Welcome to the KrishnaSoft's Electronic Newsletter.
This is the March 2001 issue entitled: "All Plans for Material Happiness Will Fail!"
WEB: http://www.krishnasoft.com; EMAIL: krishna@krishnasoft.com or vdayal@castle.net
This newsletter goes to over 1100 people who either have an interest in Vedic science and/or spiritually entertaining multimedia technology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
(1) All Plans for Material Happiness Will Fail!
(2) End of Game Message
(3) Editorial Policy and Product List
1. ALL PLANS FOR MATERIAL HAPPINESS WILL FAIL!
"As one cannot stop a blazing fire by constantly pouring ghee upon it, one cannot satisfy oneself by increasing plans for sense enjoyment. The blazing fire is bhava-maha-davagni, the forest fire of material existence. This forest fire occurs automatically, without endeavor. We want to be happy in the material world, but this will never be possible; we shall simply increase the blazing fire of desires. Our desires cannot be satisfied by illusory thoughts and plans; rather, we have to follow the instructions of Lord Krsna: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. Then we shall be happy. Otherwise, in the name of happiness, we shall continue to suffer miserable conditions." (Bhag. 7.9.25)
Following the instructions of the Lord means performing devotional service which is non-different from Lord Krsna Himself:
"By intense service of the Lord, one can experience the presence of the Lord transcendentally. Therefore seeing the Lord means being engaged in His service because His service and His person are identical." (Bhag. 1.6.22)
Lord Krsna is arranging everything according to what we desire and what we deserve. If we serve Lord Krsna via the process of devotional service, we become free from the material entanglement and become happy; otherwise, we remain in the material world and become implicated in Krsna's maya via the laws of karma.
"We should give up all our tiny efforts to defy the arrangement of Krsna. Instead whatever arrangements He proposes, we should accept. This is always better, for this will make us happy. The more we try to defeat the arrangement of Krsna, the more we become implicated in Krsna's maya." (Bhag. 10.13.44)
The material elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, false ego) are part of the material energy. Any service or plans concocted by our material mind or material intellect has nothing to do with devotional service or the real nature of Lord Krsna:
"Anything expressed by material vibrations, anything ascertained by material intelligence and anything experienced by the material senses or concocted within the material mind is but an effect of the modes of material nature and therefore has nothing to do with the real nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is beyond the creation of this material world, for He is the source of the material qualities and creation. As the cause of all causes, He exists before the creation and after the creation. I wish to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him." (Bhag. 6.4.29)
All plans for material happiness will fail because the purpose of the material world is to engage the living entities in devotional service:
"There is a song in the Bengali language which states, 'I constructed this home for happiness, but unfortunately there was a fire, and everything has now been burnt to ashes.' This illustrates the nature of material happiness. Everyone knows it, but nonetheless one plans to hear or think something very pleasing. Unfortunately, all of one's plans are annihilated in due course of time. There were many politicians who planned empires, supremacy and control of the world, but in due time all their plans and empires-- and even the politicians themselves-- were vanquished. Everyone should take lessons from Prahlada Maharaja about how we are engaged in so-called temporary happiness through bodily exercises for sense enjoyment. All of us repeatedly make plans, which are all repeatedly frustrated. Therefore one should stop such planmaking." (Bhag. 7.9.25)
The mind and intelligence are material elements that can be spiritualized when used to serve the desires of Lord Krsna. The serving of Lord Krsna's desires is called devotional service and this frees one from the miseries of material existence:
"O Brahmana Vyasadeva, it is decided by the learned that the best remedial measure for removing all troubles and miseries is to dedicate one's activities to the service of the Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead [Sri Krsna]." (Bhag. 1.5.32)
"Sri Narada Muni personally experienced that the most feasible and practical way to open the path of salvation or get relief from all miseries of life is to hear submissively the transcendental activities of the Lord from the right and bona fide sources. This is the only remedial process. The entire material existence is full of miseries. Foolish people have manufactured, out of their tiny brains, many remedial measures for removing the threefold miseries pertaining to the body and mind, pertaining to the natural disturbances and in relation with other living beings. The whole world is struggling very hard to exist out of these miseries, but men do not know that without the sanction of the Lord no plan or no remedial measure can actually bring about the desired peace and tranquillity. The remedial measure to cure a patient by medical treatment is useless if it is not sanctioned by the Lord. To cross the river or the ocean by a suitable boat is no remedial measure if it is not sanctioned by the Lord. We should know for certain that the Lord is the ultimate sanctioning officer, and we must therefore dedicate our attempts to the mercy of the Lord for ultimate success or to get rid of the obstacles on the path of success. The Lord is all-pervading, all-powerful, omniscient and omnipresent. He is the ultimate sanctioning agent of all good or bad effects." (Bhag. 1.5.32)
If we do not engage in devotional service, we are bound by the laws of karma. Under the laws of karma, we will only get what we deserve:
"Both the mosquito and Lord Brahma are living entities in the material world; both are minute sparks and are part of the Supreme Lord. The very short duration of the life of the mosquito and the very long lifetime of Lord Brahma are both awarded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the results of their karma. But in the Brahma-samhita we find it said, karmani nirdahati: the Lord diminishes or vanquishes the reactions of devotees. The same fact is explained in Bhagavad-gita Yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra: one should perform karma only for the purpose of satisfying the Supreme Lord, otherwise one is bound by the action and reaction of karma. Under the laws of karma a living entity wanders within the universe under the rule of eternal time, and sometimes he becomes a mosquito and sometimes Lord Brahma. To a sane man this business is not very fruitful. Bhagavad-gita (9.25) gives a warning to the living entities: yanti deva-vrata devan-- those who are addicted to the worship of the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, and those who are addicted to worship of the Pitas, forefathers, go to the Pitas. Those who are inclined to material activities remain in the material sphere. But persons who engage in devotional service reach the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, where there is neither birth nor death nor different varieties of life under the influence of the law of karma. The best interest of the living entity is to engage himself in devotional service and go back home, back to Godhead. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura advised: 'My friend, you are being washed away in material nature's waves of time. Please try to understand that you are the eternal servant of the Lord. Then everything will stop, and you will be eternally happy.'"(Bhag. 4.11.21)
As we explained in our November 2000 newsletter, it is the nature of our service that matters and not our dress or which position we may be in. Materialists who work for sense enjoyment (karmis) are getting what they deserve according to the laws of karma and continue to suffer in the material world whereas devotees (bhaktas) surpass the reactions of karma and go back to Godhead for eternal happiness:
"Therefore it can actually be seen that although karmis and bhaktas may work in the same place, at the same time, with the same energy and with the same ambition, they achieve different results. The karmis transmigrate through different bodies in the cycle of birth and death, sometimes going upward and sometimes downward, thus suffering the results of their actions in the karma-cakra, the cycle of birth and death. The devotees, however, because of fully surrendering at the lotus feet of the Lord, are never baffled in their attempts. Although externally they work almost like the karmis, the devotees go back home, back to Godhead, and achieve success in every effort. The demons or athiests have faith in their own endeavors, but although they work very hard day and night, they cannot get any more than their destiny. The devotees, however, can surpass the reactions of karma and achieve wonderful results, even without effort. It is also said, phalena pariciyate: one's success or defeat in any activity is understood by its result. There are many karmis in the dress of devotees, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead can detect their pupose. The karmis want to use the property of the Lord for their selfish sense gratification, but a devotee endeavors to use the Lord's property for God's service. Therefore a devotee is always distinct from the karmis, although the karmis may dress like devotees. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (3.9), yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra loko 'yam karma-bandhanah. One who works for Lord Visnu is free from this material world, and after giving up his body he goes back home, back to Godhead. A karmi, however, although externally working like a devotee, is entangled in his nondevotional activity, and thus he suffers the tribulations of material existence." (Bhag. 8.9.28)
2. END OF GAME MESSAGE
"My dear friend, all living entities are wandering in the universe according to their desires to lord it over material nature and their deserved karmic reactions . Thus, they take on one body after another out of the 8,400,000 species of life. I have given them independence to act either in serving material nature, which includes their bodies and minds, or to act in My service. You should understand that nothing unjust is happening anywhere. I incessantly try to deliver the living entities from their material conditioning even before they offer their prayers unto Me. The material world is set up by Me so that miseries come from the body and mind, other living entities, and from climatic disasters, but these are also meant for rectifying the misdirected desires of the living entities ."
"Once the desire of the living entity is changed toward My service, I supply whatever he needs for attaining Me and always give Him protection . Currently, I have written the Bhagavad-giitaa As It Is and S'riimad-Bhaagavatam through My pure devotee S'riila Prabhupaada to give yet another way for the living entities to come back to Me. The universe is complete, or puurn.am; there is nothing lacking. So please engage in My service of broadcasting the message of these books to everyone you meet . I have already spread the teachings everywhere through My arrangement, but you can be an instrument and take the credit and eventually come back to Me. Assisting those engaged in My service is the same thing as performing the service, for only the consciousness of the person matters and not the results . The only way to surpass the material world is by becoming the servant of My pure devotee who is completely absorbed in serving Me. Otherwise, yogiis and jn~aaniis traveling at the speed of their minds for millions of years cannot approach Me.
"Do not worry about trying to solve the world's problems which are factually arranged by Me. The world can neither be destroyed nor created without My sanction . Only through My sanction are the weapons created and only through My sanction there are wars . In fact, no one can even breathe without My sanction . The bewildered conditioned soul thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature which are acting under My direction .
"Therefore use whatever talents you have, whatever wealth you have, whatever intelligence you have, and whatever time you have to try to spread the teachings of the S'riimad-Bhaagavatam everywhere. I will destroy all the due karmic reactions of those who change their consciousness toward Me. These books will automatically inspire them to chant: Hare Kr.s.n.a Hare Kr.s.n.a Kr.s.n.a Kr.s.n.a Hare Hare / Hare Raama Hare Raama Raama Raama Hare Hare and become happy in this life as well as the next ."
3. EDITORIAL POLICY AND PRODUCT LIST
"One should engage in practical service to the Lord. In our Krsna consciousness movement, *ALL* our activities are concentrated upon distributing Krsna literature. This is very important. One may approach any person and induce him to read Krsna literature so that in the future he also may become a devotee.... By fully concentrating on distributing books for Krsna, one is fully absorbed in Krsna."
Our newsletters are geared to show you the benefits of the instructions contained in the transcendental books of Srila Prabhupada so you can judge for yourself the value of these books and obtain them in book or CDROM format. We also have video demos of the Gita CDROM and Bhagavatam CDROM available for those without computers or those who want to get a glimpse into what is on the CDROM.
Krishna Software Inc. has produced some multimedia CDROMs and all the details and reviews of these CDROMs can be found at our website http://www.krishnasoft.com. Here is our current list of products:
(a) Multimedia Bhagavad-gita As It Is CD: Lord Krsna's eternal instructions to Arjuna and the rest of the world about Isvara (Supreme Lord), jiva (the soul), karma (activities), kala (time), and prakrti (nature). This is a 30-hour audio-visual CDROM. Also available with Hindi translations.
(b) Multimedia Srimad-Bhagavatam CD: An encyclopedia on the science of Krsna consciousness. This CDROM deals in detail with bhakti-yoga and covers various subjects-- the creation of the universe, Vedic astronomy, transmigration, birth-death, etc. This is about 35 hours of audio-visual presentations.
(c) Multimedia Krsna CD w/Vedic Astronomy: This is a 51-hour audio-visual presentation of the Krsna book and a Vedic Astronomy simulation based on the Srimad-Bhagavatam. All on a single CDROM. Free sample demo downloadable from our website.
(d) Multilingual Word Processor CD [version 4.00]: Type in diacritics, Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, and Assamese without knowing the alphabet. This is for those who want to write articles using multiple languages. Free demo downloadable from our website.
All of the above software was tested on various Intel 486 and Pentium processors running Windows 3.1, Windows '95, Windows '98, Windows Me, and Windows NT (client and server).
Latest information and secure ordering is available at our web site: http://www.krishnasoft.com. Any upgrades can be downloaded from this website as well.
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End of Newsletter- written and edited by KSI staff; (c) 1998-2001 Krishna Software Inc.
Our staff consists of: Hari Rama Dasa, Virender Dayal, Rajni Dayal, and volunteers.
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All glories to Lord Sri Krsna and His transcendental potencies! All glories to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the literary incarnation of Lord Sri Krsna!