Homosexuality, a faulty article?

I was reading a faulty article on your website. The truth is that homosexuality is NOT condemned by Vedic scripture in any way whatsoever. There is no official teaching on homosexuality because it is not necessary, only the teachings on the truth of the soul are necessary. If you claim that Srila Prabhupada was against homosexuality, then you claim he did NOT follow true Vedic teachings found in scripture. Is that something you really want to claim? I am gay and Srila Prabuhpada told me DIRECTLY to find a nice boy, settle down and pursue Krishna Consciousness in happiness and peace. So, according to your article, Srila Prabhupada must be demonic because he supported me. Again, is this something you really want to claim? He taught me that this life is temporary and nothing here is in a permanent state anyway, so what does it matter? HARE KRISHNA!!! -- Mathew

Dear Matthew

Hare Krishna! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Srila Prabhupada is a pure devotee of Krishna. Whatever he says is nondifferent from hearing it directly from Krishna.

If you have listened to anything at all Srila Prabhupada has said you will know that to make advancement in Krishna consciousness we need to get rid of the bodily designations. We are not these bodies. We are the spirit souls within. And the soul is not man or women, gay or straight.

So advancing in Krishna consciousness means becoming free from the bodily concept of life.

All "sexuality" be it straight or gay or anything else is based on the relationship between one body and another. You call yourself "gay" because you are attached to men's bodies more than women's bodies. But we, the soul, are not men or women, so all these physical sexual relationships are based on the bodily concept of life and if we are to advance in Krishna consciousness they have to be given up. We have to develop our loving relationship with Krishna and relationships with others should be in connection with serving Krishna.

All these bodily relationships will ultimatly cause us problems.

And apart from this the Vedic system does not support the "gay" lifestyle at all. And you know that. And Prabhupada has stated this many times. As far as the straight relationships they can perform the great service of bring Krishna conscious children into the world. So there is a verse in the Bhagavad-gita that says sex life according to the regulative principles is dharma, or religous. But gay sex is not sex life according to the religous principles. It is sense gratification. There is no service to Krishna there.

Hope you are well. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Madhudvisa dasa

Chanting and same sex relationships

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. Hare Krsna. I have been back in Krishna Consciousness after many decades but some questions. Finding it difficult to chant 16 rounds a day unless at Temple. I live outside. What is ISKCON take on same sex relationships? Where the world are you. Would it be possible to have a mentor via the Internet. Thanking you and await your reply. Your servant Indie

Dear Indie

Hare Krishna! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! It is great that you are back in Krishna Consciousness!!!

Chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra is sometimes difficult. But if we want to advance in Krishna consciousness we have to do it. There is no other way in this age except chanting Hare Krishna, So even if we have no taste for chanting Hare Krishna we should keep chanting at least 16 rounds a day. If we undergo this little "austerity" of chanting 16 rounds daily then gradually all the dirty things will be cleared from our hearts and we will develop a real taste for chanting Hare Krishna.

We need to make an atmosphere favorable to Krishna consciousness. But if you stick to chanting at least 16 rounds daily that atmosphere will develop around you and you will find it easier to chant outside the temple.

As far as same-sex relationships in Krishna consciousness sex life is for producing God conscious children within marriage. Married devotees only have sex for having children and then only once a month when they want to have a child. So sex does not play a big part in Krishna consciousness. So in Krishna consciousness same sex relationships are certainly not sexual.

Sex is the thing that keeps us here in the material world. If we are attached to sex then there is no hope of getting out of the material world. So we have to break that attachment. Therefore for one seriously interested in advancing in Krishna consciousness no sex life is permitted at all except for within marriage for having children.

So this idea of "same sex relationships" in Krishna consciousness is completely contradictory if you are talking about sexual relationships. Even between husband and wife sex is limited to the absolute minimum and it is done as service to Krishna, for the purpose of bringing nice Krishna conscious children into the world.

That is the basic point about Krishna consciousness. The misunderstanding we have is that if we satisfy our senses we will become happy. And we are working very hard to do that. And in the material world the most sublime pleasure is sex life. So everyone is trying very hard for this. But the reality is that sex is simply a cause of so much distress. There is some pleasure there undoubtedly. But that pleasure is very short-lived. But we are not looking for short-lived pleasure, we want eternal pleasure.

Real pleasure is spiritual, and we can only experience that real spiritual pleasure if we become detached from the so-called pleasures of the material world. So for one who wants to actually advance in Krishna consciousness he has to agree to follow four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication. All these things are great obstacles for spiritual advancement. And also one must agree to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha mantra daily:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

It may not be a very attractive thing in the beginning. That is the way of spiritual life. It is the reverse to material life. Material "pleasures" are good in the beginning but turn bad later. Spiritual life seems an austerity in the beginning because we are used to performing all sorts of sinful activities, and giving up these sinful activities can be a bit painful in the beginning, but the result is ever-increasing transcendental bliss, full knowledge and an eternally youthful existence in the spiritual world associating with Krishna in His pastimes.

So the bottom line is Krishna consciousness means no sex life. There is only an exception for married couples for the sole purpose of bringing Krishna conscious children into the world.

So many people cheat and say yes, you can be a "gay" Krishna. But it is not possible. Homosexuality is completely on the bodily platform and it will keep us completely on the bodily platform and if we are identifyng as "homosexual" that is simply a material designation.

Krishna consciousness is about giving up all our material designations. We are simply servants of Krishna, that's all.

Hope it is all right.

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Madhudvisa dasa

Srimad Bhagavatam

On 11/20/07, Rick wrote:

I started reading the Srimad Bhagavatan. The book presented to me was the First Canto pt. 1. I learned that there are 10 Cantos comprising some 50 volumes. I see in your offering that the set comprises of 12 volumes, do they contain the entirety of this magnificient work?

Dear Rick

Hare Krishna! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

We have Srimad-Bhagavatam in 30 volumes:

http://krishnastore.com/compact-30-volume-srimad-bhagavatam-1977-edition-p-502.html

That is compact size, very convienient and clear and easy to read and is only $125 for the set. It includes Canto's 1 through 9 plus "Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead" which is a summary study of the Tenth Canto.

http://krishnastore.com/krsna-the-supreme-personaly-of-godhead-1970-first-edition-p-401.html

We also have the 12 volume set which is the same thing in bigger books. That set is $239 and is the same thing in bigger books except instead of having the 3 volumes of ""Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead" it has the first volume of the Tenth Canto.

Srila Prabhupada only translated up to the Tenth Canto chapter 13. Plus he gave us the whole Tenth Canto in the form of "Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead."

There is also 11th and 12th canto. But I would very, very strongly recommend you stick to the books Prabhupada has given us. He has given us almost sixty 400 page plus books. There is an amazing wealth of information there. So please study all of Srila Prabhupada's books first, before trying to read others books. There is a translation of the 11th and 12th canto available but I would not recommend it. These books need to be translated by a liberated soul, a pure devotee of Krishna, and unfortunatly the translation of the 11th and 12th cantos was not done by Prabhuapda, the translator was not a liberated soul. It is not the same thing. Translation of these books is not a matter of scholarship only. It requires purity and devotion.

So, in summary, I recommend you get all of Srila Prabhupada's original books from:

http://krishnastore.com/books-srila-prabhupada-c-21_38.html

and read them.

You will find them so enjoyable to read and so inspiring and such an amazing source of knowledge.

If you have any other questions at all please write.

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Madhudvisa dasa

Non-Violence is Not a Very Practical Philosophy

On 11/11/07, Rahul wrote:

A pigeon if attacked will never attack the opposite person, because he/she is not having any other choice. Similarly, If we all think that doing good is the only choice and no other choice exists, then we can overcome all evils. Get out of the dualities and think only one option exists instead of two. To make it more clear one can think that second option is not a part of this world just like brass and iron are not the parts of blood.

But what is good and what is bad, is a matter of fact. One should clearly know the simple principles of life. For that we have to consult the religious philosophies among which the Vedic philosophy is accepted as the oldest in the whole world.

It is not an orthodox statement but a fact.

The search for truth and real peace is the real search. But when there is search there must be a conclusion also. And Vedas contain the conclusive knowledge. It is conclusive because if you meditate then after years of meditation , You will finally reach and accept the philosophy of the Vedas without even knowing about it.

So why not approach it directly instead of wasting time.

And Bhagavad Gita is the essence of the voluminous Vedic literature being spoken by God himself.

Dear Rahul

Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!


We do take Bhagavad-gita directly. Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Actually Krishna is not preaching non-violence in the Gita. Arjuna is preaching non-violence. He says to Krishna, "All our friends are before us on the battlefield. I can not see that any good will come out of this fight. For even if we are victorious in the battle so many of our friends will be killed and our lives won't be worth living." Arjuna went on to say to Krishna that it would be better for him to leave the battlefield and go to the forest in shame rather than fight this war.

Krishna was not impressed by Arjuna's non-violence. Krishna was surprised to hear this from Arjuna who was a Ksatriya, a warrior, who's duty it is to fight.

So realistically in this world there are cases where violence is required. If someone attacks you you have the right to defend yourself. If someone attacks your wife or your children it is your duty to defend them. If someone attacks your wife you can not just sit there and do nothing. You have to defend her, you have to protect her, and that may mean being violent to the attacker.

Non-violence is not a very practical philosophy. Sometimes violence is necessary. And Bhagavad Gita certainly does not preach non-violence. It is set on a battlefield and Krishna is advising Arjuna to fight, to be violent, when in the beginning Arjuna wanted to be non-violent.

Hope you are well. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Madhudvisa dasa

Independence and the soul?

Dear Sir,

I want to ask about the working of soul and body. Can a soul have control over
the body? If yes then up to how much extent can the soul control the body? Also can a living thing (soul) control the nonliving thing (body)? And who decides that controlling power?

Hare Krishna! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

It is a good question. Ultimately everything is working under the direction of Krishna, the Supreme Lord. He delegates this power to millions and millions of demigods who each have power over a certain aspect of the material world. So even the movements of the different parts of the body have demigods supervising them. The "control" of the soul over the body is not direct.

The soul desires something and the mechanism how the body actually responds to this is that Krishna, who is also within the heart of us all with the individual soul, sanctions the desire of the soul and then through the demigods the actions within the body take place.

The proof that the soul does not actually have control over the body is that at any time part of the body can become paralyzed and although the soul desires the body to act in a particular way, it will not act.

So in the ordinary course of events it appears the soul has control over the body, and we tend to think like that, that we are controlling our bodies, but what is really happening is that when we desire our bodies to act in a particular way, Krishna sanctions that desire and it happens under the supervision of the different demigods who supervise the actions of the different parts of the body.

Madhudvisa dasa

Dear Sir,

That means everything is working under the direction of Krishna. Krishna is in our hearts and He sanctioned the desires. Is it that if we have bad desires or the desires which are not good to others or the desire to harm other individuals, desire of expressing anger, violence and other bad desires etc will also be sanctioned by Krishna? Or are they are independent of Krishna?

How this can be possible? I am confused with this thought that Krishna is in our heart and every desire whether it will be good or bad is sanctioned by Krishna?

Dear Amit

Hare Krishna! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

You say that this means "everything is working under the direction of Krishna." That is true, but Krishna has given us a certain degree of independence. And we can use that independence properly or misuse it. So if we misuse our independence and instead of desiring to serve Krishna, we desire to serve maya, and there is really no other option, then Krishna will sanction that desire.

So as far as sinful activities are concerned we are desiring them, Krishna does not desire us to perform sinful activities nor is He making us perform sinful activities nor is He directing us to perform sinful activities, but we desire them, because we have misused the independence Krishna has given us. But your original question was "can a soul have control over a body" and my answer to that was basically "No." Krishna has control over everything and he deputes that control to many demigods in the material world. So Krishna has the control and then the demigods each have control over the certain area of responsibility give to them by Krishna.

So the "control" of the body by the soul is not direct. For example in the case of sinful activities the soul desires something bad, due to misusing the independence given by Krishna, but to actually do that thing Krishna has to sanction it. So Krishna does sanction the sinful activities because He has given us a certain amount of independence. There would be no meaning to independence if we could not rebel against Krishna. And basically that is what we are all doing here in the material world.

If you study the psychology of people here you will see everyone, more or less, is trying to become the controller. But Krishna is the Supreme Controller. We are all trying in one way or another to take His place. But that is not possible. So Krishna has created this material world for us where we can play at being the controller, but ultimately all our attempts at controlling will end in frustration and we will eventually learn, it may take many, many births, that the best thing is to surrender to Krishna and serve Him...

Hope it makes some sense. Please let me know what you think.

Madhudvisa dasa

Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 and 12

"Hello: Last month I purchased a 30 volume set of Srimad Bhagavatam.The set contains up to canto 10. I believe Cantos 11 and 12 are available. Do you carry them in your store ? If not can you suggestfrom where I can purchase them. Thank you. P.S. Justtoday I placed an order for the Bhagavadgita As It Is ( Macmillan)edition from your store."

Srila Prabhupada only translated up to the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. That is all we sell at http://www.krishnastore.com/ The cantos 11 and 12 have been printed but they are not by Srila Prabhupda. It is very important to actually check the personal qualities of the person who authors the books. Unfortunately the BBT do not even reveal who has translated cantos 11 and 12 to the readers. And if they did reveal who translated them you would be surprised as to how they are not at all following the principles of Krishna consciousness as taught by Srila Prabhupada.

So my humble submission to you is that you please sincerely read all of the books Srila Prabhupada has written. You do not need any other books. Particularly not books translated by people who are not even seriously following the process of Krishna consciousness.

I do not want to go into the details about this, but even though the 11th and 12 cantos distributed by BBT look exactly like Prabhupada's books they are not Prabhupada's books at all and reading them will have a completely different effect on your consciousness than reading Srila Prabhupada's books will.

It is a very subtle thing, Krishna consciousness, and it can only be understood by a pure devotee of Krishna, and obviously if one is not a pure devotee of Krishna he does not understand it, and if such a person, who is not a pure devotee of Krishna, starts presenting translations of Srimad-Bhagavatam that is the greatest type of cheating.

Actually Srila Prabhupada was asked in 1977 this question directly, "What will happen with the translation work after you leave us?" Prabhupada clearly said that this translation work is not simply scholarship, it is not a matter of ABC. It requires realization. It requires a self-realized person to do it. And Prabhupada clearly said that at that time he did not think any of his disicples were qualified to translate. But as soon as Srila Prabhupada left his body, without any authorization from Prabhupada, some devotees stated to continue the translation work of Srila Prahupada and started producing the Bhagavatam again, "Juat like Prabhupada."

That was the mood at the time of Srila Prabhupada's disappearance in ISKCON. The mood was that Prabhupada had appointed 11 successors and all 11 were pure devotees and on the same level of Srila Prabhupada. Questioning this was considered to be the greatest blasphemy. But in reality, as Prabhupada had confirmed just days before leaving his body, none of his disciples were qualified to take their own disciples, and none of his disciples were qualified to continue the translation work.

So it was in this mood of defiance of Srila Prabhupada's direct orders that the BBT 11th and 12th cantos of Srimad-Bhagavatam were produced. So as I have said, even though they "look" like Srila Prabhupada's books, the are not at all Srila Prabhupada's books. Personally I would not even touch them, what to speak of read them. And I strongly advise you to spend your time and energy reading and studying Prabhupada's books.

Prabhupada has given us so many books, to become conversant in all the knowledge in Prabhupada's books is a lifetime's endeavor. And not only books, we have all of Prabhupada's lectures, morning walks, conversations, letters, press conferences, etc, etc, etc. So at http://www.krishnastore.com/ we are dedicated to distributing the original books of Srila Prabhupada and I promise you that you will get all spiritual benefits possible simply by studying Prabhupada's books. You do not need to read other books.

Hope you are well and thank you very much for your orders.

For more information on this you may like to check out: http://www.bookchanges.com/

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

Madhudvisa dasa


Dear Sri Madhudvisa dasa: Thank you for your kind and timely reply.I am interested only in studying the works of Srila Prabhupada. I agree that it is a lifetime endeavor to be conversant with the knowledge thathe has left in his books. Thank you again for your help. With DivineLove, Gururaja

Living in Vrindavana

I am now living in Vrindavana. Vrindavana is a small town in India, about 100 miles away from New Delhi. It is close to Mathura. That is the place where Krishna was born 5000 years ago. It is also close to Agra which is where the famous Taj Mahal is.

My interest in Vrindavana is Krishna. Vrindavana is the land of Krishna. It is basically a spiritual pilgrimage city. It is one of the four places that all Hindus try to visit within their lifetime. It is like the Muslims feel they must visit Meca. Hindus like to visit Mathura-Vrindavana.

Vrindavana is famous because Krishna spent his childhood here. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead but He appeared on this earth 5000 years ago in Mathura. He did not exactly appear like an ordinary child. He did not take birth from his mother, Devaki's, womb like an ordinary child. He appeared as Vishnu, complete with beautiful clothes and ornaments. At that time the King, Kamsa was trying to kill Vishnu. So Mother Devaki, in her simple way said to Krishna, "Kamsa is looking to kill Vishnu and here You have appeared exactly as Vishnu. This is not good. Please take the form of an ordinary child so he will not kill You."

So Krishna took the form of an ordinary child. To protect the baby Krishna his father Vasudeva thought he should hide Krishna somewhere. So he took Krishna to Vrindavana. It is a great story. You can read it at:

www.krsnabook.com/ch1.html

Anyhow, that is why I have come to Vrindavana, looking for Krishna. And to get some time to work on my websites. I am working on a new website, you can check it out:

http://www.krishnastore.com/

I took a few photos when I arrived. You can see them below.