Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

give us an example Mishra please sir

I know that ritual, dress, etc helps a lot on bringing spiritual consciousness, on the other hand can be a trap into mindless blind following.
Example: Mangal arotika. Can be a superb way to enhance spiritual life, or can become a blunt boring ritual imposed by religion to be in "good standing".

e.g. Mangal arotika can be an incredible spiritual experience or a ritual imposed by temple in order to be in "good standing" or some sort of social status.
While I acknowledge the usefulness of ritual in bringing us to goodness platform etc, I fear that can be a trap into religious bigotry.

it seems to me to be a matter of character

whatever you come up with those with the wrong motivation will use for for their own purpose

I dont know what the solution is

perhaps there is not one

It seems that we can only become more sattvic in our personal thoughts and deeds

you cant control people or you end up embodying the thing you have distaste for

you can only teach by example

the perfect culture cannot be enforced it can only arise

that is a good example you give. I think this problem exists for the entire community and not just the devotees

not that that excuses anyone but it puts it in perspective maybe

I think you have to find a balance for yourself but you cant force a balance for others

I think this about politics

the problem with democracy is that the voters are idiots (thats my opinion)

So id the problem with any other "society" the members and their lack of knowledge and engagement

Religion seems to attract bigots. But I think that any specifically focussed group of people does that.

no answers from me I guess

Religions require reformation periodically. Over time the essence becomes covered and the form becomes the norm, and the sum and substance. Therefore personalities like Jesus, Sri Caitanya, Bhaktivinode Thakur, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and so on appear.

Krishna Himself explains that this is the purpose of his advent.

So this is going on in our daily life as well. We have to constantly rediscover ourselves and our practice, or we will get stuck. We have to strive to always be a new devotee.

One thing that can help us to do this is to understand everything that we do and why we do it. "The sacrifice performed in knowledge is superior to the mere sacrifice of possessions" Krishna explains.

When we know why we do things, we are able to focus on the higher principle that is embodied in the ritual, rather than fixating on the ritual itself.

"Learn the rules well enough to know when to break them."

I recall from my Buddhist training that there is beginners mind, if you lose it you can easily get lost but thinking that you now know something. I guess striving to always be a new devotee is just that.

In chapter 14 of the Gita about the three modes Srila Prabhupada says that the sattvic mode hs its own dangers and you can get really "puffed up" with the situation you find yourself in.