Monday, 06 February 2012
You are here: Home
Anthology XIV PDF Print E-mail
Sunday, 14 February 2010 12:19

The following is an excerpt from Srila Acharyadeva's anthology in the making, compiled from various lectures and writings of his, taken from the category "God," subcategory "Krishna":

*

Worship of the Deity

Obviously Krishna wants us to worship Him in His deity form so that we become healthy in Krishna consciousness. It is not that Krishna needs all kinds of rich foods. It is very clear that the highest stage of material behavior, which you then offer to Krishna, is in the mode of goodness. Krishna analyzes dozens of different aspects of human behavior such as food, determination, work, consciousness, etc. He analyzes all of the basic aspects of human life, behavior, and awareness into the three modes, and, in every case, without exception, the mode of goodness is the highest. Basically, we should take behavior in the mode of goodness and offer it to Krishna, which spiritualizes it because the spiritual platform is called vasudeva-sattva. It is goodness, sattva guna, which has been made spiritual by offering it to Krishna. That, by the way, is our philosophy: vasudeva-sattva, living in the mode of goodness and offering your life to Krishna.

*

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna clearly says that food in the mode of goodness is that which is ārogya (healthy) and āyuh (it prolongs life). It is a well know fact that we have what I call the 'ISKCON killer-diet' in many places. Many of the foods that we think Krishna really wants are actually not healthy and, rather than prolong life, they actually curtail life. Krishna specifically mentions in the Bhagavad-gītā that hot, spicy food is in the mode of passion. Therefore, according to the Bhagavad-gītā, what Krishna really wants is healthy food that prolongs life- although some people think that is māyā and that Krishna doesn’t like anything that doesn't triple our cholesterol.

(from lecture “Contemporary Preaching,” Gainesville, September 27, 2008)

*

Obviously in our relationship with the deity, in our worship of the deity, Krishna does not want that we become so simple that we ourselves are losing our consciousness that this is God. No matter how simple your deity worship is, if you are understanding, "This is God. Krishna has personally come and is standing in front of me.” then you have gotten the benefit of deity worship. It is not that there is some absolute standard.

Prabhupāda himself says it in his purport to the Bhāgavatam 4.8.54 that there is no stereotyped standard. Even ISKCON books on deity worship say that you can worship the deity according to a standard that is practical for you. What is practical? Deity worship is practical for you when it accomplishes two purposes: 1) you do enough to remember that the deity is God, and; 2) you do the right amount so that most of your time is spent saving Krishna's children. These two things are not in conflict.

(from lecture “Contemporary Preaching,” Gainesville, September 27, 2008)

Last Updated ( Sunday, 21 February 2010 10:27 )
 

Your are currently browsing this site with Internet Explorer 6 (IE6).

Your current web browser must be updated to version 7 of Internet Explorer (IE7) to take advantage of all of template's capabilities.

Why should I upgrade to Internet Explorer 7? Microsoft has redesigned Internet Explorer from the ground up, with better security, new capabilities, and a whole new interface. Many changes resulted from the feedback of millions of users who tested prerelease versions of the new browser. The most compelling reason to upgrade is the improved security. The Internet of today is not the Internet of five years ago. There are dangers that simply didn't exist back in 2001, when Internet Explorer 6 was released to the world. Internet Explorer 7 makes surfing the web fundamentally safer by offering greater protection against viruses, spyware, and other online risks.

Get free downloads for Internet Explorer 7, including recommended updates as they become available. To download Internet Explorer 7 in the language of your choice, please visit the Internet Explorer 7 worldwide page.