Re: Introduction

From the Bhakti List Archives

• May 26, 1999


Srivatsan Laxman wrote:
> 
> it is good to behave naturally at all times. at the same time, one has to
> exercise control on the human mind and on our behavior.. then isnt
> exercising control contradictory to natural behavior?
> 
> regards
> srivats

The answer to this question really depends on how
you define "behaving naturally."  For based on
what I have learned, when we define natural
behavior as striving after material success or
satisfying our sense organs, we are really not
behaving naturally at all.  Our conditioned souls
are instead simply reacting, like puppets on a
string, to the sins and ignorance associated with
eons of turning away from the Lord and identifying
ourselves with our physical bodies.

Our AchAryans teach that our True Nature and our
True Happiness lies in being completely dependent
upon and subservient to our Lord Sriman Narayana. 
It would follow then that the control that we
place on our mind and behavior through religious
practice really is not un-natural at all, but is a
very healthy expression of this true
self-awareness.

adiyEn,

Mohan