Assignment 3.

Explain in your own words, how the process of spiritual life as given to us by
Çréla Prabhupäda, enables us to achieve a balanced program of spiritual and
material knowledge.
In your response:
· give reference to Sri Ishopanishad Mantra 11 verse and purport
· give examples from your own experience and from the experience of devotees
in ISKCON in general

As mentioned in verse 11, Only one who can learn the process of nescience and
that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of
repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality.

Material Knowledge and Spiritual (Transcendental) Knowledge both are required. How
to live fruitfully in this world and how to maintain ourselves to carryout our spiritual life.
Both should be go together.

Like Knowledge of riding the Boat takes us through the Ocean and knowledge where
the land is takes us to the lord Similarly, Material Knowledge helps us to navigate the
problems of life and the spiritual knowledge helps us in reaching the Spiritual World.

Everyone wants to be immortal and this urge comes from part of us which is immortal
and that part is “ATMA” (Soul). This soul belongs to the Spiritual world and since it is
eternal it looks for eternity in this world which is only possible in Spiritual world. But a
human being due to its ignorance and lack of proper Spiritual knowledge tries to get it in
this material world by using its material knowledge or Mystic powers. As mentioned in
Purport, Hiranyakashipu used his intelligence, done enormous usterity got lot od power
which none of us ever get but in one moment everything destroyed. On this Prahlada
Maharaja says “By your Manifestation as time everything was destroyed and therefore
not considered all these things valuable. Only one can get the value i.e devotional
service by taking the association of devotees.

So the authorized way for immortality is become devoted to God develop spiritual level
of consciousness and there you get the immortality but the demoniac mentality is that
they eant immortality but without that consciousness which one should have they want
immortality at material level.

Example from my Experience:

1. Since my childhood till the time I realized the meaning of life my only focus was
my material studies. As I have always seen everyone talks about studies,
whenever we meet anyone they always ask how your studies going? that too
material studies.
Nobody never ever asked for my spiritual growth? I experienced that the society in
which we live they only cared about the status, show off, career (which gives false
designations like Doctor, Engineer, Teacher etc), fame, Prestige….. In such
environment everyone runs for such false designations and not for real happiness. Our
surrounding taught us this way of living wherein “SATISFACTION” word doesn’t exist.
And in this race, we forget our real purpose of the life and get engrossed in getting
material things, fulfilling our desires, sense gratification etc. This kind of animalistic
mentality has always kept me away from the reality i.e my real identity and kept me
under the shell of ignorance which is all comprises of lust, greed, anger, pride, envy and
material attachment. My respect, My place, my Family, my son, my work…..all mine.
There was no place of giving only taking mentality.

Now I understood the real cause I was not having spiritual knowledge, Due to which the
balance was missing, a direction was missing. I was utilizing my capabilities in this
material world which at the end leads to dissatisfaction. Now I am on the path of
realizing the real me. Who am i? What for I have come in this world? Which is my real
identity? What should i do? Where my actual happiness lies? Where do I have to go
now? All of my queries answered well and now I have got the direction.

Example from Devotees experience:

This modern Education has taught a new concept wherein it says that women should be
independent. They are equal to that of Men. Such misconceptions leads women in very
wrong direction wherein they forget their own culture. Their important role in nurturing
their family and have become the prey of the Cruel society. In proving themselves
superior, women have lost their innocence and facing different types of sufferings.

Modern Education has impacted the upbringing of children is impacted badly, they are
taking the association of Internet which takes their innocent mentality away and filled
with all rubbish material. They do mimicry of what they see and experience and later it
comes in their habit and such things makes them cruel, cunning, arrogant and they tend
to fall prey of wrong doings like taking up bad habits, Disrespect for elders, Arrogance,
Egoistic, pride etc.

Parents guide their children to take good association and all take all good habits but
Children do not listen to them and tend to ignore their guidance. (Direct learning). This
way they try to make them understand directly. In actual they realize when they see
that they are lagging behind in their studies because they have taken wrong association
and then they correct themselves.(Indirect learning)

Direct learning by hearing and Indirect learning through Experience, so the actual
learning happens with the combination of Experience and Education.
The experience when it comes with education then learning happens otherwise
experience will go in vain.

When there is divorce between the two (Experience and education) then no learning at
all. This is what happening in this material world. People get experience by facing
different miseries of the world but they do not have education and hence they do not
learn. So for a serious devotee, the miseries of the world confirms the Krishna teachings
that this world is full of miseries and such miseries always increase faith in God.

Body is a Bad Bargain:

Duration: Duration of Enjoyment is less that the duration of suffering.

Intensity: Intensity of the body for enjoyment is limited, Ex: Eating Delicious sweet and
once the tongue comes n between the teeth all pleasure disappear.

Variety: The way body parts gives pleasure and pain are not same. Ex. Eyes gives us
pleasure when we see things but when some dust particles goes to the eys it gives
more pain than the pleasure of seeing things.

Extent: The no. of body parts gives us pain are far more than the body parts gives us
Pleasure. Ex: Liver, Kidney cannot give me happiness but they can give us pain.

Knowing the above 4 aspects, we can lift our consciousness from bodily to spiritual level
and dive deeper into Krishna Consciousness.