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Reincarnation
We
can experience the changes of the body from infancy to youth and
on to middle and old age. But through all the changes of our
bodies, we remain the same conscious persons.
As
Hindus we believe that the conscious self is the soul and that
the soul is the driving force of the body. The general
misconception is that we are the body, just like a person wrongly
identifies oneself with their car. But the reality is when the
car is beyond repair or, is destroyed by unforeseen
circumstances, despite any amount of attachment a person may
have, one acquires a new vehicle. In the same way when the body
becomes too old and diseased the eternal soul will vacate the
present body and acquire a new one. This is called Reincarnation
or the cycle of birth and death.
The
bad news is the body dies. However the good news is we do not.
The nature of the atma (soul) is that it's eternal and
full of joy. This has been elaborated on by Lord Krishna in the
Bhagavad-gita where He says, "For the soul there is neither
birth nor death, nor having been does he ever cease to be. He is
unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not
slain when the body is slain."
Everyone
can intuitively understand that they are different from their
physical body. When we look at our limbs we say, "This is my
hand" or "This is my leg." The self, the "I"
is the possessor and observer of the body.
There
are many species of life such as plants, fishes, mammals, birds,
reptiles and humans. It is a rare opportunity to gain this human
body after passing through all these other species. It is not a
gift to be squandered. We believe this human life is an
opportunity to develop God consciousness and if we do not develop
this consciousness we run the risk of returning to the animal and
plant kingdoms once more.
If
we wish to step backwards it is very easy. Sleep like a bear or
eat like a pig and have sex like the pigeons. We reap the fruits
of our past life actions and sow the seeds of our future.
Therefore pious actions bring fruits of enjoyment, but vice
versa, sinful actions bring suffering and sorrow.
So,
the big question is "How do we get out of this cycle of
birth and death?" This is also explained in the
Bhagavad-gita were it is said, Our entanglement in this world is
due to the soul exercising its free will and desiring to enjoy
independently from God.
We
are like fishes out of water and no matter how hard we try to be
satisfied by independent means, unless and until we take shelter
and fully depend on God, we will not attain liberation from this
material world.
In
the Bhagavad-gita, it is said, "One can understand the
Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when
one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such
devotion, one can enter into the kingdom of God."
So
by our practices of bhakti yoga, loving devotional service to
Krishna, we hope to achieve this goal and not return to this
temporary material world again.
Daily
Routine
As
Hindus, we regulate our daily lives in order to be able to
remember and serve God throughout the day. For us, our devotion
to Him is a lifestyle rather than just a religion, and our goal
is to come to the stage of a loving relationship with Him,
through continuous service. To come to love Him above all else
and remember Him always, this is called Bhakti Yoga.
Bhakti is the only system of yoga in which consciousness
is allowed to act through the mind and senses.
If
a child is misbehaving, there are two ways to control him. The
first is to order him to sit down and be still and quiet. This
may succeed for some time, but eventually he will return to his
mischievous activities. A superior solution is to engage the
child in a positive action. Bhakti Yoga involves a similar
process of withdrawing the mind and senses from material
activities by engaging them in transcendental activities.
We
begin our day by rising early in the morning and offer worship
and prayer. To do this the Vedic scriptures recommend that the
most conducive time for concentration is between 4 and 8 o’clock
in the morning; this also sets the mood or the pace for the rest
of the day.
We
begin by chanting on prayer beads a prescribed number of rounds
of Gods holy name. Although God has many names, for us Vishnu,
Rama and Krishna are the most common. We understand
that the name of God is non-different from Him. For example, we
would not expect to quench our thirst by chanting, "Water,
water, water…," because the name and the substance,
water, are different. However God and His name being one and the
same allow the devotee to associate with their worshipful object
in a very personal way. Thus ones mind becomes peaceful, one
feels satisfaction from within, and worldly hankering becomes
greatly reduced.
Worship
of the deity within the temple or in one's home is another
morning practice and again another opportunity to develop
personal association with the Lord. He is everywhere, but how do
you offer a flower everywhere. So through His deity form He makes
Himself easily available to everyone. Being present before us as
the Supreme person we naturally desire to please Him by offering
some service. We ourselves wake up, take bath, put on clean
clothes, drink and eat, so similarly these same activities can
also be offered to the deity form during the morning worship.
After bathing the Lord we would then offer scented
oil,
incense, water, flowers and different kinds of fruit, nuts,
sweets and savouries.
We
realize that He does not need the things we offer, being
self-sufficient and satisfied. However, according to the degree
of love, devotion and faith we may offer, this pleases Him and He
will naturally reciprocate. Thus the quality of service is more
important than the quantity. When we cook for His pleasure and
offer food in a mood of loving service, it’s the spice of
love and devotion which supersedes all other ingredients in the
preparation. To this degree the food then becomes sanctified or
spiritually surcharged. Thus when eating sanctified food we not
only nourish our body, but also feel great satisfaction within
our hearts. Whatever little we do to please Him, He seems to
reciprocate many times over.
During
the day we would then carry out our domestic and professional
work in the same spirit of devotion. We have seen that by making
this extra effort to include God throughout our daily lives, the
dualities of this world become that much easier to deal with.
Just like when watering the roots of a tree the branches, leaves
and flowers are automatically satisfied. So in the same way by
satisfying God we become automatically satisfied.
The
essence of our faith therefore is to live constantly in an
exchange of love and affectionate dealings between the Lord and
ourselves, to the point where there is a competition as to who
will satisfy the other the most.
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God
and Gods
We
believe there are many worshipable gods but only one supreme God,
of whom we refer to primarily by the name, Krishna, which means
the all attractive one. The one who has beauty, wealth, strength
and knowledge 100%. All others are either incarnations of His
original form, demigods or demigoddesses.
Demigods
do not have the same power as God but are beings that are more
advanced than us humans. Although they resemble us, they possess
far greater intelligence, beauty, mystic power and in some cases,
many arms and heads. Thus we are naturally subordinate to them,
and therefore we can worship them as empowered representatives of
the Godhead.
Sometimes
you will find in Greek mythology the god of the water or the god
of the thunderbolt. These are not imaginations but we see them as
departmental heads.
We
also believe in a Sun god, Moon god, creating and annihilating
god. A god that gives money and a god that gives rain. In this
way all our necessity in life are given to us by God through
these smaller gods.
A
good example which we all have experienced is the powerful
influence of the moon. By the influence of the moon we see
changes in the oceans tide, it is also activating the vegetables
in the garden, and when there is a full moon we experience that
it can affect our mind and result in a sleepless night.
God
has a huge government, and He requires assistance. The government
of the Supreme Lord consists not only of one or two planets;
there are millions of planets and millions of universes. So to
assist Him there are 33,000,000 demigods and Goddesses. They are
all working under His direction.
Some
say that all the gods are equal, but the truth is there is a
cosmic hierarchy. Just like in a company, there is a
natural hierarchy extending from the owner, the managing
director, the works manager, the shop superintendent down to the
supervisors and workers. Similarly there is Vishnu or Krishna who
is the owner and proprietor of all that exists, and there are the
innumerable subordinates who serve Him.
There
was once a German who went to India. He went with the intent of
finding out who was God. On visiting many temples he concluded
that Krishna was God because He was playing a flute and dancing
with His devotees, whereas the other deities held something that
indicated some work was involved.
So
even though God is the source of everything in existence and that
He possesses within Himself all qualities and energies to empower
the demigods, He has nothing to do but enjoy loving pastimes with
His devotees.
Holy
Scripture & Accepting a Teacher
As
Hindus we believe that both the acceptance of a spiritual teacher
and living by the instruction of our sacred scriptures are
essential to the development of our spiritual goal.
God
is the most powerful and great, so we cannot approach him
directly. We need the help of the Spiritual teacher and the Vedic
scriptures.
We
will not be able to realize the subject matter of our scriptures
by academic study nor speculation alone. When learning chemistry,
law, mathematics, or art, it is so much more effective to study
under a recognized expert. The same holds true in the spiritual
science of self realization.
A
genuine spiritual master teaches how to raise one’s
consciousness beyond material bodily designations, attain real
peace of mind, true knowledge of the self, liberation from karma
and reincarnation, and how to develop love of God through the
process of devotional service. And for all this a guru is not
merely a help but a necessity.
Therefore
we see the spiritual teacher as a representative of God, not
because of his ability to speculate, give opinions or
interpretations on the scriptures. The Guru is respected and
honoured because he has perfectly heard, assimilated and realised
the words of his spiritual master, who in turn heard from this
spiritual master and so on. In this way, back through the chain
of disciplic succession, until we come to Srila Vyasadeva (an
incarnation of God) who compiled the Vedic scriptures 5000 years
ago.
In
other words just like a postman does not write anything
personally, but rather delivers what has been written. So in a
similar way, the spiritual teacher delivers the message without
adding or subtracting any of its contents and for this reason we
can accept His words as being the word of God or knowledge that
has descended from above.
Regulative
Principles
Today
many people practice yoga to lose weight or otherwise improve
their health and appearance. But there is much more to yoga than
that. Yoga actually means “To link with the Supreme”.
It may be compared to a ladder for attaining the top most
spiritual perfection.
Thousands
of years ago, conditions were such that people could devote a
great part of their lives to unbroken yoga practices in a
secluded place, taking strict vows of penances and austerity. But
who today can sit alone in a mountain valley or jungle for long
periods without moving; minimizing eating, sleeping and speaking,
and on top of that fixing ones mind on the self? By following the
bhakti yoga process which has been recommended for this age, this
can be achieved.
The
Bhakti Yogi controls his mind and senses by the simple process of
chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. Chanting purifies the mind and
the senses just as medicine prescribed for a bodily ailment
gradually restores the body to its natural, healthy condition. We
engage in this practice, known as mantra meditation to gradually
develop great mental control and awareness. In this pure state of
consciousness, free from inebriates such as tension, confusion,
depression and feelings of envy and hatred, one experiences real
peace of mind.
We
also abstain from activities which bind us to materialistic life
and have negative karmic reactions.
These
we call the regulative principles of freedom and can be
classified as four:
1.
No eating meat, fish or eggs
2.
No Gambling
3.
No intoxicants (like drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc.)
4.
No illicit sex.
We
follow these principles in order to develop love of God. They are
conducive to the development of spiritual life and also bring
peace and stability of the mind. We believe there are three
enemies to civilized human life. These are lust, anger and greed.
These activities which we abstain from are those which increase
our lust, anger and greed. They also cloud the mind which then
leads one to mis-judgement.
Abstaining
from these four sinful acts allows us to lay a rock solid
foundation in our devotional quest.
So
by regularly chanting Hare Krishna …… this will
help us to follow the four regulative principles and by following
the four regulative principles we can easily chant Hare Krishna.
They go hand in hand, neither one can be done without the other.
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