Give to Live

Give to Live is a book of collected blogs from the author's blog on Krishna.com, categorized into 11 chapters. Karnamrita Das has attempted to make the philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, or bhakti yoga, as accessible as possible for those interested in, or curious about, this tradition, and those who follow it. He shares his spiritual journey over 42 years in a very personal way, including both his struggles and successes as a spiritual practitioner, and flawed human being. Before and after each blog is a relevant quote from his spiritual teachers, or the Vedic scriptures of India. Additionally, he introduces each piece, with a short introduction to highlight the salient points to prepare the reader.The title of Give to Live is taken from the entry of the same name. The idea of the piece-and the book-is that our natural function as souls is to give. We are meant to give-to other people, to the planet, to humanity, to the universe, to all living entities, and ultimately, to God. In fact, we can properly give to others only when, directly or indirectly, we give to the Supreme. Amidst sharing his life experiences, the book introduces the reader to Krishna, who in the Gaudiya tradition, is revealed to be the fountainhead of all features of God, or in the words of his teacher, Shrila Prabhupada, "The Supreme Personality of Godhead." To his best ability he has done this in a way that honors other faith traditions. As spoken about in one of the blogs, there is only "One Spiritual System in the Universe," or One God, though seen through many religious lenses.