The Post-Graduate Study of God
There is one God. All bonafide religious scriptures teach of the same
God and stress the importance of loving Him. Religion, in fact, means
to come to the stage of loving God without any personal self-centered
motivation.
Because of the different circumstances in which God-consciousness is
taught, there are different grades of information given to the
spiritual aspirants. For example, if people are very degraded and
engaged in gross sinful practices, it may be necessary to stress
sub-religious principles that must be followed just to bring them
tothe human platform. One may preach "Thou shaft not kill" or "Do not
commit adultery" or "Honor your father and mother".
In this way, the saints preach according to time, place and
circumstance, taking into account what each group of persons needs in
order to advanceto the next stage of God-consciousness. In the Krishna
consciousness movement, spiritual aspirants are instructed in the four
regulative principles: 1. No meat, fish or eggs, 2. No illicit sex, 3.
No gambling, and 4. No intoxication. If someone does not follow these
principles, he can never understand God.
The higher principles taught in the Vedic literatures, such as the
nature of God, the nature of pure love of God, the nature of the
spiritual world and activities there, are considered the post graduate
study of God-consciousness. Srila Prabhupada's books deal with this
most exalted science.
There is one God. All bonafide religious scriptures teach of the same
God and stress the importance of loving Him. Religion, in fact, means
to come to the stage of loving God without any personal self-centered
motivation.
Because of the different circumstances in which God-consciousness is
taught, there are different grades of information given to the
spiritual aspirants. For example, if people are very degraded and
engaged in gross sinful practices, it may be necessary to stress
sub-religious principles that must be followed just to bring them
tothe human platform. One may preach "Thou shaft not kill" or "Do not
commit adultery" or "Honor your father and mother".
In this way, the saints preach according to time, place and
circumstance, taking into account what each group of persons needs in
order to advanceto the next stage of God-consciousness. In the Krishna
consciousness movement, spiritual aspirants are instructed in the four
regulative principles: 1. No meat, fish or eggs, 2. No illicit sex, 3.
No gambling, and 4. No intoxication. If someone does not follow these
principles, he can never understand God.
The higher principles taught in the Vedic literatures, such as the
nature of God, the nature of pure love of God, the nature of the
spiritual world and activities there, are considered the post graduate
study of God-consciousness. Srila Prabhupada's books deal with this
most exalted science.
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