Is It Okay to Catch a Good Concert?


Question: Is It Okay to Catch a Good Concert?

In the 18 August 2009 "Thought for the Day" you have written that knowing and forcing are different. I agree, but when Krishna knows what will happen to us in the future it is 100% sure to happen. It is just like everything is predestined, and we cannot act in different way. This is one of my questions that I got stuck in. Please enlighten me.

In "Thought for the Day" on 19 August you have written, "In Krishna consciousness you don't have to watch movies, travel to exotic places, or meet famous people to try to find adventure." I was completely surprised. I am a violin teacher and have worked for 14 years in a symphony orchestra. If we believe that people like Beethoven, Mozart, etc. are showing a talent which is a gift from Krishna, what is the problem with going to a good concert or watching some good movies?

Answer: Catch the Eternal Concert Within

Krishna's knowing what we will do does not mean that He is forcing us to act in a particular way. We are free to act as we choose. Krishna's knowing what we will choose does not stop us from making a free choice. Krishna is not controlling our choice of whether to serve Him or not. That choice is always up to us. We can remain suffering in the cycle of birth and death, or we can enjoy an eternal existence full of knowledge and bliss in the transcendental kingdom of God. Which do you want?

If a person is not tasting the inconceivably sweet bliss of Krishna bhakti, he will try to fill in the missing space in his heart with cinemas, concerts, novels, etc. But that person will never find lasting satisfaction in this way. He will still feel an emptiness in his heart. That aching in the heart will only be permanently relieved when he becomes fully absorbed in Krishna consciousness, the eternal concert within.

I have never found you to be rude. I very much appreciate you sincere attempt to free your mind from doubts.

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