# Back to Godhead Magazine #40 *2006 (05)* Back to Godhead Magazine #40-05, 2006 PDF-View ## Welcome IN THIS ISSUE we hear about ways in which Kṛṣṇa consciousness benefits the word. When asked whether Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees perform welfare work, Śrīla Prabhupāda would generally reply that most people don’t know that true welfare work is directed to the soul. The welfare work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness provides eternal benefits. Two primary forms of Hare Kṛṣṇa welfare work are the public chanting of the holy names of God and the distribution of **prasādam*,* food prepared for God and offered to Him with devotion. In “Sankirtana: Welfare for All Beings,” Dayananda Dāsa explains why Kṛṣṇa’s devotees take the chanting of Kṛṣṇa’s holy names to the streets for the benefit of all who hear. And in “Spiritual Conquest with Banana Bread,” Arcana Siddhi Devī Dāsī tells of the efforts of Maharha Devī Dāsī to enthusiastically give *prasādam* to whomever she meets. Devotees’ efforts to benefit others with *prasādam* and the holy name are part of their service to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the most recent—and most merciful—incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. In this issue we hear of His spiritual ecstasy and His desire to give it to others through his *sankirtana* movement. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nagaraja Dāsa, Editor* Our Purposes • To help all people discern reality from illusion, spirit from matter, the eternal from the temporary. • To expose the faults of materialism. • To offer guidance in the Vedic techniques of spiritual life. • To preserve and spread the Vedic culture. • To celebrate the chanting of the holy names of God as taught by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. • To help every living being remember and serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. ## Letters *A Jewel in a Dungeon* By the kindness of the devotees of ISKCON Scotland, inmates in North America receive *Back to Godhead* magazine and write me regularly to express appreciation for your transcendental magazine. One prisoner called BTG “a jewel in a dungeon.” Articles such as “Until the Cows Come Home” (July/August) affect them profoundly, and they are inspired to fight for a vegetarian tray so they can lead a violence-free life even in prison. To hear of the rescue of Pushpa, the “chocolate-covered calf,” and to see the transformation of Yashoda touches the hearts of even formerly hardened criminals. With legal action, these men and women have forced the Federal Bureau of Prisons to provide adequate vegetarian meals in all of its ninety-seven institutions nationwide. We thank BTG for covering so many important stories of ISKCON projects of caring all over the planet, and we thank Braja Sevaki Devī Dāsī, the author of the article, and Kurma Rupa Dāsa, the director of Care for Cows in Vrindavan, for their compassionate work. May Govinda bless you all! Candrasekhara Dāsa ISKCON Nashville ISKCON Prison Ministry *Diving Deeply into Truths* *To Satyaraja Dāsa:* I wish to thank you for yet another masterful article, this one about the “Origins of Disciplic Succession” (May/June). After reading your articulate elaboration on such complex truths, so succinctly presented for common understanding, I could further appreciate your unique style and writing potency. I specially liked your article’s conclusion about not staying merely on the literary or theoretical level, but rather diving deeply within these truths by personal application. This is the real beauty of the Vedic tradition: the empowerment therein offered to experience these truths in one’s own self. Please continue to abundantly share your own mining of this treasure trove of perfect God-given knowledge. Gokulananda Dāsa ISKCON Vancouver *Kṛṣṇa, Gods, and Demigods* Why do you worship Kṛṣṇa but not other gods. Sanjay Kumar Via the Internet *Our Reply:* We are following the *Bhagavad-gītā,* which reveals that Lord Kṛṣṇa is *deva deva,* “the God of gods.” He is not simply one of many gods, whom Prabhupāda preferred to call demigods, to avoid confusion. Kṛṣṇa states in the *Gita* that those who worship demigods for material benefit are less intelligent (7.20), receive limited and temporary benefits (7.23), and can attain only the temporary planets of the demigods, not the supreme eternal planet of Kṛṣṇa (7.23, 9.25). Kṛṣṇa describes demigod worship as irregular (*avidhi-purvakam*) (9.23). He says that He Himself is the source of everything (10.8, 7.7) and one should worship Him (9.34, 18.65). The Hidden Incarnation Why isn’t Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the list of Kṛṣṇa’s incarnations given in *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam,* First Canto, Third Chapter? Saksi Gopala Dāsa Via the Internet *Our Reply:* In his prayers to Lord Nrsimha in *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam,* Prahlada Mahārāja says that the Lord is known as Triyuga. That means that Kṛṣṇa is generally understood to appear in three of the four *yugas,* or ages. The reason for this is that in Kali-yuga, the current age, He appears as a “covered incarnation” (*cannah kalau*). As Lord Caitanya, Kṛṣṇa appears as His own devotee, not openly as an incarnation of God. His divinity, however, is revealed in the Eleventh Canto (11.5.32): “In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons, and confidential companions.” *Seeking Liberation* What is the easiest way to get liberated in Kali-yuga? Radhika Via the Internet *Our Reply:* *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (12.3.51) says that although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, it has one great advantage: “One can become liberated simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.” The more carefully we chant and render service to Kṛṣṇa, and the more attentive we are to following the rules that Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya have given us for making spiritual advancement, the more quickly we will become liberated from repeated birth and death and go back to the spiritual world. Seeking Kṛṣṇa’s Company *How can I get close to Lord Kṛṣṇa?* Anand Via the Internet *Our Reply:* Kṛṣṇa makes it possible to easily approach Him even in this life. He is very anxious to have us back in His company. Lord Caitanya recommends chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra* as the easiest way to connect with Kṛṣṇa. This repetition of the names of the Lord is very potent, since the Lord and His name are the same. Chanting puts Kṛṣṇa on the tip of the tongue, and the sound of His name purifies us and drags our focus to Him. Chant on your own or with other devotees. Association with devotees can bring you closer to Kṛṣṇa because they are also trying to advance from the material platform to the spiritual platform of knowledge and pleasure. Try to accept what is favorable to devotional service to Kṛṣṇa and reject what is unfavorable. It is said that if you take one step toward Kṛṣṇa, He’ll take ten steps toward you. Keep cultivating the desire to attain Kṛṣṇa. He knows your desires because He is in your heart. *The Source of Fear* I would like to know why we people have fear and tension. Jyothsna Via the Internet *Our Reply:* We have fear and tension in this world because we are not practicing devotion to Kṛṣṇa seriously. A child has no fear and tension when it fully depends on its parents, knowing they will take care. Likewise, when we fully depend on Kṛṣṇa, knowing that He is our best friend, the supreme enjoyer, and the supreme controller of everything, then we will be peaceful. When we see things independent of Kṛṣṇa and try to enjoy things for ourselves, then fear and tension are inevitable. By seeing that Kṛṣṇa controls everything and that nothing can happen without His sanction, we can get peace. To understand things this way, we need to chant Kṛṣṇa’s names so that our mind gets purified and we can see Kṛṣṇa in every aspect of life. Replies to letters were written by volunteers at the Live Help section of Krishna.com. Please write to us at: BTG, P.O. Box 430, Alachua, FL 32616, USA. E-mail: [email protected]. Founder’s Lecture: Come into the Light *Toronto, Canada—June 18, 1976* The Vedic scriptures state that it is imperative for all human beings to seek a *guru* for guidance in leaving this world of darkness and ignorance. by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Founder-*Ācārya* of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness > yatha hi purusasyeha > visnoh padopasarpanam > yad esa sarva-bhutanam > priya atmesvarah suhrt “The human form of life affords one a chance to return home, back to Godhead. Therefore every living entity, especially in the human form of life, must engage in devotional service to the lotus feet of Lord Visnu. This devotional service is natural because Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the most beloved, the master of the soul, and the well-wisher of all other living beings.” —*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 7.6.2 YESTERDAY we discussed that from the beginning of life, children should be given lessons on *bhagavata-dharma,* or the science of God. *Bhagavata-dharma* is very clearly explained in the **Bhagavad-gītā*.* Therefore *Bhagavad-gītā* should be read very carefully, attentively, from the beginning of life. Not that *Bhagavad-gītā* should be read only in old age. No. From the very beginning of life. The whole *Bhagavad-gītā* is *bhagavata-dharma.* And when one is well conversant with the lessons of the *Gita,* then one begins the study of *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam.* In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (18.65) Kṛṣṇa Himself explains *bhagavata-dharma* > man-mana bhava mad-bhakto > mad-yaji mam namaskuru > mam evaisyasi satyam te > pratijane priyo ’si me “Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.” The real aim of life is to go back home, back to Godhead. Generally, people do not know the aim of life. The *Rg Veda* says, *om tad visnoh paramam padam . . . :* “Everyone must meditate upon Lord Visnu.” Meditation means to think of Lord Visnu within the heart. The Supreme Lord is sitting in everyone’s heart, and that Lord’s *murti,* or form, is Visnu-murti. So yoga means to concentrate the mind on Visnu-murti. *Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah:* “Whom the perfected yogis see within their minds after fixing themselves in trance and absorbing themselves within Him.” [*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 12.13.1]. What is the yogis’ business? *Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa:* concentrating the mind, meditating, upon the Visnu-murti. Nowadays, people have invented systems of yoga that involve meditating on some light, or something like that. But that is not in line with the *sastra,* the scripture. The sastric injunction is to think of Lord Visnu within the heart. He’s already there, and we have to search Him out. That is called meditation. That is called *dhyana.* But in the current age, Kali-yuga, that is difficult. It is very, very difficult to sit down in one place and meditate upon Lord Visnu within the heart. It is recommended that one should sit down in a sacred place and in a secluded place. Not, as is the fashion, some hundreds of people sitting together and meditating. That is not the process. *Bhagavad-gītā* recommends that one sit down in a sacred secluded place. And one must sit in a right-angle posture, with the eyes half-closed, not fully closed. If you fully close your eyes, then you will sleep. I have seen so many yogis snoring, sleeping. Naturally, if you close your eyes and you have no subject to think about, you will sleep, that’s all. That is not the yoga system. You have to sit down in a secluded place in the *yoga-asana—*straight body. And not sleeping, but with half-open eyes and looking at the tip of the nose. That is called meditation. But this kind of meditation is very, very difficult in this age. If one can perform it, that is welcome, but it is very difficult. In Kali-yuga, if I sit down to meditate then I shall think of my family, my business, my friend, so many things. It is not possible. Therefore *sastra* recommends, > krte yad dhyayato visnum > tretayam yajato makhaih > dvapare paricaryayam > kalau tad dhari-kirtanat “Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Visnu, in Treta-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvapara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra.*” [*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 12.3.52] In Satya-yuga, when people used to live for one hundred thousand years, Valmiki Muni meditated for sixty thousand years. So this meditation—*dhyana, dharana, pranayama, pratyahara*—the yogic system, is recommended in the *sastras,* including *Bhagavad-gītā.* But in this age it is not possible. *Arjuna: The First-Class Yogi* Even Arjuna resisted: “Kṛṣṇa, You are recommending that I undergo the process of yoga, but it is not possible for me.” But Arjuna was a pure devotee. He was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. He had no other business. Therefore, to encourage Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa said, “Don’t be disappointed because you are thinking that you are unfit to meditate upon Lord Visnu. You are a first-class yogi.” Why? Because: > yoginam api sarvesam > mad-gatenantaratmana > sraddhavan bhajate yo mam > sa me yuktatamo matah “And of all yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders transcendental loving service to Me—he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.” [*Bhagavad-gītā* 6.47] Anyone who is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa within the heart is a first-class yogi. In this age Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommended, and in the *sastra* it is recommended: > harer nama harer nama > harer namaiva kevalam > kalau nasty eva nasty eva > nasty eva gatir anyatha “In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.” [*Brhan-naradiya Purana* 3.8.126]. We have to follow the injunction of the *sastra.* We cannot manufacture our own ways of spiritual advancement. That is not possible. > yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya > vartate kama-karatah > na sa siddhim avapnoti > na sukham na param gatim “He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.” [*Bhagavad-gītā* 16.23] Anyone who transgresses the regulative principles recommended in the *sastra* and whimsically does something never gets success. He’ll get neither salvation nor material happiness. *Three Principles For Success* We must accept **sastra-vidhi*,* the injunctions of scripture. In this age the *sastra-vidhi* is *hari-kirtana,* chanting God’s names. The more you chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra,* the more you become perfect. That is *sastra-vidhi*. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirmed it. *Sadhu-sastra-*guru*-vakya:* We have to be fixed up in the injunctions of the *sastra;* then we have to see what the *sadhus,* the devotees, are doing and what the *guru* is asking. We have to follow these three principles. Who is a *sadhu*? One who abides by the injunctions of the *sastra.* Who is a *guru*? Also one who abides by the injunctions of the *sastra.* But if a person gives up *sastra-vidhi,* what is the question of his being a *guru* or *sadhu*? *Na sa siddhim:* He has not attained perfection, so he’s bogus. We have to test like that to see who is a *guru*. > tasmad gurum prapadyeta > jijnasuh sreya uttamam > sabde pare ca nisnatam > brahmany upasamasrayam “Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide *guru* is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.” [*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 11.3.21] The *sastra* says who is a *guru*. One has to approach and surrender to a *guru*. It is not optional. And who will go to a *guru*? Accepting a *guru* should not be a fashion—that we take some *guru* and we are engaged in our own business and we can say in the society, “Oh, I have got a big *guru* who can show magic.” No. A *guru* is necessary for one who is inquisitive about transcendental subjects. Such a person requires a *guru*, not an ordinary person. Someone may keep some cats and dogs as a fashion, but one should not keep a *guru* like that. One who is inquisitive to know about the spiritual world requires a *guru*. This material world is called the place of darkness or ignorance. Actually it is dark. Because it is dark we require the sun. By the grace of Kṛṣṇa, we have the sun. One who wants to go beyond this world of darkness requires a *guru*. The Vedic injunction is “Don’t remain in this darkness. Go to the world where there is light.” The spiritual world is full of effulgence. On our sun there is no darkness. There is always light. On account of the presence of the sun, we are getting so much light and heat. Just imagine the situation on the sun. It is always light. Similarly, in the spiritual world it is only light. Not only this light, but the light of knowledge. Therefore *sastra* says, *tamasi ma:* “Don’t remain in the darkness.”*Jyotir gama:* “Come into the light.” One who wants to go to the world of light requires a *guru*. One who is inquisitive about *that* world requires a *guru*. *Jijnasuh* means inquisitive. Everyone is *jijnasuh* about something. We go to the market to purchase something, and we are *jijnasuh* there. “What is the price of this? What is the price of *that*?” That is also inquiry. But going to a *guru* requires *jijnasuh* sreya uttamam—to be inquisitive about the real goal of life. *Immediate Versus Ultimate Benefit* In the material world there is no question of *sreya;* it is all **preya*.* There are two things: *preya* and *sreya.* Immediate benefit is called **preya*.* If you ask a child to sit down and read a book, he does not like to do it. But if you offer him a sweet, he will immediately accept it. That is called *preya*, “dear.” Children do not know anything else. If you give a child poison, he will like to eat it. This is the child’s nature. So if you ask the child, “Now sit down and read books and write,” he will not like to do it. That is called **sreya*.* To become educated is good for him for the future, but he doesn’t like to do it. But if you give him a sweet, immediately he’ll accept it. That is the distinction between *sreya* and *preya.* We must be interested in *sreya,* not *preya. Preya* is sense gratification. For material life, only sense gratification is required. That is the nature of the material world. Prahlada Mahārāja explains it this way: > yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham > kanduyanena karayor iva duhkha-duhkham > trpyanti neha krpana bahu-duhkha-bhajah > kandutivan manasijam visaheta dhirah “Sex life is compared to the rubbing of two hands to relieve an itch. *Gṛhamedh*ī*s,* so-called *grhasthas* who have no spiritual knowledge, think that this itching is the greatest platform of happines*s,* although actually it is a source of distress. The krpana*s,* the fools who are just the opposite of brahmana*s,* are not satisfied by repeated sensuous enjoyment. Those who are *dhira,* however, who are sober and who tolerate this itching, are not subjected to the sufferings of fools and rascals.” [*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 7.9.45]. Here in the material world, happiness is centered on sex. And as soon as a person enters into sex life, then other entanglements follow one after another. That is *preya.* But *sreya* means to approach the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu. Therefore in today’s verse it is said, *yatha hi purusasyeha visnoh padopasarpanam:* how to be engaged in the worship of the lotus feet of Lord Visnu. That is possible. *Preya* means sense gratification, culminating in sex life. That is available. That will be explained in the next verse. > sukham aindriyakam daitya > deha-yogena dehinam > sarvatra labhyate daivad > yatha duhkham ayatnatah “Prahlada Mahārāja continued: My dear friends born of demoniac families, the happiness perceived with reference to the sense objects by contact with the body can be obtained in any form of life, according to one’s past fruitive activities. Such happiness is automatically obtained without endeavor, just as we obtain distress.” Sense pleasure is available everywhere. Even cats and dogs have sense pleasure. But human life is not meant for that purpose. Human life is meant for *yatha hi purusasyeha visnoh padopasarpanam:* worship of the lotus feet of Lord Visnu. That is required. But people do not know it. In another place, Prahlada Mahārāja has said, *na te viduh *svartha-gatim* hi visnum durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah* [*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 7.5.31]. Generally, those who are not trained by a *guru* do not know that the *svartha-gatim*—one’s own real interest—is Visnu. They are trying to be happy with the external energy. One who does not know the goal of life is interested only in the external energy. Therefore a *guru* is required for being delivered from the clutches of the external energy. Don’t accept a *guru* as a fashion. That is useless. Accept a *guru* to learn the spiritual science. For that purpose one requires a *guru*, not for any other purpose. Arjuna showed the example. He was talking directly with Kṛṣṇa. But because the relationship was of affectionate friendship, there could not be any serious talk. Therefore Arjuna submitted, “Kṛṣṇa, we are talking like friends; it will never come to anything serious. Now I accept You as my *guru*. I am perplexed.” When one is actually in knowledge, he feels perplexed. Unless one feels perplexed by the materialistic way of life, his human life is imperfect. One must feel that the material world is not the place of happiness. When Sanatana Gosvami approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he said, “I am a minister. I am also born of a *brahmana* family. People call me learned, and I accept that I am learned, but actually I am not.” Why not? “Because I do not know the goal of my life.” Ask anyone what is the goal of life. He may be a Ph.D., but he does not know. Therefore if one is serious about understanding the value of life, the goal of life, he should approach a *guru*. Tasmad *guru*m prapadyeta. Prapadyeta means to surrender. Not that the *guru* should be approached for challenging. No. If you challenge then you’ll be cheated. First of all, you must find a person to whom you can surrender. That is required first. If you think the person is not worth surrendering to, then don’t make him your *guru*. Don’t do it just to be fashionable. First of all ask, “Can I surrender to this person?” Then try to understand what he teaches. And don’t only surrender, but also render service so that the *guru* may be pleased: “This disciple is very humble and meek and is giving service.” Anywhere, even in material world, if you want to take something from somebody, if you please him by service it is very easy. So, a *guru* is required for one seeking out Visnu. Why should one seek out Visnu? Because, as today’s verse says, *yada esa sarva-bhutanam priya:* He is everyone’s most dear friend. We have forgotten that. We go to friends for some help, but if we accept the natural friend, Kṛṣṇa, then there will be no scarcity. Therefore we should learn how to love Kṛṣṇa, or Visnu. That is the aim of life. Thank you very much. ## Spiritual Places *Kanai Natashala Where Śrī Caitanya’s Ecstasy Awakened* This little-known holy place played a major role in the inauguration of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s sankirtana movement. By Sacinandana Swami DURING THE month of Karttika, which falls across October and November in the lunar calendar, devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa are advised to increase their concentration on His worship by dedicating their daily devotional hearing and chanting to Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī, His eternal consort. This advisory for Karttika is best carried out in a secluded place, if possible. But anyone can apply this principle anywhere by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which addresses both Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa: “O energy of the Lord (Rādhā), O Lord (Kṛṣṇa), please engage me in your service.” Many years ago, during Karttika I briefly visited Kanai Natashala, in West Bengal, with a group of devotees and fell in love with its seclusion. It is surrounded by a dense jungle called the Jharikhanda Forest. Five hundred years ago, the forest animals here miraculously chanted Kṛṣṇa’s names together under the influence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is Kṛṣṇa Himself in the role of His greatest devotee, Rādhārāṇī. The jungle is still an untouched wilderness of ornamental trees (the *tamal* and *ashvattha*), fruit- and flower-bearing trees (the *chico*, mango, golden *champak, kadamba,* and *malati*), and trees with medicinal properties. Kanai Natashala lies atop a tall rock formation and overlooks the majestic Ganges. Wildlife abounds. The Ganges is inhabited by dolphins, and the jungle by jaguars and snakes. In late 2005, I returned to Kanai Natashala with an assistant and stayed there for Karttika. After a six-hour Jeep ride from ISKCON’s world headquarters in Māyāpur, where we crossed the Ganges twice (once by bridge, once by ferry), we arrived and at once felt fascinated by the calm atmosphere. Kanai Natashala now has a new ISKCON temple, and behind it, on the bank of the Ganges, a wonderful guesthouse. The devotees have a bathing place on the river, and the villagers also come there to bathe. The bank is beautiful, with steep rocks and crocodile caves; however, there is nothing to worry about, since the crocodiles do not live there anymore. Now one can peacefully chant inside the caves. What makes Kanai Natashala significant is its connection with Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. According to local tradition, it is considered to be *gupta* Vṛndāvana—a hidden replica of Kṛṣṇa’s holy land. When Rādhārāṇī wants to be alone with Kṛṣṇa to relish His sweetness and intimacy, She comes here. And it is the seedling place of *sankirtana,* Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s ecstatic movement for the congregational chanting of the holy names of God: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. *Śrī Caitanya’s Ecstasy* Śrī Caitanya went to Gaya and received initiation into the Gopala mantra, which is chanted to worship Kṛṣṇa. Then He wanted to visit Vṛndāvana (ninety miles south of present-day Delhi) to search for Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura writes in *Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā* that one aspect of chanting the Gopala mantra is that it makes “the pure soul run after the all-attractive Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Gokula [the land of cows] and the divine milkmaids.” How this blessing took effect on Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is described in *Śrī Caitanya-bhagavata* (*Adi-khanda* 17.115–137): One day He sat down in a solitary place and meditated on His ten-syllable mantra. He directly saw the Lord of His heart. After some time, He regained external consciousness, shed tears, and called for Kṛṣṇa: “O my dear Kṛṣṇa! O Hari, My life and soul! Where did You go after stealing My heart? I saw You, My Lord, but now where have You gone?” The Lord then cried and recited beautiful verses about Kṛṣṇa, absorbed in sentiments of ecstatic love. His body became covered with dust because He rolled on the ground, loudly calling in distress, “Where did You go, leaving Me behind, My dear Kṛṣṇa?” He became greatly agitated in ecstatic love of God and floated in the ocean of devotional feelings of separation from Kṛṣṇa. His students pacified Him with great care. Śrī Caitanya then said to them, “You go back to Navadvipa; I will not return to My material life there. I must go to Vṛndāvana, where I will see the Lord of My life, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.” The students tried to keep Him peaceful, but He was absorbed in devotion, and His heart was agitated. Early one morning, without informing anyone, in ecstatic love Caitanya Mahāprabhu departed for Vṛndāvana. As He walked, He called out, “O Kṛṣṇa! Where can I find You?” After traveling awhile, the Lord heard a voice from the sky—a representative of the demigods—saying, “O crest-jewel of the twice-born, do not go to Vṛndāvana now. You will certainly go when the appropriate time comes. Now just return to Your house in Navadvipa. You are the Lord of the spiritual world and have appeared with Your associates to deliver the people of the world. Please start Your movement of congregational chanting. When You distribute the wealth of ecstatic love of God, Your chanting will inundate innumerable universes. We are Your servants, and thus we offer this reminder at Your lotus feet.” Subduing His immediate desire to visit Vṛndāvana, Śrī Caitanya continued the return journey to Navadvipa. In a poem, the devotee and scholar Śrīla Visvanatha Cakravarti Ṭhākura describes Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s return from Gaya: “I saw the most extraordinary person on the road from Gaya. His form was very handsome, and He roared just like the thundercloud. His eyes rained tears, and He rolled about on the ground, His voice choked up in the ecstasy of love of God. All glories to that Lord!” (*Śrī Sacinandana Vijayastakam* 1) On the way home, Śrī Caitanya made a detour. Alone, He went to Kanai Natashala by crossing the Ganges. It was this encounter with the hidden Vṛndāvana that shaped Him and impelled Him to start His *sankirtana* movement. Before visiting Kanai Natashala, He had played the role of an invincible scholar; after being in Kanai Natashala, He adopted the role of a devotee with an extraordinary devotion never before seen. Returning home, Śrī Caitanya started the *sankirtana* movement in the mood of searching for Kṛṣṇa. He described His experience in Kanai Natashala to His friends in these words (*Śrī Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda* 2.180–195): “There I saw a young, beautiful boy, with a glowing, dark complexion, blackish like the bark of a *tamal* tree. His enchanting curly hair was decorated with wild flowers, a fresh garland of *gunja* berries, and a colorful peacock feather. His jewellery and gems were so bright that I could not see Him properly. Thus it is impossible for Me to describe the beauty of the delicately ornamented flute in His hand. His soft lotus feet were adorned with attractive ankle bells. His strong, graceful arms defeated the strength and beauty of blue pillars. How will I describe the wonder of His golden-yellow silk dhoti, His dangling fish-shaped earrings, and His lazy lotus-petal eyes? He sweetly smiled as He approached Me, and after embracing Me, He suddenly ran away.” Śrī Caitanya then fainted. The devotees hastily picked Him up and chanted, “Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!” They pacified Him to some extent, but He could not remain calm. He continuously cried, “Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa?” The devotees suggested to Caitanya Mahāprabhu that He lead them in *kirtana,* and this is what He did. He started the *sankirtana* movement, which gave expression to His motto: “Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa?” In *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta* (*Antya-līlā* 17.60–61), this mood of Śrī Caitanya is revealed: “Alas! Where is Kṛṣṇa, the treasure of My life? Where is the lotus-eyed one? Alas! Where is the divine ocean of all transcendental qualities? Alas! Where is the beautiful blackish youth dressed in yellow garments? Alas! Where is the hero of the *rasa* dance with the milkmaids? Where shall I go? Where can I find You? Please tell me. I shall go there.” We stayed in this holy place to dedicate our attention to chanting. We would chant, remembering Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions: Those under the shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu can understand that His mode of worship of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa in separation is the real worship of the Lord. When the feelings of separation become very intense, one attains the stage of meeting Śrī Kṛṣṇa. So-called devotees cheaply imagine they are meeting Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. Such thinking may be useful, but actually meeting Kṛṣṇa is possible through the attitude of separation taught by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Adi-līlā* 4.108, Purport) This feeling is required to meet Kṛṣṇa. When we feel separation in this world, we become sad and troubled because we cannot fulfill our own desires for satisfaction. But feeling separation from Kṛṣṇa is different. It awakens in those who have a desire to please Kṛṣṇa. When one feels separation from Kṛṣṇa, something wonderful happens. Externally, the Lord may not be present, but through those strong feelings, He becomes present in the heart. It is something that needs to be experienced to be understood. *Ferries and Boats* While staying in the jungle, we occasionally received Mr. Santosh Singh, a businessman who owns ferries that run up and down the Ganges. He is known for letting all the devotees ride his ferries for free. When I asked him about his motive, he explained to me, “I want the devotees to give me free passage over the ocean of repeated birth and death when it is my time to go.” This reminded me of the boatman in Lord Rama’s pastimes. When Rama, Sita, and Laksmana came to the river that separated their kingdom from a jungle, a boatman took them across. On the other bank, the Lord’s exile started, so Rama told Sita, “Give the boatman your pearl necklace.” The boatman declined Sita’s offer by saying, “In this part of the country, boatmen have an agreement: they ferry one another for free. So I cannot accept your payment.” Rama was surprised. Since when had He become a boatman? The man explained: “My Lord, I am a small boatman; I ferry people from one side of the river to the other. But You are a big boatman, for You ferry the conditioned souls across the ocean of birth and death. When I stand before that ocean, please do not ask me for any qualification. I am not able to give any suitable payment. Please also ferry me across for free.” The great devotee Śrīla Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura has described that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also has a ferry: O brothers and sisters! Who wants to cross beyond the ocean of material existence? My beloved Śrī Caitanya’s ferry is taking everyone across the material ocean, free of charge. The spiritual master is the helmsman on the boat of the holy name. With His arms upraised, He induces everyone to chant. With the help of the wind of divine love, all living entities easily cross the material ocean. Kanai Natashala is a special place to visit to imbibe the mood of Śrī Caitanya’s devotion. Just by visiting, one feels relieved from the dreadful influences of the present materialistic age. And if one can enter the boat of the holy names there, one soon will feel the transcendental ecstasy made so freely available by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy. *Sacin*and*ana Swami, based in Germany, has made many pilgrimages to holy sites in India. He is the author of four books:* The Nectarean Ocean of the Holy Name, The Gayatri Book, The Way of the Great Departure, *and* The Art of Transformation. He is active in the Veda Academy, which teaches Kṛṣṇa consciousness in eight European countries through Vedic art, sciences, *and* philosophy. *Kanai Natashala’s History* KANAI NATASHALA has long been a holy place, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s visit made it holier, and it soon became inhabited by yogis and devotees. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura inaugurated a temple there dedicated to the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to commemorate His famous visit. A yogi called Garib Baba lived there at that time. “Garib” means “the simple one.” He worshiped Kṛṣṇa’s incarnation Lord Rama and was a devotee of Hanuman, Rama’s servant. He would pass his time under a banyan tree reading the *Ramayana,* the pastimes of Rama, to attract local people to that holy place. He also performed big ritualistic sacrifices, during which thousands of people came together, some of them from distant places, riding on elephants. When Garib Baba grew old, he called his only disciple, Nrisimha Baba, to his side and instructed him: “We are devotees of Rama. We actually do not belong to this beautiful place, connected to the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Caitanya. When you are old and can no longer maintain it, please go to the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and entrust the care of this holy place to them.” This is precisely what Nrisimha Baba did. In his old age, he went to Navadvipa and Māyāpur. After visiting various temples to find someone to take charge of his *guru’s* holy place in Kanai Natashala, he arrived at ISKCON’s center in Māyāpur. Jayapataka Swami, a leader there, met the elderly yogi and offered him a meal, but Nrisimha Baba replied, “I have come to give you something. I have not come to eat.” (His practice was to eat only fruit.) After hearing about Nrisimha Baba’s plan to give Kanai Natashala to followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Jayapataka Swami sent some devotees with him. Their reports from Kanai Natashala were encouraging in spiritual respects, but not in regard to the material aspects. The place looked abandoned, totally isolated in the jungle. The temple was half-broken, and the Deity had been stolen. The devotees, however, could not be discouraged. They knew that even a speck of dust from this holy place could not be purchased by millions of dollars. They installed Deities of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kanai-lala and began building a new temple. While digging, they found a plaque containing the footprints of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and a small Deity of Kṛṣṇa in the form of His half-man, half-lion incarnation, Nrsimhadeva. Mathura Vallabha Dāsa, a *brahmacari* (celibate student) from ISKCON Māyāpur, took up performing the regular Deity worship. There were snakes and tigers around the property, but all the wildlife behaved peacefully. No snake has ever bitten any devotee. Mathura Vallabha says, “I soon found out that I just had to take my bath in the Ganges every morning at three o’clock and do my service. Any sickness I would contract by staying in the jungle was easily cured if I just abided by this program.” He soon adapted to the atmosphere and became like a yogi himself. He many times observed Nrisimha Baba reading by candlelight from a worn copy of the *Ramayana* and sometimes crying in spiritual emotion. Nrisimha Baba remained there about five more years, till the end of his life. *A Festival for the Ganges and the Sun* IN MID-NOVEMBER the villagers of Kanai Natashala gathered early in the morning on the bank of the Ganges for an annual festival. They wanted to express their gratitude for everything that mother Ganges and the sun god give them. It was a great celebration. At five o’clock, the people arrived with baskets full of vegetables, fruits, and red *kumkum* powder. They submerged themselves waist-deep in the river and waited for the sunrise. A joyous music started. While the fascinating jungle rhythms sounded, the people offered back portions of what they have received by the mercy of the Ganges and the sun. The young and old and middle-aged were overflowing with gratitude, and it seemed that mother Ganges accepted their gratitude. There was such a loving atmosphere. I learned a lot from their devotion. ## My Muslim Brother A Muslim doctor in Sarajevo showed how to live peacefully together, with respect and appreciation for other cultures and religions. *By Indradyumna Swami* EACH DAY, before downloading my email, I mentally prepare myself for dealing with the good, the bad, and the ugly. With hundreds of disciples and many other devotees regularly corresponding with me, the laws of nature force me to see the gamut of situations in this world. March 16, 2006, was no exception. There were names to be given for babies, condolences for the families of departed souls, blessings for disciples (and rebukes for two), guidelines for a new marriage, and a plea for a departed student to return. One name on the list in my mailbox caught my eye. It was Jahnukanyaka Dasi, a devotee from Sarajevo, Bosnia. I had met her years ago, on my first visit there. She had risked her life to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness throughout the three-year war that took over 100,000 lives there in the early 1990s. Such a devotee deserves attention, so I immediately opened her email. I was hoping to read of the recent success the Sarajevo devotees had had in book distribution, but instead I learned with great sadness of the departure of a good friend of mine, Doctor Abdulah Nakas. *Knife-Wielding Soldiers* I first met Dr. Nakas in April 1996 in the bloodstained hallways of the partially destroyed central hospital in Sarajevo just days after the war had ended. Knife-wielding Muslim soldiers had attacked our chanting party that day, and several of our devotees had been seriously wounded. After taking the other devotees back to the temple, I went to the hospital to check on the injured. When Dr. Nakas heard that a leader of our movement was there, he came out to meet me. “Your people’s wounds are serious,” he said, “but not critical. They will live.” He raised his arms in the air. “I am a devout Muslim,” he said, “but I am ashamed of what my people have done. The war is over, but now we are spilling the blood of foreigners in our town. Please forgive us.” He put out his hand. “We are brothers,” he said, in a gesture of humility I will never forget. I took his hand, red with the blood of the devotees and still holding a scalpel. “Doctor,” I said, “you are not to blame, and neither is your religion. This is the act of a fringe element.” He once again turned his attention to the injured devotees. While I was waiting, some of the soldiers who had attacked us came to the hospital to finish the job. They surrounded me and spit in my face. Dr. Nakas heard the commotion. He rushed out of the operating room and screamed at the soldiers to leave. Although he was defenseless and had no weapons, they backed down and went away. Jahnukanyaka told me that day that everyone in Sarajevo respected him because of his selfless service during the war. For three years he operated on the endless casualties continuously, day in and day out, and often throughout the night. He performed surgery under the worst of circumstances, often with no water or electricity and few medical supplies. During the last two years of the war, the hospital had no anesthesia. He barely ate or slept. And several times the hospital itself was attacked and severely damaged by rocket fire. “How was it possible?” I asked her. “Where did he get the strength?” She smiled. “During the war,” she said, “several devotees and I would regularly visit the hospital, bringing *prasādam* and sometimes having Kṛṣṇa conscious programs for the patients and medical staff. During those days it was dangerous just to walk outside because the Serbian Army had encircled the city and would indiscriminately fire rockets and shoot citizens daily.” “It was there at the hospital that I met Dr. Nakas,” she continued. “Somehow, he had acquired a *Bhagavad-gītā* and would read it to his colleagues before the surgeries. He said it helped him realize the immortality of the soul and gave him strength as he watched people die before his eyes. “I was amazed that a staunch Muslim, who visited his mosque daily, was not only reading *Bhagavad-gītā* but sharing it with others. Most of the Muslim doctors I approached at that time bought *Bhagavad-gītā* because they knew that Dr. Nakas was reading it.” “That makes everything clear,” I said. *Hearing The Gita at the End* Now, years later, I was sitting in front of my computer, remembering our conversation and feeling overwhelmed by that morning’s email. I found Jahnukanyaka’s phone number in Sarajevo and called her. “I received your email about Dr. Nakas,” I said. “I’m sorry to hear of his departure. He was an amazing person, able to bridge gaps that often separate men because of nationality, race, and religion.” “Here in Sarajevo,” she said, “he is being mourned by everyone—Muslims, Christians, and Jews.” “Did he remain connected to us and maintain an interest in the *Bhagavad-gītā* after the war?” I asked. “Yes, he did,” she replied. “After the war I visited London, and when I came back to Sarajevo, I brought *prasādam* to Dr. Nakas. During our discussion, he offered to help us find a building for a new temple in Sarajevo. I was amazed because I knew it would not be easy. Bosnia is primarily a Muslim country. “During the war I developed a hernia from carrying so many books, and when I told Dr. Nakas, he offered to operate on it for free. He told me I was his godsister. The nurses told me that while performing the operation he recited many verses by memory from *Bhagavad-gītā.* “He never took a vacation in his entire career. After the war he just continued doing his service, operating every day. Recently he had a heart attack. He was operated on but lapsed into a coma. He was in intensive care, and only members of the medical staff were allowed entry. I called his brother, the director of the hospital, and begged him to let me go to Dr. Nakas’s side. “To my surprise he let me go, after making sure I was properly dressed in a surgical mask and gown. There were many doctors and nurses present when I entered Dr. Nakas’s room. He was such a famous, much-loved, and respected man. They were trying everything to save him. “Initially, I was shocked seeing all the tubes and machines keeping him alive. Despite the fact that most of the medical staff there were Muslim, I began reading out loud from his favorite chapter of *Bhagavad-gītā,* Chapter 9. All the doctors and nurses bowed their heads respectfully and remained silent as I read the entire chapter. “Several days later they contacted me and asked me to come back a second time. I saw it as a special arrangement of Kṛṣṇa for Dr. Nakas. On that visit I sang the *Damodarastakam* prayers and the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and read the Seventh Chapter of *Bhagavad-gītā.* Again the entire staff listened respectfully. They knew it was what Dr. Nakas would have wanted. “Two days later he died. I went to his funeral with some devotees. More than 10,000 people attended. He was a national hero. The people of Sarajevo loved him so much. He was buried according to the Muslim tradition. But you can imagine—there we were, dressed in our traditional Vaisnava attire. No one complained. They all knew how much he loved us, and we him.” *A Lesson in Peaceful Coexistence* As she spoke I couldn’t hold back my tears, and they were not only for the fact that Dr. Nakas had so much appreciation for the immortal wisdom of *Bhagavad-gītā* and had helped devotees at the end of the war and after, but because of my own encounters with him. I could still envision him apologizing for the wrong his Muslim brothers had inflicted upon us and his screaming at the soldiers who had come to kill me. They were some of the most intense moments I have ever experienced, and he had played an integral part in saving my life and those of our wounded devotees. When I finished my call with Jahnukanyaka, I went before my Deities, bowed down, and prayed that the Lord would honor the devotional service Dr. Nakas had performed as a devout Muslim and as a follower of the sacred wisdom of *Bhagavad-gītā.* The world has much to learn from Dr. Nakas: how to live peacefully together, with respect and appreciation for other cultures and religions. His Holiness Indradyumna Swami travels around the world teaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Reprinted from *Diary of a Traveling Preacher,* Volume 7, Chapter 4. Visit www.traveling-preacher.com. “The Strong Basic Platform of Love of Godhead” *By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda* IN INDIA, even in the interior villages, all the Hindu and Muslim communities used to live very peacefully by establishing a relationship between them. The young men called the elderly members of the village by the name *caca* or *kaka,* “uncle,” and men of the same age called each other *dada, “*brother.” The relationship was very friendly. There were even invitations from Muslim houses to Hindu houses and from Hindu houses to Muslim houses. Both the Hindus and the Muslims accepted the invitations to go to one another’s houses to attend ceremonial functions. Even until fifty or sixty years ago, the relationship between Hindus and Muslims was very friendly, and there were no disturbances. We do not find any Hindu-Muslim riots in the history of India, even during the days of the Muslims’ rule over the country. Conflict between Hindus and Muslims was created by polluted politicians, especially foreign rulers, and thus the situation gradually became so degraded that India was divided into Hindustan and Pakistan. Fortunately, the remedy to unite not only the Hindus and Muslims but all communities and all nations can still be implemented by the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement on the strong basic platform of love of Godhead. —Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Adi-līlā 17.148, Purport ## Sankirtana! Welfare for All Beings *“Is chanting all that your religion does? Don’t you do welfare or anything like that?”* *By Dayananda Dāsa* ALEX, MY BARBER, works at the Pilatos salon in Queens, New York, on the cusp of a Hispanic neighborhood. The salon has mostly Latino hairdressers and clients, and it is bright and upbeat, with salsa music often playing softly in the background. On a recent visit there, instead of salsa, I heard the chanting of *om namo bhagavate vasudevaya,* which means “obeisance to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa.” I remarked to Alex that this is one of the Hare Kṛṣṇa chants. He and I sometimes chat about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so he became quite interested. It seems the CD was a European compilation of various exotic chants and prayers from around the world and Alex was the one who had brought it to the salon. He asked me about chanting. I explained that the basis of the Hare Kṛṣṇa religion is *sankirtana*, or glorification of the Lord in everything one does. One kind of *sankirtana* is chanting the Lord’s holy names. Alex had seen groups of people chanting on the streets, and he asked, “Is chanting all that your religion does? Don’t you do welfare or anything like that?” “We do welfare work,” I responded, “but it’s welfare for the soul.” *Welfare for the Soul* In a previous conversation, I had explained to Alex that we are not these bodies; we are souls. The body is the vehicle for the soul. Still, the idea of welfare for the soul confused him, so I explained that my *guru*, Prabhupāda, compares welfare for the body to saving the coat of a drowning person and letting the person drown, whereas welfare for the soul saves the drowning person. Nevertheless, Alex wondered aloud how one might do something to benefit the soul. I told him that the chanting itself is the greatest welfare, because it invokes the presence of the Lord in the form of His name. When we chant in public, everyone who hears is benefited by association with the Lord. Thus, *sankirtana* is welfare. Alex, who is Catholic and from Costa Rica, said that some of the nuns he knew in school recited the rosary almost all day. He wondered whether that was like our *sankirtana*. “Yes,” I replied, “it is similar to *sankirtana.* And Prabhupāda once told me that the Muslims’ chanting of Allah’s name is also like *sankirtana.*” Alex said that he didn’t want to offend me, but he had noticed that many people who see the Hare Kṛṣṇa chanting groups don’t understand what we’re doing. He asked, “How is that welfare, if they don’t understand?” I explained that the effect of the chanting doesn’t depend on our understanding. I used the example of a medicine we take to cure a disease. We swallow the pills, but we don’t need to know how they act. After some time, the medicine takes effect, and the disease goes away. Similarly, the chanting acts to cure the soul of its disease, which is bondage to *maya.* Alex recalled that we had spoken of *maya* in our last conversation. “Yes,” I said, “*maya* is illusion, and it keeps us focused on this world, clouding our ability to connect with Kṛṣṇa.” He liked my explanation of the mysterious effect of chanting, but he still thought it impractical to chant among people who had no idea that their *maya* was being cured. “In fact,” I replied, “we do tell people about *maya* and Kṛṣṇa. Our welfare work includes disseminating Kṛṣṇa’s teachings and glories. And, yes, you’re right, when people understand Kṛṣṇa, they receive a greater benefit from *sankirtana* welfare.” I added that book distribution is our most effective means of informing people of the significance of *sankirtana*. He asked, “Do you sell your books in the subway, like the Scientologists and Jehovah’s Witnesses?” I explained that we have a number of books. “One is called the *Gita,* which has Kṛṣṇa’s teachings, and another is the *Bhagavatam,* which is a set of books containing Kṛṣṇa’s glories. And we distribute them widely, sometimes even in the subway.” Emboldened by my candor, Alex expressed concern that a religion where everyone simply chanted all the time didn’t seem practical. “Well,” I said, “some of our saints were examples of constant chanting, but Prabhupāda advised me not to follow that example. He asked me to chant about one and a half to two hours a day as a disciple’s duty, but he said that for the remaining hours of the day working for Kṛṣṇa is as good as chanting. He cautioned that lazy people might chant to avoid such work. Because I was a family man, Prabhupāda encouraged me to have an honest profession and use my efforts and money for *sankirtana.*” Alex was wary when I mentioned money. He said that the Catholic priests he knows are always asking for money and he didn’t much like that. I explained that Caitanya had prescribed a kind of formula for *sankirtana* welfare that addresses his concern. “Caitanya urged everyone to do *sankirtana* welfare by offering their words, intelligence, wealth, and life. He taught that the basis for *sankirtana* welfare is the offering of words, including public chanting or the distribution of the printed word. Intelligence is also used for welfare by organizing the festive chanting and book distribution. For example, every year in New York we have a grand procession down Fifth Avenue called Rathayatra that has large, colorful carts adorned with flags and tall canopies. Many Hare Kṛṣṇa people apply their intelligence to obtain permits for the festival, organize displays, prepare food, and coordinate cleanup.” In the mirror I could see Alex’s face light up. He stopped trimming my hair and told me that he had walked in the Rathayatra parade in June 2002, just months after the attack on the World Trade Center. He commented that the devastation from the attack had depressed him and he felt that the parade had nourished his soul. It had reminded him of Catholic processions in Costa Rica. Still, he asked, “What about the money you mentioned? Who gets the money?” I replied, “The important point is that giving money is based on the offering of words and intelligence, so we are supposed to use our intelligence when we give and not depend on others to dictate or intercede. We give our money for the chanting festivals and book distribution. We also use it to maintain temples, which are centers for *sankirtana* welfare. Prabhupāda taught that we should see to it that our offerings to *sankirtana* are not misused. Part of the mission of the organization he founded—the International Society for Krishna Consciousness—is to govern the proper use of contributions. It is especially important to offer money, because Kṛṣṇa’s *Gita* teaches that such an offering is part of a yoga called *karma-yoga*.” When I mentioned yoga, Alex told me that he does a little yoga at home and sometimes goes to classes. I explained that *karma-yoga* is different from exercise yoga. “*Karma-*yoga** is the offering of one’s efforts and money to Kṛṣṇa as a way to connect with Him. Kṛṣṇa taught that using money selfishly is the cause of worldly bondage, but sacrificing it for welfare frees one from *maya.* Also, Kṛṣṇa taught that *karma-*yoga** is an essential part of the highest and most powerful *yoga*, which is bhakti-*yoga*, or devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Bhakti-*yoga* is the highest *yoga* because it awakens love for Kṛṣṇa.” My haircut had been finished for a few minutes, and Alex had another client waiting. I reminded him that everything is based on the chanting. He asked whether I could write down the words to the prayer on the CD, so I wrote *om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.* Underneath the prayer, I wrote: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. I told him, “The prayer on the CD has the power of Kṛṣṇa’s name, and chanting it will benefit you. However, Prabhupāda taught his followers to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa because it is especially recommended for this age. I find chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa to be wonderful.” Alex asked his next client to go for a hair wash, and I went to the cashier to pay for the cut. I came back to give him a tip and said that next time I would bring him Kṛṣṇa’s *Gita*. That way, he could learn how to offer his intelligence as well as his chanting. At that point he joked that he was a long way from the money part. I laughed. “That’s no problem,” I said. “Kṛṣṇa says you can begin by offering Him even a leaf.” As I prepared to leave, Alex asked me how much money I give to *sankirtana*. I replied that Prabhupāda had asked me to give fifty percent of what I earn, so that is what I try to give. He was surprised and said that it seemed to be quite a lot. “I’ll tell you frankly, Alex,” I replied, “I am deeply grateful for Prabhupāda’s affection and training, so I feel that it is the least I can do. Moreover, Caitanya likened *sankirtana* welfare to distributing fruit that cures old age and death. I am enchanted by that analogy and have definitely experienced the benefits of giving and seeing others benefited.” *Dayananda Dāsa is currently working on a* sankirtana-yajna *commentary on the* Gita*.* ## Kṛṣṇa’s Incarnations - Lord Matsya’s Water Sports *People who demand that God show Himself don’t know of the many times He has done so.* *By Aja Govinda Dāsa* The *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* describes the incarnations of God to be innumerable, “like rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water.” This ten-part series will discuss incarnations of the Lord in the category of **līlā-avataras*,* or “pastime incarnations,” specifically the ten primary *līlā-avataras* glorified by the Vaisnava poet Jayadeva Gosvami in his *Śrī Dāsavatara-stotra.* WHEN THE Supreme Lord performs His transcendental pastimes while swimming in the Garbhodaka ocean (the ocean that fills the bottom of the universe), He does not have to wear scuba gear, a diving suit, or fins. Rather, He assumes the form of a transcendental fish. Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvami glorifies this form of the Lord as follows: > pralaya-payodhi-jale dhrtavan asi vedam > vihita-vahitra-caritram akhedam > kesava dhrta-mina-sarira jaya jagadisa hare “O Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of a fish! All glories to You! You easily acted as a boat in the form of a giant fish just to give protection to the *Vedas,* which had become immersed in the turbulent sea of devastation.” (*Dāsavatara-stotra* 1) Skeptics may challenge, “How can God incarnate as a fish?” Vaisnavas offer the rebuttal “Why can’t He? The omnipotent Lord can assume any form He wishes. Lord Brahma, the highest created being in the universe, glorifies the Lord as *ananta-rupam*, ‘He who possesses unlimited forms.’” God can enjoy in any way He wants, so His desire to enjoy water sports is one reason for His descent as a fish. There are other reasons too, as we learn from the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam’s* descriptions of two fish incarnations of the Lord. *Lord Matsya Saves the Vedas* By human calculation, one day of Brahma lasts 4.3 billion years, or a thousand cycles of the four *yugas,* or ages: Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali. At the end of Brahma’s day, a partial devastation floods the lower half of the universe. Once, when Brahma was retiring at the end of his day, the powerful atheist Hayagriva stole the Vedic knowledge as it was emanating from Brahma’s yawning mouth. One may ask, “How can knowledge be stolen as it exits someone’s mouth?” The Vedic literature explains that just after creation, Gayatri, the seed mantra of all Vedic knowledge, entered Brahma’s heart and inspired him with full knowledge of the *Vedas.* But with mystic powers, Hayagriva deprived Brahma of this knowledge. As an enemy of the Supreme Lord, Hayagriva tried to conceal the **Vedas*,* the foundation of all religious learning. Therefore, to protect His own religious principles, the Supreme Lord as Matsya-avatara (fish incarnation) traveled to the depths of the waters of inundation, slew Hayagriva, and returned the *Vedas* to Brahma. We can note that although Hayagriva had come into possession of the greatest asset, knowledge of the Absolute Truth, he couldn’t benefit from it. One cannot benefit from knowledge without properly receiving it in submission to a bona fide spiritual master. Even if an unqualified person learns the *Vedas,* his knowledge will only prove harmful to others. For example, unscrupulous commentators misguide the innocent public by covering the real import of the *Vedas,* which Lord Kṛṣṇa proclaims in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (15.15): “By all the *Vedas,* I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the *Vedas.*” *Lord Matsya Protects His Devotees* In His second fish incarnation, the Lord favored His great devotee King Satyavrata, whom the Lord wanted to establish as the universal ruler for the subsequent millennium. Once, while the king was offering oblations of water into a river, a small fish appeared in his palms. It expressed its fear of larger aquatics and entreated the king for shelter. Not knowing the fish to be the Supreme Lord Himself, King Satyavrata placed the fish in a water jug. The *Matsya Purana* comments on this incident: “The Supreme Lord possesses unlimited potency. Nonetheless, in His form of a fish He begged protection from King Satyavrata.” Some philosophers argue that when the Lord descends to this world, He is covered by the material nature. The Lord’s fish incarnation, however, displayed His transcendence of the laws of nature when He instantly expanded His body and could no longer be kept in the jug. Satyavrata then transferred the fish to a well, but the extraordinary fish at once grew to the size of the well. Then the king relocated the fish to a lake, but the fish outgrew the lake. Even the ocean seemed insufficient to contain the ever-expanding fish. Recognizing the fish to be the Supreme Lord, King Satyavrata offered prayers unto Him and inquired about the purpose of His descent. The Lord instructed the king to gather into a boat sages, herbs, seeds, and each kind of living being. He would rescue them from an impending universal flood. Why did the Lord particularly instruct the king to rescue the sages? Because the sages possessed Vedic knowledge by which they could lead the new generation of mankind on the spiritual path. As the famous Indian moralist Canakya Pandita said, *avidyam jivanam sunyam*: “Life without knowledge is empty.” Soon, devastating rains inundated the world, and Lord Matsya appeared on the scene to rescue the king’s boat. The king anchored his boat to the horn of Lord Matsya and offered prayers to worship Him. The Supreme Lord, who is situated in everyone’s heart, delivered Vedic knowledge to Satyavrata and the sages, drawing it from within the core of their hearts. He guided the boat until the waters of devastation had receded. The omniscient Lord thus directed the king and the sages both internally, by giving knowledge, and externally, by leading the boat. Aja Govinda Dāsa, a disciple of His Holiness Hanumatpresaka Swami, is pursuing a master’s degree in computer science at Harvard University. Last year, he obtained his B.S. in electrical engineering at the age of seventeen, with a perfect 4.0 GPA. He was a 2005 Top Ten Scholar for Boise State University and an Eta Kappa Nu top graduate in the USA. ## Dilation of Time and Consciousness The Vedic literature speaks of transformations of time due to not only gravitation and motion, as in Einstein’s theory of relativity, but also consciousness. *By Aravind Mohanram* TIME IS RELATIVE. This fact is known to most of us through science. Einstein’s theory of relativity says that time dilates depending on the motion and position of the observer. Few of us, however, are aware that this fact was well known to ancient seers. The Vedic literature vividly describes the fascinating and paradoxical ideas of the transformations of space and time during interplanetary travels. In addition to having an advanced theory of time, the Vedic seers also possessed a highly evolved understanding of consciousness, which like time is also subject to interesting transformations. Let’s explore the fascinating ideas of the dilation of time and consciousness. In the fast-paced modern world, awareness of time management has become important to many people. But before we can discuss this in much detail, we should first consider some basic ideas about time and consciousness. Based on these ideas, we shall glean useful lessons for effective time management. The ideas discussed in this article are derived from the writings of Śrīla Prabhupāda and his scientist-disciple Sadaputa Dāsa of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, Florida. *Time Dilation* The concept of time dilation is well known in modern science. A consequence of Einstein’s theories of relativity, time dilation is the phenomenon that makes moving clocks or clocks in stronger gravitational fields run slower than stationary clocks and those in weaker fields. Time dilation due to motion is explained by the famous twin paradox. According to this, when a man on a rocket traveling at nearly the speed of light returns to earth, he will find that he has not aged as much as his twin who stayed on earth. This is because of Einstein’s postulate, found within his theory of relativity, that the speed of light is the same irrespective of how fast a person travels. Time dilation by gravitation is understood by the example of a black hole. Suppose a traveler approaches the event horizon (the imaginary sphere around an object with a gravitational field) of a black hole, which has an incredibly high gravitation field. To an observer watching from a distance, the traveler would seem to slow down, gradually fade, and ultimately become invisible, because of the increase in the wavelengths of light. The traveler wouldn’t notice anything unusual, but when he returned to earth, he would find that eons had passed. The Puranic texts of India describe how time dilates (or contracts) as we move through the different planetary systems. In *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam,* for example, we find the fascinating story of King Kakudmi’s meeting with Lord Brahma, who lives on the highest planet in the universe. Once, Kakudmi went to see Lord Brahma with his daughter Revati to inquire about a suitable match for her. When they arrived, Lord Brahma was hearing a performance by celestial musicians, and the king had to wait. When the performance ended, the king submitted his desire to Brahma, who laughed loudly and said, “O king, all those whom you may have decided within the core of your heart to accept as your son-in-law have passed away in the course of time. Twenty-seven *catur-yugas* [periods of four ages] have already passed. Those upon whom you may have decided are now gone, and so are their sons, grandsons, and other descendants. You cannot even hear about their names.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 9.3.29–32) The Puranic concept of time involves cycles of **yuga*s.* Each *yuga* cycle is composed of four **yuga*s.* The first, Satya-*yuga*, lasts 1,728,000 years. The second, Treta-*yuga*, lasts 1,296,000 years. The third, Dvapara-*yuga*, lasts 864,000 years. And the fourth, Kali-*yuga*, lasts 432,000 years. This gives a total of 4.32 million years for the entire *yuga* cycle. One thousand such cycles—4.32 billion years—make up only one day of Brahma, called a *kalpa.* Each of Brahma’s nights lasts as long as his day. Life is manifest on earth only during the day of Brahma. With the onset of Brahma’s night, the entire universe is devastated and plunged into darkness. When another day of Brahma begins, life again becomes manifest. The lifetime of Brahma, while incredible to us, is insignificant from the viewpoint of eternity. Thus, both modern scientific and Vedic models accommodate amazing transformations of time and space in this universe and beyond. *Consciousness And Its Dilation* While today’s scientists are familiar with the concept of time dilation, they are largely unaware of the more profound concept of consciousness dilation, described in the Vedic literature. Consciousness, the *Vedas* declare, is a fundamental characteristic of a living being. It is the subjective awareness of one’s self. Although, consciousness is a fundamental truth, explanation of its origin and nature has eluded modern science. The Vedic literature offers a non-mechanistic model of consciousness. It is described not only as that which is transcendental to matter (composed primarily of earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego), but also as the controlling and moving force behind it. Consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Just as the sun illuminates the universe through its rays, the soul illuminates the body through consciousness. The *Vedas* declare that in their pure state the living entities are of *sat-cit-ananda*: eternal existence, knowledge (or consciousness), and bliss. Due to interaction with matter, however, the pure consciousness of the soul gets covered, just as a mirror is covered by dust. The state of one’s consciousness depends not only on the extent of material interaction, but also on the type of bodily form that we take up. The Vedic literature speaks of an evolution of consciousness through various bodily forms (8,400,000 species), such as aquatics, insects, plants, beasts, and humans. For example, in the form of a tree, the soul’s consciousness is hardly manifest, while in the form of a human being or higher life forms, such as the residents of upper planetary systems, the soul exhibits increasing levels of consciousness (the topmost level being its pure spiritual consciousness). Śrīla Prabhupāda in his writings clarifies that the Vedic understanding of evolution means developed or dilated consciousness and not change of one material form into another. And according to the development of one’s consciousness, one gets a particular type of body. Thus, different states of material consciousness award us different material bodies, while spiritual or Kṛṣṇa consciousness awards us spiritual forms. The consciousness of the living entity is influenced by the modes of material nature (*gunas*): goodness, passion, and ignorance. Thus, within human species, for example, one can find gradations of consciousness depending on the modes of nature different human beings are situated in. Lord Brahma, the creator of the cosmos, is said to be the most highly evolved among all species in the material world. He is situated in the topmost planetary system, called Satyaloka. So, the consciousness of a living being dilates (or expands) as one moves toward higher life forms and contracts as one moves toward lower forms. Thus, both time and consciousness dilate as we move toward higher life forms or higher planetary systems. Viewed in a different way, an expanded consciousness leads to an expanded sense of time. Thus, in addition to time dilation that’s motion-induced and gravitation-induced, there is consciousness-based time dilation. Understanding the relation between these can form the basis for future scientific research. Einstein viewed time and space as a continuum and considered the passage of time an illusion. The *Vedas* say that in the world of pure consciousness, or the spiritual realm, there is no passage of time. Thus, it can be said that timelessness is the absolute reality and material conditioning creates various rates of subjective passage of time. Einstein would probably agree with this statement. *Subjective Time* But there is more. Imagine yourself waiting for a bus on a hot, humid day in a largely deserted place. What will be your conception of time in such a situation? Frustratingly enough for you, time would appear to move extremely slowly. Now, imagine you meet a close friend from high school with whom you begin engaging in lively conversations, bringing back memories of school days. Both of you would notice at the end of your conversation that time had passed quickly and you are left longing for more. Suppose, instead of a friend, you meet your beloved. The long, painful wait for the bus now seems a blissful experience, thanks to your beloved, and the passage of time extremely swift, although the longing for more time also increases. Your sense of time will also be influenced by the *guna* of your friend or beloved. From this simple example, we can note that the perception of time depends on our subjective experiences. It is not difficult to understand, from our day-to-day experience, that the same person perceives time differently depending on the type and depth of relationships he shares, the nature of people he relates to (determined by their *gunas*), and the arrangement of matter around him. There are also many Vedic examples on subjective time. In His beautiful *Śikṣāṣṭaka* prayers, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, due to intense feelings of separation from Kṛṣṇa, expresses how even a moment feels like many years. According to the Vedic literature, different relationships—servitude, friendship, parenthood, and conjugal love—exist in the material world because they have their original counterparts in the spiritual realm. In *Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu,* Śrīla Rupa Gosvami, one of the principal followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, discusses in elaborate detail the varieties of spiritual relationship. Every one of us has an eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, but we have forgotten it. We are busy cultivating ephemeral material relationships, thus clouding our pure consciousness and perception of time. It is clear from the above examples and our day-to-day experiences that there is a definite correlation between time, matter, and consciousness. The fact that all of these originate from God, as mentioned in the *Vedas,* adds validity to this correlation. The concept of consciousness-based time dilation can form the basis for a new paradigm on how we view or measure time and its efficient management. In the *Bhagavad-gītā,* Lord Kṛṣṇa declares that He is the time factor and also the supreme consciousness. He further declares that material nature is but one of His energies. Whoever understands Kṛṣṇa perfectly can know the intricacies of time, matter, and consciousness. Thus, a pure Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee, who knows Kṛṣṇa in truth, uses his time in the most efficient manner and is the perfect time-manager. “At every moment the devotee is moved by his desire to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa. Just as those who are inclined to sense gratification pass their time making arrangements for their enjoyment, similarly the devotees are busy throughout the day arranging their devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they have no time to act like materialistic sense enjoyers.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 11.18.37, Purport) As for effective time-management: “Concerning time, one should rise by four o’clock in the morning and utilize the auspicious Brahma-muhurta to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Similarly, one should avoid the sinful influence of hours such as midnight when ghosts and demons are encouraged to become active.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 11.13.6, Purport) If you are interested in trying consciousness-based time management, here are some guidelines: (a) Cultivate discipline or regulation in your life. As noted above, one should get up early in the morning to take full advantage of the mode of goodness. (b) Associate with Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees situated in the mode of goodness. Such association helps us gain a better sense of time and its utility. The concept of subjective time discussed above tells us how association shapes our perception of time. Remember, we become like the people we associate with. (c) Position yourself, as far as possible, in places saturated with the mode of goodness. For example, temples or homes saturated with a spiritual atmosphere are ideal abodes. (d) Consume only food offered to Kṛṣṇa. Such food purifies our consciousness quickly. (e) Practice mantra meditation, such as chanting and singing Hare Kṛṣṇa. These transcendental sounds put us on the spiritual platform, giving us a better sense of time. (f) Along with the do’s come the don’ts: Avoid association, foods, and places where the lower *gunas* (passion and ignorance) are predominant. Aravind Mohanram, an aspiring disciple of His Holiness Romapada Swami, received his Ph.D. in engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He lives with his wife, Priya Rajagopal, in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He can be reached at [email protected]. ## Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out *Perfect Knowledge From Perfect Teachers* This conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and physicist Gregory Benford took place in October, 1973, in Los Angeles. Dr. Benford: You are probably familiar with what Western theology calls “the problem of evil”: Why does evil exist? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Evil is the absence of good, just as darkness is the absence of sunlight. If you keep yourself always in the light, where is the question of darkness? God is all-good. So if you keep yourself always in God consciousness, then there is no evil. Dr. Benford: But why was the world created with evil men? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Why was the police department created? Because there is a necessity. Similarly, some living entities want to enjoy this material world; therefore God creates it. He is just like a father who gives a separate room to his mischievous children to play in. Otherwise, the naughty boys would always disturb him. Dr. Benford: This world, then, is something like a prison? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, it’s a prison. Therefore, there is suffering here. In the prison you cannot expect comfort, because unless there is suffering, there is no lesson for the prisoners. That is stated in the *Bhagavad-gītā: duhkhalayam *asasvatam*. Duhkhalayam* means “the place for suffering.” And *asasvatam* means “temporary.” You cannot make a compromise and say, “All right, I am suffering, but I don’t care about that—I shall remain here.” You cannot remain here; you will be kicked out. Now you are thinking that you are an American, you are a great scientist, you are happy, you are getting a good salary. . . . That’s all right, but you cannot stay in this post. The day will come when you will be kicked out. And you do not know whether you are going to be an American or a scientist or a cat or dog or demigod. You do not know. Dr. Benford: I think that I will probably be nothing. Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, that is another kind of ignorance. Kṛṣṇa explains in *Bhagavad-gītā* [2.13], *dehino ‘smin yatha dehe kau-maram yauvanam jara / tatha dehantara-praptih:* first you are in the body of a boy, then a young man, and in the future you will be in the body of an old man— Dr. Benford: But after I’m an old man I might be nothing. Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, no. *Tatha dehantara-praptih:* after death you will pass into another body. So you cannot say, “I am going to be nothing.” Of course, you may say anything, but the laws are different. You may know the law, or you may not know the law. It doesn’t matter—the law will act. For example, if you think, “I will touch the fire—it will not burn me,” that is not a fact. It will burn. Similarly, you may think there is nothing after death, but it is not a fact. Dr. Benford: Why does a person like me—someone who’s trying to understand the world rationally—seem to find no way in which to do it? Śrīla Prabhupāda: You are trying to know things rationally, but you are not going to the proper teacher. Dr. Benford: But I feel that by studying the world I can acquire knowledge, and there is a way to check that knowledge. You formulate hypotheses, you perform experiments, you verify your ideas, and then you see if you can use these ideas in the practical world. Śrīla Prabhupāda: That is one more kind of ignorance—because you do not know that you are imperfect. Dr. Benford: Oh, I know that I’m not perfect. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Then what is the use of your trying to study the world this way and that way? If you are imperfect, the result will be imperfect. Dr. Benford: That’s true. Śrīla Prabhupāda: So why waste time? Dr. Benford: But there doesn’t seem to be any other way of finding knowledge. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Even for material knowledge you have to go to the university and consult a professor. Similarly, when you want to learn spiritual knowledge—perfect knowledge—you have to approach a perfect teacher. Then you will get perfect knowledge. Dr. Benford: But how does one know when the teacher is perfect? Śrīla Prabhupāda: It is not difficult. A perfect teacher is one who has learned from another perfect teacher. Dr. Benford: But that merely removes the problem a step. Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, because there is one perfect teacher—Kṛṣṇa—who is accepted by all classes of teachers. In India we still find the Vedic culture, which is taught by Vedic scholars. And all these Vedic teachers accept Kṛṣṇa as the supreme teacher. They take lessons from Kṛṣṇa and teach that. Dr. Benford: So anyone I meet who accepts Kṛṣṇa as the perfect teacher—he is a perfect teacher? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Anyone who is teaching the teachings of Kṛṣṇa is a perfect teacher. Dr. Benford: Then all the devotees here are perfect teachers? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, because they are teaching only Kṛṣṇa’s teachings, that’s all. They may not be perfect. But whatever they are speaking is perfect, because it is taught by Kṛṣṇa. Dr. Benford: Then you are not perfect? Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, I am not perfect. None of us claim that we are perfect—we have so many defects. But because we don’t speak anything beyond Kṛṣṇa’s teachings, our teaching is perfect. We are just like a postman who brings you a money order for one thousand dollars. He is not a rich man, but if he delivers to you the envelope as it is, you are benefited. He is not a rich man, but his perfect dealing, his honest dealing, is perfect. Similarly, we are not perfect; we are full of imperfections. But we don’t go beyond the teachings of Kṛṣṇa. That is our process. And therefore our teachings are perfect. ## Making the Best Use of a Bad Bargain How we can see our acceptance of a material body as the ultimate business deal gone wrong and still use the body to maximum advantage. *By Navin Jani* ON MY WAY to work each day, I used to pass a used car lot. For as long as I could remember, the lot had featured a special deal on an attractive Range Rover. A large sign delineated its wonderful features and assured the prospective owner of a markedly superior driving experience. I was happy with my own Honda CRV and had always found it amazingly well suited to my needs, so I never paid much attention to the advertisement. For no apparent reason, however, one day a slight curiosity awakened in my mind about the Range Rover. “I wonder what it *would* be like to drive it.” I began to muse. “Maybe it *would* be more enjoyable than my little Honda.” Gradually, day by day, this desire grew from a passing fancy to a nagging doubt. I still had no factual complaints about my own car; in fact, I couldn’t imagine how any other vehicle could really be better for me. Still, despite my best reasoning, I couldn’t stop thinking of the Range Rover. One day, I went ahead and traded in my car for the impressive Rover. I drove it home with great excitement. That emotion was short-lived. Before long, I became frustrated by all sorts of problems, from the stereo breaking down to the brakes failing. Eventually I realized I had been had. I had traded in my perfectly good car for a lemon. We’ve probably all made ill-advised purchases. Some of the things we buy just don’t live up to our expectations. Sometimes these poor decisions involve only small items, and we shrug them off with a resigned “Oh, well.” Others, however, have longer term consequences and are more problematic. Trying out a new variety of candy bar that ends up tasting awful is no big deal. Buying a car that breaks down or a house that’s sinking into the ground is a more painful mistake. The Vedic literature explains that the ultimate misguided business decision is the choice to take on a body in the material world. With this understanding, Śrīla Prabhupāda often encouraged people to approach their lives in the mood of “making the best use of a bad bargain.” While at first glance such an analogy might not make much sense, when considered more carefully it proves to be profoundly illuminating. *Not What We Bargained For* Generally a bargain requires two parties making an agreement to exchange something, but we mortal beings are ostensibly thrust out of our mother’s womb without much say in the matter. How then is acquiring a material body a bargain? The Vedic literature explains that we are all spiritual beings who originally resided in the transcendental realm beyond this world of time and space. Becoming averse to the Supreme Lord and desiring to enjoy independently from Him, however, we abandoned our eternal life and entered this ever-changing material manifestation. In essence, we made an agreement with God to exchange a body made of spirit for one made of matter, in much the same way that I had traded in my Honda CRV for the Range Rover at the lot. Although all subsequent bodies come about more or less automatically as a result of our activities and level of consciousness, our initial descent into this cosmos is the result of consciously willing to leave the association of the Lord. Accepting that our present body is the product of a conscious transaction may take a little time and some serious reflection, but having done so, taking the next step is all too easy; one must conclude that taking birth is a raw deal. After all, what is a bad bargain? It is one in which you end up with something that fails to meet your expectations. “This isn’t how it was described in the advertisement,” we usually exclaim in such circumstances. We should have the same reaction to our material predicament. While we must have thought at one time (and may even continue to think) that this world is a place of enjoyment and our bodies the perfect pleasure cruisers with which to take advantage of it, the truth is quite to the contrary. I thought I would be happier driving a Range Rover than sticking with my CRV, but I soon found myself in a much worse—not better—situation. So it is with our material bodies. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (15.7), Kṛṣṇa Himself explains that although we are part of Him, having chosen to be independent we are forced to struggle hard with our senses and mind in this world. We’re supposed to be enjoying with Him, but instead we’re suffering alone down here. This entire realm of matter is *duhkhalayam*, or “the abode of misery.” And where do these miseries come from? Amazingly enough, Kṛṣṇa explains in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (5.22) that they are the direct result of the very same activities that produce our so-called happiness: the contact of the senses with the sense objects. No material pleasure is without its concomitant pain. Now that certainly wasn’t in the advertisement. So we’ve been duped. Thinking we would procure superior enjoyment, we traded in a blissful body and association with the Supreme Lord for a lonely existence in a vehicle of suffering. What should we do now? Śrīla Prabhupāda advises us to make the best use of our situation. Like any other bad bargain, we must try to take maximum advantage of our unfortunate acquisition until we can ameliorate the situation. In the case of the human body, the *Vedas* explain that the best use is the pursuit of self-realization and reestablishment of our relationship with God. There’s no point in continuing our frenzied quest for sense gratification, pretending that the material body can deliver lasting and genuine satisfaction. Nor is giving up in despair and taking shelter of intoxicants and nihilistic philosophies of any avail. Just as my defective Range Rover certainly didn’t provide me with the satisfaction I had hoped for yet I still used it to take me to work until I could afford a replacement, so the material body can never be a source of actual happiness through sense gratification but one can still use it to acquire something better. Kṛṣṇa reveals that the entire material world, from the highest planet down to the lowest, is equally abominable and impermanent, so we should focus our efforts only on getting out. And the wonderful thing about the human body, as the child saint Prahlada once explained to his classmates, is that although it is temporary like other material bodies, it offers one the benefit of being able to perform devotional service to Kṛṣṇa and thus achieve liberation from the cycle of birth and death. By using our present bodies to serve the Lord instead of our senses, we can eventually gain the perfection of reinstatement in our original spiritual bodies and reverse this transaction gone awry. One illustrative example of using the human body for a higher purpose is the story of the ancient sage Dadhici from the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam.* Being severely oppressed by the *asuras* (demons) and their new leader Vrtrasura, the *devas* (demigods) once approached Narayana (an expansion of Kṛṣṇa) for shelter. The Supreme Lord instructed them to request the sage Dadhici for his body. Because of his austerities and mystic power, his body had become powerful, and his bones could therefore be made into an extraordinary weapon capable of killing Vrtrasura. Upon hearing of the *devas*’ plight, the sage responded that because the body provides sensual enjoyment and because parting with it at death is so painful, most people are very attached to it and are prepared to sacrifice everything else to protect it. As a result, Dadhici retorted, who would give up his body, even if the Supreme Lord himself demanded it? The wise sage was merely teasing the demigods. He went on to explain, in all seriousness, that although the body is indeed the dearmost possession of any living being, he was prepared to give his up. Dadhici knew that the body is temporary and destined to die despite all efforts to maintain it, and so he considered it better to lose it sooner in pursuit of a higher purpose than to succumb to an inconsequential and inglorious death later on. He thus made the best use of a bad bargain by using his human body for eternal glory rather than flickering sensual pleasure. For most of us, making the best use of a bad bargain in terms of our human body need not be as dramatic as the example of Dadhici. But the principle is the same. It’s the same lesson we learn from the incident I narrated to begin this article, although I must at this point ask the kind reader’s forgiveness for fabricating that tale to help illustrate my point (the only part that’s true is that I do own a Honda CRV). I may not have bought a substandard automobile, but I do have a material body, which is a much more consequential blunder. Having somehow agreed to set out in the material world in search of pleasure, we have all made that mistake. Trading in our original liberated and blissful body of spirit for this body of matter was a foolish decision; the material body simply doesn’t deliver. Instead of stubbornly and vainly trying to extract a few drops of enjoyment through sense gratification, we should use our bodies in the service of the Lord, and thereby gain reentry into His kingdom. Then our lives will be successful and glorious, despite our awkward and unfortunate position in the material world. And like any other transaction in which we’ve once been cheated, we can rest assured that we won’t make the same bad bargain again. Navin Jani is pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of California, Irvine, studying Vastu Vidya and spiritual aspects of design. He lives in Irvine with his parents and his wife, Kṛṣṇa-priya Devī Dāsī. ## How I Came to Kṛṣṇa Consciousness *My Mom’s Long-Neglected Book* His mother couldn’t supply satisfying answers to all his spiritual questions—until she handed him a book she’d received thirty years before. *By Ben Granofsky* I WAS EIGHTEEN years old and happily enjoying life through the agency of friends, parties, adventures, sports, and so on. I had no real problems to face, nor was I depressed or unloved. My family loved me greatly, my friends deeply cared about me, and I’d never experienced suffering or loss, so things were just fine and dandy. The only negative thing was that I had no passion to do anything great or to take on projects and huge amounts of responsibility. My only responsibility was to get myself to school and to pass with good grades. With this in mind, I decided it would be cool to study philosophy and religion because there is no right or wrong answer and I had everything already figured out, so I couldn’t mess up. I had always been a church-going person and was active with my church’s youth group. I prayed regularly and felt like I had some commitment to God. But I didn’t really understand anything about God. That’s what philosophy and possibly other religions would teach me. Instead they just confused me about God even more and brought up a new conception: “the Absolute Truth.” I remained baffled for some time and kept on living the way I had been. Now and again I would ponder life’s timeless question of what happens after we die. Fortunately I had enough intelligence to come to the conclusion that I was eventually going to pass on to the next life (even though, like most teenagers, I was still mostly convinced that I was immortal). I started to wonder what part of me would live on if I were dead. Then it struck me that the “me” I had been identifying with for so long would be gone. No more Ben, no more of my family, no more of my friends, no more 2003, no more America, no more Earth. It would all end. Something would live on, but not “me.” Maybe my essence, but not the “me” I identified with. (I was thinking that I was completely the body. I could not imagine that I was a living entity different from the body.) These thoughts were overwhelming, and I had to find answers. I knew the best place to go for answers was my mother. She always knew everything—well, except for how to do my math and science homework. *Partial Answers* As I told her my thoughts, she assured me that I would be fine after death and not to worry about it until it comes. But I could not brush the subject aside, because the fact remains that we are going to die and leave these bodies, along with all of our identifications. The concept is real, and it was frightening. My mother tried to console me by saying that our Savior would rescue us and bring us back to God. I had been studying philosophy and Eastern religions, but I knew very little about God as described by my Western faith. It mostly emphasizes the son of God. So I decided to get the full story from my mom. My first question was “Who is God?” She said, “The father of Jesus.” I then asked, “What is His name?” She paused and thought for a moment, then answered, “Well, I don’t know, maybe Yahweh or Jehovah.” Next I asked, “What does He look like?” She responded, “Well, He doesn’t have a form.” Then she paused and said, “Maybe He does, because it says we are made in His image.” I realized she was as confused about God as I was. Afterwards she thought of a book to give me to read. No, it wasn’t the Bible. It was a book called *Be Here Now.* She knew I had been studying Eastern religions, and the author explained God from the Eastern perspective that He’s all love and we should merge into that love. I didn’t like it one bit. I was looking for God because I didn’t want to give up being “me.” I didn’t like the Buddhist idea of becoming void, and I didn’t like the idea of merging and becoming love but not being a person. The idea freaked me out. *Mercy Off the Shelf* I wanted to go back to a kingdom where I could enjoy in God’s presence, as the Bible describes. So I cast aside the book and told my mom I didn’t like it. She could see that I was really trying to figure out who God was, and just then a light bulb went off in her head. (The *Bhagavad-gītā* says that Kṛṣṇa is the cause of remembrance and forgetfulness.) She thought of a book she had gotten thirty years earlier. So we went to our bookroom, where she found it and gave it to me. I gazed at the front cover with awe. It was a small blue book, and the title was strange because three of the letters had dots under them. It said *Kṛṣṇa,* and under that it said *The Supreme Personality of Godhead.* “Whoa!” I thought. “I’ve never heard God called that before.” The picture on the front was interesting, but I couldn’t quite tell if it was two girls or a guy and a girl. I figured that one was a guy, but I wasn’t too sure who they were. My mom said that back in the seventies there was a group of eccentric young people who claimed they knew God and this was one of their books. I didn’t really pay her much attention as I turned the book over to read the back cover. As soon as I saw the picture on the back, I was stunned. The man I was looking at seemed situated in supreme peace. He glowed like a saint, and he appeared to be so humble. His name was A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, but I didn’t know how to pronounce it. The greatest part of his name, to me, was that it included the words “His Divine Grace.” Simply by seeing his picture, I had sensed that he was divine, and now his title confirmed it. I read the book summary, and it was so simple and sweet. The phrase “relishable content for swanlike men” sunk deep into my heart. It was exactly what I needed to hear. When I opened the book, I saw the foreword “Words from Apple,” by George Harrison. I liked how he described all names of God as being one. As I read the first chapter, my heart melted and I was completely convinced that Kṛṣṇa was God. I just knew it. And why would this saint, Prabhupāda, lie to me? I read the book every day, and it was so much nectar. I had no desire to do anything else during that time. I was just totally absorbed in reading about Kṛṣṇa. Reading pastime after pastime increased my faith, and I felt like I was floating on a cloud. While I read the book—it was the first of three volumes and described only the Vṛndāvana pastimes—I was amazed and felt better than ever. My mind had expanded so much. I was opening up to new concepts of Godhead. I read about the qualities and energies of God and how He can expand and what incarnations He has. I had never thought of these things in my whole life. It was so incredible. I felt as if I was entering into the pastimes, and I could feel how Kṛṣṇa and His associates felt. Then I came to a part where Śrīla Prabhupāda writes that persons who smoke ganja, thus imitating Lord Siva’s act of drinking poison, cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That really scared me. I was thinking, “Well, maybe Prabhupāda has never heard of Jesus before.” I knew for sure that my sins would be washed away if I believed in Jesus. I had the best of both worlds. I now knew who God was, and I had His son as my Savior. My mind once again became peaceful. No more worries. Or was there more to come? *Struggling With the Principles* A feeling of restlessness and dissatisfaction began to form within me. I mentioned to my friends that we should try to live a more pious life and go to church more often. But they were completely satisfied, and they assured me that the feeling would blow over. But I couldn’t stop thinking about this Kṛṣṇa stuff and what Śrīla Prabhupāda had been saying about living a godly life. I couldn’t give up intoxicants, meat-eating, or women, as he suggested. But the thoughts kept coming back, and I figured that I had to at least try it for a day or two. It was a difficult test. I couldn’t go long without getting intoxicated. Luckily, I didn’t have a girlfriend at the time, which made it easier to avoid illicit connections. I also never gambled with money, because I hated to spend it, let alone lose it on games. Then I tried to stop eating meat, but that didn’t last for more than a day. I couldn’t understand how people can eat salad all the time. I tried to give up intoxicants, but it was still a struggle. I was only able to cut back on my usage. But then it happened—I actually started to stop getting intoxicated. My friends were shocked. They supported my choice, but they continued to take drugs in my presence, which made it tough for me. I had to shut them out of my life. It was really hard to do, but it was necessary. I had to prove to myself that I could follow these four simple principles. Finally it came time to give up eating meat. I told my mom about my desire, and she totally agreed and even started cooking vegetarian meals for us. She had always wanted to try it too. I had also realized that my favorite food is vegetarian—I loved to eat cereal for every meal. Soon enough I was following all four principles. I felt strange but good about my accomplishment. I had occasional fall-downs with intoxicants and meat, but for the most part I went a month straight. *Where Are The Hare Kṛṣṇas?* Then I found it hard to maintain these principles unless I had friends who did this Kṛṣṇa consciousness stuff too. I had just given up the shelter of my closest and dearmost friends, and I felt all alone. So I asked my mom if the people who practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness still exist. To my disappointment she said, “Nope.” She had not seen the Hare Kṛṣṇas for thirty years. She explained that they were a cult that came and went, along with many other religious fads of the era. But I was determined to find out if there were some Hare Kṛṣṇas left. I looked online for Kṛṣṇa, and after seeing the number of web pages, I realized that He was a little more popular than I had thought. So I looked up ISKCON and found a site. I saw the list of temples, and I was so happy. I found the closest one to me and told my mom that I was leaving to go visit the temple. She wished me luck. I was off to change my life forever. I would like to thank my mother, who unknowingly became my *patha-pradarsaka-*guru** (the *guru* who shows the way). Little did she know when she received the *Kṛṣṇa* book, so many years ago, that it would be the catalyst to send her future son into a spiritual awakening. I would also like to thank the devotee who handed her the book, not knowing that that book sale would fructify thirty years later. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that his books are like time bombs waiting to go off—to explode our material conception of life and bring us to the shelter of *Kṛṣṇa*’s lotus feet. I’m glad to say that it’s true. ## Spiritual Conquest with Banana Bread In the hills of North Carolina, an enthusiastic devotee is winning hearts and souls through her faith in the power of prasādam. *By Arcana Siddhi Devī Dāsī* NOT LONG AGO I was coming home from the Sunday feast at the Hare Kṛṣṇa temple where I live, in North Carolina, when from across the creek I saw fire engines at the house of my friend Maharha Dasi. I called her as soon as I got home and was put at ease when she answered the phone in a jovial spirit. She said her husband had been meaning to clean the four years of accumulated creosol in their chimney but was just a little too late. Luckily, the fire hadn’t gotten past the chimney. Maharha then excitedly added, “And the whole crew of firefighters ate *prasādam*!” Maharha has great enthusiasm for giving out *prasādam,* food offered to Kṛṣṇa, and she is famous in Stokes county for her banana bread. When she and her family first moved here to Prabhupāda Village, she went on a campaign to win the hearts of her Southern Baptist neighbors. She successfully melted even the most dogmatic hearts with her banana bread *prasādam.* Just a few weeks earlier, Maharha had been shopping at a health food store when an announcement over the loud speaker asked her to go to the parking lot to move her car. She was bewildered, since she had parked in a marked spot and surely wasn’t blocking anyone. When she got outside, she panicked on seeing her husband’s newly bought 1982 Mercedes abutting a shinny sports car. Maharha realized she hadn’t put on the parking break and her car had rolled into the other car. The owner and a policeman were waiting at the scene. Maharha took a deep breath and approached them, expecting the worst. The owner of the sports car greeted Maharha with a smile and said, “It’s just a little dent. Don’t worry about it.” Shocked, Maharha replied, “Really? You’re so nice.” She then remembered the banana bread in the back seat of her car and offered slices to the owner of the sport’s car and the policeman, who both eagerly accepted the treat. On hearing this story, I jokingly told Maharha that she will go to great lengths to distribute *prasādam*—even staging fender-benders in parking lots. Actually, because of her strong desire to do this service for her spiritual master, Kṛṣṇa arranges all kinds of interesting opportunities for her. Another day, while Maharha was standing in the line at the grocery store, the cashier happened to say out loud, “I can’t think of what to eat for lunch today.” Maharha caught the cue and offered her some fresh banana bread. The cashier, stunned by Maharha’s hospitality, readily accepted. *Prasadam and Sense Control* Maharha has great faith in the power of *prasādam* to help people progress in spiritual life. Like many of us, she can personally attest to the power of *prasādam* to help control the senses, so important for spiritual advancement. In a prayer that we Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees generally sing before meals, we thank the Lord for giving us *prasādam*, acknowledging its power to help us gain control over the tongue. Of all the senses, the tongue is considered the most difficult to control. Before becoming a devotee, I agonized over my inability to gain control over my tongue. One night after eating a half-gallon of ice cream, I lamented miserably. After just a few bites, the experience of pleasure dulled. But driven by the desire to enjoy, I wasn’t able to stop even after feeling sick. I remember praying to the Lord: “Please help me. My senses are so much out of control. I don’t want to live like this.” Soon after that night, Kṛṣṇa brought me to the temple and gave me *prasādam.* The word *prasādam* means “mercy” and refers to remnants of God’s meals. Devotees offer all their food to the Lord, and if the food is prepared in a loving mood, the Lord agrees to accept it. He eats it in His transcendental way and returns it to us, the material ingredients having been transformed into spiritual energy. Even if we have no knowledge of the potency of *prasādam*, still it will act on us, just as medicine will work even if we don’t know why. *A Blessed Dog* Even animals can benefit from taking the remnants of the Lord’s food. In the *Caitanya-caritāmṛta* there is a wonderful story illustrating the power of *prasādam.* Once, while Lord Caitanya’s followers were traveling from Bengal to Jagannātha Purī to see Him, a dog joined their party. Sivananda Sena, the devotee in charge, assumed responsibility for the dog. Once, when Sivananda Sena went ahead to arrange accommodations, he left the dog in someone else’s care. When Sivananda Sena returned, the dog was missing. He learned that the person left to care for the dog had neglected to feed him. Sivananda Sena, being a topmost Vaisnava, felt responsible for the dog’s disappearance and fasted. When the party finally arrived in Jagannātha Purī, they all went to see Lord Caitanya. Upon arriving before the Lord, they witnessed a remarkable sight: The dog was sitting before the Lord, who was tossing him remnants of green coconut pulp and instructing him to chant the name of Kṛṣṇa. To everyone’s astonishment, the dog chanted “Kṛṣṇa.” The next day the dog vanished, and it was ascertained that he had returned to the spiritual world, Vaikuntha. One may wonder how the dog was able to obtain such a destination. First the dog got the mercy of the devotee and received **prasādam*.* That made him the eligible to approach the Lord directly and receive *prasādam* from Him. The dog was able to transcend his nature as a dog and chant the name of Kṛṣṇa. No longer bound by false ego, and having fully received the blessings of both the Vaisnava and the Lord, the dog achieved his eternal identity in the spiritual abode. *Prabhupāda’s Weapon* While this is an extraordinary example of the power of **prasādam*,* it nonetheless helps us to appreciate the potential of both giving *prasādam* to others and eating it ourselves. My spiritual master, Śrīla Prabhupāda, understood the importance of *prasādam* in helping newcomers commit to the spiritual path. When Prabhupāda came to the West, he knew how addicted Westerners were to eating meat and taking intoxicants, among many other bad habits. Seeing this diseased condition, Prabhupāda prescribed the cure of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra* and eating *prasādam*. In the beginning days, Prabhupāda would make a large batch of **gulabjamins*,* an Indian sweet. The golden pastry balls soaked in syrup would be available in a big jar by the front door of the temple. Guests, as well as new devotees living there, were encouraged to dip into the jar without reservation. This divine treat helped the devotees refrain from their addictions, gradually giving them up. Acknowledging the *gulabjamins* as a powerful weapon against the illusory energy, Prabhupāda’s early disciples nicknamed them “ISKCON bullets.” Of course, Śrīla Prabhupāda also daily prepared nutritious vegetarian meals for the devotees. On Sundays he and the disciples he was training would prepare special preparations. Guests would inevitably marvel at the special flavor of **prasādam*.* Kṛṣṇa provides that unique taste when He accepts the food offered to Him with devotion. Even one bite of *prasādam* brings eternal benefit. I’m inspired by my friend Maharha’s faith in *prasādam* distribution, as well as by all the time and energy she invests in making cookies, granola, and banana bread to distribute. Her faith is contagious. Not long ago she brought *prasādam* to her son’s piano recital. The piano teacher announced excitedly at the beginning of the recital that everyone had to sample the delicious cookies Maharha had baked. On the piano teacher’s endorsement, everyone accepted *prasādam*. So, if you’re ever in the neighborhood of Prabhupāda Village, located in Sandy Ridge, North Carolina, make sure you stop by Maharha’s house to sample some of her delicious banana bread offered to Kṛṣṇa. She’ll be happy to share *prasādam* with you, as she has done with so many others. Arcana Siddhi Devī Dāsī was initiated by Śrīla Prabhupāda in 1976. She lives with her husband and son in Sandy Ridge, North Carolina, where she works as a family therapist. ## Śrīla Prabhupāda on Prasadam ONE SHOULD take *prasādam* with great faith and should chant the holy name of the Lord and worship the Deity in the temple, always remembering that the Deity, maha-*prasādam*, and the holy name do not belong to the mundane platform. By worshiping the Deity, eating *prasādam*, and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra,* one can always remain on the spiritual platform (*brahma-bhuyaya kalpate*). —Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.209, Purport We simply give people the chance to hear about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and give them *prasādam* to eat, and the actual result is that all over the world people are responding to this process and becoming pure devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. We have opened hundreds of centers all over the world just to give people in general a chance to hear about Kṛṣṇa and accept Kṛṣṇa’s *prasādam*. These two processes can be accepted by anyone, even a child. It doesn’t matter whether one is poor or rich, learned or foolish, black or white, old or still a child—anyone who simply hears about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and takes *prasādam* is certainly elevated to the transcendental position of devotional service. —Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Adi-līlā 7.141, Purport A diseased person needs both proper medicine and a proper diet, and therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement supplies materially stricken people with the medicine of the chanting of the holy name, or the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra,* and the diet of *prasādam.* There are many hospitals and medical clinics to cure bodily diseases, but there are no such hospitals to cure the material disease of the spirit soul. The centers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are the only established hospitals that can cure man of birth, death, old age and disease. —Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Adi-līlā 10.51, Purport ## From the Editor *Science and Scientism* ATHEISTS COMMONLY accuse theists of having created the idea of God to satisfy certain psychological needs. A more reasonable person, they say, can do without this crutch and instead learn from the cold, hard facts of science, whose findings inevitably lead us to conclude there’s no God. Atheists, however, are not free of biases and psychological needs, and these influence both their experimental findings and their attitude toward various scientific theories. Though they may flatter themselves, they are not immune to seeing things the way they want. The theory of Darwinian evolution is a case in point. “Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist,” says Richard Dawkins, professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford University. For those with atheistic tendencies, Darwin was a savior. He made it possible for the scientists to do away with the need for God. His theory supposedly shows that all life forms evolved through strictly mechanistic processes. Evolution is really the only alternative to the idea of creation. Either someone created this world or it evolved on its own. That’s why Darwinian evolution is so important to atheists, and they’ll do anything to defend it. But is it truly defensible? In *The Origin of Species,* Darwin wrote, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modification, my theory would absolutely break down.” Michael Behe, author of *Darwin’s Black Box* and a pioneer in the Intelligent Design movement, writes, “To Darwin, the cell was a ‘black box’—its inner workings were utterly mysterious to him. Now the black box has been opened up and we know how it works. Applying Darwin’s test to the ultra-complex world of molecular machinery and cellular systems that have been discovered over the past 40 years, we can say that Darwin’s theory has ‘absolutely broken down.’” Behe has shown that many mechanisms in the cell are “irreducibly complex,” that is, they could not have been built step by step, as required by Darwinism. Rather, they clearly indicate design—and a designer. Behe stresses that his arguments are strictly scientific, though they may have theological implications. (The same can be said about the Big Bang theory, which scientists accept.) A survey in *Nature* found that only 7% of members of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) believe in a personal God. Atheistic scientists have powerful influence today, and they will go to great lengths to discredit any evidence that casts doubts on Darwinism. Sometimes they are quite open about revealing their motives. Several years ago, geneticist Richard Lewontin wrote in the *New York Review of Books,* “We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, . . . in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism.” We shouldn’t be fooled by the popular image of scientists as impartial seekers of the truth. There’s a difference between science (the search for truth, wherever that search may lead) and scientism (a search that precludes any supernatural explanations). The open-minded scientist can discover that, as the saying goes, “Within the breast of nature throbs the heart of God.”—*Nagaraja Dāsa* ## Vedic Thoughts The whole world is full of violence, and a devotee’s first business is to stop this violence, including the unnecessary slaughter of animals. A devotee is the friend not only of human society but of all living entities, for he sees all living entities as sons of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He does not claim himself to be the only son of God and allow all others to be killed, thinking that they have no soul. This kind of philosophy is never advocated by a pure devotee of the Lord. —His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 4.22.24, Purport When a person completely gives up all the sinful desires he is harboring in his heart, he exchanges mortality for eternal spiritual life and attains real pleasure in the Absolute Truth. *—Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad* 4.4.9 As rivers flow to their dissolution in the sea, giving up their names and forms at their destination, so the wise man who becomes free from material names and forms attains the Supreme Absolute, the wonderful Personality of Godhead. *—Mundaka Upanisad* 3.2.8 Devotional service is the process of worshiping the Supreme Lord. It consists of fixing one’s mind upon Him by becoming disinterested in all material designations, both in this life and the next. This indeed is true renunciation. *—Gopala-tapani Upanisad* (*Purva* 15) The whole of this incomparable work [*Śrīmad-*Bhagavata*m*] teaches us, according to our great Caitanya, the three great truths which compose the absolute religion of man. Our Nadia preacher calls them *Sambandha, Abhidheya,* and *Prayojana,* i.e., the relation between the creator and the created, the duty of man to God, and the prospects of humanity. In these three words is summed up the whole ocean of human knowledge as far as it has been explored up to this era of human progress. These are the cardinal points of religion, and the whole *Bhagavata* is, as we are taught by Śrī Caitanya, an explanation, both by precepts and examples, of these three great points. —Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura *Notes on the Bhagavata* (essay) Now that we have become Your devotees, Your holy names have affectionately created a jubilant festival in our mouths. Your bodily splendor, like a dark rain cloud, has become the black ointment of our eyes, and the music of Your flute has become the ornament of our ears. We no longer take pleasure in material desires. O Almighty Lord, material desires no longer appear beautiful to us. —Śrīla Rupa Gosvami, *Padyavali* 59 Caught in the grip of ignorance, self-proclaimed experts consider themselves learned authorities. Befooled, they wander about this world engaging in arguments and counterarguments, like the blind leading the blind. *—Katha Upanisad* 1.2.5