A question by a Keralite Arya Samaji gentleman - does ISCON conduct classes and teach the VEDAS.... Krsna had studied the vedas and also performed agnihotra, and became a perfect example of how one must live his life.Hare Kṛṣṇa. Answer - ISKCON follows the siddhanta mentioned in BG 10.25, SB 12.3.51, SB 11.20.9 & SB 11.5.41 as under - i) maharṣīṇāḿ bhṛgur ahaḿ girām asmy ekam akṣaram yajñānāḿ japa-yajño smi sthāvarāṇāḿ himālayaḥ Of the great sages I am Bhṛgu; of vibrations I am the transcendental oḿ. Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa], and of immovable things I am the Himālayas. ii) kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-sańgaḥ paraḿ vrajet After mentioning the innumerable faults of this age of Kali, Śukadeva Gosvāmī now mentions its one brilliant aspect. Just as one powerful king can kill innumerable thieves, one brilliant spiritual quality can destroy all the contamination of this age. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, especially in this fallen age. iii) tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta na nirvidyeta yāvatā mat-kathā-śravaṇādau vā śraddhā yāvan na jāyate As long as one is not satiated by fruitive activity and has not awakened his taste for devotional service by śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23] one has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions. iv) devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāḿ pitṝṇāḿ na kińkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaḿ śaraṇyaḿ gato mukundaḿ parihṛtya kartam O King, one who has given up all material duties and has taken full shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, who offers shelter to all, is not indebted to the demigods, great sages, ordinary living beings, relatives, friends, mankind or even ones forefathers who have passed away. Since all such classes of living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, one who has surrendered to the Lords service has no need to serve such persons separately. For the aforesaid reasons, the followers of Śrī Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇava Sampradāya only occasionally perform yajñas and that also by not following the smārta tradition. The answer to why Śrī Kṛṣṇa performed the yajñās is given as follows in BG 3.23 & BG 3.26 - i) yadi hy ahaḿ na varteyaḿ jātu karmaṇy atandritaḥ mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ For if I ever failed to engage in carefully performing prescribed duties, O Pārtha, certainly all men would follow My path. ii) na buddhi-bhedaḿ janayed ajñānāḿ karma-sańginām joṣayet sarva-karmāṇi vidvān yuktaḥ samācaran So as not to disrupt the minds of ignorant men attached to the fruitive results of prescribed duties, a learned person should not induce them to stop work. Rather, by working in the spirit of devotion, he should engage them in all sorts of activities [for the gradual development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness].
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 12:36:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015