By Vignesh Dhandapani

Yet another year has passed by and yet another 365 days of non-recoverable time in our life is OVER!  The point is, have we made it worthwhile?  The moment many people hear the word “New Year” the first few words which come to their mind is “Midnight party” “Booze”, “Dance” and various other stuffs which may magnify according to one’s standard or Living. Today’s modern age emphasizes on welcoming the New year with “Booze” and dancing out at the horizon.  Insane isn’t it?  Not according to most people. If we look back in time, this was not the case before, say, 70-75 years.  How then did this “Partying” tradition explode – especially with the young generation?!  Almost everyone knows the answer – Western influence, media, association, marketing, so-called advancement, drifting away from Vedic culture etc.  Everyone is conditioned by their activities and experiences in previous lives, the environment around, and also socially and culturally conditioned by some conscious choices they make.  In this way, we have created our conception of “reality”.

Partying especially in night clubs is despicable. Let’s analyze why:  These places are cramped, overpriced furnaces with dark walls and gloomy setup with the latest idiot-theme tunes thumping through the humid, smoky air so loud, that you can’t hold a decent conversation.  Ban on smoking in public places has been replaced by overbearing stench of deos/ perfumes and other chemical stuff or at worst, body odor.   They are such insufferable dungeons of misery.  Many party-animals tend to take mood-altering, abominable substances to make their ordeal seem halfway tolerable. This leads them to believe that they “enjoy” clubbing. They don’t.  No one does. They are in an illusion that alcohol/drugs/other abusive substances which give them a “high” makes them happy.  They forget the after effects – the hangover and other long-term health and relationship complications.

Let us see what His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada has to say about this – “You are already intoxicated. You are already in an illusion in this material world. If you still go on drinking, where is the possibility of knowledge? You must have sober brain to understand. So this is going on. Therefore my appeal to all the sober men: to understand this Krsna consciousness movement and join it for the benefit of his personal self, for the benefit of his country, for the benefit of the whole human society.”- [Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 11-10-73, Delhi]

“What is the use of smoking and drinking tea and coffee? People are already intoxicated by material enjoyment, and if they indulge in further intoxication, what chance is there for self-realization? Similarly, one should not partake in gambling and unnecessarily agitate the mind. The real purpose of human life is to attain the spiritual platform and return to Godhead. That is the summum bonum of spiritual realization.”- [Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya lila 7]

“In our Krsna consciousness movement we prohibit illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating, and gambling. In Kali-yuga, a drunken, half-naked woman embracing a drunken man is a very common sight, especially in the Western countries, and restraining oneself after seeing such things is very difficult. Nevertheless, if by the grace of Krsna a man adheres to the regulative principles and chants the Hare Krsna mantra, Krsna will certainly protect him. Indeed, Krsna says that His devotee is never vanquished (kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati). Therefore all the disciples practicing Krsna consciousness should obediently follow the regulative principles and remain fixed in chanting the holy name of the Lord. Then there need be no fear. Otherwise one’s position is very dangerous.” – [A Second Chance, Chapter 12]

In the sixth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, Maharaj Pariksit while he is speaking to Sukadev Goswami says, ‘Bad Habit of committing sinful activities is so strong, because the laws of Karma, when you engage in sinful activities there will be reaction, you have to suffer.  Just as, when you engage in pious activities, you gain happiness.”  Pariksit Maharaj explains that when one becomes sinful, that intoxicating addiction to sinful activities is so strongly rooted in the heart that even if they undergo ‘prayaschita’ or atonement for their sins, that propensity in the heart drives them to do it again and again and again.  The only hope is to uproot this propensity completely and cleanse the mind thoroughly.

The youth is the future of the world. At this stage in life, many choices will appear before us; and the choices we make will determine the road we travel on in our lives. The choices we make will have a very serious effects our society in general and our psyche in particular. Human life is a life of responsibility.

Choose Krishna Conscious! Be Responsible!