The greatest scientist

How is Krishna the greatest scientist? Because He knows everything. Science means to know the thing correctly. A scientist is one who knows a subject matter thoroughly. Krishna knows everything. If I say that heat is the energy of Krishna, you cannot deny it, because it is not your energy. In your body there is some certain amount of heat. Similarly, heat is someone's energy. And who is that person? That is Krishna. Krishna says, "Yes, it is My energy. This earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego—they are My eight separated energies." So my knowledge is perfect. Because I take the version of the greatest scientist, I am the greatest scientist. I may be a fool personally, but because I take knowledge from the greatest scientist, I am the greatest scientist. Just like a child. Actually the child inquires from the father, "Father, what is this?" Father smiles at child, "This is called bell. If you push your hand in this." Then you get the perfect knowledge. He tries it. Oh, it is coming. The knowledge is there. This is what we call science. Science means to know the thing correctly, and by practical experiment to understand the things correctly. Jnanam means theoretical knowledge, and vijnanam means practical application of the knowledge. Whatever knowledge the father gives him, that is perfect. Father says, "My dear child, this is called 'table.' The child does not know what is table, but he understands from his father and says, "This is table." So when the child says it is table, it is perfect. He may be imperfect, but because he is repeating the perfect knowledge of his father, he is perfect. Similarly, if you get instruction from the perfect, then your knowledge is perfect.

Let us do our duty sincerely

In a certain province there was no rain fall for few years. People were fleeing away to other places for a livelihood. The king's treasury was also almost got empty. It was an empty sight everywhere. 

During this period Sri Narada was passing by a village. In the outskirts of the village there was a complete dry river. To his surprise Naradaji saw a peasant ploughing the dry sand there. Narada asked the man why he was working so hard in the blazing sun where there is definitely no fruit to get out of it? 

The farmer told," Sir, I am born in the family of farmers. I have no proper knowledge of anything else. I don't know the reason why Lord Indra has forgotten his duty to shower rain for last few years. Let me not forget my duty as a farmer. Therefore I am doing my duty in this scorching heat. 

Narada got the point. After his return, he narrated the incident to Indra. Now Indra could realize the issue and took the necessary steps.

You cannot stop crime by law

The difference between a pious man and a criminal is that one is pure in heart and the other is dirty. This dirt is like a disease in the form of uncontrollable lust and greed in the heart of the criminal. When the people become purified of these dirty things, crime will disappear. The simplest process of purification is to assemble in congregation and chant the holy names of God. This is called sankirtana and is the basis of our Krishna consciousness movement. So, if you want to stop crime, then you must gather as many people as possible for mass sankirtana. This congregational chanting of the holy name of God will dissipate all the dirty things in everyone's heart. Then there will be no more crime. But the education in the science of God is lacking. Without religious principles what is the difference between a dog and a man? If you bring a dozen dogs and put them together in a room, will it be possible to keep them peaceful? Similarly, if human society is filled with men whose mentality is on the level of dogs, how can you expect peace? The only way to permanently change the criminal habit is to change the heart of the criminal. Many thieves are arrested numerous times and put into jail. Although they know that if they commit theft they will go to jail, still they are forced to steal, because of their unclean hearts. Therefore without cleansing the heart of the criminal, you cannot stop crime simply by more stringent law enforcement. The thief and the murderer already know the law, yet they still commit violent crimes, due to their unclean hearts. So our process is to cleanse the heart. Then all the troubles of this material world will be solved.

Ref: Chapter 6, Science of Self Realization authored by Srila Prabhupada (Founder - Acharya, ISKCON)

Understanding the motivation behind the criticism

Criticism is an extremely valuable element to success.  It is important to value the opinions of others and change your actions based on good feedback.  It is this feedback that helps us to achieve success. The first rule of accepting criticism is to understand the motivation behind the criticism. Understanding this motivation helps you decide how valid the criticism is, and whether to accept it or not.  Here are some of the more common reasons why people criticize.

    * Out of jealousy.  When others are jealous of your work, they will criticize with the intent of damaging your self-esteem.  It is usually easy to spot this motivation because the critic will usually have something to gain by your failure.

    * Out of anger or frustration.  Often when someone gets frustrated they misdirect their frustration and start playing the blame game.  This blame is dished out in the form of undue criticism. This kind of criticism can easily be identified by the tone and the words used to criticize.

    * Concerned for one's own interest. People have different tastes and preferences.  Some critics will criticize based on their own personal preferences.  Take for example someone who hires an artist to paint a portrait.  The one who is being painted is justified in criticizing the work based on his own personal preferences, since the work was specifically done for him. 

    * Concerned for your best interest. Criticism made by parents, loved ones, or good friends is usually done with your best interest in mind.  This is important to realize because it is this group of "critics" that are usually the most resented for their criticism. 

Srila Prabhupada Nectar

Identity Crisis

Everyone is seeking a common factor they can share with others of a similar mindset and in this way experience a sense of identity. The inherent problem in today's modern society is that our identities are being defined by the body and mind. We live in a culture where our identity is established by the flesh we belong to, but since that changes at every moment our identity changes along with it, and therefore people do not actually know who they really are. They cannot fix their identity. They don't have an anchor in life – a foundation that does not change. Someone might say I have my name, that doesn't change, so I'll just hang on to that. Or a 60 year old woman may relate to herself as a 19 year old, deluding herself that she is still attractive (at least in front of a mirror). These "identities" are products of illusion borne from identifying with the material energy and not the spirit soul.

We all need a constant in our lives, a value or a standard that does not change. The modern notion that knowledge develops and evolves as we gather more and more information (which ironically keeps proving the current ideas wrong), is a symptom of a lack of foundational knowledge.

Truth does not change. It's either true, or it isn't. Take reincarnation for instance. It is not a matter of whether or not we believe in it. Either reincarnation is a fact or it isn't a fact. It doesn't become "true" only when one accepts it as fact. It is always a fact. Or like the scientific "discovery" of planets. The planets existed before the scientist came along. They existed before, without anyone's knowledge – they were simply unseen by our limited sense perception. So it is not knowledge that evolved; it will also remain true in the future. Only such truth is knowledge worth pursuing. Relative knowledge may have its use for making technology and consumer gadgets, but it is useless when it comes to solving the existential problems and mysteries of life.

There is only one platform that all living entities can unite round, and that is the Supreme factor. While we all operate from different platforms, conflicts of interest and egos will continue. If, however we can believe that we are all parts of the same whole – Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead – then we can also believe and understand that we are all brothers and sisters coming from the same father, the same origin – Krishna.

No matter how much one country thinks it is more sophisticated and advanced than others, while the bullying and squabbling for area and resources continues, it is simply a tribal mentality. The White House, Iraq, and Kazakhstan are behaving from a fundamentally tribal mentality as much as tribes in the remote jungles of Africa or Asia. Ego-driven constant competition between individuals or groups – be it in Swahili land or Wall Street- will never bring all beings together in harmony. Nor will wearing the same clothes or using the same consumer gadgets bring anyone together in peace. And as Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita, how can there be happiness without peace? There is a lot of talk about finding oneself, and getting together in peace and harmony, and saving this land, or saving that species. In fact, a whole industry has sprung up; giving the disenchanted a forum to spill their hearts out on different TV and radio shows, but no one seems able yet to have come up with a solution to the problem of how to counteract the miseries of the world. Not even those smart TV anchors or radio jockeys.

The weekly magazines are full of colorful reports on the successful people, the celebrities, who enjoy their senses to the max, but on the other hand are having so many problems with broken relationships, drugs, suicide, alcohol, family troubles, unwanted pregnancies, etc. The list is endless. In other words, same problems that any common man has. Worrying about paying the rent is just that: a worry. If we worry about our unpaid Rs. 50000/month rent, rather than our unpaid Rs. 1000/month rent, all we've succeeded in doing is upgrading the misery and worry. Material qualities of life such as wealth and fame can be improved, expanded, and polished, but the basic experience of suffering and enjoyment is the same for everyone regardless of their material status in life. 

The only solution to the problems of understanding our identity and acting on a commonly beneficial platform is to accept divinely inspired knowledge descending from Krishna, and which furthermore has been recorded and transcribed in the Vedic Scriptures, the most comprehensive body of knowledge known to mankind. The essence of that great body of knowledge has been delivered and made accessible to the people of this fallen age by Srila Prabhupada, who comes in the ancient disciplic succession from Krishna Himself.

Anything else is temporary, no matter how alluring it may be, and as long as it is temporary it can not give satisfaction to the soul. The only way to satisfy the soul is to connect it to the supreme soul, Krishna, through the method of Bhakti.

And the most easiest & feasible way of performing Bhakti, Devotional Service, in this age is chanting of the holy names of our beloved Lord-

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Confidently walk into anything God brings our way

Two men went fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn't. 

Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back. 

The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing this man waste good fish. 

 "Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?" he asked. 

The inexperienced fisherman replied, "I only have a small frying pan." 

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, and big opportunities that God gives us. 

Our faith is too small. 

We laugh at that fisherman who didn't figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan; yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith? 

Whether it's a problem or a possibility, God will never give you anything bigger than you can handle. That means we can confidently walk into anything God brings our way.