# Back to Godhead Magazine #21 *1986 (01)* Back to Godhead Magazine #21-01, 1986 PDF-View ## Two Worlds *As eternal spirit souls in this temporary material world, we are out of our element. But there is a way home.* ### A lecture in Toronto in June 1976 by HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPĀDAFounder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness > aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā > dharmasyāsya parantapa > aprāpya māṁ nivartante > mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani "Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world." *(Bhagavad-gītā* 9.3) Here Lord Kṛṣṇa is instructing us that there are two paths we can follow: One takes us back home, back to Godhead, and the other forces us to remain in this material world, which is full of miseries, especially birth, old age, disease, and death. These are the two paths open to us. Actually, we living entities are not subjected to birth, old age, disease, and death. We are eternal, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we are part and parcel of Him, just as a father may have many children, and every child is part and parcel of the father. So Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, is the supreme father, and we living entities are all His children, part and parcel of God. Qualitatively we are one with Kṛṣṇa, just as a small particle of gold is still gold. It is not qualitatively different from a big lump of gold. Still, although we are small particles of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, somehow we have fallen into this material world. We are like sparks that are no longer in the fire. When a small spark is dancing within the fire, it is brilliant—it is also fire. And if it falls on your clothes, it will immediately begin to burn, or the spark will make a black spot. I have had this experience. Although the spark is small it is still fire, and therefore it burns. Similarly, we are small particles of spirit, part and parcel of God, and therefore we possess His qualities in minute quantity. Now, when a spark falls out of a fire, there may be three conditions: The spark may fall on the ground, it may fall on the water, or it may fall on some dry grass. If the spark falls on dry grass, the spark may start another fire. If it falls on the ground, the spark may continue as fire for some time and then become extinguished. And if the spark falls on water, it is finished. Similarly, the material world is composed of three modes of nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance. If we acquire the quality of goodness, there is a chance of knowledge and enlightenment—the "fire" can again be generated. And if we acquire the mode of passion, our spiritual enlightenment is likely to soon be extinguished. But if we fall down in the water—the mode of ignorance—our consciousness is finished. In our fallen condition in this material world, the modes of passion and ignorance are very prominent. The symptoms of these modes are unlimited desires and greediness. And the symptom of the mode of goodness is enlightenment. If we cultivate brahminical qualifications, we will rise to the platform of the mode of goodness. Kṛṣṇa describes the brahminical qualifications in the *Bhagavad-gītā* [18.42]: > śamo damas tapaḥ śaucaṁ > kṣāntir ārjavam eva ca > jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ > brahma-karma svabhāva-jam If we cultivate this kind of life—to be truthful, peaceful, and tolerant, to be men of wisdom, knowledge, and faith in God and the scriptures—then we are **brāhmaṇa*s.* To be a *brāhmaṇa* means that one has a chance of understanding Brahman (brahma jānātīti *brāhmaṇa*ḥ). Human life is meant for inquiring about Brahman. This is declared in the first aphorism of the *Vedānta-sūtra: athāto brahma-jijñāsā.* So, the gist of the whole Vedic literature is given in the **Bhagavad-gītā*,* which is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the *Bhagavad-gītā* is a very important book. In other scriptures, sometimes the representative or servant of God is speaking. They are also teaching the science of God, but according to time and circumstances they may modify God's teachings. But here in the *Bhagavad-gītā* the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is Himself speaking. For the Indians who are present here, it is a great fortune that you have taken your birth in the country where Kṛṣṇa appeared. Such a birth is not an ordinary thing. Why? Because to take birth in India means to automatically be advanced in spiritual knowledge. Therefore, even though India is in such a fallen condition, if you go to any village the people will very easily understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By birthright they have the knowledge. In Vṛndāvana, when we walk on the street the cart drivers, the milkmen carrying milk—they all immediately offer respects: "Ah, Swamiji." The other day we were taking our morning walk and we entered a field. The cultivators came to receive us: "Swamiji, it is our great fortune that you have come to our field." But in this country, if I would have entered a field perhaps the owner would have brought a charge of trespassing or even shot me. So that is the difference between Indians and others: by birthright the Indian people are Kṛṣṇa conscious. My request to you Indians here in a foreign country is, Please don't forget your heritage. That is my request. Remain an Indian, with Indian culture. Here is the temple of Kṛṣṇa, and we are distributing Kṛṣṇa culture all over the world. Don't miss this opportunity; take advantage of it. The duty of every Indian is to help the mission of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Especially to the Indians He said, > bhārata bhūmite haila > mānuṣya-janma jara > janma sārthaka kari' > kara para-upakāra "The duty of one who has taken birth in India is to first of all make his own life successful and then to perform welfare activities for all others." The idea is that since India is enriched with Vedic knowledge, those who are born in India should take advantage of this facility and then spread that knowledge. Especially those who are in the higher ranks should do this—the *brāhmaṇas* [intellectuals], *kṣatriyas* [administrators], and *vaiśyas* [businessmen]. Learn the art of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, make your life perfect, and then distribute the knowledge all over the world. This is your duty, and this is the order of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Lord Kṛṣṇa spoke the *Bhagavad-gītā* five thousand years ago, but it was not broadly preached. It was spoken on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, so Arjuna knew it, and some of his friends. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is also Lord Kṛṣṇa, took the role of a devotee of Kṛṣṇa and distributed Kṛṣṇa consciousness freely. He wanted every Indian to seriously take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness, make his life perfect, and then distribute the knowledge. This is every Indian's duty. Now, in this ninth chapter of *Bhagavad-gītā* Kṛṣṇa is speaking plainly about *bhakti,* devotional service to the Supreme Lord. He calls this knowledge *rāja-guhyam,* "most confidential." In the previous verse He said, *rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyam:* "Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the king of education, and it is very confidential." Therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be understood by an ordinary man. Suppose you go to a bank. A few persons in the bank—the manager or the cashier or the accountant—may know everything confidential about the bank's dealings. But the clerks and customers don't know. Similarly, the knowledge Kṛṣṇa speaks in *Bhagavad-gītā* is very confidential *(guhyaṁ guhyatamam).* In other words, it is very, very important and not easily understood by the common man. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa says, "I am personally speaking this confidential knowledge to enlighten people like you, Arjuna, not for the people in general." Arjuna was not an ordinary person. He was born in a royal family, and he was so exalted that he could speak with Kṛṣṇa face to face. So this confidential knowledge of the *Bhagavad-gītā* is not for ordinary persons. But still, as Kṛṣṇa says, the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is *susukham kartum avyayam:* It is so easy to perform that everyone can do it. These American and Canadian boys—what are they doing here in this temple? Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, dancing, and eating *prasādam* [food offered to Kṛṣṇa]. What is the difficulty? Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa in ecstasy, dance nicely, and when you become hungry and tired, take nice *prasādam*. Simply by this process you will become advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and then you will be able to understand *Bhagavad-gītā.* What is the difficulty? There is no need of discussing philosophy or becoming a mystic magician or juggler or bluffer or cheater. No. Simply accept this simple process. Come here and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mahā-mantra*—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—and automatically you'll become ecstatic, because this Hare Kṛṣṇa *mahā-mantra* is not an ordinary sound. It is a spiritual sound. As Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, *golokera prema-dhana harināma saṅkīrtana.* Just as we receive sound from distant places via radio, we receive the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa from the spiritual world. This sound is not produced in this material world; it is brought from the spiritual world. In the spiritual world there are eternally liberated devotees who are ecstatically enjoying so much—simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and dancing. And the scriptures describe that in the spiritual world there is no sex. Just imagine! Here in this material world, sex is considered the highest pleasure. But in the spiritual world, although men and women are very beautiful, there is no sex because everyone is enjoying the higher pleasure of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Also, in the spiritual world no one ever becomes old, because in that place there is no birth, old age, disease, or death. Old age is due to the material body. Otherwise, the spirit soul is everlastingly young. Actually, we are hampered on account of the material bodily encagement. So, as I have already explained, if you like you can become free from the bondage of this material body, or if you like you can continue your material way of life, changing from one material body to another, perpetually. In the present verse Kṛṣṇa describes this process as *mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani,* "the path of repeated death in the material world." Why? Because if you are encaged in a material body—whether a cat's body or a dog's body or a human being's body or a demigod's body or even Brahmā's body—you have to die. There is no escape. Kṛṣṇa further says, *aprāpya mām,* "You don't get Me." So you have two alternatives: either you get Kṛṣṇa and go back home, back to Godhead, or you remain in this material world and repeatedly get a body and die again, struggling through the cycle of birth, old age, disease, and death. Now, because Kṛṣṇa is our supreme father, or supreme friend, He is helping us by speaking the knowledge of *Bhagavad-gītā.* So we should be very eager to accept His instructions. If we do not, then, Kṛṣṇa says, *mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani:* We will "travel on the path of repeated birth and death in this material world." That is the result if one is not interested in performing his occupational duty, or **dharma*.* What is this *dharma*? At the end of the *Bhagavad-gītā* Kṛṣṇa clearly says, *sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja:* "Just give up all other duties and surrender unto Me." This is real **dharma*.* And anything except this is bogus *dharma*, cheating. In another place in the *Bhagavad-gītā* [4.8] Kṛṣṇa says, *dharma*-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge: "To reestablish the real religious system, I appear age after age." Kṛṣṇa comes here, or He sends His representative—his son or devotee or servant. In this way Kṛṣṇa tries to enlighten the whole human society. So, you should take advantage of Kṛṣṇa's instructions. If you don't, if you have no faith in them, no interest, then you will suffer. This human form of life is a chance to accept the system of religion offered by God Himself. And it is our duty to accept it. But if one is not interested, then the result, says Kṛṣṇa, is that "One cannot get Me." And if we don't get Kṛṣṇa, what is the wrong there? It is very, very wrong. As Kṛṣṇa says, *nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani:* "One remains in the cycle of birth and death." That cycle is not very pleasing. We are working so hard to make nice roads, nice cars, nice skyscrapers, and other nice facilities. Why? To become happy. But when we are called by death, we will cry, "Oh, I am attempting to build this, and now I am dying!" This is very painful. That is the way of nature. You may try to become happy in this material world, but nature will kick you out. She will not allow you to stay here. Kṛṣṇa describes this world as *duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam:* temporary and full of miseries. It is very troublesome to get money and make nice material arrangements. And after you've undergone severe hardship and gotten some money and built big, big buildings or purchased a car, you have to work so hard just to keep it all intact. That is also very difficult. And ultimately there is no guarantee that you will be able to enjoy your material facilities. Today you may be the proprietor of a big house and a big motorcar, but after death you may have to accept the body of a cockroach in the house or the car. Your future situation is not in your hands; it is determined by the laws of nature. If you have worked in such a way that you have no right to possess a car anymore, and if you have great attachment for your car when you are dying, then you may have to accept the body of a cockroach in the same car. No one knows about these laws of nature. As Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* [3.27], > prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni > guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ > ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā > kartāham iti manyate "The rascals do not know how material nature works. Although they are under the control of nature, they think, 'I am independent; I am doing everything.' " So, after death we have to accept another body. Just as we have given up our childhood body and accepted a boyhood body, and given up our boyhood body and accepted an adult body, we will have to accept another body at the time of death. And that body will be created by nature according to our *karma.* Then we begin another chapter. Whether you become a demigod or a dog or a cockroach or a human being, from the date of your next birth you will begin another chapter. Again the miseries of growing up, changing bodies, adjusting things according to the circumstances. This is *mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani,* the cycle of repeated birth and death. If you want to avoid this botheration, listen to what Kṛṣṇa says. Then your life will be successful. But if you don't accept Kṛṣṇa's words, which are very plainly spoken in *Bhagavad-gītā,* then you have to remain in this *mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani.* This is the plain truth. There is no doubt about it. You may be very proud of your strong body or your social or political position, but after death your fate is not under your control. It is under the control of the material nature. So don't be falsely proud. Don't be fooled by false egotism into thinking, "I am free. I can do whatever I like." Then you'll suffer and remain on the path of repeated birth and death. There are 8,400,000 species. We have obtained this human form only after having gone through many, many births in the evolutionary process. Now is the time to understand our position. What is that position? That we are eternally part and parcel of God. As Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* [15.7], > mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke > jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ > manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi > prakṛti-sthāni karṣati "The living entities are eternally part and parcel of Me. But the foolish rascals are creating mental concoctions and speculations to become happy in this material world." According to one's mentality, one gets a certain type of body, which is composed of senses. The pig has a tongue and we also have a tongue, but the pig likes to taste stool with his tongue, while we don't. Because our bodies are different, our tongues prefer to enjoy different tastes. During our present life we create a certain type of mentality. If we live like dogs or hogs, that mentality will give us the senses and body of a dog or hog in our next life, and we will acquire a dog's or hog's sense of taste. Similarly, we can acquire a demigod's sense of taste. But the principle of tasting remains the same. So, in this way things are going on, and Kṛṣṇa describes them very widely and expressively in the *Bhagavad-gītā.* Every human being is expected to receive this knowledge directly from Kṛṣṇa. Don't interpret it according to your whims. Take it as it is and be benefited. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to enlighten people in the principles of *Bhagavad-gītā.* These principles are universal; there is no restriction. It is not that if you are not a *brāhmaṇa* or an Indian or a Sanskrit scholar, you cannot take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness. No. Kṛṣṇa says, *māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ:* "Never mind whether one is an Indian or a *brāhmaṇa* or this or that. Even if one is born in the lowest social position, if he surrenders to Me he can achieve perfection." So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is universal, and it is easy and happy to perform. Take advantage of it and be happy. That is my request. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Thank you very much. ## Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Cuisine *Awakening Our Spiritual Taste Whether it's a spicy chutney or a cooling raita, food offered to Kṛṣṇa enlivens our spiritual senses.* ### by Drutakarmā dāsa When your taste buds lose their edge after savoring several mouthfuls of the mild main course of a vegetarian feast, take a spoonful of chutney. Immediately your tired tongue will awaken to a tingle of spices and irresistible fruit-flavored sweetness. Now you can return to the main course with your digestion and your palate stimulated. But when the main course itself is hot and spicy, your tongue craves a different kind of relief—the kind that can only be provided by a *raita:* crisp fresh vegetables in a cooling, soothing yogurt sauce. Our tongues seem to crave an endless variety of delightful tastes. Actually, all of our senses hunger after their various objects. The eye delights in seeing beautiful forms and colors, the skin in feeling the pleasures of touching and caressing, the nose in smelling delectable aromas and perfumes, and the ears in hearing music and sweet voices. Yet although the senses hunger after pleasure, they are inevitably subjected to the pain and suffering of disease, old age, and death. The *Vedas* tell us that the pleasures of the material senses are temporary because the material senses themselves are temporary. The *Vedas* also inform us that the conscious self who experiences the pains and pleasures of the material senses is an indestructible entity distinct from the temporary body. The self's natural position is to live an eternal life of full knowledge and pleasure in association with the Supreme Self, Kṛṣṇa. Reestablishing the soul in its connection with Kṛṣṇa is accomplished by the process of *bhakti-*yoga*,* the *yoga* of devotion. The basic principle of *bhakti-yoga* is to transfer the activities of the senses from material sense objects to spiritual sense objects. For example, rather than using our ears to hear songs that celebrate sense gratification, we can use them to hear the transcendental sound of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mantra,* which has the power to free the soul from the material world. In the case of the tongue, we can use it to taste transcendental food, vegetarian dishes prepared and offered in sacrifice to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (3.13), Kṛṣṇa says, "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is first offered for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin." If we eat food that has been offered to Kṛṣṇa, we can obtain liberation from material existence. Food not offered to Kṛṣṇa, even vegetarian food, remains material, and eating it keeps one in the cycle of repeated birth, disease, old age, and death. By Kṛṣṇa's inconceivable power, food offered to Him becomes transformed from matter to spirit. Such food is called *prasādam,* the Lord's mercy, and is considered nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. A great Kṛṣṇa conscious spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, wrote a prayer explaining the role of *prasādam* in spiritual life: "O Lord, this material body is a place of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths leading to death. Somehow we have fallen into this ocean of material sense enjoyment, and of all the senses the tongue is the most voracious and uncontrollable; it is very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world. But You, dear Kṛṣṇa, are so very kind to us and have given us such nice *prasādam* just to conquer the tongue." The taste of *prasādam* is wholly divine—not just a tingle on the taste buds but a genuine spiritual experience that touches the soul. Lord Caitanya, an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa who appeared five hundred years ago in India to propagate the chanting of the holy names of God, once said about *prasādam*, "Everyone has tasted these material substances before. However, in these ingredients there are extraordinary tastes and uncommon fragrances. Just taste them and see the difference in the experience. Apart from the taste, even the fragrance pleases the mind and makes one forget any other sweetness besides its own. Therefore, it is to be understood that the spiritual nectar of Lord Kṛṣṇa's lips has touched these ordinary ingredients and transferred to them all their spiritual qualities." By using this month's recipes for *raitas* and chutneys in preparing *prasādam,* you are guaranteed an exciting taste of Kṛṣṇa conscious life. (Recipes from *The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking,* by Ādi-rāja dāsa) *Fresh Coriander Chutney* ### (Dhanya Chatni) Preparation time: 15 min > 6 ounces fresh coriander leaves (weight without stems) > 4 tablespoons grated coconut > 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated > 1 or 2 fresh chilies, chopped (use to taste) > 4 tablespoons lemon or lime juice > 8 ounces plain yogurt > 1 teaspoon sugar > 1 teaspoon salt > 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted and ground 1. Thoroughly wash the coriander leaves and chop them fine. In an electric blender, mix the leaves, coconut, ginger, chilies, and lemon juice until they form a smooth paste. 2. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, salt, and cumin with the paste from the blender. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to offer to Kṛṣṇa. *Date and Tamarind Chutney* ### (Khajur Imli Ki Chatni) Date and tamarind chutney > Preparation and cooking time: 35 min > 3 ounces tamarind > 11/2 cups water > 7 ounces dates, pitted and chopped > 1 teaspoon sugar > 1/2 teaspoon salt > 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin > 1 pinch cayenne pepper 1. Break the lump of tamarind into small pieces and boil them in the water for 10 minutes. Then pour the tamarind and water through a strainer. With a wooden spoon, push as much of the pulp as possible through the strainer into the water, scraping the bottom of the strainer every few seconds. Continue until all the pulp has been extracted from the seeds and fiber. 2. To this juice, add all the other ingredients. Cook, uncovered, over a medium flame until most of the liquid evaporates and the chutney is the consistency of marmalade. Offer to Kṛṣṇa alone or with savories. *Green Mango Chutney* ### (Aam Chatni) Preparation time: 15 minutes > 1 large green mango > 1 fresh chili > ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, grated > 1 teaspoon salt > 1 teaspoon sugar (optional) > 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves Peel the mango, cut the fruit off in strips, and scrape the remaining fruit off the seed. Chop the fruit and mix it with all the other ingredients. Now grind the mixture in an electric blender (or with a mortar and pestle) to form a thick pulp. Offer to Kṛṣṇa. *Spinach and Yogurt Salad* ### (Palak Ka Raita) > Preparation time: 20 minutes > 1 pound fresh spinach > 1½ cups plain yogurt > 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, dry-roasted and ground > ½ teaspoon garam masālā > ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper > 1 teaspoon salt 1. Remove the stalks from the spinach and wash the leaves in several changes of water. Then plunge the leaves in boiling water for a few seconds to wilt them. Drain, press out the excess water, and chop the leaves coarse. 2. Put the yogurt in a large bowl with the spinach and other ingredients. Mix with a fork. Offer to Kṛṣṇa. *Cucumber and Yogurt Salad* ### (Kakri Raita) > Preparation time: 15 minutes > ½ teaspoon cumin seeds > 2 medium-size cucumbers > 1 cup plain yogurt > ½ teaspoon garam masālā > ½ teaspoon salt > ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper > 2 pinches of asafetida (optional) Dry-roast the cumin seeds and grind them into a powder. Wash the cucumbers and grate them through the large holes of a metal grater. Squeeze out the excess liquid, combine the grated cucumber with all the other ingredients in a mixing bowl, and toss. Offer to Kṛṣṇa. *Chick-Pea-Flour Pearls in Seasoned Yogurt* ### (Bundi Raita) > Preparation time: 30 minutes > 4 ounces chick-pea flour > 3 teaspoons salt > Ÿ cup cold water > 1 cup warm water > 2 cups plain yogurt > ½ teaspoon ground cumin > a pinch of cayenne pepper > ghee (clarified butter) or vegetable oil for deep frying > 2 pinches of paprika > 2 teaspoons fresh coriander or parsley leaves, chopped fine 1. Sift the chick-pea flour into a large mixing bowl and add ½ teaspoon of salt. Slowly pour in the cold water, stirring constantly, until you have a thick, smooth batter. Set aside. Dissolve 2 teaspoons of salt in the warm water and set aside. Put the yogurt in a bowl with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, the ground cumin (reserve a little for garnishing later), and the cayenne pepper. Mix well and refrigerate. 2. Heat the ghee or vegetable oil over a medium flame. The ghee is hot enough when a drop of batter put into it immediately rises to the surface and sizzles. Over the ghee hold a colander with 1/8-inch holes. With the help of a spatula push several spoonfuls of batter through the holes. Cover the surface of the ghee with droplets. The **bundis*,* or pearls, should cook slowly for about 5 minutes, or until golden yellow. Don't let them turn brown. Drop them into the salted water to soak. Transform all the batter into *bundis* and let them soak for 20 minutes. 3. Remove the *bundis* from the water and squeeze gently between the palms of your hands to remove excess water. Be careful not to break them. Now mix most of the *bundis* into the yogurt and use the rest as a garnish. Sprinkle with the ground cumin, paprika, and chopped coriander leaves. Chill and offer to Kṛṣṇa. ## Counting the Ways *The Vedic science of rasas (relationships) reveals to us the many ways of loving God.* ### by Mathureśa Dāsa "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." One, two, three, four, five. Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning had something else in mind when she penned her beatific "How do I love thee?" question, but the Vedic literature of ancient India, highly poetic itself, answers that there are primarily five ways that an "I" and a "thee" can love each other: (1) in a mood of reverence, (2) in a mood of service, (3) in a mood of friendship, (4) in a mood of parental, or protective, affection, and (5) in a mood of conjugal affection. Browning fans might think these five categories constitute a relatively cold analysis of love's ways. Even a cold analyst might take exception. What would Sigmund Freud have to say? Does his Oedipus complex fit into the parental mood or the conjugal mood, or not fit at all? And how about Carl Jung? If these five categories exist, then why in his extensive research in the fields of personality and self-discovery did he never discover them? Erich Fromm does list five types of love in his book *The Art of Loving,* but they differ from the Vedic types. Nevertheless, the five loving moods, while not listed in the writings of modern poets and psychoanalysis, are easy to recognize in our own everyday lives. The Sanskrit term for these moods is *rasa,* a word that also carries the connotations of "relationship" and "taste." We taste loving relationships in these five *rasas.* For clarification, let us count the ways again, briefly elaborating on each *rasa.* 1. Reverence. We revere, or stand in awe of, persons we consider greater than ourselves—a politician, a famous artist or athlete, a successful businessman. Knowledge of someone's achievements and social position is an important factor in invoking our respect. Reverence is sometimes called the neutral *rasa* because it involves only passive admiration, not an active exchange with the revered person. In the strictest sense, therefore, it is not a loving mood, although it may foster love. 2. Loving service. When reverence intensifies, it inspires us to perform service, which is the next *rasa.* Out of admiration for a political candidate, for example, we may help in his election campaign, or at least vote for him. Our feeling of reverence is still there, but we act on it. Not only in the political field but in other social situations as well, the voluntary rendering of service develops from a foreground of reverence and respect. Service rendered strictly for money, or involuntarily out of fear, is not love. 3. Friendship. When the *rasa* of service intensifies, it may develop into friendship. Again the example of a politician: through prolonged service in his or her campaign, you may come to know the candidate personally, and the candidate, instead of treating you like a servant, may begin to confide in you as a friend. The *rasa* of friendship contains the previous two *rasa*s, but since friendship involves equality and familiarity, the *rasa* of awe and reverence diminishes markedly. Your friend's awe-inspiring credentials are not as important as his individual qualities. 4. Parental affection. Intensify friendship and add to it a feeling of protective superiority toward the object of your affection, and you have the parental **rasa*.* Parenthood ordinarily denotes the relationship between a biological father and mother and their children. But we cannot confine the parental *rasa* to biological kin. Men and women often show parental affection for others' children or for each other. 5. Conjugal affection. This topmost *rasa* includes the previous four. In addition to respect, service, friendship, and protective affection, conjugal lovers enjoy erotic exchanges as well as feelings of exclusive intimacy. So there it is. Are these five *rasas* not apparent in our daily affairs? Vedic authorities assert that any other categories of love we might perceive are merely subdivisions of these. The concept of *rasa* encompasses not just loving relationships but unloving ones as well. When the five primary *rasa*s are disturbed, or when they are absent altogether, seven secondary *rasa*s take over. *Aaah!* More counting of the ways? Yes, just one last tally. The secondary *rasas* are: (1) anger, (2) wonder, (3) comedy, (4) chivalry, (5) mercy, (6) dread, and (7) ghastliness. Secondary *rasas* vary in intensity—from the dread of a visit to the dentist to the horror of losing a child, parent, or other loved one. The story of Romeo and Juliet is one famous example of a secondary *rasa,* ghastliness, resulting from the disruption of a primary *rasa,* conjugal love. These twelve *rasas*, five primary and seven secondary, constitute the sum total of personal relationships in every society. Life is an ocean of *rasa.* The Vedic science of *rasa* provides an interesting and useful analytical framework for the study of interpersonal psychology. We could discuss current high divorce rates, for example, in terms of the negative effect that secondary *rasa*s have on family members when the primary marital and parental relationships are broken. Or we could advocate friendly relationships between nations, since in the absence of friendship dreadful and ghastly wars are likely. But it is also interesting and far more useful to understand that the great self-realized authors of the Vedic literature have given us the science of *rasa* first and foremost to help us reawaken our eternal loving relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is no less a person than we are, which means that He can also relate to others in twelve **rasa*s.* In fact, He is the original person, the primeval cause of all causes. The conception of God as an enjoyer of *rasa* does not originate in the human imagination. No. Kṛṣṇa is *our* origin. We reflect *His* qualities. Although God is great and we are small, we are qualitatively equal to Him. Therefore, just as you can know something of the Atlantic Ocean by tasting one drop of ocean water, you can know something of Kṛṣṇa by observing y*our*self. Observe myself? How? By looking in the mirror? Not exactly. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* Kṛṣṇa explains that the self, the individual person, is not the physical body but an eternal spirit soul dwelling in the body. The body is temporary clothing covering the eternal soul. Not only in the human body but in every living body in all species of life—the plants, aquatics, insects, birds, beasts, and human beings—there is an individual soul. The proof of the soul's presence is that even the animals exchange *rasa,* showing affection for mates, children, parents, and so on. So to observe the self means to observe not the body but how a living entity exchanges *rasas.* In general we see that **rasa*s* are exchanged only with members of the same species. It is sometimes said that the dog is man's best friend, but there are in fact many obstacles to a meaningful exchange of *rasa* between a human being and a dog, or between a human being and any other species. We naturally restrict "counting of the ways" to our own kind. Man to man. Dog to dog. Salamander to salamander. On the spiritual platform, however, every person, whatever his temporary bodily covering, is of the same quality, the same species, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Exchange of *rasa* with Kṛṣṇa is therefore natural for everyone. Most religious traditions teach us to respect God as the all-great, all-powerful, all-knowing Supreme, and to serve Him in the mood of awe and reverence. This is certainly correct, but we overlook His true greatness and power if we ignore that He can also relate to others in the higher *rasa*s of friendship, parenthood, and conjugal love. The *Nārada Pañcarātra* clearly states that pure love of God means to completely transfer our affection to the Supreme Person and to completely repose all sense of kinship in Him. The pure devotee takes Kṛṣṇa as everything—master, friend, child, lover—and relates affectionately to everyone else as fellow servants of Kṛṣṇa. Mundane affairs in this temporary physical world appear more interesting to us than religious or spiritual pursuits precisely because mundane affairs hold the promise of varieties of personal exchanges in each of the twelve *rasas,* whereas religious advancement, we falsely believe, does not. Without at least some preliminary knowledge of the completeness of God's personality, of His ability to exchange *rasa,* it is difficult, if not impossible, even to revere Him. How can you revere a nonentity? Ignorant of the Vedic science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, people gradually take to agnosticism, atheism, and lip-service-ism. The Vedic literature doesn't recommend that we imagine ourselves to be intimate friends of the Supreme Person. Kṛṣṇa is certainly able to share friendship and parental and conjugal affection with us, but to comprehend the spiritual nature of loving affairs with Kṛṣṇa we must first fully understand that we are infinitesimal spirit souls and that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Soul. Until we are acquainted with our non-physical, spiritual identity as members of Kṛṣṇa's "species," reverently recognizing Kṛṣṇa's supreme, all-powerful position, we cannot even begin to experience an exchange of *rasa* with Him. Intimacy with the Lord, if we desire it, is possible only after we qualify ourselves. It is also a mistake to think that Kṛṣṇa's loving affairs are exactly like the affairs we experience in the material world. There are similarities, but material loving affairs are temporary and therefore bound to disappoint us, whereas spiritual *rasa* is eternal, pure, unlimited, and ever-increasingly satisfying. In particular, we should not equate Kṛṣṇa's conjugal affairs, which are sometimes graphically depicted in books on Eastern religion, with the affairs of ordinary, or even extraordinary, men and women. Again, the two appear similar, but there is a gulf of difference. The affairs of men and women on this tiny planet do not interest Kṛṣṇa, the all-powerful creator and maintainer of millions of universes. Even Kṛṣṇa's confidential devotees, who glorify His pastimes of conjugal love, have no attraction for material love affairs. Lord Caitanya, who inaugurated the modern Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement five hundred years ago, taught that there is no better worship of Kṛṣṇa than that displayed by the damsels of Vraja, who worshiped Him in conjugal love. Yet Lord Caitanya was a strict renunciant and, although not disrespectful toward women, avoided even distant association with them. Conjugal love of Kṛṣṇa is therefore not the conjugal love we know of in the material world. The material is a perverted reflection of the spiritual. Accompanied by His confidential devotees, Kṛṣṇa occasionally visits the material world, appearing in human society to display His transcendental pastimes and demonstrate to the embodied souls, who are absorbed in temporary loves, that He is Rasarāja, the king of loving affairs. He thus invites us to reawaken our eternal spiritual *rasa* with Him. Pure devotees of Kṛṣṇa have recorded His earthly pastimes in epic works such as the *Mahābhārata* (of which the *Gītā* is one chapter), the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,* and the *Rāmāyaṇa.* Through these great literatures one can relish the Lord's pastimes with His devotees, learn the art and science of devotion, and gradually rise to the pure devotional platform. Unfortunately, when Kṛṣṇa mercifully appears, many foolish people mistake Him for an ordinary human being. They discount His superhuman pastimes or take them for myths and ignore the Vedic teachings, which establish beyond doubt His supreme dominion over all that be. We should not be misled by such confused persons, who cannot see beyond counting the paltry ways of love in this material world; instead we should take advantage of Kṛṣṇa's mercy and help the ones we truly love to do the same. ## Chanting the Holy Names in West Berlin *Now the people in this politically tense city have something to sing about.* ### by Suhotra Swami In its mission to spread pure Vaiṣṇava *dharma,* service to God, around the globe, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is faced with the challenge of establishing unity in diversity: One absolute spiritual principle must be adapted to the various social and cultural conditions of this relative world. The one absolute spiritual principle is the transcendental teaching of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself in a golden form, who incarnated five hundred years ago in West Bengal, India. Lord Caitanya personally descended to teach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in its most essential and accessible form: *hari-nāma saṅkīrtana,* the congregational chanting of the holy names of God. Lord Caitanya's *saṅkīrtana* movement attracted literally millions of followers from all corners of the Indian subcontinent. They were caught up in the waves of ecstatic bliss generated by this simple process of *mantra yoga,* which enables one to transcend the limitations of the fragile human condition and link one's consciousness with the Supreme, ending the cycle of repeated birth and death. But Lord Caitanya's plan for delivering souls from the bondage of the bodily conception was not limited to the predominantly Hindu culture of South Asia. In the *Caitanya-bhāgavata,* a sixteenth-century classic on Lord Caitanya's life and teachings, the Lord clearly prophesies that the chanting of His holy name will be heard in every town and village of the entire world. Fulfilling that prophecy was the main goal of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda when he founded the Kṛṣṇa consciousness Society in New York in 1966. Śrīla Prabhupāda encouraged the Western disciples to use their native entrepreneurial spirit to transport the *saṅkīrtana* mission across the cultural divide separating the Occident from the Orient. That's why *saṅkīrtana* has taken so many forms in the modern world—from the distribution of *Bhagavad-gītā* in international airports to inter-island cruises by ISKCON preachers in Hawaii, from underground study cells of Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in the Soviet Union to construction of a "spiritual Disneyland" in West Virginia. In West Germany, devotees have evolved a preaching strategy adapted from the *nāma-haṭṭa* program established by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in India during the last century. The aim of *nāma-haṭṭa* ("the marketplace of the holy name") is to add Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the lives of ordinary people from all walks of life, without demanding that they undergo a radical break from society. In other words, a *nāma-hatti* transforms his home into a temple, practices Kṛṣṇa consciousness with his family, and attempts to interest others in Kṛṣṇa consciousness through whatever social and occupational channels he has access to. The German *nāma-haṭṭa* encompasses centers in Hamburg, Flensburg, Regensburg, and Berlin. These centers, which supplement the outreach activities of Germany's four official ISKCON centers, are periodically visited by ISKCON preachers, who encourage the *nāma-haṭṭīs* in their own practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and assist them in expanding the *saṅkīrtana* mission in their local area. One such party of traveling preachers is headed by Avināśacandra dāsa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda's who joined ISKCON when it was first established in Germany in the late sixties. Avināśacandra and eight other devotees converted a bus into a traveling temple, complete with Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi Deities, and christened it *The Spiritual Skyliner.* Among the most exciting tours are the visits to Berlin, which entail a ninety-mile journey from the eastern border of West Germany through the communist German Democratic Republic. Berlin, known by the European youth subculture as "Wall City," is a burgeoning neo-Bohemia that some social commentators have compared to San Francisco in its hippie heyday. At any rate, the large concentration of young people makes Berlin a fruitful ground for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. From 1871 to 1945, during its Imperial, Weimar, and Nazi periods, Berlin was the capital of the German Reich. Today the city is truly an international metropolis where the principal political currents of modern Western society converge. Since the end of the Second World War, Berlin has been administered by the Allied occupational authorities (the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France). Their presence has exerted no mean influence upon the local German *kultur.* The result has made the city a trendy tourist attraction for everyone. Berlin's best-known tourist magnet, of course, is the infamous Berlin Wall, built by the Communists in 1961 to prevent the 1,000,000 Berliners living in the Russian zone from entering capitalistic West Berlin (population: 2,000,000). Zigzagging along its 100-mile path, the wall cuts through parks, squares, cemeteries, waterways, and 62 city streets. It is guarded around the clock by 14,000 soldiers manning 252 watchtowers, 136 bunkers, and 7 crossing points. Since its construction, more than 70 East Germans have been killed trying to escape to the West. The *nāma-haṭṭa* center is within sight of the Berlin Wall, just two blocks from Checkpoint Charlie, where, on October 25, 1961, a tank-to-tank showdown between Russian and American troops came within a hairsbreadth of starting World War III. The center is permanently staffed by two enthusiastic aspiring devotees, Udo and Dirk, and serves a congregation of some thirty others. Every Sunday the *nāma-haṭṭīs* hold a feast that attracts as many as a hundred guests. And when the devotees from West Germany visit, everyone takes to the streets for *hari-nāma saṅkīrtana.* Avināśacandra describes his efforts to bring the holy name to Wall City: "West Berlin is at once a *Weltstadt* [world city] and an isolated island. Because of its insularity, it is not hard to make an impact here. We simply park the bus at a busy location—for instance, in front of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, in the center of town—and go out on processional *kīrtana*. If you do this every day for a week or two, the whole city will be talking about it for a month afterwards. Sometimes a radio reporter will come to the bus for an interview. We have a video player running constantly in the bus window, showing Kṛṣṇa conscious films, and we distribute *prasādam* sweets and magazines to the people gathered outside. And, of course, the devotees hand out invitations to the Sunday feast held at the center. "Berlin is very analogous to the material world. It's like a prison—a very comfortable prison, no doubt, featuring a grand array of sense pleasures—but on all sides it is bordered by gloom. People here never shake off the nagging fear that they are trapped and that at any moment Russians may come bursting through the wall with their tanks to break up the party. "Similarly, everybody everywhere is now trapped within the four walls of birth, death, disease, and old age. We may try to make the best out of it by doing the things West Berliners have become world famous for—eating opulently, drinking, taking drugs, gambling, engaging in illicit sex of all kinds, living for the moment in grand style—but that's just illusory escapism. If one really wants to escape he's got to get beyond those walls. And that's why we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. It elevates the consciousness to the transcendental realm of Kṛṣṇa, which is eternally full of knowledge and bliss." Berlin, which for the last one hundred years has been the site of many a world-shaking event, is now a world stage for *nāma-saṅkīrtana.* The much-needed balm of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is the only medicine that can heal the ills of a civilization suffering from a dangerous excess of materialism. ## Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out *Escaping the Dream* *The following conversation between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and a guest*—*Dr. Christian von Hauser, a psychiatrist*—*took place in Stockholm on September 10, 1973.* Dr. Christian Hauser: You know, I met your student James before he was your student. And I must say he was a very aimless person—a person who hadn't found anything very specific in life. He floated about very much. But when I met him yesterday, he was very happy; he felt happy about himself and his new life as a devotee, and that made me very happy. I liked James very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the original status of the living entity. For instance, a young child is always conscious that "I am the son of such-and-such person." This consciousness is natural. A person may go mad. But when he's cured, he immediately understands, "I belong to such-and-such family, and I am such-and-such gentleman's son." Similarly, once in contact with this material nature, the spiritual spark, the living entity—he's in madness. Even though we are all part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa and our original consciousness of Kṛṣṇa cannot be broken, somehow here in this world we have forgotten our relationship with Kṛṣṇa. This is madness. You are a psychiatrist. You know very well—every man in this material world is more or less a madman. Dr. Christian Hauser: Or he has the germ within himself. Śrīla Prabhupāda: There is a Bengali poem that says, *piśāce paile jana mote channa haya/ māyāra grasta jīvera sei daśā upajaya:* "Anyone who is living within this material energy—he is as if haunted by a ghost." Do you have any experience of a man haunted by a ghost, or possessed? Dr. Christian Hauser: Oh, yes. That's very often a symptom of a psychosis. They feel that they are persecuted by foreign powers. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Foreign powers. That is the idea. Our material conception of life—it is as if we are haunted by a foreign power. It is madness. "I am Christian." "I am Hindu." "I am Muslim." "I am English." "I am German." These conceptions are all haunted. Mad. Because the soul is pure. *Asaṅgo 'yaṁ puruṣaḥ:* the pure spirit soul has no connection with any designations of the body. For instance, in a dream we see so many things that have nothing to do with us. This is our nighttime dream, and we recognize it when we wake up. Unfortunately, when we wake up, generally we go back into our daytime dream. "I am this." "I am that." "I am white." "I am black." "I am American." And so forth. At night, when we dream, we are in a different situation and we forget everything from the daytime. And again, in the daytime we forget everything from the nighttime. But actually we are entering another dream. When we leave our nighttime dream, we forget all about it, and we see it for what it was—a temporary situation, a dream. But our daytime situation is also temporary; it is also a dream. We have got to know the permanent reality: I am the permanent spiritual observer within this temporary material situation, nighttime and daytime. The difficulty is, most of us see these two dreams and recognize only one as a dream; we take the daytime dream as the permanent reality. When someone takes a dream state as reality, you treat him, do you not? Dr. Christian Hauser: *Hmm.* Yes. Śrīla Prabhupāda: So for practical purposes, everyone who is in contact with this temporary material energy is mad. And we are trying to take him out of this mad, dreaming condition. That is the sum and substance of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Dr. Christian Hauser: But does he stop dreaming? I mean, substantially, does he stop . . . does one stop dreaming? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, in the sense we are using the word: the soul no longer identifies with what is not his eternal self or with what is not his eternal duty. He knows, "I am separate from this dreaming condition." So when one knows himself to be simply the observer and not actually a part of the dream, then he's cured. Dr. Christian Hauser: But the dreaming of the night also has another function. Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, that is not the idea. Dreaming at night and dreaming during the day are the same thing. Superficial, illusory. Simply their durations are different—at night you dream for a number of minutes, and during the day you dream for a number of hours. But in the daytime if you think that you are English or you are Swedish, or that you are Hindu or Muslim, that is also a dream. You are none of these, any more than you are part of your nighttime dream. Because of madness, sometimes we take it, "This daytime dream is a fact," or "That daytime dream is a fact." But none of them are facts. Under their sway, we may accept them as facts, but none of them are facts. So, once again, sanity means *sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam:* I have to become completely free from all dreamlike designations. For instance, during a nighttime dream I may think, "I have now become a king," or "I am the proprietor of a factory." But none of these are reality. They are only dreams. Similarly, in the daytime I may think, "I am Russian," "I am African," "I am this," or "I am that." But that, too, is all a dream. In reality, I am a spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit, and my duty, my nature, is to serve Him. It is all very simple. So sanity requires that I become free from this dreaming condition, liberated from all kinds of false designations. Dr. Christian Hauser: But some of these false . . . false designations also are the necessary machinery of our society. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. That society is also false. (*To be continued*.) ## Every Town and Village ### A look at the worldwide activities of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) *ISKCON Temple Opens in South Africa, 100,000 Attend* Natal, South Africa—A recent three-day festival here marking the grand opening of ISKCON's Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Rādhānātha temple drew 100,000 visitors, including leaders of the Afrikaans, English, black, and Asian communities. Festivities included a Vedic fire ceremony, the installation of beautiful Deities of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, a Vedic wedding, feasts of sumptuous *prasādam* (food offered to Kṛṣṇa), and a spectacular fireworks display. Among the guest speakers at the colorful opening was Mangosuthu Buthelezi, chief minister of the Zulu tribal homeland and president of Inkatha, the largest black political group in South Africa. Buthelezi, though an opponent of apartheid, advocates peaceful negotiations between the country's warring factions. The ISKCON temple is a "triumph overt terrible adversity," Buthelezi said. "The temple's magnificence and spirituality could not be here if racial hatred had already dehumanized us. Sharing across political and racial barriers was made possible by the great religions of the world. There would be no great cultures if there were no great religions." Presiding over the festival were Śrīla Bhagavān Gosvāmī and Śrīla Bhaktitīrtha Swami, two of ISKCON's present spiritual masters, who oversee ISKCON's affairs in South and West Africa. The temple is over 100 feet high and is surrounded by a moat and a lovely park of gardens, fountains, lawns, walkways, and exotic imported plants. The interior decorations include 557 chandeliers, 45 murals, 6 tons of Portuguese marble, 1,264 square feet of mirrors, and 16,114 stainless steel tiles. The temple also contains a 700-seat auditorium. Rājarāma dāsa, a devotee-architect, designed the temple according to geometrical formulas found in a classical Sanskrit text on architecture. The devotees started their own construction company and did most of the construction work. "Kṛṣṇa consciousness brings people together in a way that no other church or organization could," Śrīla Bhaktitīrtha said in his opening address. "The devotees in South Africa have vividly demonstrated that all people can live together peacefully through spiritual understanding." That statement was confirmed by J. N. Reddy, a leading member of the Indian parliament. "This message is one the devotees are showing by their example. It applies not only to South Africa but to the whole world," Reddy said. Stan Lange, the mayor of Durban, and Amichand Rajbansi, chief minister of the House of Delegates, were also honored guests. Mr. Rajbansi predicted that the temple would soon become a major tourist attraction in South Africa. ## The Vedic Observer ### Transcendental Commentary on the Issues of the Day *The Comfortable Hole* ### by Rūpānuga dāsa For thirteen years at the Gorilla Foundation in Woodside, California, a developmental psychologist has been teaching sign language to Koko, a female gorilla. Although Koko shows remarkably human emotions and intelligence, her psychologist says she's an average gorilla at best. Koko's psychologist first tried teaching her the same hand signs used by the deaf, but in time Koko began inventing her own sign language. For example, when she was shown a wedding ring, she responded by combining the sign for "finger" with the sign for "bracelet." Today her working vocabulary is about five hundred words. She initiates about half of her conversations, asks questions, and will even deny things. She also talks to other animals. The most interesting thing about Koko, however, is her communication of certain abstract concepts, like old age and death. She cried when her pet kitten (which she named All Ball) died. Previously, her keepers phrased questions to her about death: "Why do gorillas die?" they asked, She sighed in return, "Trouble, old." When asked, "Where do gorillas go when they die?" She answered, "Comfortable hole," blowing a kiss goodbye. Her psychologist was puzzled where she got such a concept, but found a confirmed observation of a group of gorillas who came upon a dead crow, dug a hole, placed the corpse within, and covered it with dirt. Perhaps this is the most important discovery about Koko: a gorilla can know as much about death as many people do. A person is buried, and that's about it—comfortably "resting in peace." It's amazing that a civilization as materially advanced as ours officially teaches no more about death than what an average gorilla knows! The *Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad* states, *yo vā etad akṣaraṁ gārgy aviditvāsmāl lokāt praiti sa kṛpaṇaḥ:* "He is a miserly man who does not solve the problems of life as a human being and who thus quits his body like the animals, without understanding the science of self-realization." *Kṛpaṇa* means "a miserly person," one who hoards valuable assets. In other words, the real value of human life escapes the person who neglects self-realization. Who am I? What is the purpose of life? Why do I have to die? Where am I going? These questions signal the start of self-realization. Too often they're postponed till the last bewildering moment of death. Such procrastination is due to attachment. To be attached to the body is natural, because we are living in it. But without proper spiritual education, we tend to equate the body with ourselves. We assume a bodily identity, an identity we constantly reinforce by innumerable forms of sense gratification. As we grow older, our identity expands with our attachments—from our bodies to our relatives, friends, community, race, nation, and humanity. Affection for these things is natural, but in the life of one devoid of self-realization, that affection becomes the cause of miserly existence. Thousands of years ago, on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Arjuna faced the perplexity of material identity and affection by consulting Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus, by Kṛṣṇa's transcendental advice, Arjuna was able to overcome his attachments. We should also take advantage of Lord Kṛṣṇa's teachings in the *Bhagavad-gītā.* After all, our attachments, be they spiritual or material, are based upon our education. The word *education* comes from the Latin *educare,* which means "to bring" or "to call" out (what is already there). Koko's *education* brought out her realization—which was pretty good for a gorilla—that life ends with the body. But should an intelligent human being be satisfied with a comfortable hole in the ground at the end of life? The opposite of the *kṛpaṇa* (miser) mentioned above is the *brāhmaṇa,* or one who by developed intelligence is able to use the human body for successfully solving the problems of life. That is the special prerogative of humans over gorillas. *A Thin Layer Of Fear* ### by Dvārakādhīśa-devī dāsī "It's really prolonged happiness I'm suspicious of," relates Dustin Hoffman. "Momentary happiness doesn't scare me, but as soon as things are really good, I always have the feeling the rug is about to be pulled out from under me, and I put up a guard. On a beautiful day in California, there's always a thin layer of smog. With me, there's always a thin layer of fear." For those languishing on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, a kind of constant fearfulness seems natural. After all, when your assets are few, it takes a very small blow to demolish everything you have. For such people, fear is never a distant threat, as they struggle to pay the bills, feed the kids, and hold the marriage together. The hope is that someday they will achieve a margin of security to cushion them from the threat of disaster. In that peaceful and happy state, they believe, the constant gnaw of anxiety will be silenced by the security of material prosperity. It is disheartening, then, to hear such sobering testimonies from the top. Nevertheless, a number of tabloids appear to be dedicated to exposing the pain behind the painted smiles—broken homes, enslaving drug habits, suicides. Those who are living the American dream most fully are discovering the very fragile and elusive nature of that dream. Mr. Hoffman continues, "It's the old too-good-to-be-true business that never leaves me. A big wave of happiness surges over me, like a shaft of light from heaven, and I hear a voice behind it saying, 'Are you sure there isn't an earthquake coming?' " Material acquisitions do not protect us from anxiety. The paradox is, the more you acquire, the more you stand to lose. With each new embellishment a fresh attachment thrusts forward in our hearts, threatening to slice us with pain if we lose the treasured object. We wonder how we will live without the house in the country, the support of our spouse, or the glory of our careers. These things are heady fuel for fear, as the unwitting possessor grows more and more miserable in their midst. Fear and worry are actually an intelligent response to our increasing load of material attachments. Only a fool proceeds merrily along, oblivious to his own vulnerability. The unhappy truth is that nothing in the material world lasts forever; we will lose all those things so dear to our hearts. An introspective person observes this and becomes alarmed at the depth of his own materialistic entanglement. The material fever can be extinguished through spiritual enlightenment. To hear of the rich variegations of spiritual happiness and to become eager for such a life automatically subdues materialistic longings. As spiritual entities we crave tranquility and permanence, and these are possible only when the mind is firmly transcendental to material distractions. The spirit soul never dies, so spiritual pleasure isn't interrupted by the death of the body. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda explains, Birth and death apply to one's embodiment in the material world. Fear is due to worrying about the future. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has no fear because by his activities he is sure to go back to the spiritual sky, back home, back to Godhead. Therefore his future is very bright. Others, however, do not know what their future holds; they have no knowledge of what the next life holds. So they are therefore in constant anxiety. If we want to get free from anxiety, then the best course is to understand Kṛṣṇa and be always situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In that way we will be free from all fear. [Bg 10.5, purport] Awareness of an underlying tearfulness is symptomatic of a person intelligent enough to perceive his own diseased condition. This is a fortunate position for spiritual advancement, which is the real wealth of life. Regardless of social status, anyone can achieve the highest success in life. We simply have to let go and reach for it. *The Final Judgment* ### by Subhadrā-devī dāsī In the spring of 1975 an attractive young woman joined some of her friends at a bar to share a few drinks. It was to become a fateful occasion for the entire world. Earlier that evening she had taken several tranquilizers, and as the alcohol mixed with the chemicals in her body, the combination proved deadly. On that evening, April 14, 1975, twenty-one-year-old Karen Ann Quinlan suddenly fell unconscious. She was rushed to the hospital, where just before midnight she lapsed into a coma. For the next three months she lingered on in a bare semblance of existence while her anguished parents watched. Recovery appeared hopeless. The Quinlans requested that Karen be removed from the respirator machine, which seemed to maintain the life in her wasting body. They felt that she deserved "to die with dignity." The doctors and administrators at the hospital, however, disagreed. "We don't kill people here," they responded. In what was to become one of the most complicated legal battles of the decade, the Quinlans argued that to maintain Karen's body "after the dignity, beauty, promise, and meaning of earthly life have vanished" was cruel and unusual punishment. The doctors countered that no court could determine that Karen would, without a doubt, never recover. While the world focused on the emotion-charged debate, Karen Ann lay quietly on her bed, oblivious to the furor, her body curling into the grotesque fetal position that characterizes "the chronic vegetative state." Finally, the Quinlans won their case on appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court. On May 22, 1976, the respirator was disconnected. No one could predict if Karen Quinlan would survive the night or if she would linger on for several more months. She continued to live, never regaining consciousness, for more than nine years. When the tiny spirit soul enters the womb of its mother-to-be at the time of conception, it takes up residence. How long that residence will last—that particular individual's life span—is predetermined by the laws of *karma.* These laws dictate the conditions of a specific individual's birth, the course of his life, and the manner of his death. By the time of birth, all that is left for the individual is the role and the script; it is too late to change the final scene. There are numerous examples of inexplicably brief lives, of freak deaths that occur with no apparent cause. And there are also miraculous recoveries, survivals despite insurmountable odds. How many doctors have witnessed one patient slip away despite impeccable medical attention while another survives despite the worst of circumstances? Sometimes we credit a person with a great "will to live." But the tenacious die-hard does die, nevertheless. It's not on the merit of personal determination that one is able to maintain his life; ultimately you must be blessed with divine sanction. This is painfully evident in the story of Karen Ann Quinlan. Certainly in many respects her life ended on April 14, 1975, yet she "lived" for ten more years. The mysterious factor that defies the limits of our logical reasoning is the hand of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself proclaims, "I am all-devouring death." In this connection, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda elaborates, "As soon as a man is born, he dies at every moment. Thus death is devouring every living entity at every moment, but the last stroke is called death itself. That death is Kṛṣṇa" (Bg. 10.34, purport). The irony of Karen Ann Quinlan's agonizing demise overshadows her brief yet vivacious life. How she lived was forgotten as the world debated how she would die. But in the end the decision wasn't her parents' or the doctors' or judges', but the Supreme Lord's, reminding us once again who is in charge and who makes the final judgment. ## Spiritual Places *Journey to Navadvīpa* ### To the casual visitor, this holy land is much like the rest of rural India. To the devotee of Lord Caitanya it is a transcendental paradise. ### by Viśākhā-devī dāsī First a long and tedious flight. Then retrieving baggage and waiting in long lines to clear Indian immigration and customs. Then four hours on a bus bumping through Calcutta's teeming streets and on through dozens of timeless, dusty villages. Finally the pilgrims sight the temple domes that stand high above the treetops in the holy land of Navadvīpa. They feel relieved and alert with transcendental expectation. Navadvīpa's "skyline," now a familiar sight to thousands of devotees throughout the world, is like a homecoming beacon that announces the journey's end to weary travelers. To the uninformed, this spacious flat farming area near the junction of the Ganges and Jalāṅgī rivers may seem like the rest of rural India. The heavy bulls turning clods of earth with hefty plows, the thatch-roofed mud houses, the ancient-looking riverboats, and the slight, wide-eyed people make the customary sights and conveniences of the West no more significant or relevant than a faint memory. Navadvīpa, literally ''Nine Islands," is a sacred tract of land in West Bengal. The nine islands, sculpted by the fingers of the Ganges as she reaches down to the Bay of Bengal, are dotted with numerous towns and villages and checkered with plots of farmland—wheat, rice, beans, sugar cane—and occasional groves of bananas, coconuts, or papayas. But Navadvīpa is much more than a quaint, picturesque area where time has all but stopped. It is the birthplace of Lord Caitanya. * [*The present-day town of Navadvīpa is a small city included within the nine islands, but Navadvīpa the town is not the same as Navadvīpa the nine islands. Lord Caitanya took birth on the island of Rudradvīpa, near the present-day town of Māyāpur.] It is transcendental. Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa Himself in the role of His own devotee. He appeared in India five hundred years ago, and His birth was predicted in revealed scriptures like the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* and *Mahābhārata.* But unlike other incarnations, He presented Himself not as God but as a devotee of God. He did this for two reasons: He wanted to fully relish the sweetness and depth of a devotee's love, and He wanted to show people how to best evoke their dormant love of God. Because Lord Caitanya benevolently distributed that transcendent love to everyone, He is known as the most munificent incarnation. His method was *saṅkīrtana,* the congregational chanting of the names of God. This, He taught, is the most expedient way to become self-realized in this age. Śrīla Prabhupāda, the founder and spiritual guide of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, referred to Lord Caitanya innumerable times in his writings and lectures, and he trained his international family of disciples to follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, dancing, and enjoying *kṛṣṇa-prasādam* (food offered to Kṛṣṇa). In the introduction to his book *Teachings of Lord Caitanya,* Prabhupāda wrote, Lord Caitanya is the ideal teacher of life's prime necessities. He is the complete reservoir of all mercies and good fortune, and He is worshipable by everyone in this age of disagreement. Everyone can join in His *saṅkīrtana* movement. No previous qualification is necessary. Just by following His teachings, anyone can become a perfect human being.... I sincerely hope that by understanding the teachings of Lord Caitanya, human society will experience a new light of spiritual life that will open the field of activity for the pure soul. The bus rumbles along the narrow winding road, looking incongruous among the bullock carts, rickshas, cows, goats, and pedestrians. The pilgrims peer out the windows. Five centuries ago, Lord Caitanya used to tread this very land daily, and the white-steepled temple that the bus passes marks the place where, on February 18, 1486, the Lord appeared. The funds to purchase the land and build this temple were raised by the great forefather of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. A century ago Śrīla Bhaktivinoda researched extensively to discover the exact site of Lord Caitanya's birth. After his findings were confirmed by his spiritual master, he personally arranged for the construction of the sacred shrine that still stands today. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda also published a book revealing the importance of Navadvīpa, and before he passed on, he instructed his son, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta, to continue his work. It's because of the service of these great devotees and of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta’s disciple Śrīla Prabhupāda that Navadvīpa's significance was established. At Śrīla Prabhupāda's temple, Māyāpur Candrodaya Mandir, just one mile from Lord Caitanya's birthplace, the bus finally stops. Each year since 1972 Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciples from all over the world have joined together in Navadvīpa to celebrate the appearance day of Lord Caitanya. And this year will be the largest and grandest celebration—the quincentennial. What Śrīla Prabhupāda and his predecessors and followers have done in broadcasting the glories of Navadvīpa is similar to what Lord Caitanya and His followers did five hundred years ago to broadcast the glories of Vṛndāvana. Vṛndāvana is a beautiful area not far from Delhi (but seven hundred miles from Navadvīpa where Lord Kṛṣṇa passed His childhood and youth during His appearance fifty centuries ago. Forty-five centuries later, when Lord Caitanya visited Vṛndāvana, it was a miniscule, relatively unheard-of and undeveloped farming village. Lord Caitanya requested six of His leading disciples to live there, establish temples, excavate the holy places of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, and write books about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As a result, Vṛndāvana today is famous among all Hindus and devotees. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims regularly visit the thousands of temples and holy places of Vṛndāvana. In Navadvīpa, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta, and Śrīla Prabhupāda have also founded temples, excavated the holy places of Lord Caitanya's pastimes, and written books on Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In one sense Vṛndāvana and Navadvīpa are one, as much as Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya are one, being the same Supreme Person in different features. But in another sense, although one, Vṛndāvana and Navadvīpa are simultaneously different, as are Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura describes the difference in his book *Navadvīpa-dhāma-māhātmya:* Navadvīpa is the crest jewel of all holy places, being the most merciful of all. In other places of pilgrimage (like Vṛndāvana), an offender is severely punished, but in Navadvīpa the offender is not only forgiven, he is purified and receives the treasure of love of God. To illustrate this point, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda cites the example of the brothers Jagāi and Mādhāi, who were born in a good family but became drunkards and debauchees. When Mādhāi injured a devotee who had requested him to chant the holy names of God, Lord Caitanya was immediately ready to kill him. But when the Lord saw that Jagāi and Mādhāi were repentant and willing to reform, He forgave them. Later they became renowned for their devotion. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda continues, One who lives in Navadvīpa is very fortunate, for he attains ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa birth after birth. One who happens to go there becomes freed from all offenses. What one attains by traveling to all other holy places is attained just by remembering Navadvīpa, and what *yogis* attain after ten years is attained in Navadvīpa in three nights. The impersonal liberation one gets after arduous endeavor at other holy places you can get simply by bathing in the Ganges at Navadvīpa. In fact, all material enjoyments and liberation remain as obedient servants to the pure devotees in Navadvīpa. Therefore, give up all other desires and attractions and simply fix your mind intently on Navadvīpa. However, reading this and experiencing Navadvīpa may make one doubtful. Sometimes a pilgrim hears mundane cinema songs drift over the Ganges while he's taking his sacred bath. Locals with not-so-innocent stares may inquire about his camera, watch, and tape recorder. And anyone who goes to the city of Navadvīpa, on the western bank of the Ganges, will surely be struck by the lack of cleanliness and organization. At the end of his book, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains these apparent incongruities: Since no material thing or person is ever situated in Navadvīpa, a film of dull matter has been spread over it to keep it covered from the materialist. The people who have no relationship with Lord Caitanya simply live on top of that covering, blind to the real truth. Though one is thinking, "I am in Navadvīpa," *māyā* [illusion] happily keeps Navadvīpa far away from that person. In other words, it takes more than a rattling, grumbling bus to bring a pilgrim to Navadvīpa. For Navadvīpa cannot be reached simply by buying a ticket and going there. It is a transcendental place where Lord Caitanya eternally resides, just as Kṛṣṇa eternally resides in Vṛndāvana. Pure devotees see Lord Caitanya in Navadvīpa today, chanting and dancing with His associates. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda explains this in a song: When the eastern horizon becomes tinged with the redness of sunrise, Lord Caitanya, taking His devotees with Him, journeys through the towns and villages of Navadvīpa. The *mṛdaṅgas* resound and the hand cymbals play in time, and Lord Caitanya calls to the sleeping people, "Wake up, sleeping souls! Wake up, sleeping souls! You have slept so long on the lap of the witch Māyā. I have brought the medicine for destroying the illusion of Māyā. Chant this *mahā-mantra:* Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Navadvīpa can be reached by chanting the holy names of God with faith and conviction. In this mood a pilgrim can begin his journey to Navadvīpa, and before long he will surely arrive in that holy land. ## The Glories of Lord Caitanya, Part 12 *Instructions to Rūpa Gosvāmī* ### On the bank of the Ganges at Prayāga, Lord Caitanya revealed the ocean of devotional service. ### by Kuṇḍalī dāsa *Continuing a special series of articles commemorating the five-hundredth anniversary of Lord Caitanya's appearance in Māyāpur, West Bengal. By His life and teachings, He inaugurated the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.* Formerly, in a public debate in India the loser and all his followers became the disciples of the winner. Through this convention, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu won thousands of followers to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. His erudition. His skill as a debater and logician, and, most of all, His saintly conduct had no match throughout the length and breadth of India. Followers from all of India's prominent schools of thought—including the Buddhists, the followers of Śaṅkarācārya, and followers of Islam—converted to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement of Lord Caitanya. Yet, surprisingly, until recently Lord Caitanya was less renowned as a leading saint, scholar, and philosopher than certain other well-known thinkers of India—even ones whose philosophy He many times defeated. One major reason for this is that except for His eight-stanza *Śikṣāṣṭaka,* which outlines the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, He left none of His teachings penned by His own hand. Rather, He instructed some of His devotees to write books elaborating on all He taught them. Śrīla Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs, two brothers, were especially empowered by the Lord to write transcendental literature. Our modern Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is greatly indebted to these devotees for their executing Lord Caitanya's order, thus preserving the topmost revelation of the Absolute Truth. After His visit to Vṛndāvana (described in BACK TO GODHEAD 20.12), Lord Caitanya went to Prayāga (known today as Allahabad). There Rūpa Gosvāmī and his younger brother, Anupama, approached the Lord one day with pieces of straw between their teeth (symbolizing their humility) and repeatedly offered obeisances at His lotus feet. Feeling great pleasure at seeing them, the Lord embraced them both. With clasped hands and great humility, Rūpa and Anupama offered prayers to the Lord: "O most munificent incarnation of the Lord! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You. "We offer our respectful obeisances unto that merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead who has converted all three worlds, which were maddened by ignorance, and saved them from their diseased condition by making them mad with the nectar from the treasure house of love of God. Let us take full shelter of that Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, whose activities are wonderful." Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was greatly pleased by the prayers of the two brothers. Later, for ten consecutive days, at a place called Daśāśvamedha-ghāṭa, the Lord instructed Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī about *kṛṣṇa-tattva,* the ultimate truth about Lord Kṛṣṇa; *bhakti-tattva,* the truth about devotion to Kṛṣṇa; and *rasa-tattva,* the truth about the transcendental mellows of loving relationships with Kṛṣṇa. The Lord began: "The ocean of the transcendental mellow of devotional service is so big it is impossible to describe it completely. No one can estimate its length and breadth. Just to help you taste it, I shall describe one drop." He then proceeded to describe the nature of the spiritual soul, supporting His statements with references to the Vedic scriptures. Lord Caitanya next explained that the dimension of the spirit soul is very, very minute: one ten-thousandth the size of the tip of a hair. These infinitesimal living entities are unlimited in number and are of two types: moving and nonmoving. The moving entities are divided into human and nonhuman species, and the human species are further divided into civilized and uncivilized cultures. Those who follow the Vedic principles are counted as civilized. And among these are many who pay only lip service. Among the serious followers of Vedic culture, the majority are mostly interested in materialistic activities, only a few being progressive enough to inquire into the purpose of human life. Out of many millions of such sincere individuals, one may attain salvation. Out of millions of these liberated souls, a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a very rare find. All the souls are wandering throughout the universe lifetime after lifetime in different species, in a never-ending quest for peace and happiness. Sometimes they enjoy heavenly pleasures, and sometimes they suffer hellish miseries. If, however, a soul becomes fortunate, he gets the opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master, by whose grace the seed of the *bhakti-latā,* the creeper of devotional service, is planted within his heart. Such a fortunate person must carefully tend the seed like a good gardener by watering it regularly with hearing and chanting about the glories of the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa. Gradually the seed sprouts and the creeper of devotional service grows and grows, piercing the walls of the universe and entering the spiritual world. When it reaches the spiritual planet Goloka Vṛndāvana, the personal abode of Kṛṣṇa, the creeper of devotion comes to rest at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, where it produces abundant quantities of *prema-phala,* the fruits of love of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya warned Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī that the candidate for pure devotional service, while cultivating the creeper of devotion, must be careful not to commit offenses to the Vaiṣṇavas, devotees of the Lord. Such offenses He compares to a mad elephant that uproots the devotional creeper, causing it to dry up and die. The gardener must protect his creeper of devotional service from a mad-elephant offense. Another danger is that weeds of material desires may grow alongside the devotional creeper. The varieties of weeds of material desires are unlimited, and the gardener must be careful not to nourish them while watering his devotional creeper. The successful, patient gardener ultimately reaps the fruits of love of God. So relishable are those fruits that the four kinds of material perfection—economic development, sense gratification, religiosity, and liberation—seem pale and insignificant by comparison. Caitanya Mahāprabhu then compared the gradual development of *prema,* unalloyed love of God, to the different states of sugar. First is the seed of the sugarcane, then the sugarcane plant. Next comes the sweet juice of the sugarcane. When the juice is boiled, it becomes liquid molasses and, later, solid molasses. This then becomes sugar and, finally, rock candy. Similarly, love of God evolves through various stages of development, each more concentrated than the last. On the platform of pure love, there are still further stages, which develop according to each devotee's particular attachment to Kṛṣṇa. These stages are five: *śānta-rati,* neutral appreciation of the Lord; *dāsya-rati,* attachment in servitude; *sakhya-rati,* attachment in friendship; *vātsalya-rati,* attachment in parental affection; and *madhura-rati,* attachment in conjugal love. Lord Caitanya explained to Rūpa Gosvāmī that attachment to Kṛṣṇa is either in awe and reverence or in pure, spontaneous love. Attachment in awe and reverence is found in all the spiritual planets—except for Goloka Vṛndāvana, the topmost spiritual planet. In the other spiritual planets, the opulences of the Lord are very prominent, and devotional service in neutrality and servitude predominates. But in Goloka Vṛndāvana the prominent relationships with Lord Kṛṣṇa are the fraternal, the parental, and the conjugal—intimate relationships that are actually impeded by feelings of awe and reverence. These devotees experience the Lord's unlimited opulence, but they are not awed by it, because their emphasis is on a natural, spontaneous loving relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Each successive stage of love is symptomized by its having all the qualities of the preceding stages plus an increase in feelings of intimacy with the Lord. Servitude, for example, includes neutrality, and fraternal attachment includes neutrality and servitude. Unlike servitude and neutrality, however, fraternity is generally devoid of formality and veneration. The same is true for parental and conjugal love. Devotees situated in parental loving attachment, in addition to having sentiments of neutrality, servitude, and friendship, also think themselves the Lord's maintainers. All four relationships mentioned above combine in the relationship of conjugal love. Here attachment for Kṛṣṇa, service to Him, the realized feelings of fraternity, and the feelings of maintenance all increase in intimacy. The intensified taste of complete devotion to the Lord in conjugal love is so wonderful that Lord Caitanya said it cannot be fully described. Lord Caitanya thus concluded His instructions to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, saying: "I have simply given a general survey of the mellows of devotional service. You can consider how to adjust and expand this. When one thinks of Kṛṣṇa constantly, love for Him is manifest within the heart. Even though one may be ignorant, one can reach the shore of the ocean of transcendental love by Lord Kṛṣṇa's mercy." Later, Lord Caitanya left Prayāga for Benares, where He gave further instructions on the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness to Sanātana Gosvāmī, Rūpa's elder brother. Rūpa Gosvāmī later compiled many books on Kṛṣṇa consciousness, chief of which is the *Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu,* which Śrīla Prabhupāda has rendered into English as *The Nectar of Devotion.* Lord Caitanya's imparting the essence of His teachings to Rūpa and Sanātana is a significant lesson in itself, because Rūpa and Sanātana had been ostracized from the brahminical community in which they were born. They were outcastes because they had taken employment in the Muslim government of Bengal. Muslims, being meat-eaters, were considered untouchable by the brahminical orthodoxy. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, was very pleased by the surrender and devotion of Rūpa and Sanātana, and He showed that a devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not consider candidates for spiritual life in terms of material qualifications, but in terms of their sincere desire to transcend the mundane world. Rūpa and Sanātana were among Lord Caitanya's most intimate devotees; they have set the standard of Kṛṣṇa consciousness for all Lord Caitanya's followers. Even today devotees of Lord Caitanya are called *rūpānugas,* or followers of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. ## Notes from the Editor *Tribute to a Pure Devotee* The devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness were shocked and dismayed when the senior member of the Society, His Divine Grace Śrīla Kīrtanānanda Swami Bhaktipāda, was brutally and irrationally attacked, struck on the head, and critically injured. Although he has apparently fully recovered by Lord Kṛṣṇa's grace, for several weeks he lay in an intensive care unit of a Pittsburgh hospital, partially paralyzed, lapsing into coma. The members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, together with friends in the lay community, felt great sorrow over this incident and prayed for Śrīla Kīrtanānanda Swami's rapid recovery. Although attacks and assassination attempts are common in the material world, it may be bewildering to hear of such a thing happening to a saintly person. After all, we know that Lord Kṛṣṇa gives His devotees special protection. Yet Vedic literatures like the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* advise against becoming confused or unduly disturbed over incidents such as this attack on Śrīla Kīrtanānanda Swami. Sometimes powerful preachers are put into great difficulties while performing their Kṛṣṇa conscious duty. Such was the case with Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, a great saint of fifteenth-century Bengal and a personal associate of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. For refusing to compromise his conviction to distribute pure love of God throughout the land, Haridāsa Ṭhākura was arrested by the Muslim ruler and ordered to be beaten in twenty-two marketplaces. Likewise, the exalted transcendentalist Prahlāda Mahārāja underwent severe torture at the hands of his evil father, Hiraṇyakaśipu; and the five Pāṇḍavas, personal associates of Lord Kṛṣṇa, suffered a long series of painful tribulations. And, of course, Lord Jesus Christ underwent crucifixion for the sake of distributing love of God. We should not be disturbed on hearing of reverses such as these. Rather, we should understand that these events are part of the plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who is fixed in God consciousness accepts even enormous reverses as the grace of the Lord, continuing to serve Kṛṣṇa despite all adverse conditions. Such a devotee knows that at the end of his temporary tribulations in this temporary world, he will return back to Godhead. We should, however, guard against complacency and against the tendency of taking the saintly person for granted. Familiarity often breeds contempt, and we should take care lest we forget how rare Vaiṣṇavas like Śrīla Kīrtanānanda Swami are. The Vaiṣṇava is the best friend and well-wisher of all living entities. Without discrimination, he freely distributes pure love of God to everyone through the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mahā-mantra:* Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. By developing our innate love for Kṛṣṇa through the chanting of His holy name, we can qualify ourselves to return to the kingdom of God and there enjoy eternal life with Kṛṣṇa and His associates. By distributing Kṛṣṇa's holy name, the Vaiṣṇava thus performs the greatest welfare work in this world. Whereas others may help to temporarily ease the pain and suffering of this world, the Vaiṣṇava’s gift of the holy name releases the sincere chanter from all suffering—now and in the future—and we can experience the original, eternal happiness now dormant within. This is the gift Śrīla Kīrtanānanda Swami (and the other Vaiṣṇavas in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement) is freely giving to the world. Śrīla Bhaktipāda is a truly outstanding leader and teacher of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is especially known for developing New Vrindaban, his monumental tribute to the glories of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, the founder and spiritual master of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. New Vrindaban, near Moundsville, West Virginia, is the home of the world famous Palace of Gold, a beautiful chapel and pilgrimage site devoted to the memory of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Constructed from seventeen varieties of imported and domestic marble and ornamented with gold leaf, the Palace has become an international place of pilgrimage for Indian people from around the world, and it is presently the second largest tourist attraction in the state of West Virginia. Construction is currently underway on New Vrindaban's Temple of Understanding. When completed, this temple for the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa and His eternal consort, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, will rise 216 feet in the air. Its seventy thousand tons of granite will make this temple the largest granite structure in the world. With accompanying gardens, fountains, and parks, New Vrindaban is quickly becoming one of the most prominent and important places of religious pilgrimage in the world. New Vrindaban, the largest and most successful Kṛṣṇa conscious community in America, is a hallmark of Śrīla Bhaktipāda’s pure God-conscious vision. As Dr. Donald Sills, a Baptist minister and the president of the Coalition for Religious Freedom, affirms, Śrīla Bhaktipāda and the devotees of the New Vrindaban community are building much more than just a temple; they are building "a community that will reach out, not to a handful of neighbors, but will reach out throughout this nation and around the world, and say that people of God can find common ground upon which they can walk and work together. We must put aside theological differences and find that common ground." The community spirit among the devotees of New Vrindaban is wonderful. Their dedication to this holy place is a direct and spontaneous expression of their love and faith in Śrīla Bhaktipāda and Śrīla Prabhupāda. As one guest to New Vrindaban recently remarked, "The people here are the happiest, busiest people I have ever met." Through their enthusiasm to please Kṛṣṇa and His pure representative, the devotees of New Vrindaban are perfecting their lives. Śrīla Kīrtanānanda Swami, a disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda since the summer of 1966, has disciples of his own around the world—in India, Pakistan, Africa, Canada, and the United States. He is an author of transcendental literature, and his recently published *Christ and Kṛṣṇa* has won special favor among scholars. As Klaus Klostermaier, a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, has written, "*Christ and Kṛṣṇa* . . . is a milestone in interreligious dialogue literature. The concern of the book is not sectarian propaganda but respiritualization of the world, devotion to God and a sane life." Other books by Śrīla Bhaktipāda include *The Song of God,* a summary study of the *Bhagavad-gītā As It Is,* and the newly published Eternal Love. —SDG