Harry Potter or Hari Putr (Son of Lord Hari) ??

I confess, I am a HUGE fan of Harry Potter !! But unlike the 1000s and millions around the world who have a fascination for this bespectacled young wizard, I see it very differently. After reading the books very carefully, I conclude that there is a good underlying message of KC principles in this book.

Maybe I am just beating around the bush here and trying to say that reading Harry Potter is a good thing, but nonetheless, its always good to learn things from around our surroundings !!

So here I present 3 interesting principles I think what can be learned and implemented from Harry Potter.

1. Idea of Dementors: Dementors (forgive me HP buffs that I am going into detail here), are basically creatures that embody all sadness in life. They breed in the fithiest conditions and the purpose of their sole existence is to suck happiness away from human beings. Isn't that the whole point of all the qualities like Envy, Greed, Lust, False Ego, Pride etc. ? They breed in the deepest, darkest corner of our hearts and wage a constant battle with the "goodness" in ourselves and try to conquer our minds.

In Harry Potter, dementors are fought by thinking of good thoughts which produces a shield around you. Similarly, in KC, thinking about Sri Sri Hari, Sri Gaura Nitai, Lord Jagannath, Srila Prabhupad and all those devotees around the world and in history who give us true happiness, we can produce a shield around us. Most of all, chanting the Holy Name produces the strongest Patronus (Shield in Harry Potter lingo) to take care of us us and save us from the thoughts that induce happiness and keep us eternally happy.

2. Instructions vs Physically Presence: In the book preceding the final book, Harry Potters mentor and guide, Professor Dumbledore (my FAVE character from that book, has so many shades) dies. In the final book however, what saves Harry's life is his instructions showing that as important and as pure physical association is, it is non different from the instructions.

So many of us younger people keep thinking how wonderful it would have been to be present during Srila Prabhupad's time in this material manifestation. But we often forget that He is always there with us, in his books, in the Temples he established, in his wonderful disciples and in every single instruction he gave. If we want to conquer the evil, we need to take shelter of his instructions and try to follow them sincerely.

3. Concentration is the Key: The series end with the death of Voldermort (The most evil Dark Wizard in HISTORY !) by Harry Potter with the uttering of the unforgivable curse "Avada Kedavara" with utmost concentration and with the sole purpose to kill some one, only then will the curse be effective.

Similarly, if we want to kill the evil in our hearts and Destroy the Ravana within we need to sincerely chant, with concentration, focus and love for the holy names of Lord Krishna.

In the Kalisantarana Upanisad it is stated that:

hare krsna hare krsna
krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare

iti sodasakam namnam
kali-kalmasa-nasanam
natah parataropayah
sarva-vedesu drsyate

"The sixteen words--Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare--are especially meant for counteracting the contaminations of Kali. To save oneself from the contamination of Kali, there is no alternative but the chanting of these sixteen words."

So inorder to destroy the evil and fight our inhibitions, we need to Chant the glores of Sri Hari.

There are a lot more lessons that can be learnt from the books, but I will stop at these three at the time being. Maybe next time, more lessons to be learnt ?!

On a closing note, from a sole marketing of the book perspective, the way these books became a revolution is interesting. Written by a single mother on scrap paper in a remote coffee shop in London to one of the most selling books in the world, its the stuff fairytales are made up off. What is there for us to learn from this is how to market out material better. What content we have in our books, in the ancient vedic texts beats the lessons which kids derive from Harry Potter ANY day! The action and drama seen in texts like Ramayan and Mahabharat are far more interesting and exciting than the countless fights Harry has and ofcourse, The Bhagavad Gita gives so much more crucial and critical knowledge about Good vs Evil, about Right vs Wrong and about how to achieve "success", all which HP fails to deliver! Yet, people are reading this and not our books. So, something for all of us to try to analyze.

How can we make this wonderful knowledge Srila Prabhupad has presented us in such a way that one day, at 4 00 am all around the world, millions of people wait, in front of the ISKCON temples, for the diety doors to unravel, for the arati bells to go off..

To get darshan of Lord Sri Hari !!