GUEST: How does one find out that this act is pleasing Krishna or not? PRABHUPADA: Yes. GUEST: For example, a soldier fighting in a war... PRABHUPADA: Yes. Then you have got to talk with Krishna... GUEST: Or somebody... PRABHUPADA: Just like Arjuna talked. GUEST: No, I mean, for example, you know, somebody dropping bomb in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. How does he know...? PRABHUPADA: No, you cannot drop. You cannot drop. GUEST: How does he know that he is pleasing God or he's not pleasing God? PRABHUPADA: That, that... Therefore you have to know how to talk with Krishna. Then it will be possible. You cannot manufacture. And that is that you can talk with Krishna by devotion.
[Posted
June 20, 2008]
Who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil?
Science ethics? Decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki taken after polling the scientists
Boing Boing August 6, 2008 - MARK FRAUENFELDER
The Manhattan Project Poll on the Use of Atomic Weapons, July 1945
John Ptak, a rare science book dealer, invites readers to "take the poll that was given to the scientists at the Chicago Metallurgical Lab (U Chicago arm of the Manhattan Project) in July 1945 about, well, what to do with the bomb." He adds, "I'd be VERY curious to see how the results of people taking it today might look against the originals."
"This is the straightforward poll of Compton and Daniels which asked 250 scientists at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory arm of the Manhattan Project in pre-Trinity July, 1945. (Originally published as "A Poll of Scientists at Chicago, July 1945," in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, February 1948, 44, p63. and again published in Compton's Atomic Quest in 1956.)" go to story
Sri Guru and Gauranga
Related Articles
God doesn't play by our rules Nirvana and the Noble Path, Morality and Krishna To War or Not?Wars Fought for WhimRelated Topics
History - Human Civilization Karma - Action & Reaction - Destiny Krishna Consciousness in Action Science & Technology World Community - Government, Economy, PoliticsSo all these materialistic persons, they are so fools, rascals, miscreants, they are increasing these material activities. They are thinking by this increasing material activities they will be happy. No. That is not possible. All of us are tied very tight, hands and legs, and we are thinking we are free, independent. By the laws of material nature... Still, we are thinking that we are independent. The scientist is trying to avoid God, independent by science. That is not possible. We are under the grip of the material nature. Material nature means the agent of Krishna. So we are always in perplexity like Arjuna, what to do, what not to do. But if we take this principle, that "We must do for Krishna..." So take direction from Krishna and take direction from Krishna's representative and you do it; then there is no karma-bandhanah [karmic reaction]. Otherwise, we are bound up by the reaction of every act. We cannot get out. more
Ethics defined by God's approval
excerpt from conversation, London, July 11, 1973
PRABHUPADA: God is all good. Therefore any business dovetailed with God, that is good.
GUEST (8): That is good.
GUEST (7): Any business based on ethics is good.
PRABHUPADA: That doesn't matter, what business. Sva-karmana tam abhyarchya samsiddhim labhate narah [Bhagavad-gita 18.46: "By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work."]. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Just like Arjuna's business was fighting. He was kshatriya. So sva-karmana, by his fighting business, he served Krishna. He fought for Krishna. So he became successful. So any business, it doesn't matter. There is another verse in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: atah pumbhir dvija-shreshtha varnashrama-vibhagashah. The Suta Gosvami said—all the meeting was being held by learned scholars and brahmanas in Naimisharanya—so he said, atah pumbhir dvija-shreshthah: "You are all very first-class brahmanas." So this is the verdict. According to the division of varna and ashrama. Four varnas: brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, shudra. And four ashramas: brahmachari, grihastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa. This is Vedic civilization, varnashrama. When a human being comes to these institutional activities, varna and ashrama, at that time he is recognized as human being. But that is the beginning of Vishnu worship. So Suta Gosvami said, varnashrama-vibhagashah. You may be a brahmana. You may be a kshatriya. You may be a vaishya. You may be a shudra. You may be a brahmachari. You may be a grihastha. You may be a vanaprastha or sannyasa. It doesn't matter. These divisions will go on. Varnashrama-vibhagashah must be there, division. Vibhagashah svanushthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-toshanam [SB 1.2.13: "O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one's own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead."]. Simply you have to see whether by executing your particular type of business you are pleasing the Supreme Lord. That's all. If by your activities, by your business, the Supreme Lord is pleased, then it is successful, good. Just like Arjuna. The same example. He was a kshatriya. He knew how to fight. But by his fighting, he pleased Krishna. Therefore he's successful. Similarly, brahmana or vaishya, let them do his business. It doesn't matter. But see whether you are pleasing Krishna. Then you are successful.
GUEST (7): How does one find out that this act is pleasing Krishna or not?
PRABHUPADA: Yes.
GUEST (7): For example, a soldier fighting in a war...
PRABHUPADA: Yes. Then you have got to talk with Krishna...
GUEST (8): Or somebody...
PRABHUPADA: Just like Arjuna talked.
GUEST (8): No, I mean, for example, you know, somebody dropping bomb in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. How does he know...?
PRABHUPADA: No, you cannot drop. You cannot drop.
GUEST (8): How does he know that he is pleasing God or he's not pleasing God?
PRABHUPADA: That, that... Therefore you have to know how to talk with Krishna. Then it will be possible. You cannot manufacture. And that is that you can talk with Krishna by devotion.
GUEST (8): Because apparently, you know, to a layman, this killing wasn't an act which will please Krishna, and that, what Arjuna did, kill such a big army and everything, it will... Normally you know, a layman would have thought it won't please Krishna.
PRABHUPADA: So Krishna, if you cannot meet Krishna, you can meet with Krishna's representative. Krishna may not be physically present, but His representative is physically present. You can talk with him. That is the system of Bhagavad-gita. Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarshayo viduh [Bg. 4.2: "This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost."]. Parampara [disciplic succession]. Krishna says that "I talked with the sun-god. First of all I talked with the sun-god." Then he talked with his son, Manu. Then Manu talked with Ikshvaku. In this way the knowledge was passed down. Evam parampara-praptam, there is a disciplic succession. So if you can be in touch with that disciplic succession, then Krishna's representative is there. If you talk with the Krishna's representative, then you talk with Krishna. Just like in office, there are different departments, and the, there is a man, departmental-in-charge. So if you can talk with that departmental-in-charge, if you can please him, that means you are pleasing the proprietor or director. There is no doubt. Because he is representative. So physically you may not meet Krishna, but in higher stage, you can meet. But accepting that you cannot, you have to be in contact with His representative. That is coming in disciplic succession. Then you talk with Krishna. It is not difficult. The acharyas are there. Acharyam mam vijaniyam. Krishna says. "All the acaryas," mam vijaniyam, "they are Myself." Navamanyeta karhichit, "Never disregard acharya." Acharyam mam vijaniyam navaman..., na martya-buddhyasuyeta: "Do not be envious—'How he can be? He's ordinary man. How he can be representative?' " No. Anyone who is talking of Krishna as Krishna talked, he's Krishna's representative. Krishna says that "I am the Supreme." So if anyone says, "Krishna is supreme," then he's Krishna's representative. It is not very difficult. Because the same talking. Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja [Bg. 18.66: "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."]. If somebody says that "You surrender to Krishna," then he's Krishna's representative. But if somebody says, "Krishna is not God. I am God," then he's not representative. To talk with Krishna is not difficult. You find out the representative, talk with him, and you are talking with Krishna. That's all.