# Back to Godhead Magazine #49 *2015 (02)* Back to Godhead Magazine #49-02, 2015 PDF-View From the editor - Missing Statement of Purposes Back to Godhead*, the magazine of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, is a cultural presentation to respiritualize human society. It aims at achieving the following purposes:* 1. To help all people distinguish more clearly between reality and illusion, spirit and matter, the eternal and the temporary. 2. To present Kṛṣṇa consciousness as taught in *Bhagavad-gītā* and *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. 3. To help every living being remember and serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. 4. To offer guidance in the techniques of spiritual life. 5. To expose the faults of materialism. 6. To promote a balanced, natural way of life, informed by spiritual values. 7. To increase spiritual fellowship among all living beings, in relationship with Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. 8. To perpetuate and spread the Vedic culture. 9. To celebrate the chanting of the holy names of God through the *saṅkīrtana* movement of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Welcome The founder of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, sailed to America from India in 1965. He was on a mission to deliver an urgent two-part message to everyone in the world: perfect your life by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, and give Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others. If you listen to audio recordings of Śrīla Prabhupāda's earliest *Bhagavad-gītā* lectures in New York, you'll find that right from the beginning—before he even had committed students—he was imploring his audience to spread Lord Kṛṣṇa’s teachings around the world for the benefit of humanity. Before long, sincere followers began to travel and open centers. Inspired by Prabhupāda's boundless devotion and conviction, they set out with no money, but with Prabhupāda's assurance that Kṛṣṇa would help them. The earliest centers were often the most austere of quarters, where rats and storms came in on the wind. But today, thanks to the dedication of Śrīla Prabhupāda's spiritual pioneers, we have places like ISKCON Houston, with its spacious, gorgeous new temple. And most important, because of the Kṛṣṇa conscious roots set down in cities around the world, we see more and more souls reaping the benefits of Śrīla Prabhupāda's mission of devotion. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nagaraja Dāsa, Editor* ## Letters *Keats's Immortal Bird* I refer to an article of your September/October 2014 issue, entitled "Taking Shelter." It reminded me of a poem I learnt many, many years back at school, "Ode to a Nightingale," where the author, Keats, explores deeply the theme of the mortality of the human life. In this ode, the transience of life and the tragedy of old age, "*Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,/ Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;"* is set against the eternal renewal of the nightingale's fluid music: *"Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!"* At that time, I was basking in complete ignorance of the truth that we are not this body but an eternal soul. Escapism, as Keats was longing for, is just an illusion in this material world. I indeed thank Śrīla Prabhupāda for revealing the truth of self-realization to us. I am lucky to have been introduced to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra,* unlike Keats, who was looking for solace and shelter in a *"draught of vintage"* in order to forget the *"weariness, the fever, and the fret"* of human life, with its consciousness that everything is mortal and nothing lasts. Indira Manrakhan Port Louis, Mauritius *An Appreciation* Caitanya Carana Dāsa has a brilliant mind. His article in the September/October issue—"Do You Still Believe in God?"—is full of depth and wonderfully presented. In general, his articles touch the heart. They are captivating and very clearly clear away doubts in devotees as well as nondevotees. It is wonderful to see ISKCON producing such erudite scholars and realized devotees. Nijunja Vilasini Dasi Durban, South Africa *Forget the Past* How can we forget our past deeds, which are always on our mind and troubling in our day-to-day lives? I know that chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa helps, but after a few minutes we come back to our normal thoughts that are harassing us. Please solve this problem or give me suggestions. Rādhā Krushn Via the Internet *Our reply:* We must understand that Kṛṣṇa sees us from the inside out. In other words, He is in our hearts. He understands our mood of remorse and our willingness to change, and He appreciates our sincere desire to serve Him at any given moment. Remembering our past misdeeds can help us avoid a repeat performance. When we think of the foolish and awful things we did, we become more careful to avoid those behaviors. Actually, what is harassing us is our sense of guilt, described as the thoughts that fill the space between who we are and who we want to be. But if we can accept that we made a mistake and that Lord Kṛṣṇa is very kind and will forgive us as long as we avoid the same mistake again, then we can become stronger and more determined to pray for the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. We can move forward in spiritual life without letting memories inspire guilt that incapacitates us and prevents us from focusing on the present. Try to keep busy in service to Lord Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. When your mind is busy reading, chanting, and doing practical service, it won't dwell on mistakes or material attachments, both of which prevent positive spiritual thought. *The Post of Brahma* I have heard that Lord Visnu, Siva, and Durga are names of persons whereas Lord Brahma is a position. Please educate me on this. K. V. Rao Via the Internet *Our reply:* Yes, Visnu, Siva, and Durga are eternal persons. Lord Visnu is the Personality of Godhead. Lord Siva is almost on the same level as Lord Visnu but is in a slightly lower category because He is in touch with Durga, who controls the material energy. Brahma, on the other hand, is a position occupied by a *jiva* soul—that is, a soul like you or me. We are spiritual energy but very small, and so we become covered by the material energy. When the material energy is withdrawn into Lord Maha-Visnu, then there is no Brahma, that post being filled only when the creation exists. *Curious About Hare Kṛṣṇa* Hello. I am very interested in the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. I've read about it, but I have a few questions. What is the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement exactly? How do you recruit members? Do you allow everyone into the movement? What evidences are there of God's existence? Lillie Via the Internet *Our reply:* The Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is meant to help people reconnect with Kṛṣṇa (God) by offering them an opportunity to associate with likeminded people guided by the instructions of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. The movement has temples and meetings all over the world where people get together to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, read the Vedic literature, talk about Kṛṣṇa, and cooperate to revive their loving relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Anyone can be a member who is sincerely interested in taking part in the process and connecting with Kṛṣṇa. We spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa in the streets, inviting people to feast and chant with us, and offering many books about the philosophy and practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As for evidence that God exists, it is all around you. The seasons, the beauty of life and nature, the complexity of the human body and animal bodies, the order of the universe—all show that someone with incredible intelligence is behind the creation. Science may try to explain this world, but the creator of the world is far more intelligent than anyone within it. Furthermore, we can experience our relationship with God by chanting His holy name, as in this *mantra*: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If you concentrate on the sound of this *mantra*, you will come to experience your relationship with Kṛṣṇa. *Replies were written by Krishna.com Live Help volunteers. Please write to us at: BTG, P.O. Box 430, Alachua, Florida 32616, USA. Email: [email protected].* Founder's Lecture: Why We Must Purify Our Existence June 18, 1976, Toronto Founder-*Ācārya* of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness *Our inability to secure the complete happiness we all seek points to our diseased condition.* The Sanskrit word for initiation is *diksa.* As stated in an authoritative Vedic dictionary, *divya jnanam ksapayati iti diksa:* "*Diksa* means to expand or reveal transcendental knowledge." There are two kinds of knowledge: transcendental (*divya*) and mundane. In the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (5.5.1) Lord Rsabhadeva tells His sons, > nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke > kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye > tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam > suddhyed yasmad brahma-saukhyam tv anantam "My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one's heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever." Rsabhadeva is the father of Mahārāja Bharata, under whose name this planet is called Bharatavarsa. Formerly, the whole planet was called Bharatavarsa. Before that it was known as Ilavrtavarsa. Mahārāja Bharata was the eldest son of Rsabhadeva, an incarnation of God. Before retiring and making Bharata Mahārāja the emperor of the world, Rsabhadeva advised His one hundred sons. That is the duty of the father. Generally, we do that also. Before retirement, the father gives instructions on how to rule over the kingdom or manage the business. Retirement was compulsory in Vedic culture. It was not that unless the father is shot dead he's not going to retire. No. That was not Vedic civilization. At the present moment there is no Vedic civilization. Nobody is going to retire unless he's shot dead. But Vedic civilization was not like that. Retirement was compulsory. There are four spiritual orders in life: *brahmacari* (celibate student life), *grhastha* (married life), *vanaprastha* (retirement), and *sannyasa* (renunciation). Human life is meant for spiritual realization, and sense gratification is animal life. This meeting here today is for human beings, not for cats and dogs. They cannot come here, nor will they understand what is going on here. A human being has the chance to understand the philosophy of life as it was enunciated by Rsabhadeva. Everyone has a body. Lord Brahma has a body, and the small insect has a body. The spirit soul is encaged in the material body. There are many forms of life. Rsabhadeva said, "Now that you have the human form of life, don't spoil it like the hogs and dogs simply for sense gratification." Sense gratification is available to the hogs and dogs. That was the instruction of Rsabhadeva. And what is the duty of human life? *Tapasyā*—voluntarily accepting some inconvenience for spiritual advancement. *The Need for Self-control* In the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (11.5.11) the sage Narada says, *loke vyavayamisa-madya-seva nitya hi jantoh:* " In this material world the conditioned soul is always inclined to sex, meat-eating, and intoxication." *Amisa* means meat-, fish-, egg-eating. It is the general tendency of the living being to eat meat. That is the general law of nature. *Jivo jivasya jivanam:* one living entity is the life for another living entity. The four-legged animals are food for the two-legged animals. As long we remain like two-legged animals, then there is the necessity of eating meat—and taking intoxication and having sex. That is the general tendency. But when one gives these up voluntarily for a higher status of life, that is called **nivrtti-marga*. Pravrtti-marga* and **nivrtti-marga*. Pravrtti-marga* means to fulfill the desires for meat-eating, intoxication, and sex. But when one is trained to give up these habits, that is called *nirvrtti-marga.* We have many *pravrttis,* or inclinations. But when we voluntarily give up all these nonsense habits, that is called *nivrtti-marga* and *tapasya.* Human life is meant for **tapasya*.* Don't be carried away by the general, menial, abominable tendencies. *Tapasyā* is required. For **tapasya*,* we prescribe no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication, and no gambling. We have to accept these prohibitions if we want a superior position of life. The aim of *tapasya* is to be situated on the transcendental platform of knowledge, *tapo divyam.* This human form of life is meant for *tapasya* and transcendental knowledge. That is the purport—not to waste this human form of life. Analyze the body of a dog and analyze your body. What is the difference? No difference. There is blood, there is flesh, there are veins. There are so many things in common. Then what is the difference between the cat's body and the dog's body and your body? The human body affords opportunity for advancement in knowledge and consciousness. For *divyam jnanam*—transcendental knowledge—one has to be initiated. *Diksa* means the beginning of transcendental knowledge. According to Vedic civilization, everyone is born a *sudra,* a fourth-class man. But there is opportunity for the fourth-class man to become the first-class man. That is possible. *Janmana *ja*yate sudrah:* everyone born by sexual intercourse of the father and mother is a *sudra.* Then: *samskarad-bhaved dvi*ja*.* By *samskara,* by the purificatory method or by *tapasya,* one becomes a *dvi*ja*. Dvi* means "twice," and *ja* means "birth." Second birth. One who becomes dvi*ja*, properly initiated, is allowed to read the Vedic literature. *Veda-patha.* If you remain a *sudra,* with no *samskara,* no purification, then you have no right to understand Vedic knowledge. Either you have no right or you cannot understand. Throughout the world, everyone knows *Bhagavad-gītā,* but they have misunderstood it because they are kept as *sudras.* When purified, one becomes *dvija* and receives the sacred thread. That is called *upa*nayana*. Upa* means "near," and *nayana* means "bringing." When one is brought nearer to the spiritual master who accepts him as his disciple, the spiritual master gives the sacred thread as a kind of badge: "This man is now *dvija*, twice-born. He's no longer a *sudra.* He's a *brahmana.* So he has the right to read the Vedic literature." The *Bhagavad-gītā* is the summary of all Vedic knowledge. If we pass through the process of *divya-jnana,* by *diksa,* then we rightly understand what is *Bhagavad-gītā*, or we become interested to know what is the lesson of *Bhagavad-gītā*. *Bhagavad-gītā* is the summary of Vedic literature. You cannot read all the *Vedas* at the present moment, nor do you have the time or the capacity. In Kali-yuga, the current age, everyone is fallen. *Happiness by Purity* Human life should be utilized for understanding the Vedic knowledge, *divya-jnana;* then one will be purified. One's existential identity will be purified. At the present moment it is not purified. Because it is not purified, we are repeatedly dying. People have no knowledge of how to stop death. They think death is natural. It is not natural. It is unnatural. They do not know this. But in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (2.20) you'll get the information. *Na jayate mriyate va kadacit:* "The soul is never born and never dies." "I see he has died; he is dead." No. By seeing that the body is destroyed, don't think the person is destroyed. He'll get another body. *Tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati* (*Gita* 2.13). This is our position. We have accepted one body, and we live in that body for some days, and then again we give up that body—*tatha dehantara-praptir.* This is a disease. To get out of this disease there is the need for *tapasya.* Don't think that initiation is something official, a ritualistic ceremony, and that as soon as I get the initiation, I become perfect and whatever nonsense I like I can do. No. *Tapasyā* must continue. To purify yourself, your existence, you have to continue the *tapasya*—no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. If you follow these five principles, then your existence will be purified. You'll understand Kṛṣṇa from the *Bhagavad-gītā,* you'll know Kṛṣṇa, and you'll know the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to understand Kṛṣṇa. There is no other business in the human form of life. But because we have given up Kṛṣṇa, we have invented so many occupational duties. These so-called occupational duties—running here and there in a motorcar—are not the end of life. There is something more for the human being, and that is *divya-jnana,* transcendental knowledge. Why should you purify your existence? Because you want happiness. That is your desire. You'll get *brahma-saukhyam,* the greatest happiness, which will never end. If you purify your existence by *tapasya,* then you will be happy eternally. There will be no end. Here in the material world any happiness is temporary—either for five minutes or five days or five years or five hundred years or five million years. It will end. But if you purify your existence, then the happiness will never end. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a very serious thing, and it is offered to the human being. Anyone can take advantage of this opportunity and make his life successful. Thank you very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out: Every Body Is Miserable *The following conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and some of his disciples took place in Rome in May 1974.* Śrīla Prabhupāda: People are doing all kinds of forbidden activities. Why? What is the purpose? *Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya.* The only purpose is sense gratification. The rascal does not think, "I am doing all these sinful activities for sense gratification, and as a result, I will have to accept a very low grade body." That he does not know. He has already got one low-grade body, and so he is simply suffering. And by his present activities he is guaranteeing that he will get yet another low-grade body—more suffering. And still, he will do everything for sense gratification. The *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* warns him, *na sadhu manye yata atmano ’yam:* "Oh, it is not good. This kind of activity has already covered your soul by a miserable body." "Well, this body is temporary. I'm not going to worry." "Then take another body, rascal. This body is temporary—but after this life you will get another body. Most abominable. So why are you doing this kind of nonsense? Yes, this body is temporary, but why don't you understand that it is also *klesada:* it is always subjected to the miserable conditions of the material world? You know this body is miserable, and any other body you get will be miserable. So why do you keep getting these bodies? Stop these activities." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But people do not know that any type of material body you accept will be miserable. For instance, they have constructed this comfortable building, but if for only a few hours there is severe cold, many people may die, even in this building. Isn't it true? So whether you remain in this or that material situation, the sufferings will be there. And just to attain the comfort of this tall building, how much misery one has to go through. "Sir, I am not going through misery," the owner says. "The laborers are doing that." "But you have to get the money to pay them. How miserable it is to acquire this money to pay the laborers." People are simply captivated by money. Otherwise, the whole affair is miserable. Sometimes the laborers fall to their death while constructing a skyscraper, do they not? And I have heard that in New York, many buildings have no tenants. Another misery. The owner of the place—he is also suffering. "I have spent so much money, but no tenants." For the last six or seven years, the tallest building in London has been vacant. Disciple: On Tottenham Court Road. Yes, that big one. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes [*laughing*]. The owner's misery is that if he kept tenants, that would be still more miserable than going without tenants. Isn't it so? Yes. Therefore he remains without tenants—because he would have to pay so many taxes that it would be more miserable. So he is avoiding that. In summary, constructing the building was troublesome, and now, keeping it is also troublesome. To search out pleasure, people have manufactured so many things—this thing or that thing. But still they cannot enjoy it. For a few minutes they can enjoy it, then once again it is useless. "Let us go away." Disciple: Sometimes people wonder, "How can I be sure that I can actually become a bird or a dog?" Śrīla Prabhupāda: Where are all these birds and dogs coming from? Let these people answer. Where are all these birds and dogs coming from? Disciple: Well, most people say from other birds and dogs. Śrīla Prabhupāda: That you may think, but you do not know the natural law. Nature is providing these bodies, and your past activities force you to accept them. Take this apartment—either you accept it or someone else accepts it. Similarly, this body is an apartment. Nature provides it, and you have to accept it. We are all spiritual entities, and under nature's direction we are changing material bodies. My past activities may force me to change to one kind of body. His past activities may force him to change to another kind of body. Is that unreasonable? In our next lives this person may accept my kind of body, and I may accept his kind of body. This is simply an apartment change. I may go to one kind of apartment, he may go to another kind. But anyway, nature is providing so many apartments. You may say, "No, no. I am not going to accept that apartment." Nature will reply, "No, no. It is not your decision any longer. How much 'money' [good *karma*] have you accumulated, sir, to pay for your accommodations?" "I have no money." "All right. Then go to this apartment." And you must accept that apartment. *Karmana daiva-netrena:* by your past activities it will be decided what kind of apartment you will get. It is not your decision. Many a rascal thinks that now that he has gotten a human body, he can never again be degraded to the animal species. That is very palatable. [*Laughing.*] But nature will force him to accept the body of a cat or dog. The decision is not yours but that of the superior authorities—just as in the office, when you get promoted or demoted the decision is not yours but that of the directors. You cannot say, "No, no. I am not going to accept this new post." No. You have to accept. *Karanam guna-sangah asya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu:* these different types of bodies are due to your past association with the different modes of material nature. Otherwise, why are there so many varieties? One person has become a crow; another person has become a sparrow; another person has become a dog; another person has become a cat; another person has become a tree; another person has become a blade of grass. Nature is so expert, though, that in spite of these different varieties of misery, she assembles them in such a nice way that they look very beautiful. ## Is Religion the Opium of the Masses? *by Caitanya Carana Dāsa* *Close examination of this old charge against religion raises the opposite question: Might atheism be the opium?* “Religion is the opium of the masses” is the argument often used by atheists to dismiss religion without addressing the substantial issues it deals with. Though others before Karl Marx had promoted the idea, he made it famous: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” What does the religion-as-opium argument imply? Atheists allege that just as opium intoxicates people with illusory feelings of well-being without offering any real relief, so does religion. Only when people shed the false hopes offered by religion will they strive for actual well-being. The juxtaposition of religion with opium captivates many people, who start viewing religion negatively without critically evaluating the validity of its equation with opium. The religion-as-opium argument has several unstated assumptions. Let’s examine these in the form of three questions. 1. Are the hopes offered by religion false? 2. Can we have real well-being without religion? 3. Does religion divert our energy from real well-being? *1. Are the hopes offered by religion false?* Religion usually centers on the existence of a benevolent God by whose grace we can attain a world of eternal happiness. It frequently tells us that our present world is a station, not a destination. This world is a place we pass through during our journey towards eternal existence. By living here according to God’s guidelines, we can live fruitfully and evolve towards spiritual perfection. Are these religious beliefs false? By material methods of observation and inference, we may not be able to conclusively prove the otherworldly truth-claims of religion. But we can definitely look at its this-worldly effects. Unlike opium, which harms our health, religion heals us in many ways, physically and mentally. In the *Handbook of Religion and Health,* published by Oxford University Press, Harold G. Koenig, M.D.; Michael E. McCullough, Ph.D.; and the late David B. Larson, M.D., carefully reviewed no fewer than two thousand published experiments that tested the relationship between religion and everything from blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and stroke to depression, suicide, psychotic disorders, and marital problems. Some of their findings: * People who attended a spiritual program at least once a week lived an average seven years longer than those who didn't attend at all. * Religious youth showed significantly lower levels of drug and alcohol abuse, premature sexual involvement, criminal delinquency, and suicidal tendencies than their nonreligious counterparts. * Elderly people with deep, personal religious faith had a stronger sense of well-being and life satisfaction than their less religious peers. The authors' conclusion? "A high SQ [Spiritual Quotient] faithfulness to God appears to benefit people of all means, educational levels and ages." These findings are so consistent and compelling that Dr. Patrick Glynn in his book *God—The Evidence* poignantly states their implications: “If this [religious belief] is an illusion, it is, first of all, not a harmful one, as Freud and the moderns taught. On the contrary, it is mentally beneficial. It is also, more puzzlingly, physically beneficial. And strangest of all, by deliberately interacting with this illusion in a sincere spirit, through meditative prayer, one can create improvements in symptoms of disease that otherwise cannot be medically explained.” His last comment refers to findings like those of Dr. Herbert Benson, reported in his book *The Relaxation Response:* the benefits of religious belief are greater when those beliefs are deeply cherished, not nominally held. What are we to infer from this? Is religion an illusion that somehow accidentally offers real benefits? And is it such a peculiar illusion that the greater our belief in it, the greater the benefits? That is, the more we believe something wrong to be right, the more it sets right things that are otherwise nearly impossible to set right? Rather than swallowing such a twisted preconception, can we be open-minded enough to consider a more natural and logical inference? Could it be that religion may not be an illusion at all? Might religious belief and practice harmonize us with some deeper reality, thus benefiting us mentally and physically? I hear the objection “Wait a minute—religion is the cause of so much violence and war.” Is it, really? Statistics reveal that violence has been far more prevalent in atheistic parts of the world than elsewhere. R. J. Rummel, in *Lethal Politics: Soviet Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1917,* documents that the victims of Marxist governments amounted to 95,200,000. By comparison, the battle-killed in all foreign and domestic wars in the twentieth century totaled 35,700,000. In utter disregard of such serious analysis, the religion-as-opium argument swaggers with intellectual arrogance. It summarily dismisses religion by equating religious beliefs with opium-induced hallucinations. Aggressively dismissing ideas that contradict one’s own beliefs—isn’t that what intolerance is all about? The religion-as-opium argument reflects an arrogant, intolerant faith, the faith known as atheistic fundamentalism. Of course, this atheistic faith conceals its intolerance under the garbs of science, secularism, and social progress. But when we strip it of its misdirecting jargon, it stands exposed for what it is: a fanatical belief in disbelief. *2. Can we have real well-being without religion?* Atheism assumes that the material level of existence is the only reality; whatever well-being is to be had must therefore be had at the material level alone. Atheists believe that if people stopped taking the opium of religion, then they would strive for and achieve real well-being at the material level. Has that hope been realized by propagating atheism and relegating religion to the sidelines of intellectual and social life, as has happened in many parts of the world in recent times? Not at all. The material level of existence is characterized by misery and mortality. Even Marx in his religion-opium quote referred to people as “oppressed creatures.” If we reject religion as an opiate, can we free ourselves from the oppression of our inevitable mortality? No, because atheism rivets us to matter and material existence, which are temporary. Atheism implies that: * We are material beings who will end with death. And death comes arbitrarily on anyone at any time. It knocks us all out of existence fully and forever. Period. * Our life has no ultimate purpose or meaning. We are made of nothing but particles of matter moving about endlessly and meaninglessly. How can such a dreary, draining, and depressing worldview foster well-being? As the theoretical physicist—and atheist—Steven Weinberg states, “The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.” With such a gloomy vision of life, many naturally doubt whether living itself has any value. Albert Camus states this explicitly at the start of his essay *The Myth of Sisyphus:* “There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide.” A godless, soulless worldview makes life meaningless, purposeless—worthless. It drives millions to ennui and despair. Millions bury themselves in pointless distractions like video games, spectator sports, and movies. Even atheists find such obsession undesirable. As American Atheists' founder Madalyn Murray O'Hair commented about contemporary society, "Marx was wrong—religion is not the opiate of the masses, baseball is." But what they often don’t realize is that by labeling religion an opiate and turning people away from it, they force them to seek refuge in such opiates. *3. Does religion divert our energy from real well-being?* Atheists argue that just as taking opium distracts people from working for real well-being, so does believing in religion. Is that true? Religion does indeed direct our vision to another world, an eternal world—the kingdom of God. Does this otherworldly hope make us indolent or impotent to work in this world? No. This is not to deny that some religious people may neglect their worldly responsibilities. But that’s because they misunderstand or misapply the teachings of religion. What is the nature of religion’s actual contributions? Throughout history: * Religious believers have created many of the greatest works of art, architecture, and literature. Their belief didn’t cause them to reject everything of this world for the sake of God, but inspired them to do wonderful things in this world to glorify God. * Religious beliefs have motivated millions of people to acts of charity and compassion. In addition to looking at religion’s practical contributions to the world, we also need to assess religion’s conceptual attitude towards the world so that we can gauge whether it has an opiate-like effect. No doubt, religion promises us a better world beyond this world. At the same time, it instructs us that, to attain that world, we need to act morally and responsibly in the here-and-now. This injunction contributes to making things better in this world. The Vedic worldview informs us that our spiritual development takes us through four progressive stages: *dharma* (religious practice), *artha* (holistic economic prosperity), *kama* (physical and emotional satisfaction), and *moksa* (liberation from material existence). Thus, it outlines a master plan that integrates both this-worldly and otherworldly well-being. Similarly, the *Bhagavad-gītā* centers on a call for devotional activism in this world. Arjuna wanted to renounce the world, but Kṛṣṇa instructed him to engage in the world and to engage the world in devotional service by establishing the rule of morality and spirituality in the world. The *Gita’s* teachings of *bhakti* offer a dynamic way that helps us contribute to this world while also attaining the next world. The path of *bhakti* urges us to neither romanticize nor demonize the world, but instead to utilize it and thereby realize God. Many people, including most atheists, romanticize the world, picturing it to be the arena where they will fulfill their fantasies. When the world dashes and smashes their dreams, they sometimes oscillate to the other extreme and demonize it; they paint it as an intrinsically evil place to be shunned at all costs. The *Bhagavad-gītā* (2.64) urges us to avoid attachment and aversion, thereby pointing to a balance between these two poles of romanticizing and demonizing. Further, the *Gita* (5.29) declares that the world belongs to God, Kṛṣṇa, and so should be used for His service. When we lovingly offer the resources of the world to the Lord of the world, this devotional contact with the all-pure Lord purifies us. This purification peels away the layers of ignorance and forgetfulness that have obscured our spiritual identity for eons. As we progressively realize who we actually are, we understand that rendering devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is our natural, eternal activity as His beloved children. This understanding inspires us to continue serving Kṛṣṇa with conviction and devotion. Then, as we rise towards God-realization, we discover that all the peace and joy we were constantly searching for externally was present all along in our own hearts in the form of Kṛṣṇa, the source of all peace and joy. Helping us get that realization is the world’s ultimate purpose. Thus, *Gita* wisdom helps us steer clear of the extremes of romanticizing and demonizing in dealing with the world. By showing us the middle path of utilizing, it leads us to life’s ultimate perfection: realizing Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda demonstrated this devotional dynamism in our times. Did the religion of *bhakti* make him inactive when he could have been active? Far from it, it made him superactive at an age when most people become inactive. Despite being over seventy, Śrīla Prabhupāda traveled all over the world several times, wrote dozens of books, and established more than a hundred temples. For him, religion was not an opiate, but a vitalizer. That same rejuvenating potency of religion is available to us too. All we need to do is assimilate and apply the principles of *bhakti,* which the *Bhagavad-gītā* (18.66) indicates is the summit of religion. Thus, the true contribution of religion, especially in its highest expression of *bhakti,* is far from that of an opiate. And its contribution is far higher than merely being a source of better physical and mental health, though these may come out. It provides a lasting and fulfilling direction for our innermost longing for love. By so doing, it makes our life meaningful, purposeful, joyful. Nothing enriches our life as does *bhakti.* Atheism, on the other hand, devalues life into a meaningless accident, a procession of dead chemicals. It offers little if any reason for compassion and all reasons to use anything and anyone for one’s own pleasure. For the atheist, this life is all that exists, it is meant only for enjoyment, and there’s no God to oversee how we get that enjoyment. Such a worldview fosters immorality and corruption and degradation. So, if evidence and reasoning were allowed to speak, perhaps the question would need to be turned around: might atheism be the opium of the masses? Could it be a deceptive and destructive opium that has been widely fed to people in the name of science, secularism, and social progress, while it actually erodes the foundations of our material and spiritual well-being? *Caitanya Carana Dāsa is a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānath Swami. He holds a degree in electronic and telecommunications engineering and serves full time at ISKCON Pune. He is the author of eleven books. To read his other articles or to receive his daily reflection on the* Bhagavad-gītā, *"Gita-Daily," visit thespiritualscientist.com.* ## The Ultimate Rescue Mission *by Purushottam Kumar* *Out of His infinite mercy, Lord Kṛṣṇa descended as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to deliver us from our inevitable suffering in the material world.* People in India are generally able to understand that God can appear as an incarnation. Especially among the Hindu community, people are aware of the ten famous incarnations of Lord Visnu, and Lord Kṛṣṇa is counted among those ten. What people do not know is that Kṛṣṇa, although appearing as an incarnation of Visnu, is the source of all incarnations. An even lesser-known fact is that the same Kṛṣṇa appeared as Lord Caitanya 529 years ago on the most magnanimous mission, one that has no comparison in history. Glorifying Lord Caitanya’s magnanimity, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, quoting a verse by Śrīla Rupa Gosvami, writes: > anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau > samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam > harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah > sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandanah “May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Śrīmati Saci-devi be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.” (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi* 1.4) *Lord Caitanya: The True Savior* If, due to some calamity, people get trapped in an uninhabitable terrain, the government sends a rescue team to bring back the survivors. Lord Caitanya also came on a save-all mission—to reclaim the suffering souls of this world. Unlike an ordinary rescue effort, however, Lord Caitanya’s task was a bit more difficult. Usually the survivors of any disaster openly welcome the rescue team, eager to accept whatever help they can get. But the people Lord Caitanya has come to help cannot recognize and appreciate His help. As a result, they try to run away from Him, or even act against Him or His representatives. People in this world are suffering from spiritual amnesia; the lost souls are not even ready to acknowledge their miserable condition and thus refuse to accept any medication. One may challenge, "Why doesn't God forcibly take us out of suffering?" Although He could drag us back to the spiritual world, He prefers to wait until we want to join Him there. Till then, He allows us to continue living in the material world and enjoying illusory happiness independent of Him. Careful to not interfere with our freedom of choice, He nevertheless constantly reminds us that true happiness will elude us in the material world. In this world a soul slowly forgets his relationship with the Lord and suffers terribly. Especially in this age of Kali, vice overshadows virtue; irreligion becomes so prominent that true saints get sidelined, hedonistic culture flourishes, and people mostly look for carnal pleasure. By flaunting atheistic ideas and sensual indulgence, people’s lives become so degraded that they fall down to the level of animals. Sense control, sex control, and self-control become herculean tasks for all. People hardly endeavor to inquire about the purpose of their existence and don’t have the intelligence to differentiate between matter and spirit. Their condition is akin to a goat that stands in queue in an abattoir to get slaughtered but continues munching the tasty green grass, thinking that the bloodstained butcher’s chopper will be merciful to him. *The Holy Name: The Best Medicine* If a disease is severe, then an expert doctor is required for treatment. Lord Caitanya therefore comes as the expert physician to treat all of us. Considering the precarious conditions of the current period, He introduced the simple yet extremely effective medicine of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra:* Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. In His *Śikṣāṣṭaka* prayers, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu explains the glories of this great *mantra*: Glory to the *sri-Kṛṣṇa -*sankirtana*,* which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This *sankirtana* movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious. Anyone and everyone can chant, anywhere and everywhere, loudly or softly or in the mind, individually or in congregation. If done with sincerity, any chanting is effective. Śrīla Prabhupāda recommended that to purify the consciousness one should chant at least sixteen rounds of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra* daily on beads, a single round being 108 beads. This daily chanting should not be done silently but should be loud enough so that the chanter can hear the sound. Audible chanting, whether on beads or in congregational *kirtana,* has the added benefit that anyone who hears it will be purified by the transcendental sound. *Vedic Books Declare Lord Caitanya the Supreme God* Because Lord Caitanya hid His identity, most people are not aware of His supreme divinity. If we turn to the pages of Vedic literature, however, we will be surprised to find that they contain abundant information that proves beyond doubt that Lord Caitanya is in fact the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself. Here are a few references from authentic scriptures. The *Mahābhārata’s Visnu-sahasra-nama-stotra* ("The Thousand Names of Visnu") explains: > suvarna-varno hemango > varangas candanangadi > sannyasa-krc chamah santo > nistha-santi-parayanah "In His early pastimes He appears as a householder with a golden complexion. His limbs are beautiful, and His body, smeared with the pulp of sandalwood, seems like molten gold. In His later pastimes He accepts the *sannyasa* order, and He is equipoised and peaceful. He is the highest abode of peace and devotion, for He silences the impersonalist nondevotees." In the *Ādi Purana* and the *Narada Purana,* the Supreme Lord says, > aham eva dvija-srestho > nityam pracchanna-vigrahah > bhagavad-bhakta-rupena > lokam raksami sarvada "I shall make My advent in the form of a *brahmana* devotee, and I shall hide my factual identity. I shall deliver all the worlds." The *Padma Purana* mentions: "The Supreme Personality, Janardana, who is the object of the *yogis'* meditation, who saves the devotees from various sufferings, who is the master of all *yogic* practices, and who is always full of divine transcendental ecstasy and bliss, will appear in His own divine form of Śrī Caitanya." In the *Garuda Purana* the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself states, "I will take birth as the son of Saci in Navadvipa-Māyāpur. I will come in My complete spiritual form in the first part of Kali-yuga." Finally, while describing the incarnations of the Lord for the four ages, the sage Karabhajana states in the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (11.5.32), > krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam > sangopangastra-parsadam > yajnaih sankirtana-prayair > yajanti hi su-medhasah “In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons, and confidential companions.” Śrīla Prabhupāda endeavored hard to spread the mission and message of Lord Caitanya all over the world. Because of his monumental efforts, today we know that to save our life we need to take shelter of Lord Caitanya. Prabhupāda wanted to make Māyāpur, the birthplace of Lord Caitanya, the spiritual capital of the world. The land has tremendous spiritual potency. Scriptures and spiritual authorities reveal that every speck of dust there is laden with Lord Caitanya’s love. To fulfill Śrīla Prabhupāda’s wish, ISKCON is building a magnificent temple there: The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. It will be one of the largest Vedic temples of the world and is poised to become one of the most important Vedic centers, playing a very significant role in spreading the message of Lord Caitanya. *Spiritual Wings* Most religious traditions promise material benefits to their practitioners in return for their religious practices. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, never misguided the populace and never gave any false hope to seekers. He instead explained that no one can achieve permanent peace and happiness in this world because it is designed to give us suffering (*duhkhalayam asasvatam, Gita* 8.15). No amount of material gain can reduce our miseries. The only way to get rid of all troubles and attain unlimited happiness is to reestablish our relationship with Lord Kṛṣṇa and return to the spiritual world. If we abide by the instructions of Lord Caitanya and sincerely chant the holy names of Kṛṣṇa, we will soon develop spiritual wings to fly back blissfully to our spiritual home. Let us express our gratitude towards Him by eschewing all material desires and conscientiously using our body, mind, and words in serving, remembering, and glorifying Him. *Purushottam Kumar is a member of the congregation at ISKCON Kolkata. He works with Tech Mahindra as an associate solution designer.* ## A Texas-sized Temple with Room to Grow *by Sarvabhauma Dāsa* *A dedicated congregation has developed the Hare Kṛṣṇa temple in Houston into a vibrant center of devotion.* Texas is a big state, but Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciple Dina Bandhu Dāsa recalls how the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness in Houston, Texas, began in a small way. "When my wife [Akuti Devī Dāsī] and I arrived in Houston in 1971," he says, "Prahladananda Dāsa was the temple president at 406 Gray St. It was a dilapidated two-story wooden building just outside downtown, in a very bad neighborhood. The plaster was no longer on the walls; only the lathe was there, and the wind used to blow right through the wood siding into the temple room. We felt the place was haunted." He and Akuti had come to Houston in the wake of the pioneering devotees who brought Kṛṣṇa consciousness to Texas—Visnujana Swami and his *brahmacari* assistant, Śrīnatha Dāsa. In 1970 the two saffron-clad monks hitchhiked west on U.S. Interstate 10 from Florida and got dropped off in Houston, sometimes called “Space City,” as it is a major NASA communications center. In February 1971 Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote to Visnujana in Houston to encourage him in his service there. More than a decade later, after the devotees had moved to another building, Kalakantha Dāsa served as Houston’s temple president. "In 1984," he says, "ISKCON Houston was in a damaged building in an unattractive part of downtown on Rosalie Street. Rats were a constant problem, and our small band of devotees struggled to serve Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitai nicely." *Houston’s Indian Community* With a warm climate similar to that of India, an economy energized by an oil boom from the late 1970s to mid-1980s, and easing U.S. immigration laws that enabled more foreign nationals to work in America, Houston’s Indian population grew. While the new arrivals came mainly to improve their standard of living, many were happy to discover the Hare Kṛṣṇa temple on Rosalie Street, simple as it was, with *prasada,* spirited *kirtanas,* and effulgent Deities of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu—called Śrī Śrī Nitai-Caitanyacandra. The temple members were all non-Indians, though one of them, Brahmatirtha Dāsa, had been a Peace Corps volunteer in India and had had lively talks with Śrīla Prabhupāda (recorded in *Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers*). In 1975, while at a grocery store shopping for the temple, Brahmatirtha met young Deepak Patel and invited him to the Sunday feast. Deepak, from Gujarat, western India, was a mechanical engineering graduate who had recently started working in Houston. Fascinated to meet an American Vaisnava in *dhoti* and *tilaka,* Deepak, who was not married, enjoyed the Sunday feast, moved near the temple, began coming daily, and even stayed at the temple on weekends. “There were only five or six devotees at that time,” Deepak recalls, “and I felt at home. They taught me to wear a *dhoti*, and every Sunday I would go with the devotees to chant *hari-nama* at Herman Park.” At Brahmatirtha's request, Deepak began his first temple service: every Saturday he would shop for groceries and other temple supplies. Even though he has worked fulltime since the mid-1970s (and later married and raised three daughters with his wife, Subhadra Devī Dāsī), Deepak has continued this shopping service uninterrupted for the last forty years. In 1984 he received initiation and the name Dvarakanatha Dāsa from Tamal Kṛṣṇa Goswami, and for nearly thirty years he has blissfully performed temple Deity worship several days a week. *A New Temple Location* Dvarakanatha Dāsa recalls that when Tamal Kṛṣṇa Goswami became ISKCON's Governing Body Commissioner (GBC) for Texas, he wanted to remodel the old Rosalie Street temple but faced zoning restrictions, scarce parking, and a declining neighborhood. When a developer offered to buy the Rosalie property in 1984, Goswami decided to move the temple to its current location, a larger property on West 34th Street. In 1986 truly Texas-sized Deities, Śrī Śrī Rādhā—Nila-Madhava, were installed. And in 1990, B. B. Govinda Swami brought an unusually large *sila* (stone) from Govardhan Hill in Vrindavan to be worshiped on the temple altar. *Goswami Engages the Congregation* Although the new place had potential, Tamal Kṛṣṇa Goswami knew that an important devotional resource was largely untapped: the Indian congregation. After the Deity installation, Goswami asked an Indian devotee to serve as temple president, and he invited uninitiated Indian congregational members—with jobs and families—to become board members and oversee the temple finances and other matters. Goswami encouraged the board members and their families to increase their chanting and other devotional practices. When asked to perform a particular service, if they protested, “We are not qualified,” Goswami would reply, “Become qualified.” Eventually many devotees of Indian ancestry received initiation, beginning with Caitanya Dāsa (who became the temple's head *pujari* in 1993), his wife Draupadi Devī Dāsī, his father Janaka Mahārāja Dāsa, and Dinanatha Dāsa. In 1992 Syamasundara Dāsa, from Gujarat, became the temple president, a service he performed, while keeping a full-time job, until his recent retirement. He led an extraordinary effort to design, finance, and build the impressive state-of-the-art temple that recently celebrated its grand opening. *Houston’s Bhakti-vrksa Groups* Organized by the couple Advaitacandra Dāsa and Kalasuddha Devī Dāsī, once a week about two hundred devotees meet in eleven groups (known as *Bhakti-vrksa*, or "tree of devotion") in Houston-area residences to chant, discuss Kṛṣṇa conscious topics, and enjoy a *prasada* dinner. Although initially Kṛṣṇa consciousness was new to many, a number have taken spiritual initiation and offer valuable services such as cooking, Deity worship, book distribution, management, and outreach. While most of the *Bhakti-vrksa* participants are from the Indian community, one group consists mainly of Westerners, and a Hispanic group meets intermittently. David Garvin exemplifies the benefits of the *Bhakti-vrksa* experience. A practitioner of Buddhist meditation for twenty years (including nearly two years in monasteries in Thailand and Japan), in 2010 he received copies of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in Dallas and Houston. Impressed, he attended talks by a visiting ISKCON swami, and a devotee invited him to join the Friday evening *Bhakti-vrksa* group in Sugarland, a Houston suburb near his home. Every Friday evening David enjoyed philosophical discussion, *kirtana,* devotee association, and *prasada.* Enlivened, he began to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books at outreach events and assist in *Bhakti-vrksa* programs. He was asked to head the temple’s Bhaktivedanta Book Trust department, and with the help of about fifteen volunteer distributors, the book sales have increased each year since 2012. Recently, David received initiation and the spiritual name Dayala Nitai Dāsa. In 2000 a South Indian couple—Saranga Ṭhākura Dāsa and Seva-priya Devī Dāsī—were among four families in Houston’s first *Bhakti-vrksa* group, near downtown. When the families eventually moved to different suburbs, they missed the Friday spiritual get-togethers and formed new groups. Currently, Saranga Ṭhākura and Seva-priya host a *Bhakti-vrksa* program in their home in Katy, Texas. And while the adults meet, their fourteen-year-old son Devesh leads the kids, joined by his younger sister, Aaradita. Although Saranga Ṭhākura has a full-time job, he is a member of the six-devotee temple management team and performs temple Deity worship thrice weekly. Seva-priya homeschools her children, yet she also cooks for and dresses the temple Deities and organizes a *Bhagavad-gītā* camp attended by about sixty-five children each summer. At outreach events the whole family distributes books and serves *prasada,* and Devesh plays the *mrdanga* drum and often leads *kirtanas.* *ISKCON Youth* A number of youth have grown up along with the temple, and they like devotional service, especially *kirtana.* Although now busy with college or jobs, they exuberantly enhance temple *kirtanas* and render a variety of services. Several young people who attended the temple Sunday school now teach in the Sunday school themselves. When I first heard seventeen-year-old Anish Pillai chanting melodically on the harmonium before Śrī Śrī Rādhā—Nila-Madhava in 2007, I felt hope for the future of ISKCON in Houston. Now, as Nila-Madhava Dāsa and a recent college graduate, he works in hospital administration at Houston Medical Center. His youth *kirtana* group, Jiva Jago, has recorded a CD, and they often chant at temples, festivals, and *yoga* centers. *New Temple School* On Rādhāstami in 2014, Goswami Academy opened for pre-kindergarten children, with plans to expand through grade four. Emphasizing both creative academics and spiritual values, the school, led by Subra Devī Dāsī, an experienced teacher and administrator, is located in the temple’s spacious Gauranga Hall. *Prasada Distribution* For twenty years Kṛṣṇa Krpa Dāsa served *prasada* to Rice University students through a vegetarian club, and in the past the temple has provided *prasada* to Houston’s SEARCH Homeless Services, the SHAPE Center, and Our Lady of Guadalupe church. In August 2005, when 150,000 New Orleans evacuees took shelter in Houston after Hurricane Katrina, devotees delivered hot *prasada* to thousands of refugees. Currently the devotees provide extra *prasada* to Food Not Bombs and serve thousands at outdoor festivals. *Outreach Events* On visits to Houston, Tamal Kṛṣṇa Goswami encouraged devotees to teach Kṛṣṇa consciousness not only to Houston’s Indian community but also to people of all backgrounds. In the late 1990s they brought *prasada* and *kirtana* to a *yoga* center run by a Peruvian gentleman. Intrigued, a Hispanic *yoga* student decided to come to *mangala-arati* at 4:30 A.M. to meditate. She loved the temple, became a devotee, received the name Manasi Ganga Devī Dāsī, and is now on the temple management team. In recent years devotees have served *prasada* and distributed books at the Texas Yoga Association Convention and chanted at several *yoga* centers. Gurubhakti Devī Dāsī (Dr. Hansa Medley), a medical doctor, serves as temple outreach coordinator. Devotees set up literature tables and *prasada* booths at many festivals, including Houston International Festival, Summerfest, Bayou City Art Festival, White Linen Festival, and Vegfest. They also chant on a decorated vehicle in the annual Houston Art Car Parade, attended by 100,000 Houstonians each spring. The devotees perform *kirtana* and distribute *prasada* and books at the annual Houston observance of Earthdance, a simultaneous global dance for peace in over a hundred cities worldwide. In recent years the devotees have helped an Orissan family celebrate Jagannatha Rathayatra at Discovery Green, a prestigious downtown Houston venue. *Interfaith Support* After the Kazakh government raided the Hare Kṛṣṇa community in Kazakhstan in 2006, B. B. Govinda Swami toured the West to gather support. When he and his group of chanters visited Houston, the devotees held a fund-raising concert and dinner attended by congregation members and representatives of temples, churches, and mosques. Gurubhakti Devī Dāsī is on the board of advisors of Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH), which represents fifty temples and an estimated 120,000 Indo-Americans in Greater Houston. In 2010, HGH asked young devotees to perform *kirtana* on the main stage at their Janmastami festival at Houston’s George Brown Convention Center, and HGH widely promoted a talk by Rādhānath Swami. The temple works also with Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston (IM), which refers school and church groups for temple tours. IM’s president, Rabbi Elliot Gershenson, commended the devotees at the temple opening. *Devotee Care* In 2010, when Jananivasini Rādhā Devī Dāsī, a disciple of Bhaktitirtha Swami, was passing away in Houston, Sangita Devī Dāsī (Susan Pattinson, R.N.) visited to try to help. A professional hospice nurse and author of *The Final Journey: Complete Hospice Care for Departing Vaishnavas,* she also taught a seminar on devotee care. When she encouraged Houston devotees to form a Vaisnava care team, about fifteen volunteered, and they have helped several departing devotees. One of the volunteers is an elderly Bengali devotee, Kṛṣṇa Bhakti Devī Dāsī. Her husband, Dr. P. K. De, developed a water filter for temple kitchens and donated several to the Māyāpur temple. *A Heavy Yet Delicate Move* Before the new temple opening, Their Lordships—1,300-pound Śrī Nila-Madhava and His 900-pound consort, Śrī Rādhā—had to be safely conveyed thirty-five yards from the old temple to Their new altar. Ya?omati-nandana Dāsa, who had moved Rādhā–Nila-Madhava onto Their original altar twenty-eight years earlier, came from New York to help. Using a heavy-duty handcart, the devotees carefully rolled each Deity up a specially built ramp, one at a time, as Nila Madhava Dāsa led the prayerful devotees, including Giriraja Swami and Rtadhvaja Swami, in a sweet *kirtana.* Although the devotees were concerned, the Deities moved safely up the ramp and onto the altar. *The New Temple* Just before the grand opening, Allan Turner, a senior reporter for Houston’s largest newspaper, *The Houston Chronicle,* wrote, “Built on the site of a former Baptist church, Houston’s new Hare Kṛṣṇa temple seems impressive by any measure.” Outside, the top of the *cakra* (disc) crowning the main temple dome is 98 feet above the ground. Inside, a massive twelve-ton canopy of eight teakwood domes hangs above the altar. Seven artisans in Kerala, South India spent seven years hand carving the canopy and the matching temple doors. Marble from Spain, arrayed in ornate patterns including lotus designs, bedecks the temple floor. *Devotees Who Made It Possible* Congregational member Arun Kothari, a general contractor, donated time, expertise, and money over many years and logged thousands of miles in his car. Vaibhavi Devī Dāsī advised on color schemes and the octagonal shape of the inner domes, and Kesava Bharati Goswami gave important aesthetic feedback. Substantial financial support came from the late Dr. Raj Dhingra. *The Grand Opening* On May 16–18, 2014, the celebration attracted ten thousand visitors, ten ISKCON *sannyasis,* and Houston pioneers such as Dina Bandhu Dāsa. Friday night featured an interfaith program, and over the weekend auspicious rituals were performed to inaugurate the temple and install new small Deities, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Giridhari. The guests enjoyed performances by B. B. Govinda Swami’s Kazakhstani chanters, the Māyāpuris, the Houston-based United Nations Association International Choir, and seventeen-year-old Carnatic vocalist Kruthi Bhat, named top vocalist in the 2014 worldwide Carnatic Idol competition and a violinist and cellist in the Houston Symphony Orchestra. More than five hundred students from thirty-five Houston-area dance and music schools, including an ISKCON Houston girls’ dance group, performed on two festival stages. *Plans for the Hare Kṛṣṇa Dhama Community* Tamal Kṛṣṇa Goswami often spoke of the need for a vegetarian restaurant at the temple, and one is being planned. Devotees have built or moved into more than twenty homes within walking distance of the temple, and others have bought plots of land with the intention to build homes. The temple has purchased several acres directly across the street, with plans to build a block of twenty-one apartments for devotees or friends of the temple. Having built guest rooms and hosted events such as the 2014 ISKCON North American Education Symposium, the temple hopes to host more seminars and retreats. Devotees are developing plans for a new *brahmacari* ashram and an ashram for women. Also under consideration is the idea of opening a center in downtown Houston. *Like Sudama Brahmana* Thirty years after his stint as temple president, Kalakantha Dāsa returned to Houston for the grand opening. As he marveled at the Deities’ beautiful new setting, a striking realization came to him: “To me, it was interesting to see at the back of the new temple building a wonderful bas-relief sculpture that depicts Sudama Brahmana’s visit to Lord Kṛṣṇa in Dwarka. Sudama was supposed to ask charity from Kṛṣṇa, but he forgot, being overwhelmed by the Lord’s kindness. After leaving Dwarka and returning to his shack, Sudama was amazed to find that it had been transformed into an opulent palace, unmatched by the demigods’ palaces in heaven. To remember that Rosalie Street property—and to see what is here today—I now know something of how Sudama felt.” *Sarvabhauma Dāsa, a disciple of Tamal Kṛṣṇa Goswami, is based in Houston, where he engages in various Kṛṣṇa conscious teaching and writing projects.* ## Matchless Gifts, the Movie: A Case of Spiritual Serendipity *By Satyaraja Dāsa* *An early film about Śrīla Prabhupāda in New York, misplaced by his first disciples, resurfaces at just the right time.* After first arriving in America in September of 1965, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda—soon to become the founder-*ācārya* of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness (ISKCON)—stayed at the Agarwal home in Butler, Pennsylvania. A sponsor from India had made arrangements for him to stay there. Some months later, he relocated to New York, where he was given a room at a prominent *yogi’s* ashram in uptown Manhattan. He then moved in with a hippie acquaintance in the Bowery, on the Lower East Side, because his small group of followers told him the young folk downtown would be more receptive to his message. By March of 1966, Prabhupāda, known then as "the Swami," had in fact gathered regular attendees—young people who liked to hear him speak philosophy and were enamored of his *kirtana* of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra:* Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. In May, with the help of several young followers, he rented a “temple” of his own in the East Village, at 26 Second Avenue. The simple storefront had previously been a curio shop called “Matchless Gifts,” its name boldly displayed on a plaque out front. Enjoying the double entendre—for the considerable gifts of Kṛṣṇa consciousness would soon engulf the world—Prabhupāda left the sign in place, just over the main entrance. Later that summer, Prabhupāda’s following grew and he officially incorporated his "international society." By this time, he had initiated almost two dozen students into his newly formed movement, which always seemed to garner good news coverage—almost as if Kṛṣṇa Himself had written the articles. Even while in Butler, shortly after Prabhupāda arrived from India, *The Butler Eagle* announced his journey and mission (September 22, 1965). Then, after a brief period in New York, *The Village Voice* ran an article on him (June 1966). A *New York Post* op-ed piece followed toward summer’s end (September 1), along with one in *The New York Times* (October 10) in the fall. Shortly thereafter, *The East Village Other* (October 15-November 1), a local underground newspaper, honored him with a cover story. [See BTG, July/August 2014.] What is often left unsaid is that in those very early days of the movement three films emerged, seemingly out of nowhere: (1) A black-and-white project by Richard and Susan Witty, known as *Matchless Gifts* (22-plus minutes); (2) the similar *Happiness on 2nd Avenue* (8:22 minutes), introduced by CBS news anchor Reid Collins, produced and photographed by Edmund Bert Gerard, and edited by Gloria George. This was an official CBS News presentation, broadcast on national television; and (3) a four-minute clip by Jonas Mekas, a popular figure in the American avant-garde film movement of the mid 1960s. Mekas’s film was distinguished by its quickly alternating images (psychedelic style) and its soundtrack, which featured Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky chanting “Hare Hare” throughout. The present article is about the first of those films. *Spiritual Serendipity* What were the odds that *The New York Times* would happen to have a reporter and a photographer in Tompkins Square Park when Prabhupāda and his early disciples were there chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra* outdoors, perhaps for the first time since he founded his movement? How is it that within the space of a week, one of the original editors of *The East Village Other*, which had just started publishing, also stumbled upon the chanting in the park? Whether one believes it to be divine arrangement or mere coincidence, it seems undeniable that the fates had somehow conspired to document the beginnings of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, and especially the historic first outdoor chanting sessions in the Western world. Richard and Susan Witty, a husband-and-wife team who had recently returned from a Peace Corps mission in the Philippines, had developed a newfound interest in film and happened to be in Tompkins Square at the right time. Several months before, Richard had taken two film courses at Columbia University, and almost immediately thereafter, he and his wife landed jobs with Leacock-Pennebaker. (Donn Alan “D. A.” Pennebaker was a pioneer documentary filmmaker, credited as being one of the preeminent chroniclers of the 60s counterculture. Richard “Ricky” Leacock was also noted for his work in documentary films and is known as one of the founders of cinema verite) The Wittys, between the two of them, would learn their craft well. Brahmananda Dāsa, an early disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, remembers how the two young filmmakers came in touch with Kṛṣṇa consciousness: Witty and wife came to Tompkins Square Park on a whim, and they saw the devotees. Gargamuni used to pass out “Stay High Forever” invitations, a leaflet that was meant to attract young hippies to the movement, and when Richard read it, he asked if he could film the Swami. It was perfect for Richard—he needed to tackle a short film project to show his employers that he and his wife could do a solid documentary on their own, and there we were: a colorful, unusual sight and the perfect subject for a documentary film. Gargamuni agreed to arrange it, but he stipulated that Witty would have to give us a copy of the end result as compensation. So the Wittys came to 26 Second Avenue and filmed a lunch, and they came back to the park to film the *kirtana* too. He and his wife were young hipster types like us and inquisitive. Śrīla Prabhupāda was very accommodating when they interviewed him. Witty did make a copy of the finished product for us, giving us a 16mm film in a can. We misplaced it; that was our tendency in those days. Prabhupāda’s enthusiasm about the Wittys' project can be gleaned from a letter to disciple Kirtanananda Dāsa, dated Friday, February 10, 1967 (a few months after the filming): “I am glad to learn that the film taken by Mr. Richard Witty has come out very successful. It is all Kṛṣṇa’s blessings. . . .” That chapter in ISKCON history quickly closed. The short film was made and shelved. Prabhupāda’s movement went on to spread around the world, and Richard and Susan produced several popular commercial documentaries, some focusing on Eastern mystics. No one in ISKCON heard from the Wittys for over a decade. *The Film Reappears* When Baladeva Vidyabhusana Dāsa, a disciple of Satsvarupa Dāsa Goswami, arrived at the New York temple on West 55th Street in the summer of 1979, he was excited about the possibilities of conducting research for his spiritual master’s forthcoming biography of Śrīla Prabhupāda, the *Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmrta*. One of his first orders of business as chief researcher was to make an announcement to the devotees: “We are currently looking for people in New York who may have had some interaction with Śrīla Prabhupāda. So when you go out into the streets and meet people, please ask them if they ever met His Divine Grace or if they knew him in any capacity whatsoever.” Baladeva asked them to at least get phone numbers from people, and to bring the numbers back to him. Sure enough, a devotee met Richard and Susan in uptown Manhattan and managed to secure their number. Baladeva immediately called and invited them to the temple. The Wittys soon told him about the film, and he offered them free Life Membership in ISKCON in exchange for a copy and permission to use it. They were pleased to contribute their work, yet again, and the enthusiastic Baladeva naturally arranged for an intimate screening the next day. All the resident devotees *ooed* and *ahhed* upon seeing the early footage of the movement. Puru Dāsa, then custodian of the Prabhupāda Museum at the New York temple, became caretaker of the film and would often host the Wittys at the temple restaurant, which they would now frequent. Aware that Yaduvara Dāsa and his wife, Visakha Devī Dāsī, were completing a movie about Śrīla Prabhupāda—*Your Ever Well-Wisher—*and that they were looking for previously unseen footage, Puru handed the Witty film over to them. Yaduvara already had some Prabhupāda movies he had shot on his own, as well as additional material by Australian freelance cinematographer William Kerr. He had accumulated bits and pieces from others too. But this was different. What a find! Here Yaduvara discovered excellent-quality clips of the very beginnings of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement in New York—Prabhupāda chanting in the park and conveying his teachings in his own inimitable way, the early devotees speaking about the philosophy as they had learned it from him, and so much more. *Matchless Gifts* fit perfectly into Yaduvara’s film biography. He says, At one point in time, [Richard] decided to donate his film *Matchless Gifts* to the devotees. That point in time exactly coincided with the time that we needed his film to insert in ours. Had it come a month later, our film would have already been released. Who can orchestrate such synchronicity? Certainly not me. In regard to **Matchless Gifts*,* then, we see spiritual serendipity in at least three respects: First of all, Richard and Susan happened to be in Tompkins Square as Prabhupāda’s movement was just getting off the ground. Had they been there a little earlier or a little later, they would not have seen Prabhupāda and the devotees chanting in the park, and there would be no film. In addition, years later they happened to meet a devotee on the streets of New York, who got their phone number. As a result, they gave Baladeva their *Matchless Gifts* movie at just the right time—both for the *Lilamrta* and for Yaduvara’s film. *The Wittys Remember Prabhupāda* Years later, Yaduvara met Richard and Susan in New York City. It was the summer of 2004, and Yaduvara had undertaken to combine all the existing footage of Śrīla Prabhupāda and his movement from 1965 to 1977, putting everything in chronological order with overlaid commentary by those who were there. The Wittys immediately expressed an interest to take part in the project. Yaduvara took the opportunity to interview them about their film, and they were happy to talk about these early experiences, when they had visually and audibly captured Prabhupāda and his disciples. “With Leacock-Pennebaker,” says Richard, “I learned to edit, to tape sound, and this film that we’re talking about was my first venture as a cameraman. This was entirely on our own, funding from our own pockets, and we selected this because this was a movement that was different. We liked the Eastern flavor, the otherworldly attitude—the devotees were outside the mainstream, and they had substance too. Something resonated with us.” Susan Witty remembers the experience as well: We went to the storefront, Matchless Gifts, and I’ve always been so taken with that sign. I can still remember it. It was beautifully done, so artistic, saying “Matchless Gifts”—wonderful colors and swirls and everything. So we entered. It was quite a simple room, and they were eating on the floor . . . My feeling about the Swami is that I think he was in some kind of a mystical state and yet very down to earth, and I think that perhaps he passed something to us in that interview. I felt something. But at the same time, I was having a very good time. I actually thought we were onto something big. I have a journalist’s instinct, but I also have . . . a spiritual instinct. After all, this was a very small little room, and the Swami was interviewed by us in the back in a smaller little room with a curtain over it. So to me, that’s where it started. Now, maybe it started before in someplace else. But amazing, we were there! And for me, that’s very significant. Richard told Yaduvara that for *Matchless Gifts* he had used 16mm film and Susan had used a Nagra tape recorder, the standard recording system for motion picture and single-camera television production at the time. But it was heavy equipment, and they lugged it all—lighting, backdrops, and so on—both to the park and to the temple at 26 Second Avenue. Susan notes that you can see her in the film, with black turtleneck sweater and horned-rim glasses. “I was eating this rice preparation,” she says, “and we had become accustomed to such food in the Philippines. We had also become accustomed to the basics of Eastern philosophy. It was as if we were being prepared for meeting the Swami. Also, I was a dancer, and so, seeing the devotees dance in the park—it touched me on a very deep level.” Her recollection of Prabhupāda has stayed with her: I remember [Prabhupāda’s] face. I don’t remember his body, it’s interesting. I remember his face. We did get these wonderful close-ups of his face. That’s where his power, his focus, and his calm presence were all gathered—in his face. But here it was the beginning for us for meeting many spiritual masters, and it was also the beginning of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, and it was also the beginning of a trend that grew towards the appreciation of Eastern religions in America. Richard Witty concludes: “It was rewarding for us to give this film to the devotees, so many years later. It’s something we really wanted to do. In that sense, it was ‘matchless gifts’ for us too.” *Satyaraja Dāsa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, is a BTG associate editor and founding editor of the* Journal of Vaishnava Studies. *He has written more than thirty books on Kṛṣṇa consciousness and lives near New York City.* *The Wittys' film* Matchless Gifts *can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrusnxynJs0* ## Arjuna and Us *by Visakha Devī Dāsī* *Like Arjuna, we have attachments, hopes, fears, guilt, and confusion. And a similar path to happiness.* Recently, in rereading the first chapter of the *Bhagavad-gītā,* I felt something I hadn’t before—a surge of empathy for Arjuna in his plight. His problems were not unique to him. They were also my problems. And perhaps our problems. For one, Arjuna’s material attachments were clouding his knowledge and ability to act. He revealed this when he said, “I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself and my mind is reeling. I see only causes of misfortune, O Kṛṣṇa.” (*Gita* 1.30) Second, due to his attachments, Arjuna was certain he wouldn’t get happiness or pleasure from doing what he was supposed to do—fight and win the war. Arjuna said, “What pleasure will we derive from killing the sons of Dhrtarastra?” (*Gita* 1.31–35) In other words, the result of the pending battle would cause just the opposite of his desires. Third, Arjuna feared the sinful reactions that would ensue if he won. In his words: “Sin will overcome us if we slay such aggressors.” (*Gita* 1.36) Killing his enemies, he foresaw, would result in his future suffering. Furthermore, regardless of who won the war two dynasties were poised to destroy each other and Arjuna felt implicated in the horrors that would ensue. “With the destruction of dynasty, the eternal family tradition is vanquished, and thus the rest of the family becomes involved in irreligion.” (*Gita* 1.39) With the patriarchs dead, young men and women survivors would become adrift and irreligious. Then pious family traditions would not be passed on to future generations, children would be neglected, and community projects and family welfare activities would stop. In other words, society would become chaotic. Arjuna wanted to do the right thing and was trying to think through his options with logic, reason, and scriptural discernment, but despite his best intentions, he was hopelessly confused and distressed. He asked Kṛṣṇa, "How can I counterattack in battle men who are worthy of my worship? It would be better to live by begging. I do not know which is better—conquering them or being conquered by them. If I killed them I should not care to live. I am confused about my duty and have lost my composure. Please instruct me." (*Gita* 2.4–7, excerpts) Arjuna’s situation was extreme, yet the material attachments, hopes for happiness, fears, guilt, and confusion he felt are feelings I and probably many of us experience and can relate to. In replying to Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa gave him transformative knowledge that can forever uplift his consciousness and ours. *The Supreme Personality of Godhead’s Teachings* Kṛṣṇa began by explaining that the soul is eternal, the body temporary. He said, “Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings.” (*Gita* 2.12) In other words, when the body dies, the soul does not die but transmigrates to another body. Arjuna’s distress was due to his attachment to the perishable bodies of his friends and relatives. Kṛṣṇa advised Arjuna to tolerate life’s inevitable distresses. He said, “O Arjuna, the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.” (*Gita* 2.15) We may think it easy to deal with happiness; distress is the problem. But in fact, if we’re elated by happiness, we will also be distraught by distress. Thus Kṛṣṇa advises us to be equipoised in both. Later on in the *Gita* Kṛṣṇa likened the body to a vehicle—it can transport us to our destination, our goal. And that goal should be spiritual, for we are spiritual beings. The soul is Kṛṣṇa’s integral spiritual part; the body His external material energy. Arjuna thought that by saving his family members from harm—that is, by not fighting—he was expressing his love for them. But Kṛṣṇa didn’t agree. Kṛṣṇa said, “The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable, and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.” (*Gita* 2.18) In the ultimate issue, the body cannot be protected. Therefore, in Kṛṣṇa’s estimation, Arjuna’s shirking his duty due to tender feelings for his relatives and friends was misdirected. Also misdirected was Arjuna’s conviction that fighting would lead to his unhappiness. After advising Arjuna to be equipoised in material happiness and distress, Kṛṣṇa argued that even from a material perspective, the perspective Arjuna was considering, fighting would bring him happiness: “Either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom.” (*Gita* 2.37) Arjuna thought that fighting would incur sinful reactions, but Kṛṣṇa said the opposite was true: “If you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties.” (*Gita* 2.33) Moments later, Kṛṣṇa reinforced this point: “Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat—and by so doing you shall never incur sin.” (*Gita* 2.38) Arjuna foresaw havoc if society’s leaders were killed. Again, Kṛṣṇa saw the opposite—that if Arjuna didn’t do his prescribed duty, others would follow his bad example and the fabric of society would crumble (*Gita* 3.23–24). Finally, after explaining the intricacies of knowledge, duty, and action, Kṛṣṇa decisively said, “O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.” (*Gita* 3.30) And to reinforce His statement, Kṛṣṇa repeated it a little later: “The doubts which have arisen in your heart out of ignorance should be slashed by the weapon of knowledge. Armed with *yoga*, O Arjuna, stand and fight.” (*Gita* 4.42) Kṛṣṇa wanted to sweep away Arjuna’s confusion. Fighting for the right cause was Arjuna’s personal *dharma*—his occupational duty—and there would be no sin incurred for him if he did this duty in the proper consciousness, that is, as a service to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such selfless spiritual action would bring Arjuna the highest happiness and would, in the final issue, benefit his family and friends on both sides of the battle. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, “All the soldiers and persons on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra attained their original spiritual form like the Lord after their death because by the causeless mercy of the Lord they were able to see Him face to face on that occasion.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 1.9.39, Purport) Kṛṣṇa only wants the highest good for everyone, and following His directives will bring about that end. *Tender Feelings* In my first readings of the *Bhagavad-gītā,* I couldn’t see much relationship between Arjuna’s extreme plight and what I faced in my life. Now, however, I see that beyond the vastly differing circumstances, our underlying challenges are similar. Like Arjuna, I am materially attached to my own body and those of my family and friends. Last year, for example, when my daughter was in extreme pain from gallstones, I suffered with her vicariously. The body can give us intense pain in ways we can’t expect or even imagine. We shouldn’t ignore that pain, pretending it doesn’t exist, or be callous to suffering. How then are we to deal with material bodily attachments and the pain too often associated with them? With Kṛṣṇa’s words in the *Gita* as our guide, we can begin by accepting this world as a place of misery where distresses will inevitably come, as will happiness. This is simple reality, not pessimism. Kṛṣṇa said, “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place.” (*Gita* 8.16) With that understanding firmly in place, we tolerate. This point—tolerating—comes up repeatedly in Kṛṣṇa’s teachings. One of His first instructions was “O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.” (*Gita* 2.14) Since pleasure and pain will come in this world regardless of what we do or don’t do, Kṛṣṇa wants us to be detached from this world and neutral to its extremes. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains: “Generally, when we get something desirable we are very happy, and when we get something undesirable we are distressed. But if we are actually in the spiritual position these things will not agitate us.” (*Gita* 13.8, Purport) Being detached and equipoised when we or our loved one is suffering is not easy. But just knowing that it is possible and desirable helps us become free of the happiness—distress continuum. Accessing that wealth of tolerance allows us to do our duty despite discomfort and suffering, and when we do our duty for Kṛṣṇa we can advance spiritually. *Frustrated Happiness?* Arjuna thought if he did what he was supposed to do, that is, if he won the war, he’d be miserable. Kṛṣṇa corrected his thinking, putting Arjuna’s duty above his whims. Similarly, I know devotee college students who find the tomes they’re obliged to study insufferably tedious and seemingly irrelevant to their lives. They have a strong desire to leave their studies and follow their caprices. But if their sense of duty prevails and they continue their studies as a service to Kṛṣṇa, their austerities can yield a transcendental result. In Kṛṣṇa’s words: “Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Kṛṣṇa and at the same time continue your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.” (*Gita* 8.7) To deviate from our duty does not help us progress spiritually. As Arjuna shouldn’t shirk his duty, so we shouldn’t shirk ours. Prabhupāda writes, “Discharging one's specific duty in any field of action in accordance with the orders of higher authorities serves to elevate one to a higher status of life.” (*Gita* 2.31, Purport) The path Kṛṣṇa was illuminating—the dutiful toleration of pain and suffering—may appear dry and grim, but in fact, our ultimate duty, devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, is the only path to lasting happiness. In Kṛṣṇa’s words, devotional service is “joyfully performed” (*Gita* 9.2). Śrīla Prabhupāda elaborates: “The process of devotional service is a very happy one (*su-sukham*). Why? Devotional service consists of *sravanam kirtanam visnoh,* so one can simply hear the chanting of the glories of the Lord or can attend philosophical lectures on transcendental knowledge given by authorized acaryas. Simply by sitting, one can learn; then one can eat the remnants of the food offered to God, nice palatable dishes. In every state devotional service is joyful.” (*Gita* 9.2, Purport) Far from being dry and grim, doing our duty as devotional service for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa brings the greatest fulfillment and happiness. Toward the end of *Bhagavad-gītā,* Arjuna expressed this when he said, “The world becomes joyful upon hearing Your name.” (*Gita* 11.36) On the other hand, trying for happiness separate from Kṛṣṇa leaves us confused and entrapped in this world of misery, which is what Arjuna was experiencing as the *Gita* opened. *Fear of the Future* Arjuna wanted to avoid the sinful reactions he foresaw in his future. But in reality, whatever our duty is, there will be some flaw in it, some unpleasant and seemingly sinful aspects to it. It’s not that we can drop our duty and think we can avoid those flaws and unpleasantries, because just as fire has smoke, so material activities are flawed. We can’t avoid those flaws by not doing anything, because by its nature the soul is active. As inactivity is contrary to our nature as spiritual beings, not only is it not feasible, but it’s also sinful. Yet activity is also problematic. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “In the business field, sometimes a merchant has to tell so many lies to make a profit. If he does not do so, there can be no profit. Sometimes a merchant says, ‘Oh, my dear customer, for you I am making no profit,’ but one should know that without profit the merchant cannot exist. Therefore it should be taken as a simple lie if a merchant says that he is not making a profit.” (*Gita* 18.47, Purport) We have to do something in this material world, so we act according to our nature. But whatever it is we do, from the highest position to the lowest, there will be undesirable aspects to it. That’s unavoidable. So we continue acting, knowing that if we do our prescribed duty for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure, we will not incur any reactions. Kṛṣṇa will absolve us of sin. Prabhupāda puts it this way: “One should not give up his natural occupation because there are some disturbing elements. Rather, one should be determined to serve the Supreme Lord by his occupational duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the perfectional point. When a particular type of occupation is performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, all the defects in that particular occupation are purified. When the results of work are purified, when connected with devotional service, one becomes perfect in seeing the self within, and that is self-realization.” (*Gita* 18.48, Purport) If Arjuna didn’t do his duty, he would be degraded due to doing the wrong activity. Our case is similar—if we act whimsically, imagining what our duty is and isn’t, it will reflect poorly on our consciousness and spiritual progress. *Guilt* We can try to do our duty for Kṛṣṇa, feel our affection for His devotees strengthened by our service, experience happiness through this selfless service, and understand it as a process for becoming purified and free of sinful reactions. But what if we foresee, as Arjuna did, future havoc in society as a result of our duty? Wouldn’t it be better to renounce such a duty? In Arjuna’s case, no. He was Kṛṣṇa’s instrument in ridding the world of immoral, burdensome people. In our case, it may be something to consider. Not long ago I met a brilliant young devotee who worked as a biochemist in the food industry. She was part of a team that was removing the chemical in potatoes that makes them darken after they’re cut. Industrialized food companies were intending to sell the peeled, washed, and cut potatoes in packages, much like the baby carrots that have long been available. I asked this devotee what effect eating those potatoes would have on consumers’ health, and she said that since they were removing a chemical instead of adding or altering chemicals, the federal government’s health department considered them safe. But, she said, no one actually knew how eating those altered potatoes would affect people’s health long term. She also said she was looking for different work, as she felt the work she was doing was unconscionable. I had to agree with her. In today’s world there are many such jobs with questionable ramifications. As far as possible and practical, our work should be something we feel good about, something that will not harm the planet and the innocent living entities residing on it. *Confusion* Although a heroic and powerful general, Arjuna was so bewildered by his conflicting considerations that he became incapacitated. This may seem like a weakness and disqualification, but actually Arjuna’s considering the pros and cons of his involvement in the battle was evidence of his divine qualities. That his enemies weren’t considering these pros and cons—the suffering that would ensue from their actions, the sinful reactions they might incur, and the ramifications in society—and that they were hellbent on fighting and weren’t bewildered are signs of their disqualifications to be leaders. Kṛṣṇa wanted Arjuna to rid the world of them. Given certain circumstances, confusion is a good sign. This world is filled with conflict and conflicting opinions, and those of us who want to act conscientiously, rather than solely for personal material profit, may find ourselves bewildered. We can take careful note of how Arjuna resolved his bewilderment: he approached a qualified person and sought guidance. We can do the same. Prabhupāda writes, “The Lord spoke *Bhagavad-gītā,* and thereby Arjuna achieved self-realization, and even today anyone who follows the path of Arjuna can also attain the same benefit as Śrī Arjuna. The scriptures are meant for this purpose.” (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 2.7.3, Purport) Arjuna’s path was to humbly serve and respect a bona fide spiritual master, inquire from him, and follow his instructions. In doing this Arjuna found the solace also available to us. Arjuna said, “O Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me.” (*Gita* 10.14) And later, after Kṛṣṇa asked him, “O Arjuna, have you heard this with an attentive mind? And are your ignorance and illusions now dispelled?” (*Gita* 18.72) Arjuna's answer reveals his clarity of mind and intention: “My dear Kṛṣṇa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.” (*Gita* 18.73) Similar clarity is available to us if we follow Arjuna’s path. *Conclusion* Although the concept of duty plays an important role in Kṛṣṇa’s teachings in the *Bhagavad-gītā,* it may not be a concept we know much about or are attracted to. Yet the inescapable fact is that human life comes with duties: for example, our responsibilities to our children, the work we must do to survive in this world, and our expressions of gratitude to our many benefactors. With our life comes responsibility, and responsibility entails duty. What Arjuna confronted on the battlefield and we also sometimes confront is unpalatable duty—duty contrary to our desires and perhaps our sense of righteousness. Through the beautiful verses of the **Gita*,* Kṛṣṇa teaches Arjuna and all willing listeners that we should not do anything—either good or bad—on our own account, but must do everything on behalf of Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words, “Duties must be carried out, with dependence on Kṛṣṇa, because that is the constitutional position of the living entity. The living entity cannot be happy independent of the cooperation of the Supreme Lord, because the eternal constitutional position of the living entity is to become subordinate to the desires of the Lord.” (*Gita* 3.30, Purport) We carry out our duty remembering that Kṛṣṇa—not us—is the enjoyer of the results of our activity. Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna and through him all of us, “You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action.” (*Gita* 2.47) And later: “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.” (*Gita* 9.27) In other words, we are meant to do our duty for Kṛṣṇa. Our first and foremost duty is to serve Him. To this end, we hear about Him. After hearing, we naturally want to speak about His qualities and activities, and from those sincere practices we remember Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental nature. By our hearing about Him, speaking about Him, and remembering Him, our activities become more and more spiritualized and we increasingly feel Kṛṣṇa’s presence in our lives. Our material attachments wane along with our feelings of fear, guilt, and confusion. Our path becomes clear. In the final verse of the **Gita*,* the narrator, Sanjaya, said, “Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality.” (*Gita* 18.78) Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that if we properly use our minute independence, we will act for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure and come under His divine protection. Then all our miseries will cease, and we will attain our “normal condition in the pleasure-giving potency” (*Gita* 18.78, Purport). We will be completely and lastingly happy. *Visakha Devī Dāsī has been writing for BTG since 1973. Visit her website at our-spiritual-journey.com.* ## Bhaktivedanta Hospice: Aid for the Journey Home *Shortly before passing away in Vrindavan, a devotee requested her spiritual master to establish a “Back to Godhead” clinic there for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s followers.* *by Visakha Priya Dasi* In his book *Mathura Mahatmya,* the great devotional scholar and *acarya* Śrīla Rupa Gosvami states, “They who die in the area of Mathura and Vrindavan become perfect and attain the supreme destination.” But most devotees do not reside in Vrindavan, and until recently, even those who had sufficient notice and facility would not find a proper support system to see them through their final stages once they arrived. One devotee who was able to pass away in Vrindavan in the best way possible was Arca-vigraha Dasi. Born Aileen Lipkin, Arca-vigraha was a South African painter and sculptor of international repute. She joined ISKCON in Johannesburg in 1985 at the age of fifty-two and moved permanently to Vrindavan toward the end of 1991, when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. According to her physician, she had only six months to live. She was already building a house in the Raman Reti area near ISKCON’s Kṛṣṇa-Balaram Temple, and she soon moved and stayed there with a devoted godsister until she passed away two and a half years later. Throughout her increasingly painful illness, she lacked neither spiritual nor material care. As a spiritually advanced soul, she attracted the company of other elevated Vaisnavas, and many devotees were eager to have her association and to offer service. Having experienced the benefits of preparing to pass away in Vrindavan, Arca-vigraha desired that other devotees should have the same opportunity, and shortly before her departure she requested her spiritual master, His Holiness Giriraja Swami, to establish a “Back to Godhead” clinic where dying devotees could spend their last days supported by loving devotees and expert caregivers. Originally, Giriraja Swami wanted to get a large piece of land and build cottages so that each devotee would have his or her own place, as Arca-vigraha did. But when he and his team saw that getting enough land for an affordable price would take the hospice far from the Kṛṣṇa-Balaram Temple, they decided to create the atmosphere of a home in a larger institutional setting. The team considered several plots, but when one after another the properties became unavailable, Abhirama Dāsa—who had designed resorts in several countries and, in Vrindavan, both the MVT Guest House complex and the Kirtan Ashram for senior ISKCON women—remembered a piece of land that ISKCON had purchased in the early nineties with the idea of turning it into a park as a Centennial offering to Śrīla Prabhupāda. The land is adjacent to the *parikrama* road trod by pilgrims during their devotional walks around Vrindavan. It is a sacred grove of mostly *kadamba* and *tamala* trees known as Giriraj Bhag (“Giriraj’s garden”). For five generations it belonged to the family of Śrī Padmanabha Goswami, hereditary priests and caretakers of Vrindavan’s Rādhā-ramana Temple. Because it was so peaceful—one of the most beautiful places in Vrindavan—Padmanabha Goswami’s great-grandfather often went there to chant. And after Śrīla Prabhupāda returned to Vrindavan in 1970 with his American disciples, he, too, would chant there in the morning. The Rādhā-ramana Goswamis agreed to sell the land to ISKCON, but only on the condition that the trees never be cut down. Since ISKCON had been planning to make a park in Prabhupāda’s name, they readily agreed, but the project had not gone forward and the land remained open. When Abhirama Dāsa now approached the original donors for the land, they all agreed to dedicate it to the hospice, and finally, on August 6, 2010, Bhaktivedanta Hospice opened its doors. Many devotees were involved in the purchase of the land and development of the hospice. Longtime ISKCON member and benefactor Kṛṣṇa -candra Dāsa pledged his support, and Sangita Dasi (Susan Pattinson, R.N.), the international pioneer of Vaishnavas C.A.R.E. (Counseling, Assistance, Resources, and Education for the Terminally Ill), provided knowledge and expertise. As the project progressed, however, it became clear that there was a need for local devotees who would take direct responsibility for the facility’s construction and management. Appreciating the project’s great value, His Holiness Rādhānath Swami, spiritual advisor for Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai, explained this need to the hospital staff. Its director, Madhavananda Dāsa (Dr. Ajay P. Sankhe), and its deputy director in charge of spiritual care, Visvarupa Dāsa (Dr. Vivekanand Shanbhag), agreed to serve as hospice director and deputy director. *Realizing the Vision* The initial vision for Bhaktivedanta Hospice was that it would be for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s followers who had given their lives in his service, but as the project developed, the team concluded that the hospice could and should also serve Vraja-vasis, residents of the greater Vrindavan area. In its mission to offer a permanent solution to the essential problem of material existence—repeated birth, death, old age, and disease—the hospice would help patients think of God at the time of death and provide care for both them and their loved ones. The hospice is sensitive to a wide range of patient needs and desires and is committed to letting patients decide how they want to spend their last days—and to what extent they want medical interventions that might alleviate pain or extend life but also disturb their consciousness or impede their ability to remember Kṛṣṇa, chant and hear about Him, and have loving exchanges with devotees and family members. The hospice is housed in a three-story building nestled in the remnants of the grove, a short walk from the Kṛṣṇa-Balaram Temple. The ground floor includes a large reception area presided over by a *murti* (sculpted form) of Śrīla Prabhupāda, a temple room, consulting rooms, a pharmacy, and a conference room. French windows open onto the garden, where pink sandstone benches invite patients and visitors to sit in the shade of the centuries-old trees. A separate wing, accessed through a garden entrance, has quarters for the resident doctors, nurses, and spiritual counselors. The second and third floors of the hospice are reserved for patients. Each floor has a kitchen; a dining area; a “Back to Godhead” room, where patients are brought in their final hours; and eight private rooms large enough for both the patients and their caregivers to live in comfortably, each including a kitchenette and with a bathroom with enough space to accommodate the patient’s bed. Some of the rooms have additional features such as air conditioning, audio systems, desks, chairs, sofas, and refrigerators, and most have bay windows with beautiful views of the trees of Raman Reti. All hospice patients receive free meals of *Kṛṣṇa-prasada,* and although there are charges for some medicines and for oxygen, pathology tests, and ambulance services, patients who cannot afford a private room can stay in one of two three-bed wards free of charge, and discounts are available for patients in need. No one has ever been turned away from the hospice because he or she could not pay. *An Expert Staff* *The Final Journey,* by Sangita Dasi, is a comprehensive, straightforward, and practical guide that explains in detail how hospice care can assist in a devotee’s departure. Sangita Dasi has been to the hospice several times to coach nurses and volunteers, and Dr. Sankhe and Dr. Shanbhag, both of whom received fellowships in Palliative Medicine and Hospice Administration from the San Diego Hospice, in California, visit regularly. Dr. Avnish Pandey (Anantasimha Dāsa), the hospice’s resident physician, was already a specialist in Health Care and Palliative Care when, at Rādhānath Swami’s request, he and his wife left his career and their comfortable lives in Mumbai and settled in Vrindavan to assist devotees in their final journey. All of the hospice’s nurses are qualified in GNM (General Nursing and Midwifery) and certified by the Indian Association of Palliative Care, and have at least five years’ experience in the field. Bhaktivedanta Hospice’s medical, nursing, social, and spiritual services are provided in two contexts: in the hospice itself, where people come for pain management and treatment of other symptoms and are either admitted or treated as outpatients; and at home, where eighty percent of terminally ill patients choose to stay until they die. Such patients are served through regular planned home visits. The hospice also offers Respite Care for patients’ caregivers. When a caretaker becomes emotionally or physically exhausted, the staff offers fifteen days of relief, taking care of the patient at the hospice facility. End-of-Life Care provides intensified medical, nursing, social, and, especially, spiritual care for terminally ill patients who have reached the last stage, known as “active dying,” assisting them until their last breath and continuing through the ensuing funeral procedures. Bereavement Care includes social and spiritual care for the close relatives of departed souls. This takes place regularly for thirteen months after a patient’s death, with special emphasis on the first anniversary. Bhaktivedanta Hospice also suggests services that friends, family, and well-wishers can offer patients both in their homes and in the hospice, including cooking, cleaning, making garlands, singing, reading, and just keeping company. *A Mother’s Last Years in Vrindavan* Many Vraja-vasis, devotees, and parents of devotees have already benefitted from Bhaktivedanta Hospice’s services. At the hospice opening, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciple Nirguna Devī Dāsī spoke about her mother’s last two years in Vrindavan. She and her parents had first met Śrīla Prabhupāda in 1971 in Calcutta, and in 1975 she was initiated in Vrindavan, during the opening of the Kṛṣṇa-Balaram Temple. By the time she brought her mother to Vrindavan in the summer of 2008, her mother had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for about five years and had been bedridden for the last three. She had requested that she never be taken to a hospital. When a flat became available in the MVT complex, Nirguna moved there with her mother. “Dr. Syamavallabha and Dr. Anantasimha came regularly to see her, and they always answered my calls promptly,” Nirguna said. “In addition to seeing to my mother, they also helped me to cope psychologically and emotionally, as it was so hard to see my mother starve to death, which was the reality of the situation. They arranged everything we needed to keep her as comfortable as possible—an air mattress, a device for administering measured amounts of pain medication, an oxygen cylinder, and medicines that we were sometimes unable to obtain, even after trying many places in Delhi. “A few days before Gaura Purnima, my mother stopped taking even water. Dr. Anantasimha expertly outlined all that was about to occur and helped me prepare myself. Dr. Syamavallabha was also advising me on the phone, telling me to be strong and let her go. Finally, she went very peacefully and gracefully—one day after Gaura Purnima, in the midst of devotees singing Kṛṣṇa’s names. “Thanks to Bhaktivedanta Hospice, my mother had state-of-the-art care at home—and in sacred Vrindavan. The hospice staff was always most helpful, coming regularly to give injections and replace catheters. In short, Bhaktivedanta Hospice was God-sent, or Kṛṣṇa -sent, in every sense of the word. My brothers too were both moved by and extremely grateful for this selfless service. Through the hospice’s sincere care for my mother, they saw the true Vrindavan spirit of service. The role of the hospice and of Giriraja Swami in my mother’s exemplary departure onward from Vrindavan cannot be acknowledged enough. Bhaktivedanta Hospice is performing a service of utmost value. Their support for dying devotees, given with loving care, allows devotees to make their transition from this life in a dignified and peaceful way, in remembrance of Kṛṣṇa. Surely this service is most pleasing to Śrīla Prabhupāda, who instilled in us the value of living and dying in Kṛṣṇa’s land.” *Another Grateful Family* The hospice’s first resident patient from ISKCON, Babasaheb Narayan Patil, the father of Ācārya Ratna Dāsa, was also able to depart in an exemplary way, with support from the community. Ācārya Ratna, a *brahmacari* serving in Kolkata, received a call from his brother informing him that their father was very ill, possibly dying. When Ācārya Ratna traveled to their village in Maharashtra, he found his father in a helpless condition, unable to sit or stand, eat, move his limbs, or talk. Babasaheb could not even recognize his son. Ācārya Ratna thought of all the sacrifices his father had made for him—how his father had always showed him love and affection and encouraged him in his spiritual life, even when he had decided to quit his career as a software engineer and join ISKCON as a full-time *brahmacari.* He also remembered Babasaheb’s pious activities—how he had often arranged spiritual programs and served saintly people, inviting sadhus into their home, giving them charity, and seeking their blessings. Ācārya Ratna meditated long and hard on how he could serve his father in his time of greatest need, and then he heard from the Pune temple president about Bhaktivedanta Hospice. Ācārya Ratna phoned Dr. Visvarupa, who told him to bring his father to the hospice immediately. When asked about the charges, Dr. Visvarupa replied, “The official charges are Rs. 2,000 per day plus medicine, but as a full-time temple devotee, you have given your life to serve Kṛṣṇa. Don’t worry about the finances; just bring your father.” Family members and neighbors were apprehensive about Ācārya Ratna taking Babasaheb so far, but in the end, he, his father, and five relatives all undertook the journey from their village to Mathura, where they were met by two devotees and an ambulance to transport his father to Vrindavan. “At the hospice,” Ācārya Ratna later recounted, “the staff welcomed us, oriented us, situated my father, and arranged for our stay, *prasada,* and all necessities. Dr. Anantasimha spoke confidentially with the family, guiding us on how to take care of my father in a loving, caring, and sensitive way, and Dr. Visvarupa spoke to us about the nature of the soul, the glories of Vrindavan, and my father’s good fortune. The family’s doubts were all answered; everyone felt sure that we were in the right place. His room was very nice—sunlit, well ventilated, and spacious enough to accommodate both him and the rest of us. We could hear the sweet chirping of birds outside, and from the window we could view the surrounding shade trees and get glimpses of cows from the nearby *goshala.* My father’s bed could even be brought into the bathroom so that we could bathe him.” Before arriving, Babasaheb had developed a bedsore, but with the nurses’ care and an air-circulating bed, it healed. He had been coughing, but his chest soon cleared and he could breathe normally. And as the staff tended to his physical needs, his family would give him **caranamrta*,* sacred water that has bathed the Deities, from Vrindavan’s main temples; sprinkle him with holy waters from Rādhā-kunda, Syama-kunda, Manasi-ganga, and the Yamuna; and anoint his body with the sacred dust of Vraja. Devotees from the community would bring garlands and *caranamrta* from the Deities of *Kṛṣṇa*-Balaram Temple. They would come and read aloud from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s book *Kṛṣṇa* and talk with the family. It was the holy month of Karttika, so devotees were visiting Vrindavan from all over the world, and many, including *sannyasis* and senior devotees, would visit Babasaheb. There was often *kirtana* in his room in addition to the hospice’s regular morning program, afternoon *Kṛṣṇa* book readings, and evening *kirtana*, bhajana, and singing of the *Damodarastaka* prayers, a highlight of Karttika. Recordings of Prabhupāda singing played softly all through the night. The atmosphere was both home-like and spiritual, and as Ācārya Ratna’s family could see Babasaheb becoming more peaceful every day, their anxieties were also relieved. When Babasaheb’s health became more critical, devotees assembled to hold all-night *kirtanas,* and prayers were offered from several temples in India. Bhakti Purusottama Swami offered a special *puja* to Nrsimhadeva at ISKCON Māyāpur, in West Bengal, and Rādhānath Swami phoned from America, explaining to Babasaheb the glories of Vrindavan and service to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and chanting *the maha-mantra* in his ear. Giriraja Swami also called, and chanted for almost ten minutes. Two days later, Babasaheb Narayan Patil departed amidst devotees chanting the holy names. Dr. Visvarupa performed the final rites, and the next day the hospice hosted a memorial of talks and *kirtana,* followed by a feast. With a choked voice, Ācārya Ratna’s brother told those assembled, “We could not have served our father so nicely at home. Even relatives won’t do as much as the devotees did here at the hospice. Bhaktivedanta Hospice and its devotees have made a permanent home in my heart.” At home, the family members had been confused and bewildered, but at the hospice they gained courage and strength and felt themselves fortunate to have been in Vrindavan and helped their loved one depart. Bhaktivedanta Hospice helps patients think of God at the time of death, thus offering a permanent solution to the problems of life. At the hospice’s one-year anniversary, Rādhānath Swami noted that Śrīla Prabhupāda had taught “how to live a life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how to give our life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and how to depart from the world in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” The hospice, he continued, “is here to give the best possible care—physical, emotional, and spiritual—to devotees who have given their hearts and souls and lives in devotional service, so they can depart this world surrounded by loving devotees, in Prabhupāda’s embrace, at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma.” *Born and raised in France, Visakha Priya Dasi joined ISKCON in South Africa in 1978. There she helped build the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Rādhānath Temple of Understanding, started the Food for Life program in the African townships, and organized the first translation and publication of* The Perfection of Yoga *in Zulu*. *In 1991 she moved to India, where she served first as one of Giriraja Swami's personal assistants in Mumbai and then at the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education. She currently resides in Vrindavan, where she helped develop and now manages Kirtan Ashram for senior ISKCON women. She thanks Kalacandji Dāsa for his help with this article.* *For more information, go to www.bhaktivedantahospice.org.* ## e-Kṛṣṇa Many ISKCON farm communities around the world are fulfilling Śrīla Prabhupāda's wish that devotees create self-sustaining rural projects. He wanted these farms to be the perfect places to practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness and to be examples of the benefits of natural living. Devotees have taken up the challenge of growing their own food, developing cow-protection programs, and following the simple-living/high-thinking way of life of devotional service on the farm. Some of these communities are being recognized as leaders in sustainable living based on renewable resources. Here are the websites of a few of ISKCON's successful rural projects. www.navavrajadhama.hu/en New Vraja Dhama in Hungary is 200 kilometers from the capital city of Budapest. Established in 1993, this sustainable farm community is home to around 150 devotees. The residents grow almost all their own food. The community has created a program called the Eco Valley Foundation to teach people about self-sufficient farm communities and economic sustainability. www.krishnafarm.net New Govardhana in Australia is located near Murwillumbah, in the picturesque Tweed Valley, northern New South Wales. It is nestled atop a ridge with magnificent views of the valley. Established in 1977, the farm has a *gurukula,* a cow-protection program, and extensive organic gardens. Seventy devotees live on the property, and around five hundred live in the surrounding area and are part of the regular congregation. New Govardhana manages a volunteer program in which people come to stay on the farm, work in the organic gardens, and learn about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. At any time, the popular program has as many as forty volunteers from around the world. www.newvrindaban.com Located in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, New Vrindaban was established as ISKCON’s first farm community in 1968. Śrīla Prabhupāda said it should develop a cow-protection program, be self-sufficient, and provide spiritual education. Today New Vrindaban is developing an eco-village model, has large vegetable and flower gardens, and hosts the longest-running cow-protection program in the Western world. Each year thousands of people visit the farm to take part in programs and festivals. www.ecovillage.org.in Govardhan Ecovillage is a farm community and retreat centerlocated 108 km north of Mumbai, India, at the foothills of the Sahyadri mountains. The community manages a cow-protection program, gives shelter to other animals, uses organic farming methods, and has developed renewable-energy sources, including a cow-dung-gas plant and solar-power generation. Recently Govardhan Ecovillage won the Asian Leadership Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award for “Best Overall Sustainable Performance.” —Antony Brennan ## The Alarm Is Ringing After Lord Visnu created the raw materials for the universe, the Vedic literature tells us, the first created being to appear was Brahma. He didn't know who he was, where he was, or what he was supposed to do. Sound familiar? We all start life like that. Unfortunately, it seems most people today choose to stay that way. Brahma, though, was what we might call a seeker. He wasn't content to sit in ignorance atop his unusual perch, the whorl of a lotus of cosmic proportions. So he decided to investigate. He climbed down and down and down the lotus stem, but after exploring for thousands of years, he could not find its source. On returning to his lotus seat, Brahma twice heard two syllables resounding through the sky: *ta-pa* (penance)*.* He was being told that to discover the truth about his existence he must perform austere meditation*.* He obeyed the instruction and eventually received the audience of Lord Visnu, the source of the instruction and the lotus*.* Lord Visnu directed Brahma in his task of building up the universe from the parts He'd supplied, and He disclosed His eternal abode of unlimited knowledge and happiness*.* An important lesson here is that Brahma recognized that the sound *ta-pa* was the voice of authority from beyond this world. We live in an age of great mistrust of authority, and when that mistrust makes us reject the very idea of unimpeachable spiritual guidance, we risk wasting our valuable human life. Brahma began his search for truth by trying to figure everything out by his own guesswork. Unsuccessful, he decided to take another approach: research. But his expedition down the lotus stem didn't work either. Eventually he knew he'd never reach the end of his experiment. And his time was running out. He'd spent his whole life in a fruitless search. When you're lost, the best approach to finding your way is often to find a little humility within yourself and ask someone for guidance. For nearly fifty years now, Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees have been distributing the books of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda all over the world. Why? Because those books—mostly translations, with commentary, of Vedic texts—are equivalent to the transcendental sound Brahma heard. Brahma accepted that sound as coming from God, took its guidance, and realized God, himself, and his purpose. The Vedic literature, especially the four original **Vedas*,* are known as *sabda-brahma,* or spiritual sound—eternal sound that contains within it all knowledge. The *Vedas* are not created works; they coexist with God eternally. Great seers of bygone eras retrieved them through devotional meditation and transposed them for use by us everyday humans. People today tend either to know nothing about the *Vedas* or to belittle them. And without an expert guide, even people attracted to Vedic literature give up in confusion. Śrīla Prabhupāda's books can clear the confusion and awaken awe for the **Vedas*.* The books from the Vedic library that Śrīla Prabhupāda chose to present are filled with transformative spiritual power. We're all eternal spiritual beings, but we're asleep in our material bodies, our present short life of no more eternal significance than the dream we had last night. The *Vedas* are the alarm to wake us up to reality. If we ignore that transcendental sound calling to us from our eternal home, we're like the dreamer who thinks his ringing alarm clock to be a sound within his dream. He just snoozes on, sunk in deep illusion while life passes by. —Nagaraja Dāsa ## Vedic Thoughts Religious systems are meant to show the existence of God, who is then generally approached as the cosmic order-supplier. But Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s transcendental mission is to distribute love of Godhead to everyone. Anyone who accepts God as the Supreme can take to the process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and become a lover of God. Therefore Lord Caitanya is the most magnanimous. This munificent broadcasting of devotional service is possible only for Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Adi-līlā* 4.41, Purport One is immediately freed from the clutches of maya if he seriously and sincerely says, "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, although I have forgotten You for so many long years in the material world, today I am surrendering unto You. I am Your sincere and serious servant. Please engage me in Your service." Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā* 22.33 A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace. But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa *Bhagavad-gītā* 4.39–40 When a man is sleeping, all his material assets—namely the vital energy, the senses for recording knowledge, the senses for working, the mind, and the intelligence—cannot arouse him. He can be aroused only when the Supersoul helps him. Therefore, through devotion, detachment, and advancement in spiritual knowledge acquired through concentrated devotional service, one should contemplate that Supersoul as present in this very body although simultaneously apart from it. Lord Kapila *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 3.26.71–72 The Lord has a form full of faultless qualities, which is independent. He is devoid of the qualities of lifeless, material bodies. All the parts of His body, such as hands, feet, head, and belly, are bliss alone. *Dhyana-bindu Upanisad* Quoted in Visvanatha Cakravarti's commentary on *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 1.1.1 O my dear Lord Hari [Kṛṣṇa]! If a greatly fortunate soul somehow or other gets a chance to drink just one priceless nectar-drop sprayed from the ocean of love emanating from Your lotus feet, then all of his miseries are instantly repelled to a far distant place. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura *Śrī Gita-mala,* Song 14