Modern Civilization - an essential subject

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The modern civilization, focuses on increasing the sense enjoyment process, making life more complicated, because the real motive of human life is to develop devotional service to the Lord not for sense gratification. Modern civilization is misleading society from the real goal of life, which is to become humble servants of the lord and fully surrendered onto Him. People are spending their lives trying to be economically well situated. This economic development is to increase our sense gratification and this process of sense gratification is the reason we are suffering in this material world. Therefore a intelligent person with the aim of attaining the real perfection of life, focuses on rendering service to the Lord. He has no time for economic development, such a intelligent person only depends on the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Modern Civilization category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 10 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches us that we should be tolerant like trees and also beneficial like trees, which give everything to the needy persons who come underneath them. A needy person may derive many advantages from trees and also from many animals, but in modern civilization people have become so ungrateful that they exploit the trees and animals and kill them. These are some of the sinful activities of modern civilization. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 9.46)



vanipedia.org 		Abundant honey can be obtained if the forests are protected. Unfortunately, in modern civilization, men are busy killing the cows that are the source of yogurt, milk and ghee, they are cutting down all the trees that supply honey, and they are opening factories to manufacture nuts, bolts, automobiles and wine instead of engaging in agriculture. How can the people be happy? They must suffer from all the misery of materialism. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.16.25)



vanipedia.org 		In modern civilization the horses and elephants have been replaced by cars and conveyances with considerable horsepower. To maintain all the household affairs, one has to increase the bank balance and be careful about the treasury house, and in order to display the opulence of material assets, one has to keep good relations with friends and relatives, as well as become very careful about maintaining the status quo. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.4.2)



vanipedia.org 		In modern civilization, human society is too busy in discharging national duties. Actually, national duties, social duties and humanitarian duties are obligatory only to those who are bereft of spiritual duties. As soon as a man takes his birth on this earth, not only does he have national, social and humanitarian obligations, but he also has obligations to the demigods who supply air, light, water, etc. (Easy Journey to Other Planets, Chapter 1)



vanipedia.org 		In modern civilization, sex life is the focal point for all activities. Wherever one turns his face, he sees sex life predominant. Therefore, sex life is not unreal. Its reality is experienced in the spiritual world. The material sex life is but a perverted reflection of the original fact. The original fact is in the Absolute Truth, and thus the Absolute Truth cannot be impersonal. It is not possible to be impersonal and contain pure sex life. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.1)



vanipedia.org 		Modern civilization and economic development are creating a new situation of poverty and scarcity with the result of blackmailing the consumer's commodities. If the leaders and the rich men of the society spend fifty percent of their accumulated wealth mercifully for the misled mass of people and educate them in God consciousness, the knowledge of Bhāgavatam, certainly the age of Kali will be defeated in its attempt to entrap the conditioned souls. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.17.24)



vanipedia.org 		Modern society even enables one to forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead's grace and mercy. Consequently modern civilized man is always unhappy and in need of things. People do not know that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Lord Viṣṇu and satisfy Him. They have taken this materialistic way of life as everything and have become captivated by materialistic activities. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.14.20)



vanipedia.org 		Human civilization devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is simply a civilization of lower animals. Sometimes such a civilization may study the dead body and consider the brain or the heart. However, no part of the body is important unless the spirit soul is present. In a modern civilization of cows and asses, scientists try to search out some value in the brain or heart of a dead man. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.28.24)



vanipedia.org 		The disease of the modern civilized man is his disbelief of everything in the revealed scriptures. Faithless nonbelievers cannot make progress in spiritual realization, for they cannot understand the spiritual potency. The small fruit of a banyan contains hundreds of seeds, and in each seed is the potency to produce another banyan tree with the potency to produce millions more of such fruits. This law of nature is visible before us, although how it works is beyond our understanding. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 5.14)



vanipedia.org 		This is exactly the position of present civilization. Everyone is engaged in maintaining the body, home and family. Consequently everyone becomes confused at the end of life, not knowing what spiritual life and the goal of human life are. In a civilization of sense gratification there cannot be spiritual life, because a person thinks only of this life. Although the next life is a fact, no information is given about it. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.28.9)


Modern Civilization - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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