[Posted February 9, 2008]

Sergeant Prescribes Krishna as Antidote for Combat Stress

Partha Sarathi das

Published by Vedic Friends Association on Feb 7, 2008

Every moment in the line of fire

Sergeant Partha Sarathi das, Jan 23, 2008

US Military Base, Iraq, January 20, 2008 – My name is Partha Sarathi Dasa, and I'm an ISKCON devotee and US army sergeant. I've been on active duty in Iraq since 2003.

Last night, as we prepared for a mission, one of my soldiers went crazy. He loaded his M4 assault rifle, pointed it at my head, and yelled, "If I have to leave this base one more time, I will kill you, and then kill myself!"

He was serious. The selector lever was on "fire," the barrel two inches from my face.

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War of the Politicians

Recognizing a Lost Cause A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Mr. Lennon wants to stop war, but the war is the creation of different politicians. So unless on the summit of administration there are actually Krishna Conscious men, we cannot stop war. Therefore people in general must understand the importance of Krishna Consciousness, and they must in this democratic day send their real representatives who can make right decisions whether there should be war or no war. We find from the history of Mahabharata that the battle of Kuruksetra was because of the belligerent attitude of Duryodhana. So such war as is was conducted under the advice of Lord Krishna is not bad, but war declared and executed by demonic politicians is certainly very bad. A Krishna conscious person like Arjuna is not inclined to the activities of warfare, but when there is a necessity for peace in the world to educate men to become Krishna Conscious, a Krishna Conscious person does not lag behind. Therefore the first necessity for peace in the world is to instruct men how to become Krishna Conscious, because as soon as one becomes Krishna Conscious all the good qualities in human society are manifested. more

Fear of birth, disease, old age and death

I was sure I was done for, and started chanting Hare Krishna in my mind. Externally, however, I tried to reason with him and diffuse the situation. As soon as I managed to distract him for a moment, I tackled him with the help of another soldier and detained him.

We brought him to Combat Stress, and I stayed next to his bed all night chanting japa [the Hare Krishna maha-mantra chanted on a rosary: "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare"] and reading Caitanya Caritamrita to him. I have failed you, Srila Prabhupada, I thought. I was not able to give this boy Krishna, and as a result he was overcome by the material energy. I thought about how fortunate I was to have Krishna, and to experience real loving exchanges. But had I given enough thought to those who didn't? Had I not felt enough compassion for them?

This morning, the boy awoke and looked at me and apologized. He wanted to know what I had been reading, because it soothed his soul. So for nearly 3 hours, I told him about Krishna, the nature of the soul, and about unconditional loving exchanges with the Lord.

Now this boy has a second chance. I think that in this life, we must endeavor to bring everyone to Krishna. We owe it to humanity. I saw in this kid's eyes the fear of birth, disease, old age and death.

I saw the fear of not knowing Krishna.

Sri Guru and Gauranga