Intelligence and Doubt

Paraphrased from a Shrimad-Bhagavatam class by His Holiness Hridayananda dasa Goswami at Bhaktivedanta Manor on Wednesday 17th January 2007:

"Let's say something bad happens to us. If in the ultimate sense, we truly believe that "I don't deserve this", then we are subscribing to an atheistic outlook on life. Why? Because if God is the supreme controller (ishvara paramah krishnah) and the supreme well-wisher, then nothing that happens to us is undeserved."

"If you don't recognise and respect Krishna's presence in non-devotees as well as devotees, then you are still on the materialistic platform."

"No matter how much we are mistreated, we must let go of bitterness. Because in the spiritual world there is no bitterness. Therefore remaining bitter is the same as maintaining material attachments and is an offence to the holy name."

"When we realise we are driving in the wrong direction, we can't immediately turn around on the road because of the risk of causing an accident. We have to wait for the next roundabout before we can turn. Similarly, lust cannot be destroyed immediately, it is a patient and gradual process."

"Laziness means I go to the gym but don't even pick up any weights. At the same time, lifting too much will be damaging. Best thing is to accept a personal trainer who can give us a programme suited to what we can manage. Similarly, laziness in spiritual life is to refuse to practice the process of chanting. At the same time, trying to surrender before we are ready will be damaging. Best thing to do is to accept the nature that Krishna has given us and approach Him by dovetailing that nature in His service."

Paraphrased from a Bhagavad-gita class by His Holiness Hridayananda dasa Goswami at Soho St on Wednesday 17th January 2007:

"Doubt is a sign of intelligence and it is needed. For example, if we didn't doubt any of our urges, then we would commit atrocious acts on people because we would blindly follow all such urges."

"If we are stuck in a fire, but we blindly doubt the fireman when he is giving us a helping hand, then we are to be considered foolish. Therefore it is extremely dangerous to blindly doubt authoritative knowledge."

"Not doubting anything and doubting everything has the same result - we become dysfunctional."

Paraphrased from a debate concerning the book "The God Delusion" featuring His Holiness Hridayananda dasa Goswami at Soho St on Wednesday 17th January 2007:

"Not everything we hold to be true is based on empirical fact. For example, yesterday exists but there is no way of proving it because it has gone. Justice is a principle which is indispensable to any society, but it is not an object one can point to. Equality is the basis of democracy, yet there is no way one can empirically say that any two individuals are equal."

"All civilisations with highly developed moral systems were originally inspired by metaphysical considerations such as religion and theistic philosophy."

"On the level of dogma, religions are different but on a foundational philosophical level, there are hardly any differences between the religions of the world."

Nectar of Devotion:

"One should specifically engage in a devotional activity that one has a natural aptitude for - for example some have an attraction for hearing, some for serving etc. In this way one should perform devotional service under regulative principles according to one's particular taste."

Paraphrased from Shrimad-Bhagavatam class at Bhaktivedanta Manor by H.G. Abhaya prabhu on Thursday 18th January:

"When it is described that non-devotees have no good qualities, it means that they don't have any purely good qualities. In other words all their 'good' qualities are contaminated by the modes of passion and ignorance."

"One can engage even bad qualities in Krishna's service. For example, the Yamadutas serve a pure devotee, Yamaraja, by punishing living beings for their sins. In other words they engage their bad qualities in service i.e. their desire to torture and cause pain to other living beings!"