A Beautiful Life (Song lyrics)

A Beautiful Life | William M. Golden

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A Beautiful Life William M. Golden, 1918 copyright status is Public Domain Subjects: Work, Experience, Light Scripture: Luke 10:33-34 A Beautiful Life [.xml] William M. Golden, 1918 copyright status is Public Domain Key: C Meter: 8.8.8.8 D Learn about music formats... view sheet music [.pdf] [.sib] play midi [.mid]

Each day I’ll do a golden deed, By helping those who are in need; My life on earth is but a span, And so I’ll do the best I can. Refrain: Life’s evening sun is sinking low, A few more days, and I must go To meet the deeds that I have done, Where there will be no setting sun. To be a child of God each day, My light must shine along the way; I’ll sing His praise while ages roll, And strive to help some troubled soul. The only life that will endure, Is one that’s kind and good and pure; And so for God I’ll take my stand, Each day I’ll lend a helping hand. I’ll help someone in time of need, And journey on with rapid speed; I’ll help the sick and poor and weak, And words of kindness to them speak. While going down life’s weary road, I’ll try to lift some trav’ler’s load; I’ll try to turn the night to day, Make flowers bloom along the way.

Friendship with Jesus

Friendship with Jesus

A Bible study to deepen your relationship

Keri Wyatt Kent

In John 15, Jesus reminds his followers that the highest value in his kingdom is love. My command, he tells them, is to love one another.

He tells his disciples (including you and me):

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.—John 15:15-17

We should consider it a privilege to be a servant of Jesus. And yet, he invites us to so much more: to be friends.

The word in Greek is philos, meaning someone who is dearly loved, but even more specifically, a close confidante, a friend to whom we would be willing to share our deepest secrets. This is the word Jesus uses to describe his preferred relationship with us.

It's so easy to take this truth: God loves the whole world (see John 3:16), and mistakenly assume that Jesus loves us from a distance, or out of obligation. Or we are somehow covered by the blanket of love he drapes over all of humankind. When pressed, we might admit that we're not so confident in an intimate kind of love. But the fact is, that's the kind of love that Jesus has for you. He has called you friend.

Consider the following from Deeply Loved:

With our closest friends, we do not stop at "How are you?" and "I'm fine." We are willing to tell what's really going on, willing to listen to one another. More specific questions—How is your marriage? How are you feeling about your career, about your parenting? How is the challenging situation you told me about going?—those questions pry beneath the surface. Within a trusting relationship, we can examine our motives, get feedback on what others hear us saying. We can move beyond "fine." If we are to develop a close friendship with Jesus, we must bring those same rules of engagement into our relationship with him.

Friendship with Jesus

When the Bible mentions the act of eating together, we need to understand the significance of that action. To eat with someone in that culture and time was not only to accept them, but to covenant with them to protect them. It was an act of intimate friendship and allegiance. So to understand the friendship of Jesus, we can look at verses that mention shared meals.

• Jesus initiates our friendship with him. We cannot earn his affection. "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you" (John 15:16).
• Sometimes, true friends tell us hard truth—they rebuke us, try to redirect us away from the path of sin. Jesus is no different. But his goal in truth-telling is intimacy. "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me" (Revelation 3:19-20).
• We don't have to be perfect to be friends with Jesus. In fact, he's glad to be friends with sinners (which is what we all are). "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" (Luke 15:1-2)
• Friendship with Jesus brings us joy. "'As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete'" (John 15:9-11).
• Jesus' friendship transforms our hearts and actions. "When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, 'He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.' But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.'" (Luke 19:5-9)
• Jesus asks us to respond to his love and friendship by loving others."'A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.'" (John 13:34-35)

Experience Friendship with Jesus

• Talk to him throughout your day. Set aside time to be alone with him, to listen to him.
• Read his Word. The Bible contains many promises and reassurances of how much Jesus desires friendship with you. Fill your mind and heart with the truth of this. Read the Bible as if it were a letter from a dear friend. Soak in his words of love and affection and affirmation.
• Practice the presence. As you go through your day, doing all your daily tasks, practice simply thinking about Jesus. Thank him for small things, ask his advice, reflect on his love. If you find yourself getting busy and forgetting about him, don't feel guilty! Just gently pull your thoughts back to him.
• 

Discussion Questions

• Describe your closest human friendship. What characteristics make it strong?
• What stands in the way of deepening your friendship with Jesus? Explain.
• Jesus is omniscient—he knows everything. Jesus also loves you unconditionally. How do these two truths impact your friendship with him?
• The friendship we enjoy with Jesus is meant to be shared by loving others. What specific ways will you reach out to others in friendship this week
•  

• Friendship with Jesus (song Lyrics)

• 1. A friend of Jesus! Oh, what bliss
     That one so weak as I
     Should ever have a Friend like this
     To lead me to the sky!
     • Refrain:
       Friendship with Jesus!
       Fellowship divine!
       Oh, what blessed, sweet communion!
       Jesus is a Friend of mine.
  2. A Friend when other friendships cease,
     A Friend when others fail,
     A Friend who gives me joy and peace,
     A Friend when foes assail!
  3. A Friend when sickness lays me low,
     A Friend when death draws near,
     A Friend as through the vale I go,
     A Friend to help and cheer!
  4. A Friend when life’s short race is o’er
     A Friend when earth is past,
     A Friend to meet on Heaven’s shore, A Friend when home at last!

Women–Materially Speaking–Are Less Intelligent than Men

When we speak of differences between the genders we are only speaking of the material differences. Spiritually there are no differences. But in the body and the material mind and intelligence there ARE real differences between the sexes. Many of these differences have been verified by different university studies…
Ragunath Prabhuji,
Thank you for sending me your posts.
While there is much merit to what you say, and you have good motive for what you say, I do hope you are not offended by me offering my different view. I am not in full agreement with you on these topics. There are valid reasons. I ask that you try to consider the reasons before making misjudgments.
Not all men who may espouse that “materially”, in the mundane view, men are by nature more intelligent then women, are all misguided fallen souls entrenched in their male egos, who delight in suppressing and taking advantage of those who are far below their lofty superior being.
Nor did many of these devotee men come to KC with these mundane ideas, simply not been able to shake them off in favor of the higher transcendental knowledge of spiritual equality. But, rather, it is Srila Prabhupada and Vedic scripture and culture itself that teaches us BOTH the material differences AND the spiritual equality.
The science of Daivi-Varnashram-Dharma is to understand and act, where needed, on the platform of Spiritual Equality, and yet also, side-by-side, to also understand that materially there are differences and that society must recognize and accommodate those differences when and where needed.
There must be a full and proper understanding of Both sides.
The soul is neither male or female (ultimately female in relation to Krsna). Neither is the soul brahman, ksatriya, vaishya or sudra. Yet, for purpose of “managing” the society, Vedic culture, Krsna, and SP, all make distinction between the classes. VAD. On one side Krsna teaches in Gita that the transcendental sage sees equally (SPIRITUAL Vision) the brahman, cow, dog, dog-eater, etc., on the other hand Krsna teaches that it is He who has created the system of VA – dividing society into 4 varnas and 4 ashrams according to one’s MATERIAL qualities. A transcendental sage sees with equal vision – only on the Spiritual platform. But at the same time he teaches and guides society to adopt and follow the social system of divisions, VAD – which DISCRIMINATES based on our MATERIAL qualities.
There have been deep rooted social problems in iskcon’s fledging society. No doubt. Problems stemming from both imperfect spiritual vision and improper knowledge and maturity on how to view and engage the material differences. But, really, it isn’t that big of a deal. The problem is not that the system is too hard to implement or to difficult to grasp. The problem has been with either our being too near sighted in vision and not seeing the obvious, or in being overly intelligent and thinking the system is far more complex then it is.
The problem has been how to balance both the transcendental vision with the practical managment of the material differences. Those who use the material differences to supress others, abuse others, take advantage of others are obviously lacking in spiritual vision. On the other hand, those who try to manage the external material dealings of social intercourse by ignoring the material differences and classes and try to artificially make a classless society are also lacking in Vedic vision and insight. Krsna taught us that HE has created the system of VAD and all great acharyas, including SP, have taught that society will function, on the material level, best, only when this system of VAD is recognized and followed. It is a balance of BOTH spiritual vision of spiritual equality mixed with discrimination based on material qualities.
This is where I see we disagree – and correct me if i am wrong. But, in your essay all i am seeing is argument for the Spiritual Vision side of the equation. Prabhuji, I have also been studying VAD – especially social DHARMA aspect of it – for way over 15-18 yrs. I have studied the Vedabase as well as compared notes with the Manu Samhita, etc. and SP’s teaching always included this balance of seeing equal spirit souls along with discriminating according to material qualities and engaging according to those material differences. He taught both things, and both sides must be there for society to go on nicely. The whole basis of VAD is to discriminate and classify according to material qualities.
Maybe some devotees lacked in the spiritual vision – understanding of spiritual equality aspects and driven and controlled by their false egos misused Vedic teachings of discrimination to take advantage of women, children, etc. However, all that i am able to gather from your writing is the Equal Vision, with no balance of material discrimination. Society cannot be managed under such a classless system. Not even Iskcon, an institution designed to teach spiritual knowledge and values, because it is functioning within this material world. Too many of the members are still very much conditioned souls. It is not possible to properly manage a “material” society (which the ashrams and varnas are all apart of the material aspects, discriminating via varna and ashrama – that is all material discrimination, the soul is not brahmana or sudra, nor brahmacari or grhasta) based only on equal vision of the soul. There must be a mature balance, and i do not see that at all in your writing.
You want to portray your essay as being “Krsna Conscious” – so i would assume that you mean that it is in-line with the teachings of Srila Prabhupad, however, your views do not reflect the proper teachings and understanding of SP’s teachings. You have made a mockery of the idea that materially speaking women are not as intellectual as men. Where as Srila Prabhupad has many times made this discrimination. When we are speaking of such differences between the genders we are only speaking of the material differences, the differences that the conditioning of the material bodies place on us. Obvioiusly, spiritually there are no differences. But, bodily, and that includes also the material mind and intelligence, there ARE real differences between the sexes. Many of these differences have been, at various times, verified and recognized by different university studies in modern times. I do not have the references, but I read (nearly 4-5 yrs ago) that for many years there has been a large vacuum of women in the upper medical fields. Most all (if not all) heart surgeons are male, neurological surgeons, etc., mostly all male. This “unfair” discrimination was noted years ago, and so the universities undertook many programs to try and close the gender gap. Also, the same was found in the higher degrees of quantum physics, etc. There was a serious imbalance of men to women. Many efforts were made to close the gap. In fact, a coordinated effort of all leading medical universities in the nation was made to do ‘something’ about this. So, for many years they set quotas so that many more women would be admitted to the higher courses then men, this was done in an attempt to turn out more women so that the numbers of men and women would become more equal. In doing this many men who met all the qualifications were, for years, kept out of the classes and courses for these higher, and tougher, studies.
The result after many years of such efforts? Still, very very few women have made it. I can’t recall if there are yet any women heart surgeons, at least it is very few if any. Why? Because the women could not complete the courses. They fried out along the way. The courses were too hard – to much intellectual information. Studies were done, but these are kept QUITE so as to not be used against the colleges for being sexists, but what was found was that women were just not able to grasp and compete side by side with men in such demanding intellectual studies.
In fact, in the higher learning of physics many of the men who were doing well in their grades still ‘partied’ on the weekends and would take off time for sports or leisure activities, yet during the fewer hours they studied were able to assimilate far more and to greater depths. While, most all of the women taking such courses had to tune out all other social activities, took no leisure time, simply had to dedicate 100% of their full time and effort into their studies just to try and keep up with the pace and depth of studies their male counterparts were able to do with less time and effort expended. As soon as the women took time off and social breaks, as the men did, their comprehension of the higher course material dropped significantly. What happened is the women simply “burnt out”. Once they burned out, they would be forced to drop out from the higher med classes (or higher physics).
But, because the universities were working conjointly to give most of the seats to women in the classes, and most of them fried out and dropped out, what has happened is a shortage of higher educated doctors now exists.
Anyway, the point is that there are many such evidences that when it comes to in-depth intellectual understandings women and men have Different material abilities. Is that so hard to accept? Our bodies are different. Our breasts are different, our sex organs are different, our emotional balance is different, our aggressive or meek behavior is different. All these differences are caused by the bodily covering. In fact, some are chemical. Male and female bodies produce different levels of hormones that cause many of these differences. When women are given large quantities of testosterone for long periods – after a while they grow hair on their faces, their voices deepen to that of a male, and they become less “emotional”, more logic oriented, more decisive, more assertive and aggressive. Take them off the testosterone, and they revert back to their feminine nature. Give men large doses of estrogen and their breasts will grow and develop like that of women, their voices go higher and sound like a woman, and they become more emotionally sensitive, making decisions on sentimental ‘feeling’ rather than logic. They become less assertive, less aggressive, more dependent, emotionally, on others, etc. These are REAL differences between men and women. And, what causes these differences is the body, the glands that excrete the hormones are different, and those hormones cause these very REAL and documented differences between men and women.
This is all Material, it has to do with the body only, but it is REAL. The differences exist. Since we are embodied in this material world, Vedic science teaches that we must recognize these material differences and organize society so that it can function with the least friction. To ignore this shows a total lack of understanding of what VAD is all about.
Many many times SP pointed out the material differences between men and women. Often times noting that the woman are less intelligent.
“O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth-women, vaisyas [merchants] as well as sudras [workers]-can approach the supreme destination.” Women are considered on the same platform with sudras, and although a woman may be married to a brahmana, she is not given the sacred thread. It is also said that the Mahabharata was compiled by Vyasadeva because the direct Vedic knowledge could not be understood by women, sudras and dvija-bandhus, those who are born in brahmana families but are not qualified brahmanas. Stri-sudra-dvijabandhunam traye na sruti-gocara (Bhag. 1.4.25). Consequently Mahabharata is called the fifth Veda. The four preceding Vedas are the Sama, Yajur, Rg and Atharva. The essence of Vedic knowledge, Bhagavad-gita, is given within the Mahabharata. Women are inferior to men, and Vedic civilization is so perfect that men are given full charge of the women. It is therefore said: matu priya-cikirsaya. The son is always ready to see that the mother is not unhappy. Kapiladeva was anxious that His mother not feel the absence of His father, and He was ready to take the best care of her and give her knowledge.
Because women are supposed to be less intelligent, they should be given knowledge, and they should also follow this knowledge. They should follow their father’s instructions, their husband’s instructions and the instructions of their grown, scholarly sons like Kapiladeva. In this way, their lives can be perfect. In all cases, women should always remain dependent.(REF. TLK Vs 5)
When it comes to Bhakti – love of God, yes, both men and women embodied souls can take up the bhakti marg. It is not that women are not allowed to become devotees of Krsna. But, when it comes to social intercourse, to marriage and social duties, to management and leadership of society, then there is discrimination based on sex so that society can be managed smoothly.
Mrs. Wax: Could a woman be a temple president?
Prabhupada: Yes, why not?
Mrs. Wax: Glad to hear it.
Prabhupada: But because women are less intelligent, they should remain dependent on first-class father, first-class husband, and first-class son. Then she is first-class. That is the injunction. Woman should remain dependent in childhood upon first-class father, in youthhood upon first-class husband, and in old age upon first-class son. Woman is never independent. If she becomes independent, her life is not very good. She must agree to remain dependent on first-class father, first-class husband, and first-class son-three stages. ============ REF. Room Conversation with Mr. & Mrs. Wax, Writer and Editing Manager of Playboy Magazine — July 5, 1975, Chicago
The woman asking is very much feminist – into equal rights. She asks if a woman ‘can’ become a TP, and SP answers, “yes, why not?” She is glad to hear. Now that SP has got her to drop her defense and accept, SP immediately cuts to the fact that (materially speaking) “women are less intelligent” and because of this, they should remain dependent on a man. If she becomes independent that is not very good. So, how can a woman be dependent on a man and stll be a TP?
Queen Kunti was very qualified vaishnavi, but when Pandu, her husband died, she did not take over the kingdom, but placed herself under the care of the elder men of the family until her sons were old enough, then she placed herself under her sons. Always dependent on a male, never independent.
So many times SP has taught that women are, materially speaking, in general, less intelligent of the sexes. Is this a put-down on women? No. Should it be used to supress them? NO But, It MUST be used to PROTECT them. In pointing out that women are less intelligent, or the weaker of the sexes, or more easily misled, SP often stressed that this means that women must be PROTECTED. A sober man, a man of moral integrity, raises to the occasion of to take protect those who are dependent on him (I would have said, to protect those ‘under’ him, but felt you would take that as too chauvinistic).
A king’s duty is to protect those under his rule. A father’s duty is to protect his dependents, his children, and to protect his submissive wife.
When we speak of the sexes we can’t leave out marriage. Marriage in KC does not mean equal rights – I am equal spiritual soul and so are you, so lets both have equal say in all matters. NO. That is no way to manage anything. In work, companies, there must be a person who is in charge. In family there must be a designated person to take ultimate charge, ultimate responsibility. It is the only way an army can function, or a successful company, or a successful marriage. If there are no clear cut and understood, accepted and followed system of hierarchy, the marriage will end up failing.
There are SO MANY reasons why women MUST take to the submissive, even subservient, role in a marriage. For instance, raising children. Children need to see a clear leader – an distinctive authority, in their very early lives. Male voices are deep and commanding. Women’s voices are higher pitched and simply don’t carry the weight or authority. It is by Krsna’s divine arrangement. The mother tells the children do this, do that, they don’t really take mother seriously half the time. But, when father says it, they act. I saw this documented on TV some years back. Researchers found children who were raised in home where there was full effort made to not discriminate on sex, or boys raised without fathers in the home. Children, by nature, responded differently to male and female voices. (Also, at less then 1 boys and girls – on their own – develop very distinct female or male characteristics). For example, one lady’s husband left her before her son was born, he was 8 and had only been under his mother’s care. Still, when she told him to clean his room, he always ignored her, but her brother (the boy’s uncle) came over, he would ask one time, bam, the kid does it. So, on camera the boy was asked why? He said because he just doesn’t like girls, even his own mother, to tell him anything. But, when his uncle tells him, he feels he has to do it – he didn’t know why, but he knows if a man tells him, he just has to do it. But, it is proven, for children the father, the man’s voice, it commands respect.
So, if the woman takes to the submissive role in the family, and she submissively serves her husband and treats him with the greatest of respect – something magical happens. The children automatically respect “Authority” – not just their own father, but they respect authority in general. Where as if the women is belligerent and shows a lack of respect for her husband, does not see him as authority over her, but tries to share equal, the children do not have the same respect for authority.
And, even though it seems nice for some to think that women and men should treat each other equally, this is not what SP teaches in respect to husbands and wives. The wife must take to the submissive position. When women can do this, so many marriages will be saved.
Trying to make men and women equal on the material level is ARTIFICIAL, and as such it is doomed to failure. Spiritually, on the spiritual level, we are absolutely equal. But, as soon as you speak of Men and Women you are no longer talking about the spirit soul, but the material body, and the male and female are NOT equal, they are DIFFERENT. Is one greater and one lesser, yes, materially. But, it has be to balanced. Is a brahman superior to a sudra? Yes, materially speaking. But, the two can still be vaishnav and both are equal spirit souls. But, for the functioning of society, the Head is more valuable to society then the foot. One can live, not nicely, but one can live without legs, but one will die without a head. Legs are important, but the head is superior. Sudras are needed in society, but a brahman is superior. This is Material. Women have their duty, and their roles are absolutely essential to society, but men do have the duties to take the materially superior leadership roles in society.
Reporter: Are men regarded as superior to women?
Prabhupada: Yes, naturally. Naturally, woman requires protection by the man. In the childhood she is protected by the father, and youth time she is protected by the husband, and old age she is protected by elderly sons. That is natural. Female
Reporter: That goes against the thinking of a lot of people in America now. Do you know that?
Prabhupada: No… America, maybe, but this is the natural position. Women require protection.=========== REF. Interview — March 5, 1975, New York
Woman Reporter: Where do women fit into these four classes?
Prabhupada: That I already explained. Women’s position is subordinate to man. So if the man is first-class, the woman is first-class. If the man is second-class, the woman is second-class. If the man is third-class, the woman is third-class. In this… Because woman is meant for assisting man, so the woman becomes suitable according to the man, her husband.
Woman Reporter: Would you say that women are inferior to men?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Woman Reporter: Why?
Prabhupada: By physiological condition. Just like you are. Your bodily features are different from the man’s features. You cannot deny it. So according to the bodily features, the psychological condition and everything is there. How you can deny it?
Woman Reporter: Do you think that I am inferior to you?
Prabhupada: It is not the question of inferior or superior. Different. Now you take one inferior or superior. That is your calculation. But the bodily features are different. That is material. But spiritually, they are all one. Materially… Just like your bodily feature and a man’s bodily feature is different. Now, so far question of inferior, superior, that is your calculation. But we say that by nature, a woman and man is different.
Woman Reporter: What does this mean as far as whether women can do the same things that men can do, or whether women can lead people?
Prabhupada: Well, women can bear children, but the man cannot. Is it possible to bear children? A man can become pregnant? Is it possible?
Woman Reporter: No.
Prabhupada: Physically… Therefore there are so many things which is possible in man and which is not possible in woman, by nature. How you can say that they are of the same nature?
Woman Reporter: I’m not saying they’re the same. What can…
Prabhupada: Then if you not saying that, then they are different in their physiological condition. So now this physiological condition, you may calculate, “This is better, this is better.” That is your calculation. Our calculation is the man and woman are different in their physiological condition.
Woman Reporter: But you say women are subordinate to men.
Prabhupada: Yes, that is also natural. Because when the husband and wife are there or the father and daughter is there, so the daughter is subordinate to the father and the wife is subordinate to the husband.
Woman Reporter: What happens when women are not subordinate to men?
Prabhupada: Then there is disruption. There is disruption, social disruption. If the woman does not become subordinate to man, then there is social disruption. Therefore, in the western countries there are so many divorce cases because the woman does not agree to become subordinate to man. That is the cause.
Woman Reporter: What advice do you have to women who do not want to be subordinate to men?
Prabhupada: It is not my advice, but it is the advice of the Vedic knowledge that woman should be chaste and faithful to man.
Woman Reporter: What should we do in the United States? We’re trying to make women equal with men.
Prabhupada: I am not trying. You are already not equal with the man because in so many respects, your functions are different and man’s functions are different. Why do you say artificially they are equal? As I told you that the husband and wife-the wife has to become pregnant, not the husband. How you can change this, both the husband and wife will be pregnant? Is it possible? Is it possible?
Woman Reporter: No, it is not.
Prabhupada: Then by nature one has to function differently from the other.
Woman Reporter: But why does this mean…?
Prabhupada: So how you can change?
Woman Reporter: Why does this mean that women have to be subordinate?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Woman Reporter: Just because they bear children and men can’t?
Prabhupada: Well, by nature… No, as soon as you get children, you require support from the husband. Otherwise you are in difficulty.
Woman Reporter: Many women have children and have no support from husbands. They have no husband.
Prabhupada: Then they have to take support from others. You cannot deny that. The government is giving you support. But the government is embarrassed. If the husband supports the wife and children, the government is relieved of so much welfare contribution. So that is a problem.
Woman Reporter: What happens when women support men?
Prabhupada: First of all try to understand that you depend. The… After man and woman unite, there is children, and the man goes away, and you are embarrassed. The woman is embarrassed. Why? Why this is, is made possible? A man and woman unites, and the woman becomes pregnant, and the husband goes away. Then the poor woman is embarrassed with the child. She has to beg from the government. So do you think it is very nice thing? The Vedic idea is that woman should be married to a man and the man should take charge of the woman and the children independently so that they do not become a burden to the government or to the public.
Woman Reporter: Do you think the social unrest…
Prabhupada: I am thinking like this. You give me the answer. Simply you go on questioning. I question you, do you think this burden to the government or the public is good?
Woman Reporter: I don’t understand what you’re saying. Nitäi: Do you think that the burden caused when the husband goes away from the wife, that burden to the government is good?
Woman Reporter: No.
Prabhupada: So that has happened. Because the woman does not agree to be subordinate-she wants equal freedom-so the husband goes away and the woman is embarrassed with the children. And it becomes a burden to the government.
Woman Reporter: Is there anything wrong when the woman works?
Prabhupada: There are so many things wrong. But first thing is the wife, the woman, the wife of somebody, and the child born by somebody, they should become burden to the government or to the public. First of all answer this thing. Why she should become burden to the government? What is your answer? Do you think, from social point of view, this position of woman and the fatherless children are very nice thing? No.
Woman Reporter: What I’m trying to say is that… This may happen to some women. I’m talking about women who are not…
Prabhupada: Not… These are the general cases. You cannot say, “some.” I see in America mostly the woman…
Woman Reporter: Oh, then what you’re saying is not all women should be subordinate to all men.
Prabhupada: No, woman should be subordinate to the man, so that the man can take charge of the woman. Then that woman is not a problem to the public.
Woman Reporter: Is it true for all woman and all men?
Prabhupada: Yes, that is the nature. You take even in the dogs. The dogs they also take care of their children. The tigers, they take care of the children. So in the human society, if the woman is made pregnant and the man goes away and she is embarrassed, she has to beg from the government, that is not a very good situation.
Woman Reporter: What about women who do not have children?
Prabhupada: Well, that is also another unnatural thing. Sometimes they use contraceptives. They kill children, abortion. That is also not very good. These are all sinful activities. These are sinful activities, to kill child in the womb. And take shelter of abortion. These are all sinful activities. One has to suffer for that.
Woman Reporter: Is the social unrest in this country caused because…
Prabhupada: Because of these things. They do not know that.
Woman Reporter: And if women were subordinate to men, it would solve all of our problems?
Prabhupada: Yes. Man wants that woman should be subordinate, faithful to him. Then he is ready to take charge. The man’s mentality, woman’s mentality different. So if the woman agrees to remain faithful and subordinate to man, then the family life will be peaceful.
Woman Reporter: Thank you. It’s late. …
Woman Reporter: You have different schools for men and women, is that correct?
Prabhupada: Yes. Man is regulated to become a first-class man, and woman is regulated to become very chaste and faithful wife.
Woman Reporter: There is one more question.
Prabhupada: Then the life will be very successful. And marriage, compulsory. Marriage, compulsory.
Woman Reporter: Everyone should marry?
Prabhupada: Yes. Every woman, at least, should be married. Therefore, according to Vedic conception, polygamy is allowed.
Woman Reporter: Is allowed?
Prabhupada: Yes. Because every woman must be married. But every man may not be married. Therefore man has to accept more than one wife.
Woman Reporter: There is one question I have for you. You say that a woman’s brain is smaller than a man’s.
Prabhupada: Woman? Nitäi: Woman’s brain is smaller than a man’s brain.
Prabhupada: Yes, that is a fact. In the history there is no woman who is a big philosopher, a big mathematician, big scientist, big educationist. We don’t find. They were all men.
Woman Reporter: What about women who are leaders of countries such as your own country?
Prabhupada: Well, according to Vedic conception woman is never offered leadership. But experience has shown that woman’s leadership has not been successful.
Woman Reporter: Do you think Mrs. Gandhi’s leadership has not been successful?
Prabhupada: Well, there is already trouble. There are many big, big men, they do not agree with her and she has taken emergency steps. So on the whole, the country is in trouble.
Woman Reporter: What about Mrs. Meir, president of Israel?
Prabhupada: I do not say of any particular woman, but according to Vedic civilization, we have never seen in the history that woman has become a leader. ============ REF. Television Interview — July 9, 1975, Chicago
SP has spoken many times about how and why women should be trained to take the submissive (subordinate) role in marriage and in society. SP said, specifically, that when women refuse to accept this what is the result:
“
Woman Reporter: What happens when women are not subordinate to men?
Prabhupada: Then there is disruption. There is disruption, social disruption. If the woman does not become subordinate to man, then there is social disruption. Therefore, in the western countries there are so many divorce cases because the woman does not agree to become subordinate to man. That is the cause.”
3-4 times SP repeated, there will be social disruption. Divorce is caused by women not taking to the submissive position. Divorce = break up of family, children suffer the most in a broken home, a broken family. Remarriage is unchaste for women. Children become unwanted and all of society degrades.
But, if women take up the submissive duty and roles in marriage and society, then what is the result:
“
Woman Reporter: Is the social unrest in this country caused because…

Prabhupada: Because of these things. They do not know that.

Woman Reporter: And if women were subordinate to men, it would solve all of our problems?

Prabhupada: Yes. Man wants that woman should be subordinate, faithful to him. Then he is ready to take charge. The man’s mentality, woman’s mentality different. So if the woman agrees to remain faithful and subordinate to man, then the family life will be peaceful.”
All social unrest is due to this one thing, women not taking to the subordinate social position.
This is all material consideration, but we are speaking of material society, how it functions. It is no more or less material then the Varnas and Ashrams. The soul is not sudra or brahman, but we discriminate by such classes for the smooth functioning of the social body, which is material.

Pleasure is our Motivation

Everything we do is motivated by some attractive feature, some benefit we think we will get from it. We are all engaged in some service and the motivation for us to render this service is the pleasure or taste which we get from it.
Driven by affection for his wife and children, a family man works hard day and night. A philanthropist works in the same way for love of the greater family, and a nationalist for the cause of his country and countrymen. That force which drives the philanthropist, the householder and the nationalist is called rasa, or a kind of mellow (relationship) whose taste is very sweet.
There is another taste, another type of pleasure, which is different from the ordinary taste enjoyed by the materialists. It is called Bhakti-rasa. Bhakti-rasa, the taste or pleasure relished in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, does not finish with the end of life. It continues perpetually and is therefore eternal, it does not die but exists eternally. This is confirmed in all Vedic literatures. The Bhagavad-gita says that a little advancement in bhakti-rasa can save the devotee from the greatest danger, that of missing the opportunity for human life.

Material Pleasure Does Not Last Long:

Unfortunately the pleasure derived from material activities does not last long, and therefore, in the material world people are always changing the way they are searching for pleasure and never reach a position where they are satisfied. A businessman is not satisfied by working the whole week; therefore, wanting a change for the weekend, he goes to a place where he tries to forget his business activities. Then, after the weekend is spent in forgetfulness, he again changes his position and resumes his business activities.
Material life means accepting a particular service for some time and then changing it. This position of changing back and forth from a position of sense enjoyment to a position of renunciation is constantly going on in the lives of the materialists. A living entity cannot steadily remain either in sense enjoyment or in renunciation. Change is going on perpetually, and we cannot be happy in either state because of our eternal constitutional position. Sense gratification does not endure for long, and it is therefore called flickering happiness. For example, an ordinary family man who works very hard day and night and is successful in giving comforts to the members of his family thereby relishes a kind of pleasure, but his whole advancement of material happiness immediately terminates along with his body as soon as his life is over.
Death is therefore taken as the representative of God for the atheistic class of men. The devotee realizes the presence of God by devotional service, whereas the atheist realizes the presence of God in the shape of death. At death everything is finished, and one has to begin a new chapter of life in a new situation, perhaps higher or lower than the last one. In any field of activity, political, social, national or international, the result of our actions will be finished with the end of life. That is sure.
The rasas derived from our feelings in social life, in family life, or in the greater family life of altruism, philanthropism, nationalism, socialism, communism, etc., do not guarantee that one’s next life will be as a human being. We prepare our next life by our activities in the present life. A living entity is offered a particular type of body as a result of his actions in the present body. These activities are taken into account by the superior authority of God. This authority of God is explained in the Bhagavad-gita as the prime cause of everything, and a person takes his next body under the supervision of the authority of the Supreme. In an ordinary sense this is explained as destiny. The supervision of God gives us a body selected from 8,400,000 forms; the choice does not depend on our selection, but is awarded to us according to our destiny.
If we are at present is engaged in the activities of Krishna consciousness, then it is guaranteed that we will have at least a human body in our next life. A human being engaged in Krishna consciousness, even if unable to complete the course of bhakti-yoga, takes birth in the higher division of human society so that he can automatically further his advancement in Krishna consciousness. Therefore, all bona fide activities in Krishna consciousness are permanent in contrast to material activities which do not last very long.

We Have the Propensity to Love Someone:

The basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone. No one can live without loving someone else. This propensity is present in every living being. Even an animal like a tiger has this loving propensity at least in a dormant stage, and it is certainly present in the human beings. The missing point, however, is where to repose our love so that everyone can become happy. At the present moment the human society teaches one to love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information where to repose the loving propensity so that everyone can become happy. That missing point is Krishna. Our eternal constitutional position is we are servants of Krishna. We all have a loving relationship with Krishna but that love for Krishna is now covered by material contamination. The process of Krishna consciousness, the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, purifies our hearts of this contamination and gradually our original love for Krishna is reawakened.
In the primary stage a child loves his parents, then his brothers and sisters, and as he daily grows up he begins to love his family, society, community, country, nation, or even the whole human society. But the loving propensity is not satisfied even by loving all human society; that loving propensity remains imperfectly fulfilled until we know who is the supreme beloved. Our love can be fully satisfied only when it is reposed in Krishna. Our loving propensity expands just as a vibration of light or air expands, but we do not know where it ends. We can love every one of the living entities perfectly by the easy method of loving Krishna.

How to Create Peace and Harmony:

We have failed to create peace and harmony in human society, even by such great attempts as the United Nations, because we do not know the right method. The method is very simple, but one has to understand it with a cool head. If we learn how to love Krishna, then it is very easy to immediately and simultaneously love every living being. It is like pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying food to one’s stomach. The method of pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying foodstuffs to the stomach is universally scientific and practical, as every one of us has experienced. Everyone knows well that when we eat something, or in other words when we put foodstuffs in the stomach, the energy created by such action is immediately distributed throughout the whole body. Similarly, when we pour water on the root, the energy thus created is immediately distributed throughout the entirety of even the largest tree. It is not possible to water the tree part by part, nor is it possible to feed the different parts of the body separately. If we learn how to love Krishna that will turn on the one switch that will immediately brighten everything, everywhere. One who does not know this method is missing the point of life.
As far as material necessities are concerned, the human civilization at the present moment is very much advanced in living comfortably, but still we are not happy because we are missing the point. The material comforts of life alone are not sufficient to make us happy. The vivid example is America: the richest nation of the world, having all facilities for material comfort, is producing a class of men completely confused and frustrated in life. I am appealing herewith to such confused men to learn the art of devotional service, and I am sure that the fire of material existence burning within their hearts will be immediately extinguished.
The root cause of our dissatisfaction is that our dormant loving propensity for Krishna has not been fulfilled despite our great advancement in the materialistic way of life. Krishna consciousness is the practical way we can live in this material world perfectly engaged in devotional service and thus fulfill all our desires in this life and the next. We do not condemn any way of materialistic life, but attempt to give information to religionists, philosophers and people in general how to love Krishna. One may live comfortably, but at the same time he should learn the art of loving Krishna.
At the present moment we are inventing so many ways to utilize our propensity to love, but factually we are missing the real point, Krishna. We are watering all parts of the tree but missing the tree’s root. We are trying to keep our body fit by all means, but we are neglecting to supply foodstuffs to the stomach. Missing Krishna means missing one’s self also. Real self-realization and realization of Krishna go together simultaneously. For example, seeing oneself in the morning means seeing the sunrise also; without seeing the sunshine no one can see himself. Similarly, unless one has realized Krishna there is no question of self-realization.

Finding The Origin of Life

Finding The Origin of Life

So where does life begin when considering a male and a female human, or animal for that matter, producing a new life form? To further pursue this discussion, we must see that “life comes from life“
Professor Sherry Colb, in her article, “An Illinois Judge Declares that Frozen Embryos Are People: What Difference Does It Make?” brings up some very interesting points about where life of the human body begins.
The first conclusion that one must come to, when discussing either human life, animal life or plant life, is that there is always a “life-force” that makes the human, the animal, the plant a living organism. Some refer to it as the “soul”.
To further define “the soul” we must separate the “soul” from the “body”. If we do this we get a dead body. We can see that it is a dead body because it does not have any consciousness: it cant think, speak, hear, smell, touch, taste, or dream. To go even further we can say that the soul is actually the person and that the body is not. If I stand here and I say that this is my arm, this is my leg, this is my head, this is my hand, and so on and I will come to a point where I ask “who am I”? I am certainly not this hand or this head or this arm. The answer is “I am not this body, I am the spirit soul; the life force.”
So now we can say that the “soul” is the operator of the “body”. The body is a machine, the soul is making the body work, just like a machine does not work without an operator. The soul is the operator of the human body. The human body can not work without the soul.
So where does life begin when considering a male and a female human, or animal for that matter, producing a new life form? To further pursue this discussion, we must see that “life comes from life”. If life did not come from life, you could definitely make an argument saying that embryos can be disposed of as freely as your empty container of milk.
However, there is “no proof” at all that life comes from matter, and in fact it is a rather absurd notion. Take for instance the idea of “cloning”: a scientist creates an embryo with a sperm and an egg. Where does the sperm come from? Where does the egg come from? So did the scientist create the embryo? No, the scientist simply put the sperm and the egg together. The scientist can not make the sperm or the egg. In this scenario the scientist is facilitating the situation, to an extent. But he did not create life.

So when was the life created? Was life created at birth, at conception, or even before the male and female came together? If we take the first question: was life created at birth? The child is living inside the womb independently of the mother, otherwise how do you explain premature births? If you cut the umbilical cord, the baby is still alive and is able to live on its own. Through special high-tech devices you can see the baby’s heart beating on a television screen. It is beating separately from the mothers heart, even at a different rate. It’s body is only attached by a cord and this cords only function is to give food to the baby. The baby is living separately from the mother inside her womb.
As soon as the sperm penetrates the egg, the process that creates the embryo starts. The male and female are not together now. The mother is not the sole life support, somehow growing or creating the baby. The mother and the father simply brought the sperm and the egg together and then the growth process of the body begins. What begins the process? What is making the process continue? What makes the process work? That is the question. If you conclude that just by putting the sperm and egg together, process will start, you have missed the point. Something so advanced, such as the growth of a human body within the womb, must have an advanced intelligence behind it.
Take for instance, the electricity that runs your computer. The electricity is one part of all the parts that make the computer work, but still there is a higher intelligence that puts the electricity and all the other parts together. Electricity in itself does not make the computer do anything meaningful. That requires a person: the operator. It is the operator that really makes the computer run. Electricity is not operating the computer. That is done by the person who is operating it. Similarly, the presence of a higher intelligence must be instrumental in creating the growth process within the human body. The “soul”, the “life-force” is the real identity of the human being. We can see this is true just by knowing that if a doctor surgically amputates an arm, we will still live. We will have not lost any of our identity. We will have lost an arm, but we will still be the same person.
So the next question that will arise is; what is the origin of life; the sperm, egg, the human, the species that is able to have consciousness; to think, to understand a concept, to love, to have emotions? You can not avoid this question. To discuss the moral issue of “abortion” you have to address the issue of our origin, otherwise it is like trying to learn a language with out learning the alphabet first.
So where does life come from? We must conclude that there is a controller; a super intelligence, a supreme being, a supreme person. We can see that nothing works without an intelligence to initiate the cause, which makes the effect. Am I really addressing the notion of God? Is this really scientific? It is very scientific. The dictionary definition of Science is : “The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.” (Lexico Publishing Group, LLC: dictionary.com)
The science of God and how he works is a complete science. We can see that the universe is being maintained perfectly. The seasons change and repeat in the same cycle every year. We know that next year in New York City that in January it will be cold, in July it will be warmer. If we accept the idea of God, then we must accept that he is the controller and that he is the origin of everything including us humans. There is always a cause and effect to everything. God is the cause of all causes, the origin.
There must be some intelligence behind something that is so advanced and working effectively or working at all. Just as if a child sees an automatic door open at an airport, he thinks “oh, how is this working?” Because of his poor fund of knowledge he will think that it is by chance. But the older, more experienced person knows that there was a lot of thought and planning in the electrical design behind the automatic door operation. There has to be a higher intelligence.
How can an automatic door be working with out an intelligence behind it? How can the embryo grow into the stages of a baby without a life force of its own? How can a computer be developed without intelligence? The soul, the life force is part and also parcel of the highest intelligence. The supreme person is making the grass grow, the sun rotate the earth, the wind blow, the rain fall, human intelligence work, and making the computer work.
Abortion is not a right, it is murder. Whether the child is growing inside the mother or outside, murder is still murder. The growing of an embryo means that the “life force” is present. Life is forming the body and making it grow.

More than a Dozen Mysterious Prehistoric Tunnels in Cornwall, England, Mystify Researchers

More than a Dozen Mysterious Prehistoric Tunnels in Cornwall, England, Mystify Researchers

(Read the article on one page)

More than a dozen tunnels have been found in Cornwall, England, that are unique in the British Isles. No one knows why Iron Age people created them. The fact that the ancients supported their tops and sides with stone, suggests that they wanted them to endure, and that they have, for about 2,400 years.
Many of the fogous, as they’re called in Cornish after their word for cave, ogo, were excavated by antiquarians who didn’t keep records, so their purpose is hard to fathom, says a BBC Travel story on the mysterious structures.
The landscape of Cornwall is covered with hundreds of ancient, stone, man-made features, including enclosures, cliff castles, roundhouses, ramparts and forts. In terms of stone monuments, the Cornwall countryside has barrows, menhirs, dolmens, cairns and of course stone circles. In addition, there are 13 inscribed stones.

The Cornish landscape is dotted with ancient megalithic structures like this Lanyon Quoit Megalith ( public domain )

“Obviously, all of this monument building did not take place at the same time. Man has been leaving his mark on the surface of the planet for thousands of years and each civilisation has had its own method of honouring their dead and/or their deities,” says the site Cornwall in Focus.
The site says Cornwall has 74 Bronze Age structures, 80 from the Iron Age, 55 from the Neolithic and one from the Mesolithic. In addition, there are nine Roman sites and 24 post-Roman. The Mesolithic dates from 8000 to 4500 BC, so people have been occupying this southwestern peninsula of Britain for a long, long time.
About 150 generations of people worked the land there. But it’s believed the fogous date to the Iron Age, which lasted from about 700 BC to 43 AD. Though they’re unique, the fogou tunnels of Cornwall are similar to souterrains in Scotland, Ireland, Normandy and Brittany, says the BBC.

Carn Euny fogou in Cornwall ( public domain )

The fogous required considerable investment of time and resources “and no one knows why they would have done so,” says the BBC. It’s interesting to note that all 14 of the fogous have been found within the confines of prehistoric settlements.
Because the society was preliterate, there are no written records that explain the enigmatic structures.
“There are only a couple that have been excavated in modern times – and they don’t seem to be structures that really easily give up their secrets,” Susan Greaney, head properties historian of English Heritage, told the BBC.
The mystery of their construction is amplified at Halliggye Fogou, the best-preserved such tunnel in Cornwall. It measures 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) high. The 8.4 -meter-long (27.6 feet) passage narrows at its end in a tunnel 4 meters (13.124 feet) long and .75 meter (2.46 feet) tall.

Main chamber of the Halliggye Fogou ( public domain )

Another tunnel 27 meters (88.6 feet) long branches off to the left of the main chamber and gets darker the farther in one goes. There is what the BBC calls a “final creep” at the end of this passage that has stone lip upon which one could trip.
“In other words, none of it seemed designed for easy access – a characteristic that’s as emblematic of fogous as it is perplexing,” wrote the BBC’s Amanda Ruggeri.

Halliggye Fogou. One of the largest and best preserved of these fogou (curious underground passages) this one originally passed under the rampart of a defended Iron Age settlement. ( geograph.org.uk)

Some have speculated they were places to hide, though the lintels of many of them are visible on the surface and Ruggeri says they would be forbidding places to stay if one sought refuge.
Still others have speculated they were burial chambers. An antiquarian who entered Halliggye in 1803 wrote that it had funerary urns. But others entered by the hole he made in the roof, and all the urns are gone. No bones or ashes have been discovered in the six tunnels that modern archaeologists have examined. No remnants of grains have been found, perhaps because the soil is acidic. No ingots from mining have been discovered.
This elimination of storage, mining or burial purposes has led some to speculate that they were perhaps ceremonial or religious structures where people worshiped gods.

“These were lost religions,” said archaeologist James Gossip, who led Ruggeri on a tour of Halligye fogou. “We don’t know what people were worshiping. There’s no reason they couldn’t have had a ceremonial, spiritual purpose as well as, say, storage.”

Hidden Fourth Circle at Mysterious 4,000-Year-Old Standing Stones in Cornwall to be Investigated

Archaeologists are set to undertake an investigation of a hidden fourth circle identified by geophysics at an ancient megalithic site in Cornwall known as ‘The Hurlers’.
The Plymouth Herald reports that the mystery circle was first identified in the early 1990s but only recently has funding been acquired to undertake an investigation in a project known as ‘Reading the Hurlers’.  Archaeologists from the Cornwall Archaeological Unit, geologists, and volunteers will join together to learn the secrets of the hidden circle.

The Hurlers stone circles (public domain)

The Hurlers are one of Cornwall’s best known prehistoric monuments and are comprised of three stone circles and a pair of standing stones known as The Pipers. The name is derived from a legend that tells of a group of men who were turned to stone for playing the Cornish game of hurling on a Sunday instead of going to church. The two Pipers are said to be the figures of two men who played the pipes during the game and suffered the same fate.

The Hurlers - Stone Circle - Liskeard, Cornwall, UK (public domain)

In 1994, the possible fourth circle was discovered to the north of the Hurlers, apparently on the same alignment. The Reading the Hurlers project site reports that the buried fourth circle “measures approximately 21-23 m in diameter and lies 105m to the north of the northern circle within The Hurlers triple stone circle complex. If, it is found to exist, it may comprise potentially fallen (once standing) or even recumbent (lying) stones and while it has been surveyed.”
According to English Heritage, The Hurlers have a number of significant alignments, both astronomical and to other ceremonial and funerary monuments in the landscape. The axis through the centres of the two northern circles aligns with the massive Rillaton Barrow, a Bronze Age round barrow made famous for the exquisitely crafted gold cup found inside. The axis of the southern pair of circles aligns directly with a prehistoric round cairn to the south-west.

Main: Rillaton Barrow, an ancient burial mound on Bodmin Moor. Inset: The gold cup found inside. (public domain)

With regards to the work about to be undertaken, Reading The Hurlers reports: “We will carefully hand dig the turf and topsoil around each of the stones which have been identified on the circumference of the site and excavate sections of the interior space. An area of approximately 23m² will be opened up. We will be looking to confirm the presence and/or absence of potential stones, any likely related features such as socket holes (the dug holes in which potential standing stones had once stood) and perhaps even levelled “artificial” (made-up) surfaces possibly laid around the stones.  We will look to see if there are large stones which form a possible fourth stone circle and examine each of the stones we uncover to see if, and how, they are placed in relation to one another, whether they make up a circular monument, and if so, whether they have been dressed (worked by hand).”
One theory suggests that the four circles were not all built at once by the same people, but were built by different communities over different time periods within the Early Bronze Age.