KNOW YOURSELF

1.  Whenever there is a decline in spiritual and religious principles and there is a predominant rise in irreligion god manifests himself. The highest purpose of religion is to surrender oneself to the lord. 

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  The senses are superior to matter, the mind is superior to the senses, the intelligence is superior to the mind, the soul is superior to the intelligence and the super soul is superior to the soul. Senses give vent to the lust. The senses are activated by the mind which is guided by intelligence. All these are on the material plane. When there is Krshna Consciousness these things fail to work.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  One should relegate the senses from the very beginning for they are the greatest enemy of the knowledge of self. The knowledge of the self is very mysterious and is veiled by Maya. But it can be revealed only by god. You cannot make love for god out of lust just as you cannot make milk out of curd. But love for Krshna can make this possible.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  One should hence regulate one’s senses as a first step towards self realization. Maya or materialism veils the knowledge of the relation of the living entity with the supreme self. Lust is a perverted reflection of one’s love for god.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  A person who is in contact with material nature commits sinful acts though he does not want to. Man’s love for god turns into lust. This is just like milk when sour turns into curd. Love turns into lust which turns into hardened desire which in turn transforms into fear. Fear results in anger which turns into illusion culminating in false ego. When one transforms one’s lust into love or god one’s road towards self realization begins. The living entity is covered by different degrees of lust. Identification with the body is false ego. That with the soul is ego and that with the super soul is super ego.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  It is better to discharge one’s prescribed duties faultily than to engage in another’s duties for that path is dangerous. One man’s plans will be another man’s haywire. One man’s food is another man’s poison. This is because everyone is acting according to his mode of material nature. Everyone has to cleanse his or her heart gradually and not abruptly.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  Attraction and repulsion for sense objects are felt by embodied beings but they are stumbling blocks towards self realization. Those who are Krshna conscious are naturally reluctant towards sense gratification. And those who are not so should go through rules and regulations mentioned in revealed  scriptures and act accordingly. Loving service to Krshna detaches one from sensory activities.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  Even a man of knowledge acts according to his nature. He is in either of one of the three modes of material nature ie. Goodness, Passion or Ignorance. Unless one is in the transcendental platform of Krshna Consciousness, he cannot get rid of these.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  Those who out of envy disregard this knowledge of the supreme self and who do not practice spiritualism regularly are to be considered bereft of knowledge, are befooled and doomed towards ignorance and bondage. A person howsoever great in social status is considered a fool if he is not Krshna Conscious. There is no hope for perfection in life for him.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  Bewildered by the three modes of material nature the ignorant fully engage themselves in activities that attach them to materialism. The body is a gift from the material world and the ignorant who do not try to understand the spirit soul get attached to the body. For  them religious rituals are ends in themselves. The ignorant are always engaged in the material aspects of life. The spiritualists do not agitate them and instead  try to do their own work. However some kind hearted spritualists approach them and try to drag them into Krshna consciousness. 

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  One  who has the knowledge of the absolute truth does not engage in fruitive activities nor in sense gratification. He knows that he is a part and parcel of Krshna and should not have been in the material creation. He feels entrapped. Hence he thinks and works for Krshna alone.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  The bewildered soul under the influence of the three modes of material nature thinks that it is the doer of all actions when actually they are done by the nature itself. Two persons one in Krshna consciousness and one without may look similar to the common man but they are actually different. The other man due to his false ego thinks that he is the doer of all activities. He does not think that the very material body is created by god alone who is the doer of all activities. This man wants to take the credit for all activities. He forgets his eternal relationship with god.  

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  The self realized soul acts without attachment to results. That is the way to spiritual path. A Krshna conscious person does not do anything which is not conducive with his god consciousness. He is a true guide for humanity.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  If god stops working the world will be put to ruination and there will be creation of unwanted population resulting in lack of peace in all sentient beings. To avoid this there are rules and regulations that bring automatic peace and are conducive to spiritual progress. If humanity is misguided the responsibility goes to god. We can follow god and his principles but we cannot imitate him.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  Though god does not need anything nor any duty is prescribed for him yet he is engaged in carrying on with his work just to be a guide to humanity. He is a spiritual teacher who shows to humanity that all work is important. Otherwise it will take his example and become lazy.   

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  The common man always follows the footsteps of the great. These greats set exemplary standards the  whole world pursues. The teacher cannot manufacture rules of his own especially when they are against revealed scriptures. That is a sure way to progress.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  Kings like Janaka attained perfection just by performing their prescribed duties. Similarly one should do his work even if to set an example for the public in general. Experienced people will act in such a way that the others will follow.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  One who works for god, without any kind of personal attraction attains the supreme. This is action of the highest order. Krshna consciousness is transcendental.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  A self realized man has no duty to discharge nor does he have to depend on others for a living. He has to work just in Krshna consciousness. He does not take shelter of any one man or demigod.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  One who is illumined by the self and rejoices in it alone has no duty. A person who is God conscious and who lives only for god receives endless pleasure in doing so. He is satisfied by this act and has no interest in the material world.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  A person who lives only to satisfy his senses lives in vain. This human form is meant only for self realization and ultimate liberation. Yagnas are prescribed for sense conscious persons who ultimately need liberation from the material world.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  The devotees of god are released from all sorts of sins because the eat only that food which has been given for sacrifice.   

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  When the demigods are satisfied by the sacrifices from humanity they become pleased and fulfill the material desires. Demigods are empowered administrators of material affairs. The supply of air, light, water etc. is in their hands. Their pleasures and displeasure are dependent on the sacrifices by human beings. But the ultimate beneficiary is God. To satisfy him means to satisfy all.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  In the beginning lord sent forth all human beings along with sacrifices for Vishnu and blessed them by saying’’ be happy by doing this yagna which will bestow upon you all desirable things.’’ The material creation by the lord is for the conditioned souls to go back to god head.All souls are conditioned by the material world because of their forgetfulness of lord Vishnu. The actual purpose of every soul is as the eternal servitor of the lord.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  Work done as a sacrifice to god has to be performed otherwise it binds one to the material world. Nothing should be done for sense gratification. One should act very diligently under the expert guidance of a devotee of the lord. The work which is done for the gratification of god, will gradually elevate on to transcendental life which will then raise him to the kingdom of god.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  Perform your prescribed duty for action is better than lethargy. One cannot even maintain his physical  body without work. Pseudo renunciation is not approved by god. Activity in Krshna consciousness cleans one of all impurities. 

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  One who restrains his senses but has his mind dwelling on some objects is certainly a pretender. There are those who pretend to meditate as an excuse for their laziness. Actually their mind is lusty. Their  knowledge is of no value.

KNOW YOURSELF

1.  All men are forced to act according to their individual natures like goodness, passion and ignorance. They cannot be idle even for one moment. This is because the soul is present in the body which is dead otherwise. Hence it is very important to dovetail this activity into Krshna consciousness because such activity is permanent and bears results even after one’s death.