# Back to Godhead Magazine #45 *2011 (01)* Back to Godhead Magazine #45-01, 2011 PDF-View ## Welcome When Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared about five hundred years ago as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He gave two primary instructions: perfect your life by following the teachings of the *Bhagavad-gītā,* and spread the *Gita's* message to others. This issue contains three articles that deal with the second instruction. In Śrīla Prabhupāda's lecture, which opens the issue, he quotes a text from the Vedic literature directing every human being to serve others. Prabhupāda explains why the best way to serve our fellow human beings is to deliver to them Kṛṣṇa’s teachings. In "Teaching *Bhakti* in a University Town," we hear how a devotee couple is spreading Kṛṣṇa’s message in Charlottesville, Virginia, having taken the initiative to teach the *Bhagavad-gītā* to university students there. Across the ocean in South Africa, Kṛṣṇa’s devotees are delivering Kṛṣṇa consciousness to black townships, knowing that the unity South Africa strives for can be attained only on the spiritual platform. Padma Devī Dāsī's "Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Psychologist" deals directly with Kṛṣṇa’s teachings, showing how they're the answer to all our problems, whether of body, mind, or soul. Articles by Urmila Devī Dāsī, Visakha Devī Dāsī, and Tattvavit Dāsa relate Lord Kṛṣṇa’s teachings to space, money, and ancient Greece. 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 *BTG in a Buddhism Class* I teach the Buddhist class here at Dooly State Prison. I was invited to share my insights originally, and I have shared BTG with interested inmates to educate them on the Vedic culture Buddhism comes from. I haven't met anyone, even narrow-minded people, who has not appreciated at least one article in BTG. The articles are always so relevant, meaningful, and Kṛṣṇa conscious. Hardik Kaswala Unadilla, Georgia *Signifying the Body* One of the primary spotlights of Vaisnava philosophy is to realize that we are not the body but the soul and that the body is just a garment/instrument for the soul. Then why do we waste time in signifying this garment with *tilaka*? Rupin Takkar Via the Internet *Our reply:* Yes, our body is our instrument for a lifetime, but it is a very special instrument. We can use it to realize Kṛṣṇa and go back to Him. When we mark it with *tilaka,* we meditate on the fact that it is a temple where the Lord resides. Therefore we care for this instrument and use it fully in the Lord's service. By wearing *tilaka* we also help other spirit souls begin to remember the Lord in their hearts and awaken their lost and covered consciousness. When we wear *tilaka* and people ask what it is and why we wear it, we can tell them that this body is a temple where the soul and the Supersoul live side by side. Our scriptures say that the Yamadutas, who come to punish the sinful at death, do not approach persons wearing Vaisnava *tilaka* and neck beads. Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted his disciples to wear *tilaka* and neck beads, which he said made them look like they were coming from Vaikuntha, the spiritual world. *Losing the Connection* I used to feel a connection with Kṛṣṇa, but now, not so much. I feel separation. And I feel that if I try to learn more about Kṛṣṇa, I will just offend Him even more. How do I please Kṛṣṇa and stop offending Him? Reshma Via the Internet *Our reply:* Lord Kṛṣṇa is very kind, and He is pleased when we feel separation from Him and try to get closer to Him. You need not feel that you are offending Him by trying to get to know Him more. We get to know Kṛṣṇa by hearing and chanting His name, reading books about Him, speaking what He said, and serving Him and His devotees. If you have a humble service mood and show Kṛṣṇa your desire and effort, even if flawed, to know Him, He will be pleased and gradually reveal Himself to you. Feelings of separation from Kṛṣṇa are good. They help us remain humble and aspire to get closer to Him. Feelings that prevent us from trying to serve and know Kṛṣṇa are not genuine feelings of separation, but rather frustration coming from not meeting our own desires. For example, we may want to experience Kṛṣṇa before we've developed the necessary qualifications. We have to be careful not to indulge in self-pity, which will prevent us from doing the work necessary to get to know Kṛṣṇa. He is eager for us to return to Him and will respond to our efforts and spiritual desires. *Dealing with Our Karma* How can one control his past actions and transform them into something good. Nisha Via the Internet *Our reply:* Our past actions are finished and therefore out of our control. They have created the situations with which we must live, for example our level of wealth, beauty, and intelligence, as well as the general amount of suffering and happiness we are destined to have in this life. On the other hand, how we react to those situations creates our future. Our actions can bring upon us more material happiness and distress in our next bodies, or can assure that we will go back to Kṛṣṇa and never take birth again. At each moment, we have decisions to make: Will I serve my senses and those of my family and friends? Will I serve Kṛṣṇa? Will those actions that please others also please Kṛṣṇa? Will my *guru* be pleased? Are my actions in line with the recommendations of devotees and the scriptures? Should I do a thing that will apparently make me feel good but cause suffering in the future? We constantly choose our reactions to the circumstances we have already earned. Our choices will bring auspiciousness or inauspiciousness—or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is best to put material attachments aside and think in a Kṛṣṇa conscious way when we decide how to proceed in our lives. Some people are rich but miserable, proud, addicted to sinful acts, and devoid of spiritual values. Some people are poor but religious and happy. We can make any situation in life good if we choose to react to it in a way that is in line with the instructions of Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees. Founder's Lecture: Benefit for the Charitable Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Bombay, March 19, 1971 We can serve everyone, and benefit ourselves, by contributing in some way to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, "the life-giving movement for human society." > etavaj janma-saphalyam > dehinam iha dehisu > pranair arthair dhiya vaca > sreya-acaranam sada "It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence, and words."—*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 10.22.35 There are many embodied souls in the 8,400,000 of species of life. Out of them, persons who follow the civilized way of life, especially those who are followers of Vedic regulations, are called Aryans. The human form is obtained after an evolutionary process that takes many, many years. The *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (11.9.29) says, > labdhvā sudurlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte > mānuṣyam arthadam anityam apīha dhīraḥ > tūrṇaṁ yateta na pated anumṛtyu yāvan > niḥśreyasāya viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt "After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Kṛṣṇa consciousness is possible only for a human being." Of all the embodied souls, the embodied soul in the human form of life is meant for liberation. We are entangled in the chain of repeated birth and death, old age, and disease, but we are not yet fed up. We think, "All right, let me go on like this." But that is not advancement of knowledge. That is ignorance. There is a way to stop the repetition of birth, death, old age, and disease. Therefore in this age, in this life especially, we should try to get out of this entanglement. That is the special function of the human form of life. Today's verse speaks of *dehi.* There are many *dehi.* Dehi means one who has a material body. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (2.13), Lord Kṛṣṇa says, > dehino ’smin yatha dehe > kaumaram yauvanam jara > tatha dehantara-praptir > dhiras tatra na muhyati "As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change." *Dehi* implies "I am not this body, but I have accepted this body." Just as we accept a kind of dress, similarly, according to our desire, according to our *karma*, we have accepted a certain type of body, and according to that body, we are subjected to different types of pains and pleasures. This is going on. *Immediate vs. Permanent Benefit* Today's verse from the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* says that the duty of everyone in a human body is **sreya* acaranam:* to act for **sreya*.* In the Vedic literature we find the words *sreya* and *preya.* Ordinarily everyone is engaged in some sort of duty for sense gratification. Everyone works very hard to satisfy the senses according to his standard of desire. That is called *preya,* immediate benefit. But there is another department of activities, called **sreya*.* Children like to play. That is *preya.* But the guardians are anxious that the children may not be spoiled, that they may be educated for their future life. That is **sreya*.* The *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* says that in this life we should not be after *preya,* immediate benefit or immediate objects of sense gratification. We should be thoughtful: Who am I? Why am I in the material condition of life? What is the way to get out of it? These questions concern **sreya*.* In the human form of life, people should be engaged in activities of the ultimate goal of life, and that ultimate goal is Kṛṣṇa or Visnu. But people do not know this. In the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (7.5.31), Prahlada Mahārāja says, > na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum > durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah > andhayathandhair 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." Being captivated by the external energy, *maya,* we have forgotten our interest. We are working for a different interest—for *preya,* not *sreya.* *Sreya* is Visnu or Kṛṣṇa. *How to Help Others* I do not want to take too much of your time. You are all busy men, and I thank you very much for coming here today. We require your cooperation. In today's verse we find the words *pranair arthair dhiya vaca.* We can help others by each of these: "life, wealth, intelligence, and words." Somebody should dedicate his life for this great movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. These young Americans, Europeans, and Indians have dedicated their life for this purpose—to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one cannot dedicate his life, then he should dedicate his money as far as possible. According to the program of our predecessor spiritual masters, everyone should sacrifice fifty percent of his income for Kṛṣṇa. Rupa Gosvami showed the example. It doesn't matter whether your income is five *lakhs* [500,000 rupees] per month or five rupees per month. You should sacrifice the major portion of your income to the Supreme. If the government has the right to exact income tax from you, has not Kṛṣṇa the right to exact income tax? He is supplying you so many things. What the government is supplying? Kṛṣṇa is supplying you sunlight. Kṛṣṇa is supplying you moonlight. Kṛṣṇa is supplying you air. Kṛṣṇa is supplying you food. The *Katha Upanisad* (2.2.13) says, *nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman:* "The Supreme Lord is eternal and the living beings are eternal. The Supreme Lord is cognizant and the living beings are cognizant. The difference is that the Supreme Lord is supplying all the necessities of life for the many living entities." Kṛṣṇa is fulfilling all your desires, so don't you like to give Him some tax? *Bali Mahārāja's Example* Not only is Kṛṣṇa supplying, but He's also begging. As Vamanadeva, He became a beggar before Bali Mahārāja. Bali Mahārāja had conquered everywhere, including the heavenly planets, and all the demigods were very much perturbed. So Kṛṣṇa as Vamanadeva went to Bali Mahārāja as a beggar: "Mahārāja, you are very charitable. Will you kindly give Me three steps of land?" So Kṛṣṇa, although He is the maintainer of everyone, sometimes takes the part of a beggar. He's not a beggar, but He begs to benefit the charitable. Whoever gives in charity is benefited. Bali Mahārāja gave everything to Vamanadeva. This is called *sarvasatma-nivedanam:* offering everything to the Lord. Different devotees display different types of service to Kṛṣṇa out of the nine kinds of devotional service listed by Prahlada Mahārāja in the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (7.5.23): > sravanam kirtanam visnoh > smaranam pada-sevanam > arcanam vandanam dasyam > sakhyam atma-nivedanam "Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Visnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind, and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service." Bali Mahārāja cultivated *atma-nivedanam,* giving everything to Kṛṣṇa, whatever he had. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (9.27), Lord Kṛṣṇa says, > yat karosi yad asnasi > yaj juhosi dadasi yat > yat tapasyasi kaunteya > tat kurusva mad-arpanam "Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform—do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me." Everyone has some disposition to give in charity. Perhaps you are all businessmen, and you have a separate fund for charity. To give in charity is a natural inclination for everyone. Kṛṣṇa says, "If you are inclined to give in charity, better to give it to Me." So here is a chance—the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. *Pranair arthair dhiya vaca.* Someone should dedicate his life, and someone should give in charity to his best capacity. If he has no possibility of dedicating his life or giving in charity, then can give his intelligence. And ultimately he can give his words also. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very important. So, somebody should dedicate his life, somebody should dedicate his wealth, somebody should dedicate his intelligence, and somebody should dedicate his words. Suppose someone cannot dedicate his life or has no money, then he can give us some use of his intelligence by suggesting, "If you go to such-and-such person, or if you do like this, if you make your plan like this for pushing your Kṛṣṇa consciousness . . ." That is also service. Intelligence. And if he has no money, no intelligence, and cannot dedicate his life, then he can give his words. How can he do that? By repeating Kṛṣṇa’s words. Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (18.66), > sarva-dharman parityajya > mam ekam saranam vraja > aham tvam sarva-papebhyo > moksayisami ma sucah "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear." You can say to someone, "I have come to you, sir, to tell you that you should surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Please surrender to Kṛṣṇa." Words involve no expenditure. Or you can say, "Please chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." I think it is very easy. There is no expenditure; there is no loss. I am so obliged to you that you are trying your best to push this movement, and at the same time I must say that this movement is very, very important. This is the life-giving movement for human society. That's a fact. It is not a bogus, manufactured, concocted movement. It is authorized. Kṛṣṇa says, *sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja* [Bg 18.66], and we are teaching this philosophy throughout the world. And from all parts of the world, we are getting devotees who are completely surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Thank you very much. ## Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out *A Deluxe Edition of Animal Life* *The following conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and a Life Member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness took place in August 1976 on an early-morning walk in Hyderabad, India.* Life Member: What is your view on birth control by contraception? Śrīla Prabhupāda: That is the most sinful activity. Birth control should be done by restraining sex. LM: That is one way. Śrīla Prabhupāda: That is the only way approved in the *sastra* [scriptures]. All other ways are sinful. LM: But people are committing sinful activities like contraception and abortion. What will happen to them? Śrīla Prabhupāda: They will suffer. Those who are killing children in the womb will themselves be killed. They will enter into a mother's womb and be killed. They will be punished, tit for tat. But that they do not know. These rascals have no education about the laws of nature. They're acting very independently, but Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* [3.27], *ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate:* Those who think they can act independently of nature are *vimudhas,* rascals. They will be punished by the laws of nature, just like a thief who defies the laws of the government. LM: What is the qualification of someone fit to have children? Śrīla Prabhupāda: The husband and wife should not have a child unless they can take full responsibility for saving him from the repetition of birth and death. That is the sastric injunction. In the material world everyone is rotating in the cycle of birth and death, transmigrating from one body to another (*tatha dehantara-praptih*). And after many millions of years, one gets the chance to become a human being. Now, in this life, one can stop birth and death. That is Vedic culture—learning how to conquer the process of repeated birth and death (*punar-janma-jaya*). But that is possible only in human life. So the parents' duty is to train their children in such a way that their present birth is their last. And that training is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unfortunately, people are ignorant of this science. So both parents and children are staying in the cycle of birth and death and wasting the opportunity of having a human body. This is modern civilization. People do not know this science; they are kept in darkness. Their so-called education is useless, because they do not learn what the destination of life is. Practically speaking, there is no education. The modern so-called education teaches you how to eat nicely, how to sleep nicely, how to have sex nicely, and how to defend nicely. And that is the business of the animals. They know how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex, and how to defend. So the extra intelligence of the human being is making a deluxe edition of eating, sleeping, sex, and defense. The modern civilization is a deluxe edition of animal life. That's all. LM: But many people would insist that the material progress of present-day society makes life worthwhile. Śrīla Prabhupāda: What will you do with your material progress at the time of death? Suppose you have a big bank balance, a nice house, good friends. At any moment death can come and kick you out. What can you do? As death, Kṛṣṇa will come one day and take everything you have. Finished. And He may make you a dog. Now bark. How can you stop it? You have practiced how to bark in the legislative assembly. Now become a dog and go on barking—*yow, yow, yow*! This is going on. No one knows the purpose of life. As Kṛṣṇa says in the **Bhagavad-gītā*, *asatyam* *apratistham* te jagad ahur *anisvaram*.* People are claiming this world is false (*asatyam*), there is no cause (*apratistham*), there is no God (*anisvaram*). So the modern civilization denies God, yet it is still trying to mitigate the miseries of life. But *Bhagavad-gītā* proposes that first of all you should try to understand what your real misery is. Do you know what the real misery of your life is? What is the misery of your life? LM: The misery of life is to live without divine knowledge. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. The real misery of life is that although you are an eternal soul, with no birth or death, you are suffering repeated birth and death of the body. Therefore birth and death are your real miseries. This is knowledge. But people have no brain to understand these things. Kṛṣṇa clearly says, *na jayate mriyate va:* "For the soul there is neither birth nor death." But the rascals never think, "Why am I suffering birth? Why am I dying?" Where is their education? They are struggling to get free of misery, but they don't know what their actual misery is. They foolishly engage in the struggle for existence and hope for the survival of the fittest. LM: The theory of the survival of the *fit*test may be applicable in our case because *fit* means? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Fit means "not getting another material body." That is being fit, because as soon as you get another material body you must suffer. People are mad, working day and night, but they are acting adversely to their own interest. You already have a body that is causing you suffering, and by your *karma*, your fruitive work, you are creating another body. And as soon as you get another material body, you'll have to suffer, whether you become a king or a dog. People have no brain to solve this problem, although there is a solution. *Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti:* Kṛṣṇa says in *Bhagavad-gītā* that if you understand Him in truth, you can get out of the cycle of birth and death and go back to Godhead—no more birth and death. So you have become our Life Member. Try to broadcast the philosophy of *Bhagavad-gītā.* That is the meaning of membership. Everything is there in *Bhagavad-gītā.* Thoroughly study *Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.* Understand the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, apply it in your own life, and try to spread it among your friends. ## Teaching Bhakti in a University Town *By Mayapriya Devī Dāsī* *Following Prabhupāda's formula, a small center in Virginia offers much to students looking for meaning beyond academics.* The door opens and several college students enter, pulling off their shoes and scarves and rubbing their hands together by the wood stove, enjoying its radiant warmth. Another two cars filled with students are parking in the driveway. Isana Dāsa and Laura, with little Jai and Mira, are already inside. The atmosphere is warm and friendly, and everyone is happy to see each other. It's Sunday in Charlottesville, Virginia, and this is the *Bhakti Yoga* Club. In 1993 my husband, Amit Acara Dāsa, and I decided it was time to move on. We had helped start the New Goloka community in North Carolina in 1982, working to build the geodesic-dome temple. We watched the temple community grow from three or four of us to a large group of householders and temple devotees. After approximately ten years, we wanted to try to do something more for Śrīla Prabhupāda. We decided to find a college town, open a small center, and start a *Bhakti Yoga* Club at a university. After a short search, we selected Charlottesville, Virginia, home of the University of Virginia. A town of about 40,000 in a county of 100,000, it seemed to be a good size and to have a progressive attitude. We weren't city dwellers by any stretch; we liked the country. But we would be moving from a small farm to a small city. It would be a real change for us, and it turned out to be an important one. We moved near the University of Virginia (UVA) in the summer of 1993 and began the paperwork to start a club. At the first Activity Fair, ninety-eight students signed up for the club. "Wow," we thought, "this will be great!" But getting them to come was another matter. Each week, we'd call the list and find a few who wanted to come. In the first years, even the few who came showed little serious interest, but all were nice and polite. Some weeks no one came. We'd present the program to each other and then make feast plates to take around to our neighbors. That neighborhood ate a lot of *prasādam.* As the years passed, we moved twice, each time to a more rural location, and the attendance increased with each move. Even though we are now more than twenty minutes from UVA, our rural setting on a ridge overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains attracts the weary students, and they seem invigorated by being in the country. The students have changed too. Somewhere around 2002, the young people who joined seemed more interested. They wanted more from life than a good job—they wanted their lives to matter. The *Bhakti Yoga* Club was waiting for them, and they were ready for the subject we were teaching. *A Simple Formula* Our formula is simple and easily recognizable. *Kirtana* (with a variety of instruments so everyone can participate), *Bhagavad-gītā* class and discussion, a round of **japa*,* and *prasādam* with conversation. But our approach is not exactly like a Sunday program at a temple. We start each year with a curriculum to cover. First we give a class on what *yoga* is and isn't, and we follow it with one explaining that we are not the body but the soul. Then we give classes on how *yoga* links us with Kṛṣṇa, *karma* and reincarnation, the modes of nature, and so on. By the end of the first semester, the students have a foundation of basic bhakti-*yoga* philosophy, chanting, and more. After the class on chanting, we begin the weekly practice of chanting a round of *japa* together. In the second semester we branch out into more complex topics and have some guest speakers. Since we're in our home, the atmosphere is warm, informal, and relaxed. Each week, we send out an attractive email to the one hundred or so students and nonstudents on our email list, recapping the previous week's class and previewing the next one. Many attendees have already graduated but have asked to stay on the email list so they can keep in touch and read the class summaries. They also write letters telling us about their lives and asking questions. Several of our BYC alums have received initiation in ISKCON, some have lived in temples, some have become active in temples in cities where they found jobs, and one even taught school for a while in Śrī Māyāpura Dhama. We also have a Bhakti Book Club, which meets at Isana Dāsa's house twice a month on a weekday evening. At the BBC, we choose one of Prabhupāda's books and read it aloud together. The students don't have time during the week to add more to their already hectic reading schedules, but coming to the club and reading together out loud seems to work well. We stop to discuss when the students have questions or comments. First we start with small books so they'll feel a sense of accomplishment when we finish one, and then we move to the next. Some students become very interested in chanting **japa*.* We stress it as a meditation. Since they are familiar with silent meditation and are drawn to it, we tell them how *mantra* meditation goes a step further. It teaches us how to control the mind like silent meditation, but at the same time, it connects us with Kṛṣṇa—taking the meditation to the highest level. Each week we play a recording of Śrīla Prabhupāda chanting **japa*.* The students sit with straight backs and full concentration and chant a round of *japa* with him. We have beads to lend those who don't have their own, but nearly each week another student will decide it is time to have his or her own *japa* beads. *An Atmosphere of Support* We encourage serious students who have come for several years to give class or lead **kirtana*.* We try to create an atmosphere of support and friendship, where everyone wants everyone else to succeed. When students have a special interest, we try to help them. For example, someone who wants to learn to cook can come out some weeknight for a lesson or two. Last year, two young women who wanted to learn to lead *kirtana* came to our home to practice. Amit Acara is teaching two young men to play harmonium, and I’m teaching one student the *mrdanga.* We tailored a special advanced study program for one young man. He read assigned books and then met with Amit Acara a few times a week to discuss them. Putting on the programs, improving them, and finding new ways to engage the students is our constant meditation. Our efforts are rewarded many times over when we see the changes in the students who attend regularly, or when an alum writes us, as one did the other day, to tell us that something we told him seven years ago still resonates with him today. We also run a website for students, BYC alums, and anyone interested in the path of **bhakti* (*www*.**bhakti*vedantacenter*.*com)*.* Coded by last year's BYC president, Bhakta Andrew Davidow, the site provides a community for students and a place to return to for those who have graduated but want to learn more and stay connected to the Center*.* It has writings, recipes, podcasts, slideshows, and more*.* It is designed for beginning and intermediate practitioners of *bhakti* who are out in the world and may have no other active connection to a temple*.* It is also a site where devotees can feel comfortable sending curious family members or people they meet*.* The teaching on the site is relaxed and approachable*.* *An Example for Others* Wherever we travel, we hear our Godbrothers and Godsisters expressing a desire to become active preachers, as when they were in younger bodies. And we know there are those who may not be initiated but wish to share what they have learned with others. Prabhupāda’s Sunday Feast formula was *kirtana,* a little philosophy, and *prasādam.* Almost any practitioner can supply some level of competence in those three, enough to gather friends at home for an evening centered on Kṛṣṇa. Throughout the years, many devotees have given us encouragement and help, and we value their support. We hope this display of cooperation will encourage others to start a *Bhakti Yoga* Club or have programs wherever they live. There is such a need for teaching those who are interested in *bhakti-yoga* but who may never go to a temple or do not live near one. The rewards are so great, and the effort, while substantial, is doable, even for those who work full time like us. You can adapt your presentation to your time, place, and circumstances. Our programs inspire us to deepen our understanding of the philosophy. We read more, we chant better, we are enthusiastic, and we feel closer to Śrīla Prabhupāda because our constant meditation is to give others what he is giving us. When we teach, there is no question of feeling bored or uninspired. This is our eighteenth year of teaching *bhakti-yoga* in this university town, and we can't imagine our lives any other way. *Amit Acara Dāsa and Mayapriya Devī Dāsī are disciples of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. They joined Prabhupāda's movement in Boston and spent their early devotional life at New Vrindavan. Mayapriya is a professional book designer. She has worked for the Bhaktivedanta Archives and the BBT and produces many devotees' books. Their website is www.bhaktivedantacenter.com.* ## e-Krishna The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium—The website www.tovp.org describes an ambitious project to make the vast culture and philosophy of the timeless Vedic tradition accessible to everyone. Being built on the site of ISKCON's world headquarters at Śrī Māyāpur Chandrodaya Mandir in Māyāpur, West Bengal, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium will contain a giant representation of the universe as described in the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam.* The temple will also have museums and exhibits that will teach visitors about Vedic culture and the science of the *Vedas.* The menu across the top allows access to all the information available on the site. Under the Media Gallery link you can look at videos, plans, and images of the temple construction. A three-dimensional moving model shows the universe as described in the Vedic literature. The Vedic Science section explains the ancient cosmology behind the planetarium. There is also a description of the exhibits that will be installed, as well as the Vedic Science Centre, where expositions of Vedic cosmology will detail the mathematical and scientific rationale supporting the Vedic planetary model. Read also about the 200-seat Planetarium Theatre, with its twenty-meter hemispherical dome. About Us introduces you to the team working on the temple project, from the directors, to the design team, the 3D modeler, project managers, and everyone involved. A message from the chairman, Ambarisa Dāsa, discusses Śrīla Prabhupāda's desires for the development of Māyāpur. A section called The Vision contains a talk by Jananivasa Dāsa of Māyāpur Academy describing how the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium project started and how Śrīla Prabhupāda left instructions for many of the details of the planetarium. Click on News and read the blog to keep up to date with the latest information on the continuing construction of the complex. The news section includes an Upcoming Events link. The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) link provides answers to the basic questions you might ask about the development. Click on the Donate link and find out how you can assist the project. Don’t forget to watch the fascinating video by managing director Ṣaḍbhuja Dāsa, where he shows how the temple foundation is being constructed. —Antony Brennan ## Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Psychologist *By Padma Devī Dāsī* *Lord Kṛṣṇa’s teachings provide the perfect framework for dealing with psychological issues.* Psychology is the study of the human mind, intellect, and emotions and how the condition of these determines our behavior. Mostly, psychologists try to remove problems in our thoughts, feelings, speech, eating habits, social interactions, and so on, that cause us psychological anguish. Today, counseling, psychology, and psychiatry are heralded as being effective in this task, but we should understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the unequalled expert in all psychological matters. In the Seventh Chapter of *Bhagavad-gītā,* Kṛṣṇa declares that no one is superior to Him. No one can surpass the Supreme Lord in any field of knowledge or activity. To describe Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Counselor, the Supreme Psychologist, and the Supreme Psychiatrist, excelling all others, is thereby certainly appropriate. His knowledge of all psychological matters is infallible, just as He Himself is infallible. No psychologist other than Kṛṣṇa can make this claim. *Psychological Knowledge in the Vedas* Although generally considered to be religious texts, Vedic writings also inform us about the embodied soul's mental, intellectual, and emotional functions. Much of this knowledge is presented within discussions about social structures, interpersonal relationships, communication techniques, belief systems, problem solving, identity issues, and so forth, in which both philosophical and pragmatic aspects of such topics are considered. Within texts such as *Bhagavad-gītā* and *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam,* Lord Kṛṣṇa discusses the psychological constitution of the embodied soul in great detail. Although His descriptions of psychological phenomena vary according to His audience, His teachings are unanimous in their message that the spiritual soul's accepting a false identity, or false ego, is the cause of all ailments, including psychological ailments. The false ego, a product of false or polluted consciousness, is diametrically opposed to the real ego. While the real identity of the living being is that he is an eternal loving servant of the Supreme Lord, false identity is to think himself anything else. What creates our false identity? Material desires. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (18.58) Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna, "If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost." Lord Kṛṣṇa also imparts knowledge on the behavioral tendencies of persons with different natures. In the Sixteenth Chapter of *Bhagavad-gītā*, Kṛṣṇa describes people endowed with either divine or demoniac natures, including their consciousness, how they think, how they act, and the consequences of their actions. For example, Kṛṣṇa says that people with demoniac natures are attracted by impermanence, or in other words, they are attracted to the material world. He explains that although they consider themselves to be progressing in life, such attraction causes them to indulge in materialistic life while they gradually glide down toward hell. Kṛṣṇa also provides specific information on how the spiritual soul suffers through the workings of the material mind and intellect. For example, in the Eleventh Canto of *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*, Kṛṣṇa describes to His confidential friend Uddhava the inconsistencies of perception for one who succumbs to the illusion of the material world. Such a person is described as perceiving many differences in the value and meaning of material objects and thus suffers due to the innumerable contradictions within his or her mind. For example, due to valuing objects differently at different times, a person may be attracted to one object one day and to another the next day. Or a person may be unable to discern whether something is beneficial or detrimental for material and spiritual wellbeing. Besides giving such knowledge about the causes of psychological suffering, Kṛṣṇa also gives prescriptive measures for how materially afflicted souls can alleviate such suffering. For example, to avert the disaster of succumbing to the demoniac nature, Kṛṣṇa advises that one should give up the behavioral tendencies of anger, lust, and greed, which He describes as the three gateways leading to hellish, or demoniac, life (*Bhagavad-gītā* 16.21). And in the Eleventh Canto (11.7.9), Kṛṣṇa instructs Uddhava that those who experience many-branched perceptual inconsistencies, and are thereby continuously disturbed by their own minds, should learn to see that the entire world is situated within the self and that the self is situated within the Supreme Lord. A person who subdues the mind and controls the senses can achieve this peaceful state of equilibrium. Kṛṣṇa then states that by practicing mind and sense control and following Vedic guidelines for applying Vedic knowledge, a person will feel satisfaction and peace and become dear to all living beings. In this way, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Psychologist, gives materially embodied souls sound practical advice for diminishing the psychological anguish caused by the material energy. Although the materially embodied living being will never be entirely free from psychological problems, Kṛṣṇa explains that adherence to Vedic prescriptions reduces suffering significantly. *Detailed Knowledge of the Subtle Material Realm* Kṛṣṇa also provides vast amounts of information about the subtle material realm, which accommodates all psychological processes. Whereas the gross material body consists of the elements air, fire, water, earth, and space, the subtle material body is made of the mind, intelligence, and false ego. Both the subtle and gross material bodies assist living beings in their attempts to enjoy the material world. The subtle material body makes plans for material indulgences, and the gross material body struggles to execute them. Śrīla Prabhupāda says that the primary function of the materially conditioned mind is to accept and reject material proposals. Every single day, the materially embodied soul is confronted with countless impressions from the material environment, which are accepted or rejected just as a person buys paintings from an art gallery. Our minds thereby fill with material impressions that please our tastes, regardless of their other attributes, such as whether or not they are depictions of the true nature of this world, whether or not they serve some higher ethical or spiritual purpose, or whether or not they shed some light on our spiritual identity. In the words of Śrīla Prabhupāda: "So as we are changing our body, we are getting different experiences, and all those experiences are photographed within the mind. And they sometimes come out and make an intermixture, and we see dreams and so many contradictory things." (Conversation with Professor Durckheim, 1974, Germany) Based on these "photographs" of material life, the mind produces countless ideas, concepts, beliefs, attitudes, viewpoints, judgments, evaluations, decisions, and so on. *The* incoming photographs mingle not only with each other, but also with photographs collected by the mind from previous lifetimes. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in *The* *Nectar of Instruction* (Text 8), "*The* mind contains hundreds and thousands of impressions, not only of this life but also of many, many lives of the past. *The*se impressions sometimes come in contact with one another and produce contradictory pictures. In this way the mind's function can become dangerous for a conditioned soul." The incessant production of these multitudes of material constructs forces the spiritual soul to flounder about in an inestimable number of impressions collected by the material mind and plans made by the material intelligence. Consequently, the soul is distracted from focusing on spiritual goals. But the unchanging spiritual soul is meant to exist eternally in the spiritual sky with the Supreme Lord and thus desperately longs for a permanent sense of reality. It is the function of the false ego, however, to keep the soul from regaining entrance into the spiritual sky. In its efforts to convince living beings that they are products of material nature, the false ego offers a false-identity profile to the soul, based on material impressions collected by the mind and material plans made by the intellect. If the soul accepts the false identity, the person will think and act according to the identity’s specific characteristics. If the soul rejects the proposal offered by the false ego, the material mind and intelligence will assemble components for a new material profile to be presented to the spiritual soul. All psychological problems trace to the above sequence of events. *The Pitfalls of Contemporary Approaches to Psychology* Today’s society considers a healthy psychological condition one in which a person can enjoy his or her material circumstances. For the most part, psychologists and psychiatrists guide their patients toward maintaining pleasurable thoughts and feelings about their material predicaments, rather than considering them sources of suffering, which, according to *Bhagavad-gītā,* they are. Based on such an understanding of psychological health, therapists seek to vanquish hindrances to their patients’ enjoyment as quickly as possible, with little or no concern for their spiritual progress. Yet the ineffectiveness of such an approach is becoming increasingly evident. More and more people cannot find psychological peace, even though governments spend vast amounts of money on health-care initiatives; community centers and schools expand counseling programs; and pharmaceutical companies increase varieties of drugs such as anti-depressants, anxiolytics (for anxiety disorders), mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics, and stimulants. Instead of producing psychologically adept citizens, modern society is filling up with insecure, emotionally depleted, physically rundown, and often very confused people who have no idea how to put an end to their psychological suffering. Although psychologists and other mental-health practitioners study the functions of the mind and intelligence, their understanding of subtle material phenomena in relation to the nonmaterial soul is almost nonexistent. Without authoritative knowledge of the spiritual identity of the living being, psychologists remain in ignorance about the constitutional and functional relationship shared by the soul and the subtle material mind, intelligence, and false ego. In the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (4.29.75) Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "Modern psychologists can study the actions of the mind—thinking, feeling, and willing—but they are unable to go deep into the matter. This is due to their lack of knowledge and to their not being associated with a liberated *acarya.*" In addition to lacking such important psychological knowledge, the majority of today’s mental-health practitioners have no factual knowledge of *karma*, reincarnation, the Supersoul, and the soul's eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord. Consequently they do not understand the purpose or the meaning of their patients’ life circumstances and can often do little more than offer temporary band-aid solutions to psychological dilemmas. But as the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (5.5.18) states, one should not accept dependents unless one can deliver them from the clutches of repeated birth and death. With regards to these topics, we must take knowledge from the *Vedas.* Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "Guided by so-called psychologists and philosophers, people in the modern age do not know of the activities of the subtle body and thus cannot understand what is meant by the transmigration of the soul. In these matters we have to take the authorized statements of *Bhagavad-gītā.*" (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 4.29.75, Purport) Although today’s psychologists are thus in dire need of thorough knowledge of their patient’s psychological constitutions, they are often heralded as possessing the capacity to deliver patients from all types of suffering—mental, intellectual, emotional, social, vocational, educational, and even philosophical dilemmas. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "Sometimes physicians, psychiatrists, and social workers try to mitigate bodily pain, distress, and fear, but they have no knowledge of spiritual identity and are bereft of a relationship with God. Yet they are considered *mahajanas* by the illusioned." (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā* 17.185, Purport) Furthermore, unless practitioners are familiar with the teachings of the *Bhagavad-gītā*, they will be unable to discern different behavioral characteristics according to the three modes of material nature. As the entire subtle and gross material creation functions according to these three material qualities, a lack of knowledge about them creates numerous problems for the aspiring psychologist. Without understanding the benefits of the mode of goodness for psychological wellbeing, and the detriment of the modes of passion and ignorance, psychologists cannot guide their patients toward good psychological health. The mode of goodness endows the living being with peace, wisdom, fearlessness, sobriety, satisfaction, and control of the mind. A person situated within the mode of passion experiences poor psychological health in the form of anxiety, dissatisfaction, uncontrollable hankering, distortion of the intelligence, and perplexity and unsteadiness of the mind. Within the mode of ignorance, one’s consciousness drastically deteriorates into utter disarray, and conditions such as fear, madness, delusion, foolishness, unhappiness, depression, helplessness, and chronic fatigue predominate. And lastly, if psychologists themselves are absorbed in the modes of passion and ignorance, they cannot discern harmful from helpful psychological factors in general. Such psychologists are highly likely to employ treatments within the mode of passion, as this mode offers material proposals that appear, to the uninformed, to benefit psychological wellbeing. Treatment programs designed by such psychologists are thereby highly likely to begin like nectar but end like poison, the symptom of any action or scheme undertaken within the mode of passion. *Śrīla Prabhupāda Discusses Psychological Health* In Perth, Australia, 1975, Śrīla Prabhupāda told a psychiatrist that a lack of God consciousness means poor psychological health: Anyone who has no sense of God consciousness is diseased mentally. He requires treatment. The whole human society, especially at the present moment, has given up God consciousness. They are not interested. That is their disease. . . . Therefore everyone requires a treatment, psychiatrist's treatment. And the best treatment is to induce a person to become Krishna conscious. Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “Sanity means become a devotee.” (*Bhagavad-gītā* 2.27–38 Lecture, Los Angeles, 1968). He also said that devotees of Kṛṣṇa are psychiatrists because they can cure the insanity of being a nondevotee. The purpose of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is to bring all materially engrossed beings back to their original pure consciousness, which frees them from all types of psychological afflictions. By reawakening their spiritual consciousness, living beings regain their natural, healthy psychological condition, in which love for the Supreme Lord and all other living beings can be exhibited unimpeded. This pure, uncontaminated love can create an environment of genuine empathy, kindness, tenderness, and acceptance, an environment of good psychological support for all types of human beings. Because devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa can deliver such genuine love, which instills genuine respect and trust in its recipients, people should seek their company. In His infinite mercy for the fallen souls, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as Lord Caitanya to inaugurate the chanting of His holy names, the supreme tonic for all mental, intellectual, and emotional problems. The presence of Kṛṣṇa on the tongue counteracts such problems and destroys madness. In this way, Kṛṣṇa acts as the Supreme Psychologist, providing the very best remedy for all types of psychological suffering. In this most troublesome Age of Kali, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mantra* is specifically recommended: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If we accept Śrīla Prabhupāda’s statement that we are all in need of psychological care, then we should decisively take shelter of the Supreme Psychologist, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Every living being's inherent position is to take shelter of someone. Certainly we all need shelter from the material environment, which frightens us with so many psychological problems. If we accept Lord Kṛṣṇa not only as our worshipable Lord and dearest friend, but also as the original and most excellent psychologist, then we can be assured we are on the right path to cure all our psychological troubles, once and for all. *Padma Devī Dāsī is a disciple of His Holiness Prabhavisnu Swami. After completing her university studies in Australia, she moved to Vrindavan, India. She plans to write and publish Kṛṣṇa conscious books.* ## The Key to Unity in a Rainbow Nation *By Kṛṣṇa -krpa Dāsa* *In post-apartheid South Africa, Kṛṣṇa’s devotees are building a platform on which to fulfill the dream of racial harmony.* In my travels I try to maintain and expand ISKCON programs of public congregational chanting of God's holy names. Knowing of my fondness for public chanting*,* Kadamba Kanana Swami*,* who teaches Kṛṣṇa consciousness in various parts of the world*,* including South Africa*,* invited me to Pretoria*,* where devotees take to the streets three times a week. South Africa has a history of racial strife and oppression, and soon after my flight lands in South Africa, I learn that despite high hopes, the brotherhood for which the post-apartheid leaders of the Rainbow Nation aspired is not coming to fruition. For example, David Smith wrote in the online *London Guardian,* December 10, 2009, “In 2006, 61% of South Africans agreed that ‘the relationship between the various races’ was improving, but this had fallen to 49% by this year.” *Why the Difficulty?* We learn from *Bhagavad-gītā* (18.21*)* that human beings tend to discriminate on the basis of the race and other external considerations while the wise recognize that within, all souls are equal (Bg. 18.20*)*. *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (1.2.17–19*)* explains that activities of devotion to the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, elevate people to the higher realization. Thus, devotees of the Lord can help people come to the spiritual platform of unity by engaging them in acts of devotion (Bg. 14.26*)*. Mahāprabhu Dāsa, a peaceful, gracious soul who cares for others, is one person trying to unite people spiritually. Always a seeker, he experimented with many religions before coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In the mid-1980s, he read Śrīla Prabhupāda's *Science of Self-Realization* and *Bhagavad-gītā As It Is*. These books answered all his questions about the purpose of life. While attending the Sunday program at the Hare Kṛṣṇa farm near Muldersdrift, South Africa, he saw a devotee cooking *kitri* (a mixture of rice, lentils, and vegetables) in an enormous pot. She said that the mass distribution of spiritual food was part of Hare Kṛṣṇa practice. He loved the idea, moved onto the farm, and soon took over its Food For Life program in Johannesburg. At its height, the program delivered meals of *kṛṣṇa-prasādam* to five thousand school children at twelve schools during the day, and then to local children in the evening. Now Mahāprabhu is focusing on his home neighborhood in Soweto, where he distributes food to public schools and conducts a Sunday Feast program in the temple of his home. Soweto, the black township of almost two million on the southern side of Johannesburg, was once the main stage for tragedy. In 1976, a demonstration of ten thousand high-school students was met with government bullets, pushing the oppressed African population to the limit. The Hector Pieterson Museum, dedicated to a thirteen-year-old victim, stands to testify. Now the home of Nelson Mandela, Soweto promises to play a role in a spiritual revolution, just as it did in the revolution against apartheid. Mahāprabhu explains: “What's the use of gaining a reputation for distributing food on the other side of the Johannesburg when the people in your own neighborhood do not know who you are?” But although Mahāprabhu wanted to share the blessing of Kṛṣṇa devotion with his Soweto neighbors, they were at first suspicious of devotees. *Prasadam* distribution helped overcome the suspicion in two ways. First, because feeding others is universally appreciated as good work, the Sowetans assumed that the devotees must be good people. And second, the devotional act of eating *prasādam* elevated their consciousness. Kṛṣṇa explains in *Bhagavad-gītā* (3.13) that a person who eats food first offered to Him is purified of sins. Furthermore, a person freed from sinful reactions can serve Him with determination (Bg. 7.28). “When I see how happy the children are to get the *kitri,"* Mahāprabhu says, "I am very satisfied.” But Mahāprabhu is not just feeding bodies; he's nourishing souls. He had been living away from Soweto but returned there in 1997 and started weekly programs on Kṛṣṇa consciousness in his home. At least ten residents have become initiated Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees, some now serving in leadership roles at ISKCON centers. Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to give Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the native black South Africans, who make up the vast majority (79%) of the population and often live in urban townships like Soweto. At present, 90% of the ISKCON congregation in South Africa is of Indian descent, although Indians make up only 2% of the population. Many Indians have a natural attraction to Lord Kṛṣṇa and Vedic knowledge, an inclination to help the Lord’s devotees, and because of their piety and hard work, wealth to contribute. Thus from the beginning through the present, the Indian community in South Africa has greatly assisted ISKCON. In particular, they helped build and staff three temples. The principal one, in Chatsworth, near Durban, is famous all over South Africa. Architecturally striking from the outside, it is ornately decorated inside with depictions of the Lord’s pastimes. Another large temple is in nearby Phoenix, and the third is in Lenasia, near Johannesburg. Indian students contribute to outreach by running most of the campus programs of the Bhakti Yoga Society, which brings the most new devotees, from all cultural backgrounds. *Rathayatra in Durban and Soweto* The Durban Rathayatra festival, some attendees say, is the most impressive outside India. It goes on for four days, with a variety of cultural programs and often a dozen ISKCON *sannyasis* providing spiritual inspiration. Last year, Mahāprabhu Dāsa enlivened his Soweto neighborhood with a Rathayatra. After the chariot parade, a stage show provided Kṛṣṇa conscious entertainment all day. Many Sowetans took part, and the dancing was so lively that the stage gave way near the end of the show. Mahāprabhu hopes to expand the Rathayatra by involving local youth groups. He wants to create an uplifting community festival that everyone will feel a part of and not see as just “a Hare Kṛṣṇa thing.” “But it will remain a pure festival," Mahāprabhu says, "without the degraded activities that proliferate in most public festivals.” He hopes for a longer parade route to increase participation. Mahāprabhu’s Soweto temple inspired Vraja Vallabha Dāsa, an outgoing man in his mid-twenties and the temple president in Pretoria, to develop a commitment to spiritual life when he was a teenager. Madhavi, his wife, also attended the Soweto temple as a high-school student, attracted by the singing and Mahāprabhu’s lectures in the local language. “How will Kṛṣṇa conscious expand in South Africa?” I asked Vraja Vallabha. “When the present African devotees take Kṛṣṇa consciousness very seriously," he replied, "then other Africans will take it seriously. That is how we became serious—by the example of other serious devotees.” Enthusiasm for Congregational Chanting What do the present native South African devotees take seriously? The dharma of the age: *harinama sankirtana,* the congregational chanting of the holy name. Bhakti Nrsimha Swami, ISKCON's first South African *sannyasi,* says, “I think the Pretoria temple is the best in South Africa. Not the biggest, but the best. Nowhere will you find such a group of enthusiastic young *brahmacaris.*” Their beautiful singing, their rhythmic drumming, and their dancing with leaps and twirls grace every temple *kirtana* and street-chanting session. As the joyous chanting party of smiling devotees makes its way through the crowded sidewalks of the capital city’s downtown, locals dance to the music—in the street, at fast-food counters, or while cutting a customer’s hair. Witnessing the *san*kirtana** one Sunday at the Pretoria temple, I saw another clue to a truly unified Rainbow Nation. In the morning, the scripture-study teacher Nrsimhananda Dāsa, of Gujarati descent, led a quick-tempo *kirtana* with lots of dancing and running back and forth. Everyone took part. Later, at the Sunday Feast, former temple president Arjuna Dāsa, of Afrikaans ancestry, led sweet *bhajanas* as the native Africans played drums. Finally, the local native African young men, including Vraja Vallabha, led an incredibly lively *kirtana* with all kinds of dancing back and forth and jumping up and down. Everyone was smiling in spiritual happiness. Whatever the cultural background of the leaders or the responders, the spiritual sound went straight to the soul, fueling its fire of love for God. I was reminded of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s statement that talks of brotherhood will be ineffectual until we know God as our divine father. Through Kṛṣṇa *san*kirtana** we can discover brotherhood as we connect with the Lord by singing and dancing for Him together. *Books for Students* The South African devotees also take seriously distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Parthasarati Dāsa, a former American soldier who taught *Bhagavad-gītā* to soldiers in his unit in Iraq, trained an army of book distributors in Pretoria. He took the young men to a nearby university, and in two months, they increased from two hundred to eight hundred books a month. The book distributors know that if the students and professors can understand the philosophy in Prabhupāda's books, they will realize their identity beyond the body and come to the spiritual platform of unity. *Karate and Rap* Intriguing for me were novel ideas to connect people with Kṛṣṇa through their interests in karate and rap. Prema Vikasa Dāsa, an easy-going, friendly devotee with a fascination for martial arts, had friends who insisted he teach karate. Reluctant to teach a mere material skill, he told them, “Okay, I'll teach you karate, but I'll do it in my own way—with God included. Otherwise it has no meaning.” They agreed. Thus in his home township of Hammerskraal he conducts three karate classes attended by about twenty people altogether. The classes include a brief discourse on *Bhagavad-gītā* philosophy, devotional chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, an hour of karate practice, and more chanting, with music. Now about fourteen students have *japa* meditation beads, and four chant sixteen "rounds" on the beads, as initiated ISKCON members do. Three also attend a weekly scripture class. Some fearlessly chant *japa* during school lunch breaks. Sometimes Prema’s students organize their own street-chanting groups. In another village, his friend Jagat Guru Dāsa runs a devotional karate school with five students. Prema Vikasa and Bhakta Lyrix have another skill to offer to Kṛṣṇa : rap music, which is especially popular in South Africa. They write spiritual lyrics for their band, Golden Age, and perform around town. One radio station plays their CDs. They performed at the Soweto Rathayatra. To soothing background music, they attracted people's hearts as they rapped and added gestures, dance steps, and various facial expressions. As the lyrics “It’s my time to worship, worship, worship, it’s my time to praise” played in the background, many in the audience moved their arms from side to side above their heads, smiling and singing along. To make Kṛṣṇa consciousness more widely available, Prema Vikasa and other devotees plan to start small centers in several of their home townships. To prepare for running these centers and others, some devotees are studying Vaisnava philosophy and culture at ISKCON education centers in Māyāpur, West Bengal, and Rādhādesh, Belgium. *Reason for Optimism* Originally from the Netherlands, Kadamba Kanana Swami has been traveling to South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994. He overseas all the programs for presenting Kṛṣṇa consciousness to black South Africans, including several that he has created. He is closely involved with the Pretoria temple, ISKCON's first South African temple under African management, as well as smaller centers in Mafikeng, Hammerskraal (Pretoria), and Mlazi (Durban). Some of his African disciples serve in leadership roles. He is optimistic about the future. “South Africa changed a lot in 1994," he says, "and it is still changing, and changing rapidly. I think that Kṛṣṇa consciousness will explode among the native Africans when we find the right way to present it to them. It expanded dramatically in the former Soviet Union when Communism ended there, and the very same thing could happen in South Africa among the African people.” I saw a lot of devotion, sincerity, innovation, and youthful enthusiasm among the native South African devotees in their outreach programs, and I look forward to seeing Kadamba Kanana Swami’s prediction come to pass. When people take seriously the philosophy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, when they eat food offered to Kṛṣṇa, and when they chant Hare Kṛṣṇa together, they will come to the spiritual platform. Then the dream of a Rainbow Nation will be realized, its members from different cultures working together with a unified purpose. *Kṛṣṇa-krpa Dāsa, a devotee for twenty-seven years, travels to promote congregational chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, teaches classes on Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is a Krishna.com Live Help volunteer, and proofreads BTG and other publications. You can write to him at [email protected].* Meditating on Kṛṣṇa in Athens *A stay in the capital city bears numinous insights.* *by Tattvavit Dāsa* Last year, I visited Athens and the historically interesting Pnyx Hill, with its special atmosphere and amazing views of the Acropolis and the Parthenon [*pictured at left*], the temple that reminds everyone of the glory and the decline of the ancient Greek world. Between visiting members of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement and speaking with contemporary Greeks about Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Being, I learned of a remarkable resemblance between Classical Greece and the Vedic culture of India. According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, classical Vedic literature makes a couple of references to very old relations between India and Greece. So it happens that Kṛṣṇa’s teachings about the transmigration of souls, the creation, and the importance of understanding ultimate causes and absolute truths are all plainly reflected in Plato's philosophy and cosmology. *The Soul* Tad Brennan writes in the *Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy:* The idea that the soul is the true locus of personhood, that its welfare is vastly more important than the body's welfare, that . . . it survives death, is judged for its actions and may be reincarnated, that the post-mortem fate of the soul provides reasons to embrace a life of earthly virtue—for all of these Socratic commitments there is Presocratic precedent. There is a precedent for these Socratic commitments in the *Bhagavad-gītā,* too. There Kṛṣṇa explains that we are part of Him and will end our transmigration through various bodies when we function naturally in immediate service to Him. We each have a unique relationship with God, and when we properly follow Him, we develop love for Him. The ancient Greeks didn't have the refined theology of the Vedic literature, but the citizens of Athens abided by its laws out of love for their city and its patroness, Athena, the virgin-warrior goddess of art, wisdom, and invention (the Greek word *parthenos* means "virgin"). *Creation* Consider the fascinating parallels between the Vedic account of creation and Plato's cosmology. The Vedic tradition describes the *Vedas* as blueprints supplied by Kṛṣṇa to Brahma, the secondary creator of the universe. The *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* teaches that the shining impersonal spiritual sky, the **brahmajyoti*,* contains the seeds for all species. The seeds come from Kṛṣṇa, as He says (*Bhagavad-gītā* 7.10, 10.39): "I am the seed of all beings. . . . the generating seed of all existences." The **brahmajyoti*,* the impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth, rests on Kṛṣṇa (*Bhagavad-gītā* 14.27), the personal and most complete aspect of the Absolute Truth, or source of everything. Brahma brings forth the universe from seeds in the **brahmajyoti*,* as Śrīla Prabhupāda describes in his purport to *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (2.5.11): Just as the small seed of a banyan fruit has the potency to create a big banyan tree, the Lord disseminates all varieties of seeds by His potential *brahmajyoti* (*sva-rocisa*), and the seeds are made to develop by the watering process of persons like Brahma. Brahma cannot create the seeds, but he can manifest the seed into a tree, just as a gardener helps plants and orchards to grow by the watering process. Similarly, Plato describes a creator god who envisions an impersonal, self-existent ultimate source and a realm of unchanging ideal Forms and then is able to manifest those Forms in pre-existing matter. [*See "Platonic and Vedic Accounts of Creation."*] Plato concludes that all Forms must have a single, ultimate source, the Form of all Forms, the essence of all essences. Calling this the Form of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, Plato examines those absolute values. *Understanding Absolute Truth* Frederick Copleston, a Jesuit priest who wrote a nine-volume history of philosophy during the mid-1900s, thought that Plato's main point about the Forms is this: "By rational reflection, we can certainly come to the knowledge of objective and indeed transcendentally-grounded values, ideals, and ends." Transcendent goals and values are a dimension of the Absolute Truth, and seeking them is the essential human experience, whether we do so by reflection or by learning a sacred history from *gurus* or virtuous philosophers. The *Vedanta-sutra* (written by Śrīla Vyasadeva, the literary incarnation of Kṛṣṇa) says *athato* brahma-*jijñāsā**: "*Human life is meant for inquiring about the nature of the Absolute Truth." "We cannot afford to dismiss *a priori,*" writes Copleston, "the notion that what there is of order and intelligibility in this world has an objective foundation in an invisible and transcendent Reality." When people dismiss transcendence, their intelligence does not extend beyond the need to eat, sleep, mate, and defend. Thus the eternal self remains bound to repeated lives of sense gratification. *The Generation of Species* Plato mentions that the creator god made the stars, planets, and celestial gods and assigned to the gods the task of fashioning the mortal parts of the various souls. Similarly, the *Bhagavatam* says that Brahma assigned to certain higher beings the generation of the material bodies for the species of life. Evidently, people in ancient times had a much different view of the creation than the dominant view today, and the Greek view was broadly consistent with the Vedic tradition. My friend Sadaputa Dāsa (the late mathematician Richard L. Thompson) wrote about antiquity, and this paragraph of his appeared in this magazine: The ancient Greek writer Aratos tells a story about the constellation Virgo, or the virgin. Virgo, he says, may have belonged to the star race, the forefathers of the ancient stars. In primeval times, in the Golden Age, she lived among mankind as Justice personified and would exhort people to adhere to the truth. At this time people lived peacefully, without hypocrisy or quarrel. Later, in the Age of Silver, she hid herself in the mountains, but occasionally she came down to berate people for their evil ways. Finally the Age of Bronze came. People invented the sword, and "they tasted the meat of cows, the first who did it." At this point Virgo "flew away to the sphere"; that is, she departed for the celestial realm. The Age of Iron followed. It is noteworthy that Aratos's story specifies the eating of cows as a sinful act that cut mankind off from direct contact with celestial beings. This detail fits in nicely with the ancient Indian traditions of cow protection, but it is unexpected in the context of Greek or European culture. The description of Virgo illustrates that the Greeks held a widespread belief in a succession of four ages, just as the Indians did. Kṛṣṇa says that a thousand cycles of four ages constitute a day of Brahma (*Bhagavad-gītā* 8.17), and *Surya-siddhanta,* the Vedic astronomy text, calculates the length of his day as 8.6 billion years. *Ancient Scenarios* Śrīla Prabhupāda cites references in Vedic texts to relations between Greece and India. He says that for many reasons culturally advanced ancient people migrated to Europe from "greater India" (which included the Caucasus). For example, when the avatar Parasurama started killing all the degraded *ksatriyas* (rulers) on the subcontinent, most of the *ksatriyas* who fled went to Europe, and some settled between Europe and Asia, in Turkey and Greece. Perhaps Greece and India once shared a common culture that included knowledge of philosophy and astronomy (two of Sadaputa's books explore the geocentric universe they both envisioned). Over time, great cultural divergences would have developed, but many common cultural features may have remained as a result of shared ancestry and later communication. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that the Greeks kept a connection with India's culture through their worship of gods, many of whom clearly resemble the demigods mentioned in the *Vedas*. Edwin Bryant, an associate professor of religion at Rutgers University, writes, "The earliest archaeological evidence of Kṛṣṇa as a divine being (under the name of Vasudeva) is the Heliodorus column in Besnagar, north-central India, dated to *c.* 100 BCE. The inscription on the column is startling because it reveals that foreigners had been converted to the Bhagavata [Kṛṣṇa] religion by this period—Heliodorus was a Greek. This would seem to suggest that the Kṛṣṇa tradition was prominent and prestigious enough to attract a powerful foreign envoy as a convert at the end of the second century BCE." After the fall of Rome, the burning of the famous library at Alexandria, and the general destruction of records of the ancient past, the relations between Greeks and Indians diminished and became obscured. Recent studies of the relationship are Thomas McEvilley's *The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies* and Edwin Bryant's *The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate.* For various reasons, the West, in the course of two millennia, differentiated itself from certain early Greek understandings and ultimately overturned the order rooted in Plato. But Westerners who study Plato today can acquire some historical self-knowledge and new insights into how ancient thought has shaped their thinking. In India, the history of ideas has changed less. So, now, as Kṛṣṇa’s teachings spread worldwide, Westerners encounter a venerable worldview much different from their own—a worldview that inspires spiritual progress, the highest goal of true culture. *Tattvavit Dāsa's book review of* The Worldview of Personalism: Origins and Early Development, *by Jan Olof Bengtsson, has been published in the first issue of the* ISKCON Studies Journal *(available here: http://iskconstudies.org/iskcon-studies-journal-vol-one/).* ## Platonic and Vedic Accounts of Creation *By Ravīndra Svarupa Dāsa* Plato, in his dialogue on cosmology, the *Timaeus,* clearly articulates a concept of the self-existent ultimate source of all there is. This doctrine of the ultimate source, or what Vaisnavas call the Absolute Truth, contains the Platonic notion of an unchanging realm of Ideas or ideal Forms. In Plato's realm of Forms there are no individuals but rather a collection of abstract essences, each of which corresponds to a class name. For example, there are no *cow*s or *human*s in the physical sense, but there is a single Form for *cow* and one for *human*. The word *cow* corresponds to some objective essence of "*cow*-ness." Therefore, all the individual entities denoted by the word *cow* must share a common essence. According to Plato, this essence has an eternal existence independent of all particular *cow*s. Cows may come and go, but the Form of *cow* remains and is found with other such abstract essences in a higher realm of Ideas. (Incidentally, the philosophical doctrine that the essences or referents of class names objectively exist outside the mind, in some way or other, is called realism.) There is some truth to Plato's realism. The realm of Forms seems to closely correspond to what the Vedic traditions regard as existent, namely, the *Vedas* themselves. It is said the *Vedas* are eternal, while the material world is temporary. How is this possible when the *Vedas* contain the names of temporary entities (Indra, Candra, and other demigods), all of whom are destroyed during the dissolution? The answer is that these names and other names like *tree* and *cow* are names of types, or rather archetypes, which are manifested in concrete particulars whenever there is a creation. The *Vedas* therefore contain the blueprints and assembly instructions for all creation in the material world. Brahma, the created creator, becomes impregnated with the *Vedas*, and thus inspired, brings into manifestation the material world. Interestingly, the *Timaeus* of Plato also posits a creator god, known as *demiurgos* in Greek, who has a vision of the self-existent ultimate source and the Forms, and is able to manifest those Forms in pre-existing matter, thus imposing order on chaos. According to the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam,* Brahma has a similar direct vision of the spiritual world: Vaikuntha and Goloka Vṛndāvana (as recorded in the *Brahma-saṁhitā*). But Plato gives no indication of any knowledge of a realm of transcendental variegatedness. His Absolute Truth is described in impersonal terms. The Platonic realm of ideal Forms, which is subordinate to that Truth, does not therefore correspond to the spiritual world, though it seems to closely parallel the *Vedas*. It is also possible to find a correspondence between the Platonic Forms and the creative potentiality latent in Brahman, or *brahmajyoti*, the shining impersonal spiritual sky. The *Vedas* teach that the *brahmajyoti* contains the seeds for all the species in the world and that Brahma creates by making the seeds manifest. Each seed (*bija*) seems to be like a Platonic Form, at least as these Forms are understood in later Neoplatonism, where they are thought to possess a creative potency. By a process of abstraction, Plato arrives at the idea of a realm containing a multiplicity of ideal Forms, or separated abstract essences. He carries this speculative ascent still further and concludes that all these Forms must have a single, ultimate source, which is the Form of the Forms themselves. For example, each individual *cow* is a *cow* by virtue of its participating in the Form of *cow*. In the same way, each Form is a Form by virtue of its participating in the Form of Forms. The process of abstraction is thus carried one final step further to the Form of all Forms, the essence of all essences. Plato called this the Form of the Good. In fact, three different names are given to this ultimate source: the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. This triple characterization corresponds fairly closely to the Vedic characterization of Brahman as *sat* (the Good), *cit* (the True) and *ananda* (the Beautiful). The Form of the Good is thus extremely abstract. As the source of everything, it can be defined only by negation. It is completely ineffable, or inexpressible in words. At the apex of Plato's ontology is a fairly standard version of the well-known impersonal Absolute. The Form of the Good is perfect, self-sufficient, self-contained, and needs nothing other than itself. Yet it boils over, as it were, effervesces, and out of the immutable One devolves the world of changing things. Here's a single entity without name, form, diversity, multiplicity of any sort, and then out of it wells, in a falling away from perfection, a multiplicity: initially, of abstract essences, the realm of the Forms. Those Forms then engender a further multiplicity and manifest themselves into a gross material world of concrete individuals. *Ravīndra Svarupa Dāsa holds a Ph.D. in religion from Temple University and is a governing body commissioner of ISKCON. This article was excerpted from an article published in* ISKCON Communications Journal, *No. 12.* ## Space: A Meditation *By Urmila Devī Dāsī* *The fifth in a series of mediations on Kṛṣṇa’s material elements.* Looking at the heavens—the vast expanse of space—has probably always inspired humans to either wonder about the existence of God or, for believers, to stand in awe of His majesty. Another kind of space—the space that surrounds us—can also evoke thoughts of the divine. Space is one of Kṛṣṇa’s energies, as He mentions in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (7.4): > bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh > kham mano buddhir eva ca > ahankara itiyam me > bhinna prakrtir astadha “Earth, water, fire, air, *ether*, mind, intelligence, and false ego—all tog*ether* these eight constitute My separated material energies.” In this verse Prabhupāda translates *kham* as "*ether*." Other Sanskrit terms for this energy are *akasa* and *nabhah*. All three terms can be translated as "space," "sky," or "outer space." Because the word *ether* is problematic, for the purpose of this meditation I'll consider *kham* the three-dimensional space of our existence. The material energies listed by Kṛṣṇa are sometimes referred to as “material *element*s,” but the “*element*s” in the ancient texts are not the same as those found in the modern periodic table of the *element*s. The modern definition of *element* is any substance that retains its identity on the atomic level. In the ancient categories of material energy, *earth* refers to solids, *water* to liquids, *air* to gases, *ether* to the space in which all else exists, and *fire* to radiant energy. Meditation on the attributes of space can stimulate loving thoughts of Kṛṣṇa, the ultimate goal of all spirituality and *yoga* practice. As Prabhupāda comments, “The cosmic manifestation is nothing but a display of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, and because the energy is not different from the energetic, nothing is different from Kṛṣṇa. When this absolute consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is absent, we are separated from Kṛṣṇa; but, fortunately, if this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is present, then we are not separated from Kṛṣṇa.” (*Kṛṣṇa: The Supreme Personality of Godhead,* Chapter 82) *Qualities* The *Bhagavatam* describes space as the element from which all the other gross states of matter and energy evolve. Space is thus the foundation or source of everything, reminding us that Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes. One of the most peculiar aspects of space is the difficulty of one’s mind and senses to describe, define, or perceive it. We often understand space more by what it is not than what it is. For example, we commonly define space as an area without furniture, or a shelf without books. Similarly, those who rely exclusively on sense perception and logic struggle to define the Absolute Truth and resort to saying what it is not. In Sanskrit this process is referred to as *neti neti:* "Not this; not this." Despite its elusive definition, however, space is the main component of material reality. Modern science tells us that even the densest objects are mostly space, which pervades everything. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is everything, and is the essence of everything. How a living entity understands and defines space depends on the particular living entity's level of consciousness. For example, a bug on my windowsill cannot understand how the rooms in my house are connected, or how the city in which I live relates to the country or the planet. Similarly, our ability to understand Kṛṣṇa and perceive how His energies connect throughout the universe depends on how much our consciousness is developed in spiritual realization. Generally, we focus our awareness on the stuff that exists within space, rather than on space itself. Similarly, a materially conditioned soul generally absorbs his or her consciousness in Kṛṣṇa’s material energy, rather than in Kṛṣṇa Himself, within whom everything rests. When we do notice space, it generally evokes positive, expansive emotions. We feel relief and satisfaction when there is room in a closet, drawer, or suitcase for the object we desire to keep. Many spiritually inclined people reserve a part of their living area as a “sacred space” for worship, prayer, meditation, and renewal. The many places to which the faithful make pilgrimage to find meaning, peace, and joy are also sacred spaces. Space around our body allows for stretching, health, movement, and expression, which bring us vigor and vitality. Spaces in artwork define objects and messages. When we wish to express deep joy, we surround our body with space—by jumping, dancing, diving, even parachuting. This nature of space as both an impetus for joy and freedom and a way to express those reminds us that Kṛṣṇa’s ultimate spiritual reality is full of freedom, joy, play, and sports. His service is not limited or stereotypical, and He exalts in a full expression of individuality. “Where do you live?” It’s a question even a stranger feels comfortable asking, and is often the first question people ask me. I suppose I never noticed the prevalence of the question until I no longer had an easy answer because of my constant travel. People's need to ask the question and their discomfort and confusion when there is no simple answer taught me that when we seek to understand something, we first want to “place” it. We want to determine its position in space. Similarly, we can evaluate something only when we know its relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, perceiving something without knowing where it stands in relation to the Absolute Truth is illusion and falsity. Sometimes we turn our attention from the space in our immediate surroundings of rooms, buildings, and cities to the vast expanse of the sky. The blue of the sunlit sky is a reflection of Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental body and can remind us of Him. The night sky has fascinated humans since the dawn of time. We marvel at the distances beyond imagination, and at the beauty of the lights that hint at worlds we can only guess at. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is mysterious, dark, beautiful, great beyond our imagination, and inaccessible to our material senses. *Space and Kṛṣṇa’s Opulence of Detachment* Although space is both everywhere and the source of everything, it always retains its identity and doesn’t mix with any other form of matter or energy. Kṛṣṇa Himself refers to this attribute of space as analogous to His own detachment and neutrality. As the Supersoul, or the soul of all souls, Kṛṣṇa is the well-wishing witness who like a neutral judge awards all living beings the pleasing or distressing results of their actions and desires. Nothing takes place without the sanction of the Supersoul, and He is the ultimate doer. But He claims no responsibility for the suffering and enjoyment of the willfully deluded. An essential part of Kṛṣṇa’s deep love for all living beings is His completeness and His ability to independently satisfy all His needs and desires. An ordinary conditioned soul’s “love” stems from possessiveness and thus easily turns to grief or anger. Genuine spiritual love is rooted in freedom and sacrifice. Kṛṣṇa loves without conditions, manipulation, or force. He loves simply to love. Even though the scriptures describe Kṛṣṇa as being controlled by His pure devotee, He's controlled not by fear of loss but by the devotee's freely given love. The sky displays renunciation by not mixing with anything. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa shows His renunciation by disappearing from the pleasure dance with His dearest devotees, the milkmaids of Vṛndāvana village. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa is so detached and independent that He even travels away from Vṛndāvana, His ultimate abode, where even the buildings and water are alive and full of devotion for Him. In His role as a warrior prince, He was so renounced that He casually walked away from battle with the evil Jarasandha. He left to attend to a letter from his future wife, although no fighter would normally dare risk his reputation as a courageous hero by fleeing from combat. *Space and Sound* India’s sacred writings describe that each "element" has a corresponding sense and sense object that allow us to perceive it. We perceive space through hearing and sound. Many creatures, such as bats and whales, use sound to detect space. Blind people often become skilled at using sound to determine space and location, and to some extent all of us naturally use sound in this way. In addition, sound is vibration, which involves movement, and without space, nothing can move. Kṛṣṇa says that He is all sound carried in space. Although all sound is Kṛṣṇa, when the sound has a covering of ignorance or passion, Kṛṣṇa is not perceived. Among all the ways in which Kṛṣṇa manifests in sound, certain sound combinations are His own form—His avatar of sound. Kṛṣṇa’s names are the sound forms of His personality. When the Vedic literature says that the Absolute Truth has no name, that means no name in the material sense—a limited designation separate from that which is designated and subject to change according to language and custom. Probably the most well-known sound form of the Absolute is **om.* Om* is part of many *mantras* chanted by devotees of Kṛṣṇa, but the sound form of Absolute Truth that forms the basis of the spiritual practice of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. “The impersonal sound of Kṛṣṇa is *om,*" Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "but the sound Hare Kṛṣṇa contains *om.*” (*Bhagavad-gītā* 8.13, Purport) The saint and scholar Jiva Gosvami’s explanation of *om* clarifies Prabhupāda’s statement. Jiva Gosvami writes that the two sounds that blend to bec*om*e “o” “a” and “u” (pronounced “uh” and “oo”)—indicate the Absolute as masculine (*Kṛṣṇa*) and feminine (Rādhā) respectively, while the “m” (*bindu*) indicates ourselves, the living beings. Like the “a” in *om* (*aum*), *Kṛṣṇa* and *Rama* are the Absolute as masculine. And like the “u” in *om*, *Hare* is the Absolute as feminine. The grammatical form of the *mantra* implies that s*om*eone is speaking to the Absolute Truth. That speaker is us, the living being, the “m” in *om*. The *Hare* *Kṛṣṇa* maha-*mantra* is therefore a conversation, a request for service, and an exchange of affection. It is not just a statement of the reality of divine loving reciprocation, but a full experience of that reality. *Kṛṣṇa’s Sportive Activities in Relation to Space* Scriptures such as the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* tell us that the ultimate and complete display of the Absolute Truth is Kṛṣṇa, the transcendental person who eternally enjoys a variety of sporting, playful activities of love between Himself and His devotees. Noticing varieties of material space around us can remind us of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes that involve space. Perhaps one of the most well-known descriptions of Kṛṣṇa involving space is His display of His universal form to His devotee Arjuna, recounted in the *Bhagavad-gītā.* Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “Everything—moving and nonmoving—is here completely, in one place." (11.7) And Sanjaya, the narrator, says, "At that time Arjuna could see in the universal form of the Lord the unlimited expansions of the universe situated in one place. . . .” (11.13) Kṛṣṇa’s mystic potency of having all of space within Him, in one place, was also evident when, on two occasions, Mother Yaśodā looked into His mouth. She saw all of outer space within His spiritual body. She saw the stars, planets, sun, and moon. She was astonished to see all of material cosmic space within the apparently small enclave of her son’s mouth. In this regard, the creator of this universe, Brahma, prays, “Although You are now within this universe, the whole universal creation is within Your transcendental body—a fact You demonstrated by exhibiting the universe within Your abdomen before Your mother, Yasoda.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 10.14.16) In the *Brahma-saṁhitā* (5.35) Brahma also explains, “All the universes exist in Him, and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time.” We find it impossible to get a mental picture of this description of Kṛṣṇa’s relation to space. How can the Lord be fully present in every atom while the whole universe is also present within Him? Kṛṣṇa describes this fact in the *Gita* (9.4–6): “By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them. And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence! Although I am the maintainer of all living entities and although I am everywhere, I am not a part of this cosmic manifestation, for My Self is the very source of creation. Understand that as the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, rests always in the sky [space], all created beings rest in Me.” Another of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes that show His inconceivable relationship with space occurred while He was staying in Dwaraka. When the Brahma of this universe came to visit Kṛṣṇa, he saw that Brahmas from many other universes were also there. Each one was thinking Kṛṣṇa was within his own universe, and none was able to see the others or interact with them. Kṛṣṇa exhibited a similar opulence when He sat in the middle of concentric circles of many cowherd boys and each perceived that Kṛṣṇa was facing him directly. One commentator says that this pastime of the Lord reminds us of the *Gita* verse (13.15) that states, “Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads, and faces, and He has ears everywhere.” Although Kṛṣṇa is in all space—everywhere—at once and all places that exist within space are within Him, He also delights in traveling through outer space in a vehicle, as if He needs to move from one location to another. The Lord’s vehicle is often a tremendous eagle-like divine being named Garuda. At least once Kṛṣṇa traveled through outer space on a horse-drawn chariot that sped past the stars and galaxies. To assist His friend Arjuna, He went beyond material space, through the universal coverings to the causal spiritual ocean. I was taking a break between seminars at a Hare Kṛṣṇa festival on the Asov Sea in Russia. As I walked along the beach, I meditated on Kṛṣṇa as space. The warm, soft sand between my toes, the wild waves, the refreshing breezes, the sun—blazing like diamonds on the rippling sea—and all around and above, in all directions, expansive space. Here were all of Kṛṣṇa’s gross material energies: earth, water, fire, air, and space. I remembered Lord Siva’s prayer: “My dear Lord… You are the all-pervading sky within and without... I therefore offer my respectful obeisances again and again unto You.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 4.24.40) ## Money, Kṛṣṇa, and Us *By Visakha Devī Dāsī* *How we value, acquire, use, and relate to money reflects our inner state of being.* Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Money does not stay in one place. It passes from one hand to another. Ultimately no one can enjoy money, and it remains the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 5.14.24, Purport) Money is God’s energy. He created it, He owns it, and He controls it: “Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord.” *(Īśopaniṣad* 1). Kṛṣṇa determines how much money each of us receives. It may appear accidental that one person is born into wealth and another into poverty, or that one person goes from rags to riches and another doesn’t, but Kṛṣṇa’s law of *karma* destines these things. Śrīla Prabhupāda says, “Everyone is thinking, ‘If I become greedy, I shall get more.’ That is not possible. You cannot get a farthing more than what you are destined.” (Lecture, October 3, 1973) And he writes, “It is not possible that simply by endeavors to accumulate more money a person will be able to do so, otherwise almost everyone would be on the same level of wealth. In reality everyone is earning and acquiring according to his predestined *karma*.” *(Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 3.27.8, Purport) Modern civilization runs on the mistaken concept that if we work harder we will get more money and since money enables us to buy things that please us, with more money we will be happier. Happiness, however, is different from the sensual pleasures money buys. That is why almost all of us are restless and dissatisfied, despite earning and spending vast amounts of money and despite using and owning any number of things. Money does not necessarily produce happiness. Failing to notice this stark truth, many of us pursue happiness by pursuing money. Most people are not satisfied with just enough money to maintain their families but want more and more of it. *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (4.22.33) tells us, “For human society, constantly thinking of how to earn money and apply it for sense gratification brings about the destruction of everyone’s interests.” In our mixed-up age, wealth alone is the sign of success and the harbinger of prestige and influence, regardless of one’s behavior and qualities. *Money and Our Dark Side* When we think that happiness would come if we could just afford to make certain material arrangements and adjustments, greed overtakes us. Kṛṣṇa says that greed is one of the three gates to hell, the other two being lust and anger. We think, “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more.” (*Bhagavad-gītā* 16.13) The lure of money even induces us to forsake our friends and relatives. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Sometimes, being in need of money, the conditioned soul steals and cheats, although he may apparently be associated with devotees for spiritual advancement” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 5.14, Summary) and, “if one person cheats another by a farthing or less, they become enemies.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 5.14.26) Slaves of the pushes of our senses and the quest for money, we burn in an unquenchable fire of our own desires; thus the quality of our life diminishes, and we suffer. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: Unlawfully accumulated money is now being snatched from miserly citizens by various methods of state taxation for the future civil and international war fund, which is spending money in a wasteful and destructive manner. The citizens are no longer satisfied with just enough money to maintain a family nicely and cultivate spiritual knowledge, both of which are essential in human life. Now everyone wants money unlimitedly to satisfy insatiable desires. In proportion to the people's unlawful desires, their accumulated money is taken away by the agents of illusory energy in the shape of medical practitioners, lawyers, tax collectors, societies, constitutions, so-called holy men, famines, earthquakes, and many similar calamities. . . . Indeed, that is the law of nature; if money is not devoted to the service of the Lord, it must be spent as spoiled energy in the form of legal problems or diseases. Foolish people do not have the eyes to see such facts; therefore the laws of the Supreme Lord befool them.—*Elevation to Kṛṣṇa Consciousness,* Chapter 2 But mundane greed is not intrinsic to us, nor do we naturally exist for the sake of our business and bank balance or to identify with our material accomplishments. Our obsession with money and acquisition is a misplaced religious quest, a religious energy used perversely. *The Bright Side* Deep inside, we want to complete our term in this world of birth and death, of society and responsibility, of making and doing. We also want to fulfill the incalculably higher and greater possibility offered us as human beings. Each of us senses that we are meant to receive an invaluable gift and to respond with full commitment and service. Lives centered on getting money miss this opportunity and are therefore miserable. But we can use money properly, for the service of its creator, making it a true asset rather than a disguised deficit. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Everything created by the material energy can be dovetailed with the Absolute by an attitude of service, which is the essential part of living energy. The pure devotee of the Lord knows the art of converting everything into its spiritual existence by this service attitude. . . .” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 2.1.20, Purport). The crux of the issue is this: Will I serve the Lord with whatever money He has allotted to me, or will I use it to try to please myself. My consciousness, and not on the amount of money I have, determines my decision. Prabhupāda explains: Materialism does not mean that one has to possess so many things. The actual fact is one may be a perfect transcendentalist or spiritual man by possessing the whole world, and one may be a gross materialist without possessing a farthing. So this distinction can be made on the basis of consciousness. When one is Kṛṣṇa conscious while possessing everything in the world, he is a perfect spiritualist, and one may have renounced everything in the world, but lacking in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is a gross materialist.—Letter, April 23, 1970 *Money and Our Work* Vedic society classifies people into four broad groups: *brahmanas* (teachers), *ksatriyas* (rulers), *vaisyas* (farmers and merchants) and *sudras* (laborers and artisans). Each group relates to money differently. In traditional society the *brahmanas* accept contributions from their students, but since their material desires are minimal, they keep only as much as they need and give the rest in charity. *Brahmanas* never hoard money for a luxurious life, as *ksatriyas* or *vaisyas* might, but always live austerely, knowing that money easily diverts the mind to materialism. Since *ksatriyas* rule, they need prestige and money. But their duty—and that of all possessors of wealth—is to give liberally in charity. *Vaisyas* earn money through agriculture, cow protection, and some trade. By growing food grains and other necessities, *vaisyas* support themselves and their families without depending on others. Traditionally, **sudra*s* are not paid but receive food, shelter, and clothing from the other three classes in exchange for their services. They are well provided for and happy. The term *sudra* also refers to anyone without spiritual training and knowledge. By that definition, almost everyone today is a *sudra*, and we see what happens when such people get money: They spend lavishly on sinful activities or accumulate it for no purpose. And they will do almost anything to get more. *Money and Life’s Stages* Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that according to our scriptures, *brahmacaris* (celibate students), *vanaprasthas* (retirees), and *sannyasis* (renounced men) “are allowed to collect alms and are considered as the children of the society, which is composed of householders. In other words, our Vedic civilization is the most perfect community project. Only the *grhasthas* [householders] are supposed to earn money, especially the *ksatriyas* and the *vaisyas,* and the money is distributed community-wide.” (Letter, February 11, 1970) In other words, by ruling the citizens or by their business or profession, householders are to earn money honestly and use it to maintain their family and to give in charity to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In a letter to several householders, Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote, “Kṛṣṇa will give you intelligence how to engage in honest, brilliant, glorious work on His behalf. There is no need to engage in anything dishonest. Kṛṣṇa has given enough money, now earn by honest means.” (Letter, January 24, 1977) *Grhasthas* should not slave to accumulate money and unnecessarily increase their material comforts. And if extra money comes, they should use it for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To this end, *grhasthas* may keep their money confidentially so that in time they can spend it for good purposes. There is no fault in this, or in keeping a deposit in the bank for an emergency. Śrīla Prabhupāda once explained how men in Indian villages would live in the city, earn money, and send it back to their family in the village. Their intelligent wives would save that money and eventually invest in land. When they had enough land, the husbands would return to the village and be self-sufficient by producing their necessities from the land. “That's a good idea,” Śrīla Prabhupāda said. “Remain in the village with family.” (Conversation, January 4, 1977) And he also explained, “The principle is the husband honestly tries to earn livelihood, and at home the wife should be so intelligent that whatever money the husband has earned, she’ll manage. She’ll not demand, ‘Bring money, bring money, bring money . . .’ Then the home will be happy.” (Conversation, June 14, 1976) The main point is that everyone must learn to spend money only for good causes. *Money and Kṛṣṇa’s Service* Householder devotees are obliged to earn money because without money it is not possible to exist in the material world. In *Caitanya-caritāmṛta* (*Madhya-līlā* 16.238), Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu tells Raghunatha, “You should not make yourself a show bottle devotee and become a false renunciant. For the time being, enjoy the material world in a befitting way and do not become attached to it.” In other words, householders do not give up earning money, but while earning, they think of Kṛṣṇa constantly and consider themselves humble servants of society. Householders who know that the Lord owns and controls all money are not diverted by excessively thinking about how to accumulate it. And they use what they have for Him. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “If one engages for the service of the Lord whatever money one has honestly earned, that is spiritual service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master, and the Vaisnavas.” (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, *Antya-līlā* 6.275, Purport) Devotees live according to their means: “Since a devotee wants to satisfy the desires of the Lord, he can, Lord willing, accept all kinds of opulence for the service of the Lord, and if the Lord is not willing, he should not accept a farthing.” (*Bhagavad-gītā* 1.32–35, Purport) Frugality is perfectly acceptable to devotees because they know that their spiritual advancement, and not a large income or showy opulence, pleases their spiritual master. “Why should one be anxious about the necessities of life? The principle should be that one should not want more than what is absolutely necessary. . . . The devotee should always be alert to consume only those things that he absolutely requires and not create unnecessary needs.” (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, *Madhya-līlā* 24.262, Purport) At the same time, devotees balance their obligations so that they and their relatives are secure: “Śrīla Rupa Gosvami taught us by his own example by using fifty percent of his accumulated wealth for Kṛṣṇa, twenty-five percent for his own self, and twenty-five percent for the members of his family.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 8.19.37, Purport) But whether one has a lot of money or just a little, inevitably one will be separated from it, through spending or death. As Śrīla Prabhupāda said: You have to change your body. So you have earned so much millions and billions of money. That's all right. But you have to go empty-handed. The money will remain here. You cannot take that money within the tomb. That is not possible. Then it is zero. You are going empty-handed. You came empty-handed and going empty-handed. You came with zero and you are going with zero. So whatever you have earned, that is zero. But if you have attempted to serve Kṛṣṇa with all these zeros, then you have taken some value.—Conversation, July 31, 1975 *Money Wasted* “Whatever money we are getting it is from Kṛṣṇa," Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote, "so nothing should be misspent.” (Letter, October 24, 1974) Earning an income is not difficult because Kṛṣṇa provides for His sincere devotees. But not misspending the money is difficult and takes intelligence. Kṛṣṇa provides, and improper spending can be a problem even among exalted devotees. For example, once Caitanya Mahāprabhu “respectfully told Sivananda Sena, ‘Take care of Vasudeva Datta very nicely. Vasudeva Datta is very liberal. Every day, whatever income he receives, he spends. He does not keep any balance. Being a householder, Vasudeva Datta needs to save some money. Because he is not doing so, it is very difficult for him to maintain his family. Please take care of Vasudeva Datta’s family affairs. Become his manager and make the proper adjustments.’ ” (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā* 15.93–96) Like Vasudeva Datta, those who lack wisdom in spending should put themselves under the care of a wise, trustworthy devotee. *The Favor of the Goddess of Fortune* “Everyone is seeking the favor of the goddess of fortune," Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "but people do not know that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the beloved husband of all goddesses of fortune.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 2.4.20, Purport) When we try to engage the goddess of fortune in Kṛṣṇa’s service, we gradually realize Him in every sphere of life. By this culture of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, our happiness will no longer depend on how much money we have. We will be content even without money. “If there is no culture," Śrīla Prabhupāda said, "simply by money you cannot maintain a standard of civilization. That is not possible. Now the American leaders, they are thinking, ‘Let us have money, then everything . . .’ Of course, by money you are covering all the defects of the social culture. But this will not endure. The day will come when everything will be exposed. Therefore culture is required.” (Conversation, June 14, 1976) One who has culture has faith in Kṛṣṇa, and therefore has everything. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “A pure devotee who has firm faith in the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is to be considered a most learned scholar, the topmost aristocrat, and the richest man in the whole world.” (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā* 2.5.76, Purport) Finally, in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words again: “Guru Mahārāja said that ‘You do the right work, money will come. Money will fall down on your feet.’ There is no question of flattering. Do. Work sincerely. Everything will come, whatever you want.” (Conversation June 30, 1977) *Visakha Devī Dāsī has been contributing articles and photographs to BTG for more than thirty years. She and her husband, Yaduvara Dāsa, have lived at Saranagati Village, a Hare Kṛṣṇa community in British Columbia, Canada, since 1999.* From the Editor *Prabhupāda's Essential Message* One of the first American scholars to recognize Śrīla Prabhupāda as an genuine representative of Vaisnavism was the late professor Thomas Hopkins, who met Prabhupāda at ISKCON's first temple, in New York City. Later, in Philadelphia, 1975, he asked Prabhupāda, "If you had to say to someone who was going to collect one small section of your work, what would you want them to collect?" Previous questions from the professor indicate he was looking for a short explanation of Prabhupāda's essential message in his writings. Prabhupāda replied, "That is stated in a few verses. [*To a disciple:*] You find out this—*dharmasya hy apavargyasya."* Prabhupāda quoted the beginning of a verse from Canto One, Chapter Two, an especially important section of the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*. > dharmasya hy apavargyasya > nartho ’rthayopakalpate > narthasya dharmaikantasya > kamo labhaya hi smrtah "All occupational engagements are certainly meant for ultimate liberation. They should never be performed for material gain. Furthermore, one who is engaged in the ultimate occupational service should never use material gain to cultivate sense gratification." (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 1.2.9) We can understand the verse in the contexts of both traditional Vedic culture and modern times. The *Vedas* recommend four primary aims of human life: *dharma, artha, kama,* and *moksa,* which Prabhupāda usually translates as "religion, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation." Put simply, we're told that by performing our religious duties, we'll get money to enjoy life, and after a life of enjoyment under religious guidelines, we should try for spiritual liberation. But beginning with its opening verses, the *Bhagavatam* promotes a religion that aims not at material prosperity and material happiness but directly at something higher. *Dharmasya hy apavagyasya* means one should practice religion not for any material gain, but only for liberation. And the verse goes on to say that if your religious practices provide you with money, that money should not be used for sense gratification. You may have noticed that Prabhupāda doesn't translate the word *dharma* in this verse as "religion," but as "occupational duty." *Dharma* can mean different things in different contexts. In traditional Vedic life, the scriptures guided your occupation, so even your work was religion. Prabhupāda applied the dual meaning of *dharma* as religion and occupation to modern times as well. The first point he would generally make in discussing the point of this verse is that praying for material benefits is driven by a motive inferior to that promoted in the **Bhagavatam*,* which says that the only motive of religion should be unconditional service to God. And when we're instructed to use religion to get *moksa,* or liberation, that liberation is not the impersonal liberation of merging into God's existence. The *Bhagavatam* rejects the desire for that kind of liberation as material, not spiritual. Rather, as will be clarified later in the **Bhagavatam*,* real liberation—or as Prabhupāda translates the word for liberation in this verse (*apavargyasya*), "ultimate liberation"—is to be situated in one's *svarupa,* or original spiritual form as a servant of Kṛṣṇa. The desire for that kind of liberation is purely spiritual. Prabhupāda's extended answer to Professor Hopkins's question reveals his essential message: We shouldn't waste human life to pursue material desires, including the desire for impersonal liberation, but should do everything only to awaken our eternal love of God. —Nagaraja Dāsa ## Vedic Thoughts Because the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* deals with questions and answers that are related to Kṛṣṇa, we can derive the highest satisfaction only by reading and hearing this transcendental literature. One should learn the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* and make an all-around solution to all problems pertaining to social, political, or religious matters. *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* and Kṛṣṇa are the sum total of all things. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 1.2.5 One who sees the Supersoul present everywhere, in every living being, does not degrade himself by his mind. Thus he approaches the transcendental destination. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa *Bhagavad-gītā* 13.29 As a jewel washed of mud shines brightly, so an embodied soul who sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes glorious and free of all sufferings. *Svetasvatara Upanisad* 2.14 Those who are saturated with the transcendental happiness of rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead are uninterested even in the achievements of great mystics, for such achievements do not enhance the transcendental bliss felt by a devotee who always thinks of Kṛṣṇa within the core of his heart. Śrīla Sukadeva Gosvami *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 9.4.25 I do not know how much nectar the two syllables "Krs-na" have produced. When the holy name of the Kṛṣṇa is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many millions of years. And when the holy name dances in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind, and therefore all the senses become inert. Śrīla Rupa Gosvami *Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā* 1.99 Things that are very difficult to do become very easy to execute if one somehow or other simply remembers Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But if one does not remember Him, even easy thins become very difficult. To this Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, I offer my respectful obeisances. Śrīla Kṛṣṇadasa Kaviraja Gosvami *Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Adi-līlā* 14.1 Those who are devoted to Lord Kṛṣṇa become free from all dangers simply by remembering Him. No on, including the demigods and sages, can harm an unalloyed devotee of the Lord. Lord Siva *Śrī Narada-pancaratra* 1.14.5 One finds happiness in kingly opulence only when he does not know the glorious happiness derived from devotional service. Śrīla Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura *Śrī Caitanya-bhagavata, Adi-khanda* 13.194