Simply negation will not help you. There must be some positive occupation. So we say, "Do not do this, but do this." We say, "Do not eat meat," but we say, "Eat Krishna's nice prasadam, halava."
[Posted
Aug 4, 2010]Scientist wants to fortify drinking water with lithium to numb consciousness
Instead of negating suicide, why not promote happiness through change of consciousness?
Big Think Aug 2, 2010
- MAX MILLER
Drug Our Drinking Water
Adding trace amounts of lithium to the drinking water could limit suicides. Two studies, a recent one in Japan and an older one in Texas, have shown that this naturally occurring substance, used as a psychotropic drug to combat bipolar disorder, could have beneficial effects for society: Communities with higher than average amounts of lithium in their drinking water had significantly lower suicide rates than communities with lower levels. Regions of Texas with lower lithium concentrations had an average suicide rate of 14.2 per 100,000 people, whereas those areas with naturally higher lithium levels had a dramatically lower suicide rate of 8.7 per 100,000.
The highest levels in Texas (150 micrograms of lithium per liter of water) are only a thousandth of the minimum pharmaceutical dose, and have no known deleterious effects. If further studies continue to uncover no harmful side effects, bioethicist Jacob Appel believes that Washington should fortify all of our drinking water with lithium. go to story
Related:
There Are Drugs in Drinking Water. Now What?
New York Times MIKE NIZZA - Mar 10, 2008 A 2,550 word article from The Associated Press is drawing attention to the widespread problem of trace amounts of pharmaceutical chemicals turning up in the drinking water supply of millions of Americans, but no one seems to know how to react. The report itself culminated with a doctor offering a tried-and-true deduction for the Ages: “That can’t be good.”So the most effective treatment of the mind is the chanting of this Hare Krishna maha mantra. By the chanting of the holy names, he will gradually come to see himself what he is, he will gradually appreciate. Cheto-darpana-marjanam [Chaitanya-charitamrita Antya 20.12]. This treatment is in the beginning just cleansing the mirror of the heart. That is the treatment. Just like a mirror, when it is overcast with dust, it requires cleansing. So the mental mirror is covered with material dust. So it has to be cleansed. That is the treatment. And when it is cleansed, you can see your real face in the mirror. Similarly, as soon as our heart disease, contaminated by the modes of material nature, is cleansed, you can understand what is your real position. That is the success of psychiatric treatment. One comes to know, "What I am." Aham brahmasmi: "I am spirit soul; I am not this body." more
Polluted water can be purified; so too, consciousness
excerpt from lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.15, Auckland, February 22, 1973
As soon as your senses are engaged in Krishna's service, your senses are controlled. The automatic yogic process you attain. If you simply try to control the senses, it is very difficult. But if you give the senses engagement, then it is automatic. Because senses must work something. Just like a child. A child at home without engagement, he will simply spoil things, so many. But if you send him to school, give him some engagement, he will be peaceful. Similarly, our senses, we cannot stop the activities of the senses. That is not possible. Just like some foolish people say that "Become desireless." How you can be desireless? I am a living man, living being. I must desire. I cannot be desireless. But if the desire is transformed to Krishna... Suppose instead of desiring that "I shall have a very big skyscraper building," if I desire that "I shall have a very big, big temple for Krishna." The same desire. But as soon as you desire to have a big skyscraper building, that is material. And as soon as you desire to construct a big temple for Krishna, that is spiritual. Just like as you get a nice rose flower: as soon as you desire that you shall enjoy it, this is material. And as soon as you desire, "Oh, this is nice flower. I shall go and offer it to Krishna," that is spiritual. Simply change the desire. There is no question of desirelessness. Why? We cannot be desireless... That is not possible. Change the... Purify the desire. Purify the desire.
Therefore bhakti means sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Chaitanya-charitamrita Madhya-lila 19.170]. Nirmalam. We have to cleanse the desire. We have to cleanse our seeing. Now our eyes want to see some beautiful thing. Now, if we become accustomed to see Krishna beautifully decorated, nicely decorated, nicely dressed, then we forget other, so-called material beauty. So the activities of the eyes, to see beautiful thing, is not changed, but it is purified. That is bhakti. Nothing has to be changed or nothing has to be stopped, but the process has to be changed. We cannot be desireless. We cannot be inactive. That is also not possible. We must be active – but active for working for Krishna. Then it is devotional life. That is being taught in Krishna consciousness movement, that it is not simply negation. Simply negation will not help you. There must be some positive occupation. So we say, "Do not do this, but do this." We say, "Do not eat meat," but we say, "Eat Krishna's nice prasadam, halava." So he forgets meat-eating. This is our process. We give immediately alternative. You dance. You don't dance in the naked club; dance in the Krishna's temple. The dancing is there, but is purified. In the club there are also girls are dancing and boys are dancing. Here also, girls are dancing and boys are dancing, but they are dancing for Krishna ecstasy. So nothing is stopped. This is bhakti. Krishna consciousness means you have to simply change your consciousness. Consciousness is there. At the present moment our consciousness is polluted. Just like water. Water is always pure. But when it is... Just like rain falls from the sky. You catch. Before touching the earth, you catch the water, it is distilled water. It is distilled water. Sometimes they catch, they hold the water. It is distilled water. You take so much time to distill water. Rain is distilled water, purified, without any contamination. But as soon as it touches this surface of the earth, it becomes muddy. Similarly, we are also... When we come from Krishna, we come pure, but as soon as we touch these material modes of nature, we become muddy, impure, the consciousness. Therefore, as muddy water can be filtered, settled up and filtered and again it becomes clear, similarly, this Krishna consciousness movement is that however muddy you may be, by Krishna consciousness you will be picked up and you will come again clear, crystal like water. This is the process.