Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

That is why it is so important to let people get in touch with Krishna as much as possible- the example you give of the cable company, yes they get benefit and that will count in their next collective step towards KC.
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Of course, [i]everything[/i] related to Krishna is purifying. There are many stories how a person first received a sweet prasadam, then after read a magazine, went casually to a Sunday Feast (free of charge, he he), chanted a bit.... etc etc.
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So it is a gradual process even if we cannot always measure it ..

[quote][cite] abhiram:[/cite]for example, doest steve jobs get credit everytime a devotee uses an ipod for listening prabhupada lectures?

what about the bandwidth you use to download Krishna photos? Does the cable/phone company get credit for some of that transcendental megabytes?[/quote]

hehe, funny...lol :D
But they get their credit by Krishna which is even better than to have material credit... :D

My understanding based on Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu is that these people like Steve Jobs and the Internet providers mentioned above get credit for unknowingly assisting in the performance of the yuga-dharma.

Just like there were big Yajnas in Treta-yuga and the purpose was to engage the entire society in producing and offering the necessary ingredients. Or in Dvarapa-yuga there was the opulent Deity worship. Because varnasrama was in place - the whole society benefited from the sacrifice.

So in Kali-yuga the varnasrama is not officially adhered to but is implied because we still have these natures (or more likely now a combination of these natures - aka. varna sankara). Because the chanting of Harinam is so simply enacted it doesnt depend on elaborate structures and varnasrama to perform - a special concession for this age.

Still they are engaged in the sacrifice for this age unknowingly and get the benefit of ajnata-sukrti (unknown benefit) and it gets added to their bank balance of accumulated faith.

uc0u257 dau u347 raddhu257 tatau7717 su257 dhu-sau7749 go '91tha bhajana-kriyu257

This progression given in NOD and also CC Madhya 23.14-15 describes that initially we have to have some preliminary faith to begin the process of devotional service. Then we have sadhu-sanga and then we engaged in bhajana-kriya.

So that initial faith comes mainly through being unknowingly engaged in devotional practices such as providing the internet connection for devotees to download the kirtanas or making a cool iPod for them to listen to them on.

Knowing that - the responsibility on us is to maintain purity because we are the ones finalizing the sacrifice for the rest of society - like the pujari who offers the fruits and flowers brought by the guests. If our attitude is pleasing to the Lord then everyone benefits more.

Cool question. Thanks.

Chant Hare Krishna!

Once some (reporters?) were criticizing or questioning Srila Prabhupada on his use of airplanes - isnt that "material"?

Srila Prabhupada replied that unless he utilized the airplane in Krishnas service, all the effort of the hundreds of people who had built that airplane would amount to zero.

So the answer is a definite, resounding "yes!". People are benefited when things they produce are utilized in Krishnas service. This is called aj'f1ata-sukrti, spiritual advancement made unknowingly.

so if i search for Krishna here:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=krishna
or
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=krishna&search=Search

the owners and people involved in those sites make spiritual advancement?

Yep (think so at least, hehe)