Eternal life (Letters)

Expressions researched:
"eternal life"

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to BTG Friend -- (Mathura U.P.) Dated as Postmark:

You have to realize, therefore, the message of perfect life through your submissive aural reception and get it fixed up in your spiritual identity. By doing so you shall be happy both in this as well as in the next life. Please do not be carried away by the misgiven mind to conclude that the present life is all in all. You are eternal, and the present form of human life is a chance of realizing your eternal life. Do not spoil your life simply by serving the misgiven mind and the uncontrolled senses. Please do not become your own enemy by your own self.

1967 Correspondence

Letter to Mrinaline -- Vrindaban 27 August, 1967:

I am so glad that you have returned to Krishna. Krishna is kind that He does not let us go, anyone who sincerely takes to Him. And therefore you do not wish to leave Him anymore. This decision will lead you to your eternal life of bliss and knowledge. Certainly in your past life you must have had been a devotee of the Lord, otherwise you wouldn't have felt like becoming a nun at such a young age. Anyone who has a natural tendency for rejecting sense-gratification is considered to be advanced or liberated in spiritual life. Your appreciation of Maya as false and Krishna as the only reality is a great asset. Nobody has ever gained anything by becoming a tool in the hands of Maya, but everyone has become eternally happy by serving Krishna.

Letter to Brahmananda -- Calcutta 19 October, 1967:

Our Society for Krishna Consciousness stands pledged to this philosophy & I require strong men such as yourself for preaching this cult in this world. I am very glad that you are trying to understand this philosophy & there is nothing to be sorry about your being misled by Kirtanananda. It is not in his power to mislead a sincere soul such as yourself; but I must congratulate Gargamuni, the simple boy, who never believed in impersonalism. He is your younger brother as important as Lord Laksmana was younger brother to Lord Rama. I am very glad that that this simple & honest boy has saved you from calamity. I am praying to Krishna to bless you, your brother Gargamuni, Rupanuga etc. for their eternal life in Krishna Consciousness. Hope you are well.

Letter to Hayagriva -- Calcutta 19 October, 1967:

From my part as I am your ever well-wisher I wish that you may preach Krishna Consciousness to the students of the entire western world. You are a sincere soul & both your mother Father are happy to see you in Krishna Consciousness. Please continue this attitude throughout your life & you will be blessed not only in this life but in your next eternal life in association with Krishna. Krishna has given you a very nice chance in the city of Wilkes-Barre Penn. & the idea of purchasing land as you have suggested is very nice. I think you can negotiate for this land immediately & the Society will be able to pay $3,000.00. After purchasing the land you can gradually develop it into an asrama by dint of your personal labor as teacher in college. From N.Y. the members may visit the place every weekend because it isn't very far away. They take a 4 or 5 hour journey every week end so a 3 hour journey is not much. If you think you shall stick to your present occupation you can seriously think of this scheme.

Letter to Nandakisora -- San Francisco 24 December, 1967:

am in due receipt of your letter of Dec. 24, and I am very glad to accept you as one of the servitors of Krishna. You are right when you say our past life is a dream only. Just like at night we see so many dreams and in daytime we forget everything. Similarly we forget everything of our past life and as such so long we do not be reposed to our spiritual factual life, all these changes of lives one after another are considered to be dreams. Less intelligent persons are very much interested in dreaming life, but one who is intelligent enough he searches after eternal life. The modern civilization does not understand what is eternal life. They are busy with the spot life of 50 or 100 years. Fools cannot think that one is not for 50 or 100 years, but one is for eternity.

Letter to Nandakisora -- San Francisco 24 December, 1967:

Krishna consciousness is the process of eternal life. The process is simple and the results are sublime. You follow it and you will be happy in this life as well as in the next.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Mahapurusa -- Los Angeles 7 March, 1968:

It is very good news that you are holding kirtanas at universities; I very much appreciate your endeavors for holding Kirtana. Krishna has given you good opportunity for serving and you are doing it sincerely, so there is no doubt about your being promoted to the transcendental platform, of eternal life, bliss, and knowledge. I thank you very much for your good energy in the matter of executing Krishna Consciousness. I thank you once more, and I shall always pray to Krishna for your more and more advancement in Krishna Consciousness. Hope you are well.

Letter to Dayananda -- Montreal 7 July, 1968:

I hope you are all well in Krishna Consciousness. And I am so glad to learn that Krishna is endowing you with more and more intelligence in the matter of understanding Krishna Consciousness. Krishna is very kind and any sincere devotee is always taken care of by His Lordship in all respects. Please regularly chant Hare Krishna, read Srimad-Bhagavatam, and very soon you will get other books also, like Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, and always read and talk about Krishna between yourselves, and always remember that this life is but a flash only. We have to seek after our eternal life in Krishna Consciousness and be transferred to the spiritual world in the association of Krishna. Continue to keep your present attitude and certainly even within this life, you will be successful in attaining perfection of Krishna Consciousness.

Letter to Rayarama -- Seattle 17 October, 1968:

There are many such nice ideas, for peaceful living on this planet and execute Krishna Consciousness, so that one may become completely freed from contamination of material existence, and get eternal life, just after quitting this body. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, Taktva Deham Punar Janma Na Eti Mam Eti Kaunteya. By simple prosecution of Krishna Consciousness, one goes back to home, back to Godhead, just after quitting this present body.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Carl Lange -- Los Angeles 12 July, 1969:

In India there is a class of snake-charmers and physicians who treat snake-bitten persons with a particular type of jungle herbs. This treatment is to bring the herb near the nostrils of the patient for being smelled, and then the patient comes back to consciousness and finds relief from the snake bite effect. In our conditioned life we are bitten by so many types of Maya snakes, and more and more we are put into unconsciousness of mind without any hope of eternal life. Krishna Consciousness is the only herb for such Maya snake-bite condition. So our duty is very responsible. We have to awaken so many snake-bitten patients under the spell of Maya. A sincere soul like you will be a great help in this movement of Krishna Consciousness. I am glad that you are reading our Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Teachings of Lord Caitanya. You will get much enlightenment from them. Also you should read Back To Godhead and Srimad-Bhagavatam, and surely your life will be sublime. In the future we expect you to be a great preacher of this movement to the world.

Letter to Patti Birnack -- Tittenhurst House, England September 13th , 1969:

Krishna says that if we surrender unto Him, He will relieve us of all sufferings, so if someone rejects this offer of Krishna and then says that there is no God because he is experiencing some suffering, that is not a very intelligent position. Krishna wants everyone to go back to Home, back to Godhead, and enjoy eternal life and blissful knowledge there. If your father agrees to this process, he also can be taken back to Home, back to Godhead, with my other disciples. There will be no difficulty for me. You can tell your father that. But if he does not agree, what responsibility is God's? Everyone has got his independence.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Ksirodakasayi -- Los Angeles 29 January, 1970:

I am so glad to understand that you have decided to dedicate your life for Krishna Consciousness Movement, this is the right way of perfecting our mission of human life. Many men have dedicated their lives for many engagements in the name of philanthrophy, altruism, nationalism, humanitarianism and so on, but all of them will be finished along with the end of life of this body. Our dedication of life or Krishna-ism, on the other hand, will continue eternally and give us eternal life, bliss and knowledge. Try to follow these principles and preach the message to the suffering humanity. This is my request.

Letter to Professor J. F. Staal -- Los Angeles 30 January, 1970:

The scope of the Krishna Consciousness Movement is Universal. The process for regaining one's original spiritual status or eternal life full with bliss and knowledge, is not abstracted dry theorizing. Spiritual life is not described in the Vedas as theoretical, dry or impersonal. The Vedas aim at the inculcation of pure love of God only, and this harmonized conclusion is practically realized by the Krishna Consciousness Movement or chanting Hare Krishna Mantra.

Letter to Anil Grover -- Los Angeles 5 February, 1970:

Fourth question: "Where does the spiritual life lead us? How should people recognize whether we do take birth in our next life or not?" Answer: Spiritual life leads us to our original constitutional position free from all designations. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gita as brahma-bhutah status. This brahma-bhutah status means free from all anxieties, without any hankering or lamentation. At that stage only, one can think of universal brotherhood. And the next stage is to be engaged in pure Krishna Consciousness, and thus gradually be transferred to the spiritual world where there is eternal life full of bliss and knowledge.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Jaya Jagadisa -- Bombay 24 April, 1971:

By observing the four restrictions and avoiding the ten offenses to the Holy Name (i.e. blaspheming the Lord's devotee, considering the Lord and the demigods as being on the same level, neglecting the orders of the Spiritual Master, minimizing the authority of the sastras, interpreting the Holy Name of God, committing sins on the strength of chanting, instructing the glories of the Lord to the unfaithful, equating the chanting of the Holy Names with material piety, inattention while chanting of the Holy Name and maintaining attachment to material things while engaged in chanting the Holy Names) you will become qualified to receive the mercy of the Lord and thus advance yourself in His transcendental loving service, which is the perfect stage of transcendental life of bhaktirasa life. When one is factually experiencing existence of pure spiritual service to Krsna, he enjoys fullness of eternal life full of bliss and knowledge. So one should always strive for this end and thus be released from the grips of material happiness and miseries which characterize the conditional, mundane life within the temporary cosmic manifestations.

Letter to Ksama (Lynn Edwards) -- Calcutta 6 November, 1971:

I can understand that you are a very sincere girl and that is the first qualification for developing love for Krishna. Now increase that sincerity more and more by engaging yourself whole-heartedly and with great enthusiasm for serving Krishna and very soon love of Godhead will fructify. You will become more and more happy in this life and in the end go back to home, back to Krishna, to enjoy eternal life, full of bliss and knowledge and in association with the supreme lovable object, Krishna. And our process for obtaining to such a wonderful existence is not at all difficult.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Lynne Ludwig -- Los Angeles 30 April, 1973:

"After many births and deaths, he who is actually wise surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." Again Krishna uses the word mahatma, great soul. So these are not ordinary boys and girls, our devotees, that you have met, no. They are to be considered as actually wise, great souls, because they have experienced in so many births the miserable disease of material life and they have become disgusted. Therefore they are seeking higher knowledge, something better, and when they find Krishna and surrender unto Him, they become mahatma, actually in knowledge. This material world is just like a prison-house, a punishing place just to bring us to that point of becoming disgusted and surrendering at last to Krishna, going back to my original mature of eternal life of bliss and complete knowledge. So these devotees, that is their credit, they have done what is "very rare" amongst all men in the human society, sudurlabhah, very rare.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Prabhanu -- Honolulu 2 February, 1975:

Regarding your problem, first thing is that the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita is that one must learn to tolerate the sufferings due to the frailties of the material body. Whenever there is a material body, we have to expect birth, disease, old age and death. We don't want these things, but they are forced upon us, therefore we should try to attain that position in which these miseries will not be forced upon us—eternal life in the kingdom of God. Material life means great risk—at every step there is danger. But, a devotee is not jolted by this. He simply tries to render whatever service possible and accepts everything as the mercy of Krishna. So, you should carefully consider these points and do the needful.