# Back to Godhead Magazine #31 *1997 (01)* Back to Godhead Magazine #31-01, 1997 PDF-View *Statement of Purposes* > 1. To help all people discern reality from illusion, spirit from matter, the eternal from the temporary. > 2. To expose the faults of materialism. > 3. To offer guidance in the Vedic techniques of spiritual life. > 4. To preserve and spread the Vedic culture. > 5. To celebrate the chanting of the holy names of God as taught by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. > 6. To help every living being remember and serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. ## From the Editor *Arch Enemy: Mc-Cow-Killer Comes to India* THE PEOPLE WHO’VE served cow flesh to billions, beneath golden arches around the world, have now come to the land where the cow is sacred. And they’re being ever so careful to be Indian. No Big Macs here, no indeed. No cow flesh, no pig fat, lest Hindus or Muslims be offended. In India, it’s the Maharaja Mac. The menu is full of veggies spiced just for the Indian palate, and the slaughter of choice is chickens and sheep. And trendy Indians, it seems, are lining up to swallow it. When the doors opened in Delhi in early October, day one saw a reported twenty thousand customers, and in Mumbai the crowds on opening day stretched half a mile. Some voices, of course, spoke out in protest. Some griped that McIndia uses mono-something-or-other, a taste-boosting chemical. Others groaned at being catered to by a *videshi* company, a company of foreigners. But an Indian taste for McAmerica and an American appetite for rupees seem to have found one another. And if the cow is your mother and the business of the arch people in the rest of the world is to dish out your mother’s flesh on a bun, what does it matter? The sheep and chickens, we’re assured, are *svadeshi,* home grown, so everything is all right. The *svadeshi* sheep and chickens, of course, might have thought otherwise, had they thought about it. But mere birds and beasts can’t think about it, nor can men who’ve become hardly better. For birds and beasts are obliged by nature to live entirely for their senses, with no higher thoughts. And a man who sacrifices the higher values of life merely to earn a rupee or spend it for his tongue is descending to the life of a beast. It is the beasts who have no higher concern than eating, sleeping, fighting, and gratifying the sex drive. Only when we turn towards spiritual realization do we begin to rise above the life of the animals. The culture of spirituality has long been the pride of India. But now even Indians are becoming proud to follow America in becoming cheaply fed beasts. Like elsewhere in the world, McBeast in India queues up beneath the golden arches, not thinking beyond the whims of his senses, not thinking of Kṛṣṇa, Gopāla, the eternal master of the cows, and not realizing that by giving up higher consciousness for burgers and shakes he is slaughtering his own spiritual life. He is a spiritual living being, an eternal spark of consciousness, wise by nature, and eternally connected with Kṛṣṇa. But when allured by the golden arches of material enjoyment his spiritual wisdom pales, and he lines up to slide down into passion and ignorance. For the people of the arch are not kind to beasts, though they are beasts themselves. In the world of false enjoyment, “billions served” means billions cheated, and no good will come of it, not any more for the beasts served as customers than for the beasts served on the buns. Good will come to us only when we turn back to Kṛṣṇa, back to Godhead. —Jayādvaita Swami ## Letters *The Position of Lord Siva* Jayādvaita Swami’s critique of Prithvi Raj Singh’s resolution [Is *Back to Godhead* an Offender?” January/February 1996] needs some in-depth comments. I consider myself lower than a servant of the servants of the servants of Lord Śiva and Lord Kṛṣṇa and His other Viṣṇu forms. Therefore, for me it becomes difficult to comment on Their graces. However, my hope is that whatever I have collected from the scriptures will be taken as a devotional exercise and the Lords will accept it in their praise and not consider me an offender. You rightly do not differentiate between the Supreme Lord Rāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa or His other Viṣṇu forms. But you do differentiate them from Lord Śiva, whom the Supreme Lord Himself worships. Quoting *Rāmcaritamānas,* *Laṅkā Kaṇḍa* 2: Lord Rāma established a temple for Lord Śiva, and after establishing Lord Śiva’s emblem Lord Rāma worshiped Him. He then said, “No one is as dear to Me as Śiva. One who considers Śiva his enemy and calls himself My devotee cannot attain Me even in dreams. One who is opposed to Śaṅkara [Śiva] and aspires to be My devotee is doomed and dull-witted.” In South India even today, Rameshwaram, where Lord Rāma established Śiva’s temple, is considered among the most sacred places of pilgrimage. It is given in the *Ayodhyā Kaṇḍa* (106), “After bathing, Lord Rāma with great joy adored Lord Śiva and then worshiped the Deities in the prescribed manner.” Lord Śaṅkara is also busy, day and night, meditating on Lord Rāma or Lord Kṛṣṇa. Lord Śiva is stated to be s*ervant, master, and companion* of Lord Rāma. What an adorable relationship! In the scriptures some of the most commonly used names of Lord Śiva are Maheśa and Maheśvara—Lord of lords. Maybe you do not consider *Rāmcaritamānas* an acceptable scripture, but how about the *Śiva, Liṅga, Kūrma, Matsya,* or *Skanda Purāṇas*? They all sing the glories of Lord Śiva as the Supreme Lord. Even in the *Padma Purāṇa,* which primarily glorifies Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme Lord, Lord Brahmā speaks of Lord Śiva as Bhagavān [the Supreme Personality of Godhead]! Let us go to the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (4.6.42–43). Śrī Brahmājī prays and sings the glories of Lord Śiva: > jāne tvām īśam viśvasya > jagato yoni-bījayoḥ “I know that You are the Lord of the entire universe and the mother and father of the cosmic manifestation.” > śakteḥ śivasya ca paraµ > yat tad brahma nirantaram “I know that You are the Supreme Brahman beyond the cosmic manifestation.” tvam eva bhagavann etac chiva-śaktyoḥ svarūpayoḥ viśvaṁ sṛjasi pāsy atsi krīḍann ūrṇa-paṭo yathā “You create, maintain, and destroy the universe.” Lord Viṣṇu says (4.7.54): > trayāṇām eka-bhāvānāṁ > yo na paśyati vai bhidām > sarva-bhūtātmanāṁ brahman > sa śāntim adhigacchati “Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara are the same, and only We are in the nature of all living beings. Therefore, one who does not see any difference between Us, he alone attains peace.” In *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (8.6.33–37) there appears a beautiful description of the **devatas*’* attempts to move Mandara Mountain. When the *devas* could not carry the mountain any further, totally dejected they dropped it on the way to the ocean. The mountain was very heavy, and when it fell many *devatas* and demons got crushed. Seeing this, Lord Viṣṇu, knowing everything, suddenly appeared there and by His nectarean eyes revived the *devatas* and as if in play picked up the mountain and put it on Garuḍa with Him. Thus in this situation He did not need anyone else to take care of the problem. However, the situation was entirely different when the all-powerful acute poison *hālahala* came out of the churning of the ocean (*Bhāgavatam* 8.7.18–35). These beautiful verses are full of devotion to Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu. Rather than giving all the verses and making the reply very long, I am quoting only a selected few. In verse 19 the hopeless situation of the *devas* and demons is depicted: > tad ugra-vegaṁ diśi diśy upary adho > visarpad utsarpad asahyam aprati > bhītāḥ prajā dudruvur aṅga seśvarā > arakṣyamānāḥ śaraṇaṁ sadāśivam “All the *devas,* along with the Supreme Lord, approached Lord Śiva. Being very afraid of the powerful poison and feeling unprotected, they sought shelter of Lord Śiva.” In verse 22 they pray to Lord Śiva: > tvam ekaḥ sarva-jagata > īśvaro bandha-mokṣayoḥ > taṁ tvām arcanti kuśalāḥ > prapannārti-haraṁ gurum “You alone are the ultimate controller of the entire universe. Liberation and bondage are from You.” In verse 23: > guṇa-mayyā sva-śaktyāsya > sarga-sthity-apyayān vibho > dhatse yadā sva-dṛg bhūman > brahma-viṣṇu-śivābhidhām “O Lord, You are the Supreme, and You create the world by Your energy. You take the names Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśa.” Verse 24: > tvaṁ brahma paramaṁ guhyaṁ > sad-asad-bhāva-bhāvanam > nānā-śaktibhir ābhātas > vam ātmā jagad-īśvaraḥ “O Lord of the universe, You are the inconceivable cause of all causes.” In verse 31 it is said that Lord Śiva is not understandable to Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu, or Indra (na *… viriñca-vaikuṇṭha-surendra-gamyam*). In verse 33: > te nūnam ūtim avidaṁs tava > hāta-lajjāḥ “Not knowing Your activities, those who criticize You are certainly shameless.” Besides these very few references, there are hundreds of other Vedāntic and Vedic references where the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) has worshiped the Supreme Lord Śiva and vice versa. The literature is replete with references of equivalence of the Supreme Lord. So please leave Lord Śiva out of your comments, lest we unknowingly commit some offense. As regards Durgā, she is *śakti* [the energy] of Śaktimān Śiva [the possessor of the energy]. May the all-kind Lord Kṛṣṇa give you more strength and conviction to continue on the path of His devotional service. For myself, my prayers are to Lord Kṛṣṇa (His forms) and Lord Śiva to accept whatever service I can render and provide me with the will to continue on that path. *Jai* Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Dr. Gopal H. Singhal Baton Rouge, Louisiana OUR REPLY: We have no quarrel with your glorification of Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva is unlimitedly glorious. Apart from the verses you’ve quoted, there are indeed many more praising his glories, in the *Bhāgavatam* and elsewhere. Lord Śiva is in fact far above the other *devas* like Indra and Lord Brahmā. The others are all *jīvas;* they are conditioned living beings empowered in various ways for the administration of the material world. But Lord Śiva is above them all. He is practically on the same level as Lord Viṣṇu Himself. Still, a distinction exists, for Lord Śiva is directly in touch with the material energy whereas Lord Viṣṇu is always beyond it. The *Brahmā-saṁhitā* gives the example that Lord Viṣṇu is like milk whereas Lord Śiva is like yogurt. There is no difference between yogurt and milk. Still, milk is the original substance, of which yogurt is a transformation. Lord Śiva may properly be regarded as being nondifferent from Lord Viṣṇu, because Lord Śiva is an incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu for performing specific functions. So when Lord Śiva is glorified as the Supreme Lord, the glorification is correct because Lord Śiva is the most highly empowered and exalted representative of Lord Viṣṇu. In one sense, all living beings are nondifferent from Lord Viṣṇu, because Lord Viṣṇu is everything (*vāsudevah sarvam iti*). In another sense, all living beings are different from Lord Viṣṇu, because Lord Viṣṇu is the supreme and all others, including even Lord Śiva, are His eternal servants. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained this state of affairs as *acintya-bhedābheda-tattva,* or simultaneous oneness and difference. By describing the relationship between Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva to be adorable, you are absolutely right. According to the *Bhāgavatam* (12.13.16), Lord Śiva is the greatest of all Vaiṣṇavas, or devotees of Lord Viṣṇu. The relationship between Lord Viṣṇu and His devotees is very intimate and sublime, and especially so for the greatest of His devotees, Lord Śiva. In a spirit of transcendental love, Lord Kṛṣṇa, although the Supreme Lord, takes the role of a charioteer for a devotee like Arjuna, or a dependent child for a devotee like Yaśodā. In this way, the Lord becomes the devotee of His devotee. Similarly, at Rameshwaram and elsewhere, the Lord acts as the devotee of His most exalted devotee Lord Śiva. On the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, it was in fact Lord Kṛṣṇa who won the victory, but He did so through His devotee Arjuna, in order to glorify His devotee. Similarly, it was Lord Viṣṇu who saved the *devas* from the terrible poison, but He did so through His empowered incarnation Lord Śiva, in order to show Lord Śiva’s glories. With this understanding, the devotees of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement worship Lord Śiva with the greatest reverence and respect. We’d like to hear from you. Please send correspondence to: BTG, P.O. Box 430, Alachua, FL 32616, USA. Fax: (904) 462-7893. Or BTG, 33 Janki Kutir, Next to State Bank of Hyderabad, Juhu, Mumbai 400 049, India. Phone: (022) 618-1718. Fax: (022) 618-4827. E-mail: [email protected] ## The Soul of The Universe *How to understand the universe as the external body of God.* ### A lecture given in Los Angeles, October 5, 1972 ### by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupādaFounder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness > etad rūpaṁ bhagavato > hy arūpasya cid-ātmanaḥ > māyā-guṇair viracitaṁ > mahadādibhir ātmani The conception of the *virāṭ* universal form of the Lord, as appearing in the material world, is imaginary. It is to enable the less intelligent [and neophytes] to adjust to the idea of the Lord’s having form. But factually the Lord has no material form. —*Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 1.3.30 This Is a very important verse. When we speak of “formless” we mean that God or the living entities—all of us—have no material form. Our present form—our body—is temporary, and after death it will never come again. As soon as this form is finished, I will have to take another form. And that form may not be exactly like this one. Unlike us, Kṛṣṇa has no material form. He has a spiritual form. Therefore His form is eternal. Because our form changes, we do not remember our past lives. But Kṛṣṇa remembers because His form does not change. The evidence for this appears in Kṛṣṇa's teachings in the **Bhagavad-gītā*.* Arjuna asked Kṛṣṇa, “How can I believe that You spoke this philosophy of *Bhagavad-gītā* to the sun-god 400 million years ago?” Kṛṣṇa replied, “Yes, you were also present there, because you are My constant companion. But you have forgotten; I remember.” As long as our form stays the same we do not forget things. But when our form changes we forget. We experience this every night. My form is lying on the bed, but I am dreaming in a different form: I am flying in the sky and forgetting that my real form is lying on the bed. We forget “I am American” or “I am the son of such and such gentleman.” We forget everything. As soon as the form is forgotten, then everything is forgotten. The impersonalists are very fond of the universal form. But what is the universal form? It is an external expansion of the supreme form, Kṛṣṇa. We living entities are very minute spiritual forms. Materially we cannot understand this. We cannot see the spiritual form with our material eyes. But we get information from the *śāstra,* scriptures. *Śāstra* says that the size of the living entity is one ten-thousandth the tip of a hair. Just imagine the tip of a hair, and divide it into ten thousand parts. One such part is the size of the living entity. > bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya > śatadhā kalpitasya ca > bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ > sa cānantyāya kalpate “When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul.” (*Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad* 5.9) That is the dimension of the living entity. That atomic particle of spiritual energy takes shelter by superior control. When a person dies, the spirit soul is taken to the court of judgment of Yamarāja, the lord of death. And according to the living entity’s previous actions, he is then given a new body for his next life. How? The *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* states, *karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa:* “by superior arrangement.” When you work somewhere, your service record is kept. So many things are judged. At the end of the year, or at the end of some period, the service record is checked, and you are given a promotion. Similarly, all our activities are being recorded. And after death we are taken to the court of Yamarāja for the day of judgment. As the higher authority, Yamarāja decides what kind of body we shall get. You cannot say, “Now give me the body of a king.” Now you are an American, but you cannot dictate, “Give me another American body—as the son of Rockefeller.” No. What you have done will be judged, and you will get your next body accordingly. Of course, you have received your present opportunities because of past pious activities. To take birth in a rich family or nation is due to pious activity. *Janm*aiśvarya*-śruta-*śrī*bhiḥ. Janma* (birth), *aiśvarya* (riches), *śruta,* (education), and *śrī* (beauty)—these things are obtained according to past activities. Not that everyone becomes educated. There is no such chance. *Nothing by Chance* We were discussing this morning how nothing happens by chance. Everything depends on some cause. Not that by chance anyone becomes a very rich man. No. One has to work for it. Not that by chance one becomes very educated. These things are not chances. So if there is no chance, then there must be a cause, and there must be judgment. Otherwise why is one man born rich while another man works hard but has to sleep in the street? By superior judgment the small spiritual particle—the living entity—is transferred to the semen of a particular father. Then the living entity is injected into the womb of the mother, the male and female secretions combine, and the living entity develops a body. This is the science. If you use contraceptives, that means you contaminate the emulsion, and the poor living entity cannot take shelter there. You cannot kill the living soul, but you make the circumstances unfavorable for his staying. Then he has to be transferred to another womb. After conception the body develops. That we can see. Not that on the day of pregnancy the body develops at once. No. First it is just like a small pea, then gradually it develops. After birth the child also develops. That is not really development but transmigration from one body to another. For example, in a cinema film there are many pictures, but when they are moved very swiftly we see the action. Similarly, the process of our change of body is so swift that we cannot perceive it. We think the body is growing. But the body is not growing; we are getting different bodies. *Kṛṣṇa's External Body* So our point is that the small spiritual spark develops the body. Similarly, the huge gigantic body of the universal form is the development of Kṛṣṇa's external body. As your bodily functions go on nicely because the spiritual spark is within, similarly all material activities in the universe are going nicely because of the presence of the Supreme Lord. The rascal scientists cannot understand that our bodily functions are going on nicely only as long as the spirit soul is there. But any sane man can understand this. Similarly, the big manifestation of the material world is going on nicely because Kṛṣṇa is there. That is explained in the *Bhagavad-gītā.* Arjuna asks, “Kṛṣṇa, kindly explain how Your energies are acting.” Kṛṣṇa explains in the Tenth Chapter. Then He says, > atha vā bahunaitena > kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna > viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam > ekāṁśena sthito jagat “Arjuna, I shall go on explaining how My energies are working, but you can summarize that I—in one of My plenary portions—enter the material world, and therefore it is going on so nicely.” (Bg. 10.42) As our material body is not our real form, the universal form is not Kṛṣṇa's real form. Our body is described as a garment. A garment is made when there is a real form. Because you have arms, your coat has arms. But you are not the coat. Similarly, because we are spiritual forms we grow our hands and legs and head and so on. We are materially “coated.” *The Great and the Small* Here it is explained that people are very fond of the universal form. They cannot imagine that a person—Kṛṣṇa is a person—can work so wonderfully. They think that He is very small, like us. They do not understand that we are like a small fire and Kṛṣṇa is like a big fire. A spark can burn only a small area of your cloth, but a big fire can burn so much more. Similarly, although God and we are qualitatively one, He is great and we are small. We have the same qualities as God but in very small quantity. We can play very wonderfully by inventing some machine, say the capsule that goes to the moon. Or we float something in the sky. But that is imitation of God. God is floating gigantic planets like the sun and moon in space. You cannot do that. You can float a small sputnik. You have creative power, and God has creative power, but God’s creative power cannot be compared with your creative power. You cannot become God. You can imitate or do something very small—just like little children playing with little toys. You can play with little toys and advertise yourself as a great scientist. That’s all. But you are nothing. That is to be realized. That realization is called *bhakti-yoga*. The rascals are puffed up—“I am God.” Foolish. How can you be God? You may have some very minute quality of God, but you cannot claim you are God. A small particle of gold is gold, but it cannot be compared with the gold mine. People very much appreciate the gigantic universal form. They think, “Oh! Why shall I worship Kṛṣṇa? I worship the gigantic universal form.” But this gigantic form is a product of Kṛṣṇa's energy. They do not know that. Here it is said, *māyā-guṇair viracitam:* by Kṛṣṇa's material energy the universal form is created. The material energy—as much as the spiritual energy—comes from Kṛṣṇa's body. Whatever we see consists of different energies of Kṛṣṇa. In the *Viṣṇu Purāṇa* it is said, > eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner > jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā > parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis > tathedam akhilaṁ jagat The vast universal form you are seeing is nothing but *parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktiḥ,* the manifestation of the energy of the Supreme Person. How? The example is given, *eka-deśa-sthitasyāgneḥ:* just like fire. Take the example of the sun, the biggest fire within the universe. The sun is situated in one place, but the sunshine is distributed everywhere. The sunshine may cover the whole universe, but that is not very important. The sun globe is important. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is playing with the *gopīs,* the cowherd girls, in His spiritual abode Goloka Vṛndāvana, and His shine is creating the whole universe. Not that because Kṛṣṇa is playing there He is absent elsewhere. No. *Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ:* Kṛṣṇa is in Goloka Vṛndāvana, but He is present everywhere. That is Kṛṣṇa. I am sitting here, so I am not in my apartment. That is my position. But Kṛṣṇa's position is that although He is always in Goloka Vṛndāvana, He is present everywhere. How? *Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham:* He is within every universe and every atom. That is Kṛṣṇa. Don’t think that because Kṛṣṇa is playing as a cowherd boy or as a friend of the *gopīs* He is an ordinary man. The rascals imitate Kṛṣṇa. They say, “Oh, Kṛṣṇa has enjoyed the *gopīs*? Oh, let me gather some young girls and enjoy.” We say, “But first you become universally represented everywhere. Then you enjoy.” But the rascal cannot do that. He can simply imitate how to be in the midst of young girls and enjoy. That is the difference. Thank you very much. ## Lessons from the Road *The Mysterious Incarnations* ### By Satsvarūpa Dāsa Goswami THE OTHER DAY I was reading the *Bhāgavatam* and I came upon this verse: “Whoever carefully recites the mysterious appearances of the Lord with devotion in the morning and in the evening gets relief from all miseries of life.” (*Bhāg.* 1.3.29) In his purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda refers us to *Bhagavad-gītā* 4.9, where Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” If we understand Kṛṣṇa's incarnations—why They appear and the nature of Their activities—we can become free of misery. Not only of misery, but of repeated birth and death. Because the *avatāras* are mysterious, Śrīla Prabhupāda says, “only [to] … those who carefully try to go deep into the matter by spiritual devotion is the mystery discovered.” Śrīla Prabhupāda makes it sound enticing. What is this devotion to which he refers? What is the depth of this mystery we are meant to understand? Does one who worships the Lord’s incarnations come to understand the source of Paraśurāma’s power to kill disobedient kings, Buddha’s ability to create faith, or Rāma’s fame? If we hear carefully, will we see Balarāma’s beauty? Will Lord Kapiladeva’s transcendental teachings suddenly enlighten our hearts? In the Age of Kali, the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is the primary incarnation of the Lord. The *Bhāgavatam* assures us, “Living beings entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed at once by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, which is feared by fear personified.” (*Bhāg.* 1.1.14) This is the secret: we cannot see or appreciate Kṛṣṇa or His incarnations with our blunt material senses, but when we chant the holy name our spiritual senses are gradually uncovered, and we see the spiritual reality—the reality of ourselves and the reality of Kṛṣṇa's appearance and pastimes. Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa cleans the dust from the mirror of the mind. Why does the mind need cleaning? Because the dirt and clouds of material identification seem inseparable from the soul. Just as a person seeing clouds passing over the moon may think the moon and the clouds are moving together, so we may think we are moving with our material body in this world. It’s not true. When the mind and heart are cleansed, we will understand that. Kṛṣṇa is revealed only through devotional service, and devotional service begins with hearing and chanting. If one is fortunate enough to hear from a pure devotee, who speaks from *śāstra,* then at once one can enter the mysterious region of Kṛṣṇa's nature. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in *The Nectar of Devotion:* The *mahā-mantra* (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) is also simply an address to the Lord and His energy. So to anyone who is constantly engaged in addressing the Lord and His energy, we can imagine how much the Supreme Lord is obliged. It is impossible for the Lord to ever forget such a devotee. It is clearly stated in this verse that anyone who addresses the Lord immediately attracts the attention of the Lord, who always remains obliged to him. When we make an effort to chant the holy names, Kṛṣṇa becomes grateful, and He will reciprocate with our desire to understand Him. We may even be struggling to chant purely, but Kṛṣṇa magnifies whatever good we do and gives us His mercy. Thus we are able to enter into the mystery of His appearance in this world, and at the time of death go to Him. *Satsvarūpa Dāsa Goswami travels extensively to speak and write about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is the author of many books, including a six-volume biography of Śrīla Prabhupāda.* ## Lord Kṛṣṇa's Cuisine *Cooking Class: Lesson 28 Chidwa Nibblers* ### By Yamuna Devi IN AMERICA, EUROPE, and elsewhere in the West, grocery shelves are loaded with varieties of potato chips, popcorn, pretzels, and tortilla chips, available plain, flavored, salt-free, reduced-fat, and fat-free. Foot traffic is lured with the aromas of freshly roasted chestnuts or in-shell peanuts from corner vendors. India’s most popular family of hand-nibbled munchies—marvelously diverse and irresistible—is loosely called *chidwa* or *chewra.* ### Types of Chidwa A savory snack, *chidwa* can be as simple as salted and seasoned dried fruits, fried julienned potato straws, or whole or split fried nuts—plain or in any combination. Other simple *chidwa*s are little more than hot and spicy fried green chickpeas, split *mung* *dāl,* or double-fried smashed white chick-peas. Quickly assembled nut and dried fruit *chidwa* blends might pair pistachios and golden raisins, peanuts and raisins, or cashews and dates. One of the **chidwa*s* most popular and easy to make at home is a light blend of seasoned nuts, raisins, and puffed rice. Complex *chidwa* blends might include up to thirty ingredients, including ten or more seasonings. *Chidwa* connoisseurs insist that it must be fresh and homemade, but scores of ready-made varieties are available in *chidwa* shops and good grocers for those too busy to cook. ### Śrīla Prabhupāda and Chidwa Reliable stories abound from Śrīla Prabhupāda's servants and cooks about his love for **chidwa*.* In Calcutta in his childhood his mother had made *chidwa* in mustard oil for his celebrations of the Jagannātha Rathayātrā. In later years, in Vṛndāvana and Bombay he often asked for nut **chidwa*.* In Surat he said potato *chidwa* was his spiritual master’s favorite afternoon snack. In London, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco he taught disciples to make *chidwa* of puffed rice. He said he enjoyed almost any type of *chidwa*, provided it was well prepared. In my experience, the variety he asked for most often was simple puffed-rice *chidwa* or one I coined Bombay *Chidwa,* after a variety he taught me to make in Bombay. If you are following the cooking class series, be sure to make both of these, and several more from the class textbook, *Lord Krishna’s Cuisine.* My godsister Dīnatāriṇī Devī recalls a pastime with Śrīla Prabhupāda in Bombay in the spring of 1974. At the time Prabhupāda was on a special diet. Pāllikā Devī was his cook, and Dīnatāriṇī shopped and sometimes assisted. Each morning, Pāllikā included *chidwa* on his breakfast plate. One morning, they overheard Prabhupāda comment to Satsvarūpa Mahārāja that the *chidwa* was causing indigestion. So *chidwa* didn’t appear on the next day’s plate. But even before the plate was before him, Prabhupāda asked “Where is the *chidwa*?” Pāllikā explained about overhearing his remark, and Prabhupāda immediately replied “Bring me my *chidwa*.” After it was placed before him, Prabhupāda laughed and said, “Yes, this *chidwa* is killing me, but I like it so much I cannot stop.” And then he laughed and nibbled. ### A Centennial Thank-You Last year many readers got in touch with me through BTG or in person to express appreciation for these Centennial cooking classes. I’m grateful for your correspondence and delighted that you want to learn about Śrīla Prabhupāda in the kitchen and honor, glorify, and relish his kitchen legacy. Hare Kṛṣṇa. *Yamuna Devi is the author of the award-winning cookbooks* Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking *and* Yamuna’s Table. *She is a regular contributor to* The Washington Post *and* Vegetarian Times. *Write to her in care of* BTG. *Popcorn Chidwa* (Makes one large bowl) If you love popcorn—plain, cheddar, or nacho—you’ll love this *chidwa* variation made with Indian flavors. In the last twenty years I’ve make a gazillion batches of it, adjusting the added spices for variety. This variation hits middle ground—a little hot, spicy, and buttery, but not overly so. Feel free to adjust the seasonings as desired. > 3 tablespoons minced candied ginger > 1 teaspoon ground cumin > 1 teaspoon ground coriander > 1 teaspoon turmeric > ½ teaspoon curry powder > ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes > ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper > 1 tablespoon sugar > 1½ teaspoon salt > ½ cup ghee, or half corn oil and half melted butter > ½ cup popping corn Combine the first nine ingredients on a small plate near the stove. Heat half the ghee or all of the oil in a large thick-bottomed pot over moderate heat. Add the popping corn, then cover and shake the pot. When you hear steady popping (after about two or three minutes), remove the lid for only a second to slide in the first nine ingredients. Then at once re-cover the pot. Continue shaking the pot for about 2 or 3 minutes more, until the sound abates and the corn is popped. Discard any unpopped corn. Drizzle with the rest of the ghee or butter, toss well, and offer to Kṛṣṇa. ## Bhakti-yoga at Home *A Visit to a Hare Kṛṣṇa Temple* ### By Rohiṇīnandana Dāsa MOST HARE KṚṢṆA temples have rooms where guests are welcome to stay for a few days. What lodgings are available will differ from temple to temple. To arrange for your stay, it’s best to get in touch with the temple in advance. When you come, be prepared for some new sights and sounds. If your background isn’t Indian, some of the traditional ceremonies and activities might at first seem strange, but most likely you’ll find them easy to understand once they’re explained. Let’s suppose you arrive early one evening. What are you likely to expect? After settling into your room, which you might be sharing with other residents or guests, it might be time for the evening *kīrtana* (chanting) in the temple and a class on *Bhagavad-gītā.* After class you’ll probably be offered a cup of hot milk and maybe an evening snack of *prasādam,* food offered to Kṛṣṇa. Try to get to bed early, because you’ll want to rise early with the devotees to bathe, dress, and make it to the temple in time for *maṅgala-ārati,* a worship ceremony that in most temples begins at 4:30. Don’t let the prospect of such an early start put you off. You’ll benefit from the age-old tradition of rising early for spiritual practices. By breakfast time you should have gained quite a taste of Kṛṣṇa conscious insight and satisfaction. After *maṅgala-ārati,* which lasts about half an hour, the curtains or doors to the Deity chamber close. Then devotees worship **tulasī*,* a confidential associate of Kṛṣṇa who has appeared in this world in the form of a bush. While one devotee offers flowers, incense, and a flame, the others sing a centuries-old song in **tulasī*’s* glorification. During the ceremony the devotees walk around *tulasī* and each of them sprinkles a few drops of water on her roots. The *japa* meditation period comes next. *Japa* means soft chanting. For one and a half to two hours devotees sit, stand, or walk while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mantra* on meditation beads. At 7:00 or 7:15 the curtains or doors to the Deity chamber open to reveal the freshly decorated Deities. A tape plays beautiful Sanskrit poetry set to music, and the devotees sing along or offer their own prayers. The devotees look at the Deities for a few minutes and then bow to the floor. Then each devotee receives in the palm a few drops of sanctified water and sips it. Next comes a ceremony of worship for Śrīla Prabhupāda. All ISKCON temples have a special seat—called a *vyāsāsana*—on which a picture or statue of Śrīla Prabhupāda sits. Everyone offers a few flower petals to Śrīla Prabhupāda's feet as an act of gratitude, especially for the teachings he has given in his books. During the ceremony the devotees sing a traditional song glorifying the spiritual master, followed by the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. Next a devotee gives a lecture on a verse from the scripture *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam.* After the lecture, questions are encouraged. Then it’s time for breakfast, and then devotees go on with their service to Kṛṣṇa. For devotees living and serving in a Hare Kṛṣṇa community, daily activities vary greatly—cooking, cleaning, gardening, teaching, worshiping the Deities, going out to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You may take part in these activities or spend your time reading or discussing Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy with devotees. On Friday or Saturday nights devotees usually hold a chanting procession in a nearby city or town, winding their way through the crowds for an hour or so. The procession offers a unique chance to see Lord Kṛṣṇa's material and spiritual energies side by side. On Sundays comes the world-famous Hare Kṛṣṇa Sunday feast. Devotees cook special dishes for the many guests who come. The devotees often put on plays or show videos or slideshows. Particularly good times to visit the temple are on Lord Caitanya’s birthday (in February or March), Lord Kṛṣṇa's birthday (August or September), and Rathayātrā, the Festival of the Chariots (summer). All in all, you should find that your stay at a temple, however brief, provides you a taste of the special pleasure of Kṛṣṇa conscious life. You’ll make friends and perhaps get more of an idea how to make your own life spiritually more successful. *Rohiṇīnandana Dāsa lives in southern England with his wife and their three children. Write to him in care of* Back to Godhead. ## The Land, the Cows, and Kṛṣṇa *1997—The Year of the Ox* ### by Hare Kṛṣṇa Devī Dāsī ACCORDING TO the East Asian calendar, 1997 is the Year of the Ox. And as one devotee has put it, “Ox power is fifty percent of cow protection, because bulls are fifty percent of the herd.” Our friends the vegans may hope to escape the sin of animal slaughter by avoiding commercial milk products. But eating tractor-produced grains implicates all of us in the slaughter of bulls, because tractors deny bulls their God-given work of tilling the field. Hardly one bull calf can be saved from the slaughterhouse even by a thousand vegans. If there is no use for the bull calf, the farmer must kill him. The real way to save the bull is to engage him in productive work. When you work with a trained ox, you see how he enjoys working. The ox has big muscles, and like an athlete he gets pleasure from using them. The ox likes working as an intimate partner to a human being who shows gratitude for the ox’s power and loyalty. And the ox can help us toward a simple life conducive to spiritual advancement. In this Year of the Ox, let’s think about the advantages of letting Father Bull do his part in building a peaceful, Kṛṣṇa conscious society. *Hare Kṛṣṇa* *Devī Dāsī, an ISKCON devotee since 1978, is co-editor of the newsletter* *Hare Kṛṣṇa* Rural Life. ## Tractor ## Ox Power vs. Tractor Power ## Ox ## PLOWING SPEED ## • 1 tractor with a 5-bottom plow: 20 acres a day. ## • 1 super tractor with a 12-bottom plow: 80 acres a day. ## • 1 team of 2 oxen pulling a single-bottom plow: 1 acre a day. ## • 3 ox teams pulling a double-bottom plow: 3 to 4 acres a day. ## FUEL ## Gasoline ## Grains, legume, grasses ## BY-PRODUCTS ## Pollutants, gas fumes, large hunks of junked equipment ## • While alive: manure, convertible into clean-burning biogas and top-quality organic fertilizer. ## • After natural death: leather and horn for crafts. ## PURCHASE PRICE ## • 1 tractor: $20,000 to $250,000. ## • Equipment: thousands more. ## • A team of 2 oxen: $200 (2 100-pound bull calves bought at “meat value,” $1 a pound). ## • Equipment: a few hundred dollars (less if homemade). ## MAINTENANCE ## Expensive mechanical repairs. In third-world countries, parts sometimes impossible to obtain. ## Health care by the local farmer and vet. Tool-fixing by any blacksmith or handyman. ## MAIN ECONOMIC MODE ## Capital-intensive, market-oriented. Grain farmer needs at least 400 acres to survive. ## Labor-intensive, subsistence-oriented. Farmer can feed his family well with 5 good acres. ## EMPLOYMENT ## One man can farm many acres, putting dozens of men out of work. ## One man can farm only a few acres. Nearly everyone in the village gets involved in growing food. ## DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH ## Well-being and comfort for a few, at the expense of many. Cash moves toward the corporation. ## The farmer lives in modest comfort, not much better or worse off than his neighbors. Cash stays in the community. ## ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ## Born of a factory, spawned by mines, refineries, and oil wells, fed on petrol. Batters the soil. ## No factory needed, just mother cow. Fed by the earth. Treads benignly on the soil. ## WHAT IT DOES FOR THE POOR ## Makes grain hi-tech and costly. Pushes the poor into dependence on local charity and international handouts. ## Empowers the poor to grow their own food, securing their long-term welfare. ## VIOLENCE ## Makes oxen useless for plowing, dooming bull calves to slaughter. Drives farmers off their land and into joblessness, bringing land under the grip of a few. ## Works peacefully, in natural partnership with man. ## SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT ## Chains a man to a roaring, dangerous, bone-jarring machine. Drags farming into the world of commodities speculation and land grabbing. Drives farmers out of the fields and onto the streets of the city. Ruins spiritual development. ## Works with the farmer at quiet, wholesome labor. Upholds a life of dependence on God and thankfulness for the bounty of the land. Pulls toward a simple, honest life in a natural setting for spiritual advancement. ## SUSTAINABILITY ## Ruins the soil. Destroys the social structure. Finished as soon as cheap petroleum runs out. ## Can’t sustain itself where agribusiness is the norm and land prices are driven up by speculation. You can’t farm with oxen on land that costs $6,000 an acre. But under spiritually enlightened leaders who protect the land and accept taxes in the form of grains and produce, ox-power farming can sustain itself, on and on and on. ## Fasting Days for 1997* FEBRUARY: 13—Appearance of Śrī Advaita Ācārya. Fasting till noon. 19—Appearance of Lord Varāha. Fasting till noon on Ekādaśī, the previous day. Feasting today. 20—Appearance of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Fasting till noon. 27—Appearance of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Fasting till noon. MARCH: 24—Appearance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Fasting till moonrise. APRIL: 16—Appearance of Lord Rāmacandra. Fasting till sunset. MAY: 21—Appearance of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva. Fasting till dusk. JUNE: 4—Disappearance of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Fasting till noon. JULY: July 20–August 17—First month of Cāturmāsya. Fasting from *śāk,* green leafy vegetables. AUGUST: 18—Appearance of Lord Balarāma. Fasting till noon. Second month of Cāturmāsya (August 18–September 15). Fasting from yogurt. 25—Appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa (Janmāṣṭamī). Fasting till midnight. 26—Appearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Fasting till noon. SEPTEMBER: 10—Appearance of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Fasting till noon. 14—Appearance of Lord Vāmana. Fasting till noon on Ekādaśī, the previous day. Feasting today. 15—Appearance of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Fasting till noon. September 16–October 15—Third month of Cāturmāsya. Fasting from milk. OCTOBER: October 16–November 14—Fourth month of Cāturmāsya. Fasting from *ūrad dāl.* NOVEMBER: 4—Disappearance of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Fasting till noon. 11—Disappearance of Śrīla Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja. Fasting till noon. (Feasting tomorrow.) DECEMBER: 17—Disappearance of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Fasting till noon. * Dates are for Māyāpur, West Bengal, and may vary by one day in other parts of the world. ### EKADASIS for 1997* (Fasting from grains and beans) Jan. 5, 19; Feb. 4, 18; Mar. 5, 19; Apr. 4, 18; May 3, 18; Jun. 1, 16, 30; Jul. 16, 30; Aug. 15, 29; Sept. 13, 27; Oct. 12, 27; Nov. 11, 25; Dec. 10, 25 * Dates are for Māyāpur, West Bengal, and may vary by one day in other parts of the world. ## India’s Heritage *Fasting and Feasting for the Soul* ### By Ravi Gupta FASTING IS AS POPULAR as feasting in India. Almost every day of the week is dedicated to a fast for some Deity, generally for a material purpose—to get wealth, to cure a sickness, to obtain political power, to get a good marriage partner. Fasting for material purposes can produce results, but those results, being material, are temporary. Besides, fasts for material gains are like business transactions between us and God. We worship the Lord for some benediction, and as soon as we get what we need, we stop the worship. Śrīla Prabhupāda calls such rituals “material religion.” My father still remembers that when he was a child, his grandmother would do a fast for the goddess Śitalā-mātā, for protection against smallpox. Today smallpox is gone, and so is the fast. An aspiring devotee fasts to help his spiritual life. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “The basic principle is not just to fast, but to increase one’s faith and love for Govinda, or Kṛṣṇa.” Fasting should help one purify the body, control the mind, and engage more fully in the devotional service of the Lord. Fasting also shows our determination to serve the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda prescribed fasting—at least from grains and beans—on Ekādaśī, the eleventh day of the waxing and waning moon. He also told devotees to fast on the appearance and disappearance days of the Lord and His devotees. These fasts are to be done only for the satisfaction of the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “The real reason for observing fasting on Ekādaśī is to minimize the demands of the body and to engage our time in the service of the Lord by chanting or performing similar service.” For many generations people in India fasted on Ekādaśī. But people today are not so interested in spiritual life, so few observe Ekādaśī. When my aunt decided to observe Ekādaśī, there was much opposition from her relatives. “Ekādaśī is only for old people,” they said. “What are you going to gain by keeping Ekādaśī?” Śrīla Prabhupāda considered fasting on Ekādaśī and other holy days an important part of spiritual life: “All these rules and regulations are offered by the great *ācāryas* [spiritual authorities] for those who are actually interested in getting admission into the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the transcendental world. The *mahātmās*, great souls, strictly observe all these rules and regulations, and therefore they are sure to achieve the desired result.” The main point is that fasting should aid our spiritual life. If fasting hindered a devotee’s service, Śrīla Prabhupāda would allow him to eat. Devotees also consider that eating only *prasādam*—food offered to Kṛṣṇa—is a kind of fasting, because one forgoes the demands of the tongue. In this sense, devotees fast every day. And such fasting for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa, while hearing and chanting His glories, is a true feast for the soul. *Ravi Gupta, age fourteen, lives at the Hare Kṛṣṇa center in Boise, Idaho. The center is run by his parents. Ravi, who was schooled at home, is a second-year student at Boise State University.* ## Schooling Kṛṣṇa's Children *Loving Our Children* ### By Ūrmilā Devī Dāsī HERE IN THE material world it’s easy to become absorbed in attachment and love for our family, especially our children, and forget about loving God, Kṛṣṇa. We often see a child’s photo or shoes or artwork given a prominent place within a home, almost as if the child were the worshipable Deity of the household. Though the Vedic scriptures advise us to detach ourselves from such affection, Śrīla Prabhupāda also comments that these feelings are natural. Are there ways our attachment to our children can bring us closer to Kṛṣṇa? There are. Parents may sacrifice for their children in ways they wouldn’t for themselves. For example, a father may take a second job to send a son through college, or a mother may spend seemingly endless hours driving her children to clubs and lessons. This same tendency to sacrifice can be used in the Lord’s service. Parents not concerned enough about their own spiritual well-being to regularly worship Kṛṣṇa and chant His names may still train their children to do so, thus helping themselves as well. When a mother teaches her children the importance of offering food to Kṛṣṇa, she naturally has to offer Kṛṣṇa the food in her home. A father who wants to teach his children to stay clear of time-wasting materialistic activities won’t spend his free time in front of the television. So in countless ways our love and concern for our children can motivate us to do what is most beneficial not only for them but for ourselves. Vedic culture is so perfect, in fact, that even speaking to our children with affection can purify the whole family. Generally, followers of Vedic culture name their children after Kṛṣṇa or His great devotees. So every time a mother calls “Govinda Dāsa, it’s time for your meals!” “Govinda! You left your shoes out in the rain.” “Where is Govinda?” she is chanting the holy name of the Lord. Such chanting, even to call one’s son or daughter, can bring parents the highest benefit of love of God. Indeed, thousands of years ago this happened when Ajāmila named his son “Nārāyaṇa,” which is a name of Kṛṣṇa. Though religious as a boy, Ajāmila did not become a spiritually minded father. He left his wife for a prostitute and made his living through cheating and crime. Absorbed in attachment to his family by the prostitute, he was still having children in old age. So even at eighty-eight he was cultivating his affection not for Kṛṣṇa but for his little son Nārāyaṇa. Ajāmila’s fatherly attachment was intense to the point that while dying he called for his son—“Nārāyaṇa!” At once the servants of Nārāyaṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa, came to save him from the hell he would have gone to for his degraded life. They granted him more years, which he used to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa. Finally he attained to the spiritual world. Of course, we shouldn’t purposely try to cheat Kṛṣṇa, thinking we can live a low life and still find perfection simply through the names we give our children. But from this story we can learn the potency of Kṛṣṇa's names and know that if we mold our lives to train our children as saints, we just might end up becoming saints ourselves. *Urmila Devī Dāsī and her family run a school for boys and girls in North Carolina. She is the major author and compiler of* Vaikuṇṭha Children, *a guide to Kṛṣṇa conscious education for children.* ## Celebrating Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta *A 16th-Century Bengali Masterpiece* ### By Kālakaṇṭha Dāsa BY ANY STANDARDS, Caitanya Mahāprabhu led a most remarkable life. As a child-scholar, He refuted the leading philosophers of His day. Later, as a young renunciant, He traveled widely, converting kings, *paṇḍitas,* Muslims, Buddhists, and thousands of their followers to the path of *Kṛṣṇa-bhakti*. In His final years, He exhibited unprecedented miracles and devotional ecstasies. Even today, five hundred years later, Lord Caitanya’s movement reverberates around the world with startling religious vitality. Yet Caitanya Mahāprabhu is much more than a famous medieval Indian religious leader. He is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, appearing as a devotee. Lord Caitanya fulfilled the ancient Purāṇic prophecy that Lord Kṛṣṇa would incarnate in the present age of godlessness, known as Kali-yuga, to distribute love of Godhead throughout the world. In the late 1500s, the aged and learned Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī chronicled Lord Caitanya’s pastimes in *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.* Working in a simple mud dwelling on the bank of the sacred lake known as Rādhā Kuṇḍa, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja drew extensively from the diaries of Lord Caitanya’s secretaries. From their descriptions, and first-hand accounts of other eyewitnesses, he compiled a detailed biography. He emphasized the Lord’s later pastimes, as well as His divinity and His profound philosophical teachings. Over time, prominent Bengali-literate Western scholars of religion came to value *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta* highly for both its biographical and philosophical excellence. In the early 1970s, one of America’s leading specialists in Indian religions began an eagerly awaited first English translation. He intended to make the work available for scholars and postgraduate students of Indian religions. During the same period, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda began his own translation of *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.* Śrīla Prabhupāda's purpose, however, was quite different. He had founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in 1966, and now many of its thousands of members, his disciples, had begun to mature in *Kṛṣṇa-bhakti*. So Śrīla Prabhupāda, having completed the *Bhagavad-gītā As It Is* (the fundamental text of spiritual life) and many volumes of the vast *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (a graduate-level scripture), at his disciples’ request began work on *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta,* a text he called the “postgraduate study of spiritual life.” Among his many other gifts, Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to leave his followers an authorized translation of this ultimate devotional classic. Like Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, Śrīla Prabhupāda began his project at an advanced age. Unlike his great predecessor, Śrīla Prabhupāda was the leader of a worldwide spiritual society that needed his constant travel and challenged him with diverse problems. Rising early and working before dawn each day in the course of his international travels, Śrīla Prabhupāda nonetheless managed to complete *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta* in just eighteen months. He painstakingly translated each Bengali and Sanskrit verse to English, word for word, followed by a full translation and purport. The result of his extraordinary literary efforts would ultimately be published in seventeen full-sized volumes. But to Śrīla Prabhupāda's dismay, publication lagged behind. The two leading managers of the BBT, Prabhupāda's Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, were still working on the *Bhāgavatam.* Yet they presented Prabhupāda an ambitious plan for increasing the BBT’s pace of production fourfold—one book a month. Śrīla Prabhupāda shocked them by his response: “It is not fast enough. You have to do all the books in two months’ time.” The managers stared in disbelief. Seventeen books in two months? “Śrīla Prabhupāda,” one ventured, “I think that’s impossible. Maybe we can go faster …” Śrīla Prabhupāda responded without anger, but very gravely: “*Impossible* is a word found in a fool’s dictionary.” Consulting among themselves, the BBT leaders and staff resolved to meet Śrīla Prabhupāda's challenge. Śrīla Prabhupāda himself agreed to provide special help. Thus began an unparalleled two-month publication marathon in which Śrīla Prabhupāda's personal example fueled the BBT workers with inspiration. The managers quickly assembled a team of fifty devotee workers. Photographers flew off to India. Bengali editors double-checked each text with Śrīla Prabhupāda, while the English editors, typesetters, proofreaders, and layout artists worked seven days a week from dawn to midnight and beyond. The BBT artists whose original paintings would illustrate each volume sacrificed their personal styles to accommodate a faster, more efficient method of finishing one another’s work together. Even the BBT’s printer, Kingsport Press in Tennessee, pushed back other work in order to accommodate the intense printing schedule. The marathon was on! The BBT workers adopted the devotional mood of *ātma-nivedanam,* surrendering everything to Kṛṣṇa. Typesetters worked in shifts twenty-four hours a day. The typesetting computer man barely slept. Determined to fulfill Śrīla Prabhupāda's order, the devotees pushed themselves to new heights of accomplishment. Soon new volumes of *Śrī* *Caitanya-caritāmṛta* began to be offered on the altar in Los Angeles, BBT’s home temple. To the trained eye, the shiny gold volumes fell slightly short of BBT’s high editorial and artistic standards. Nonetheless, *Śrī*la Prabhupāda handled each new volume with satisfaction. Two months from the day of Śrīla Prabhupāda's order, the last of the seventeen volumes of Ś*rī Caitanya-caritāmṛta* arrived from Kingsport Press. The jubilant BBT press workers basked in the glow of Śrīla Prabhupāda's blessings. By the grace of *guru* and Kṛṣṇa, an “impossible” miracle had been done. In addition to larger runs of certain volumes, the BBT printed twenty thousand complete seventeen-volume sets. Many sets were instantly snapped up by eager scholars and academic libraries. Readers bought thousands more for their home libraries. Devotees sold individual volumes in public places. In addition, BBTs in India, South America, and Europe began translating *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta* into dozens of languages. Grateful scholars heaped praise upon the publication. Dr. J. Bruce Long of Cornell University called it “a cause for celebration.” Teachers could now introduce their students to direct source material about Lord Caitanya’s life and teachings, and they loved it. Many years later, when the noted American Indologist finally published what was now the second English translation of *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta,* Śrīla Prabhupāda's work had already circled the globe. But Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation did much more than simply fill a significant vacuum in the academic study of Hinduism. As a pure devotee of Lord Caitanya, Śrīla Prabhupāda conveyed the true spirit of Lord Caitanya’s life and teachings. As a result, Lord Caitanya has now touched millions of hearts and become part of millions of lives in every corner of the world. In this way, Śrīla Prabhupāda has fulfilled one of Lord Caitanya’s own prophecies: “In every town and village of the earth, My holy name will be sung.” *Kālakaṇṭha Dāsa, a devotee since 1972, is a member of the ISKCON Foundation staff. He lives with his wife and their two young daughters in Alachua, Florida.* ## Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī: *Empowered Biographer of the Lord* THE AUTHOR OF *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta,* Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, born around the beginning of the sixteenth century, was a disciple of Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, a confidential follower of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s. Raghunātha Dāsa, a renowned ascetic saint, heard and memorized all the activities of Caitanya Mahāprabhu told him by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. After the passing away of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Svarūpa Dāmodara, Raghunātha Dāsa, unable to bear the pain of separation from these objects of his complete devotion, traveled to Vṛndāvana, intending to commit suicide by jumping from Govardhana Hill. In Vṛndāvana, however, he encountered Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, two of the most confidential disciples of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They convinced him to give up his planned suicide and impelled him to reveal to them the spiritually inspiring events of Lord Caitanya’s later life. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī was also residing in Vṛndāvana at this time, and Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī endowed him with full comprehension of the transcendental life of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. By this time, contemporary and near-contemporary scholars and devotees had already written several biographical works on the life of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. These included *Śrī Caitanya-carita*, by Murāri Gupta, *Caitanya-maṅgala*, by Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura, and *Caitanya-bhāgavata*. This latter work, by Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura, who was then considered the principal authority on Śrī Caitanya’s life, was highly revered. While composing his important work, Vṛndāvana Dāsa, fearing that it would become too voluminous, avoided elaborately describing many of the events of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s life, particularly the later ones. Anxious to hear these later pastimes, the devotees of Vṛndāvana requested Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, whom they respected as a great saint and scholar, to compose a book narrating these episodes in detail. Upon this request, and with the permission and blessings of the Madana-mohana Deity of Vṛndāvana, he began compiling *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, which, due to its literary excellence and philosophical thoroughness, is today universally regarded as the foremost work on the life and profound teachings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kṛṣṇadāsa commenced work on the text at a very advanced age and in failing health, as he vividly describes in the text itself: “I have now become too old and disturbed by invalidity. While writing, my hands tremble. I cannot remember anything, nor can I see or hear properly. Still I write, and this is a great wonder.” That he completed the greatest literary gem of medieval India under such debilitating conditions is surely one of the wonders of literary history. From the Introduction to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta *Scholarly Praise* *As with Śrīla Prabhupāda's other books, scholars greatly appreciated his presentation of* Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. *Here we present excerpts from one of many favorable reviews when the book first appeared.* The appearance of an English translation of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī’s *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta* by A.C. Bhaktivedanta (founder-*ācārya* of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) is a cause for celebration among both scholars in Indian studies and lay people seeking to enrich their knowledge of Indian spirituality. … It will fill a most serious lacuna in our libraries and in our courses on the religious traditions of India. For the first time we possess a readily accessible edition for this great religious classic that will provide opportunity for scholars in Indian literature and followers of the Kṛṣṇa conscious tradition alike to compare the original text with a modern English translation and become acquainted with the deeper spiritual meaning of this work through the learned commentary of Śrī Bhaktivedanta. Anyone who gives a close reading to the commentary will sense that here, as in his other works, Śrī Bhaktivedanta has combined a healthy mixture of the fervent devotion and aesthetic sensitivity of a devotee and the intellectual rigor of a textual scholar. At no point does the author allow the intended meaning of the text to be eclipsed by the promotion of a particular doctrinal persuasion. These exquisitely wrought volumes will be a welcome addition to the libraries of all persons who are committed to the study of Indian spirituality and religious literature, whether their interests are sparked by the motivations of the scholar, the devotee, or the general reader. Dr. J. Bruce Long Department of Asian Studies Cornell University *Bringing Out the New Edition* In 1975, Śrīla Prabhupāda called on his disciple Draviḍa Dāsa to help edit the first edition of *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.* Nearly twenty years later, leaders of the BBT (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust) again called on Draviḍa to help produce a special Śrīla Prabhupāda Centennial project: an updated reprinting of the entire work. The project shows how much technology—and ISKCON itself—have changed in twenty years. In 1975, ISKCON and the BBT were best established in America, and all the production took place at BBT headquarters in Los Angeles. Today, help to assemble the new printing came from flourishing BBT divisions not only in America but in India, Europe, and Australia. In 1975, devotees painstakingly laid out every page of the seventeen-volume *Caitanya-caritāmṛta* by hand, using razor blades and wax to affix the typeset galleys to “boards.” And the indexes were compiled using, well—index cards. Today you can do all that by computer. But since for the new printing there were no original computer disks to work from, devotees had to start from the already printed volumes. In India, Nareśvara Dāsa, a BBT trustee, engaged a crew of skilled Bengali editors to key in the original Bengali script. Another editorial crew in Korsnas Gard, Sweden, set right the roman-letter transliterations of the thousands of Bengali and Sanskrit verses, and supplied nine new Bengali-Sanskrit indexes using sophisticated computer programs. In America, the Bhaktivedanta Archives supplied the scanned text of the entire book. When the revised transliterations had been entered into the master files, Draviḍa printed it all out at his office in San Diego—about ten thousand sheets double spaced. He began reading the text, comparing it often to the original transcripts of Śrīla Prabhupāda's dictation from the Bhaktivedanta Archives. As Śrīla Prabhupāda had previously entrusted him to do, Draviḍa occasionally made editorial adjustments, improving the English as needed, without changing the meaning. In the course of his work he found remarkably few mistakes—he changed far less than one percent of the text. Those he did find had generally grown out of the breakneck speed at which the original version had been produced—fourteen of the seventeen books in two months. Draviḍa engaged Grahila Dāsa, a veteran BBT indexer living in Florida, to redo all the subject indexes. So that editions in other languages could use them easily, Grahila indexed the text by chapter and verse rather than page number. To re-index the text took him a year. Language scholar Gopīparāṇadhana Dāsa, another veteran from the original book, double-checked the Bengali and Sanskrit texts while working in Sweden, Russia, and North Carolina. He and Draviḍa, who used to pass work back and forth in adjoining offices, now swapped huge files across the Atlantic by e-mail. In September 1995, Draviḍa flew to Brisbane, Australia, to oversee the final stages of layout, proofreading, and production. After some final work with Nareśvara on typefaces, dust covers, illustration captions, and other details, the new nine-volume sets were printed in Melbourne, ready to ship to readers around the world during Śrīla Prabhupāda's Centennial year. Reflecting on his work, Draviḍa Dāsa said, “When I think about my great good fortune in being able to work on Śrīla Prabhupāda's *Caitanya-caritāmṛta,* my heart fills with gratitude. I really possessed no special qualification to do this work—no degree in English, no special knowledge of Sanskrit or Bengali. But I have always had a strong desire to help the part of his mission most dear to Prabhupāda: the spreading of Kṛṣṇa consciousness through producing and distributing his books. “Lord Kṛṣṇa put me in the right place at the right time—the old Brooklyn temple in 1973, where I joined—to take up the service of proofreading and then editing. Now all these years later I am still doing the same service. I have no desire to do anything else. I simply pray that Prabhupāda accept my insignificant efforts and bless me with the opportunity to render him similar service, birth after birth.” ## Mahābhārata—The History of Greater India *Draupadī Marries The Five Pāṇḍavas* ### “In order of age, and on successive days, each royal prince took the hand of that excellent woman, who had assumed a form of supreme beauty.” ### Translated from Sanskrit by Hridayānanda Dāsa Goswami *The sage Vaiśampāyana is telling the history of the Pāṇḍavas to their great-grandson, King Janamejaya. The princess Draupadī, in a former life, had prayed to Lord Śiva five times for a husband, and Lord Śiva had therefore blessed her to marry five former Indras in her next life. These Indras had now appeared as Yudhiṣṭhira and the four other Pāṇḍava brothers. The sage Vyāsa has just finished telling this story to Draupadī’s father, King Drupada, who had questioned the propriety of Draupadī’s proposed marriage to the five Pāṇḍavas.* KING DRUPADA SAID, “It was only because I had not heard these words from you, Maharṣi, that I first endeavored to do things in a certain way. What is ordained by providence cannot be avoided, and that alone is the relevant rule here. The knot tied by destiny is never to be undone; nothing will be accomplished by our own effort if we strive against the will of the Supreme. Arrangements were made for a single bridegroom, but the preparations are quite suitable for many. “Previously, Draupadī requested Lord Śiva several times to give her a husband, and he pronounced her blessing accordingly, for the lord surely knows what is best here. When Lord Śiva, with his superior knowledge, has personally established what is right and wrong in this case, there is no offense on my part. Let these boys take her hand in sacred marriage, as they wish, for Draupadī is clearly destined for them.” Then the exalted Vyāsa said to Yudhiṣṭhira, the king of righteousness, “Today is a holy day, Pāṇḍava, for the moon has reached its conjunction with the constellation Pausya. Therefore on this very day you should be the first to take the hand of Draupadī.” At this, King Drupada and his son gathered all kinds of wealth to present to the bridegroom’s party, and he arranged to bring his daughter, after she had bathed and adorned herself with many jewels. Then all the ministers, advisers, and close friends of the family came in joyful spirits to see the wedding, and so did the important *brāhmaṇas* and city dwellers. The king’s palace was beautified by *brāhmaṇas* who came for charity, and lotus blossoms were scattered about to adorn the festival grounds. The palace shone with an abundance of most valuable gems, like the sky with its hosts of pure white stars. Then the sons of the Kaurava king, dressed in priceless garments, bedecked with earrings and other jeweled ornaments, and cooled by costly sandalwood paste, were duly anointed in the ritual ablutions, and those brothers performed all the rites that invoke substantial blessings at the time of marriage. In proper order, by ritual, and accompanied by the royal priest Dhaumya, who shone with the splendor of fire, the Pāṇḍavas entered the great hall like mighty, jubilant bulls entering their pleasure pastures. First Dhaumya kindled the sacred fire and offered oblations, and when it blazed with the potent Vedic *mantras*, that master of the Vedic science brought Yudhiṣṭhira forward and joined him in wedlock to Draupadī with all the proper *mantras*. Husband and wife held each other’s hands, and with his masterful comprehension of Vedic rite Dhaumya led them around the sacrificial fire. Then bidding farewell to Yudhiṣṭhira, who was so brilliant in battle, the priest departed the royal palace. In order of age, and on successive days, each royal prince took the hand of that excellent woman, who had assumed a form of supreme beauty. All the princes were *mahāratha* warriors who spread the glory of the Kuru dynasty, and each one married Draupadī. The holy sage Vyāsa spoke of the wonderful superhuman splendor of the occasion, for as each day passed, thin-waisted Draupadī, by her great spiritual influence, again became a virgin. When the weddings were done, Drupada gave many sorts of valuable treasures to the grand warriors, including one hundred chariots that were all ornamented in gold and yoked to four golden-bridled horses. Similarly, he presented one hundred red-spotted elephants who stood like one hundred gold-peaked mountains, and one hundred exquisite young handmaids bedecked in the most costly garments, ornaments, and garlands. As the sacred fire witnessed, King Drupada gave to each Pāṇḍava vast amounts of wealth, with extremely valuable garments and ornaments, befitting their prowess. The Pāṇḍavas graciously took the huge fortune, heavy in gems. Then those mighty warriors, equal to Indra, relaxed and enjoyed themselves in the capital city of the Pancala king. *Kuntī Blesses Draupadī* Having united with the Pāṇḍavas, Drupada feared nothing, not even the gods. The women of noble Drupada then approached Kuntī, the mother of the Pāṇḍavas, told her their names, and touched her feet with their heads. Dressed in linen, with the auspicious marriage thread tied about her, Draupadī too paid obeisances to her mother-in-law and stood bowed with folded hands. Draupadī was endowed with beauty and the marks of nobility, and her character and conduct were ideal. Kuntī knew this, and with love she spoke words of blessing: “As Indrāṇī abides in Indra, Svāhā in the lord of fire, Rohiṇī in the moon, the chaste Damayantī in Nala, Bhadrā in Vaiśrāvana, Arundhatī in Vaśiṣṭha, and the goddess of fortune in Lord Nārāyaṇa, so may you abide in your men, and they will maintain you. May you give birth to healthy, heroic sons who fill your heart with joy. May good fortune be yours, and all the comforts of life. Having married before the sacred fire, may you ever honor your vow. “May endless years be yours, as you honor even uninvited guests as well as teachers, the young, the saintly, the elderly, and the teachers, according to propriety and the religious law. Following your virtue-loving king, may you be anointed queen of the nations, headed by Kuru and Jaṅgala, and of their cities. When your mighty lords with their valor have conquered the earth, make of her a joyous offering to the *brāhmaṇas,* with great sacrifices like the Aśvamedha. Kind lady, may you obtain all the fine treasures of the earth and live happily for one hundred autumns. As I rejoice with you today, for you are a new bride dressed in linen, so shall I rejoice with you again when you bear a son filled with good qualities.” *Lord Kṛṣṇa's Gifts* Thereupon Lord Kṛṣṇa sent the newly married Pāṇḍavas beautiful varieties of pearls, diamonds, and ornaments of pure gold. Lord Kṛṣṇa, known as Mādhava, also sent costly clothes from many countries, along with blankets, deerskins, and jewels. All these were pleasing to the touch and of the purest quality. He sent large beds and seats of all varieties, grand vehicles in different styles, and vessels by the hundreds, inlaid with diamonds and cat’s-eye gems. Lord Kṛṣṇa also sent thousands of lovely young meticulous female attendants, beautifully adorned and from many countries. He sent obedient, good-natured elephants, celestial horses with fine ornaments, and wonderfully responsive chariots, decorated with shining gold cloth. Lord Kṛṣṇa, Madhusūdana, the immeasurable Soul of the universe, also dispatched unworked gold bricks by the millions. Dharmarāja, Yudhiṣṭhira, accepted all these gifts with the greatest of joy. His only motive was to please his Lord, Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Govinda, the supreme source of pleasure for the senses of all living beings. *Hridayānanda Dāsa Goswami led the team of devotee-scholars who completed the translation and commentary of the* Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *begun by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. He is now doing graduate work in Sanskrit and Indian Studies at Harvard University.* Dramatic readings by Hridayānanda Dāsa Goswami of his *Mahābhārata* translations may be purchased from: HDG Tape Ministry, P.O. Box 1156, Alachua, FL 32616, USA. Phone: (904) 418-4644. ## Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out *“Science”: Dogmatic Foolishness From Advanced Demons* *This exchange between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and some of his disciples took place in Māyāpur, India, on January 16, 1976.* Śrīla Prabhupāda: If a man does not read the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,* then he remains a rascal. Disciple: So, Śrīla Prabhupāda, in the ultimate sense, anything apart from the *Vedas* is not really knowledge. Śrīla Prabhupāda: No. It may be some fragmental knowledge, but if one wants full knowledge in life, then he must read *Bhāgavatam*—the pastimes, the dealings, of the Lord and His devotees. *Bhagavad-gītā* is the preliminary knowledge—ABCD—so that you can distinguish between matter and spirit. And then you should read Śrīmad-*Bhāgavatam*. Formerly all the great leaders of society knew all these things. Everyone was taught like that. But now, *andha yathāndhaiḥ:* some big bombastic blind man is leading all the small blind men directly into the ditch. Someone is passing as a great leader—great for giving people wrong direction, so that they can spoil their lives. The great leader cannot even save himself. He can spoil himself—and others—very nicely. Disciple: These blind leaders have created such chaos, Śrīla Prabhupāda. People’s minds have become terribly disturbed. Śrīla Prabhupāda: But from *Bhāgavatam* we can offer the science of transcendental peace and tranquility. First we can show everyone, scientifically, how they have left the spiritual world and how they have become covered by matter. The materially affected mind is the first creation for material enjoyment. From the mind the material senses are created: five senses for knowledge-gathering and five senses for working, along with five airs within the body. And then *pañca-mahā-bhūta,* the five basic material elements: earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Then materially affected intelligence, and finally *ahaṅkāra,* or false ego, the power to misidentify one’s actual, spiritual self with all these material coverings. So in this way the *ātmas* or *jīvas,* spirit souls who once resided in the spiritual world in full knowledge, are now living in ignorance. Some of them are standing, as trees and plants. And some of them are moving, as insects, animals, and humans. But in your so-called civilization do you have scientific knowledge of how the soul has become bewildered by this material covering, which actually he has nothing to do with? Then what is the value of your knowledge? Hmm? If you do not know these fundamental things, then what is the value of your knowledge? You are simply observing superficially, externally. But there is good hope. People are receiving these books. So we should take the opportunity of preaching this **Bhāgavatam*,* and classes should be held regularly. Let people study *Bhāgavatam* and *Bhagavad-gītā,* and they will accept it. They are not fools. Simply we have to introduce this great science. The Western people are not fools, but misguided. So you take charge of guiding them; then this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will be successful. People will appreciate, they will take it up and reform, and their life will be successful. But if they utilize their intelligence merely for developing better ways to kill the child within the womb and for claiming, “The child in the womb has no soul—the soul comes after birth,” then what is this nonsense? Unless the child in the womb has a soul, how can he manifest life symptoms? Disciple: Well, Śrīla Prabhupāda, it’s quite obvious that since the child in the womb is growing and reacting to stimuli, then he must have a soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. The same growing process that we observe later in life, outside the womb, is going on from the very beginning, within the womb. The material body is developing. That’s all. Everyone knows that the baby outside the womb has a soul, so how can you say that the baby in the womb has no soul? If he has no soul, how is his body growing and developing? Such rascals—they are passing as big scientists. What reasoning do they give for claiming that the baby in the womb has no soul? Disciple: They don’t really have an argument. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Just see. All dogmatic. All dogmatic foolishness that they are propagating. And this is going on in the name of **vijñāna*,* science. Real *vijñāna* should be enunciated. *Vijñāna: vi-* and *jñāna.* Actually, *vijñāna* has two meanings. One is *viśiṣṭā-jñāna,* or genuine knowledge, fully realized and articulated, or enunciated. You can take this meaning. And the other meaning of *vijñāna* is *vigata-jñana,* or pseudo knowledge, knowledge lost or stolen by illusion. So these “scientists”—their “*vijñāna,*” or “science,” is *vigata-jñāna,* knowledge stolen by illusion, so-called knowledge bereft of all real knowledge. That sense is given in *Bhagavad-gītā:* *māyayāpahṛta-jñānaḥ*—*māyā*, or illusion, has utterly taken away these people’s knowledge, and yet their so-called knowledge is going on as *vijñāna,* science. *Māyā* has made these people rascals, but they are presenting themselves as men of advanced knowledge. That is the defect of Kali-yuga, this age of hypocrisy. Disciple: Advanced demoniac knowledge. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Advanced demons. Actually, they are advanced demons. *Āsuras.* *Āsuraṁ-bhāvam āśritāḥ—*they are infected with the contamination of atheism, godlessness. Disciple: Of course, Śrīla Prabhupāda, one thing you can say for these so-called scientists: They know the science of avoiding the real issues. In that sense, they really are expert. Śrīla Prabhupāda: A child can also avoid the real issues. That is not expert. A child without guidance can also advance very nicely in foolishness. And when the foolish child touches the fire and burns his hand, some other fool may say, “Oh, this is advancement of knowledge.” Similarly, in this material world all these rascals are endeavoring for the advancement of their foolish knowledge. They are following in the footsteps of that ancient demon Hiraṅyakaśipu. He also tried to ignore the soul and the Supreme Soul and tried to immortalize his material body, which is impossible. But just like Hiraṅyakaśipu, today’s rascals have become very advanced in that foolishness. ## Calendar Close-UpŚrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura *Disappearance Day: February 11* Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura was born in 1674 in the Nadiyā district of West Bengal. He had two brothers: Śrī Rāmabhadra Cakravartī and Śrī Raghunātha Cakravartī. Viśvanātha received initiation from Śrī Kṛṣṇacaraṇa Cakravartī, in whose house he lived for a long time and wrote many books. In Nadiyā, Viśvanātha studied the scriptures and Sanskrit grammar, poetry, and rhetoric. Even as a boy in school, he was a formidable scholar who could defeat anyone in logic and debate. Although indifferent to family life, Viśvanātha married at a young age at his father’s request. He was married only a short time, however, renouncing his wife and home to live in Vṛndāvana. Although his family and friends often tried to bring Viśvanātha back home, he was fixed in his determination to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Lord’s transcendental earthly abode. In Vṛndāvana, Viśvanātha took up residence in the former cottage (*bhajana-kūṭīr*) of Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Gosvāmī, on the bank of the sacred lake known as Rādhā Kuṇḍa. Living there with a disciple of Kṛṣṇadāsa’s named Mukunda Dāsa, Viśvanātha carefully studied the books of Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, and other Gosvāmīs and later wrote commentaries on many of these books. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī also wrote important commentaries on *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* and *Bhagavad-gītā.* Śrīla Prabhupāda, in his own purports, often quotes the commentaries of Viśvanātha. Śrīla Prabhupāda often mentioned that he had been inspired in his own spiritual life by Viśvanātha’s commentary on *Bhagavad-gītā,* Chapter 2, verse 41, where Viśvanātha Cakravartī writes that the disciple must accept as his life and soul the order of the spiritual master. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura is the author of *Śrī Gurvaṣṭakam,* “Eight Prayers Glorifying the Spiritual Master.” Following the practice set by Śrīla Prabhupāda, devotees in all ISKCON temples sing these prayers each morning at *maṅgala-ārati,* the first worship ceremony of the day. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s most famous disciple was Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣāṇa. When *brāhmaṇa* scholars in Jaipur challenged the validity of Lord Caitanya’s movement, Viśvanātha, the leader of Lord Caitanya’s followers at the time, was too old to make the journey and debate the challengers, so he sent Baladeva in his place. By the dictation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Baladeva wrote the *Govinda-bhāṣya* commentary on the *Vedānta-sūtra* and defeated the skeptics. ## Every Town & Village *The worldwide activities of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)* *Festivals For Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Appearance Day* Devotees at ISKCON centers around the world held festivals on September 5–6 for the one-hundredth anniversary of Śrīla Prabhupāda's appearance. We mention only a few of the festivals here. ### Calcutta People from Calcutta joined a thousand international devotees to honor Śrīla Prabhupāda in his hometown. Some 37,000 people in all attended programs on two evenings. Children from fifty schools attended a daytime event. The Prime Minister of India, the Honorable H. D. Deve Gowda, sent his respects. He wrote, “Swami Prabhupāda spread the message of self-realization, and our nation is proud of his contribution, which enabled millions of men and women to realize their spiritual potential.” The highlight of the festival: a Vedic ceremony bathing the *mūrti* (sculptured form) of Śrīla Prabhupāda with 1,008 sacred waters. The waters were collected from holy places throughout India, Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. ### Mumbai A flower-bedecked cart carried Prabhupāda's *mūrti* down Bhaktivedanta Swami Marg from Mithibai College to the ISKCON temple in Juhu. The three ISKCON temples in Mumbai joined in the festival. ### Bangalore Devotees in Bangalore cooked and offered nearly two thousand dishes for Śrīla Prabhupāda's pleasure on his appearance day. ### Montreal At the festival here, devotees noted that Śrīla Prabhupāda's appearance one hundred years ago coincided with the arrival of a book by his predecessor Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura at McGill University, Montreal. Dr. Arvind Sharma, lecturer and professor at McGill, spoke about Śrīla Prabhupāda and the early days of ISKCON. ### Ecuador Devotees in Ecuador held a week-long festival in Guayaquil. The festival began with the installation of a life-size *mūrti* of Śrīla Prabhupāda and ended with a grand parade down the main street of the city. *World News* ### North America Ten leading Christian scholars met with ten senior members of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement in September for a conference on “The Destiny of the Soul.” Reports from the three-day conference, held outside Boston, will be published in academic journals. An ISKCON chanting party from Atlanta began touring the American south in November. The party plans to take the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa throughout the continental USA. Interested in joining or supporting the party? Contact Śudhanidhi Dāsa at 1287 S. Ponce de Leon Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30306, USA; phone: (404) 378-9234. Five thousand guests celebrated Janmāṣṭamī, Lord Kṛṣṇa's appearance day, at ISKCON Houston’s new Gauranga Community Hall. ### Europe Devotees in Hungary installed Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities at New Vraja Dhama, their farm two hours from Budapest, on Janmāṣṭamī. Devotees in Slovenia have been holding gatherings, called Nāma Haṭṭa programs, in their homes since 1993. At first there were three such meetings, one in each of three towns. Now there are thirteen. ### India The state of Gujarat declared a holiday for ISKCON’s Rathayātrā festival in Vadodara (Baroda). Government offices, schools, and colleges closed. The education minister, the mayor, and other leading citizens of Vadodara attended the celebration. On the same day, ISKCON also held a Rathayātrā festival in Surat. Other Rathayātrā festivals: Indore in October and Kanpur in November. ISKCON’s new temple in New Delhi will open on April 2. ISKCON’s new center in Ahmedabad is scheduled to open the second week of April. ISKCON’s new temple in Bangalore is scheduled to open on April 4. Meanwhile, a quarter of a million people celebrated Janmāṣṭamī at the unfinished temple site. ### Bangladesh Devotees held Rathayātrā in Dhaka in July, for the first time in this predominantly Muslim country. The parade went down Motijeel, one of Dhaka’s largest streets. ### Australia Devotees handed out six tons of *prasādam* oranges to runners in Sydney’s annual City to Surf Fun Run. Bhava Priyā Dāsī, who coordinated festivals for ISKCON’s center in Sydney, passed away in Māyāpur, India, in July. Family and friends chanted at her side. She is survived by her son, daughter, and husband, all devotees. ### Africa Deities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma were installed in Gaberone, Botswana, in October. ISKCON leaders Śrīpāda Girirāja Swami and Śrīpāda Kṛṣṇadāsa Swami presided at the ceremonies. Śrī Haridāsa Adhikāri, president of ISKCON’s center in Coventry, England, served as the priest for the installation. ISKCON Durban, South Africa, celebrated its annual Rathayātrā festival on December 25 through 31. ### The Caribbean Trinidad’s largest-ever Rathayātrā festival wound its way through streets of Saturday-morning shoppers in the busy town of Sangre Grande. Member of Parliament Harry Partap addressed the audience at the end of the parade. *Padayātrā News* ### Padayātrā India ISKCON’S original Padayātrā party is still on the road, heading down the east coast. The party left Jagannātha Purī in July and entered Andhra Pradesh in November. ### Padayātrā North America Last year the devotees of the North American walking festival, with their new ox, named Padayātrā, walked through twelve cities: Dallas, Denver, Fresno, Houston, Atlanta, Tallahassee, Las Vegas, New Orleans, San Diego, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, and Washington, D.C. ### Padayātrā England In response to the media reports on mad-cow disease, the British Padayātrā promoted cow protection. The devotees and their oxen appeared on eight TV shows and in fifty-two newspapers. ### Padayātrā Europe Eighty devotees took part last summer in the Centennial Padayātrā in Spain. The devotees and their oxen walked two and a half weeks from the ISKCON farm near Brihuega to the Rathayātrā festival in Madrid. In some cities bull fights were taking place, so the devotees made a point of showing off their protected oxen and explaining the Vedic alternative to cow killing. ### Padayātrā Caribbean Devotees from Trinidad went on an eight-day Padayātrā in July across the Caribbean. They walked, chanted, and passed out books and *prasādam* in Guyana, Grenada, Suriname, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia. ## Angels in Hell *A visit to the Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees in Sarajevo in the aftermath of the Bosnian war.* ### By Indradyumna Swami APPROACHING Sarajevo from the west through the mountains, we first drove through the suburbs of the city. As in many of the villages we’d been through in Bosnia, every building still standing bore the marks of war. As we drove into the city, the scene got worse. The entire city had been ravaged. Most startling were the graveyards everywhere. Fifty thousand people had died, and because for years the city had been surrounded by enemy forces, the local people had been obliged to bury their dead within the city. There were graves in every available space. Most parks and gardens had become graveyards. Even little patches of land between buildings served as cemeteries for two or three bodies. On a corner tuft of grass near a traffic light, a cross or a Muslim tombstone might mark a single grave. Eventually we arrived at the small ISKCON temple, in the Muslim sector of town. The fifteen local devotees greeted us with the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, which seemed especially bright and cheerful in contrast to the destruction around us. As I got out of the car, I saw that the temple had been riddled by bullets and shrapnel. I knew some of the history of the Sarajevo temple; I had asked devotees in Croatia what the devotees in Bosnia had been through. So as we entered the temple I asked in particular about Jāhnukanyakā Devī Dāsī and Haṁsahīnā Devī Dāsī, two women who had lived in the temple alone through the most intense period of the war, from April 1992 to July 1994. When Bosnia declared independence from the Yugoslavian Federation in April 1992, the Serbian army surrounded the city. Like all the citizens, Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā were trapped and couldn’t leave. Throughout the war most people stayed indoors to shield themselves from mortar attacks. But Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā ventured outside daily to distribute books and *prasādam* door to door or to the few souls who braved mortar and sniper fire on the street. The small temple became a shelter for Bosnian refugees from the hills, driven out of their homes by the advancing army. To live on the streets meant death, so all over the city people with homes or apartments gave shelter to others less fortunate. One day early in the war several families came to the temple and asked for shelter. Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā couldn’t refuse them, so fifteen guests lived in the temple throughout the war. The guests rose early so that Jāhnukanyakā, Haṁsahīnā and a few congregational devotees could have their morning devotional program. The guests also ate *prasādam* daily with the devotees. Getting food and water was difficult during the war. All gas, water, and electricity were cut off by the Serbs. Each day Jāhnukanyakā or Haṁsahīnā would risk walking to different areas of the city where water might be available from a spring or an open pipe. They spent much of the day fetching water or getting food. While others lived soiled and dirty throughout the war, Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā always bathed daily, wore fresh clean *sārīs*, and kept the temple spotlessly clean. One man told them that in contrast to most people in wartime Sarajevo, they looked like angels living in hell. During the war, many people in Sarajevo practically starved. But by Kṛṣṇa's mercy Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā had no shortage of food. Early in the war they had been begging door to door for foodstuffs when they heard that city officials were meeting with relief organizations to ration out food supplies from the United Nations. Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā went to the meeting and made a plea: they were Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees and wanted to distribute food. Because big organizations such as the Red Cross and the Red Crescent were at the meeting, the devotees had little chance of getting any support. City officials sent them home with nothing. But the next day one of the organizers of the meeting came to the temple to say he had arranged one ton of food for the devotees’ program—but the devotees would have to pick it up themselves and get it to the temple. Jāhnukanyakā wondered how the two of them could accomplish such a task; they had no vehicle, and there was no public transportation. The next day she visited the local Bosnian army base. Somehow she got to see the commanding general and convinced him to give a driver and a large truck to ferry the food from the UN depot to the ISKCON temple on the other side of the city. Within an hour the truck picked up the supplies and drove them to the temple, where neighbors spent the day loading the supplies into the temple attic. Mostly dry goods, the supply lasted almost the entire the war. To help make supplies last, Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā ate sparingly themselves. They would bake cookies or bread every day, and after offering the food to Kṛṣṇa they would go out to schools, hospitals, and refugee centers to distribute the *prasādam*. They would even go to Bosnian army positions on the front lines of the war, some three hundred meters outside the city. Bosnian soldiers would be amazed to see two women in *sārīs* approaching them in their foxholes with cakes and cookies. The soldiers would sometimes have to pull the two women down to get them out of the way of a hail of enemy bullets. Within the first few months of the war, all the trees of the city had been cut down for fuel, leaving only stumps. To heat the temple, Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā would go out at night and chop away at the stumps for wood. They also distributed Śrīla Prabhupāda's books. Just before the war had begun, a large supply of Śrīla Prabhupāda's books had arrived in Sarajevo. They had been meant for all the Hare Kṛṣṇa temples in Yugoslavia, but because the fighting started soon after the books arrived, the books were stuck in Sarajevo. The house in which the books were stored was taken over by people unfriendly to the devotees. So when Jāhnukanyakā visited the house to see the condition of the books, she found the people in the house using them for fuel. When she pleaded with the people not to do that, they drove her away at gunpoint. That same day, she went back to the army base and begged the general’s help in rescuing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books. Once again he submitted to her purity and determination and sent soldiers and vehicles. Within hours the books were safely in the temple compound. Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā would go out daily to distribute books, often at great risk to their lives. Snipers had taken up key positions around the city, and women and children were targets. While moving about the city, Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā sometimes had to step over bloodied corpses. But they went on distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books throughout the entire war. Many times, soldiers threatened their lives. One time the leader of a rebel faction of Bosnian Muslim soldiers had Jāhnukanyakā kidnapped and brought to his headquarters. Because she had been seen near the Serbian part of the city (she had been distributing *prasādam* there), they thought she was a Serbian spy. While interrogating her, the rebel leader swore he’d kill her. Fearless, she told him that she was a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa and that Kṛṣṇa would protect her. Besides that, she said, she and Haṁsahīnā were distributing food daily to their Muslim neighbors. The local Muslims knew this and loved them for it. If he killed her, they would be angry with him. He hesitated and then let her go, but he vowed that one day he would kill her. Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā passed up rare opportunities to flee the city, because they had found that the war made people more receptive to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The devotees had their service to their spiritual master, and they were there to stay. During the entire war they kept the temple open, ministered to a growing congregation, and distributed books and *prasādam*. At the time they were both uninitiated devotees. Only after the war was over and they were able to travel freely to Croatia did they finally receive spiritual initiation. So you can understand my eagerness to meet these two saintly devotees upon my arrival. But as I was being escorted to my room, the devotees told me I’d have to wait a few hours more: Jāhnukanyakā and Haṁsahīnā were out on the streets of Sarajevo, distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books. *Indradyumna Swami spreads Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Poland, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and other parts of the world.* ## The Vedic Observer ### Transcendental Commentary on the Issues of the Day *News Flash: Intelligent Life Discovered On Earth* ### Historical Developments 2nd Century—Ptolemy declares Earth and humanity the center of the universe. 1600—Galileo uses telescope to demonstrate that Earth circles sun. Authorities threaten to burn him at stake. Galileo rescinds declaration. 1957—Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, starting the space race. 1966—His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda arrives in New York City with translations of Vedic scriptures, launching the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. 1968—Scientists announce first rocks returned from moon. 1968—Scientists say moon rocks strikingly similar to earth rocks, propose that earth and moon were once joined. Additional billions approved for further research. 1969—Śrīla Prabhupāda scoffs at so-called moon rocks, challenges scientists to do something practical. ### Recent Developments, 1996 Billions spent on space exploration since 1960. Millions of people starve to death since 1960. Martian rock found in Antarctica shows possible traces of life. Scientists and theologians issue profound comments. U.S. President hails Rock as historical discovery, receives election-year boost in polls. Scientists say life may still exist on Mars. Public thinks favorably of additional billions for research. Śrīla Prabhupāda's books say that souls are eternal, indestructible, living everywhere. His books challenge scientists to do something practical. Answering skepticism about Mars rock, scientists point out that life exists everywhere on Earth, even in extremes of heat and cold. Millions of people at or near starvation. Rich nations, unconcerned, feed surplus grain to cattle for slaughter. Surveys show that most people still consider themselves the center of the universe. Devoid of Mars rocks and beef, Hare Kṛṣṇa movement feeds *kṛṣṇa-prasādam* to tens of thousands daily, continues to attract a modest following. ## Lord Kṛṣṇa Is Above All Others *The heart of the idea that “all the gods are one” is impersonalism, not what Kṛṣṇa teaches.* *In 1995,* Back to Godhead *published a series of articles on the demigods. Last year, in our January/February issue, we printed an objection to those articles, along with our reply, under the title “Is* Back to Godhead *an Offender?” We publish here a letter received in response to that article, and our reply.* THIS LETTER is in response to your article “Is Back to Godhead an Offender?” As a young Hindu living in Britain, where the media consistently portrays the religion as fanatical, it is upsetting when it seems that Hindu sects, such as ISKCON, for whom I have great regard and respect, do propound such rigid views which are in direct opposition to the universal tolerance of Sanātana-dharma. When these intolerant views are propagated *within the body* of this eternal faith, it is even more distressing and worrying. I myself am a Kṛṣṇa *bhakta,* and believe that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Godhead who takes on different manifestations, is called by different names, but is essentially the one, true Brahman. However, I also truly believe that those devotees who call Him Allah, Jesus, Jehovah, etc., and certainly those who call Him Śiva or Brahmā worship *one and the same* God. Thus, in quoting *Gītā* 9.23: > ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā > yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ > te ’pi mām eva kaunteya > yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam in support of your argument, I believe you are grossly misinterpreting what the Lord says here. (I hasten to stress that I myself am in my third year of a Sanskrit degree, and so am not talking without foundation.) I give here another translation of the verse: “Kaunteya, even those devotees who, endowed with faith, worship other gods (with some interested motive), worship Me alone, though with a *mistaken* approach.” Now, I, upon reading this, came to an entirely different conclusion to yours. To me, when Kṛṣṇa says the approach is mistaken, He means it is wrong to consider your chosen Deity as the *only* Supreme and the *others as inferior;* i.e., if the devotee worships Śiva and does not accept Kṛṣṇa as one and the same (when they are one in reality) *then* they are mistaken. I disagree vehemently with, for example, those Christians who believe “Jesus is the Son of God and the *only* Way and worshipers of other faiths are misled, ignorant, and damned.” God is one and He is not so petty, as you seem to imply, that if you called Him Śiva, with full faith and devotion (while at the same time accepting that others call him Kṛṣṇa, etc.) He would be displeased. Indeed, in the *Rāmcaritamānas,* Rāma says: > śivapada kamalā jinihiṅ rati nāhiṅ > rāmahi te sapanehuṅ na sohāhiṅ “(He who) has no devotion for the lotus feet of Lord Śiva, even in his dreams will not be tolerated by Lord Rāma.” When Kṛṣṇa talks of “ME” He is speaking of the Supreme Consciousness, not limited by name or form. Kṛṣṇa even states in the *Gītā,* not that Śiva is inferior but in fact *rudrāṇāṁ śaṅkaraś cāsmi—*“Of all the Rudras, I am Śiva.” What sets Sanātana-dharma apart from other world religions is that it truly believes that they are all equal. The **Veda*s,* whilst referring to 300 million Gods, are inferring the *infinitude* of the Divine and his forms, not that they really are separate, individual *devas.* The same *Veda* states, *ekaṁ sat viprāḥ bahudā vadanti:* “Truth is One, but learned men express it in different ways.” Secondly, it is *mistaken* (not *wrong,* which is too strong a word) to worship Deities such as Lakṣmī only in their limited forms (in the latter case as the Bestower of Wealth), thinking that that is the ultimate reality/true spirituality. That devotee, looking at God in a limited form, will only experience God in a limited way, e.g. as wealth and prosperity, and not attain oneness with Him: > yo yo yāṁ yāṁ tanuṁ bhaktaḥ > śraddhayārcitum icchati > tasya tasyācalāṁ śraddhāṁ > tām eva vidadhāmy aham “Whatever celestial form a devotee (craving for some worldly object) chooses to worship with reverence, I stabilise the faith of that particular devotee in that very form.” But that must be the individual’s choice, and I believe it is a much graver sin to proclaim him a sinner or offender. If I may recount one of my favourite stories. Tulsi Dasji, that great *bhakta* of Śrī Rāma (who you accept, as an incarnation of Viṣṇu, to be equal to Kṛṣṇa) did not consider Kānhā [Kṛṣṇa] to be of equal prominence to his Rāma. He refused even to enter a temple where the idol worshiped was other than Rāghava [Rāma]. But one day, for one reason or another, he was forced to enter a temple dedicated to Mādhava [Kṛṣṇa]. Lo and behold, what did he see? When he turned his eyes to the *mūrti* [Deity] he saw Rāma! And thus he understood. “Lord, I perceive You in my narrow fashion as Rāma, but You are beyond form, beyond such limitations. You are Rāma, You are Kṛṣṇa, You are Śiva, You are All!” My preferred form of Brahman is Kṛṣṇa. When I buy pictures, I consistently discard representations of other Deities and always choose those that are of my Kanhaiyā (as some ISKCON devotee who came to Cambridge witnessed!). When I sing, I sing of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa; when I pray, I pray to Kṛṣṇa. I believe it is very conducive for imperfect human beings to have an *iṣṭa devatā* [chosen Deity], whom they see as the Supreme Godhead. But BRAHMAN is not imperfect; Sanātana-dharma must not, *cannot* be anything but all-encompassing. The various *Purāṇas* are written from the point of view of the devotee, but simply because they are not all-encompassing, not universal in outlook, this does not mean that Sanātana-dharma is not. And this is why Kṛṣṇa also states categorically in the *Gītā:* > ye yathā māṁ prapadyante > tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham > mama vartmānuvartante > manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ “O Pārtha, howsoever men seek Me, even so do I approach them, for all men follow *My path* in *every way.*” > Yours sincerely, > Aarti Sethia > President, Cambridge University Hindu Society > Cambridge, UK OUR REPLY: Thank you for your kind words of respect for ISKCON. And I’m glad to know that you have chosen Kṛṣṇa as the Deity you most prefer. Sanātana-dharma is indeed all-encompassing, for it offers every human being an opportunity to make further progress and at last attain perfection. Yet among the followers of Sanātana-dharma there are two schools, with contrasting views. The contrast is not between the inflexibly rigid and the universally tolerant, but rather between the impersonalists and the personalists. Both schools accept that the Supreme has both a personal and an impersonal aspect. The question to be settled is how best to regard these two different aspects of the Supreme. The impersonalists agree to the worship of any god because in their view these gods are but steppingstones to a higher reality—the impersonal Absolute, or impersonal Brahman. According to this view, only the impersonal Absolute is real, and all else—even the gods themselves—must ultimately be seen as illusory and therefore given up. According to this view, one may worship Lord Kṛṣṇa (or any other god), but ultimately one must understand that Kṛṣṇa (as well as all the other gods) merely represents a higher, impersonal reality; ultimately, the personal identity of Kṛṣṇa is but an illusion. The personalists, on the other hand, regard realization of the impersonal Absolute as but a partial, incomplete understanding of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. According to this view, one must go still further, beyond the impersonal Absolute, to recognize the eternal nature of Lord Kṛṣṇa's name, form, qualities, pastimes, and other transcendental personal features. This difference of opinion between the personalist and impersonalist schools can best be settled by reference to *Bhagavad-gītā.* In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (14.27) you will find that the impersonal Absolute rests upon the Personality of Godhead. According to the *Gītā, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham:* It is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the basis of the impersonal Absolute. The impersonalists say that the Personality of Godhead is but the formless Absolute represented in a form of material nature (*prakṛti*). But in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (9.10) Lord Kṛṣṇa instructs us that, on the contrary, He is the controller, the supervisor, of the material nature. To emphasize the factual superiority of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the *Gītā* (9.11), “Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature [*paraṁ bhāvam*] as the Supreme Lord of all that be.” The impersonalists insist that the *paraṁ bhāvam,* or supreme nature, of the Lord is higher than the Lord Himself. That supreme nature, they say, is the unmanifest, impersonal Absolute, which manifests itself as Lord Kṛṣṇa. But elsewhere in the *Gītā* (7.24) we find: > avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannaṁ > manyante māṁ abuddhayaḥ > paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto > mamāvyayam anuttamam According to this verse, those who subscribe to such an impersonalist view do not know the Lord’s *paraṁ bhāvam* (*paraṁ bhāvam* ajānanto). The Lord says that only those still lacking in intellectual development (*abuddhayaḥ*) think that His manifest feature as the Personality of Godhead is derived from an unmanifest, impersonal feature of the Absolute. After many, many births of progress in cultivating knowledge, when one reaches perfection, one surrenders to the Personality of Godhead (Vāsudeva). *Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti:* that Personality of Godhead is everything. It is He who is universal and all-encompassing, and all else—including the Vedic pantheon of gods and the impersonal Absolute—is but a partial manifestation of Him. Now, let us look at some other points raised by your letter. Quoting *Gītā* 9.23, you offer your own translation and interpretation of the verse. You translate it this way: “Kaunteya, even those devotees who, endowed with faith, worship other gods (with some interested motive), worship Me alone, though with a mistaken approach.” From this you argue that the problem with these devotees is not that they’re approaching other gods but that they’re doing it “with some interested motive.” As a third-year Sanskrit student, however, you’ve been properly scrupulous about putting that phrase “with some interested motive” in parentheses, thereby indicating, quite rightly, that it doesn’t appear in the text. So what you’ve done, really, is to parenthetically insert your own comment into the verse, and then argue from your comment as though it were evidence from the *Gītā.* Ms. Sethia, please—you simply can’t do that. Drop the parenthetical intrusion, and your rendering of the verse is fine: “Even devotees who, endowed with faith, worship other gods worship Me alone [Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa], though with a mistaken approach.” Whether we prefer to say that worshiping other gods is “mistaken,” “irregular,” “wrong,” or whatever, it boils down to pretty much the same thing: it isn’t right. What’s right is to abandon all other approaches and surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa (*sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja*). You suggest that it’s wrong to regard Kṛṣṇa as “the only Supreme” and others as inferior. But the very meaning of Supreme is “highest,” “ultimate,” “above all others.” Thus we find in *Bhagavad-gītā* 11.43 that Arjuna says to Lord Kṛṣṇa, *na tvat-samo ’sty abhyadhikaḥ kuto ’nyo:* “No one is equal to You, so how could anyone be greater?” The same conclusion is confirmed in the *Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad* 6.8 (*na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate*). Lord Śiva and other gods are exalted servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore it is proper that one have great respect and devotion toward them also. But still one should understand their true exaltedness as servants of the Supreme Lord, not as independent Lords themselves. From Chapter Ten of *Bhagavad-gītā* (10.23) you quote Lord Kṛṣṇa's statement *rudrāṇāṁ śaṅkaraś cāsmi:* “Of all the Rudras, I am Śiva.” This is fine, but not as evidence that Lord Śiva is equal to the Personality of Godhead. In the same chapter, Lord Kṛṣṇa says that among beasts He is the lion (10.30), among fishes He is the shark (10.31), among seasons He is spring (10.35), and among cheaters He is gambling (10.36). The point is not that the lion is God, the shark is God, spring is God, or—least of all—that gambling is God. The point is that each of these, in its category, is superlative and by thinking of what is superlative one can ultimately come to think of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. The entire chapter, in fact, is meant to help us understand that all opulences flow from the ultimate source of everything, Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is clear from the final verses. There Lord Kṛṣṇa says (10.40), “Know that all beautiful, glorious, and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.” And finally (10.41): “But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.” By the way, in the beginning of the chapter (10.2) Lord Kṛṣṇa has explicitly stated that none of the gods or sages can know His opulence, because He is the *origin* of all the gods and sages. That Kṛṣṇa is not limited by name or form is also a fact, because Kṛṣṇa's name and form are identical with Kṛṣṇa Himself and therefore have unlimited potency. So when Kṛṣṇa speaks of Himself by saying “Me,” we need not impose our own interpretation by saying that Kṛṣṇa is speaking of an impersonal “Supreme Consciousness.” To rightly understand **Bhagavad-gītā*,* better to accept *Bhagavad-gītā* as it is. When Kṛṣṇa says “Me,” He means just what He says. “Me” means the person speaking, who here is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, mentioned throughout *Bhagavad-gītā* as “*śrī bhagavān,*” the Personality of Godhead. What sets Sanātana-dharma apart is not that it would have us believe that all gods are equal, but rather that it explains the Supreme Personality of Godhead in detail, with all His diverse opulences and potencies, as mentioned in the *Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad* (*parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate*). In this way, with broad, deep understanding, one can realize the all-encompassing presence of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, and avoid the fanaticism sometimes seen among the narrow-minded and less well informed. That learned men express the truth in many different ways does not mean that *everything* is the truth. Otherwise, what would be the need of learned men or Vedic scriptures? Rather, in various ways all the Vedic scriptures glorify the Personality of Godhead. Therefore Śrīpāda Madhvācārya has quoted: > vede rāmāyaṇe caiva > purāṇe bhārate tathā > ādav ante ca madhye ca > hariḥ sarvatra gīyate “From the very beginning [*ādau*] to the end [*ante ca*], as well as within the middle [*madhye ca*], all the Vedic literature, including the *Rāmāyaṇa, Purāṇas,* and *Mahābhārata,* glorifies Hari [Lord Kṛṣṇa], the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” You mention *Bhagavad-gītā* 7.21 (*yo yo yāṁ yāṁ tanuṁ bhaktaḥ*), and again the meaning of the verse is clear: “Whatever celestial form a devotee [craving for some worldly object] chooses to worship with reverence, I [Lord Kṛṣṇa] stabilize the faith of that particular devotee in that very form.” So even if for worldly gain one chooses to devote oneself to one of the 330 million subordinate gods, one can do so only by the grace of the Supreme God, Lord Kṛṣṇa. On the other hand, when one recognizes Lord Kṛṣṇa to be the ultimate source of everything and therefore surrenders to Him in love and devotional service, it is Kṛṣṇa Himself who gives one the power to do so and thus attain Him (*dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te*). That the separate, individual *devas* merely serve as symbols of the Divine, that they don’t really exist, and that therefore all paths are equal is not supported in *Bhagavad-gītā.* In *Bhagavad-gītā* (9.25) we find: > yānti deva-vratā devān > pitṛn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ > bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā > yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām Here it is stated that those who worship various *devas* (Lord Śiva, Gaṇeśajī, Goddess Durgā, and so on) reach the abodes of the *devas*. Those who worship the ancestors reach the abodes where the ancestors reside. Those who worship ghosts go to live among the ghosts. And only those who worship Lord Kṛṣṇa go to Kṛṣṇa's supreme abode (*tad dhāma paramaṁ mama*). If you buy a ticket from London to Glasgow, it will not take you to Paris. So too, it’s not that whatever spiritual ticket one chooses will bring one to the same destination. Were all paths and all choices equal, there would have been no need for Lord Kṛṣṇa to speak *Bhagavad-gītā.* He could have simply let Arjuna slink from the battlefield in disgrace and illusion. “Well,” the Lord could have said, “that’s your path, and all paths are one.” Instead, He enlightens Arjuna so that Arjuna becomes Lord Kṛṣṇa's surrendered devotee. And anyone can attain perfection by following the path of Śrī Arjuna. As you say, Brahman cannot be imperfect, because Brahman is all-encompassing, all-inclusive. But the impersonal aspect of Brahman, though transcendental, is not all-inclusive, because it excludes the eternal existence of spiritual form, name, qualities, pastimes, and individuality. But the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, includes all these—and also includes the impersonal Brahman as one aspect of His transcendental existence (*brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham*). Therefore, when one has gone even beyond the impersonal Brahman realization to realize Brahman in the highest aspect, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, one surrenders to Him in pure devotional service (*mad bhaktiṁ labhate parām*). As I can understand from your letter, you are already naturally attracted to Kṛṣṇa and devoted to Kṛṣṇa, so much so that you have even written the holy name “Kṛṣṇa” in *devanāgarī* on the top of every page. So I hope you will forgive me if I have unintentionally said anything insolent, unmannerly, or discourteous. As devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa is already your chosen path, I am not trying to divert you. I simply hope you will follow that path further and further. And at the end of the path, may you ultimately meet your Lord Kaniyā face to face and become one of His eternally joyful companions in the spiritual world. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Sincerely, Jayādvaita Swami, Editor ## Calendar Close-up *Śrīla Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura Appearance Day: January 10* Śrīla Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura was born in a *brāhmaṇa* family near Katwa, West Bengal, in 1520. Locana Dāsa’s father’s name was Śrī Kamalākāra Dāsa, and his mother’s name was Śrī Sadānandī. He was their only son and spent much of his youth living at the home of his grandparents, where he began his education. As a young boy Locana Dāsa met devotees of Lord Caitanya. He had great attachment for the Lord and detachment from worldly enjoyment. As a young man Locana Dāsa accepted Śrī Narahari Sarakāra, an intimate associate of Lord Caitanya, as his spiritual master. Locana Dāsa writes, “My hope of hopes is to be near the lotus feet of Śrī Narahari Ṭhākura, to serve and worship with my very life. My lord is Śrī Narahari Ṭhākura, and I am his servant. Bowing and praying before him, I beg him to allow me his service. This is my only aspiration.” Śrī Narahari Ṭhākura was an expert composer of devotional songs, and he instructed Locana Dāsa in that art. Locana Dāsa wrote many songs (some of which are found in ISKCON songbooks) and a book about Lord Caitanya, called *Caitanya Maṅgala.* To write *Caitanya Maṅgala,* Locana Dāsa took inspiration from a Sanskrit book by Śrī Murāri Gupta, entitled *Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya-Carita.* Locana Dāsa writes, “That very Murāri Gupta who lived in Nadiyā composed many Sanskrit verses about the life of Śrī Gaurāṅga, which he later arranged in the form of a book. Having heard these verses from Murāri Gupta, Dāmodara Paṇḍita taught them to me, and I memorized them with great delight. As these Sanskrit verses and the conception of Caitanya Mahāprabhu developed in my mind, they flowed forth from me in the form of these *Pāñcalī* verses in Bengali, which I write in glorification of the life and pastimes of Śrī Caitanya.” (*Pāñcalī* is the classic form of rhymes and meters used by Bengali poets to compose sacred songs and verses. It employs five kinds of song styles [*pañca* means “five”]). In *Caitanya Maṅgala,* Śrīla Locana Dāsa elaborates some of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya mentioned only briefly by the Lord’s two main biographers, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī and Śrīla Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura. Śrīla Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura left this world in 1618 to enter the Lord’s eternal pastimes. ## Vedic Thoughts Sometimes during war, soldiers keep their enemies in concentration camps and kill them in very cruel ways. These are reactions brought about by unrestricted animal-killing in the slaughterhouse and by hunters in the forest. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.26.5, purport Those who believe God to be impersonal simply identify Him with some power or attribute in nature, though in fact He is above nature, her laws and rules. His holy wish is law, and it would be sacrilege to confine His unlimited excellence by identifying Him with such attributes as omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. … His excellence consists in having in Him mutually contradicting powers and attributes ruled by His Supernatural Self. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, His Life and Precepts To transform the adverse desires of the *jīvas* [souls] is the supreme duty of the most merciful. To rescue one person from the stronghold of Mahāmāyā [illusion] is an act of superb benevolence, far superior to opening innumerable hospitals. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Dacca, 1936 One can gradually become purified by seeing, touching, and worshiping temple Deities, places of pilgrimage, and holy rivers. But one can attain the same result immediately simply by receiving the glance of exalted sages. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.86.52 Every creature is born alone and dies alone, and alone one experiences the just rewards of his good and evil deeds. Śrī Akrūra Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.49.21 Inexhaustible time, stronger than the strong, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Like a herdsman moving his animals along, He moves mortal creatures as His pastime. Demigods Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.51.19 Simply by giving aural reception to this Vedic literature [*Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*], the feeling for loving devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sprouts up at once to extinguish the fire of lamentation, illusion, and fearfulness. Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.7.7