Question:
We are advised in Krishna Consciousness that we should not please the senses and / or have desires but rather please the senses of Krishna and / or his desires.
Please, could you tell us in detail what Krishna’s desires are and how could we please them as well as how can we satisfy Krishna’s senses in particular?
Answer
I’ll now touch only one of the points you are asking me about because it is fundamental.
The idea that we should not gratify our senses and that we should act only to gratify the senses of Krishna is incorrect.
But let’s give some order to the topic.
1) We should not try to gratify our “material” senses, because it is hopeless. You’ll never be happy in a materialistic way of life. It’s unnatural and it is an unattainable venture. The more you try, the more you get entangled in a temporary, illusory, and dissatisfying life.
2) We should try to purify our lives so that our senses (and mind, and intelligence, the whole of us) become purified and go back to their original status. Ceto darpana marjanam. Caitanya Mahaprabhu could not have been clearer on this. By hari-nama sankirtana we purify ourselves.
At the end, we’ll find our senses completely spiritual, as they were at the origin; a complete reset.
3) Once our senses are purified, then we discover that our nature “is” to enjoy, but not directly, without (Consider adding the word ‘rendering’ or ‘offering’) loving service to Krishna and His associates.
When we are doing that, we are enjoying our senses.
4) If we have say that in order to advance in spiritual life one should have to live a life of sadness and frustration while Krishna is dancing with the Gopis, playing ball with the Gopas, and eating wonderful prasadam prepared by Srimati Radharani and mother Yasoda, it gives the idea of a sadic and profiteer God that likes watching His children crying in pain.
It is not so.
The truth is that in our pure state not only we enjoy, but our pleasure is even superior to that of Krishna, because serving is higher than being served.
This is so true that Krishna comes in this material world as the best of devotees, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; and we know something about his ecstasies.
Going to the reality of our everyday life, nobody says we should not find happiness in Krishna Consciousness.
We should, of course.
We’ll never become Krishna Conscious if we are not happy offering loving service to Krishna and His devotees. The process of Krishna Consciousness is beautiful and it’s a great pleasure to be and live as a devotee.
We have to learn the science of how to become happy being a devotee by avoiding what is unfavorable and embracing what is favorable. There are so many things that could be said about the details of our day-to-day life, but we see that pure devotees are the happiest people in the world.
To begin with, please read the verses 2 and 3 of Upadesamrita (Nectar of Instructions), and you’ll find a mine of information about what to do and what not to do.
- Manonatha Dasa (ACBSP)
This is a section of the book “A sidelong glance”.
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