Simple Living & High Thinking

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! The Vedic way of life is based on the principle of 'Simple Living and High Thinking'. We should work only as much as is nec­essary to fulfil the basic necessities of life and utilize our remaining time, energy and money for reviving our eternal life.
 
How? By engaging in devotional service of God, by chanting His Holy Names of Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna and by reading and hearing many wonderful scriptures like Shrimad Bhagvad-gita, Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Shrimad Bhagavatam, Jaiva Dharma, Ramayana, Mahabharata, all of which teach the message of God.

Someone may ask, "What is the need for doing all this?" It is because every one of us is actually a part and parcel of God, an eternal servant of God, in the spiritual sky. We all belong to that original home where there is no misery, no birth, old age, disease or death. Life there is eternal, full of bliss and full of knowledge. Therefore an intelligent person should hanker for that life. And that can be achieved only when we live simply and think high, that is, we center our lives around God. And why should one reduce one's necessi­ties to the minimum? Suppose you are travel­ling by train for a few hours. Will you construct a house in the train? Or will you carry a television, fridge and other such luxu­ries with you to enjoy in the train? Certainly not! Why? Because by the time you finish constructing a house within the train, the destination would have arrived and you would have to get down. In the same way, expending all one's energy for accumulating wealth to increase luxuries in the name of necessity, forgetting the prime goal of life, is a mere waste of time, because life is short and temporary.

But wonder of all wonders! People work hard throughout their lives just to purchase a flat in big cities. And by the time they are able to purchase it, they have reached the fag end of their lives and they quit the world like cats and dogs, without any understanding about God or the goal of life or without even being able to enjoy living in the flat.But if we live simply and spend time every­day to chant the names of God and to re­member Him, then we will see that gradually the mind becomes light, like a swab of cotton and can be very easily controlled. In fact, it can be molded just like wax. And one can experience the joy of the eternal realm even while being in this world. (Adapted from an article compiled by Radheshyam Dasa, Jaigopala Dasa, Chaitanya Charana Dasa, Sundara Vara Dasa, etc.)