No religion superior

Persons who want to advance in superior religion are advised to give up all envy of other living entities, whether in relationship to the body, words or mind. There is no religion superior to this.

Understanding the quote

When faults in others misguide and delude you - have patience, introspect, find faults in yourself. Know that others cannot harm you unless you harm yourself.

When I read this quote I realized that reading this quote is not enough. It is when we pass through some experience that we realize the truth in this quote.

Some people put their trust in bogus gurus, give them lots of money, submit completely to them, and get cheated. but it is not that they are being cheated for no fault of theirs. they are foolish enough to follow bogus leaders, therefore they are inviting a situation in their life where they will be cheated. So people who allow themselves to be cheated are cheated.

One must have a pure and sincere desire, only then is it possible that no one can cheat him. Because Krishna is present as the Super Soul in everyones heart. So it is just impossible for anyone to cheat you - you will just come to know that this person is bogus.

Another thing is, we fear others because they threaten to influence us, and try to change our minds. Especially when someone attacks our belief in spiritual values, we become angry, because we are scared that they are trying to change our way of thinking. But this fear is not present in those who have full faith that no one can sway them and take them away from Krishna. I have personally experienced how much fear and anger is provoked in me when I am insecure and shaken about my own beliefs. If I am not sure about something, then only will I fear that someone will try to change my opinion. Otherwise I will be completely relaxed and calm no matter what the person says. In such a peaceful mood we can preach without getting agitated or arguing defensively.

Third thing is, when I see some fault in someone - oh he is so dominating, so controlling in nature - then I generally notice that this fault is actually in me; I am trying to dominate my younger brother/ sister, I try to dominate others who are slightly submissive. So, what I don't like about that person, is actually something wrong with me.

Everything around us is a product of mental concoction

SB 1.5.14
tato 'nyathaa kincana yad vivakshatah
prthag drshas tat-krta-rupa-naamabhih
na karhicit kvaapi ca duhsthitaa matir
labheta vaataahata-naur ivaaspadam

"Whatever you desire to describe that is separate in vision from the Lord simply reacts, with different forms, names and results, to agitate the mind as the wind agitates a boat which has no resting place."

This verse clearly shows us, that anything that is not related to the Lord will only agitate us. Simply put, whenever we are not in relation with the Lord we are put into so called miseries by the mind. The mind wreaks havoc as it is not anchored to its constitutional anchor point, the lotus feet of the Lord. When the mind is thus agitated the illusory energy of the Lord very easily sets in to take control.

Woah!

"The Old Christian way taught that until man faced the fact of his evil nature, he would forever be a prisoner of illusion and of those magicians who would enslave his energies – ostensibly in pursuit of utopia – but actually to the furtherance of the inner executive power ideology of a secret elite."

Over the past few days I've been trying to figure out why I am in the situations I am in. What's going on? Are events actually symbolic of what we deserve? Is my only crime that I have no faith in God and I'm born into nescience in this material world? Somehow I have a feeling that this line of thought makes sense. I mean look at all these Rockfellrs and Bushes and Corporate big-wigs who care a fig about human beings at large - they just want personal comforts and control over the entire populace - at whatever cost. If a couple of millions have to die, it makes no difference to me - I should have enough on my platter.

Because of devil-like magnates that control every life on this planet, living beings have so much struggle for existence where there should not be much. Pay this, pay that, bribe him, stand in lines, struggle, get to the top, compromise, give tax, get hassled, get to be insecure, believe very strongly that doing a 9-5 job is what humans were created for and that there is no other way to survive or sustain ourselves and there is no alternative possibility. People are innocent and silly.

Or are they? Maybe they're just ok with it. Fine, exploit me. I'll search for someone else to exploit. People in fact are not so stupid. They know something is really wrong with the way the world is, but they want to ignore that - if they acknowledge it they may have to act upon their knowledge - better not to have any knowledge. Whatever it is - I don't know - and I don't want to know.

Exploitation? What are you talking about? I'm the king of my world! I rock! I have gadgets and gizmos to keep me numb. I'm not waking up anytime soon. Let me get more entangled in my mesh of conditioned thinking, let me drown myself in this absurd pseudo reality. Let me be.... a prisoner of illusion.

Maya is so strong - that even a person endeavouring to control his senses gets carried away. She will try every trick in the book to get you away from self-realisation. She will put distrust in your heart - you suddenly feel that all of religion is just hogwash used to exploit you. She will give you fame, wealth, beauty, power, and who knows what else, to keep you from waking up. The thing is, she is not the supreme. The authority above her can invoke a person to become a seeker. Once this happens - it is totally a choice of the seeker to go after either the absolute truth, or be satisfied with being cheated by illusion. And its obvious that once you know what you know, you can't go back. You either continue sincerely, or you become that villian in matrix who sold his soul to agent smith in return for a good illusory existence where he could enjoy unreal things. Thats precisely what we've done. We've killed out spiritual consciousness by favouring illusory pleasures. We don't want the truth. But the thing is - truth does not cheat you - it gives you as it is. Still, it is a matter of personal preference once you come to a stage where you can choose.

Basically good or bad?

A common point of debate among theologians focuses on the question, are human beings basically good or basically evil? The hinge upon which the argument turns is the word "basically." It is a virtual universal consensus that nobody is perfect. We accept the maxim: "To err is human."

The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Despite this verdict on human shortcomings, the idea persists in our humanistically dominated culture that sin is something peripheral or tangential to our nature. Indeed, we are flawed by sin. Our moral records exhibit blemishes. But somehow we think that our evil deeds reside at the rim or edge of our character and never penetrate to the core. Basically, it is assumed, people are inherently good.

After being rescued from captivity in Iraq and experiencing firsthand the corrupt methods of Saddam Hussein, one American hostage remarked, "Despite all that I endured I never lost my confidence in the basic goodness of people." Perhaps this view rests in part on a sliding scale of the relative goodness or wickedness of people. Obviously some people are far more wicked than others. Next to Saddam Hussein or Adolf Hitler the ordinary run-of-the-mill sinner looks like a saint. But if we lift our gaze to the ultimate standard of goodness - the holy character of God - we realize that what appears to be a basic goodness on an earthly level is corrupt to the core..

The Bible teaches the total depravity of the human race. There is no part of us that is left untouched by sin. Our minds, our wills, and our bodies are affected by evil. We speak sinful words, do sinful deeds, have impure thoughts. Our very bodies suffer from the ravages of sin (old age, disease, and death).

Only by the power of the Holy Spirit may we be brought out of this state of spiritual death.

************************************************************************************

The above passage means than humans on earth who are born into ignorance (of how they originated, who is God, where is God, why we exist, etc. as opposed to born in perfect and complete knowledge) are basically BAD. Not bad, actually; depraved. Humans enjoy sports where people get hurt, treating that as enjoyment, watching women being raped on TV in movies, hurting others for their own personal comforts and satisfaction, even being compassionate only when it favors them and losing all compassion completely when faced with a trying situation where personal interests are compromised in doing the "right" thing.

Even the "so-called" morals are as temporary as the life of these species. Morals prove superficial when personal comforts and sense gratification are under attack. The thing is: Morals are for their own sake, not for our own sake. They are to be taken shelter of always, not just when it suits us. Why morals exist is another story.

Why are we like this? And why do we not feel this way about ourselves (that we are completely corrupt to the core, the biggest cheaters and completely depraved) although it is true? Because we are conditioned souls who rebelled against the authority of the same God who created us. Thats why we have a planet full of hypocrites:

I love God, I worship Him everyday (in return for His favour that my health and life and money increase to MY satisfaction), because love is all about take and take.

I pray to God everyday! What a divine person I am!

and last but not the least: I am so great that I actually acknowledge God exists, bow down to my amazing wisdom. I have adjusted this life in such a way that even though I claim to believe God exists I can completely ignore Him - whoever He is anyway, and live anyhow without wanting to know why I am here or what the hell is going on here or why is everyone so.... depraved?

Less worse hypocrites are those who admit the truth: Why is God the king, why can't I be the King and the supreme enjoyer? I am jealous of God. At least they are honest that they HATE Him and are jealous of Him. They are probably the only ones who have the answer to why we are here, albeit unknowingly.

Why should I believe in God and pretend I like Him? God doesn't exist (and neither does He want to exist for you and be there for you - you don't need Him, well, guess what? He doesn't need you either).

The Stupidest of the lot says: I am God. We are all God. I love being God because that makes me perfect (as per definition) no matter how depraved I am, no matter what little control I have on my anger, genitals, lust, desires, mind and senses. Even though I may be a third class intoxicated idiot - believe me - I am God.

Then there are delusional people who assume God is just like them, full of imperfections, get some satisfaction from this exercise. They can feel good about themselves, finally. I'm a good person, you know, I am GREAT, in fact look at God - He's worse off than me - He is really perverted and depraved. I am so nice. It's Him who should be feeling guilty about existing without any reason - not me.

Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya

http://newtalavana.org/blog/

Prabhupada: There is Vedic instruction. Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya. Don’t remain within this darkness. This material world is darkness. Therefore there is need of sunlight, need of moonlight. So Jyotir gamaya. The same thing Krsna also advises, that don’t be allured to stay in any nice planet of this universe. Come out of it. Yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama [Bg. 15.6]. “That is My eternal abode, or the best abode, where once if you go, you’ll never come back again.”

Devotee: “In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination for devotional service to the Lord does not take place.”

Prabhupada: The Sanskrit verse for this is:

bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam
tayapahrta-cetasam
vyavasayatmika buddhih
samadhau na vidhiyate [Bg. 2.44]

If we simply remain in material opulence and enjoyment, that will be our disqualification for entering into the kingdom of God. Too much attachment, too much increasing of material civilization means that next life is very much dark. Bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam.

How to meditate on the Truth always

O Supreme Lord, because of a bodily conception of life, embodied souls neglected and not cared for by You cannot do anything for their betterment. Whatever remedies they accept, although perhaps temporarily beneficial, are certainly impermanent. For example, a father and mother cannot protect their child, a physician and medicine cannot relieve a suffering patient, and a boat on the ocean cannot protect a drowning man.

My dear Lord, everyone in this material world is under the modes of material nature, being influenced by goodness, passion and ignorance. Everyone — from the greatest personality, Lord Brahmā, down to the small ant — works under the influence of these modes. Therefore everyone in this material world is influenced by Your energy. The cause for which they work, the place where they work, the time when they work, the matter due to which they work, the goal of life they have considered final, and the process for obtaining this goal — all are nothing but manifestations of Your energy. Indeed, since the energy and energetic are identical, all of them are but manifestations of You.

Whether one thinks himself protected by his parents, by the government, by some place or by some other cause, everything is due to the various potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything that is done, whether in the higher, middle or lower planetary systems, is due to the supervision or control of the Supreme Lord. It is therefore said, karmaṇā-daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye [SB 3.31.1]. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul within the core of everyone's heart, gives inspirations for action according to one's mentality. All of these mentalities are merely facilities given by Krsna to the person acting. Bhagavad-gītā therefore says, mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaḿ ca: [Bg. 15.15] everyone works according to the inspiration given by the Supersoul. Because everyone has a different goal of life, everyone acts differently, as guided by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.