# Back to Godhead Magazine #43 *2009 (05)* Back to Godhead Magazine #43-05, 2009 PDF-View ## Welcome THIS ISSUE contains several articles having to do with the lives of Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees. To write her Ph.D. thesis, Padma Devī Dāsī, from Australia, turned to the *Bhagavad-gītā*. She examined Australian environmental scientists in the light of Kṛṣṇa's teachings on the three modes of material nature. Her article "Global Environmental Management and the Vedic *Triguna"* reveals what she discovered. Satyaraja Dāsa has written about another Australian devotee in "Do or Die with Jaya Vijaya"—that's Jaya Vijaya Dāsa. He runs a martial arts school where he mixes in basic lessons on Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In "A Vision from the Heart," Murari Gupta Dāsa, from *Back to Godhead's* India office, reports on a blind devotee whose attraction to chanting Kṛṣṇa's names is a source of inspiration for all those around him. In "Kṛṣṇa's Perfect Timing: Revealing a Covered Devotee," Karnamrta Dāsa writes that his early life gave no hint that he would become a Kṛṣṇa devotee. But his transition makes sense, he says, when one considers Lord Kṛṣṇa's teaching that even death cannot destroy one's spiritual progress. Along with Śrīla Prabhupāda's lecture and two Vedic Observer pieces, articles by Ravīndra Svarupa Dāsa, Urmila Devī Dāsī, and Caitanya Carana Dāsa round out the issue. 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 *Kṛṣṇa Above Visnu* I refer to the letters column in the May/June 2009 issue of *Back to Godhead*. You have mentioned that Kṛṣṇa is above Brahma, Visnu, and Siva. Now, I have read that Kṛṣṇa is one of the ten avatars, or incarnations, of Visnu. How can Kṛṣṇa be above Visnu? J. Partha Via the Internet *Our reply:* The *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (*Bhagavata Purana*) is to be consulted in answering this question. It was written by Śrīla Vyasadeva in his maturity under the direction of his *guru*, the great saint Narada Muni. It is thus more authoritative than other Vedic books. It explains that Kṛṣṇa is not just another avatar. After a list of avatars, *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (1.3.28) says, "All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead...." There is also evidence in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (7.7), where Kṛṣṇa states, "There is no truth superior to Me," and later (10.8), when He says, "Everything emanates from Me." Also, that Kṛṣṇa shows the universal form and the Visnu form to Arjuna in Chapter 11 demonstrates that He is superior to these other forms. From these two scriptures one can make a good case for Kṛṣṇa being superior to all forms of Visnu. *Rectifying Mistakes* I am an American-raised Indian who has been vegetarian for fourteen years. I took a vow to the Lord two or three years ago to give up eggs. Unfortunately I broke this vow when I ate some veggie burgers that contained egg whites being given away for free at the university I attend. I also ordered a vegan burger from a popular restaurant, and the waitress accidentally gave me a real burger. I bit into the beef and swallowed it before realizing it was animal flesh. I feel bad for the animals and would like to set everything straight. What do our scriptures recommend that I do? Ravi Via the Internet *Our reply:* The best remedy for both purposeful and accidental impious activities in this age is to sincerely chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra:* Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If you are already daily chanting a fixed number of rounds of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra*, then nothing else is required other than a truly repentant attitude, which is evident by your e-mail. Often devotees will also read a chapter of *Bhagavad-gītā* in such situations as a special offering of love to Lord Kṛṣṇa. *The Advent of Humans* I wish to know approximately how long ago the human generation started. Some of my friends say it started only six thousand years ago. They say that the oldest book is the *Rg Veda*, which is only four thousand years old. Soman Kokkaraveetil Via the Internet *Our reply:* Although the *Rg *Veda** was compiled by Śrīla Vyasadeva at the beginning of Kali-yuga, some 5,000 years ago, prior to this time the *Veda* existed in an oral tradition and was passed down from spiritual master to disciple. So one cannot use the supposed age of the *Rg *Veda** to determine the beginning of mankind. We learn from the *Vedas* that Lord Kṛṣṇa, in His form as Garbhodakasayi Visnu, is the origin of Lord Brahma at the time of the creation of the universe and that from Brahma all the various species are generated according to the Lord's direction. This knowledge refutes the Darwinian conception that mankind's origin resulted as a result of evolutional development. The human species has existed from the beginning of the creation of the universe. All this is described in the Second Canto of *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*, the cream of all Vedic knowledge. *How to Surrender?* I have experienced a blast of knowledge from Kṛṣṇa. But I am unable to comprehend much of it, as there are a lot of books but I can read only one at a time. How do I surrender unto Kṛṣṇa? I have the urge to understand Him, but currently I am not in the association of any devotees, I live quite far from the temple, and I am not yet initiated. Milan Kalra Via the Internet *Our reply:* Your studies should primarily focus on Śrīla Prabhupāda's **Bhagavad-gītā* As It Is* and the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*. By reading these books daily and chanting the *maha-mantra* a fixed number of rounds, you will make steady progress in your spiritual life. Daily devotional practice is most important for developing practical knowledge of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Reading many books is not so important. Try to fully value and understand the spiritual knowledge contained in *Bhagavad-gītā* and *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*. *Using Everything for Kṛṣṇa* How can we become so sincere and determined in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that we use everything we have for Kṛṣṇa's service? Reena Via the Internet *Our reply:* Our service to Kṛṣṇa will naturally improve simply by engaging in the processes of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The more we perform the nine processes of devotional service as recommended by Prahlada Mahārāja—hearing, chanting, remembering, and so on—the more our enthusiasm, steadiness, determination, and taste for advancing in spiritual life will grow. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not artificial; it is a natural practice that enriches our heart. The practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness centers on our steady, attentive, heartfelt calling out to Kṛṣṇa by chanting the *maha-mantra*. As we become fully devoted to the regulated daily chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, all good qualities and attributes will embellish our spiritual practice and advancement. *Replies were written by Krishna.com Live Help volunteers. Please write to us at:* BTG, P.O. Box 430, Alachua, FL 32616, USA. E-mail: [email protected]. Founder’s Lecture: From Ignorance to Enlightenment *Vrindavan, India—October 27, 1976* *To avoid the defeat of our life plans, we must learn the spiritual science from a genuine guru.* By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Founder-*Ācārya* of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness > parabhavas tavad abodha-jato > yavan na jijnasata atma-tattvam > yavat kriyas tavad idam mano vai > karmatmakam yena sarira-bandhah "As long as one does not inquire about the spiritual values of life, one is defeated and subjected to miseries arising from ignorance. Be it sinful or pious, *karma* has its resultant actions. If a person is engaged in any kind of *karma*, his mind is called *karma*tmaka, colored with fruitive activity. As long as the mind is impure, consciousness is unclear, and as long as one is absorbed in fruitive activity, he has to accept a material body."—*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 5.5.5 IT IS QUITE NATURAL that whatever you do, your mind will be absorbed in that business. That is called *karmatmakam*. Therefore our mind should be engaged always in Kṛṣṇa. Then we can be relieved from *sarira-bandhah*, the bondage of the material body. Unfortunately, there is no education to tell us that the material body is a great impediment to our progress in life. In the Vedic civilization, the material body is condemned everywhere. People do not understand this point. In the state of bondage, whatever you do for so-called material progress is not progress. It is *parabhavah*, defeat. People are so busily engaged throughout the day and night. They are making material progress, but it is not progress. It is regress. But they do not know that. Why? *Abodha-jatah:* born in ignorance. *Yavan na jijnasata *atma-tattvam** means "as long as one does not inquire into the nature of the self and God." Where is such inquiry today? Nobody inquires because they have no information. Even big, big professors think we have a body by chance and as soon as the body is finished, everything is finished. That means they do not know *atma-tattvam*. On the basis of this misconception of life they are inventing so many "isms." This morning we were talking about the attempt to find a cure for leprosy. That is good, but why should there be leprosy? That they do not know. Why is one man suffering from leprosy and another man not suffering? Is there no arrangement behind it? Who is making this arrangement? So unless there is some arrangement, how is it happening? People do not inquire about such things. They are dull, just like trees. A tree cannot inquire, "Why are you cutting me?" Modern human civilization is like that. Therefore whatever plans people make become baffled, become useless after some time—*parabhavah*—because they do not know what plan they should make. Like children they are thinking, "If I play like this, it will be very nice." So they engage in one type of playing, and then change to another type of playing, because they do not know what kind of plan should be made. *Buddha's Inspiration* From *a*bodha**, ignorance, one has to be brought to the platform of *bodha*, enlightenment. Lord Kṛṣṇa uses the phrase *bodha*yantam parasparam in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (10.9): > mac-citta mad-gata-prana > bodhayantah parasparam > kathayantas ca mam nityam > tusyanti ca ramanti ca "The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me." This verse describes the *mahatmas*. *Bodhayantam parasparam:* "enlightening one another." That is called *sat-sanga*. People should always be inquiring about progress in spiritual life. That is advancement. *Bodhayantah parasparam.* There should be constant discussion of spiritual topics. Everything is there in our books. To get out of ignorance one has to approach a person who is not *a*bodha** but *bodha*, or *budha*. One has to approach a *budha*. Lord Buddha's name comes from the word *bodha*. He has understood everything. He was a prince, and he never left the palace. But when he did come out, he saw an old man with a cane, walking with great difficulty. He asked his servants, "What is this?" "This is an old man," they replied. "Everyone has to become like this." That was the inspiration behind his understanding. Why should he be like that? Why should he become an old man? Why should he walk with a cane? By meditation, Buddha made such inquiries. That was his pastime. By studying nature one should be inspired to ask such questions: Why is this man diseased? Why is this man old? Why is this man suffering? Then—*bodhayantah parasparam*—the inquisitiveness can lead him to proper knowledge. And where to get that proper knowledge? From a *guru*. But if there is no inquiry, if one is dull like a stone or a tree, then how will there be inquiry? Our education at the present moment makes us like dull stones and trees. The tree cannot ask, "Why are you cutting me?" But people should be enthusiastic to inquire. To accept a *guru*, the disciple should be very eager to know the truth. Nowadays people accept a *guru* as a fashion. "Everyone has a *guru*. Everyone has a dog. Well, let me keep a dog." One should not have a *guru* as one might have a pet. One should have a *guru* when one is very inquisitive to know the solution to the problems of life. One must approach the *guru* with questions. *Service and Inquiry* But don't make cheap inquiries: "Here is my *guru*, and he's meant for answering all my questions. Let me go on questioning, questioning, questioning." No. You must be ready to serve the *guru*. Then you have the right to ask questions. Otherwise not. First of all, you must find a person to whom you can fully surrender. And then you can inquire, and the inquiry should be compensated by service. The more you are inclined to render service to the *guru*, the more the truth becomes revealed. > yasya deve para bhaktir > yatha-deve tatha gurau > tasyaite kathita hy arthah > prakasante mahatmanah "Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed." (*Svetasvatara Upanisad* 6.23) It is a different science. The more you are inclined to render service, the more spiritual truth becomes revealed. If you are not inquisitive, don't bother to have a *guru*. There is no need. If one is inquisitive to know the ultimate goal of life, a *guru* is required. But one who wants only sense gratification doesn't require a *guru*. Even birds and beasts know how to gratify their senses. There is no need of a university or a teacher to learn how to eat, sleep, mate, and defend. But at the present moment, going to the university means learning how to gratify the senses very scientifically. This modern university education is simply a waste of time. In the Vedic *varnasrama* system [see Glossary, p. 11] there are four divisions of human society: **brahmanas*, *ksatriyas*, *vaisyas**, and *sudras*. There is no need of education for *vaisyas* and *sudras*. The *brahmanas*, because they will guide society, require education. And the *ksatriyas*, who give protection to society, are guided by the *brahmanas*. The *vaisya* learns from his father how to cultivate the field with a plow. He doesn't require education. He can see what to do. Fifty years ago in India, I saw that those in the lower status of life never sent their children to school. "Oh, what is the use of wasting time? Better to admit him to some workshop or business." Our children are learning by seeing the Deity worship and the *kirtana*. Similarly, one can learn some occupation without wasting time by going to the university. Education is required if you want to understand the value of life, not for learning technical nonsense. People do not know the aim of life, and they are being defeated. In this life you may become a prime minister, making so many plans, but in your next life you may become a dog. You cannot check that. God's law, or nature's law, will not take account of your prime minister position. Kṛṣṇa is within your heart. Outwardly you may become a very big man—minister, president and so on—and God is seeing what you are within. If on the outside you are a president but within you are a dog, that will not help you. *Accepting Kṛṣṇa's Plan* Whatever plans the ignorant make end in defeat. We don't need to make plans because Kṛṣṇa's has given plans. The last plan is to surrender to Him. That is the real plan. Kṛṣṇa has given many plans—for *karma-*yoga*, dhyana-*yoga*,* this *yoga*, that *yoga*. But everywhere He has concluded that the real plan is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. You are trying to be yogi by hatha-*yoga*; that's all right. Kṛṣṇa says that the yogi must go to a secluded place and sit down in a certain way. Without falling asleep, he must sit with half-open eyes and stare at the tip of the nose, he must practice complete celibacy, and so on. Kṛṣṇa has explained how to become a yogi, how to become a *jnani* [empiric philosopher], how to become a *karmi* [fruitive worker]. But everywhere He has concluded with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In reference to the *jnani*s, He says, *bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyante* [Bg 7.19]: "After many births, the *jnani*s at last come to Me." He says of the yogis, *yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantaratmana* [Bg 6.47]: "My devotee is the greatest yogi." And of the *karmi*, He says, *yat karosi. .. tat kurusva tat mad arpanam* [Bg 9.27]: "Do everything as an offering to Me." The ultimate is Kṛṣṇa. That is the real plan. And if you do not know this plan, you are simply wasting time. > dharmah svanusthitah pumsam > visvaksena-kathasu yah > notpadayed yadi ratim > srama eva hi kevalam "The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead." (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 1.2.8) If you do not know ultimately that Kṛṣṇa is required, then all your *jnana*, *karma*, *yoga*, *tapasya* [austerity]—everything is simply a waste of time. *Avoiding Defeat* Therefore it is said *parabhavah*. Whatever you are doing will end in defeat if you do not know *atma-tattva*, the spiritual science. This is a very dangerous position. If you do not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you are defeated in every sphere of life. And then, after death, you have to change your body. And the new body will not be selected by you, or your government, or your father, or your so-called *guru*. The laws of nature will decide. That you cannot avoid. You should always remember that Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal. In the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (7.5.31) Prahlada Mahārāja says, > na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum > durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah > andha yathandhair upaniyamanas > te 'pisa-tantryam uru-damni baddhah "Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or *guru* a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and engage in the service of Lord Visnu. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labor, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries." Rascals do not know that the ultimate goal of self-interest is Visnu. Simply by false hope—hope against hope—they are trying to adjust things materially, or so-called spiritually, by this or that method. They are tied by the laws of material nature, hands and legs, and they are thinking they are free to do anything and everything without consulting the scriptures. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (16.23) Kṛṣṇa says, > yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya > vartate kama-karatah > na siddhim sa 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." If you do not get success, what is the use of working so hard? Kṛṣṇa is so kind. He has come to help you because you are being misled by so-called leaders. These rascals, these leaders, will simply mislead you. They are blind. They do not know how to live. Therefore Kṛṣṇa personally comes: "All right. I shall lead you. Take My advice, take My instruction, and ultimately surrender unto Me. Then I'll lead you back home, back to Godhead." Thank you very much. ## Global Environmental Management and the Vedic Triguna > Can knowledge of the three modes of nature shed light on the underlying causes of substandard environmental practices? By Padma Devī Dāsī IT MAY BE SAFE to say that deterioration of the global natural environment is today no longer a contested issue. All nations acknowledge pollution, salination, deforestation, desertification, depletion of the ozone layer, the prevalence of toxic waste dumps, and more, as tangible, problematic issues. What remains a contested issue, however, is the exact factors that underpin this ruining of the Earth's splendor. Factors labeled as root causes include meat-eating, industrialization, economic instability, and ignorance of sustainable and energy-efficient agricultural practices. With such an array of opinions as to why the Earth's good health has waned, it is easy to see why society struggles to pinpoint the best approaches to environmental care. As a Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee, and as an environmentalist since my childhood, I decided to investigate the underlying causes of such degradation from the perspective of the *Vedas*. When the opportunity to do a research Ph.D. through the University of Tasmania in Australia became available, I decided to employ the concept of the three modes of material nature to investigate the quality of consciousness of environmental scientists. *Understanding The Three Modes* The *Bhagavad-gītā* and the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* both contain extensive descriptions of the three material modes, also referred to as the three qualities of material nature. Fundamentally, the three qualities compose a tripartite system of influence on all materially embodied beings, as well as on all aspects of the material creation. This includes the bodies and the mental and intellectual capacities of human beings, demigods, and all other living beings. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (3.27) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, *prakrteh kriyamanani:* one acts according to the particular modes of nature he has acquired. And in *Message of Godhead* Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "As long as the living entity remains conditioned by material nature, he has to act according to his particular mode of nature." The influence of the three material qualities on the materially embodied individual is both psychological and biological. But while the three modes influence the body and mind of the embodied soul, they never change the soul itself. Within the hierarchy of the three, *sattva-guna*, the mode of goodness, is superior to the modes of passion (*raja-guna*) and ignorance (*tamo-guna*). The mode of ignorance is inferior to the mode of passion. This hierarchy is necessarily so, as the characteristics of the mode of goodness enable a person to peacefully focus on higher spiritual goals. In the mode of passion, one fervently endeavors to attain material prosperity to increase one's sense gratification, thus to focus on spiritual goals is extremely difficult. In the mode of ignorance there is no interest in spiritual goals, what to speak of any favorable circumstances within which to cultivate such interest. As such, characteristics of the material mode of goodness endow one with a higher quality of consciousness than do the modes of passion and ignorance. While the characteristics and symptoms of each mode are too numerous to list in this article, following is a concise listing. The mode of goodness: happiness, honesty, cleanliness, compassion, purity, humbleness, simplicity, greater knowledge, interest in spiritual life, and control of the mind and senses. The mode of passion: lust, misery, false pride, great attachment, sense gratification, knowledge based on duality, the seeking of honor and recognition, unsteady perplexity of the mind, and intense endeavor to advance materially. The mode of ignorance: nescience, madness, depression, laziness, violence, delusion, hypocrisy, intolerant anger, false expectations, acting whimsically, and a lack of interest in spiritual life. *Results of Acts in the Modes* Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in both the *Bhagavad-gītā* and the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* that activities carried out in the mode of passion are destined to end in misery, anxiety, and struggle, while activities carried out in the mode of ignorance are destined to end in violence, foolishness, and helplessness. Activities carried out in the mode of goodness, on the other hand, are destined to end in peace, prosperity, satisfaction, and real knowledge. The results of such sattvic activity enable one not only to progress toward higher spiritual goals, but also to attain immediate material goals with less difficulty. From the mode of goodness, therefore, environmentalists can most easily achieve the goals of global environmental management, such as minimizing pollution, achieving environmental sustainability, improving the quality of edible crops, and preserving all species of life. By adopting characteristics from the mode of goodness and working within their boundaries, environmentalists can expect a higher rate of success in attaining environmental management goals than those who maintain characteristics from the modes of passion and ignorance. The *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* confirms this when it states that the Earth, known as Mother Bhumi in the *Vedas*, responds unfavorably to acts performed within the lower modes of passion and ignorance, but favorably to acts performed within the mode of goodness. Although the three material qualities are present everywhere within the material universes, they manifest themselves in different ways and in different proportions to each other according to different mundane circumstances. For example, in a liquor outlet or a brothel the mode of ignorance is the most prevalent of the three, as its characteristics of irreligion, degradation, intoxication, and uncleanliness are prominent. In the business world the mode of passion is the most prominent, with its focus on material gain through hard labor. Characteristics such as intense endeavor, sense gratification, and hard work to acquire prestige and fortune are typical in such settings. In religious and ethically-focused organizations the mode of goodness is the most prevalent due to the abundance of the characteristics of virtue, piety, purity, greater knowledge, and faith directed toward spiritual life. Therefore, according to the prevalence of different characteristics from the different modes within each mundane setting, one or two modes will typically predominate over the other one or two. Just as the balance of characteristics from each of the three material modes varies within the above-given settings, so also do they vary within different environmental management settings. While students of *Bhagavad-gītā* and *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* can easily detect some such variety, much remains obscure and hidden to the naked eye. The tamasic characteristics of violence, irreligion, and detestability are evident in animal slaughter. The rajasic characteristics of greed, dissatisfaction, and great attachment are evident in management practices involving excessive proprietorship claims over the Earth. And the sattvic characteristics of mercy, piety, and spiritual insight are evident in animal protection, the cultivation of vegetarian foodstuffs, and decision-making based on spiritual aspects of the natural environment. An essential lesson from the *Vedas* is that the three material qualities manifest themselves within a particular material setting according to the consciousness of those taking part in it. As such, the material modes reveal themselves within environmental management practices according to the consciousness of environmental scientists, managers, and policy-makers, as well as other persons instrumental in environmental management programs. Among such contributors, environmental scientists play a key role. Not only are they entrusted with the onerous task of delivering factual information on the workings of material nature to the rest of the world, but they are also often called upon to advise managers on optimum strategies. As such they often contribute toward both management strategies and policy formulation. *The Study Sample* For my study sample I chose the Australian Antarctic scientific community, made up of several hundred environmental scientists. Their research fields include geophysics, biology, astronomy, geology, human impacts, glaciology, meteorology, paleontology, oceanography, and space and atmospheric sciences. Scientists maintain that the Antarctic continent acts as the engine room for the entire Earth's weather patterns. It thereby follows that both the natural phenomena within the region and the science carried out there have global significance. My official research objective was "To investigate if there exists a need for environmental scientists to raise the qualitative level of their consciousness, for the purpose of enhancing outcomes of environmental management activities." I defined "consciousness" as an individual living being's awareness. It followed that "quality of consciousness" would be determined by "The degree to which an individual's conscious awareness is afflicted by material desires and material characteristics. The greater the affliction, the poorer the quality." This definition proposed that materialism is the root cause of poor quality of consciousness in general. I stipulated at the outset of my thesis that if my investigations found that scientists predominate within either the mode of passion or ignorance, then they would be considered to be suffering from a poor quality of consciousness. I organized the characteristics of each mode according to their anticipated relevance to environmental science. I asserted that by collecting data on such things as scientists' research activities, workplace relations, and professional motivations, and by analyzing these data against the characteristics of each mode, I could gain an accurate picture of how environmental scientists are situated within the *triguna*. I also asserted that by identifying which material mode and which specific characteristics were the most prevalent within the Australian Antarctic scientific community, I could build a fairly accurate profile of the current quality of consciousness of environmental scientists. Would the data reveal, for example, that scientists predominate within the mode of goodness, with only a weak representation within the other two modes? Or would it reveal that they affiliate strongly with two modes, such as goodness and passion, with the mode of ignorance being only minimally supported? Or would I see some other mixture of the modes. To answer these questions, I designed models for data collection and processing. The main data-collection item was an inventory based on the three material modes, in which each of sixty statements represented either the mode of goodness, passion, or ignorance. For example, the statement "It is very important to me to be thoroughly honest in all of my work as a scientist" represented the mode of goodness, as honesty is a sattvic characteristic. The statement "I am proud to be an Antarctic scientist" represented the rajasic characteristic false pride. And the statement "I usually procrastinate in my daily schedule" represented the tamasic characteristic procrastination. I asked scientists to respond to each statement by marking one of five Likert-scale options on their papers, ranging from "I strongly agree" to "I strongly disagree." Other data-collection items included an examination of Australian Antarctic science publications and interviews with scientists. *Looking at the Results* The overall results revealed that Australian Antarctic scientists predominate within the mode of passion. Prominent rajasic characteristics included sense gratification, intense endeavor, seeking honor, and creating theories and doctrines through logic and speculation. Particularly prominent was sense gratification, in the form of scientists' seeking mental stimulation from their work. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes the mind as the sixth and chief material sense. Scientists' desires to satisfy their minds through interesting, challenging, or pleasurable scientific activities thereby constitute one type of sense gratification, regardless of how sophisticated such activities may be. The mode of goodness received the second highest support from scientists, with the sattvic characteristics of mercy, honesty, cleanliness, and careful study of the past and future being the most prevalent. The mode of ignorance received the least support. Most prevalent were the tamasic characteristics of speaking (publicizing) without scriptural authority, acquiring knowledge without any higher purpose, and being uninterested in and unconcerned about spiritual matters. The graph in the illustration on the opening spread depicts scientists' standing within the *triguna*. The most common quality of consciousness among scientists was *raja-guna*, with which 38% "basically agreed." Although the results revealed that Australian Antarctic scientists do not maintain many tamasic characteristics, responses to question seven predominated within that mode: "Do you have any thoughts on the process of peer review as a means by which to ensure rigor in Antarctic scientific research?" The scientists' responses to this question predominated within the mode of ignorance because they persist in relying on the peer-review system even though they are aware that it is full of faults. A typical response: "It's fraught with all sorts of problems, but I think it's the best system we can use at the moment." That scientists are aware of the defective nature of the peer-review system but still use it to deliver scientific knowledge to other scientists, academics, and the public suggest tamasic characteristics such as hypocrisy, irresponsible work, indulgence in false hopes, speaking without scriptural authority, and acting in illusion, without regard for scriptural injunctions or concern for future bondage for oneself or for violence or distress caused to others. In *Bhagavad-gītā As It Is* (14.7) Prabhupāda states that "modern civilization is considered to be advanced in the standard of the mode of passion." As symptoms of one whose consciousness is predominated by the mode of passion include unsteady perplexity of the mind and distortion of the intelligence because of too much activity, it is easy to see how science carried out within this mode harms environmental management strategies. Afflicted with such symptoms, scientists can hardly be expected to conduct research that will help restore and preserve the Earth's good health. Conversely, if scientists were conditioned primarily by the mode of goodness, their symptoms would include sobriety and the ability to see things as they really are. The sattvic characteristics of speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and regularly reciting Vedic literature, may thereby manifest themselves within environmental science policy and publications. If such changes could be instigated, management programs might also come to address spiritual needs, not just material ones. Mother Bhumi, a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, would certainly be pleased by such changes appearing within current environmental management practices.© *Padma Devī Dāsī is a disciple of His Holiness Prabhavisnu Swami. After completing her university studies in Australia, she moved to Vṛndāvana, where she hopes to stay and write and publish Kṛṣṇa conscious books.* ## In your own words... *Choose a verse from the Bhagavad-gītā and describe why it inspires you.* "Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death." (Bg. 13.26) *When I hear this verse it makes me think of Śrīla Prabhupāda* sitting under the tree in Tompkins Square Park teaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or giving the Wednesday night *Gita* class at 26 Second Avenue. Whether surrounded by hundreds of young people on Hippy Hill in San Francisco or at the Fillmore Auditorium, he would speak about Lord Kṛṣṇa. Many listened, and some stayed to serve. Although we were dull-headed, sensual, lazy, and distracted, Śrīla Prabhupāda made hearing about Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa so attractive that we became "bright-faced," and knowledge and detachment developed naturally. We learned the highest truths of the *Vedas* simply by hearing from the most authoritative source, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, and thus are on our way back home, back to Godhead. Candrasekhara Dāsa Mulberry, Tennessee "O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed." (Bg. 2.14) I find great inspiration from this verse. So many times in our lives we experience these emotions. While we don't have a problem with the happy times, we certainly want the distressful times to end quickly. The Lord guarantees that both are temporary and will end. It perfectly explains the old saying “One man's pleasure is another man's pain.” No situation in this world is enjoyable or distasteful, but because our senses want to be engaged in a particular fashion, we assess the situations as such. So, whenever I am in a so-called distressful situation, I find great comfort in the Lord's promise that it will end. Hopefully, one day I will not be affected by either happiness or distress. Dhanya Devī Dāsī El Dorado, Trinidad, and Tobago "If one offers me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I will accept it." (Bg. 9.26) *I like this verse not only because the words are beautiful* but also because, as a new devotee of Kṛṣṇa, it reminds me that my offerings to Kṛṣṇa don't need to be fancy foods or complicated *aratis* and *pujas*. They can be as simple as a single leaf or a freshly picked flower. I like the thought that I can offer things to Kṛṣṇa wherever I am, even if I'm far from the temple or my kitchen. Even more, I like the lesson that it's our intention—our love and devotion—that really counts when we offer to Kṛṣṇa, and in this way everyone from a king to a beggar is equal before Kṛṣṇa. Channah Mace London, UK "Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me, and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me." (Bg. 9.34) *Here Lord Kṛṣṇa gives specific instructions to Arjuna* in very simple words, understandable to anyone who wants to get back to Kṛṣṇa's abode. All the activities mentioned in this verse are familiar to anyone. In relation to Lord Kṛṣṇa, they eventually lead to the revival of our forgotten personal relationship with Lord Kṛṣṇa. This revival is most pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. Because Lord Kṛṣṇa loves us so much, He repeats this instruction to Arjuna in Chapter 18, verse 65, where He goes so far as to promise Arjuna that he will reach His abode without fail. Kṛṣṇa declares this particular instruction to be the most secret of all secrets. Vitthalbhai Mistry Austin, Texas "Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination." (Bg. 9.30) *This verse particularly inspires me to increase my faith in devotees.* Many times we see devotees go through turbulence or what we would call the slap of the witch Maya. We tend to lose faith and judge sincere Vaisnavas who falter. This verse helps bring me back on track and stop committing offenses toward these Vaisnavas. It teaches me that they are saints, that this temporary situation they are in is just a test from Kṛṣṇa to make them stronger, and that I am in no position to judge them. Mathura Lilesvari Devī Dāsī Shah Alam, Malaysia "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear." (Bg. 18.66) This is the verse that gives me solace and hope. It highlights Kṛṣṇa's magnanimous nature, His qualities to aspire to. Kṛṣṇa is so forgiving and kind-hearted, and most definitely our true well-wisher. This verse gives me so much encouragement by reminding me that Kṛṣṇa is willing to forgive the mistakes I have made in my choice of actions over millions of lifetimes. He knows all that I have done, the harm I have caused others, the heavy reactions I am due, and still He reaches out with His loving kindness to wipe the slate clean and pardon me. Such benevolence. This verse invites a deep sense of gratitude in my heart for Kṛṣṇa's blessings and inspires me to be more forgiving of others and myself. Kṛṣṇangi Devī Dāsī Sydney, Australia "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth." (Bg. 4.34) *I feel that this is most enlightening message we get from the all-powerful Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa* Here the Lord says that to revive our pure consciousness, we conditional souls must learn the truth. And the truth is that we are part of Kṛṣṇa and are His eternal servants. This transcendental knowledge can only be given by a bona fide *guru*, who will present the Lord's teachings as they are. A sincere soul must approach such a *guru* in full surrender and serve like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Because bona fide gurus are representatives of the Supreme Lord, they can impart knowledge of the Absolute Truth, and by having such knowledge, one never falls back into the illusion that the living entity is equal to Kṛṣṇa, which is the cause of one's falldown into this material existence. Rukmini Priti Devī Dāsī Adliya, Bahrain "To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me." (Bg. 10.10) *Kṛṣṇa clearly explains how a spiritual aspirant like myself* can gain the essential understanding to reach the Supreme Absolute Truth. The formula is simple: Constantly serve Kṛṣṇa in loving devotional service. There is no other way. He who is beyond the grasp of great *yogis*, mystics, philosophers, and religious leaders can be reached by *bhakti*, which is His internal potency. *Bhakti* is even more powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself, for *bhakti* attracts the all-attractive Lord. Such is *Bhakti* Devi's grace. Śrīla Prabhupāda comments that even if one is not intelligent enough to make progress, still, "Kṛṣṇa from within gives him instructions so that he may ultimately come to Him without difficulty." Thus there are no excuses for not understanding and attaining Kṛṣṇa. Hardik Kaswala Unadilla, Georgia "The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle *brahmana*, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater [outcaste]." (Bg. 5.18) *This is the first verse I listened to very attentively and committed to memory.* It was recited in a lecture by my spiritual master, His Holiness Śrīla Tamal Kṛṣṇa Goswami, back in 1987. I was intrigued by the way he quoted the verse. It sounded mystical, not from this world. I was in primary school then. Later I tried to recall the verse, and by Lord Kṛṣṇa's mercy our family had a *Bhagavad-gītā As It Is*. As a child, I was so happy when I found the verse. It was my first attempt to read the *Gita*, and I felt encouraged to find more beautiful verses. Śrīla Prabhupāda's purports are amazing—so simple that even children can understand them. Sravaniya Devī Dāsī Tavua, Fiji ## God Is Great ... and Sweet > Scriptures like the Śrīmad-Bhagavatam reveal that God is not only the omnipotent creator and stern judge, but a delightfully innocent child as well. > By Caitanya Carana Dāsa "I WOULD BELIEVE only in a god who could dance," wrote German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. During his times, God was generally portrayed as a frozen perfection—remote, static, and wholly unsociable. No wonder Nietzsche was disillusioned. He might have been pleasantly surprised to hear about Kṛṣṇa, the God who dances with spellbinding expertise on the hoods of the venomous serpent Kaliya; the God who dances to the tune of His mother just to get butter; the God who dances with the *gopis* during the *rasa-līlā*, a celebration of divine love; the God known as Vṛndāvana-natabara, the best dancer in the pastoral paradise of Vṛndāvana. Kṛṣṇa is a mesmerizing blend of greatness and sweetness. All theistic traditions assert that God is great. Kṛṣṇa graphically demonstrates that greatness. In the eleventh chapter of the *Bhagavad-gītā* Kṛṣṇa gives Arjuna a glimpse of His awe-inspiring greatness by displaying His universal form, one of the greatest mystical visions in world literature. Arjuna saw within the universal form—within Kṛṣṇa—everything and everyone in existence. He saw all the planets, stars, and universes as well as all living beings, whether celestial, terrestrial, or subterranean. When Kṛṣṇa was on earth He also exhibited His omnipotence by effortlessly conquering numerous powerful demons who were the scourges of the universe. Most endearingly, Kṛṣṇa delights not in the magnificence of Godhood, but in the sweetness of uninhibited love. This brings us to a concept unique to Vedic theology, that of *līlā*, or transcendental pastimes, as well as to a related concept: *maya*. *The Mystery of Maya* "Maya is one of the most beautiful concepts in the history of religion." This remark by Indologist Daniel H. H. Ingalls is intriguing because Maya is generally considered the illusory energy that tempts and misleads us into forms of enjoyment that end in suffering. How could Maya be considered beautiful? The answer involves unraveling the mystery of the dual aspects of Maya—*Yoga-maya* and *Maha-maya*. The word **ma*ya* means "energy," but it can also mean "that which is not" (*ma*, "not"; ya, "this"). Maha-**ma*ya*, the Lord's illusory energy, *ma*kes "that which is not" seem real. She deludes those who want to enjoy independent of God into forgetting their true identity as souls, as eternal servitors of God. She allures them with various proposals for *ma*terial enjoyment until they become fed up and finally turn back to God and His loving service. And for those who want to love God purely, there is another kind of illusion, a divine illusion that enhances their loving exchanges with God. The word *yoga* means "to connect" or "to unite," so *Yoga-maya* refers to the energy of God that makes possible our loving union with God. *Let's see how.* God is often imagined as a judge who rewards the pious and penalizes the impious. If that's all God had to do eternally, His life would be quite boring. But devotional scriptures like *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* explain that being a judge is only a tiny part of God's multifaceted, nay omni-faceted, personality. Kṛṣṇa has His own life of eternal love with His devotees in His kingdom. There He delights, not in exhibiting His Godhood, but in reciprocating His devotees' love. In Kṛṣṇa's pastoral paradise, Vṛndāvana, *Yoga-maya* covers the devotees so that they are no longer conscious that Kṛṣṇa is God; they see Him only as the most special, sweet member of their village. And He plays that role to perfection. For example, with those devotees who love Him in *vatsalya-rasa* (parental affection), He becomes an endearing naughty child who steals butter from their houses. The women complain to Kṛṣṇa's mother, Yasoda, Kṛṣṇa artfully feigns innocence, and Yasoda is mystified until telltale butter on Kṛṣṇa's lips incriminates Him. So celebrated are Kṛṣṇa's Vṛndāvana *līlās* that hundreds of sweet songs have been composed about them and millions of Kṛṣṇa devotees delight in singing them. Indeed the great Vaisnava poet Bilvamangala Ṭhākura glorifies Lord Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate thief: "My dear Lord, O best of thieves, You who are celebrated as a butter thief in the glorious land of Vṛndāvana, please steal away all my sins that have accumulated over many lifetimes." Skeptics who ask why God steals miss the essence of *līlā*: love. Besides, being God, Kṛṣṇa owns everything, so there's no question of His stealing anything. Yet Kṛṣṇa "steals" to have fun-filled loving exchanges with His devotees. *Lila Dynamics* Though like a drama, Kṛṣṇa's *līlā* is real. It is the highest reality, the reality of the intimate love between the Lord and His devotees. In the eternally real drama of krsna-*līlā*, *Yoga-maya* is the director and Kṛṣṇa is the hero. But the special twist is that Kṛṣṇa is also the scriptwriter and *Yoga-maya* directs Kṛṣṇa according to His own script. Thus in His *līlā* Kṛṣṇa is simultaneously in control, as the scriptwriter, and not in control, as the perfect actor who forgets Himself while playing His role. This is Kṛṣṇa's extraordinary world. Kṛṣṇa-*līlā* reveals the import of the saying "God is love." *Greatness and Sweetness* For most people, especially for the demoniac, Kṛṣṇa's greatness hides His sweetness. He went as a peace messenger with sweet words to dissuade Duryodhana from the Mahābhārata war. But when the arrogant prince tried to arrest Kṛṣṇa, He foiled the attempt by revealing His gigantic universal form. For the purest devotees, Kṛṣṇa's greatness gives way to His sweetness. During the *rasa-līlā*, Kṛṣṇa disappeared and then reappeared before the *gopis* in His majestic four-armed Visnu form. When Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa's most beloved consort, bowed before Visnu and asked Him where Kṛṣṇa had gone, Kṛṣṇa as Visnu tried to artfully point in a false direction. But seeing Rādhā's selfless love and Her intense anxiety caused by separation, Kṛṣṇa could no longer keep up His guise. His two extra hands disappeared, and Rādhā beheld before Her the sweet Lord of Her heart. As Kṛṣṇa's sweetness surpasses His greatness, so too does His love supersede His laws. The laws of *karma* impartially and unerringly deliver everyone their karmic dues sooner or later. But if we turn to Kṛṣṇa with devotional love, He displays His sweetness as a forgiving father. His unequivocal promise in a concluding verse of the *Gita* (18.66) shows that His mercy transcends His justice: "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear." We can easily surrender to Kṛṣṇa by chanting His holy names, which reveal both His greatness and His sweetness. The holy name has a great power that even nuclear weapons don't have—the power to destroy all our negative habits and tendencies. And the holy name is so irresistibly sweet that saints desire thousands of mouths to relish its taste. Not only that, the holy name softens our heart and redirects our love to Kṛṣṇa. When our heart becomes soft with love for Kṛṣṇa, soft like butter, then *makhana-cora* (butter-thief) Kṛṣṇa will come and steal it. Devotees pray and long for that ultimate love-theft. *The Ultimate Dance* Kṛṣṇa and His devotees express divine love not only through humanly inconceivable ways such as thievery, but also through humanlike ways such as dancing. Spiritual savants consider the celebrated *rasa* dance the culmination of divine love. Although this dance appears similar to an ordinary dance involving boys and girls, we can understand its supra-mundane nature when we hear about it from faithful, learned devotees like Śrīla Prabhupāda, who has explained it in his book *Kṛṣṇa: The Supreme Personality of Godhead*. Indeed the *rasa* dance is so spiritually exalted that those advanced devotees who have absolutely no interest in mundane pleasures—like the celebrated six Gosvamis of Vṛndāvana—cherish and worship it in the innermost core of their hearts. While we aspiring devotees can't yet take part in the *rasa* dance, we can relish divine dance in the form of *sankirtana*, the congregational chanting of the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. The exuberant singing and dancing of *sankirtana* are a profound and potent form of meditation. The purpose of meditation is to experience spiritual reality. Silent meditation tries to achieve this by negating the material, by deactivating the body and the mind. But since we're habituated to physical and mental activity, wouldn't it be easier and more natural if somehow the body and the mind could be used to raise ourselves to spiritual levels of consciousness? That is precisely what *sankirtana* does. Engaging the body in graceful dance for the pleasure of the Lord, and the mind in prayerful contemplation on the sound of His holy names—especially the *maha-mantra*: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—quickly and efficaciously transports our consciousness to the joyful realm of divine love. Thus *sankirtana* acts like spiritual-music therapy to heal the soul in the current Iron Age, Kali-yuga. Just as iron burdens the person carrying it, negative thoughts and emotions burden most people in the present age. *Sankirtana* floods the heart with positive, precious, golden emotions like love, faith, and joy and flushes away negative, burdensome emotions like hatred, anxiety, and sorrow. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who appeared some five hundred years ago, revived and popularized *sankirtana* all over India. As the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa for Kali-yuga, Lord Caitanya displayed divine dance so enchantingly that His golden complexion, graceful gait, and intense devotional emotions charmed everyone—from aristocrats like the King of Orissa down to crime-hardened lowlifes. Indeed, Śrī Caitanya's dance charmed even the Muslim emperor Akbar, who lived half a century later: "Hail Thee, O Caitanya, the victor of my heart. Mark the rhythm of this mystic dance, in lofty ecstasy quite alone. Merrily sounds the tabor, and the cymbals' notes keep time... O my heart's Lord, how can I express the love I have for Thee? Shah Akbar craves a drop from the sea of Thy love and piety." (Quoted by D. C. Sen in *Chaitanya and His Age*.) These verses composed by a Muslim emperor in glorification of one who is commonly considered a Hindu saint illustrate the universal appeal of the divine love Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personified and propagated. As a spiritual master in Caitanya Mahāprabhu's line, Śrīla Prabhupāda, through his ISKCON, popularized the divine dance of *sankirtana* in our times. Chanting and dancing devotees are now a familiar sight in major cities all over the world. Given the deep theology and intense devotion that lies at its heart, this simple-looking dancing can well be called the ultimate dance. *Caitanya Carana Dāsa is a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānatha Swami. He holds a degree in electronics and telecommunications engineering and serves full time at ISKCON Pune. His free ezine, "The Spiritual Scientist," gives a scientific presentation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To subscribe, register at* www.the spiritualscientist.com. ## Do or Die ... with Jaya Vijaya *One devotee's journey through martial arts and Kṛṣṇa consciousness.* > By Satyaraja Dāsa WHEN I FIRST heard the words "Hanuman Taekwondo," I thought it might be the title of a storybook about Lord Rama's faithful devotee Hanuman. I was wrong. Looking at the words carefully, I then thought it might be the name of a popular *guru* from Southeast Asia. Nope. Wrong again. Rather, Taekwondo is a unique form of martial arts, originating in Korea. And Hanuman Taekwondo is the brainchild of Jason Goreing, a Third Dan black belt, the 1994 Australian Taekwondo Master, a six-time NSW Taekwondo Champion—and a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. His Hanuman Taekwondo is a spiritualized version of an age-old tradition. Jason's initiated name is Jaya Vijaya Dāsa, and he is a disciple of His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami (1950–2005), who called himself a "spiritual warrior:" a soldier of peace, nonviolence, and love of God. *A Tough Start* When Jaya Vijaya was roughly fifteen years old, he would regularly watch and copy Bruce Lee, the martial arts exemplar who made numerous movies, popularizing Asian combative techniques for the world to see. He would also watch David Carradine in the television series *Kung Fu* and fantasize about filling his shoes. Jaya would spar with friends, and he quickly realized he had a natural ability for fighting. He also saw that he had an innate attraction to the life of a monk, like the one portrayed by Carradine in *Kung Fu*, and to the entire martial arts tradition. He admired the philosophy of Taoism, Buddhism, and other forms of Eastern thought. He was impressed with the idea that someone could excel in martial arts and still fully support the doctrine of nonviolence. Aside from his interest in Eastern philosophy and martial arts, he was a normal kid. He lived in a small country town in Victoria, Australia, where "drinking, smoking, football, fighting, and womanizing were the main sources of entertainment." He indulged in such things, and when decadent behavior became a problem, his family moved away from their little town. Soon after, Jaya left home and relocated in Melbourne. This led to the association of low-life street kids, which resulted in his living in boarding houses, taking drugs, and engaging in other unsocial behavior. But it was around this time, thankfully, that his sister's husband introduced him to a friend from Cambodia who had studied martial arts from the age of five in a Buddhist monastery. He rekindled Jaya's interest in philosophy and physical discipline and, though sharing some secrets of martial arts, was careful not to divulge too much. He could see that Jaya was not only young but also aggressive and might misuse his knowledge. He encouraged Jaya to pursue martial arts, but to accept that everything comes in time and that learning such arts prematurely can be dangerous. He also left Jaya with the idea that it is important to be a good person, with high moral values and ethical codes. *Diving In* Jaya moved to Sydney and threw himself into the world of martial arts. But despite his attraction to martial arts, life was handing him a good dose of material suffering. So when a self-help book convinced him it was time to make some serious changes in his life, he moved to Perth, on the other side of Australia. He enrolled in an Olympic Taekwondo school, started reading all sorts of "spiritual" literature, and trained more seriously than ever before. Soon after, he enrolled in a school run by former world Taekwondo champion Master Jang Tae Kim. Then, before the 1994 Australian Championships, he trained at a prominent school in Melbourne for three months. The school had produced four Olympic Taekwondo fighters for Australia, including Lauren Burns, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist. Jaya excelled at this school, won numerous matches, and soon became Australian Champion. He returned to Sydney to train with Master Kim, renowned in the world of martial arts. One week later he was with the National Taekwondo team, preparing for the Olympic games and the world championships. Sadly, while training with a friend, he cracked a cartilage in one knee and tore a ligament in the other. His future in martial arts was in jeopardy. Skeptical of the invasive surgery he was told he needed, he started going deeper within, looking for answers while praying and meditating. From calamity, says a Chinese proverb, comes opportunity. He explored Ayurvedic medicine, holistic healing, vegetarianism, and *yoga* *asanas*. And he came across the *Bhagavad-gītā*, which deepened his knowledge of Eastern thought. It was Jaya's younger sister, aware of his inward journey and newfound interests, who introduced him to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Observing his burgeoning passion for vegetarianism and animal rights, she gave him a book that had been given to her by a Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee: *The Higher Taste*. He found its philosophy fascinating, a natural progression from everything he had studied and practiced thus far. The book included a card that advertised the local "Food for Life" restaurant, which turned out to be close to where he was living. He began visiting the restaurant daily, eating *prasādam* and speaking with devotees. Gradually, he realized that many of the books and traditions he was studying were just later derivatives of the ancient Vaisnava tradition practiced by the members of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. He began to experiment with the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-*mantra*:* Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. He applied the same passion and determination he had previously used for martial arts. In fact, he used some of those same techniques to become even more absorbed in the *mantra*. Through chanting, his consciousness was gradually transformed. He gained more and more faith in Vedic philosophy, which teaches that we are not these material bodies and that the material world is a temporary place of illusion and suffering. He also developed faith in a higher realm, our original home, where Kṛṣṇa sports with His eternal associates. Soon he was meeting senior members of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, like His Holiness Devamrta Swami, who encouraged him and answered his numerous questions. This led to a move to Brisbane, where his spiritual practices became even more serious. He moved into the temple and took to ashram life with full force, taking part in the daily spiritual program. Rising every morning at 4:00 A.M., he attended group services with song and dance, he chanted the prescribed number of rounds on his beads, and his meditation deepened. After a year in Brisbane, he met his spiritual master, His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami, who initiated him into the eternal science of the soul. Under his teacher's able guidance, he traveled to the United States, where he visited and served in many large Kṛṣṇa temples, including those in Pennsylvania, California, New York, and Texas. His *guru* took him to visit temples in London, South Africa, and Europe as well. Bhakti Tirtha Swami encouraged him to continue his martial arts training and to open a school. He would tell his disciple tales of Arjuna and other warriors from Vedic times, bringing out the chivalrous and deeply spiritual underpinnings of each story. *Taekwondo and Kṛṣṇa Consciousness* For the last two years, Jaya and his wife have lived in Brisbane, where they run a martial arts club near their home. Around eighty students—four of whom became state champions in a March competition—attend classes at Hanuman Taekwondo every week. They learn not only about martial arts but also about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if not directly then by Jaya's example. "The true value of martial arts lies not in learning the art itself," says Jaya Vijaya, "but in acquiring internal qualities developed by learning its basic practices." When asked what initially attracted him to martial arts, he replies, "Practitioners often use meditation and other spiritual practices to complement, enhance, and perfect their martial skills. I was always interested in discipline and exercise, but I was also always a seeker." His interests came together perfectly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "All the self-discipline and spirituality I learned as a martial artist was brought to the next level by the devotees. With them, I came to understand the roots of martial arts and how the very practice was meant to bring one to an awareness of the Supreme Being." "I learned," he continues, "that martial arts has spiritual origins. Monks practiced it for thousands of years, in China and Japan, especially, as a basis for self-realization. It was a form of *yoga*—mastery over body and mind—meant to bring people to a peaceful state of consciousness. From there, they could pursue service to God wholeheartedly. With a fine-tuned body and mind, there would be fewer distractions in their pursuit of spirituality." "Martial arts originated in India," Jaya Vijaya tells me, "and its teachings were carried over the Himalayas by a monk named Bodhidhama, who brought it to China. Soon after, it spread to Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries. The seed practices that later became martial arts can be traced back to Vedic texts. Even Lord Ramacandra and Parasurama, both avatars of Visnu, are described as warriors, adhering to an advanced set of morals and ethics and a spiritual code of life. In other words, even Vedic culture saw the need for true spiritual warriors." Jaya Vijaya is talking about *ksatriya* *dharma*, which in former times included elaborate methods of warrior training. Vedic texts acknowledge four kinds of people, each with a natural set of work skills and vocational aptitude. Of them, the *ksatriya*s, natural leaders and fighters, are trained to be noble and chivalrous. Warriors of some sort are always needed to keep order in society. Martial arts can be seen as a much later derivative of *ksatriya* *dharma*. In ancient India, **ksatriya*s* would train daily not only in physical disciplines but also in complex meditation techniques that gave mastery over supernatural weapons. The *ksatriya*—"one who delivers from harm"—was never an aggressor and always embodied a strong belief in nonviolence. This is also the martial arts way of living. I asked Jaya Vijaya to discuss some similarities between the ancient *ksatriya* science, which begins with knowledge of the self, and its corollary in martial arts. He replied, The terms *ch'i* and *ki*, which are variations on the same concept, have been described as the breath, the spirit, or the inner nature of things. It's the life force, the vital energy that separates a live body from a dead one. According to all forms of martial arts, one needs to get in touch with this vital force, which brings us closer to who we really are. But martial arts is not generally clear about what the *ch'i* actually is. Is it the real *atma*, the self, or some other *ki*nd of vital energy? Martial arts doesn't tell us. The thing I like about Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that it gives clarity to concepts that are only vague in the world of martial arts. Jaya also explained that if you eat the wrong foods, such as meat, you deplete your *ch'i*, your inner bodily energy. Sex and drugs have the same effect, inviting disease and death. Thus, as our conversation went on, it became clear that since the *ch'i* can be depleted, it is not the *atma*, the life force proper. In Vedic terminology, the *ch'i*, then, correlates more with subtle energies in the body, as described in Ayurvedic texts. *Prana*, for example, is the life energy that contributes to respiration, oxygenation, and circulation. All motor and sensory functions are linked to *prana*, whose more subtle aspects, *ojas* and *tejas*, seem to correspond to *ch'i*. To learn about the actual spiritual element, the soul, Jaya Vijaya turns to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Here, through service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, he finds the ultimate goal of the martial artist. Indeed, he finds the ultimate goal of life. *Satyaraja Dāsa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, is a BTG associate editor. He has written over twenty books on Kṛṣṇa consciousness and lives near New York City.* For more information, go to www. hanumansd.com. ## Sense Gratification *An Essay in Pathology* *Kṛṣṇa reveals that the world works in precisely the opposite of the way we suppose.* > By Ravīndra Svarupa Dāsa IN THE *Bhagavad-gītā* (5.22) Kṛṣṇa says this about enjoyment of the senses: > ye hi samsparsa-ja bhoga > duhkha-yonaya eva te "The pleasures that arise from contact between the senses and their objects are in truth the sources of all suffering." The Sanskrit word *bhoga* (with the long "a" of the plural) means "pleasures" or "enjoyments." What kinds? The pleasures born (*ja*) from *samsparsa*, "the bringing into contact"—implicitly, the contact of the senses with their appropriate objects. This is what we mean by "sense gratification": enjoying the pleasures that arise when the eyes, nose, or tongue, the hands, skin, or genitals, come together with their particular objects. Kṛṣṇa says something about those pleasures startlingly coun*te*r-intuitive: the enjoyments thus obtained (*te*) are the birthplaces or origins (*yonaya*) of suffering (*duhkha*). There seems to be an allusion to sexual enjoyment contained in this line. The word *yonaya* literally means "vaginas" or "wombs" and connects with the word *ja*, birth, earlier in the line. The allusion would be appropriate, for sexual pleasure is, as Freud pointed out, "the prototype of all pleasure." All sensual pleasures, Kṛṣṇa asserts, are the causes of suffering. As if anticipating the immediate denial of *hi*s hearer, Kṛṣṇa fortifies His laconic utterance with two words of emphasis: *hi* (surely, certainly) and *eva* (truly, really). I've tried to convey the force of these with the words "in truth" and with the word "all," modifying "suffering." The word *duhkha* is often used to indicate the generic suffering of material existence itself. Buddha used the word in this way in the first of his Four Noble Truths: This is the noble truth of suffering [*duhkha*]: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering.... The second Truth declares that the origin of this suffering is desire or craving (*trsna*). By the way, we can see that these statements of Buddha mirror the *Bhagavad-gītā's* teaching. It is well known that Buddha rejected the authority of the *Vedas*, yet we see here that he clearly retained some fundamental principles of Vedic teaching. Interestingly, early in the *Gita* Kṛṣṇa rejects those who, bewildered by the "flowery language" of the *Vedas*, devote themselves exclusively to Vedic rites in order to obtain worldly opulence and enjoyment. In other words, Kṛṣṇa rejects the same understanding of the *Vedas* that Buddha does. Yet Kṛṣṇa, still accepting Vedic authority, expounds what He considers the ultimate Vedic teaching, making open in the *Gita* what was previously exclusive or hidden knowledge. But here there is no disagreement: "Those pleasures that arise from the contact of the senses with their objects are in truth the sources of all suffering." Kṛṣṇa reveals that the world actually works in precisely the opposite of the way we suppose. From our very birth we began to enjoy sense pleasure. Finding delight in every such experience, we naturally assume that the path of happiness—obviously—lies in multiplying, perpetuating, and intensifying those pleasures as far as possible. Yet the world misleads us. And so, our worldly experience as a whole is described as a kind of *maya*, or illusion. The illusion is all-pervading and ever-deepening. Kṛṣṇa's warning has been issued by many saints and sages of the past, like Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha, Moses, Plato, and Plotinus, but nowadays we dismiss their teachings. > Caught in that sensual music all neglect > Monuments of unageing intellect. > (From W. B. Yeats, "Sailing to Byzantium") Why then should we heed those traditional religions and moralities, with their negations and restrictions imposed by those decrepit, youth-hating, life-denying patriarchs, their lips curled in disgust? There is such a thing as progress. It has liberated us from the guilt and inhibitions inherited from the past; let us fully explore and exploit all the potentials of the world. So the illusion grows deeper, lays the very foundation of our modern culture. In 1851—in the early days of the modern project—Mathew Arnold composed the celebrated poem "Dover Beach." There, where the waves loudly pound the pebbled shore beneath the chalk cliffs, the sound of the ebbing tide reminded the poet of the "melancholy, long, withdrawing roar" of the once full "Sea of Faith." Contemplating our new condition, Arnold concluded: > ... for the world, which seems > To lie before us like a land of dreams, > So various, so beautiful, so new, > Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, > Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; > And we are here as on a darkling plain > Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, > Where ignorant armies clash by night. Did Arnold nail it? After so many more years of progress, we can watch on hi-def, large-screen satellite TV the current clashing of the current armies of the night, and the current brilliant talking heads analyzing the current global economic collapse and the current unchecked advance of manmade global climatic disaster. All of this news comes richly larded with—and paid for by—expensively produced commercial messages that urge us to spend and enjoy more and more and more. What could have gone wrong? Or what if the television commercials miraculously told the truth? Enjoy Cancun or Paris, enjoy Schlitz or Heineken, enjoy Toyota or Lexus—and you will really suffer! Of course, some total marketing lies have been famously exposed, and products have fallen into disgrace. Enjoy Lucky Strike, Camel, and Chesterfield—we know you will suffer. You will suffer chronic obstructive lung disease, heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer, and die. What Kṛṣṇa is telling us—what the consumers have yet to realize—is that all sense gratification is a cigarette. Sense gratification is the cause of death. "The pleasures that arise from contact between the senses and their objects are in truth the sources of all suffering." So Kṛṣṇa says in *Bhagavad-gītā* (5.22). Why is that? The next line of the text offers an answer: > ady-antavantah kaunteya > na tesu ramate budhah "Such pleasures possess a beginning and an end, Kaunteya. A wise person takes no delight in them." Having a beginning (*adi*) and end (*anta*) qualifies all pleasures in the material world. For that reason, one who is actually wise (*budha*) seeks no enjoyment from them. It is a fact that in this temporal world we hold no title to, we have no actual possession of, anything we enjoy. Our lease here on happiness is fragile and fleeting. Here Time reigns over all: > Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea, > But sad mortality o'ersways their power, > How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, > Whose action is no stronger than a flower? > O, how shall summer's honey breath hold out > Against the wrackful siege of batt'ring days, > When rocks impregnable are not so stout, > Nor gates of steel so strong but Time decays? > O, fearful meditation! So the bard sings. The wise know well that this world is itself a disaster area. We fools of time are loath to hear this. We are "in denial." As the *Bhagavatam* says of us, *pasyann api na pasyati*, although we have seen, we still don't see. Our blindness is willful. We make ourselves stupid in order to be happy: > Yet ah! why should they know their fate? > Since sorrow never comes too late, > And happiness too swiftly flies. > Thought would destroy their paradise. > No more;—where ignorance is bliss, > 'Tis folly to be wise. > —Thomas Gray (1742) So we seek happiness after the way of fools. We bring our senses in contact with their objects and relish and rejoice in the pleasure arising thereby. Yet sooner or later that contact is broken off, and our pleasure ends. It cannot be otherwise. Now let me offer a self-survey, conducted by one's self of one's self: Q: "When your pleasure came to an end, how did you feel?" A: "I felt let down, miserable, depressed. I felt aggrieved, bereaved, bereft." Q: "And why is that?" A: "Duh! Obviously, I didn't want my pleasure to end. I wanted it just to keep on going." Q: "And how long did you want it to keep on going?" A: "How long can I have? Forever?" A little introspection uncovers our true desire: We seek happiness that does not end; we seek eternal pleasure. If we explore this desire we will find that it is stubborn and implacable. So this is what we are doing; this is our absurd condition: We desire happiness that does not end, yet we seek it, obsessively, in a world where everything ends. We are forced to conclude, then, that no satisfaction of our desires is to be found in the material world. Q.E.D. The Rolling Stones' crude anthem of a generation—"I can't get no satisfaction"—is nothing more than a lingering howl of disappointment at this intractable fact. We want our pleasure to keep on going forever. That is the nature of pleasure itself. *Alle Lust will Ewigkeit*—"All joy wants eternity"—wrote Friedrich Nietzsche. *Will tiefe, tiefe Ewigkeit*—"Wants deep, deep eternity." Every fleeting pleasure here bears a kind of remembrance or recollection of eternal happiness, of a paradise lost. Trying to find that paradise here, in the reflection, in the mirage, only takes us further from what we really seek. We secure further dissatisfaction and nothing more. So the natural joy of childhood and youth gives way to the disappointment, bitterness, emotional numbness, and despair of age. We stop living long before we die. Arthur Schopenhauer, with characteristic lucidity, offers us this chilling observation: "Human existence resembles a theatre performance which, begun by living actors, is ended by automatons dressed in the same costumes." We seek life and joy in the world, and our very seeking produces for us death and misery. We attain just the opposite result. This is what Kṛṣṇa tells us. Now we live in a culture of sense gratification that turns all of us into automatons. Only a counterculture of self-realization can deliver us, a culture to bring about "a revolution," as Prabhupāda puts it, "in the impious life of a misdirected civilization." *Ravīndra Svarupa Dāsa, an ISKCON* guru *and governing body commissioner, lives at the Philadelphia temple, where he joined ISKCON in 1971. He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Temple University.* ## Fire *A Meditation* *By thinking about the qualities of fire, we can remember Kṛṣṇa, the source of all energies.* > By Urmila Devī Dāsī THE ADRIATIC SEA laps at my feet on a Croatian beach. The last rays of the sun are long gone, and the sky is the deepest blue. Across the bay is an oil refinery, and the flame at the top of a chimney, invisible during the day, has become prominent. I watch the flame dance and marvel at how fire captures one's attention. It's not surprising, I muse, that this little bit of *Kṛṣṇa*'s energy is so alluring. The name *Kṛṣṇa* means all-attractive. *Kṛṣṇa* is a person, and from Him come all energies, which are identical to Him. Fire, therefore, is also *Kṛṣṇa*. By thinking about the qualities of fire, we can remember *Kṛṣṇa*, the Supreme Spirit. Because some aspect of fire is constantly with us, it thus becomes easy to enter into deep spiritual consciousness even while in apparently mundane situations. First, we will meditate on the heat of fire, then its light, and then its beauty. Thinking about the beauty of fire naturally brings us focus on Kṛṣṇa's form. Finally we will contemplate His pastimes with fire. *Heat* After air, most people name food and water as our most basic physiological needs. But we can live weeks or months without food, and often more than a week without water. The most basic bodily need after air is correct temperature. We experience life-giving heat in two ways from the sun. One is directly on our skin and the other indirectly through digestion, which releases the sun's energy transformed into food through photosynthesis. For warm-blooded creatures like us humans, eighty percent of the food we eat is used to produce internal heat. Yet we forget how this heat outside and inside our bodies sustains us. Heat is, after all, invisible. To a conditioned soul, Kṛṣṇa is also invisible. He sustains us, is inside our heart and all around us, yet we do not see Him, and we forget our dependence upon Him. An ordinary person might cease to give without some gratitude or even acknowledgement. But Kṛṣṇa gives even to those who entirely forget Him. The way heat sustains us yet is invisible brings to mind the verse in the *Bhagavad-gītā* where Kṛṣṇa says that He is like a string upon which pearls rest. We know the string is there because the pearls hang in an orderly way, but the string itself hides in the pearls' core. Though similar to a thread in this way, Kṛṣṇa is not fragile like a thread. Think of the power of heat, which comes from Him. A slight difference in temperature, and instead of life there is death or severe injury. Those who handle fire must do so with care and respect. We might huddle close to a bonfire on chilly days, but we don't get too close. Similarly, unless we are full of pure love of God, we serve Kṛṣṇa according to the rules of worship and service to avoid getting burned by offenses. Mitch Kahn, an experienced firefighter, writes, "A fire is like a living thing—a living engine of destruction. And each blaze has its own personality. There's a sound and smell to a wildfire that you never forget. Burning brush and searing wind roaring like a jet engine. The acrid odor of scorched earth." Indeed, the destructive power of heat brings to mind scriptural descriptions of periodic universal dissolution. At that time, the Lord, being unhappy at the conditioned souls' continuously working against their own self-interest, envelopes the cosmos in heat more intense than numerous suns. We err if we think in terms of heat as being good or bad. Kṛṣṇa is all good, and even the destructive burning of heat purifies and cleanses. Farmers sometimes burn a field to remove weeds and their seeds, the ashes fertilizing the soil. Scientists and medical doctors depend on the sanitizing action of heat's destructive force. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa tells us in the *Bhagavad-gītā* that transcendental knowledge of the soul and God burns up all ignorance and suffering. Achieving loving union with Kṛṣṇa also removes the potency of all the material desires that bind us to karma and rebirth, just as seeds fried in high heat lose all power of germination. Seeds are also burned when a devotee takes vows of commitment to serve the Lord. The initiation ceremony involves throwing grains into a sacrificial fire. The fire is understood as Kṛṣṇa's tongue: He eats the grains and thus purifies the giver. The pleasing heat from the Lord's tongue of sacrifice reminds us that warmth is associated with life itself and that the Lord is the Supreme living being, the source of all life. Warmth is also associated with love—we speak of a warm embrace or a cold glance. Kṛṣṇa's warmth is one manifestation of His encompassing love for all living beings. Whenever we feel the heat of the sun, fire, or the furnaces in our buildings, we can feel both the life and the love of Kṛṣṇa. Life and love are often associated with food. Heat transforms both the texture and the flavor of raw food, making hard vegetables swim in their own juices when flames lick the bottom of a pot. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa releases a flow of affection even from dry philosophers and melts even steel-like hearts into the flowing butter of love. Just as heat reveals a variety of flavors otherwise hidden in uncooked food, when a soul serves Kṛṣṇa diverse and intense emotions of ecstasy manifest themselves. The chemical fire in our body, with which Kṛṣṇa directly identifies Himself in the *Gita*, distills food to its essence in order to nourish the body's organs and systems. In doing so, it separates value from waste. According to the Ayurveda, the ultimate product of the heat of digestion is vitality and strength. Similarly, in the final stages of purification through serving Kṛṣṇa, the soul is brought to its pure state of spiritual power, where all unwanted things, such as identification with the material body and mind, are finished. Cooking with too much heat will burn the outside of food while leaving the inside raw. Cooking at just the right temperature, with patience, gives us food that is tasty throughout. Similarly, under expert guidance we need to apply with care the process of connecting with Kṛṣṇa through chanting, hearing, and serving. Impatient *bhakti-yogis* may take up extreme practices that leave them discouraged, with their heart barely touched. But those who have enthusiasm, confidence, and patience find that *bhakti-yoga* gradually transforms their thoughts and feelings, melting their hearts. Heat cooks our food by exciting molecules that crash into each other. Heat can destroy a food's structures and create new ones. Heat also creates air currents upon which birds travel the skies. Heat from the sun pulls water vapor into clouds, thus starting the cycle that both purifies the water and distributes it around the world. Heat's effect of causing other things to move and flow reminds us that contact with Kṛṣṇa is stimulating. Even inanimate objects react to Him—rocks melt at the sound of His flute. Kṛṣṇa stirs the heart and mind of all who connect with Him. *Light* Just as warmth is closely associated with both life and love, so is light. We speak of how people's eyes light up when they meet someone they love. A person full of life is often described as having a sunny disposition. Light thus reminds us that Kṛṣṇa is the life of all that lives and the best friend of all. Lighted candles, colored light bulbs, and fireworks often play a role when friends, families, and communities gather for holidays, festivities, and celebrations. Upon seeing such lights, we can meditate on how every day in the spiritual world is a festival. Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of pleasure, delights in eternal varieties of transcendent parties. Whether we are visiting others for a party or entering our own home, light welcomes us. When the lights are on, we know that someone is home and awaiting our arrival. Greeting others with light is as ancient as humankind. Thus we offer a flame to the Deity in the traditional *arati* ceremony performed in Kṛṣṇa temples. As one famous prayer says, the devotee offers Kṛṣṇa *arati* with the lamplight of love. Kṛṣṇa is also welcoming us with His light, shining forth in all splendor to invite us back home. Kṛṣṇa's invitation illumines our hearts so that we can clearly perceive both truth and illusion and thus choose to reunite with Him. Indeed, gaining such knowledge is often termed "enlightenment." In the most simplistic sense, we gain most of even our mundane knowledge through vision, which requires light. Whenever we see light, we can remember how Kṛṣṇa is the source of knowledge on every level, both spiritual and material. The scriptures often compare knowledge to sunlight, which is also sometimes equated with Kṛṣṇa's weapon Sudarsana, which means "auspicious vision." Sunlight, or Sudarsana, is the eye of the Lord. To function, our eyes need light entering them, but Kṛṣṇa's eyes emit light. We sometimes communicate with only our eyes, and Sudarsana is called "the master of speech," because when the light of knowledge fills us, truth comes from our mouth. Light is the source of nourishment not only for the words and mind, but also for the body. At the bottom of the food chain are plants that use photosynthesis to transform sunlight into sugars and starches. Through this process, transformed light is the food that nourishes the bodies of nearly every living being on earth. If we meditate on how the food we eat is the sun's energy and how Kṛṣṇa says that He is directly the light of the sun, we can easily feel a connection with Him with every bite. Besides the hot light of the sun, there is soothing moonlight, which cools and refreshes us after a day of work. Coming to Kṛṣṇa's shelter is often compared to taking advantage of moonlight for relief and peace. Also, the moon inspires romantic love among ordinary people, but it can remind a spiritual practitioner of Kṛṣṇa's pure love dance with the saintly milkmaids. *Fire and Kṛṣṇa's Beauty* Kṛṣṇa says He is the splendor of fire. Fire is beautiful, full of majesty. Sunshine sparkling on the ripples of a lake on a clear day, an outdoor bonfire on a chilly night, clusters of stars in the heavens, glittering chandeliers, neon signs, blinking lights on Christmas trees, tiny flames on cotton wicks in little clay pots floating on the Ganges—fire is certainly splendid. Not only is fire itself beautiful, but the beauty of anything exists only because the light of some fire illumines the object. Without light the word beauty has no meaning, as there would be no ability to behold it. Without fire there are no colors. If all beauty and brilliance depend on fire, we can hardly imagine the beauty of the Supreme Lord, the source of all fire, warmth, and illumination. How gorgeously brilliant His form must be! Indeed, sacred writings describe Kṛṣṇa's spiritual, eternal, ever-youthful form as effulgent and beautiful beyond material understanding. His cheeks are compared to sapphire mirrors upon which His swinging earrings are reflected. Kṛṣṇa's clothes glow like liquid gold, and His toenails are so brilliant that when He places His soft feet on jeweled footstools, the multicolored jewels appear to be made out of crystal. *Kṛṣṇa Drinks Fire* To show us the nature and activities of His eternal world, Kṛṣṇa appeared in His dazzling form on this planet about five thousand years ago. In two of His divine pastimes as a young cowherd, He swallowed huge forest fires that threatened His animals and friends. In the first instance, most of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana village were resting near the Yamuna River after Kṛṣṇa had vanquished a serpent polluting the river and the surrounding area. As the flames from a sudden fire threatened to burn everyone, Kṛṣṇa drank the fire. Another day, Kṛṣṇa and His friends had taken their herds of cows, goats, and buffalo across the Yamuna to a large banyan tree. Busy playing there, the boys did not notice that the animals had wandered away looking for succulent grass. When they realized that they had been negligent and failed to protect their families' source of livelihood, they looked for the animals in vain. Finally the boys found and followed the trail of eaten grass and trampled vegetation. Meanwhile the animals had wandered far away and had encountered a forest fire. Fleeing, they became stuck in sugar cane. The sharp leaves and strong cane made it hard for them to extract themselves, and they cried in fear. Kṛṣṇa called each animal by name, and they called back to Him. The boys then traced the animals to the cane and rescued them. But as they walked back to the banyan tree, great winds whipped the fire close, surrounding them. The boys looked to Kṛṣṇa and begged Him to save them, His intimate friends. Through a loving look, Kṛṣṇa told them not to fear and to close their eyes. He had been thirsting for fire (perhaps as some people like spicy food), so He grabbed the huge fire and drank it like a cooling beverage. Gradually the boys and animals opened their eyes to find, much to their surprise, that not only was the fire gone, but they were back at their starting place near the tree, grateful to be close to the river, where after the heat of the fire they could drink to their full satisfaction. Kṛṣṇa has other pastimes related to fire, such as when He summons His weapon of utter cold to counteract Siva's demon of personified flame in the battle with Banasura. And when Kṛṣṇa displays His universal form in the *Bhagavad-gītā*, fire comes from His mouth. As I finish writing this meditation, the sun is setting here in Southern California. The rooms are starting to look dull, although the sun still overwhelms the electric light. Light also streams from my computer monitor onto my face, and I feel the warmth of my body, generated from the meal I ate. A candle burns on the altar. Some form of fire is with us always. When we make an effort to find Kṛṣṇa in His energy of fire, we delight Him with our interest in our relationship with Him, and He reciprocates by revealing Himself more and more. "O Supreme Lord, You are actually the air, the earth, fire, sky, and water. You are the objects of sense perception, the life airs, the five senses, the mind, consciousness, and false ego. Indeed, You are everything, subtle and gross. The material elements and anything expressed, either by the words or by the mind, are nothing but You." (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 7.9.48)© Urmila Devī Dāsī, a BTG associate editor, has a Ph.D. in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She is working on international curriculum projects for primary and secondary education in ISKCON. ## Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out *Live Simply and Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa* *The following conversation between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and two of his disciples took place in New Vrindavan, West Virginia, in June of 1976.* Śrīla Prabhupāda: The Western civilization is a nasty civilization, artificially increasing the necessities of life. For example, take the electric light. The electric light requires a generator, and to run the generator you need petroleum. As soon as the petroleum supply is stopped, everything will stop. But to get petroleum you have to painstakingly search it out and bore deep into the earth, sometimes in the middle of the ocean. This is *ugra-karma*, horrible work. The same purpose can be served by growing some castor seeds, pressing out the oil, and putting the oil into a pot with a wick. We admit that you have improved the lighting system with electricity, but to improve from the castor-oil lamp to the electric lamp you have to work very hard. You have to go to the middle of the ocean and drill and then draw out the petroleum, and in this way the real goal of your life is missed. You are in a precarious position, constantly dying and taking birth in various species of life. How to get free of this cycle of birth and death—this is your problem. And this problem is meant to be solved in the human life. You have advanced intelligence for self-realization, but instead of using your advanced intelligence for self-realization, you are utilizing it to improve from the castor-oil lamp to the electric lamp. That's all. Disciple 1: People would say that your suggestion is impractical. Besides, electricity does many other things besides produce light. Most of our modern comforts depend more or less on electricity. Śrīla Prabhupāda: In this life you may be living very comfortably, but in the next life you might become a dog. Disciple 2: People don't believe that. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Whether they believe it or not, it is a fact. For example, a boy does not know that he is going to grow into a young man, but his mother and father know. If the boy says, "No, I'm not going to become a young man," that is childish. The father and mother know that the boy will grow into a young man and that they should educate him so he can be properly situated. This is the guardians' duty. Similarly, when we talk of transmigration of the soul, a rascal may say, "I don't believe in it," but it is still a fact. A rascal, a madman, may say transmigration is not a fact, but the real fact is that he'll have to accept another body according to the quality of his endeavor in this life. Disciple 2: What if someone says, "This life of growing the castor seeds is very difficult, and farming in general is very difficult. It is easier to go to the factory for eight hours, come home with my money, and enjoy." Śrīla Prabhupāda: You may enjoy, but by enjoying you forget your real goal in life. Is that intelligent? You have been given the human body to improve your next life. Suppose you become a dog in your next life. Is that success? You must know the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then, instead of becoming a dog, you will become like God. Disciple 1: Once, at John Lennon's estate in London, you said that the tractor is the cause of so much of the trouble today. It took all the work from the young men and forced them to go to the city for work, and they became entangled in sense gratification. I've noticed that life in the country is simpler, more peaceful. It's easier to think of spiritual life. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. The country is less disturbing, less taxing on the brain. Just work a little for your food, and the rest of the time engage yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is ideal life. [Śrīla Prabhupāda holds up a flower.] See the minute fibers in this flower. Can anyone manufacture this in a factory—such small fibers? And how brilliant the color is! If you study only one flower, you become God conscious. There is a machine that you call "nature," and from this machine everything is coming. But who has built this machine? Disciple 1: In London you said people don't know that the flowers are painted by Kṛṣṇa—with thought. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Do you think that without an artist the flowers can come out so beautiful? This is foolish. What is nature? It is Kṛṣṇa's machine. Everything is being done by Kṛṣṇa's machine. So improve your mode of living at New Vrindavan. Live in an open place, produce your own food grains, produce your own milk, save time, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Plain living, high thinking: ideal life. But if you increase the artificial necessities of your life—your so-called comforts—and forget your real work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is suicidal. We want to stop this suicidal policy. Of course, we don't insist that people stop the modern advancement of technology. We just present the simple formula given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Even in your technological factory you can chant. What is the difficulty? You can go on pushing the buttons on your machine and simultaneously chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Disciple 2: And if people take up the chanting, gradually they will give up the technology? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Of course. Disciple 2: So you're sowing the seeds of their destruction. Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, not destruction; rather construction. The repetition of birth and death, the constant change of bodies—this is destruction. But by our method, you live forever. *Tyaktva deham punar* *janma naiti* [Bg 4.9]: you don't get another material body. But without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, *tatha dehantara-praptih* [Bg 2.13]: you have to accept another body, which means suffering. So, which is better? To accept material bodies, one after another, or to accept no more material bodies? If we finish our suffering with this body, that is intelligent, and if we create another body for further suffering, that is unintelligent. But unless you understand Kṛṣṇa, you have to accept another body. There is no alternative. ## Hare Kṛṣṇa People *A Vision from the Heart* *The power of devotional service manifests brilliantly in the life of a unique devotee.* > By Murari Gupta Dāsa I FIRST HEARD about Bilvamangala Ṭhākura Dāsa, who is blind, when I arrived at the ISKCON temple in Belgaum, Karnataka, where he lives. When I saw him at the early-morning *mangala-arati*, he was dancing and singing joyfully, and shouting "Gauranga!" and "Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda!" Later he sat down to chant his *japa* and after a short break joined in *Guru-puja* and the *Bhagavatam* class. His day begins before 3:00 A.M. He chants all the prayers sung during *mangala-arati*, even the *prema-dhvani* prayers (*jaya om visnupada*, etc.), during which he bows down. Then he begins *japa*. At 4:30 someone escorts him to the temple for *mangala-arati*. After the morning program, he honors *prasādam*. Then throughout the day he chants, taking breaks to honor *prasādam* and attend to bodily needs. In the evening he again sings songs and prayers in glorification of the Supreme Lord and His devotees. He does not need drums or cymbals; when he is standing he claps his hands and dances, and when he is sitting he beats his hand on his thigh. Most of the day and night, he either chants or sings. To learn more about him, I interviewed him and also spoke with Uttama Sloka Dāsa and Nagendra Dāsa. Some excerpts from his life story follow. *The Pull of God* Bilvamangala Ṭhākura Dāsa was born the eldest of three siblings in 1949. The family priest told his mother to name the child Narayana. Young Narayana was fond of listening to the *abhangas* (devotional poems) of Tukarama Mahārāja, the great Vaisnava saint of Maharashtra. He would memorize them and recite them, along with stories of the Lord, to his friends and family members. Most of his listeners, however, were not interested, being caught up in worldly duties, yet they marveled at the child's devotional proclivities. At the age of ten Narayana contracted an eye ailment that pestered him for a year, finally claiming both his eyes. He had to discontinue his education. His solace was a tape recorder that played *bhajanas* and *kirtanas*. Many years later, his younger brother came in touch with the Hare Kṛṣṇas and began to chant and even induced the family members to accept Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Narayana took time to be convinced, but once he started chanting he developed a taste for the holy names. He gradually began to chant more rounds: 20, 32, and sometimes even 64. Soon he became a regular visitor to the temple, along with his brother Prahladananda Dāsa and the entire family. After his mother's death in 2001, he was inspired to move into the temple. The resident devotees were skeptical. "How can we have a blind man in the temple? Who will take care of him?" The temple president, Devamrta Dāsa, intervened. "I knew of Narayana's profound taste in the holy name," he says. "If he could adjust to temple life, we had no problem with his living with us." Narayana moved into a small, shared room and quickly adapted to his new surroundings. He was neat and clean and only needed help from someone to get him *prasādam* and take him to the temple. Without help, he bathed, shaved his face, washed his clothes and dried them, and took care of his belongings. His spirit sees no barrier. With the help of devotees and the free train passage allowed by the government, he has gone on pilgrimage to Māyāpur, Vṛndāvana, Jagannātha Purī, and Tirupati. In 2008 he received *harinama* initiation and got the name Bilvamangala Ṭhākura Dāsa, after the great blind saint of Vṛndāvana famous for his poems glorifying the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. *Firm Faith in the Holy Name* Following are some excerpts from the interview with him on behalf of *Back to Godhead*: BTG: You have lost your vision. Do you feel that God did an injustice to you? Bilvamangala Ṭhākura Dāsa (BTD): I used to feel bad, but not now, after coming to *bhakti*. Now I feel that because I don't have vision, the Lord has kept me here in His service. BTG: Still, you cannot see the Deity in the temple. Don't you feel bad about that? BTD: I don't. The Lord is present in His name. Lord Kṛṣṇa has said, "Chant My name, and I will be with you." I feel that. A few days ago I fell down near the gate and was injured. I sensed the Lord assuring me, "Don't fear; I am with you." Although I went to the doctor, I had no faith in him; I had full faith in the Lord, and eventually the Lord cured me. BTG: How can you chant so much? BTD: I don't get much sleep, one or two hours at the most. When I am awake I take shelter of the Lord, and He gives me mercy. I feel that if I surrender to Him, it will be good. BTG: What gives you a taste in chanting? BTD: Tulasi Devi gives the taste, and Kṛṣṇa. I pray to my chanting beads before chanting. A few years ago, I had a dream in which Śrīla Prabhupāda came and told me to take shelter of Tulasi Devi. Here [pointing to a garden on his right] is tulasī. Every day I bow to her and sing her prayers. And I live here in this courtyard, and do my *bhajana* and *kirtana*. Sometimes I chant thirty-two rounds, sometimes more. And on Ekadasi I fast and chant sixty-four rounds or more. BTG: Have you read Śrīla Prabhupāda's books? BTD: No. I only studied till fourth standard, but I regularly hear temple classes. BTG: What is your message to our readers? BTD: Do devotional service. Take shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa. You will be benefited. What I did, you can also do. You will get mercy from the Lord, and you will move ahead. If He does not have mercy on you, you cannot do anything. Here I am, a blind man, but He is taking care of me. Even if I keep servants, they will not take care of me as nicely as these devotees are doing. How much more will He take care of you? So, just take shelter of the Lord. BTG: Thank you. Later Uttama Sloka recalls an anecdote: Once when Devamrta Dāsa, the temple president, returned to the temple after a trip, many devotees approached him with various complaints. But he found Bilvamangala Ṭhākura blissfully chanting *kirtana* and dancing. "Bilvamangala Ṭhākura is an inspiration to so many of us," Devamrta says. "The whole day he is immersed in *harinama*." *A Clear Vision* I return to my room. Outside a train rushes past, loudly whistling and shaking the earth with its massive wagons carrying petrol. I look out of the window at the speeding train and think about the modern world that is so rapidly turning atheistic. Brilliant scientists, scholars, philosophers, writers, common people—all appear to be ignorant of God and going away from Him. People with eyes fail to perceive the role of God in universe, while Bilvamangala Ṭhākura Dāsa, without vision, can clearly perceive the hand of God in his life. He sees God in His names and realizes His mercy in the love and support that appears internally in his heart and externally in the kindness of devotees. The divine songs that may seem to us ordinary words reveal their transcendental potency to him—so much so that nearly all day and night he joyfully sings them. The process of devotional service that may appear tedious to us becomes a natural asylum for him. His faith and satisfaction in the process of devotional service is real. One marvels at the power of the process of *bhakti*, which can cut across any material impediments to reveal the ultimate truth. And one marvels at the all-attractive Supreme Lord, who by His unlimited power can give a blind man faith and divine vision. With so many manifestations of the glories of the process of devotional service clear before my eyes, I can only offer my prayers, repeating the words of the original blind saint Bilvamangala Ṭhākura, who writes in his celebrated book *Kṛṣṇa-karnamrta*: "My dear Lord, You are the ocean of mercy. With my arms placed above my head, I bow down before You with all humility and sincerity. I am praying unto You, my Lord. Would You please sprinkle a little of the water of Your glance upon me? That will be my great satisfaction." *Murari Gupta Dāsa, a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānatha Swami, has a Bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery (M.B.B.S.) and is part of the production team of the Hindi and English editions of BTG in India. In compiling this article, he acknowledges the help of Uttama Sloka Dāsa, Nagendra Dāsa, Atula Kṛṣṇa Dāsa, and Devamrta Dāsa.* ## Mumbai Terrorism: Combat or Transcend? > By Vraja Vihari Dāsa AS I GASPED in disbelief, a friend assured me it was true—terrorists had our city, Mumbai, under siege. A frenzied neighbor rushed in, screaming that the police had gunned down two terrorists a mere hundred meters from our temple. As sirens blew and panic spread, fear gripped the city. Confusion and uncertainty loomed large on our faces. Meanwhile other terrorists had taken hostages in two premier hotels, also not far from the temple, and the commandoes rushed in. Seventy-two hours later, the drama ended, but nationwide expressions of anger and anguish continued for weeks. *Challenges in Preaching* Soon, three hundred thousand citizens gathered at a rally, demanding military action against Pakistan, where the terrorists were trained. "If you can't usher in a political revolution," a student from a group I was addressing challenged me, "what's the relevance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness now?" I assured my restless audience that our leaders certainly must protect innocent citizens, and we all stand united to combat terrorism. But in the face of current problems, we also need to individually transcend the real problems facing all of us, all the time. Terrorism or no terrorism, the ugly realities of death, old age, disease, and rebirth always stare at us, threatening to prolong our stay in this world. (*Bhagavad-gītā* 13.9) Spiritual practices transform our consciousness, I tell them, and help us remember the Supreme Lord at the time of death. This ensures that we do not take another birth in this miserable material world, but rather join the Supreme Lord in His abode, for an eternal life of bliss and full knowledge. (Bg. 8.16) "But the tragedy has consumed my consciousness," confessed one student. "I can't chant; I see no hope." *A Bigger Emergency Than Terrorism* My thoughts went back to the struggle for Indian independence in the 1920s. The nation was up in arms against British terrorism. General Dyer had ordered his soldiers to fire on innocent citizens gathered at a peace rally at Jallianwala, Punjab. Thousands had already died under England's persecution, and now Indians wanted independence from British rule. Young Abhay Charan (Śrīla Prabhupāda's birth name), in his first meeting with Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura, his spiritual master, voiced his support for the freedom cause. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati had been urging Abhay to spread Lord Caitanya's spiritual message to the English-speaking world, but Abhay protested. As long as India was a dependent nation, he said, spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness would have to wait. The whole country would have agreed with Abhay, but Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati boldly declared that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the real emergency, and it can't wait for independence. Lack of spiritual awareness is the only problem, and God consciousness is the only solution. Six decades have passed since Indian independence. The saga of untold human deprivation and abuse—now inflicted by Indians upon Indians—is a chilling reminder of the terrible times we are living in. Recession, starvation, domestic violence, destruction of the family unit, and child molestation are a few of the rising ills affecting the hapless millions. But as another wave of breaking news hits, families sit glued to their TV sets, convinced that Kṛṣṇa consciousness can wait. *Śrīla Prabhupāda's Appeal to Transcend* Śrīla Prabhupāda's life changed after that first meeting with Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati, and he dedicated himself to spreading God consciousness to the misdirected civilization. Years later, when England forced India to enter the Second World War, Śrīla Prabhupāda started *Back to Godhead* magazine. And as bombs dropped in Calcutta, he was busy writing his commentary on the timeless spiritual wisdom of the *Bhagavad-gītā*. A couple of decades later in New York City, as Śrīla Prabhupāda managed his fledgling ISKCON, the youth voiced angry protests against America's participation in the Vietnam War. Śrīla Prabhupāda challenged his young followers: The war will be irrelevant in a few years, he said, but the cruel, untiring laws of material nature will continue to batter and bruise us. During the 1971 India-Pakistan tension, a reporter in India pleaded with Śrīla Prabhupāda to urge General Yayha Khan of Pakistan to stop the bloody war. But Prabhupāda once again exposed the ugly reality of death staring at us always. "Will you not die if there is no war?" he asked. *A Devotee Fights the Terrorists* Are we then to turn a blind eye to the day-to-day crises of this world? No. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa surely does what's needed to address the fleeting problems of this world, but simultaneously works to free himself from the bondage of repeated birth and death. For example, Mr. Nilesh Ghosalkar, a member of the Mumbai police force, is a devotee who regularly attends programs at our temple. He was on the frontlines fighting the terrorists in one of the hotels and narrowly survived. Society needs fighters like Nilesh to uphold law and order. Their seemingly violent actions are like those of a surgeon who attacks a tumor with a knife to save the patient. *Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Gives Strength to Transcend Tragedies* Kṛṣṇa consciousness may not stop aggression by the terrorists, betrayal by loved ones, or devastations by tsunamis. As exemplified by Nilesh, life becomes tolerable and hopeful for a devotee because he discovers a tangible purpose in life: to cultivate a relationship with God and plan the journey to our real home, the spiritual world. As the rain of problems showers without a break, devotees find shelter under the umbrella of their practices in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This keeps them sane even as events get more bizarre by the day. *The Holy Name Helps Transcend Tragedies* One shouldn't think, however, that devotees are escapists. As humble servants of everyone, they play their part in helping others and connecting them with God. In January 2006, His Holiness Indradyumna Swami, an ISKCON leader and traveling preacher, was in the thick of the action at tsunami-hit areas in Śrī Lanka. As aid poured in from around the world, a Lankan army major asked for a special kind of help from Indradyumna Swami and his team. "Can you address the grief, the trauma that has affected their psyche?" he asked. "That's more important now." Indradyumna Swami rose to the challenge and promptly led his party on *harinama sankirtana*, the congregational chanting of the holy names of God. Thousands of villagers joined in with the religious practice for this age—drowning their sorrows and rejoicing in the awakening of their natural love of God. The devotees also distributed *prasādam*, sanctified food offered to Kṛṣṇa. In a few hours, Indradyumna Swami and his team had become an integral part of the village family. Kṛṣṇa had united them all on a higher platform. Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa thus helps us carry out our individual, national, and humanitarian responsibilities more soberly, happily and effectively. The neighborhood is once again resounding with deafening blasts and shrieks, but of a different kind. India's cricket team has pulled off a victory in a cliffhanger, and a pompous wedding ceremony has Bollywood music bouncing off the sky. These seem like good reasons to rejoice and forget about terrorism. Never mind the millions dying of AIDS, starvation, drug abuse, road accidents, and a thousand other things. For Indians, Kṛṣṇa consciousness can wait. Or can it? ## Gods of Small Things > By Hare Kṛṣṇa Dāsa "HEY, LOOK at this!" my friend says as he turns to me wide-eyed. I peep at his computer screen. A peculiar-looking little fly rests in the palm of someone's hand. "This is a robo-fly," my friend reveals. "With a wingspan of just three centimeters and weighing but sixty milligrams, it's the latest offering of nanotechnology. The Harvard researchers who invented it say that such small flying machines could one day be used as spies or to detect harmful chemicals." My friend shows me another fantastic construction: nano "Thinking Man," based on the famous sculpture by Rodin. Just twice the size of a red blood corpuscle, it is 1/93,000 the size of the original statue. Nanotechnology is a branch of engineering that creates machines, motors, and other things at a molecular level—at a size of one billionth of a meter. Since the creations are so small, the nanotechnologists involved in this branch are jokingly called "the gods of small things." *Nature's Nanotechnology* A buzzing housefly brings me back to reality. As I look at the tiny insect landing on the desk, I compare this housefly with the robo-fly. Although the robo-fly looks cute compared to the housefly, it scores poorly in functionality. A housefly can fly at 4.5 miles per hour, for hours together. It has a complex system for maneuverability that helps it take off and land in amazing ways, in varied climatic conditions, even upside down on ceilings and laterally on walls. It has four thousand lenses in each eye. In our time of energy crises, the fly has no problem fueling, with nature providing plenty of rotten objects for juice. The housefly is just one of many types of fly. Zoologists have found no fewer than 120,000 models (species) of flies in nature. One species, the glow-worm, has a built-in lighting system. Unlike the robo-fly, the ordinary fly, created by God, is not powered by some mechanical arrangement but by the touch of a spiritual spark. *Fly Wars* Might scientists, I ask myself, eventually create something that can rival the housefly? Śrīla Prabhupāda comments: God is perfect... According to the Vedic version, God is the leader of all living entities—*nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam* [*Katha Upanisad* 2.2.13]. We are different from Him because He is all-perfect and we are not... We have the qualities of God, but in very small quantity. Therefore we have only a little knowledge. [You can build an] airplane, but you cannot manufacture a mosquito. God has created the mosquto's body, which is also an airplane. And that is the difference between God and us: we have knowledge, but it is not as perfect as God's. (Māyāpur, March 1976) Close inspection reveals why the mosquito is so special—more special than the Boeing 747. A mosquito has a sensor for human odor, a loud alarm that buzzes before the mosquito bites, a drilling machine, and a suction pump to sip our blood. It has radar that helps avoid collisions; it can land on any surface and then take off without a runway; it never crashes; it operates with an autopilot—the spirit soul, who accepts, as vehicles, various bodies from moths to mammoths. What about a future robo-mosquito? Perhaps it is possible. I agree. But would it ever be possible for two robo-mosquitoes or two robo-flies to come together and produce a third one? No. A housefly, however, can lay hundreds of eggs at a time. We may acknowledge the creativity of the modern scientists. But let's not forget the original creator, Kṛṣṇa, who has created nanotechnology in almost everything around us and within us. Each cell that makes up our body is a nano-factory. A simple example of Kṛṣṇa's nanotechnology is that He fits an enormous sequoia tree, which can rise up to 310 feet, into a seed less than half a centimeter wide. And what to speak of the spirit soul within the miniscule seed as well as the colossal tree. The *Katha Upanisad* tells us that the soul is one ten thousandth the size of the tip of a hair. A person with an average understanding of spiritual truths will not fail to see that the scientists' best attempts to prove their competence in nanotechnology are just the newest stunts in the old struggle to supersede God's creation. Even if scientists were to re-create all the functions of an ordinary fly, without the life force they'll never make a real fly. Nor will they ever make a self-reproducing robo-fly. Kṛṣṇa, the original creator, owns the patents. He's the God of not just small things—or big things—but of *everything*. Before Him, we are always nano. ## Kṛṣṇa’s Perfect Timing: Revealing a Covered Devotee *A devotee's early life often gives no clues about what is to come.* > By Karnamrta Dāsa MY EARLY LIFE gave no clue that it would take a radical shift when I reached the age of nineteen. My character and nature would not have led anyone to believe I was a candidate even for ordinary religious life, what to speak of a life dedicated to spiritual pursuits and years of living in an ashram. I was an average American kid who grew up in a dysfunctional family, played rock music, and was interested in the typical worldly things. As a high school student in San Francisco, I was influenced by the counterculture going on in full swing. I'm sure any number of other kids had a similar background, but they didn't reach the same conclusion I did. They might even have been as distressed as I was, but I was fortunate enough to discover that the real solution to my suffering was a spiritual one, while they looked for answers in endeavors like relationships, education, and occupation. Or out of frustration, they tried to escape by dulling their senses with intoxication. Of course many young people, including myself, took intoxication at that time. Some "burned out" and never recovered, some grew out of it and followed the normal course of getting a degree, family, and job, and a very few sought out spirituality. Fortunately, I was in the last category. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (7.3), "Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth." *A Covered Devotee* The *Bhagavad-gītā* tells us that we carry the results of our spiritual practices from one life to the next. This explains how a person with my background could be attracted to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And the apparent misfortunes of my early life could in fact have fostered the continuation of my spiritual life from previous births. The Sixth Chapter of the *Gita*, in texts 37 through 45, gives us the general principles that explain how and why a devotee's hidden spiritual potential unfolds. Although sociologists or psychologists can explain the change in material terms, the root of it is in fact spiritual, and Kṛṣṇa reveals this ordinarily hidden knowledge in His discussion with Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa's explanation makes comprehensible the radical change in the direction of my life. Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa what happens to the spiritual practitioner who, because of worldliness, fails in his attempts for self-realization. Arjuna thought that such a person would lose everything both materially and spiritually, like a "riven cloud" that disappears without a trace. Kṛṣṇa assures Arjuna that the spiritual activities one performs are never lost, but continue life after life until one attains perfection. A person who is spiritually unsuccessful after a short endeavor will be born either in heaven, for superior material enjoyment, or in a pious or rich family on earth. A person who fails to achieve success after a long practice will achieve the rare birth in a family of wise transcendentalists. These *Gita* verses present two important points relative to our discussion of how someone with no apparent spiritual qualifications could come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The first is "one who does good, My friend, is never overcome by evil." This is part of Kṛṣṇa's explanation that spiritual life continues over lifetimes. Prabhupāda refers to devotees having a "spiritual bank account" that will someday mature. Their spiritual assets may temporarily be covered or hidden, but under the right circumstances and timing they will eventually resurface and continue to grow. Even great devotees often demonstrate this in their lives; for some time their spirituality seems covered, only to come roaring to the surface. Even the life of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself, showed this. Although He charmed everyone with His godly beauty and attractive character, in His youth He acted like a proud logician. Only after spiritual initiation did He reveal Himself as the ideal—and extraordinarily ecstatic—devotee. The next point in these verses is "he automatically becomes attracted to the yogic principles—even without seeking them." This means that our spiritual life comes searching after us when we may not be expecting it and that our life unfolds to accommodate it. Or we could imagine our dormant spiritual life to be a time bomb ticking within us, waiting for the right moment to explode. Our outward life may seem to change first, but that is only to accommodate our inner awakening. That was my experience, and I have heard many similar stories. This doesn't mean, however, that we can sit around and do nothing, like someone who doesn't go to college but hopes to get an honorary degree. We should act as if our spiritual life depends on us, while knowing full well that ultimately it is by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees that we can be successful in our spiritual life. *Who Comes to Kṛṣṇa?* What does Kṛṣṇa's analysis tell us about the birth of someone who becomes a devotee? We shouldn't be embarrassed if a devotee comes from an impious or low-class background. The devotee's background must be seen in a higher context than social acceptability. On the one hand, it is the glory of *bhakti* to be able to purify one from what appears to be an impious background. On the other hand, we have to understand that the circumstances of a devotee's life are meant to foster his or her unfinished spirituality. Many people come to Kṛṣṇa with a mixed mentality—they want to serve Kṛṣṇa and satisfy their material desires as well. The test for a devotee is how to reconcile these desires to make a life favorable for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is not always evident what kind of background will prove the most favorable for taking full shelter of Kṛṣṇa and remembering Him at death. Some of us may come to Kṛṣṇa with a background of material success or religious piety. Others, like me, never strived for either, but instead gave up in frustration and moved into a temple community. In either case, our pasts led us to search beyond the normal avenues of the world. Kṛṣṇa says in the Seventh Chapter of the *Gita* that four types of people come to Him: the unhappy, the curious, those seeking material gain, and the wise. Kṛṣṇa says that despite their initial motivation they are all great souls for approaching Him and can attain the highest perfection. Nevertheless, the wise person, advanced in understanding the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, will more easily remain steady in his or her convictions and spiritual practices. We may drop out of the world, or we may stay involved in our career while continuing to pursue our spiritual life. Some devotees who initially lived in an ashram eventually moved out to pursue family and career. There are no material impediments to practicing devotional service; it can be practiced under any circumstances. Somehow we have to gain faith in Kṛṣṇa, in His holy name and service, and in His devotees. If we have a strong relationship with devotees we admire and respect—and from whom we feel the current of spirituality—we can deal with the wide variety of people who come to Kṛṣṇa. Any group contains many backgrounds and personality types, yet in the association of devotees we want to always appreciate the rarity of devotional service, honoring the goal a devotee is striving for. We should not be surprised that devotees may struggle in various ways and face reverses and setbacks. Because most of us struggle sometimes, here is a great quote from Prabhupāda's purport to *Bhagavad-gītā* (3.31) to encourage us: But an ordinary man with firm faith in the eternal injunctions of the Lord, even though unable to execute such orders, becomes liberated from the bondage of the law of karma. In the beginning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one may not fully discharge the injunctions of the Lord, but because one is not resentful of this principle and works sincerely without consideration of defeat and hopelessness, he will surely be promoted to the stage of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And here is a verse from the Eleventh Canto: Having awakened faith in the narrations of My glories, being disgusted with all material activities, knowing that all sense gratification leads to misery, but still being unable to renounce all sense enjoyment, My devotee should remain happy and worship Me with great faith and conviction. Even though he is sometimes engaged in sense enjoyment, My devotee knows that all sense gratification leads to a miserable result, and he sincerely repents such activities.—*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 11.20.27-28 Some devotees struggle more than others with following the rules and chanting the holy name. In this life, we pick up from where we left off spiritually in our previous life. Therefore, a handful of devotees will in prior lifetimes have passed through the stage called *anartha-nivrttih* (the end of unwanted mentalities and habits) and thus will not have to face the same kind of struggles as those just beginning that stage. And the timing of that is different for every individual. Even if we are not able to practice very strictly, we should keep on the path and not be discouraged. "In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear." (Bg. 2.40) Even a little devotional service can save us from a degraded birth. Of course we shouldn't be complacent or lazy. While we do our best, we can pray to cultivate a service attitude toward Kṛṣṇa, His devotees, and all living beings. Regardless of our spiritual maturity, we can develop and increase the spirit of service, as Kṛṣṇa recommends in the *Gita's* Twelfth Chapter. The goal is to love Kṛṣṇa, and He describes how to gradually come to that stage of perfection. Everything will come in time for the sincere devotee who doesn't give up the endeavor for Kṛṣṇa consciousness or become lethargic or faithless. Time acts differently for Kṛṣṇa's devotees than for the materialist. Kṛṣṇa says in the *Gita*, "Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds" and "among subduers I am time." The world as Kṛṣṇa's energy relates to people based on their consciousness and priorities. "Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead." (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 2.3.17) Time destroys all material plans and ventures, but it acts to foster a devotee's spiritual experience and development. There is more going on in the life of a devotee than meets the eye, and everyone's spiritual life has its own timing to begin and develop fully. A number of factors are at work in the life of an aspiring devotee, combining together to form a picture. Our current effort is certainly important. But, unseen, our unfinished spiritual practice from past lives mixes with our material desires. In the background is Kṛṣṇa's merciful arrangement, which serves many purposes. This is where Kṛṣṇa's perfect timing comes in, bringing us association with saints, awakening our dormant faith, and speeding up our spiritual progress. Unexpected events or meetings come into our lives that change them dramatically. Or, seemingly out of nowhere, our mentality about what is really important changes, paving the way for life-altering decisions. How my spiritual search arose out of the ashes of my life and culminated in my seeing Kṛṣṇa as its crown jewel is an unfolding I often reflect on and share with others. My life was transformed in a few years in ways inexplicable to material reason. How I, an apparently unqualified person, was directed to Kṛṣṇa is for me an amazing story. It is a testimony to how Kṛṣṇa gradually worked through the circumstances of my life to bring me to Prabhupāda and devotional service at the perfect time of my greatest urgency. *Karnamrta Dāsa, initiated by Śrīla Prabhupāda in 1970, has trained in many energy-healing methods. He often works with his wife, Arcana Siddhi Devī Dāsī, a licensed clinical social worker, in couples' therapy and premarital counseling, and in putting on workshops for personal and spiritual growth. They live in the devotee community of Prabhupāda Village in rural North Carolina. He has a blog on* Krishna.com. ## From the Editor *The Truth of Goodness* WITH THE EXCEPTION of a few radical skeptics, who can't justify belief in anything, most people believe that an objective reality exists outside our own minds. The Vedic scriptures tell us that human life is meant for understanding that reality and harmonizing ourselves with it. While science and religion disagree on how to uncover the truth, at least they agree it exists. Some scientists contend that science must be value-neutral, that it should concern itself only with the cold, hard facts uncovered in the laboratory, and not with such things as beauty, goodness, and love. For the strict reductionist, everything is just particles and energy, making beauty, goodness, and love illusory. Placing value on them by elevating them above ugliness, evil, and hatred is simply a deluded human enterprise that has nothing to do with the fundamental nature of existence. We find, however, that in practice, science doesn't reject values. Scientists generally proclaim that science should be used for the good of mankind, implying that they know the difference between good and evil. They're making a value judgment. When science rejects values, we end up with technology used for the most horrible purposes, as seen in Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia. While we might disagree about the details, human beings tend to value qualities that elevate us above the animals. Every country enacts laws founded on moral principles, most of which center on the idea of how we should treat each other. As Hippocrates wrote, "First, do no harm." Simply put, we believe it is better to be good than bad. We believe, for example, that it is better to love than to hate. We admire the man who loves his family and makes sacrifices that demonstrate his love. We revere people who help victims of abuse, violence, poverty, or racism. Just consider the respect for Mother Teresa. Science can't prove the validity of our feelings, but we accept them as real. Somehow, we just know that certain qualities are good. Every genuine religion sees God as the supreme good, and a fundamental principle of religion is the cultivation of goodness. The founding teachers of every religious tradition have encouraged us to develop such qualities as tolerance, nonviolence, peacefulness, and respect for the rights of others. And in every tradition, we find people, generally called saints, who show us that the human potential for goodness is boundless. Despite its lack of scientific verifiability as an objective truth, we know intuitively that goodness is real. From a strictly materialistic perspective, it's hard to explain why we think that love is better than hate. Here, a spiritual point of view comes to our aid: We value goodness because we're all part of God, the supreme good. Goodness is an essential element of our nature. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His followers have taught and shown that by practicing *bhakti-yoga* we can rise to the level of perfect goodness. In that state, our true identity as pure spiritual beings is revealed. And it includes perfect happiness in loving union with the source of all happiness, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Even ordinary experience in this world shows that good people tend to be happy. Science may not be able to explain why, but as the philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, "The heart has its reasons which reason does not know." —Nagaraja Dāsa Vedic Thoughts The spiritual master is the external manifestation of God, who is situated in everyone's heart as Supersoul. For one who is very serious about understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Supersoul immediately renders assistance by directing him to a bona fide spiritual master. In this way the spiritual candidate is helped from within and without. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda *Easy Journey to Other Planets*, Chapter 2 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, His different potencies, and His transcendental qualities all have inconceivable prowess. It is not possible to explain them fully. These three items attract the mind of a perfect student engaged in spiritual activities and overcome all other processes of spiritual activity. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya* 6.196-197 The Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always fully satisfied in Himself. Therefore when something is offered to Him, the offering, by the Lord's mercy, is for the benefit of the devotee, for the Lord does not need service from anyone. To give an example, if one's face is decorated, the reflection of one's face in a mirror is also seen to be decorated. Śrī Prahlada Mahārāja *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 7.9.11 Simply by material birth, human beings become attached within their minds to personal sense gratification, long duration of life, sense activities, bodily strength, sexual potency, and friends and family. Their minds are thus absorbed in that which defeats their actual self-interest. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 11.21.24 Knowledge of the sacred scriptures destroys many doubts and enables us to understand things beyond our sense perception. One who does not see through the eyes of the scriptures is actually blind. Canakya Pandita Kṛṣṇa will certainly deliver anyone who chants His names without offense or blasphemy. Śrīla Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura *Śrī Caitanya-Bhagavata, Madhya-khanda* 9.246 Other than those who are inclined to the service of the Lord, no one can possibly achieve happiness from the Lord's *darsana* [audience]. Since others consider the Supreme Lord an object of enjoyment, they lack a service attitude and are unable to achieve eternal happiness, which is the actual fruit of the Lord's *darsana*. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura Commentary on *Śrī Caitanya-Bhagavata, Madhya-khanda* 10.255