# Back to Godhead Magazine #49 *2015 (04)* Back to Godhead Magazine #49-04, 2015 PDF-View ## Welcome In 1966, Śrīla Prabhupāda led his followers in what was probably the first public chanting (*kirtana*) of Kṛṣṇa’s names outside India. The three-hour *kirtana* in New York's Tompkins Square Park attracted attention, and public *kirtana*s became a prominent feature of Prabhupāda's movement. For many people today, *kirtana*s are the face of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. Along with Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, *kirtana*s are how people know us—and know what to call us. When telling his countrymen about his movement's success in the West, Prabhupāda would often happily remark, "We are known there as 'the Hare Kṛṣṇa people.'" The public, and not Prabhupāda, had come up with the phrase, and it accomplished what Prabhupāda had set out to do—get people to chant Kṛṣṇa’s holy names. Our cover story is a pictorial on last year's World Holy Name Week. Satyaraja Dāsa's "Harinama San*kirtana*: Taking Kṛṣṇa’s Name to the Streets" continues the theme of public **kirtana*,* as does Caitanya Carana Dāsa's "Rathayatra: When the Lord Comes Out, Let’s Invite Him In." Though his article is not about *kirtana* per se, anyone who has attended any ISKCON "Chariot Festival" knows that the chanting of the Lord's holy names is at the heart of this soul-changing event. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nagaraja Dāsa, Editor* Our Purposes > • To help all people discern reality from illusion, spirit from matter, the eternal from the temporary. > • To expose the faults of materialism. > • To offer guidance in the Vedic techniques of spiritual life. > • To preserve and spread the Vedic culture. > • To celebrate the chanting of the holy names of God as taught by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. > • To help every living being remember and serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. ## Letters *The Sound of God* Satyaraja Dāsa's recent article "What Does God Sound Like?" [Jan/Feb 2015] nicely elaborated on this fascinating theme central to all religious conviction, especially within our personalist Vaisnava tradition. And he very relevantly quoted Śrīla Prabhupāda's famous description of the beneficial effects of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, which "springs automatically from the spiritual platform," allowing anyone "to take part . . . and dance in ecstasy." And that experience of spiritual bliss is the living proof that Kṛṣṇa is God and that through His own name we can all have such a direct access to His divine nature. There is another access to Kṛṣṇa’s blissful nature, which was also briefly referred to: any selfless prayer chanted with devotion. Such selfless prayer I understand to be the pure soul's innate surge of loving praise for Kṛṣṇa’s supreme glories. And such pure loving glorification is the essence of all perfect souls, such as Śrīla Prabhupāda. Hearing the sound of such lovers of God affords one a foretaste, a living sample of God's own sound and blissful nature. Such is the divine force flowing throughout the *sankirtana* movement; thus it also sustains ISKCON's distribution of God's own names, full of His living, blissful sound. Gokulananda Dāsa ISKCON Montreal, Canada *Kṛṣṇa and the Universe* Is the whole universe within Kṛṣṇa ? Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Via the Internet *Our reply:* Yes, the entire universe is within Kṛṣṇa. As we learn from in the Vedic literature, Kṛṣṇa expands as Maha-Visnu, from whom emanate an unlimited number of universes. Then, by His mystic opulence, Kṛṣṇa also permeates the universe with what He describes in the *Bhagavad-gītā* as His "unmanifested form." And sometimes He reveals His personal form within the universe as well. He is inside, outside, and in between. With our limited material senses there is no way to grasp His supreme mysticism. *Enjoyable Reading* Your Jan/Feb edition was simply stupendous. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. All the articles—in particular "The Nature of the Self"—were most comprehensive and informative. Thank you. All glories to your team! Śrīla Prabhupāda will be pleased. An Avid Reader Via the Internet *Body and Soul* Does the soul always require a body to express itself? If not, then what does the soul think or do after quitting one body and before entering into another body? Apoorv Aggarwal Delhi, India *Our reply:* The soul does not need a material body to express itself. The soul has a spiritual form with spiritual senses. That form is made of eternity, knowledge, and bliss, and in that form the spiritual entity eternally serves Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord. We are eternally individual spiritual beings, and we are temporarily covered by illusion. Our natural state is to serve God with love and devotion. In the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam—*in Lord Kapila's instructions in the Third Canto, for example—you can read about what happens to conditioned souls at death. Those who have neglected the human obligation to advance in God consciousness are taken by force to the abode of Yamaraja, where they are judged according to their deeds. They are destined for a new body according to the consciousness they developed during their human life. But the liberated souls are sober upon leaving the body, having realized who they are beyond the gross and the subtle body; that is, they know they are the eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa. In that consciousness they depend on Kṛṣṇa for their next destination, and Kṛṣṇa takes such surrendered souls back home to Him. *Prabhupāda and the Environment* "Recycle, Reduce, Reuse" is the *mantra* for nature. What is Prabhupāda's opinion? Parag Via the Internet *Our reply:* Śrīla Prabhupāda liked the phrase "simple living and high thinking," and he himself practiced, and encouraged his followers to practice, the same principles implied by the "Recycle, Reduce, Reuse" slogan. He taught that the earth is a person, a goddess who is the consort of the Lord, and so a God conscious person naturally wants to lead an ecologically responsible life. According to Prabhupāda, if we become Kṛṣṇa conscious, if we have Kṛṣṇa conscious leaders, and if we serve Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa will give us plenty of everything and we will naturally be careful about our treatment of Mother Earth and Mother Cow. This brings auspiciousness. The Vedic scriptures give this example: If you want to water a tree, you don't have to water each leaf and branch, but you simply pour water on the roots, and the whole tree will be supplied with water. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa, the root of everything, is pleased, then He will supply us in abundance with all we need to serve Him. If we abuse nature for our sense gratification, our greed and lust will destroy the planet and make our lives more and more miserable. *Explanation of Arati Items* While performing *arati,* why do we offer incense, a ghee lamp, water, cloth, flowers, a *camara* fan, and a peacock fan? Shankar Sharma Via the Internet *Our reply:* The *Hari-bhakti-vilasa,* a guidebook for devotees written by Sanatana Gosvami, one of Lord Caitanya’s main disciples, says that the articles of *arati* represent the material elements in their pure form and correspond to the sense objects. In other words, the *arati* articles are satisfying to the senses and represent our offering all the elements in the Lord’s creation back to the Lord for His satisfaction. The conch shell blown at the beginning and end of each *arati* drives away inauspicious elements. The sound of the bell is dear to the Lord and embodies all music. Flowers and incense provide beautiful aromas for the Lord’s pleasure. The ghee lamp represents lighting someone’s way. Offering water in the conch shell represents offering *arghya,* a mixture of auspicious items offered above or touched to the head of an honored guest as part of reception. It is a way to welcome the Lord and make Him feel at home. The handkerchief represents offering new cloth. The yak-tail *camara* and the peacock fan are both aspects of kingly service. The *camara* keeps flies away (though it may be purely ceremonial as well), while the peacock fan provides a cooling breeze. *Replies were written by Krishna.comLive Help volunteers. Please write tous at: BTG, P.O. Box 430, Alachua,Florida 32616, USA. Email: [email protected]* Founder's Lecture: Caitanya Mahāprabhu's Mood of Worship Māyāpur, West Bengal, June 27, 1973 Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness *Knowing that Kṛṣṇa is difficult to attain, Lord Caitanya and the devotees in His line sustain their lives by service in separation.* > nyarundhann udgalad baspam > autkanthyad devaki-sute > niryaty agaran no ’bhadram > iti syad bandhava-striyah "The female relatives, whose eyes were flooded with tears out of anxiety for Kṛṣṇa, came out of the palace. They could stop their tears only with great difficulty. They feared that tears would cause misfortune at the time of departure." —*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 1.10.14 Ladies generally are very apt to shed tears in an ecstatic moment. Kṛṣṇa was leaving Hastinapura, and the Pāṇḍavas and all of the residents of the palace—not only the ladies, the men also—were very, very much affected. We have already discussed this point in the previous verses. Especially the ladies could not check their tears from forcibly coming out. But at the same time they were thinking, "Kṛṣṇa is going. Everything must be auspicious. There must not be something inauspicious." They were in a very perplexed position. Tears were coming by force, and they wanted to check them so that there might not be any inauspiciousness in the matter of Kṛṣṇa’s departure. This is the picture. These are symptoms of love for Kṛṣṇa. That is the highest perfection of life—to shed tears for Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us this method of worship in separation, called *vipralambha-seva.* Not that we think, "Oh, last night I saw Kṛṣṇa. He was snatching my clothes." These are the words of the *sahajiyas,* sentimentalists who think Kṛṣṇa is easy to attain. Actually, our worship of Kṛṣṇa should be in separation. The Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan taught us like that. They are authorized persons, direct followers of Lord Caitanya. They were always searching for Kṛṣṇa. They never said, "We have got Kṛṣṇa." In the *Sad-gosvamy-astaka,* Śrīnivasa Ācārya has revealed the mood of the Six Gosvamis: > he radhe vraja-devike ca lalite > he nanda-suno kutah > sri-govardhana-kalpa-padapa-tale > kalindi-vane kutah > ghosantav iti sarvato vraja-pure > khedair maha-vihvalau > vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau > sri-jiva-gopalakau "I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Gosvamis, namely Śrī Rupa Gosvami, Śrī Sanatana Gosvami, Śrī Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Śrī Raghunatha Dāsa Gosvami, Śrī Jiva Gosvami, and Śrī Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who were chanting very loudly everywhere in Vrindavan, shouting, "Queen of Vrindavan, Rādhārāṇī! O Lalita! O son of Nanda Mahārāja [Kṛṣṇa]! Where are you all now? Are you just on the hill of Govardhan, or are you under the trees on the bank of the Yamuna? Where are you?' These were their moods in executing Kṛṣṇa consciousness." *Khedair maha-vihvalau:* they were lamenting in separation from Kṛṣṇa. This is the process of worship given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He once fell into the ocean, crying, "Oh, I could not see Kṛṣṇa." When He was a *grhastha,* living at home with his wife and mother, He was consulting His mother, "Mother, I could not realize Kṛṣṇa. What shall I do? Where shall I go?" His mother said, "My dear son, why are You impatient? Everything will be all right in due course." Caitanya Mahāprabhu was indicating, "I must leave home." His mother understood. "This boy wants to leave us." Like the ladies in Hastinapur, His mother was also perplexed. Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught, > yugayitam nimesena > caksusa pravrsayitam > sunyayitam jagat sarvam > govinda-virahena me "O Govinda [Kṛṣṇa]! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence." (*Śikṣāṣṭaka* 7) *Govinda-virahena: "*In separation from Govinda I am thinking one moment to be twelve years." All of us have got this experience. If we want something very, very eagerly, then every moment becomes a long time. "Oh, it is not yet received. It is not yet received. It is not yet done." *Yugayitam nimesena.* A moment—the blink of an eye—is called a *nimesa.* That appears to be twelve years. The *gopis,* Kṛṣṇa’s cowherd girlfriends, could not tolerate even the blinking of their eyes. They were condemning the creator. "The creator does not know the art of creating. Why has he created this blinking that disturbs us from seeing Kṛṣṇa ? He does not know the art of creation." This is love. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Absolute Supreme Person, the Supreme Spirit. But He appeared as a devotee in the mood of the *gopis* to taste the *gopis*' feelings of love. *Difficult to Attain* For spiritual enjoyment—*brahmanubhuti*—great saintly persons, sages, give up all material enjoyment. They give up everything. > tapasa brahmacaryena > samena ca damena ca > tyagena satya-saucabhyam > yamena niyamena va "To concentrate the mind, one must observe a life of celibacy and not fall down. One must undergo the austerity of voluntarily giving up sense enjoyment. One must then control the mind and senses, give charity, be truthful, clean, and nonviolent, follow the regulative principles, and regularly chant the holy name of the Lord." (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 6.1.13) Sukadeva Gosvami said, > ittham satam brahma-sukhanubhutya > dasyam gatanam para-daivatena > mayasritanam nara-darakena > sakam vijahruh krta-punya-punjah "Here is the Supreme Person, who is considered the impersonal Brahman by great sages, the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotees, and a product of material nature by ordinary men. Now these boys, who have performed many, many pious activities in their past lives, are playing with that Supreme Personality of Godhead." (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 10.12.11) "Here is Kṛṣṇa, playing with the cowherds boys. Who is He?" *Ittham satam brahma-sukhanubhutya:* "The great sages, saintly persons, are trying to taste spiritual realization—that supreme objective is here: He is playing as a cowherd boy." *Dasyam gatanam para-daivatena:* "For those who are devotees, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." *Mayasritanam nara-darakena*: "Those who are *mayasrita*, deluded by the material energy, are thinking, 'This Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary human child.' " *Sakam vijahruh krta-punya-punjah:* "The boys who are playing with this boy—the transcendental cowherd boy Kṛṣṇa—are not ordinary. They accumulated pious activities life after life for many, many thousands and millions of lives. Now they have the opportunity to play with Kṛṣṇa." This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very serious and important. In today's verse we see the signs of how the ladies of Hastinapur love Kṛṣṇa. They cannot check the tears from coming out. "Kṛṣṇa is going away." But they are thinking, "Oh, if I shed tears then there may be inauspiciousness." How much perplexity! Two sides. Dilemma. Between the horns of Scylla and Charybdis. That is the position. Intense love of God creates such a situation, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited. > yugayitam nimesena > caksusa pravrsayitam > sunyayitam jagat sarvam > govinda-virahena me "If I cannot see Govinda, the whole world is vacant." This is love. Not that one thinks, "Let me try to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. If it is achieved, all right. If it is not, I shall remain in my position. What is the loss?" Not like that. One must be so eager for Kṛṣṇa consciousness that without attaining it one becomes mad. That is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching: We should always feel separation from Kṛṣṇa and not think that we have made direct contact with Him. Direct contact is not possible for us. Nor is that the method of worshiping Kṛṣṇa taught by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That is *sahajiya-vada,* the way of the *sahajiyas.* "I am talking with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is snatching my clothes." One lady has written a book in which she says that Kṛṣṇa comes to her, talks with her, and snatches her clothing. She has written openly. But Kṛṣṇa is not so cheap. Many *sahajiyas* think they can attain Kṛṣṇa by imitating Him, such as by keeping a paramour. But that is not Caitanya Mahāprabhu's way. No. He observed complete *sannyasa* life. He followed very, very severe, rigid restrictions in regard to associating with women. But now these *sahajiyas* are carrying on illicit relations with women in the name of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement, His **sampradaya*.* They are creating *apa-*sampradaya*s,* unauthorized **sampradaya*s.* In the real Caitanya Mahāprabhu *sampradaya* one should feel like Caitanya Mahāprabhu: one should feel separation from Kṛṣṇa. *Always Feel Separation* That is called *vipralambha-seva,* service in separation: "Oh, I am so wretched that I could not serve Kṛṣṇa. How can I see Kṛṣṇa? It is not possible." That is the mood taught by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. "I do not see Him, nor is it possible for me to see Him. What am I? I am an insignificant person. Why should Kṛṣṇa come and see me?" This is right. "Why shall I aspire to see Kṛṣṇa? What qualification do I have?" This is *bhajana,* worship. Why should I be proud and think, "Now I shall see Kṛṣṇa"? What am I? That is the teaching of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. > aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam > adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va > yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato > mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah "I know no one but Kṛṣṇa as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally. (*Śikṣāṣṭaka* 8). *Adarsana:* "Without giving me audience, You kill me; You break my heart. Still, You—and nobody else—are my Lord, my worshipable Lord." This is love. "Kṛṣṇa may not come. I may not see Kṛṣṇa for thousands and thousands of lives. I may rot in the hellish condition of life for many, many births. That doesn't matter. Still, I cannot give up Kṛṣṇa consciousness." This is required. I may be sent to hell or heaven; it doesn't matter. What qualification have I got that I want to go back home, back to Godhead? It is not so easy. So why should I be sorry for that? I should be happy even in hell simply by thinking of Kṛṣṇa. That is wanted. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So here is the example. Tears by force are coming out: "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is going away." At the same time they want to check: "There must not be any inauspiciousness for Kṛṣṇa." They're thinking about Kṛṣṇa’s welfare, not their own. Not "Oh, I am now crying. I have become very fortunate. I am crying for Kṛṣṇa." No. "My crying will create inauspiciousness for Kṛṣṇa ; I must check it." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end) ## Rathayatra: When the Lord Comes Out, Let’s Invite Him In *Caitanya Carana Dāsa* *When the Lord of the universe rides His chariot along city streets throughout the world, beneath the colorful spectacle lie profound devotional truths.* This year, some of us will see on a street in our city a grand procession known as the Jagannatha Rathayatra, the annual "chariot festival" of Lord Jagannatha (Kṛṣṇa ) that dates back centuries, even millennia. In its earlier days the Jagannatha Rathayatra, which originates in Jagannātha Purī, Odisha, was mostly for the residents of Odisha, Bengal, and some nearby states. But today it is much more—it’s a global cultural phenomenon celebrated in scores of countries and hundreds of cities, from Boston to Belfast to Brisbane, from Dublin to Dubai to Dnepropetrovsk. New York City has hosted an annual Rathayatra down Fifth Avenue since 1976. The first one was attended by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, in a triumphant return to the city where he had incorporated his International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness ten years earlier. Breaking across geographical and cultural boundaries, Lord Jagannatha's Rathayatra demonstrates the universality of spiritual love. Let’s explore what this ancient festival offers modern people the world over seeking to evolve as better beings. *The Face of the Mystery of Indian Spirituality* The Rathayatra expands divine love in circles of increasing grace. First, it expands divine grace from the sacred space of the temple to the rest of the city. The Lord riding atop the majestic chariot offers the blessing of His *darsana* (audience) to one and all—even those who do not come to the temple. The sway of the magnificent chariots, the embellishments with many meaningful motifs, the beauty of the three Deities (Jagannatha with His brother Baladeva and sister Subhadra), the symphony of musical eulogies by skilled singers, and the worshipers' heartfelt cries of “Jaya Jagannatha!”—all such potent devotional stimuli at the Rathayatra kindle life-transforming spiritual experiences. Second, the globalization of Rathayatra expands the grace beyond Jagannātha Purī and even India. In 1967, Śrīla Prabhupāda inspired the first Rathayatra outside India, in San Francisco, which also hosted Jagannatha’s first Western temple (New Jagannātha Purī). Since then, the festival has assumed international proportions. Indeed, Jagannatha has become a charming face of the beauty and mystery of Indian spirituality. *The Ecstatic Agony* Much of the mystery of Jagannatha centers on His face. He is Kṛṣṇa, yet He doesn't look like the familiar flute-playing cowherd boy. The difference in their appearances is testimony to the transformational power of love. The tradition of *bhakti,* the science of devotion to the Lord, holds that emotions are eternal—and are gateways to the eternal. Approaching the Absolute Truth requires not the eradication of emotions, but their elevation. In fact, life’s crowning emotion, love, is at the heart of eternal life, where relationships between the Lord and the devotee prevail. Jagannatha is Kṛṣṇa enraptured by the spell of love—the love of His topmost devotees, the *gopis* of Vrindavan, who were afflicted with the ecstatic agony of separation from Him. Ecstatic agony? The mystery deepens and sweetens. Love is like a fire. If the fire is small, a gust of wind extinguishes it. But if the fire is large, the same wind expands it. Similarly, when devotion is tender, like a small fire, the wind of separation from the Lord extinguishes it. But if the flame of devotion is strong, the wind of separation intensifies it, evoking rapturous longing for the Lord with every heartbeat. Such was the ecstatic agony of the Vraja-gopis when Kṛṣṇa departed from Vrindavan. While in Dwarka, Kṛṣṇa heard about their love-afflicted plight. In amazement, His mouth fell open, His eyes became large, and His limbs became motionless and withdrew into themselves just as His consciousness withdrew from everything else to focus on His devotees. And Kṛṣṇa became Jagannatha. The celestial sage Narada blissfully beheld this extraordinary form and begged the Lord to bless everyone with its divine *darsana*. His desire was fulfilled through a later king, named Indradyumna, whose haste-induced error turned out to be part of a divine plan, as narrated in the *Skanda Purana* and the *Brahma Purana.* The king had assigned the task of fashioning the Deity of the Lord to an expert sculptor, who was actually the disguised Visvakarma, architect of the demigods. The sculptor asked for total seclusion for twenty-one days as he went about the task, warning that if he were interrupted he would leave. The king kept his distance for fourteen days, being heartened by the sounds of the artisan at work. But when the sounds stopped with no sign of resuming, the anxious king burst into the workshop. True to his threat, the sculptor had departed, leaving the work half-done. The king was dismayed until he realized that the seemingly incomplete forms were devotionally complete—they perfectly revealed the Lord’s ecstatic feeling of incompleteness in separation from His devotees. *An Invitation Immortalized* Just as the form of Jagannatha has a special story behind it, so does His chariot festival. Many Deities go out in processions to bestow grace on onlookers, but Jagannatha goes out on another special mission. After Kṛṣṇa left Vrindavan, the Vraja-*gopis* met Him many decades later in Kurukshsetra, where the devout from far and wide had congregated to perform religious ceremonies during a solar eclipse. The **gopis*'* brief reunion with Kṛṣṇa inflamed within them a fervent longing for lasting reunion in the pastoral paradise of Vrindavan—the original and inimitable setting for their pastimes with Kṛṣṇa. They envisioned taking Kṛṣṇa back to Vrindavan on a chariot—drawn not by horses, but by the love of their hearts and the labor of their hands. Their sacred longing is immortalized in the Rathayatra, wherein the starting point represents Kurukshetra and the ending point represents Vrindavan. When we pull the Lord’s chariot, we assist the *gopis* in their labor of love. By thus assisting those enriched with *bhakti,* we feel our own hearts become enriched with *bhakti.* By our loving pulls, we not only take Jagannatha back to Vrindavan, but also invite Him back into our heart. The Rathayatra expands divine love from the temple to the rest of the city, and indeed the whole world. And it offers us a chance to elevate our devotional love from separation to union, from disconnection from the Lord to reconnection with Him. *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 Mumbai. He is the author of fourteen books. To read his other articles or to receive his daily reflection on the* Bhagavad-gītā, "Gita-Daily,*" visit thespiritualscientist.com.* ## How I Came to Kṛṣṇa Consciousness *My Sources of Inspiration* *By Prema Vilasa Dāsa* *A doctor in residency finds that the key to fulfilling the great American dream is not what he expected.* My alarm goes off at six thirty. It’s Sunday morning. I take a shower, put on my *dhoti, kurta,* and *tilaka,* and after chanting the Gayatri *mantra* drive to the temple, just a few blocks away. The devotees are chanting the *Brahma-saṁhitā* when I arrive. I join them until it’s time to cook Kṛṣṇa’s breakfast, a service I have done for nine years now. I make split mung *dal*, *kichari*, and *papadam*, complemented with a fresh salad of seasonal fruit in organic yogurt. After preparing breakfast, leading Śrīla Prabhupāda's *Guru*-puja *kirtana,* attending the *srngara darsana* (viewing the Deities after Their dressing), and taking part in the group reading of *Bhagavad-gītā,* I sit down with the devotees for honoring breakfast *prasada.* I then clean the kitchen, chant *japa* in front of the Deities, and perform some weekly tasks for the temple, like sorting mail and organizing devotee schedules. In the evening I take part in the Sunday Feast program, sing and dance for the pleasure of the Deities, and speak with guests. Then my wife and I go for a long drive to connect, catch up, and close the week. I feel blissful here, serving Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Natabara in Columbus, Ohio, but this hasn’t always been a typical Sunday for me. Sometimes I wonder, *How did I get to this point?* *A Temple Nearby* I came to the United States in September of 2000 to pursue the great American dream. I was twenty-three, had just finished medical school in India, and had secured a residency spot with The Ohio State University Medical Center, one of the top internal medicine residency programs in the country. My apartment was but a few blocks away from the medical center, which I soon discovered was just across the street from an ISKCON temple. During my residency, I started visiting the temple regularly for pious association, **prasada*,* and some peace from a hectic life of training. The devotees were nice; they never “preached” to me but always gave me *prasada* and encouraged me to join the *kirtanas.* Over time, I made friends with lots of devotees and slowly started relishing going to the temple. Then, in May 2003, something special happened. I overheard devotees talking about an upcoming festival at New Vrindavan, the ISKCON farm community in West Virginia. The festival had an alluring title: “The Festival of Inspiration." They invited me to join them, but the festival dates conflicted with my planned visit to a high school friend living in New York City. My friend, a twenty-five-year-old multimillionaire who had amassed his fortune dealing in Belgian and South African diamonds, lived in an apartment he owned on Park Avenue in Manhattan. We spent the first part of the week drinking at all the expensive bars and eating at gourmet restaurants. But Thursday morning he received a call and had to leave town on urgent business. All alone, I began driving back to Columbus. On the road, I suddenly remembered the devotees talking about the festival in New Vrindavan, which was on the way back. I decided to check it out. The next three days were the happiest of my life. I attended the morning programs, feasted on *prasada,* met many inspiring devotee exemplars like Peter Burwash, Yajna Purusa Dāsa, His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami, and His Holiness Rādhānath Swami, and danced in the *kirtanas* with full abandon. I was amazed at the devotees' beauty and simplicity. The experience was a huge contrast to Manhattan. There, I was spending hundreds of dollars to squeeze out some small semblance of happiness, and here, I was happy just eating simple *kichari* and fresh yogurt from the wonderfully protected New Vrindavan cows. The festival made such an impact on my mind that before leaving I decided I'd start chanting a couple of rounds of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra* and following the regulative principles as far as possible. Since I enjoyed the *kirtanas* so much, I bought a CD called *Vrindavan Mellows,* by Aindra Dāsa, from the temple's gift shop. Listening to it on my drive home gave me goose bumps. I began listening to it every day, and I became bewildered by what was happening to me—I couldn't enjoy any other music. I soon collected all my nondevotional CDs and donated them to a charity. *Developing a Higher Taste* I started visiting the temple more often. What began as sporadic chanting of two rounds on my beads became a daily practice, and every week or so I embraced more and more chanting. I began to dislike the food I was eating at restaurants and cafes, looking forward instead to the Sunday Feast *prasada.* I also developed a distaste for the superficiality of modern society—the petty social and political concerns, partying, drinking, and just generally wasting time. I found myself thinking deeply about the meaning of life. One day I was working a long shift at the hospital, and the local cafeteria had nothing vegetarian to eat. With lots of guilt I ordered a chicken sandwich and prayed to Lord Kṛṣṇa to forgive me. After eating the sandwich I developed intense nausea and vomited during the night. That was the last time I ate meat. Towards the end of my residency, one of my temple friends, Vṛndāvana-natha, told me he was getting married and invited me to his wedding at New Raman Reti, the ISKCON's rural community in Alachua, Florida. I drove to the wedding with my friend Carl, a student at Ohio State. We had started going to the temple at about the same time and had become good friends. We would discuss Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, especially in terms of pragmatic philosophy and life in general. While we were enjoying the wedding festivities in Alachua, Carl and I took a walk around New Raman Reti. From a distance we saw a saintly woman in a *sari* coming toward us. Something about her made us stop and talk to her. I said hello and asked her name. She was Ragatmika Devī Dāsī, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, and she lived nearby. She agreed to my request to visit her house and ask her some questions about her life. I was already intrigued by the sacrifice and surrender of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciples. She especially looked radiant and genuinely spiritual as she invited us in to unpack her entire life story for us. We were stunned. She told us about her one and only meeting with Śrīla Prabhupāda and how she decided to dedicate her life to him completely by distributing his books and sharing Kṛṣṇa consciousness with one and all. At the end of our discussion, she advised me to read *Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmrta,* the life story of Śrīla Prabhupāda written by one of his earliest disciples, Satsvarupa Dāsa Goswami. *Inspiration from Prabhupāda's Life Story* Some devotees had given me a copy of *Bhagavad-gītā As It Is,* but it had sat on my desk for three years. I just couldn’t understand its structure or content. I came back to Columbus and bought a copy of *Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmrta*. I could not put it down. I read it for seventy-two hours straight, hardly sleeping or eating. I even called in sick for work. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I read about Śrīla Prabhupāda distributing his books and magazines alone in Delhi in ninety-degree heat, and about how while trying to print his *Bhagavatam* he had no money to buy breakfast*.* I was amazed at Śrīla Prabhupāda’s determination, his faith in the Lord, and his compassion for the drunks and drug addicts on the Bowery in lower Manhattan. Equally astounding were his success at the end of his life and his devotion and detachment in general. You could say I was sold. After finishing the last page of the *Lilamrta,* I went to the temple, took whatever books the temple had, and went to set up a book table outside an Indian grocery store. Before I went I prayed to the *murti* (image) of Śrīla Prabhupāda, feeling that His Divine Grace was listening to me and blessing me to distribute his books. That day, my first day on book distribution, I sold eighty hardbound books and fifty paperbacks. I was thrilled beyond my wildest expectations. Never before had I felt so connected to the Lord. I felt that Lord Kṛṣṇa was pleased by this service. The entire time I was out distributing books, the holy name simply rolled off my tongue without effort, giving me further impetus to approach people and ask them to buy the nectarean literature blessing my hands. From then on I distributed Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books every day—and read them too. Miraculously, I was now able to understand them and relish them in a way that had previously escaped me. I would listen to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lectures and read his letters as well, trying to follow the language, philosophy, and context. Now I was “tasting the nectar for which I was always anxious,” to paraphrase Lord Caitanya. I was happy beyond compare and had the answers to all my questions in life. Everything made sense. Through the lens of Śrīla Prabhupāda's words I was able to weave all religions, philosophies, and scientific theories into one cogent reality. Every conscious experience now had new meaning. I was becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, awakening to ultimate reality. I had always loved reading, but now I would spend my entire day in the library relishing the literature left by the Gosvamis (Lord Caitanya's direct followers), as well as the commentaries of Vaisnava *acaryas* and the works of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura, and the current generation of Vaisnava writers. Sadaputa Dasa's seminal work *Mechanistic and Non-Mechanistic Science* gave me intense conviction, and his books in general deepened my understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Another contemporary author who influenced me was Satyaraja Dasa (Steven Rosen). His works on Caitanya Vaisnavism, comparative religion, vegetarianism, and yoga helped me bridge the gap between age-old wisdom and modernity. I was able to see Vaisnavism as a whole and in relationship to this world. He was deeply influential in the completion of my spiritual, intellectual, and emotional conversion to the world of devotion. One day, in New Vrindavan, I heard a talk by Vaisesika Dasa on how to distribute books. That presentation inspired me so much that I decided to dedicate my life to the cause of transcendental book distribution. Vaisesika Dasa remains my hero and guide. *Finding My Guru* Shortly thereafter I met my spiritual master, His Holiness Rādhānath Swami. His dedication to the mission of Śrīla Prabhupāda and Lord Caitanya inspired me greatly. I liked listening to his lectures on Lord Caitanya’s pastimes and the *Bhagavad-gītā.* He had inspired thousands of devotees in Chowpatty and Pune in India, and had started many centers and temples around the world. By this time I had met many of his disciples who were exemplary devotees and were trying to explain Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others. In my first meeting with him, he told me that the purpose of human life is not to work hard for material acquisitions and temporary sustenance, which only ends with the eventual destruction of the body. Rather, the purpose of human life is to find out who I am and my relationship with God. This was the same message Śrīla Prabhupāda had spoken to me in the first lecture I had heard so many months before, where he clearly explained that the human form of life is meant only for service to Kṛṣṇa. For me, Rādhānath Swami personified Vaisnava humility and etiquette. Everything about him was graceful, sublime, and saturated with divine peace. I felt I had finally met a representative in the mood of Śrīla Prabhupāda. And I realized I was taking part in an entire movement of such representatives, although in my eyes Rādhānath Swami shone even among so many bright stars. I had read about the *trnad api sunicena* verse, in which Lord Caitanya says that to properly chant the holy names one must be more tolerant than a tree and more humble than a blade of grass. But I never understood the purport of the verse until I met His Holiness Rādhānath Swami. His humble dealings, forgiving nature, and indomitable zeal for spreading his teacher's mission won my heart. I had found my preceptor. When I told him I wanted to take initiation from him, he instantly replied that initiation had already taken place in my heart and the remaining formalities could wait. I was happy, however, that they didn't have to wait too long. *A Partner in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness* Gradually I felt that to practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness properly I needed a partner to help me and to share my life. I prayed to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Rādhā-Natabara for a suitable wife, asking them to send a dedicated servant of theirs to help me serve them. Shortly thereafter I met my wife, Lalita Devi. She was visiting Columbus for a residency interview and by the Lord's divine arrangement showed up at the temple. I wanted to marry someone very serious about Kṛṣṇa consciousness and serving Śrīla Prabhupāda's mission. In Lalita Devi I found everything I wanted and much more. Through her I got to meet His Holiness Giriraja Swami, the most honest, courageous, and fully integrated person I have ever met. He personifies the expression "Vaisnava Ṭhākura," which refers to all the finer qualities of a devotee. His association and my many brief encounters with his exemplary disciples and well-wishers have thoroughly enriched my devotional life. *The Real "Great American Dream"* Now, let's return to the present. Each day feels special. I serve in the temple, distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, facilitate their study, travel all over the world, and attend festivals such as Rathayatras and retreats organized by devotees I can spend time and make friends with. Wherever I go I receive Vaisnava association, service to the Lord, and delicious *prasada.* I like to spend the month of Karttika (Oct.—Nov.) in Govardhan, India, in the shelter of Vaisesika Dāsa and His Holiness Kesava Bharati Mahārāja. I am grateful to Śrīla Prabhupāda for giving us such an expansive society, which is continually growing worldwide. My great American dream is just beginning, as I explore this brave new world of devotional theism while continuing my practice as a doctor. *Prema Vilasa Dāsa is a member of the temple council and board of directors for ISKCON Columbus. He is the managing director for Lord Kṛṣṇa's Academy, a nonprofit primary school in Accra, Ghana. He and his wife, also a physician, help sick and dying devotees. Among the many ISKCON projects they support are the publishing and distribution of books for west and central Africa.* ## Śrīla Prabhupāda: Our Founder-Ācārya *The Spiritual Masters* *Echoing the command of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Prabhupāda urged his strict followers to become* gurus *and spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness everywhere.* *by Suresvara Dāsa* To honor the fiftieth anniversary of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s leaving India to found the worldwide Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, BTG presents Part One of a ten-part series celebrating Śrīla Prabhupāda’s unique, transcendental position in ISKCON, as well as every follower’s foundational relationship with him. The year is 1972. In New Vrindaban, West Virginia, it is Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Vyasa-puja Day.1 As the sun climbs to the meridian, the thick mist shrouding the foothills gives way to a spotless blue. Inside a hilltop pavilion, hundreds of devotees and guests—politicians, journalists, and academics among them—have gathered to observe the seventy-sixth anniversary of Prabhupāda’s birth. It is to the guests especially that Prabhupāda directs his address. “Ladies and gentlemen, this ceremony… Of course, those who are my students, they know what is this ceremony. Those who are visitors, for their information, I may inform you something about this ceremony. Otherwise, it may be misunderstood. An outsider may see it that, ‘Why is a person being worshiped like God?’ There may be some doubt.”2 Doubt, indeed. The 1960s and 70s have seen a spike in the number of opportunistic **guru*s* coming to the West, streamlining Vedic revelation to suit modern tastes, and reaping the profits. To establish trust, Prabhupāda begins to demystify “the *guru*” by connecting him to other **guru*s* in *parampara*, a disciplic succession of authentic spiritual masters descending from Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The demystification continues: On the top of the mango tree there is a very ripened fruit, and that fruit has to be tasted. So if I drop the fruit from up, it will be lost. Therefore it is handed over, after one, after one, after... Then it comes down. So all Vedic process of knowledge is taking from the authority. And it comes down through disciplic succession. Well aware of modern antipathy to authority, Prabhupāda then compares the *guru* to that venerable American pedestrian, the mailman: Just like a post peon comes and delivers you, say, one hundred dollars. So *he* is not delivering that one hundred dollars. Your friend has sent you one hundred dollars, and his business is to hand over that one hundred dollars as it is, without any change, without taking one dollar from it, no, or adding. No addition, no subtraction. His honesty, his perfection, is that *he* delivers you that hundred dollars which is sent by your friend.… He may be imperfect in so many ot*he*r ways, but w*he*n *he* does his business perfectly, *he* is perfect. Similarly…we receive perfect knowledge from Kṛṣṇa through t*he* agency of spiritual master. *Guru is One, Gurus are Different* The *guru* as God’s mailman, down to earth yet out of this world. Because they carry God's message, all genuine *guru*s are in a sense "one"—that is, identical. Those guests who go on to read Prabhupāda’s teachings will learn how all genuine *guru*s are also different, each one delivering the message, as Prabhupāda writes, "according to personal capacity." In the very first text of the *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta,* the definitive biography of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s golden avatar, Lord Caitanya, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadasa Kaviraja Gosvami begins by offering his respectful obeisances to *gurun*, his many spiritual masters. In the book’s Introduction Śrīla Prabhupāda notes: “He uses the plural here to indicate the disciplic succession. He offers obeisances not to his spiritual master alone but to the whole *parampara*, the chain of disciplic succession beginning with Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself.” Later in the first chapter, text 35, Kaviraja Gosvami offers his respects to “my initiating spiritual master and all my instructing spiritual masters.” Prabhupāda comments: A devotee must have only one initiating spiritual master because in the scriptures acceptance of more than one is always forbidden. There is no limit, however, to the number of instructing spiritual masters one may accept. Generally a spiritual master who constantly instructs a disciple in spiritual science becomes his initiating spiritual master later on. The last sentence indicates the natural, normative *guru*-disciple relationship sustainable over time. Although Prabhupāda was uniquely empowered to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness worldwide in less than a dozen years, it is worth noting that he entrusted the thousands of disciples he was initiating to the care of his local leaders and senior devotees.3 Now decades on, to glimpse how his movement’s *guru*-disciple culture can become more local and sustainable, the way he himself describes it, let’s continue to examine Prabhupāda’s presentation of *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta’s* foundational first chapter, “The Spiritual Masters.” *Initiating and Instructing Gurus* In the years since Prabhupāda’s passing, the spotlight on the initiating spiritual master may have led members of his movement to believe that to initiate disciples requires more qualification than to instruct them. In his comments to text 34, Prabhupāda disagrees: “The initiating and instructing spiritual masters are equal and identical manifestations of Kṛṣṇa, although they have different dealings.” In his comments to text 47, Prabhupāda raises the point to a warning: “There is no difference between the shelter-giving Supreme Lord and the initiating and instructing spiritual masters. If one foolishly discriminates between them, he commits an offense in the discharge of devotional service.” Of course, the potential to have many instructing **guru*s* doesn’t remove the requirement to accept initiation from one *guru*. In *The Nectar of Devotion*, Chapter Six, “How to Discharge Devotional Service,” Prabhupāda identifies the first two principles of devotional service as “(1) accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master,” and “(2) becoming initiated by the spiritual master and learning how to discharge devotional service from him.” We need both rites of passage on our journey home to Kṛṣṇa. Writing in Lord Caitanya’s time, Śrīla Narahari Sarakara compared the relationship with one’s *guru* to the relationship with one’s father: A faithful son may go out for earning money and subsequently bring to his father the wealth gained, and later the son may ask for some allowance from the father, and whatever he receives from the father he is entitled to spend on his own enjoyment. Similarly, a disciple may hear some instructions from another advanced Vaisnava, but after gaining that good instruction he must bring it and present it to his own spiritual master. After presenting it, he should hear the same teachings from his own spiritual master with appropriate instructions. (*Śrī Kṛṣṇa-bhajanamrta*, text 48) When a devotee once asked Prabhupāda which was more important, studying the scriptures or serving a person whose life exemplified the scriptures, without hesitation Prabhupāda indicated the latter: Because the *guru* "can pull your ear.” In Prabhupāda's movement today, an initiating *guru* is like a parent, and instructing *guru*s are like well-wishing relatives. Their comparative influence depends on how those relationships develop practically. My initiating *guru* is always my initiating *guru*, just as a parent is always a parent, yet I may develop closer relationships with some of my *siksa-*relatives, especially if I see them often and my initiating parent lives far away. Nonetheless, if all *guru*s are well-wishers, serving cooperatively within the founder-*ācārya’s* mission, harmony and spiritual progress prevail. *The Power of Commitment* Heavy with spiritual knowledge, all genuine *gurus* are teachers. At the same time their impact on our lives varies according to the depth of their commitment to us.4 Continuing his commentary to text 34, Prabhupāda writes: *Gurun* is plural in number because anyone who gives spiritual instructions based on the revealed scriptures is accepted as a spiritual master. Although others give help in showing the way to beginners, the *guru* who first initiates one with the *maha-mantra* is to be known as the initiator, and the saints who give instructions for progressive advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are called instructing spiritual masters. Notice the progressive commitment from introducing to initiating to instructing. Whoever instructs us the most is naturally more influential in our lives. “Generally a spiritual master who constantly instructs a disciple in spiritual science becomes his initiating spiritual master later on.” Even if the *guru* doesn’t say a word, the *guru* is always teaching, especially by example, the most powerful teacher. “Example is better than precept,” and “Actions speak louder than words.” Once in India a Western devotee approached Prabhupāda with a desire and a doubt. His desire was to sail down the Ganges with a party of devotees dancing and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, dock in hamlets, and enliven the local villagers. His doubt was that he didn’t speak their language. “Oh, they don’t care what you say,” Prabhupāda replied. “They just want to see how you behave4.” *“So You, Every One of You, Become Guru”* For the devotees listening to Prabhupāda’s Vyasa-puja address, their appreciation of his unique position is increasing. Speaking from a thronelike crimson seat, Prabhupāda is a *guru* of *guru*s, “a master at whose feet all masters sit.” Although their commitment to him is as green as their summer surroundings, his commitment to them is absolute, and his ongoing request difficult for most of them to imagine: “become *guru*.” Prabhupāda’s request is no other than the request of Lord Caitanya Himself. In the *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, *Madhya-līlā,* Chapter 7, text 128, the Lord tells the *brahmana* Kurma: “Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa [as they are given in the *Bhagavad-gītā* and *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*]. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.” The first sentence of Prabhupāda’s commentary to the text says it all: “This is the sublime mission of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.” As recorded in the Bhaktivedanta VedaBase, in hundreds of lectures, conversations, letters, and public and private events, Prabhupāda cited the above verse as a reminder of the Lord’s request. From the beginning through the middle to the end of Prabhupāda’s worldwide ministry, these reminders to his followers were relentless. Here are three examples: I want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedanta, so that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the generations. Those possessing the title of Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to initiate disciples. Maybe by 1975, all of my disciples will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program.” (Letter, 3 January 1969) So you, every one of you, can become *guru*. You may say that, “I am not interested to become a *guru*,” but Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that if you are not interested, that is not very good. You should be interested. You must be *guru*. That is success of your life.” (Conversation, Tehran, 13 March 1975) Because people are in darkness, we require many millions of **guru*s* to enlighten them. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is, He said, that “Every one of you become *guru*.” [If you say,] “But I have no qualification. How can I become *guru*?” There is no need of qualification. “Still I can become *guru*?” Yes. “How?” Whomever you meet, you simply instruct what Kṛṣṇa has said. That's all. You become *guru*. (Lecture, Honolulu, 21 May 1976) *“Strictly Follow”* While he was spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness worldwide, Prabhupāda foresaw the disorder that would likely befall his movement after his passing. He even referred to it indirectly in one of his Bhaktivedanta purports: The main business of human society is to think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at all times, to become His devotees, to worship the Supreme Lord, and to bow down before Him. The *acarya*, the authorized representative of the Supreme Lord, establishes these principles, but when he disappears, things once again become disordered. The perfect disciples of the *acarya* try to relieve the situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master. (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*, 4.28.48, Purport) Prabhupāda knew that some of his leading disciples, out of immaturity, might try to imitate his unique position as *jagat-guru*, a universal teacher. At the same time, his relentless reminders to become genuine *gurus* indicate a greater concern: that in their supreme esteem for their founder-*ācārya* his followers wouldn’t mature to become *gurus* in their own right and shelter others in Lord Caitanya’s mission. How then would Kṛṣṇa’s mercy reach every town and village, as the Vedic scriptures had foretold, and how would every sincere aspirant receive the personal care and guidance they would need to make the journey home, back to Godhead? In his writings, therefore, Prabhupāda made it clear that the most important qualification to become a *guru* was to “strictly follow” the instructions of *guru* and Kṛṣṇa : “A person who is liberated acharya and *guru* cannot commit any mistake,” Prabhupāda wrote an early disciple, “but there are persons who are less qualified or not liberated, but still can act as *guru* and acharya by strictly following the disciplic succession.” (Letter, 26 April 1968) A similar message appears in Prabhupāda’s purport to the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*, Canto Four, Chapter 18, text 5: This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement directly receives instructions from the Supreme Personality of Godhead via persons who are strictly following His instructions. Although a follower may not be a liberated person, if he follows the supreme, liberated Personality of Godhead, his actions are naturally liberated from the contamination of the material nature. Lord Caitanya therefore says: “By My order you may become a spiritual master.” One can immediately become a spiritual master by having full faith in the transcendental words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and by following His instructions. One needn’t be a superman—or a superwoman—to be a regular spiritual master. Liberated or nonliberated, a *guru* is genuine if he or she “strictly follows” the orders of *guru* and Kṛṣṇa. By Prabhupāda’s reckoning, his movement may have more local *guru*s than it knows. They simply need to be formally approached for guidance, and formally encouraged to give it. "We require many millions of *guru*s ...." Pens scribbling, cameras rolling, his American guests listen to Prabhupāda close his Vyasa-puja address. As he looks into their eyes, Prabhupāda is concerned that they’ve correctly heard and understood his message. “So this is the position of a spiritual master. Don't misunderstand that, ‘This person is sitting very comfortably and taking all honors and contribution.’ It is needed just to teach them how to respect the representative of God. This is the sum and substance of Vyasa-puja. Thank you very much.” *Notes* 1 The birthday of a bona fide spiritual master, who represents Śrīla Vyasadeva, the great *guru* who came to earth some five thousand years ago to codify and preserve Vedic knowledge in writing. 2 The entire text of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s 1972 Vyasa-puja address may be found in the Bhaktivedanta VedaBase under Audio Transcripts/1972/Sept. 2. 3 For examples of Prabhupāda's directing local leaders to help his newly initiated disciples, see the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase/Contents/ Compilations/Siksamrta/ISKCON Temple Management/How To Manage and Engage Devotees. 4 For more discussion of the different dealings of *diksa-*and *siksa-gurus,* see *The Siksa-Guru*, by Sivarama Swami, 1999, Bhaktivedanta Institute, Hungary, pp. 76-80. *All guru-disciple relationships thrive under the shelter of the founder-*ācārya, *the foundational spiritual master of a disciplic line. In Part Two of our series, we’ll examine the origin and development of the founder*-ācārya *principle, with a focus on our Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition.* *Suresvara Dāsa joined the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement in 1970. Since 2011, on behalf of a committee of ISKCON's Governing Body Commission called “Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Position,” he has been traveling the ISKCON world, presenting the seminar series “Śrīla Prabhupāda, Our Founder-Ācārya.” To find out how to bring the series to your area, please write to Suresvara at [email protected].* ## Harinama Sankirtana: Taking Kṛṣṇa’s Name to the Streets *By Satyaraja Dāsa* In the mid 1970s the rock band The Doobie Brothers had a hit song called “Takin’ It to the Streets.” It proclaimed man’s brotherhood and the importance of broadcasting this truth where everyone could hear it—in the streets. We should leave behind injustice and exploitation, the song insisted, and help our less fortunate brothers and sisters by asserting our equality and our care for each other. As a new devotee of Kṛṣṇa, for me the song had a more esoteric meaning. Although I could relate to its message of humanity's genetic and spiritual bonds, I had recently been introduced to *harinama sankirtana* and was taking something else to the streets—Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, which purifies all within earshot. The word *kirtana* can be translated in various related ways, including "speaking," "telling," "broadcasting," "glorifying," and "eulogizing." When we devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa use the word, we usually mean the singing (or, using a synonym, chanting) of Kṛṣṇa’s holy names. Following tradition, we sing the holy names in call-and-response style. All activities in the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement are meant to support or nurture *Kṛṣṇa -kirtana*. Especially *sankirtana*. *San* means “complete” or “in association.” So *sankirtana* refers to “complete glorification” or “chanting with others,” the implication being that chanting with others is better than chanting alone. In *sankirtana*, we come together to chant and dance for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure. The Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition (followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu) lauds group chanting as higher and more effective than any other devotional practice. Kṛṣṇadasa Kaviraja Gosvami sums up this idea in his seventeenth-century book *Śrī* *Caitanya-caritāmṛta*: “Among the ways of executing devotional service, the nine prescribed methods* are the best, for these processes have great potency to deliver Kṛṣṇa and ecstatic love for Him. Of the nine processes of devotional service, the most important is to always chant the holy name of the Lord [*nama-sankirtana*]. If one does so, avoiding the ten kinds of offenses, one very easily obtains the most valuable love of Godhead.” (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, *Antya* 4.70–71) The *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*, “the ripe fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge,” also emphasizes *nama-sankirtana*. We learn that although one can sing about the qualities (*guna*) and deeds (*karmani*) of the Lord, as done in previous ages, in the current age of Kali all that is required is to chant His holy name (12.3.51). The texts inform us that God’s names are nondifferent from His “incarnations, qualities, and deeds” (avatara-*guna*-karma). These names, then, are a kind of shorthand, a mnemonic device that brings to mind in seedlike form the Lord’s incarnations, qualities, and activities. A special blessing for the souls of Kali-yuga. The basic theology of the name is straightforward: Being absolute, the Lord and His name are the same. Here in the relative world a person and his name are two different things. I am not present merely because someone calls out my name. But in the absolute, spiritual realm, God and His name are identical, as confirmed in the *Padma Purana:* “The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself." The verse ends *abhinnatvan nama-naminoh:* "[For Kṛṣṇa,] the name and the named are nondifferent." By uttering the name of God, or even by merely hearing it, one associates with the divine, thus garnering for oneself purification and advancement on the spiritual path. We should hear the holy name from a self-realized soul who has pure love for Kṛṣṇa. “When the *mantra* is chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord in love,” Prabhupāda writes, “it has the greatest efficacy on hearers, and as such this chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved.” (*The Science of Self-Realization*) Such hearing starts a chain reaction in which whoever hears from someone who has heard from a pure soul also receives supreme benefit. *Chand Kazi and Nagara Sankirtana* In this age (*yuga*) chanting the holy name, especially group chanting, is the recommended process to revive our dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness, awakening our pure love for God; no other practice is as powerful. The *Bhagavatam* (12.3.52) tells us, “Whatever result was obtained in Satya-*yuga* by meditating on Visnu, in Treta-*yuga* by performing sacrifices, and in Dvapara-*yuga* by serving the Lord’s feet can be obtained in Kali-*yuga* simply by chanting the holy name of Hari [Kṛṣṇa].” An incident in the life of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Kṛṣṇa Himself in the role of His own devotee, illustrates the profound importance of what is known as *nagara* (town) *sankirtana.* When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu lived in Navadvip, West Bengal in the early sixteenth century, the area was under Muslim rule. Nawab Hussain Shah, whose full name was Ala al-Din Hussain Shah, ruled as the independent sultan (*nawab*) of Bengal from 1493 to 1519 CE. The small district of Navadvip was a prominent center of learning, and the highly respected city magistrate serving under Hussain Shah was Maulana Sirajuddin, also known as Chand Kazi (“moonlike judge”). These two Muslim officials had in fact taken part in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes (*līlā*) fifty centuries ago. We learn this from Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, a prominent nineteenth-century Gaudiya Vaisnava. In *Śrī Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya* Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura tells us that Nityānanda Prabhu, Lord Caitanya's most intimate associate, revealed the following to Śrīla Jiva Gosvami: O Jiva, hear My words. The Chand Kazi’s village is none other than Mathura. After performing *kirtana*, Gauranga gave love of God to the Kazi and liberated him. Mathura’s King Kamsa of Kṛṣṇa -*līlā* became Chand Kazi in Gaura-*līlā*. For that reason Gauranga addressed the Kazi as His maternal uncle, and out of fear the Kazi took shelter of Gauranga’s lotus feet. Under orders from Hussain Shah, who was the king of the Bengal Empire and Jarasandha in Kṛṣṇa-*līlā*, the Kazi caused disturbance during *kirtana* performance by breaking the *mrdangas*. The Lord, appearing in the form of Nrsimha [half man, half lion], put fear in the Kazi’s heart. Like Kamsa, the Kazi cowered in fear. Śrī Caitanya, however, gave him *prema* [pure love of God] and thus made the Kazi a great devotee. The very fortunate hear this story of the Kazi’s liberation. Chand Kazi plays a central role in the story of the first major *nagara kirtana* in Gaudiya Vaisnavism. The incident is first reported in Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura’s *Caitanya-bhagavata* (*Madhya-khanda*) and then later in Kṛṣṇadasa Kaviraja Gosvami’s *Caitanya-caritāmṛta* (*Adi-līlā*). Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s followers would regularly go out into the streets and bazaars to sing the names of Kṛṣṇa, creating a spectacle in Navadvip that brought great pleasure to devotees. But the Muslims were taken aback by the intensity of the *kirtana*, and even some Hindus didn’t understand how public chanting was part of their tradition. The orthodox *brahmanas*, especially, were annoyed by Mahāprabhu’s joyous san*kirtana* movement and complained to Chand Kazi, saying that the *kirtana* party was a disturbance. Manipulated by his constituents, Chand Kazi proclaimed, “No one should perform such chanting on the streets of the city. Today I am excusing the offense and returning home. But the next time I see someone performing this *sankirtana,* I shall certainly chastise him—not only by confiscating all his property, but also by converting him to Islam.” When it happened again, the Kazi went directly to Śrīvasa Pandita’s house, the *sankirtana* movement’s central base. He barged in and with intense anger broke a *mrdanga* drum, hoping to instill fear in the devotees’ hearts. Soon after he left, the incident was brought to Mahāprabhu’s attention. The Lord ordered the townspeople to gather with torches in the evening, and many arrived to fulfill His request. As the crowd grew, they divided into fourteen groups, with Mahāprabhu in the center. They loudly sang Kṛṣṇa’s names with great enthusiasm as they marched through the streets of Navadvip like an unstoppable army. Their destination: the Kazi’s house. Once they arrived, the Kazi saw that this was a nonviolent civil-disobedience movement. He and Mahāprabhu sat comfortably and spoke about the merits of Islamic and Vaisnava philosophy. In the end, Lord Caitanya communicated to him the essence of all religious truth: *sankirtana*. Realizing the power and depth of Vaisnava thought, the Kazi wept and joined the chanting party himself, to the amazement of onlookers. By Śrī Caitanya’s mercy, the Kazi had become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. *Nagara Sankirtana in the Current Era* In the mood of Śrī Caitanya, Śrīla Prabhupāda made *nagara san*kirtana** a priority as far back as 1966, when he founded his society in New York City. In Tompkins Square Park he led his earliest American disciples in the Western world’s first public *kirtana*. Some sat, some danced, but all sang as they glorified Kṛṣṇa under a very special elm tree. The city of New York has commemorated that spot with an ornate plaque. So important is outdoor chanting that Prabhupāda wrote to devotees in 1969: “My advice to you . . . is that at least for one hour you must all go to have Sankirtan outside on the streets or in the park. That is your life and soul, first business. . . . If need be, the whole temple can be locked, but the outdoor kirtan cannot be stopped.” (May 17, 1969) To another disciple: “Regarding your questions about Sankirtana . . ., I think you should try to always have Sankirtana going on. All other things are subsidiary. This chanting is our life and soul, so we must arrange our program now so that there will be as much chanting on the streets and at college engagements as possible . . . .” (May 14, 1969) Throughout the early days of the movement, Prabhupāda emphasized public chanting and eventually extended the emphasis to book distribution, for with printed materials Kṛṣṇa’s holy name could be “heard” beyond the circumscribed scope of a *kirtana* party; it could be heard around the world. Indeed, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura dubbed the printing press the *brhat-*mrdanga**, the “great drum.” An ordinary *mrdanga* can be heard within the radius of a few city blocks, but books have no such limitation. Both Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati and Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted book distribution and public *kirtana* to go on simultaneously. *Kirtana Stalwarts* Many devotees have championed *harinama san*kirtana** throughout ISKCON’s history. For example, Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciple Aindra Dāsa (1953–2010) showed pronounced dedication to *harinama,* following in the footsteps of early *kirtana* aficionados such as Acyutananda Dāsa, Visnujana Swami, Bharadvaja Dāsa, Madhudvisa Dāsa, Yamuna Devi, and Jai Sacinandana Dāsa. From the moment he joined the movement in the mid 1970s, Aindra knew that chanting would be his primary service. After nurturing his early Kṛṣṇa conscious life in Washington, D.C., he found himself in New York City, where he converted a flatbed truck into a traveling temple and broadcast *harinama* wherever he could. He and his band of enthusiastic chanters made sure the holy name vibrated day and night. From Central Park to the West Village and back again, they brought Kṛṣṇa *kirtana* to an entire city, as its inhabitants watched Aindra’s spiritual truck glide up and down New York streets. In 1986 his *kirtana* brought him to India. He settled in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s holy land, Vrindavan, where he rejuvenated a program started by Śrīla Prabhupāda himself: a nonstop twenty-four-hour *kirtana* at ISKCON’s Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Mandir. He often led the *kirtana*s, but he also organized other *kirtana* leaders and encouraged devotees from around the world to take part so that the chanting could go on without interruption. He led the project until his death in 2010, but it goes on today in his name. Aindra’s talent, inspiration, and tireless dedication contributed to the longevity and example of the Vrindavan *kirtana,* but that program doesn't stand alone. Public chanting, a mainstay of ISKCON’s philosophy, can be seen throughout the world. The Ghanian devotee Sastra Dāsa, for example, started a daily program in Māyāpur, West Bengal over a decade ago. Today, although the faces of the chanters have changed, the Māyāpur party still regularly goes out into the streets in that part of India. Indradyumna Swami and some fifty enthusiastic devotees have been delivering *harinama* to cities and towns on the northwest coast of Poland for over two decades. In 2002, Rupa Manjari Dasi and Ratnavali Dasi started a chanting party at Oxford Street in Central London that goes out every afternoon. Devotees in Gainesville chant at the University of Florida on weekdays, bringing transcendental sound to students and teachers alike while serving lunch to the 800 who attend. Visnujana Dāsa from Slovakia and Gaura Karuna Dāsa from the Czech Republic formed a World Sankirtana Party that has traveled to six continents. Rama Raya Dāsa, inspired by Aindra and an original member of his Vrindavan *kirtana* party, has organized a dedicated san*kirtana* contingent in New York City. The troupe of committed devotees chants six hours a day. These saintly crooners are a common sight in Union Square, a central shopping area in the city, though sometimes bad weather sends them elsewhere, including the dark and unpredictable subway system. “*Kirtana* is not just for Union Square," says Rama Raya, "but for *everywhere*!" With the able managerial assistance of Abhirama Dāsa, an early disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, the successful program has its own building in Brooklyn. The devotees who live there chant every day, and many other devotees join in regularly. ISKCON’s first World Holy Name Day was held on June 9, 1996. The Society’s Governing Body Commission (GBC) resolved in 2007 that “World Holy Name Day be made an annual program for all ISKCON centers. The observance of World Holy Name Day is to be held in connection with the anniversary observances of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s arrival in America on Sept. 17, 1965 . . . .” In 2008 the GBC extended “World Holy Name Day” to “World Holy Name Week.” *The Fully Blossomed Name* Sixteenth-century theologian Jiva Gosvami, renowned in the Gaudiya tradition as among history's greatest philosophers, wrote extensively on *nama-sankirtana*, summing up the tradition’s position on the subject. In *Bhakti-sandarbha* (248) he writes that although chanting relieves one of all sinful reactions (*papa-visodhana*), its ultimate benefit is that it gives direct experience of God’s attributes (264) and awakens intense passion (*anuraga*) for Him, causing one to dance, cry, scream, and laugh like a madman (263) in spiritual ecstasy. Śrī Jiva further tells us that singing the names out loud (*anugiyate*) is much more effective than reciting the names quietly or simply hearing them, and that people who engage in such singing are humanity’s greatest benefactors (269). In this way public chanting is considered a topmost principle in the *bhakti* tradition. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, too, conveyed the singular importance of *nama-sankirtana*. In 1892, for example, he wrote a four-verse Bengali song called *Śrī Nama-pracara* (“The Preaching of the Holy Name”). It was eventually published as the sixth chapter of a longer work, the *Vaisnava-siddhanta-mala*, to which he added his own elaborate prose commentary. In this work he outlines the principle of *ajna tahal*—Lord Caitanya's preeminent order to engage the public in congregational *nama-sankirtana*. Picking up on Bhaktivinoda’s Ṭhākura's mood, his son Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati wrote in an article entitled *Śrī Nama-sankirtana* (*The Gaudiya*, Volume 23, Number 10): Indeed, among all spiritual practices, *sankirtana* is the best and foremost means of attaining the grace of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Other types of *sadhana*, or devotional practices, are only worthy of being called as such if they favorably assist the performance of *sankirtana*; otherwise they should be known as obstructions to actual *sadhana*. Whether one is a child or an old or young man, male or female, learned or illiterate, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, pious or sinful—regardless of the condition of life someone may be in—there is no spiritual practice for him other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa nama-*sankirtana*. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati used the term *jivanta-cetana-mrdanga*, or “living drums of consciousness,” to refer to the devotees who go out regularly to deliver both transcendental literature and the holy name to one and all. For while books extend the range of *harinama* beyond an ordinary *kirtana*, these books and the name itself would never reach the mass of people without the brave and enthusiastic souls who distribute them. Upon embracing such service, one eventually attains the highest destination. Initially, the holy name purifies one’s consciousness and aids one's progress in devotional service. On reaching perfection in chanting, one becomes a perfect lover of God. As Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura poetically tells us in his masterwork *Saranagati*: > purna vikasita hana, vraje more yaya lana, > dekhaya more svarupa-vilasa > more siddha-deha diya, kṛṣṇa-pase rakhe giya, > e dehera kare sarva-nasa “Upon fully blossoming, the Name takes me to Vrindavan and shows me His divine pastimes. He gives me an eternal body, keeps me by Kṛṣṇa’s side, and completely vanquishes this material body, granting me supreme perfection.” ***This refers to the nine processes of devotional service listed in *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (7.5.23): hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa, remembering Him, serving Him, worshiping Him, offering Him prayers, becoming His servant, considering Him one's friend, and surrendering oneself fully to Him. *Śrīla Jiva Gosvami asserts in his* Bhakti-sandarbha *(*173*), “Although other processes of devotional service should be performed in Kali-yuga, they must all be accompanied by the chanting of the holy names.”—Hari-bhakti-vilasa* 11.234 *Satyaraja Dasa, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, is a BTG associate editor and founding editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies. He has written more than thirty books on Krsna consciousness and lives near New York City.* ## The Sweet Holy Name > madhura-madhuram etan mangalam mangalanam > sakala-nigama-valli-sat-phalam cit-svarupam > sakrd api parigitam sraddhaya helaya va > bhrguvara nara-matram tarayet kṛṣṇa-nama "Kṛṣṇa’s name is the sweetest of the sweet and the most auspicious of all that is auspicious. It is the flourishing creeper, the eternal fully ripened fruit of the *Bhagavatam* and the embodiment of knowledge. O Bhrgu, even if someone chants the holy name only once, either with faith or indifference, he is immediately delivered from this ocean of birth and death." *— Hari-bhakti-vilasa* 11.234 *World Holy Name Week* *"In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari." —Brhan-naradiya Purana* Śrīla Prabhupāda’s great desire was that the chanting of the Lord's holy names spread all over the world. To help fulfill that desire, in 1996, the year of the Śrīla Prabhupāda Centennial, ISKCON's Governing Body Commission established World Holy Name Day. In 2008, World Holy Name Day became World Holy Name Week. This year, several observances on the Vaisnava calendar during World Holy Name Week relate directly to the spreading of the holy name. September 26 is the birth anniversary of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, the powerful nineteenth-century Gaudiya Vaisnava who launched the first efforts to spread Kṛṣṇa’s holy names outside India. September 27 marks the anniversary of the passing of Śrīla Haridasa Ṭhākura, whom Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu designated *namacarya*—the primary teacher of the holy name, by example and precept. September 28 celebrates the day on which Śrīla Prabhupāda accepted *sannyasa,* the renounced order of life, freeing him to prepare for and eventually embark on his momentous voyage to America. And on October 4, the last day of WHNW, we honor Śrīla Prabhupāda's arrival in America, from where he launched a movement that is carrying the holy names to every corner of the world. *To find out how you can take part in this year's World Holy Name week, please visit worldholynameweek.com.* ## Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out *Structuring a Sane Society* *The following conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and members of the United Nations World Health Organization took place in Geneva on June 6, 1974.* WHO member: There is one thing that I cannot reconcile. As an Indian, the question bothers me very, very often. I believe in a great many things that you said about returning to a simpler, more natural way of life. And about finding satisfaction in our spiritual dimension. There's no question about that. I'm not what you would call a "Westernized Indian." But what I cannot reconcile is the fact that we who had this spiritual knowledge and all our cultural guidelines, which you have just now said are the solutions to all our problems—with all these guidelines we have not been able to keep our society free from so many evils that have come about. I'm referring not only to the poverty but also to the unemployment and to the hunger and to so many other things. Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, it is not because of our cultural guidelines, but because of bad leaders who do not follow them. It is due to these bad leaders. WHO member: They are our own people. Śrīla Prabhupāda: They may be our own people. They may be our own father. Prahlada Mahārāja was a devotee of the Lord, and yet his father was Hiranyakasipu, an utter demon. So what can be done? Most people are good, and yet so often we see that their leader is a godless demon. WHO member: Yes, Hiranyakasipu had to be destroyed. Śrīla Prabhupāda: So he was destroyed. By God's grace he was destroyed. And every one of these modern demonic leaders—they will be destroyed. These demonic leaders will not stay. They'll be destroyed. But everything takes time. At the present moment our leaders are not very good. Blind. They have no knowledge, and yet they are leading. *Andha yathandhair upaniyamanas:* the blind leading the blind—into the ditch. These leaders have killed the world's original, spiritual culture, and they cannot give anything in its place. WHO member: So has your movement involved itself in social philosophy, then? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. This movement is most practical. For instance, we are recommending no meat-eating. And the leaders do not like it. We are not very favorable to their propaganda. So the leaders don't like us. After all, they have allowed slaughterhouses, and beef shops anywhere and everywhere, and we are saying, "No meat-eating." So how will they like us? That is the difficulty. "It is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss." But still we are struggling. And the alternative we are recommending is also practical. These God conscious farming villages have proved successful. The inhabitants are finding their life happy and abundant. Nature's bounty supplies fruit and vegetables and grain. And the cows supply milk, from which you can get yogurt, cheese, butter, and cream. So with all these ingredients, you can make hundreds and thousands of delicious preparations. And you feel fully satisfied. That is the basic principle. WHO member: That is an example of a successful enterprise, but would you speak about something now that has not been tried before? Śrīla Prabhupāda: The "new thing" is that these people living in God conscious farming villages do not have to travel away for their daily bread. That is the new thing for modern society. At present, most people have to travel some distance to the factory or office. I happened to be in Bombay when there was a railway strike—oh, people were suffering so much. You see? From five o'clock in the morning they were standing in a queue for catching a train. Of course, during the strike hardly any trains were running. So people were in so much difficulty. And if one or two trains were running, so many people were trying to squeeze themselves into the cars. Smashing themselves in. They were even on top of the train. Of course, in the more industrially advanced countries, the people go to the factory or office in cars—and risk being killed in highway crashes. So the question is, Why should one be induced to go so many miles away from his home simply for earning his livelihood? This is a very bad civilization. One must obtain food locally. That is a good civilization. WHO member: I understand that your goal is to have everybody become self-sufficient in regard to food. But if all the people are engaged in the production of food, then who will be providing other things? Śrīla Prabhupāda: We don't say everyone should be engaged in food production. According to the *Bhagavad-gītā,* naturally you will have a section of men who will produce food, a section of men who will give spiritual direction, and a section of men who will manage as the government or king. And the rest of the people are laborers who help all the other sections. Not that everyone will be a cultivator. No. There must also be a brain department, a management department, and a worker department. These groupings are natural within any society. And all of them should work together for spiritual cultivation. ## e-Kṛṣṇa The year is filled with celebrations of the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Lord Caitanya, and many Vaisnava *acaryas.* There are appearance and disappearance days, Ekadasi fasts, and many other occasions to remember the Lord, His activities, and His devotees. There are so many days that it can be hard to remember them all, or to know exactly when they occur in your country or region. Using the Internet, some devotees have solved this problem for us. You can download a file of dates that merge into the calendar on your PC, so you can plan for upcoming festivals. You can view a calendar online, and you can subscribe to reminder services that send you an email letting you know when Ekadasi starts and ends, or when various celebrations are coming up. The following websites can help you keep track of all the festivals, so you will never miss another opportunity to remember the Lord and His pastimes. www.vaisnavacalendar.com allows you to view an online calendar containing the dates for each festival and celebration. On the right-hand side of the page, you select your country and city in the dropdown box; then the page reloads to reveal the Vaisnava calendar for the current month. Some of the entries are underlined; they are links you can click on to see more information about the particular day. On the right at the top of the page are arrows marked Previous Month and Next Month. You can click on these to navigate to future or past months. Using the dropdown box titled “Search for Holiday,” in the middle on the top of the page, you can find the date of a particular festival you are interested in. When you choose the festival, the page will reload to reveal the date. Symbols on the calendar indicate the days for the full moon and the new moon. www.vaisnavacalendar.info provides a number of options to help you. When the site opens, you are presented with a form to subscribe to an email that reminds you about upcoming festivals. You can choose your location to ensure the email contains the correct dates for where you live. From this site you can download files to update your Google calendar, your iPhone calendar, or several other systems with the dates for festivals throughout the year. On the black navigation bar running across the page is a tab titled “How to ICS” that tells you how to install the downloaded files into your computer system or mobile device. On the navigation bar, under the tab “Calendar Events” you will find a list of every festival, every remembrance day, and every Ekadasi. If you click on a link, you will be presented with useful details about each significant day. —Antony Brennan ## A Pause for Prayer Śrī Vyasa said: O master of the demigods, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O Lord who grants desires, obeisances to You. Obeisances to You, who are Lord Ananta Sesa. Obeisances to You, who are directly Lord Rama. Eternal obeisances to You, Lord Sankarsana, the maintainer of the earth, perfect and complete, effulgent and glorious, holding a plow in Your hand, and having a thousand heads. You are Baladeva, Revati’s husband, and the infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead’s elder brother. You are armed with a plow. You are Pralambasura’s killer. O Supreme Person, please save me. Obeisances. Obeisances to You, who are known as Bala and Balabhadra, and who carry a palm-tree flag. Obeisances to You, Rohini’s fair-complexioned son dressed in blue garments. You are the enemy of Dhenuka, Mustika, Kuta, Rukmi, Kupakarna, and Kumbhanda. You put an end to Balvala. You divided the Yamuna and dragged Hastinapura. You are the enemy of Dvivida. You are the king of the Yadavas and the decoration of the circle of Vraja. You are the killer of Kamsa’s brothers, a pilgrim who goes to holy places, the supreme master, and the teacher of Duryodhana. O Lord, please protect, please protect the world. O infallible Lord, O greater than the greatest, O Lord Ananta, O Lord whose fame is everywhere, glory, glory to You! Obeisances to You, who hold a plow and a club and are the master of the demigods, great sages, and regal serpents. A person who regularly reads or recites these prayers attains Lord Hari’s supreme abode. . . . *—Garga Samhita* 1.10.28–45 From the Editor: Just Chant Some years ago I wrote an editorial about the challenge of coming up with a one-line reply to the question "What is Hare Kṛṣṇa?" The cover story of this issue of BTG suggests one possibility: "It's a worldwide movement to engage people in chanting the names of God." On the authority of the Vedic scriptures, we acknowledge that about five hundred years ago, Kṛṣṇa—God Himself—descended in Bengal as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The *Bhagavad-gītā* tells us that Kṛṣṇa appears periodically to reestablish religious principles. As Lord Caitanya, He revealed the universal religious process for the current age: the congregational chanting of the names of God. Because Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees follow that religious process, a mention of chanting is a fitting reply to "What is Hare Kṛṣṇa?" Since Śrīla Prabhupāda is the founder-*ācārya* of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, or the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, the focus of his teachings naturally defines the movement's identity, and he emphasized above all else the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. Even the publication and distribution of books about Kṛṣṇa, which he pushed with relentless energy, was meant to get people to take up the spiritual practice of chanting. To get an idea how much Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke and wrote about chanting, consider that the book *Śrī Namamrta: The Nectar of the Holy Name*, a compilation of Prabhupāda's teachings about the holy name, is nearly six hundred pages long. *Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa* is another compilation, its 230 pages containing much material not found in *Śrī Namamrta.* Prabhupāda's motivation to spread the chanting of the holy name stems from his mood of being the humble servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Lord Caitanya, and the succession of *gurus* from Lord Brahma to his own spiritual master. But there's more to it than "blindly following their order," a phrase he often spoke to describe himself. No doubt he was a dedicated servant of the Lord, but he was also a fully realized servant constantly in touch with Kṛṣṇa by the pure chanting of His name. When Prabhupāda embarked on his voyage to America, he didn't know what to expect. Almost no one he knew in India offered any encouragement. The people of the West were covered by the modes of ignorance and passion—how could they possibly accept the sublime message of Lord Caitanya? But Prabhupāda had the special power of absolute faith in the holy name. He knew that in carrying the holy name across the sea he was carrying Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, who can drive away the darkness of even the darkest hearts. Kṛṣṇa as the holy name worked His magic, and Prabhupāda's movement grew. Reminiscent of Lord Caitanya's travels in South India, those transformed by Prabhupāda's direct association went on to transform others by giving them the gift of the holy name. Lord Caitanya predicted that His name would be chanted in every town and village of the world. Because He is Kṛṣṇa, we chant His name every time we chant the *maha-*mantra*:* Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Śrīla Prabhupāda also instructed us to chant the Panca-tattva *mantra*—the names of Lord Caitanya and His four closest associates: *(jaya) sri-Kṛṣṇa -caitanya prabhu nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda.* Prabhupāda especially promoted the chanting of these two *mantras*, but he encouraged people to chant any genuine name of God that was familiar to them. Just chant, he would say, and see how you advance in God realization. —Nagaraja Dāsa ## Vedic Thoughts The materialist thinks that persons engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are crazy fellows wasting time by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, but actually he does not know that he himself is in the darkest region of craziness because of accepting his body as permanent. And, in relation to his body, he accepts his home, his country, his society, and all other paraphernalia as permanent. This materialistic acceptance of the permanency of home, land, etc., is called the illusion of *maya.* His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 3.30.3, Purport Real heroism is to conquer one's natural tendency to enjoy material life, and reality is seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead everywhere. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 11.19.37 By all methods of spiritual discipline, seeing the Lord in person is the true reward to be attained. That alone destroys illusion down to the root, so that pure love of God may flourish. The Vaikuntha-dutas *Śrī Brhad-bhagavatamrta* 2.3.180 One who loudly chants the holy names of the Lord is a hundred times greater than one who silently chants, because those who chant silently purify only themselves, while those who chant loudly purify themselves as well as those who hear them. Śrī Prahlada Mahārāja *Śrī Naradiya Purana* Only the most fortunate can hear these four nectarean sounds—Kṛṣṇa’s words, the tinkling of His ankle bells and bangles, His voice, and the vibration of His flute. If one does not hear these sounds, his ears are as useless as small conchshells with holes. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu *Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā* 17.48 The *Vedas* consist of nonmaterial sound, and they alone should be our *pramana* [evidence], because from them have issued all departments of knowledge, mundane and spiritual, among all schools of human thought since time immemorial. Śrīla Jiva Gosvami *Śrī Tattva-sandarbha,* Text 10 Though the water of the Ganges is pure and sweet, when received by the roots of bitter or poisonous trees growing on its bank it becomes distasteful sap. Similarly, when the *Vedas* come from the mouths of faithless people, the meaning becomes distasteful and gives results opposite to the normal results. Śrīla Visvanatha Cakravarti Ṭhākura Commentary on *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 11.14.8 One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him? *Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra* 7