give mortgages to unqualified borrowers. Now they are trying to fix the problem they never should have caused to begin with. They would be better suited leaving the economy alone and instead focus on making policy directed at filling the spiritual void in society. For if we engage ourselves in devotional service by chanting the holy names of God, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”, then no economic crisis will ever affect us.

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