Toward a Peaceful Society –Srila Prabhupada Vaani (Excerpt from Chapter 3 of “Elevation to Krsna Consciousness” by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) The Supreme Lord said: This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field. (BG 13.2) The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is instructing Arjuna about the knowledge of ksetra and ksetrjna. Ksetra refers to the field, which is the body, and ksetrjna refers to the knower of the field, who is the individual soul. If land is to be cultivated, there must be some cultivator, and if this body, which is likened unto a field, is to be cultivated, there must be a proprietor who can cultivate it. Now we have these material bodies, and it is our duty to cultivate them properly. That cultivation is called karma, or work. A person may come to our place with a hoe to cultivate land, or he may come to simply drink coffee or tea. We have been given this particular type of body to cultivate and to attain required sense objects according to our desires. This body is a gift from God. God is very kind, and if someone wants something from Him, He allows it. All right, He says. Take this. His relationship to us is just like the relationship of a father to a son. The son may insist upon getting something from the father, and the father may try to convince him that what he wants is not for his good, saying, My dear son, dont touch this. This is not good for you. But when the boy insists upon it, the father will allow him to have it. The affectionate father gives the son just what he wants. Similarly, the Supreme Father gives His sons and daughters just what they want. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita that all beings, in all species of life, are his children. In this material world, the mother, prakrti, which is material nature, supplies us with the body, and the Supreme Father impregnates this matter with living souls. There is an erroneous theory current that only human beings have souls and that other living entities do not, but we understand from Vedic authority that there are 8,400,000 species of bodies, including plants and trees, and that they all have souls, otherwise they would not be able to develop and grow. Sri Krsna claims that all living entities, regardless of the forms they take in this material world, are his sons, and that they are related to Him as a son is related to his father. This Krsna consciousness is especially meant for understanding the position of the soul and its relationship with God. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 11:08:39 +0000
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