The secret is out

The true glory of any civilization and culture lies not only in the majestic set up, elegant accomplishments and refined customs but indeed in the form of deep wisdom which it offers the world. The ancient teachings of the Vedas remained unknown to the mass of people for centuries. Contemporary teachers, however, began racking their brains as to how the whole world could benefit from these timeless words of wisdom. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada made this his life meditation.

One of his most amazing achievements was to translate and publish these scriptures in hundreds of different languages. Ancient classics like Bhagavad-gita have illuminated, inspired and changed peoples lives all over the world. They truly penetrate the heart and present fresh perspectives towards life.

'Veda: Secrets from the East' is the latest publication by the Bhativedanta Book Trust. It is an anthology of conversations, articles and transcribed lectures which show the amazing relevance of ancient wisdom in modern times. Pick up a copy by emailing me, alternatively hang around your local town centre over the next month and you may well bump into a traveling monk distributing them! I'm off in 15 minutes for a one-month tour of the country. My travel plan: Norwich, Ipswich, Bury, Cambridge, Leicester, Nottingham, Northapmton, Derby, Loughborough and many more... (blog may be a bit quiet :)

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An amazing sacrifice...

Think of anyone who achieved anything wonderful in this world – they invariably made a significant sacrifice. Fame, power, wealth and followers are often the goals of people who seek to achieve something great in this world. To establish genuine spirituality which withstands the tests of time within a materialistic society requires sacrifice which is motivated by something completely different. In his final days, Srila Prabhupada revealed the secret – “I have no other motive, I am only planning how people can become happy.”

This week, we had the great fortune of hearing the stories, reflections and profound insights of four of the original six devotees who established the Hare Krishna movement in London some 40 years ago. As they spoke, one could sense a deep gratitude for their beloved spiritual teacher, Srila Prabhupada. Having spent barely a year with him, feeling great inspiration, love and gratitude in their hearts, they traveled to London in 1969 with practically nothing – young spiritual searchers coming to the one of the most important cities in the world to spread the teachings of Bhagavad-gita.

As their deep gratitude for Srila Prabhupada fueled their selfless sacrifice and service to humanity, I feel that this week of inspiration has deepened my gratitude towards them, which will hopefully translate into an increased commitment and sacrifice on my part. Hearing about the amazing dedication of these rare souls has definitely prompted me to do some soul-searching in terms of what humble contribution I can make in this life. This is ultimately how a spiritual movement is developing and growing. Where there is gratitude there is selfless sacrifice, and where this genuine sacrifice manifests, it become an object of gratitude for the future generations which fuels their selfless sacrifice. Gratitude and sacrifice...

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Sage of the Steady Mind

Remember sitting your GCSE exams? The anxiety and worry was probably quite uncomfortable. Of course, if you look back now, you realize it wasn’t as life-determining as you probably thought. I remember losing in a county badminton final when I was 13 – I couldn’t bear to show my face for weeks. Worries and anxieties arise because we take things out of perspective. As we grow up, our understanding of life and the world expands. As our understanding expands, we are able to react to everyday occurrences in a much more appropriate manner – being able to see them in perspective of wider reality.

However, it’s not just about growing up in terms of years, but also about growing up spiritually. The Bhagavad-gita talks of a concept known as sastra-caksus – ‘seeing the world through the eyes of scripture.’ As we refer to the ancient wisdom and insights of the scriptures, we find that our understanding of reality expands even further, beyond the limitations of space and time as we know it. One becomes aware of the greater reality beyond this world. When the spiritualist is thus aware of the ‘bigger picture’ there is an amazing immunity to all types of worry and anxiety.

Krishna explains this in the Bhagavad-gita: “One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst all miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger is called a sage of the steady mind.” Interestingly, when it comes to other people’s worries, troubles and anxieties, it’s not that a spiritualist sees them as trivial and unimportant. Rather, he tries to equip those people to see life in a broader way, helping them to put things in perspective for themselves.

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If everything is matter... nothing really matters!

Whilst studying at university some years ago, I had an interesting exchange with a member of the ‘Stop the War’ coalition. After informing me in-depth of all the atrocities and daily fatalities in the Middle East, I questioned him about the after-life. “What do you think happens after death?” He was taken aback by the question. After all, how many times does someone ask you that? After an extended pause for thought he replied that man was simply a complex biological machine that decomposed back into the earth after death.

If there is nothing but physical machines and biological matter then who is to say what is right or wrong? Even more worrying, who would really care to follow what was right or wrong? If everything is matter, then nothing (in the ultimate sense) really matters! I doubt whether such mechanistic worldviews help to solve the world's problems. Needless to say, all of this conflicts with our natural feelings and intuitions in life. There are morals, there are good acts to perform, and conscious beings are definitely more than just chemicals. Thus, discussions about a moral framework within which human beings interact, must necessarily take account of metaphysical realities – the spiritual dimension of life.

For something to be good, it means the consequences must be good. And to know all the consequences, one must have basic knowledge of the identity and purpose of living beings. Wisdom traditions across the world from East to West, explain fundamental aspects about the individual, God, and the universe around us. Without reference to such higher dimensional truths, moral relativism will reign supreme, and peace, harmony and genuine respect in society will remain elusive.

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Divine Conversations

I am in Leicester this week. The town centre is definitely a hub of religious activity. I walk past a Muslim group setting up a book table with a bold banner declaring "Islam is the only acceptable path to God". The smartly dressed pair of Mormon preachers walk past me offering a smile - their approach seems a little less direct. A few middle-aged Christian ladies stand by the clock tower singing the glories of Jesus accompanied by tambourines and bells. As I drive back to our temple, I see streams of Sikhs flowing into the gurudwara, and finally come across the Muslim faithful bowing in surrender to their Lord. I pause to watch them pray... prayer is an interesting phenomenon.

One person I recently spoke to just couldn't understand the concept of petitonary prayer - coming before God and asking for something. As God is omniscient, every decision that He makes He makes in light of all of the facts; there cannot arise any new information that God failed to take into account that might cause Him to revise His decision. God, then, should never change His mind. So what’s the point of praying? Requests for divine intervention seem to be futile; whatever God is going to do He will do, whatever He is not He will not.

It’s important to avoid reducing God to an omniscient bureaucrat who simply does business with souls according to His assessment of their desires. There is personality and feeling in these divine conversations, and prayer plays a significant part in awakening the emotions of both the divine and the subject. Recently, I have been reflecting how prayer is also a lot to do with ourselves. As I write down thoughts on this blog it helps me make sense of life. Similarly, contemplative prayers help us to organize the jumbled-up mind which often plays host to a multitude of competing emotions, desires and goals in life. Prayer reminds us what it is that we really want – something that may get lost and forgotten in the madness of life. Thus, prayer may well be seen as the steering wheel for life, not just the spare tyre we call upon in an emergency.

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