On the weekend of March 7th I had the opportunity to visit with Sriman Tripurari Maharaja at the rustic ashram he has developed in Marincounty about three hours north of San Francisco. It was an adventurous trip but rewarded by the opportunity to meet with an old friend and oneof the original pioneers of massive book distribution in the Western Work. Tripurari Maharaja continues to set extraordinary standards for hisscriptural erudition and inspiration to both his god brothers and numerous disciples.
Prelude to This Month’s Feature Article
God Is a Creep Because People Suffer!
One of the most common arguments that are offered in an attempt to prove that God doesn’t exist is the evidence of so much pain and misery inthe world. This reasoning points to that suffering and uses it to suggest that God must therefore not exist because if He did he would eliminatesuffering. Arguments of this type are particularly popular after natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina or the Indonesian Tsunami.But the only thing this line of thought proves is the insidious nature of the false ego. It is very similar to the diatribes of an inmate who blamesthe Governor of the State for the bars that confine him! In both cases the viewpoint is narcissistic and absconds all responsibility from thosewho hold it.Just as there are contemporary laws in place to ensure a smooth functional society, there are also universal laws that God has put in place for the purpose of keeping the universe functioning smoothly. In both cases when the laws are broken there will surely be reciprocal consequences.The term used to describe this phenomenon is perhaps the most well known Sanskrit word the world: It’s called Karma.Despite how straight forward, well know, and simple this concept is, many people still have a hard time integrating it into their lives. Manycontinue to wonder why a loving God would create a world filled with such a labyrinth of perilous conditions, but those who do so further confirm that they are incapable of seeing how their own behavior has contributed to the difficult conditions they wish toe assuage.
It's Someone Else's Fault!
The tendency to remove oneself from the formula when things don’t work out so well is a very common oddity that we observe in others all thetime. That appears to be part of our human tendency to find faults. Only rarely do we meet someone who is willing to take a close look at their own shortcomings with the same type of alacrity. The reason for this is found in the power of the false ego which provokes us to think thateveryone else has the strangest behavior and beliefs while we tend to remain completely blind to the origin, validity and reasonableness of whatwe do or accept as true.The courts are packed with what seems to be an endless flow of disputes because both feuding parties are unable to fathom the other person’s point of view. A less contentious resolution to legal disputes can sometimes be achieved when a good mediator steps in to help both sides seethe conflict from their opponent’s perspective. For example a good marriage counselor is trained to push both parties to move their attentionfrom the transgressions of their spouse, to look more closely at what THEY contributed to the unraveling of their once loving relationship.When one is controlled by the unchecked demands of the false ego all one is capable of seeing is how others have failed to perform accordingto their selfish expectations. One of the signs of a more mature individual is their ability to see how their OWN behavior could have been less provocative, inflammatory, rude, unreasonable or just plane unfair.
God Must Approve Of Everything
In the mundane world there are many examples of terribly exploitive, manipulative, insensitive, inattentive, illegal, dangerous, or grosslyirresponsible behavior that has gone on in the name of business, politics, management, and marital exchanges. But this type of destructivecheating does not exist on the spiritual plane. We learn from the Vedas that regardless of who one is or what one does, if Krishna does not blesstheir efforts then they cannot possibly succeed.
tapasvino dana-para yasasvino manasvino mantra-vidah sumangalahksemam na vindanti vina yad-arpanam tasmai subhadra-sravase namo namah
“Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the all-auspicious Lord Sri Krsna again and again because the great learned sages, the great performers of charity, the great workers of distinction, the great philosophers and mystics, the great chanters of the Vedic hymns and the greatfollowers of Vedic principles
cannot achieve any fruitful result without dedication of such great qualities to the service of the Lord
.”
–
Srimad Bhagavat Purana Canto 2, “The Cosmic Manifestation" Chapter 4, “
The Process Of Creation
” Text 17.
LINK:
http://vedabase(dot)net/sp/2/4/17/en (Replace (dot) with . for hyperlink) The more important point here is the origin of all auspicious events because He is pure and everything associated with Him is also pure. Whenone actually grasps this point it becomes quickly evident that when a serious material setback does occur there must be more then just
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