Doubts and Belief

Questions about suffering

Questions about agnosticism and doubts

Question about belief

Questions about God

Questions about suffering

Q: Why is there sorrow, pain and death. Why is not there peace. It would be so much better if there was only happiness.

A: Yes, this is an intelligent observation. The Vedic scriptures say that duhkha, suffering, is an inherent part of this material world. In different places there are different grades of it but one can't avoid it completely. Why? Because this world is not (and will not be) a place meant for enjoyment as we would wish and as some philosophies and religions suggest.

The Vedas teach that there is another, superior realm (apareyam itas tv anyam, Bhagavad-gita 7.5) which is qualitatively different - eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. This is our real home where we belong. There are many descriptions of this world available in the scriptures. When we get rid of our present material contamination (desires to control and enjoy matter) we can return there. The best way of purification is to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra.

More about this topic you can learn from our page. Bhagavad-gita is an excellent book which answers this kind of essential questions.

If you have more questions, don't hesitate to write. You are also welcome to visit any of our centers which are like embassies of the spiritual world.

Q: Why has God created people who do bad things in life (i.e. murder, looting etc.)? What is the use of such people? Can all the human beings not be purified so that the world becomes a peaceful place?

We are eternal living beings who belong to the spiritual world. There we live in a company of God serving Him with love. But love must be voluntary, therefore we have also a possibility to choose not to love Him and leave Him. Then we live in a material world with all those defects you describe. When we after many lifetimes realize this is not our real home we start a purification process, the way back to Godhead. If there wouldn't be the chance to return there wouldn't be any choice again.

The purification process is called bhakti-yoga. It begins with chanting the holy names of the Lord, serving Him in an association of devotees, reading about Him, eating food offered to Him etc. More about this process you can read on our page.

Q: I feel lost and can see nothing good in life. What is wrong with me?

A: Well, if you feel lost you have come to the right place. Actually everyone feels lost in the material world, but very few have the guts to admit it. Why? Because the propaganda is such that if you don't get ahead in society, by getting an education, a job, a car, a wife and a dog and so on, you are considered a looser. And who wants to be a looser, right?

But actually we are all loosers. Why? Because we will die. It doesn't matter how much money you have, or how beautiful your girlfriend is, the bottom line is death.

Q: Your teachings seem to me very pertinent on exposing the negative side of this world. Could you give a short overview of comparing this life to a dream?

A: Krishna consciousness is so clear. When we become introduced to KC it is like waking up from a bad dream. This life is actually like a dream.

Allow me to quote from the Gita: "When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then this knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights everything up in the day time." (BG 5.16)

Just like imagine you dream something very nice, say, you dream that you have won the big price... millions of dollars, so in your dream you are enjoying like anything. There is just one problem... you have to wake up.

Or you dream that you have just managed to seduce a beautiful girl and then you wake up. Is not that a frustrating experience? Why you cannot enjoy a dream? Because it ends.

So this life is just like that. Remember e.g. the happiest moments in your life. Can you enjoy these moments now in the present? No you cannot. Often we hear this sentimental claim, "I have my nice memories." But what good are nice memories to us now? Can we enjoy our memories? In fact we cannot. Can you enjoy memories of a nice relationship, nice food, a nice journey, a love affair...?

Of course we may sentimentally think of something nice, but there is no way we will actually be satisfied just be remembering something nice.

So life is like a dream. We may enjoy some sense gratification for a short while, but it always ends and leaves us with frustration and dissatisfaction. Since no situation, how ever enjoyable and ideal, will last in this world, material life is like a dream. This life is like a day dream, as insubstantial and flickering as the dreams we dream at night. The only reason we do not think of life as a dream, but think of it as very real, is the fact that we have not woke up to reality yet.

To do that takes a lot of guts. That is what the process of Krishna consciousness is all about. It is a scientific process to help us gradually wake up again to reality - the reality of our eternal life with Krishna.

So an intelligent person will naturally wonder if this is really all there is to life. What's the use of all this struggle to get ahead when I anyway have to leave it all behind? What's the use of struggling so hard for pleasure, when in the end it will turn to misery? Because pleasure always turns to sorrow. I doesn't matter how much pleasure we are experiencing, it is bound to end, and when it ends we lament.

The cause of our predicament is that we seek pleasure in the wrong place. We try to become happy by making this body happy. This is the real problem. Why? Because we are not this body. We are the observer within the body. Everyone who does not know that will simply suffer or enjoy life after life in the material world.

We are not this body. This is the main message we learn from the Vedas. And therefore we will never become happy just by trying to satisfy this body. The proof is that even people who have everything they could possible want, like movie stars and rock stars, they are still frustrated and unhappy.

Therefore the first thing to learn is that we are not this material body but the person within the body. The body will die but you will live on. You might ask why are we here then. Well, we are here because we have wanted to take the position of God as the supreme controller and enjoyer. Instead of serving God, in pure bliss, we are now serving a material body which is destined to rot and die. And we think this body is us.

To become really happy, we have to give up this false identification of ourselves in terms of our material body, and become reinstated in our original position as eternal spirit souls, parts and parcels of God - Krishna.

This can be done in this day and age by repeating the names of God on a regular basis. In other words, the method of self realization for this particular time we live in, is the meditation on the Hare Krishna mantra. So this is my recommendation to you. You simply chant:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare...

and your life will be sublime. It doesn't cost you anything so what have you got to lose? If you have any further questions or comments please feel free to write me again.

Questions about agnosticism and doubts

Q: Why should I bother myself with worries about the other world, which I haven't perceived in any way (no matter how many saints have spent their lifetimes telling me about it), especially when there's so much to be done in this world itself (which is actually here and happening around me). Or is this path only for those who've nothing to do here?

A: Try to objectively evaluate your way of life (shared by majority of recent human population) - if you think everything in this world including you is ideal there is no need to look for anything else or to change anything.

Others have obviously thought and think otherwise. Their general reason is the existence of suffering in this material world which is not compatible with our nature and desires to be happy. It does not matter how many material activities and efforts you perform in this world - you can't stop those many unpleasant things happening to you and around you. This path is therefore for those who realize this. If one wants, by spiritual practice one can develop perception of higher reality and change his life. If more people will do the same, things will change.

PS: In case you want to learn more about material and transcendental perception, role of logic and reasoning, valid evidences etc. please read the Web article "Doubt and Certainty in Krishna Consciousness" at iskcon.org and try to get a book "Substance and Shadow - The Vedic Method of Knowledge" by Suhotra Swami published by:

Govinda-Verlag
Schellenberg 11
79798 Altenburg am Hochrhein
Germany

Q: I started reading Krishna books, because I heard about it from the bands Shelter & 108. At first I noticed a lot of truths in it, but later on, I've come to the conclusion that not everything is right, at least not in my opinion. I can't really think of any examples now, but I realized it when I was reading "Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers". Everything that Bob Cohen said was wrong & then Prabhupada told him that he was a fool if he thought that way etc. I never finished that book.

I think there is no religion that is a 100% right, I think that all religions have some sort of truth & that they all believe in the same thing, but that the means by which they live it is different. And all of 'em say that their religion is the only right one. At first I thought that Hare Krishna was different, because they say that every religion is right, but they then tell you that for example Christians live the wrong way although they believe in the same thing. I think nothing is wrong, that people have their own choice of choosing what they think is the right way to live. As long as you still believe in God, I don't think that it's wrong to live a material life as long as you never forget your real purpose in this life. I think there are many ways in achieving it.

A: It is no surprise that a beginner has all kinds of wrong ideas. Vaishnava tradition is a vast and deep subject, for a lifetime study. Important is that one wants to learn. Prabhupada may sound stern but it is a wrong impression. It is necessary to know more about him to get a complete picture.

No religion can be 100% right in a sense that it cannot provide _all_ the knowledge about God. God is great beyond the human grasp. So we can really know only a bit about Him. How much He reveals about Himself in certain scripture or to a certain person depends on circumstances. But still there are objective criteria how to recognize the level of a certain teachings.

Imagine a staircase symbolizing the levels of different teachings. On lower steps there are teachings actually professing a pursuit of material development under the name of religion (karma-kanda). God is viewed as an order supplier and the relation between believer and Him has a nature of business - I pray for something and God is supposed to give it.

Higher are paths supporting the development of knowledge (jnana-kanda) as more important that material benefits which are to be renounced. They usually teach some kind of meditation with a goal to realize one's self and some kind of undefined higher reality - Light, Brahman, Tao etc.

Th highest level occupy traditions recognizing that that higher reality is ultimately a person. Not a ordinary person with limitations we have but Supremely Powerful Person to whom we are related as children and servants. Such a service is qualitatively different than the one we know in a material world - it is unconditional, uninterrupted and devotional (bhakti). It leads to love of God, the top of the staircase.

According to this scheme one can place any religion or philosophy to its proper position. Important is to realize the superiority of bhakti and to try to develop it whichever position one is in. As a devotee of God one is able to appreciate other devotees. Our criticism of anyone (not only Christians) means that they should follow their rules. That is all. Btw, Jesus is not God but son of God in his own words.

If someone says that only he is right he means to say he is practically on the level of God. "Me and God..." Not a very humble position, to say at least.

Different actions bear different reactions - that is known even in physics. Law of action and reaction works on a subtle level under the name of "law of karma". All we do is judged according to this law. No one can escape it by saying, "I think the way I do the things is okay because I chose it to be like that." For making a choice one has to have knowledge - to know the rules of the game (here karma). If you break the rules you suffer.

To believe in God is not enough. Christians say that even Satan believes in God but he hates Him. One's belief has to be positive and based on realizations. Otherwise it will fade away. Prabhupada used to say that a religion must have head and heart. Our positive relationship to God depends on doing what He wants us to do, not what we want to do. He wants us to know Him and to love Him. Material life obviously does not lead to this goal.

Reply: I already knew a lot of the stuff you wrote, about bhakti etc., because I read a lot of books of the BBT. I think I sounded real negative in my last mail, but that is not the way it was meant to be. I just wanted some answers. My doubts have been real strong lately, so I wanted some of your opinions. To think about it. I have been interested in Krishna consciousness for about a year and a half now, but I just don't know if it is the right way to live. I read lots of books and they all sound very logical, but I do not know if I want to make the same choices.

A: Thanks for your appreciation. I am ready to discuss any of your doubts. Doubts are considered a function of intelligence (SB 3.26.30 - samsayah). Everything has to be realized by practice. Devotees encourage everyone to take up this lifestyle because they realized it to be spiritually and materially the ideal one. At the same time they know that not everyone is able to take it up fully, for different reasons. The main idea of the Nama-hatta program is to inform interested persons that even if they cannot take up _all_ spiritual practices they should take up at least _some_ of them, as much as they can. Chanting, reading books, listening to lectures, offering food, keeping in touch with devotees etc. is possible for everyone.

Question about belief

Q: Please provide me with the authentic evidence for all above which I can also show to other to make them believe. Also let me know how I can myself convince me with the information you provide i.e. if it is possible to see the evidence on the net or when I visit India. I shall appreciate any kind of help from your side.

A: I did my best and hope it will be of some help to you. But important thing to remember is that what we believe does not depend much on the facts and proofs. Surprise? No way. Humans in general are more emotional than rational, women more than men. This is a psychological fact and Vedas support it. Why are our emotions/faiths as they are? Bhagavad-gita (17.2-4) explains that faith depends on the predominating guna. Some people believe easily, some never. Change the guna and they will change too. It is a question of voluntary spiritual work. One may also pray that someone will believe and it may happen but then that person still have to proceed further on his/her own. The Vedic tradition puts more stress on realized knowledge (vijnana) than faith (sraddha). The latter is just required to start the spiritual practice. It should be better called "trust".

People ask: Can you make me believe this process works?

No. I can show you the results, I can show you the process, and I can answer your questions as honestly as possible. I wouldn't even bother wasting the time and effort to try and MAKE you or anyone else believe anything. You can think it works, you can see it work, and with enough data, you can know it works. But you will only BELIEVE it works when you do it. This is belief in practice.

I like to use the analogy which defines "faith" in things: A person hires on at a high-rise construction site. He has to carry a load of bricks across a board which is stretched between two girders, 30 floors up. He looks at the board and _reasons_ that it wouldn't be there if it would not hold him up. He then sees a really big man walk across with two loads of bricks, and he _knows_ it will hold him up. But when he, himself, steps out onto that board that is real belief because he did it himself using intelligence.

Want to believe that bhakti-yoga works? Find a devotee and get him to guide you through. But believing it works is not enough. Once you believe it, take more training and develop the faith in the system which will carry you through to a realized knowledge of spiritual existence.

People who are really spiritually advanced wonder when people who are not make a big deal out of spiritual things. For them, it is a normal thing, and although they get used to peoples' reactions, there is always an amazement that the other people cannot do the same. If you ever watched the old "Kung Fu" series, you might remember the "grasshopper at your feet" scene, when the student told the blind master, "I am amazed that you can see these things, when you have no eyes." And the blind master replied, "I am amazed that you have eyes, and cannot."

Questions about God

Q: What is god? Must he be a he? Is god a thing, is he real, is he heterosexual, for sure, why does he create war homosexuality and common filth? Everything god or the power of something has created, does it have a logical function? How do you know? Why do people interpret the religion differently now then in the old times? Was not god right the first time?

A: If you are really interested then you should read our page carefully. Briefly answers:

God is the Supreme Person. He is absolutely real and beyond the common material gender differentiation - He has both female and male aspect (Laxmi-Narayana, Radha-Krishna).

He does not create these things. They are results of our material desires and activities (karma). We have our free will but we are responsible for our actions, so we get different results.

There is a higher order in everything. If you have some insight you can observe it in yourself, in nature, in cosmos.

How different people _interpret_ religion depends on their particular material conditioning, time, place and circumstances. But the point is that such interpretations have no value. There are 6 billion people on this earth and everyone has his own opinion on everything. Opinions are just opinions. Let's take an example: the natural laws. What does our opinion on the law of gravitation matter? It acts in its own way, independently of us - if we like it or not, we will fall from heights.

The real understanding of spiritual things must come from God Himself (who is always right), through the line of His devoted followers (parampara). Otherwise one cannot be ever sure of one's understanding. Read the article on Doubt and Certainty in Krishna Consciousness at iskcon.org.

Q: Is it really necessary to believe in God?

A: Thank you for your enquiry. Belief is a relative thing, once we all believed that the world was flat now we know it to be round. So God's existence does not depend on our belief. There are many scriptural proofs that verify the existence of God, of course there are many people who do not accept the authority of scripture. From a logical point of view we have no experience in this world of anything being created without a creator whether it be a house, a car, a watch or anything. So how is it that anyone can come to the conclusion that the creation of this world has no creator behind it? It just makes no sense at all to suggest such a thing. If someone told you that their house just appeared by 'chance' would you believe it? So why should we believe that this world was created by chance?

Q: If God existed... why is there war, people who is starving, people who is ill... It is not only non-believers that get sick! Everybody do! I feel panicked about this world and want to change the whole world, make everything good but I know I can't.

A: If there is a government, then why are people suffering in jail? Because they have disobeyed the law. The government certainly has the power to release them, but has them in jail for their rectification and the protection of society.

The Lord has His own kingdom, the spiritual world, where there is no suffering of any kind. Each of us voluntarily, individually, left that world and came here. In this material world, we act according to our own desire, rather than the desire of God, and therefore we are individually responsible for the results of our actions. If our actions are against God's laws (dharma), then we suffer. We get our reactions not only in this life, but over many, many lifetimes, so that my suffering now may be due to sinful actions I performed many lifetimes ago.

There is no unfairness. Everyone enjoys and suffers exactly what they deserve and all suffering is meant for the eventual enlightenment of the person - to bring him or her back to the original spiritual position of loving God.

Change of the world starts with changing ourselves. It depends only on our decision. The other solutions (political, economical etc.) were shown to be inefficient.