1st Tue: Aug 2, 2016: Neither Indulgence or Renunciation! will be discussed at the American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita as It Is Fellowship: Some mistaken solitude as spiritual but one cannot mechanically escape the material world. One can however transform matter into spirit and you can learn how to do that at the next AVA gathering.
Current Events:
Los Angeles will be hosting a huge Rathayatra Festival Celebrating the 40 Annual anniversary of this wonderful event. I encourage anyone who has an interest in East Indian teachings, dance, art, music, or philosophy to seriously consider attending this special public event which is also ALWAYS FREE.
For more information please visit this link: http://festivalofchariots.com/
If you would like to attend but have a transportation complication please contact us and we might be able to help coordinate a ride-share for you with some other Jagannatha devotees.
Guest Speaker!
Her Grace Brajarani Dasi will be the guest speaker to lead the discussion on Neither Indulgence or Renunciation. She is an initiated disciple of Jayapataka Swami and spent thirty years as the primary event planner at Bhatkivedanta Manor just North of London, England. She has earned her Bhakti Sastri credentials and is also highly trained in interpersonal coaching via the Satvatrove
Featured Commentary
Neither Indulgence or Renunciation!
It is very offensive to take something that does not belong to you. We call that stealing. Civilized individuals do not engage in stealing. So it makes sense that those who have NO understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead often teach that renunciation of all material entanglement as the true test when evaluating how “Spiritual” one is. However, if one is fortunate enough to understand that we each have a unique eternal relationship with God then the concept of renunciation acquires a different meaning.
The devotee of the Lord has no interest in acquiring material possessions for his own personal sense enjoyment. However, he is very willing to use whatever facility that comes to him in Krishna’s service. This is the real meaning of renunciation. It is not that one just sits idle on the side of the road waiting for the world to provide him with food and shelter in the form of random charity. No. The devotee is anxious to use whatever talents he is blessed with to do for the satisfaction of Krishna if Krishna so desires, He may then reciprocate with his devotee nicely. Krishna therefore reminds us that we all have responsibilities to perform and it is our duty to carry out those tasks the best we can in the mood of renunciation.
“You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.” Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2, “Contents of the Gita Summarized”, Text 47.
Further analysis leads us to acknowledge that there are three general varieties of action:
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2. Capricious Work; Capricious work means actions that are not sanctioned by Vedic authority. Not knowing what to do, the majority of individuals engage in all sorts of capricious work. This type of action is selfishly motivated and will never produce a positive effect because it conflicts with dharma which is based on the will of the Lord.
“Kindness simply to the body and mind is cruelty to the soul.” – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati; SBV.1.430
3. Prescribed Duties; One must be diligent in carrying out the duties that are consistent with one’s nature/dharma as outlined in the Vedic scriptures such as : A Brahman must always speak and behave truthfully. A Ksatriya must always be ready to protect the innocent and uphold the truth. A Vaishya must conduct his business with integrity.
One of the biggest causes for so many problems in the world today is due to the fact that too many people don’t even know what their prescribed duties are. This is confirmed as follows:
“Prescribed duties should never be renounced. If one gives up his prescribed duties because of illusion, such renunciation is said to be in the mode of ignorance.”– Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 18, “Conclusion – The Perfection of Renunciation”, Text 18.
There are three subdivisions to prescribed duties:
Emergency Work: Emergency work generally includes things that would jeopardize life, property, or one’s state of consciousness. Therefore one is advised not to delay in dealing with fire, disease, legal matters or debt because doing so will quickly lead to more grave circumstances.
Routine Work: Is necessary to maintain good bodily and spiritual health. Those who are fortunate arrange their lives in such a way to take up routine work which is conducive to always remembering Krishna.
Desired activities: Those with no proper spiritual training often aspire for things which are not conducive to freeing them from material entanglement. Realized souls desire to do things which are consistent with the activities that are in the mode of goodness. If one is fortunate enough to have a bona-fide spiritual master, they are naturally interested in carrying out the instructions they have received from him.
“Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed; otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage.” – Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 3, “Karma Yoga”, Text 9.
There is an old cliché that suggests it is easier to die for what you believe in, then to live for it. This can be applied here. It is comparatively easier to go to the Himalayas and pursue one’s own spiritual ambitions, then to stay in one’s respective position and make the required effort to reach out to those who remain in the darkness of ignorance. To bring the torchlight of knowledge given to us in the Bhagavad Gita and offered to the world by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu simply isn’t that easy at the dawn of Kali yuga.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati explained that although the attitude of giving to the guru was correct, acquisitiveness on the part of the guru was not: “Everything should be offered to the guru. Yet taking even a morsel for his own sake a guru becomes disqualified and a thief.” / “Many gurus are expert in removing their disciples wealth, but rare is the genuine guru who can remove their suffering” – Sri Guru Gita, Uttara Kanda,Skanda Purana / SBV.2.86