Five Reasons Why I Might Feel Like The Entire World Has Gone Mad

“While Vasudeva was carrying his son Krishna in the falling rain, Lord Shesha in the shape of a serpent spread His hood over the head of Vasudeva so that he would not be hampered by the rainfall. Vasudeva came onto the bank of the Yamuna and saw that the water of the Yamuna was roaring with waves and that the whole span was full of foam. Still, in that furious feature, the river gave passage to Vasudeva to cross, just as the great Indian Ocean gave a path to Lord Rama when He was bridging over the gulf.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 3)

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1. The fake concern for a contagious virus

“Literally, it has been every company I have ever had dealings with. If they have my email address, they have contacted me. After a while it got to be so bad that I could recognize what was coming from the first few lines in the message. I did not have to read further down.

“The thing is, I tend to be rational. I keep a sober mind, dhira. I look at every point of view and form my own opinion by weighing the facts. I know for certain that none of these companies cares one bit about the spread of this supposedly deadly virus.

“I also know that viruses have been around since the beginning of time. Why weren’t these companies concerned six months ago? A year, two years, ten years – the same issue. Why weren’t they cleaning their stores and telling people to stay home if they were sick?

“You can’t talk sense into anyone, either. No use. The entire world has fallen for this hoax. They think that with an injection in the future they will be safe. None of us are! As soon as you take birth there is the steadily increasing risk of dying. It’s like a straight line, going up with time. Learn it. Deal with it. Contemplate it. You are a human being, which means you have a brain. Don’t let it go to waste.”

2. The fake concern for a specific cause

“Officially, our government is not communist. The people are supposedly free to express their opinions. But that is slowly changing. With whatever is happening on the news, public figures are pressured to comment. They must have a certain opinion, lest they be forced to apologize later on.

“If it is discovered that they said the wrong thing in a private conversation years ago, they must repudiate it. Every person must make an official announcement denouncing. The problem is these people probably speak the same way in private. The ones who are outraged are not saints by any measure.

“I know this from personal experience. This sympathy for a cause supporting a particularly affected group within the population is not genuine. A person makes their statement, professing their guilt for having been born a certain way, and then they move on. Nothing else to do. No change.

“How are people falling for this? Where is the outrage for the causes I am interested in? Why not actually do something instead of be forced to apologize? It is like someone has a gun to their head, and you can’t change hearts and minds through coercion.”

3. Widespread intoxication

“Everyone is drunk. Seriously. All the time. If you tell someone that you don’t consume adult beverages, they will look at you with a sympathetic face. They feel as if it is a tragedy. They wonder if something has gone wrong that you would be forced into making such a decision.

“There is so much available already, but they are clamoring to have more forms of intoxication made legal. They break the law to get what they want. They don’t care. To them, there is no other reason for living.

“Try having a conversation with someone on this topic and see how far you get. Actually, try having a genuine conversation about any issue. Something that has people for it and people against it. Everyone is glued to their screens. No manners. No etiquette. The world is descending into madness.”

4. Widespread violence against animals

“It looks like there are sympathizers for this cause, but it is still a small portion of the population. They don’t understand the significance of cows, either. They will not accept any information from shastra, which resolves contradictory principles. We should respect animals, but the cows deserve extra protection. Certain byproducts from living beings are unclean, but with the cow there is an exception.

“It is the cow which is the greatest target of violence. Killed by the millions each year. The same excuse made as was used to keep slaves hundreds of years ago. The animals are considered property, and the owners feel they have a right to do as they wish with their property. They fail to see the guaranteed rebound effects of this grossly sinful behavior.”

5. Widespread atheism

“Even the people that say they believe in God fail to understand Him properly. They think He is the exclusive property of a specific tradition, that only one book, available today after being translated many times over from the original, is the final word. Meanwhile, that book does not teach them the basics of spirituality.

“The hypocrisy and deceit from the popular faiths lead others to atheism. They simply deny what is preached to them. They go the other way. They repose faith in science, which is nothing more than observation and experiment.

“The worshiping tendency remains. This explains the widespread hatred for a particular political leader. The haters are essentially worshiping him. Once he is out of office, they will feel empty and alone. They will need someone else to hate. I don’t know how the world will survive in such bad conditions.”

…

It is very easy to think that there is no hope, that others will never see things our way. Especially, if there is dedicated devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is every chance of losing the support of friends and family, at an alarming rate.

We can look to the situation in Mathura during the advent of Shri Krishna. Vasudeva and his wife Devaki had no support. They were imprisoned for the crime of being mentioned by a voice in the sky, akasha-vani. It told the leader of Mathura, Kamsa, that Devaki’s eighth child would be his doom.

The couple then lost their freedom. Put in jail due to the irrational fear of Kamsa. No support. No outside help. No sympathizers. Yet the origin of everything, the first person, adi-purusha, would appear within their family. He showed His four-handed form of Narayana as confirmation of Divinity.

The baby, known as Krishna, asked to be transferred to the nearby town of Gokula. This occurred in the middle of the night. While everyone was asleep, within the clutches of the illusion that dominated them, Vasudeva managed to escape with Krishna in his arms.

When he reached the banks of the Yamuna River, more trouble. Further obstacles. Nature standing in his way. He could not catch a break. But this time Krishna was with him. The obstacles were cleared. The river provided safe passage. Ananta Shesha Naga protected Vasudeva’s son from the pouring rain.

Those pillars of support remain to this day. Shri Krishna is all-pervading, and during the most challenging moments we have the opportunity to remember Him and rely on Him for comfort, protection, safety, hope, and inspiration. We can reach out to Him through sound: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

Leaders to fake being sad,
Events turning on single news bad.

That not even a conversation to have,
Like entire world having gone mad.

With worst conditions so,
Vasudeva’s son to glow.

From effulgence the path to alight,
Support even in toughest fight.