Śālva thus attacked the city of Dvārakā from the sky, and he also surrounded the city by a large number of infantry. The soldiers on the surface attacked the beautiful spots of the city. They began to destroy the nice parks, the city gates, the palaces and skyscraper houses, the high walls around the city, and the beautiful spots where people would gather for recreation. While the soldiers attacked on the surface, the airplane began to drop big slabs of stone, tree trunks, thunderbolts, poisonous snakes and many other dangerous things. Śālva also managed to create such a strong whirlwind within the city that all of Dvārakā became dark because of the dust that covered the sky. The airplane occupied by Śālva put the entire city of Dvārakā into distress equal to that caused on the earth long, long ago by the disturbing activities of Tripurāsura. The inhabitants of Dvārakā Purī became so harassed that they were not peaceful for even a moment.
Recreation
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.
BG Chapters 7 - 12
After the student studies the Vedas under the master for some time—at least from from age five to twenty—he may become a man of perfect character. Study of the Vedas is not meant for the recreation of armchair speculators, but for the formation of character. After this training, the brahmacārī is allowed to enter into household life and marry. When he is a householder, he has to perform many sacrifices so that he may achieve further enlightenment. He must also give charity according to the country, time and candidate, discriminating among charity in goodness, in passion and in ignorance, as described in Bhagavad-gītā. Then after retiring from household life, upon accepting the order of vānaprastha, he undergoes severe penances—living in forests, dressing with tree bark, not shaving, etc. By carrying out the orders of brahmacarya, householder life, vānaprastha and finally sannyāsa, one becomes elevated to the perfectional stage of life. Some are then elevated to the heavenly kingdoms, and when they become even more advanced they are liberated in the spiritual sky, either in the impersonal brahmajyoti or in the Vaikuṇṭha planets or Kṛṣṇaloka. This is the path outlined by Vedic literatures.
BG Chapters 13 - 18
Any sacrifice performed without regard for the directions of scripture, without distribution of prasādam (spiritual food), without chanting of Vedic hymns and remunerations to the priests, and without faith is considered to be in the mode of ignorance.
Faith in the mode of darkness or ignorance is actually faithlessness. Sometimes people worship some demigod just to make money and then spend the money for recreation, ignoring the scriptural injunctions. Such ceremonial shows of religiosity are not accepted as genuine. They are all in the mode of darkness; they produce a demoniac mentality and do not benefit human society.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 4
One becomes attached to the gṛhastha-āśrama for two reasons only—the wife cooks palatable dishes for the satisfaction of her husband's tongue, and she gives him sexual pleasure at night. A person attached to the gṛhastha-āśrama is always thinking of these two things—palatable food and sex enjoyment. The talks of the wife, which are enjoyed as a family recreation, and the talks of the children both attract the living entity. He thus forgets that he has to die someday and has to prepare for the next life if he wants to be put into a congenial body.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
My dear Lord, You are the Supreme Soul, and thus You are most dear to us. We are Your devotees, and how can we possibly reject You or live without You even for a moment? Whether we are lying down, sitting, walking, standing, bathing, enjoying recreation, eating or doing anything else, we are constantly engaged in Your service.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Śaṅkarācārya's theory is that you first of all become a sannyāsa, in renounced order of life; then you try to understand what you are, sāṅkhya philosophy. Therefore, according to their system, anyone who takes sannyāsa, he's supposed to be immediately merged into the existence of God. Therefore they address, "Nārāyaṇa." In Śaṅkara sampradāya, one sannyāsī addresses another sannyāsī as "Nārāyaṇa." But here, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, there is no condition. The only condition is... That is not condition; that is recreation.
Devotee: What is recreation for a Kṛṣṇa conscious person?
Prabhupāda: Recreation? Dancing. (laughter) Come on, dance with us. Is it not recreation? And when you get tired take prasādam. Do you want more recreation than this? What is your answer. Is it not recreation?
Prabhupāda: Oh, but as you come come, anyone can come. Everyone is welcome. We don't charge anything for this dancing. You go to ball dance and so many other dances, you pay for it. But we don't charge. We simply, our, these students simply beg something because we have to maintain. We don't charge anything. So if you simply come and chant for recreation, it is very nice. Everything is there in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We want music, there is music. We want dancing, there is dancing. You can bring nice musical instruments, you can join. We distribute nice palatable dishes. So practically this is a system of recreation only. (laughter) Yes. If you seriously think, you'll find, this system, there is no labor at all. Simply recreation. Su-sukham (BG 9.2). That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā in the Ninth Chapter you'll find, su-sukham . Everything is pleasing and happy. Find out anything in our system, that this is troublesome. Tell me practically, anyone. "This point is very troublesome." Just put your counterargument. Simply pleasing. It is simply recreation. That's all. You just point out, "Swamiji, this point is not very recreation or not, that is unhappy position." Nothing.
Similarly we at the present moment in the conditioned state of material existence, we are separated from God. Therefore we are so much reluctant to speak of God, to understand about God, our relationship with God. We think it is simply waste of time. In this meeting, everyone knows, this temple, Kṛṣṇa consciousness temple, is speaking of God. Or any church. People are not very much interested. They think it is a kind of, what is called, recreation, in the name of spiritual advancement, otherwise it is simply waste of time. Better this time could be used for earning some money. Or enjoying in a club or in a restaurant, sense enjoyment.
Just like you, if you are confined in a room alone, you may go on, you may engage yourself in reading some particular book or in some particular thought, but still, you cannot remain alone for all the years and all the time. That is not possible. You'll find some association. You'll find some association, recreation. That is our nature. So similarly, if we merge into the impersonal effulgence of the Supreme Lord, then there is chance of falling down again in this material world.
We should employ our energy to elevate ourselves to Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that we can, after leaving this material body, we can enter into that spiritual planet. That is the process.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the necessity. It is not a religious formula or some spiritual recreation. No. It is the most important thing that we should imbibe in our life. Mām upetya. Mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate. He's stressing again and again.
Vedānta knowledge is not to be discussed on the table as a recreation, taking tea and smoking and discussing on Vedānta-sūtra. This kind of discussion will not help. Jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā. Vairāgya. There must be detachment from material activities. Tac chraddadhānā munayo jñāna-vairāgya... (SB 1.2.12), paśyanty ātmani cātmānaṁ bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā. Bhaktyā. There must be bhakti. And what kind of bhakti? Not sentiment but śruta-gṛhītayā, taking, accepting bhakti, the devotional path, after being completely aware of the spiritual science.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So people, generally, even though they have some kind of religion, all over the world, religion has become a secondary thing. Understanding of God, it is something like recreation, weekly recreation. That sort of life will not help. Of course, that is the beginning. That's nice. That is not bad. In the Bhagavad-gītā, two classes of men have been described.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not ordinary movement, manufacture something for recreation. No. It is very serious science. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). We are searching after some permanent place, permanent settlement on the world. Nobody wants to die, but that is not possible. But if there is possibility of going somewhere where no more death, why don't you search after that? That is intelligence.
Pradyumna: I don't understand how sometimes we..., how the intoxication of some type of wine would go along with the ruling of a country.
Prabhupāda: Well, for rulers is a pleasure. They must have some pleasure. Just like ordinary men, they drink with woman, dancing, it is a recreation. So this is material recreation, to be little intoxicated and several nice young girls around. That gives him some encouragement. You see? They have to take so much risk, so much responsibility. For recreation they require it. They should be given little facility.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
The Bhāgavata reading means describing rasa-līlā. Whenever you find there is Bhāgavata reading, they are describing. I have seen one big Gosvāmī. He was professional Bhāgavata reader, and whenever... He would speak very nicely on rasa-līlā, and after describing rasa-līlā, Bhāgavata reading, he would come for recreation and smoke cigarette. I have seen it.
So this kind of Bhāgavata reading will not help you. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt: (SB 11.2.42) "If you are actually advancing in devotional service, then the symptom will be that you'll have no more material hankerings."
So to understand, to elevate oneself from the fallen condition to the highest liberated condition, one has to be trained up, one has to follow the rules and regulations as they are prescribed. Otherwise, simply some recreation, spiritual recreation, talking something—"This is that; this is that," "Neti neti"—and I lead my life like anything... That will not help us.
Philosophy Discussions
Hayagrīva: Well, his conception of religion is that of the..., having, playing some music, and uh, daliance with the supernatural, intellectual aesthetic enjoyment. He says, "What else does organized religion provide?" Religion is a form of, sort of enjoying art.
Prabhupāda: No. Art is there, and singing is there, dancing is there, but that is based on spiritual conception. That is the difficulty in the Western countries, that they are not fully aware of the conception of religion. Therefore Bhāgavata says that cheating religion, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavaḥ. There is no purpose, simply a recreation of different nature in material life. That is, means, they do not know, except sense gratification, any other engagement. They think religion is also another kind of, type of sense gratification, "So we can perform it." And actually that is going on. Whenever there is some festival they change the daily way of life into some more eating, drinking, and dancing, like that. But religion means to understand God and our relationship with God and live in God practically. That is real religion. That is the aim of life.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Professor (Hṛdayānanda): He says that not all knowledge is so objective. For example, in the matter of understanding society, the communists have their theory, the capitalists have their theory, and there's millions of theories and so...
Prabhupāda: That is not knowledge; that is art. Just like electrician. He knows how to mix the two wires and bring the current. That is not knowledge; that is a business or art for temporary recreation. And because he knows the art how to bring the current, it does not mean that he knows the Absolute Truth. So people are taking at the present moment electrician as the knower of the Absolute Truth.
Brahmānanda: Let them come to our function rather than going to their function.
Prabhupāda: Their function means recreation. That is not function. By that function they'll... But it is... Something is better than nothing. That is another thing. Arto 'rthārthī jijñāsur jñānī-four kinds of men, they take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the arto 'rthārthī. Ārtaḥ means distressed, and arthārthī means those who are in need of money. So they are arto 'rthārthī, and better than the rogues and ruffians, but their Kṛṣṇa consciousness, chanting Kṛṣṇa, means they want to get some money and to get out of some distress. That is ninety-nine percent people. And some of them are jñānī. They want to learn about Kṛṣṇa very seriously, not to fulfill their material desires. They are called jñānī. Jñānī and jijñāsu, inquisitive. So in jnani, those who are after knowledge, and inquisitive, they are better than this arta and arthārthī. But devotee is transcendental to all of them.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: There must be practice, that we are teaching. That simply not theoretical, but practical. Here in our institute, we teach all the students practically how to become God conscious. Theoretical knowledge will not help us. There must be practical behavior. They are rising early in the morning, attending maṅgala-ārati, then having class, Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, chanting, in this way, twenty-four hours engaged. It is not fifteen minutes recreation. No. Twenty-four hours program.
George Gullen: I think this is good for the world. I think the world needs it very much so.
Hari-śauri: I used to work on them, same thing. I was working where they pour the metal into ingots, into casings, and then when it solidifies they take a chunk of iron out, it's still white hot, and then they put it in ovens. And then after a while, when they need them, they take them out with big cranes and they put them on a series of rollers, and then it goes through a mill, what they call a mill. It's like a big mangling machine, and it crushes the steel ingot into plates, big plates. Then it goes along and it's cut and sent out. It cools down on big banks and it's sent out. So my job was, I was doing maintenance fitting on all those machines. On the rollers and on the cranes and on the big mills, like that. It was terrible. We used to work from two o'clock in the afternoon until ten o'clock at night, one shift, then from ten until six, and then from six until two.
Prabhupāda: Eight hours. Without any recreation?
Hari-śauri: Well, one break, for lunch. It was just indescribable. There's so much heat and fumes, and always covered in oil and grease, crawling around on your hands and knees to fix some machine.
Jagadīśa: All for the advantage of some wealthy man.
Prabhupāda: And after this hard labor, his only recreation is wine. Did you drink?
Hari-śauri: (laughs) Yes, we used to go straight from the steel works to the pub, public house.
Prabhupāda: Let them come. And arrangement should be made when it is... If Vṛndāvana is too hot, at that time we can send them to Mahabalesvara, or if we get that Madras place, that is very cooling, Nilgiri hills. That will be good recreation for them. They should be kept quite comfortably and built up, their character, education. That is wanted. There is need of some good first-class men, ideal men. The world is full of rogues and thieves and bad character.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: That will be very nice center, Panihati. Then we shall control the whole Ganges from Calcutta to Māyāpura. We'll have so many steamers. (laughs)
Hari-śauri: Steamers and ferries.
Prabhupāda: Yes. At least four steamers always plying from Calcutta to Māyāpura. Therefore I am after that center. It will be middle station. And you can go in this way, Rijay(?), by electricity. Go this side, that side, this side, that side.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Everyone will take those steamers.
Prabhupāda: It will be very nice recreation also, to go by the steamer here, there.
Hari-śauri: Have kīrtana on board...
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.
Hari-śauri: ...lectures...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Prabhupāda: It is not such yoga system. (imitates snoring) Meditation. It is not like that. Young men, they are taking it. They are preaching, they have sacrificed their life. So they are intelligent persons, they can understand that we should not die. It is not old man's recreation.
Mr. Koshi: No, but you are responsible for it.
Prabhupāda: I am not... Kṛṣṇa is responsible. I am just distributing. My duty is to distribute. That's all.
Mr. Koshi: Would you call yourself a guru?
Prabhupāda: Yes, I am guru.
Mr. Koshi: Because there are others who call themselves Bhagavān.
Prabhupāda: Let them call.
Mr. Koshi: Are you a Bhagavān?
Prabhupāda: Guru is not Bhagavān. Guru is the servant of Bhagavān.
Correspondence
1947 to 1965 Correspondence
You have encouraged your mill employees by establishing a recreation club and the amiable feelings of your employees with the benevolent proprietors as has been exhibited in yesterdays function, may be supplemented by infusing them with spiritual inspiration by the simple method as done by Lord Caitanya. In the last portion of His transcendental pastimes, Lord Caitanya lived in Puri-dhama and worshiped the Lord Jagannatha. By Some way or other your mill area has been named as the Jagannatha Puri and I suggest that an actual temple of Sri Jagannathaji may be erected by the guru-mandala for the benefit of these mill workers. If they simply make melodious kirtana of Rama or Krishna or both combined and they are offered the prasadam of Sri Jagannatha surely they shall imbibe the spiritual tendency.
1968 Correspondence
But at the present moment you are not prepared to follow my instructions. You are simply visiting different places, for sight seeing recreation. This sort of service is not accepted by Krishna. You are thinking of coming back to USA because your sight seeing business is now finished. But now you should think what service you have rendered to Krishna by going to India.
1975 Correspondence
Anyway without court permission we shall not take the land. In the meantime it is all right that you invest only in moveable property. Of course you should not be thinking to sell any of the crops for profit. That is not our purpose. The village organization is that the local people produce their necessities like grain, vegetables, milk, and cloth; and for recreation they have the chanting of Hare Krishna. They should live there comfortably and have spiritual recreation. They should not come to the cities.
Regarding Bombay, yes the tenants have no right for recreation area. They are paying for the rooms at much less price, so they can remain in their rooms. They cannot have playing ground. This is not in the Rent Act. We cannot spare any land. We will construct land on all available space. They can go to the public park for playing. All vacant land should be developed with buildings. We want sufficient income.
1976 Correspondence
Our religion is not a part time transcendental recreation. We live in God. Of course, "Hare Krishna" is there on all these newspaper reports, that I want, that somehow or other hundreds and thousands of men will chant Hare Krishna. They have made all plans to avoid God, and our plan is that they accept God. The struggle will become acute, because formerly they thought we were simply hippies, but now they see our books, that we are here to stay.
| Page Title: | Recreation |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika, ChandrasekharaAcarya |
| Created: | 26 of Mar, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=3, SB=2, CC=0, OB=1, Lec=13, Con=7, Let=5 |
| No. of Quotes: | 31 |