Why accept a material body ?
November 07 , 2007
Hare Krishna
Very nice question. What is our purpose in accepting a material body and living in this material world. Its quite obvious that our true nature is spiritual, and the temporary nature of this material existence is not satisfying. Yet somehow or other here we are. This simple inquiry signifies the beginning of human life,“ahato brahma jijnasa,” inquiry seeking knowledge of our self - self realization.
Lord Krishna explains fully in the Bhagavad-gita our true spiritual nature, how we have fallen under the control of three modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance) and how to purify ourselves by the practice of yoga. His divine instructions culminate in the His recommendation that we fully surrender to Him through the process of bhakti yoga, devotional service.
You ask specifically what is one's aim for living in the world, and that can only be answered individually. For we have independent free will that allow us to choose what we desire in life. As one can readily see, in this material world desires are as varied as the stars in the sky. Some desire wealth, some strength, some beauty, some knowledge, some renunciation and some fame, to various degrees and in different ways. But ultimately we recognize that all these qualities reside in the Supreme Lord to the fullest extent. We also possess these qualities, but only in a minute quantity due to our infinitesimal nature. Spiritual life requires that we initially come to the simple realization that any attempt to enjoy independent of the supreme reservoir of all please, Lord Krishna, we never fully satisfy the self.
Therefore we recommend that one take to the simple process of acquiring true transcendental knowledge from Lord Krishna directly as given in Bhagavad-gita and as related Srimad Bhagavatam. One should also take shelter of the good association of Krishna's pure devotees, and primarily one should daily chant the Holy Names of the Lord,
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Please take up this spiritual practice and your life will become sublime.
Sincerely,
Dulal Chandra dasa
Very nice question. What is our purpose in accepting a material body and living in this material world. Its quite obvious that our true nature is spiritual, and the temporary nature of this material existence is not satisfying. Yet somehow or other here we are. This simple inquiry signifies the beginning of human life,“ahato brahma jijnasa,” inquiry seeking knowledge of our self - self realization.
Lord Krishna explains fully in the Bhagavad-gita our true spiritual nature, how we have fallen under the control of three modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance) and how to purify ourselves by the practice of yoga. His divine instructions culminate in the His recommendation that we fully surrender to Him through the process of bhakti yoga, devotional service.
You ask specifically what is one's aim for living in the world, and that can only be answered individually. For we have independent free will that allow us to choose what we desire in life. As one can readily see, in this material world desires are as varied as the stars in the sky. Some desire wealth, some strength, some beauty, some knowledge, some renunciation and some fame, to various degrees and in different ways. But ultimately we recognize that all these qualities reside in the Supreme Lord to the fullest extent. We also possess these qualities, but only in a minute quantity due to our infinitesimal nature. Spiritual life requires that we initially come to the simple realization that any attempt to enjoy independent of the supreme reservoir of all please, Lord Krishna, we never fully satisfy the self.
Therefore we recommend that one take to the simple process of acquiring true transcendental knowledge from Lord Krishna directly as given in Bhagavad-gita and as related Srimad Bhagavatam. One should also take shelter of the good association of Krishna's pure devotees, and primarily one should daily chant the Holy Names of the Lord,
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Please take up this spiritual practice and your life will become sublime.
Sincerely,
Dulal Chandra dasa