God created the human being and settled him in paradise

According to religious tradition, God created the human being and settled him in paradise. But after some time, man committed a grave error and was sent down to earth.
    In the beginning, God wanted to settle the whole of the human race in paradise, but after we sinned, God changed His plan. Thereafter, only selected individuals would be allowed to enter paradise. According to this story of creation, we lost our initial advantage and since then only the second best has been available to us. This story shows us the right direction for our lives.
    The human being is an idealistic creature by birth. Everyone tries to find his ideal goal, one that is the very best for him. But it is a fact that no one succeeds in doing so. If this is the case, what should we do? The only course open for all men and women is to accept the second best as the only available choice. This is the only way to have a tension-free life in this world.
    If you are not ready to accept the second best and you would prefer to keep straining for the ideal, the result could well turn out to be disastrous. For example, a certain lady, who was working in a multinational company, failed to get promoted for some reason. She fell into a state of deep frustration and ultimately committed suicide. There are many such cases of people failing to find what they think is optimal, and then they become deeply depressed.
    This kind of depression is due perhaps to a lack of awareness of the law of nature. If the lady in question, for instance, had been aware that according to the law of nature, only the second best was attainable for her and that she (or others like her) had already achieved that, the realisation would have given her contentment and a tension-free life. This principle applies not only to individuals but also to nations.
    The best formula of life is: Try, try by all means to achieve the very best, but when you feel that you can only get the second best then accept it gracefully. Because if you remain in denial, and try to achieve the acme of perfection, that will only land you in a worse predicament.
    The same applies to nations. This is a competitive world and this could be a formidable obstacle to everyone getting the very best in life. In such a situation, the only safe option is to accept the second best. When you try to have the very best, then you are compelled to engage in continuous confrontation. The only risk-free option is to accept the second best. So be a realist. If you try to get the very best, it means your approach is unrealistic, but if you accept the second best, it means that you have opted for a realistic approach. And in this world of competition only a realistic approach can save you from disaster.
In short, the very best might be unachievable, while the second best is always within your reach. It is a fact that everyone is an idealist by birth, but you have to rein in your idealism and be content with the second best. As a matter of practicality, there is no other option for you in this world. This is the story of our lives: We tend to lose whatever is second best on account of just one reason, and that is, our futile pursuit of the very best.

Don't become so busy with self-created material duties

Once, a businessman called his servant for an important work. He said," I need to get this cheque cashed before 2 PM, so that I could finalize the deal in a meeting which starts at 2 PM. The servant replied," Sir, this work would not take much time. As it is 10 Am now, I hope I would be back with money by midday". The servant immediately left after getting the nod of the master.

Time passed quickly. Master was waiting for the servant to come back. At 12:00 he got a bit anxious. At 1:00 PM, he was much worried. At 1:30 he was really panicking. Finally at 1:45 PM, the servant came back. The master was furious, where you have been??

The servant begged forgiveness from the master and replied," Sir, as I came out of the house, I saw your mother carrying empty bags to buy the vegetables. Looking at her old age, I couldn't stop myself offering her a helping hand in doing her veggie shopping. So I walked to veggie market with her and after 2 hrs we came back with few bags full of veggies. As I was putting the vegetables in the Kitchen, I found your elder brother coughing badly."

Master interrupted, "But where is the money I asked you to bring?"

Servant replied," That's what I am explaining sir. Your brother called me and told that he urgently needs a medicine. I took the prescription and money and started for the market again. Suddenly it came to my mind that my son is also sick and need some medicine. So, first I went to my home, picked the prescription slip and then went to the market and bought the medicine.

There it came to my mind that I need to pick my cloths from the tailor which were lying with him for few days. I finished all these chores and came back home. As I checked time I found it's already 1:30. I couldn't finish the work assigned by you. I quickly came here to inform you the same."

Master really got angry. He said," I could have forgiven you for some genuine reason but for no reason you have spoiled my business deal! You are fired!!

Similarly don't become so busy with self-created material duties that neglect our God-given spiritual duty, else we will be fired out of the human form of life back into the animal species.

The caste system is created by Krishna

The caste system is created by Krishna for the purpose of enabling the human society to function in a healthy, progressive manner. Now the caste system is stifling. Why is this?

The first thing to understand is that there are two different caste systems. One is the divine caste system, and the other is the demoniac caste system. Krishna is the creator of the divine system, not the demoniac system. Just as in the human body there are natural divisions of labor between the head, arms, belly, and legs--similarly in the social body there is a natural division of labor between the brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras. Brahmanas are the intellectuals and priests. Ksatriyas are the administrators and warriors. Vaisyas are the businessmen and farmers. And sudras are the workers. This is the divine caste system. Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita that these divisions are based on one's qualities and activities. He does not state that they are based on birth, as in the demoniac caste system.

In the divine caste system everyone is encouraged, trained, and facilitated, in whatever occupation best suits their nature. In this way there is full employment in the society. There are no frustrated, unemployed people. Everyone is employed in an occupation which is according to their nature. Thus everyone is encouraged and enthused.

The modern day demoniac caste system, which is still going on today in India, is based on one's birth. One is forced into a certain caste by his birth. This exploitative system was introduced by the unqualified sons of those who were actually qualified brahmanas to forcefully make themselves the leaders of the society.

A real brahmana is someone who knows the Absolute Truth and freely distributes it to everyone to elevate them also to the position of brahmana. The Krishna consciousness movement is presently engaged in the work of creating such real brahmanas to give spiritual guidance to a grossly misguided material society, which now needs it more than ever. Once the brahmana class is solidly established and respected all over the world, those engaged in the other occupations will take take guidance from the brahmanas how to execute their occupational duty in such a way that is pleasing to the Supreme Lord. In this way, when the the divine caste system is fully re-established, we will have heaven on earth. May that day come soon.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari