“Therefore get up and prepare to fight. After conquering your enemies you will enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasachin, can be but an instrument in the fight.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.33)

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Friend1: I am not the doer.

Friend2: Quoting from the Bhagavad-gita again?

Friend1: Yes. [Bg 3.27]

Friend2: The three modes of material nature take care of everything. We make the choice to act, but the sanction to the results must be there first.

Friend1: You love using the example of getting up in the morning.

Friend2: Thank you for paying attention. Yes. We each make the decision to get up in the morning. But the result is not guaranteed to manifest for everyone. This proves that there is something else going on, a higher force that must cooperate with our choices.

“Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is omnipotent, and if He wants to kill someone, no one can save that person. Similarly, if He wants to save someone, no one can kill him.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 2, Ch 17)

An untimely death is certainly a cause for sadness. Friends and family of the departed are left to ponder over what could have been done to avoid the death. “If only they ate better during their lifetime. If only they exercised more, maybe they could have lived longer.” With accidental deaths, this second-guessing becomes even worse, for we think of little things that could have been done to avoid the tragedy. The fact of the matter is that we have no control over when birth and death occur. God is the Supreme Controller, and through His energies every event in this world…

“O Brahma, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy [maya], that reflection which appears to be in darkness.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.9.34)

One of the most harmful aspects of material life is that it can never be satisfying enough. Material life means associating with maya, or God’s energy which pervades the material creation. Maya tells us that we will be happy trying to satisfy our senses through various activities, thus tempting us into taking up sinful activity. Not only do sins carry negative future consequences, but they have an inherent illusory aspect. This illusion clouds our minds and leads us astray from the path of righteousness, or dharma. If sinful activity continues unchecked, it can lead to our demise.

Dharma means religion, religiosity, or righteousness. There can be different duties for different people…

“Loving God is the natural function of every living entity. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Christian or a Hindu or a Muhammadan. Just try to develop your love of God. Then your religion is very nice.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Journey of Self-Discovery, 2.6)

Comment: “I just want to state that religion and spirituality are TWO DIFFERENT things, which most religions are far from spiritual (especially Catholics and Christians). Also, A LOT of what people claim is a religion, like Hinduism and Buddhism, ARE NOT religions, but mere ways of life… ways of viewing and experiencing.”

Response: Religion certainly means different things to different people. The ancient scriptures of India, the Vedas, actually don’t have a term that matches up with religion. The closest thing we can find is the term “dharma”, which is a much more concrete definition of what spiritual life really means. Dharma is that which is…

“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.61)

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The Supreme Lord is a person. He has features, which are all transcendental. Several of those features are compared to the lotus flower. He has lotus-like feet and lotus-like hands. Since His navel is like a lotus, He is known as Padnamabha. Since His eyes are like lotus petals, He is known as Aravindaksha.

In addition to being lotus-like, those eyes are amazing. They are not limited like the human eyes. One of the defects in man is imperfect senses. Even with “perfect” vision, we can’t see through walls. Without the aid of binoculars, it is not possible to see something miles away. God is not limited in…