A destitute child begging her way through life...tragedy!
A one legged man feeling his way through...tragedy!
The inequalities of the material world. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. A man pulling more than he can pull to make ends meet...tragedy!
A burning Buddhist monk demonstrate against the repressive government, he died without moving a muscle...tragedy!
The photo was taken during the wars in Former Yugoslavia. It shows a column of Krajina Serbs being expelled by Croat forces in 1995 during Operation Storm. Over 450,000 Serbs were expelled in total...tragedy!
The famous 9-11 terrorist strike. The fall of the twin- towers. More than 3000 people died...tragedy!
A fall to death. A man is plunging to his death from the 9-11 attack...tragedy!
An image of a father trying to protect his son in an Israel gunfire, the son died into his father's lap from the crossfire. The image was taken just before the son's demise...tragedy!
The photo won a Pulitzer prize taken during the Sudan famine. The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat him...tragedy!
These are powerful pictures depicting the condition of the material world. Only a fool will enjoy in this place!
While these are tragic conditions prevailing around us...what is the most tragic of them all?
wasting our human form of life in mundane sense enjoyment in the name of education, career, family, art, architecture, literature, movies, philanthropy, religion etc etc etc
It takes millions and millions of births to attain a human body, and then wasting it over mundane sense enjoyment is the highest tragedy of them all. So more than all the heart breaking photos above, the most tragic situation is when we frivol away our human life for mundane enjoyment. The Upanishads calls those types of people as "atma-ha" or soul-killers.
ṛṣabha uvāca
nāyaḿ deho deha-bhājāḿ nṛloke
kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāḿ ye
tapo divyaḿ putrakā yena sattvaḿ
śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaḿ tv anantam
SB 5.5.1
Lord Ṛṣabhadeva told His sons: My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one's heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever.
Here in Lord Rishabadev a great saint and incarnate of Krishna clearly defines the role one should take when one reaches the human form of life. Lord Rishabadev prescribes devotion for Krishna as the ultimate purpose of human life. However it is not easy. Krishna says in the Gita
manuṣyāṇāḿ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāḿ
kaścin māḿ vetti tattvataḥ
BG 7.3
Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.
bahūnāḿ janmanām ante
jñānavān māḿ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
BG 7.19
After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.
We can infer from the verses above that human life is attained after millions of births and takes millions and millions more just to surrender to Krishna. So if we waste this one golden chance of human life in mundane affairs, then what can be a bigger tragedy than this?
so much suffering, so much pain, so many tragedies...all can be averted by simply chanting
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
This is the benediction in this golden age!
Please chant!
Hare Krishna
2 comments:
Hare Krishna! Being sensitive to all living things brings us closer to GOD! I like your blog! :)
We have formed a group to visit all the 108 divya desams. Here in Bangalore ISKON temple is very near to my home! :)
Hare Krishna aunty
Thank you for your response. You are cent percent right. Compassion to all living entities is our expression of love towards God. Since Krishna is the source and originator and root cause of all existance, by serving Him, we can serve everyone simultaneously just like when we water the root of a plant, all the parts of the tree is nourished.
Since as jivatmas we are His part and parcel, by serving the whole Krishna, we will be nourished. Therefore all great saints such as the 12 Alwars dedicated their lives in the service of Narayana.
So our purpose of life is to serve Krishna unconditionally by sharing this knowledge with others, thus pleasing the Lord and pleasing His devotees. When people understand this knowledge scientifically, people will be eternally benefited beyond mundane dualities. Then your original statement will come true of showing compassion and love to all.
Giving the knowledge of Krishna to everyone is the highest compassion one can do to all living entities which will cross birth and death (samsara).
Aunty, while you travel and blog, please keep this message of chanting the Holy names of Hare Krishna to everyone (the maha mantra is on the main page).
My humble request!
You can share this mantra with everyone and people will be happy internally.
I hope your travel to the 108 divya desams goes great.
If you have the time, please visit my blog.
Thank you.
Hare Krishna
anand
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