# Back to Godhead Magazine #50 *2016 (06)* Back to Godhead Magazine #50-06, 2016 PDF-View ## Welcome Śrīla Prabhupāda encouraged his disciples to write articles for *Back to Godhead.* He gave these basic guidelines: They should read the books he was translating, and write their realizations in their own words. Because his books are an encyclopedia of spiritual knowledge, they provide an endless variety of topics. In this issue, we find a sample of that variety. First Śrīla Prabhupāda gives us the key to "Successful Life," and then Nikunja Vilasini Dasi's "Worlds of Magic, Worlds of Truth" puts a spiritual perspective on our fascination with fantasy in books, art, and film. Karuna Dharini Dasi expands on lessons Prabhupāda drew from a story of miners and their newspapers, Chaitanya Charana Dāsa continues drawing life lessons from India's epics, and Sureshvara Dāsa provides serious thoughts about "Fictional Prabhupādas." Longtime contributor Vishakha Dasi deals with the tricky problem of free will, Urmila Dasi insightfully discusses sexuality in relation to spiritual life, and Satyaraja Dāsa introduces the *maha-mantra* to a *yoga* group. Finally, rounding out the last issue of ISKCON's Fiftieth Anniversary year, Braja Sevaki Dasi encourages us to hold on to our mood of appreciation as we head into a new year. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nagaraja Dāsa, Editor* ## Letters *A Special Thank You from BTG* We would like to express our gratitude to Ms. Vidula “Vidu” Dave, of Winter Park, Florida, who passed away in November last year and had included *Back to Godhead* among the beneficiaries of her estate. Attorney Karl A. Burgunder, who notified us, wrote in an email: "I knew Vidu for about 19 years, first as a client, but soon after as a cherished and lifelong friend. Vidu was a wonderful person with a big heart who never met a stranger. She touched the lives of everyone she met—as a clinician [psychologist], sister, friend, and neighbor—always in the most positive of ways. . . . Vidu was a deeply spiritual person and a committed devotee of the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness way of life. She was an avid reader of your publication." May she always find shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord. Hare Kṛṣṇa. The BTG Staff *Rādhārāṇī's Special Position* I was asked the following question: What made Śrī Rādhā the most pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa if all the *gopis* were pure devotees? Can you help me? Julian Via the Internet *Our reply:* First we need to clear up a possible misconception. All the eternal residents of the spiritual world, whether in the Vaikuntha planets or in Goloka Vrindavana, are 100% pure. It is not that some are more pure than others. They have different relationships with Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa is pleased with all of them. Still, the *gopis* are considered the highest devotees because they please Him the most. This is stated by Śrīnatha Chakravarti in a line from a verse that summarizes Lord Chaitanya's teachings and which Prabhupāda often quoted: *ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena ya kalpita*: "The most favorable mode of serving Kṛṣṇa is that which was practiced by the young maidens of Vraja." (*Chaitanya-mata-manjusha* 1.1.1) Among the *gopis*, Rādhārāṇī's position is unique. She's not just one of the *gopis*; She is Lord Kṛṣṇa's feminine counterpart, the personification of His pleasure potency (*hladini-shakti*). The other *gopis* expand from Her (see *Brahma-saṁhitā* 5.37). It can therefore be said that She has more capacity to love and please Kṛṣṇa than anyone else—because She is the original reservoir of devotion for Him. *Grateful Inmate* ISKCON Prison Ministry receives many wonderful responses from prison inmates whose hearts are touched by Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, which the Prison Ministry distributes to them. Recently we heard from an inmate who is reading *Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmrita*. We wanted to share it for the Letters section of BTG as an ISKCON Prison Ministry tribute to ISKCON50. Here is the letter, from an inmate in a Florida prison: *"*I just started reading the fourth volume of *Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmrita*. After reading this much, I conclude that Śrīla Prabhupāda had a special ability to bring all people to Kṛṣṇa. The people who came to him were also special people with great benedictions of God upon them to find and serve such a *guru*. They loved him so dearly. The heat and the impoverished living conditions in India did not deter them. These folks were all alien to the Vedic culture and the country. "These devotees of Śrīla Prabhupāda were themselves very special people. You have to have the mercy of God to be able to see goodness; and to see and appreciate the goodness of Śrīla Prabhupāda was their destiny. "I am amazed at everything I read. Thank you so very much." Govindanandini Devī Dāsī ISKCON Prison Ministry *Is Kṛṣṇa a Person?* Some Christians do not believe God has emotions. Does Kṛṣṇa have emotions? Is He a person? Jakob Sorensen Denmark *Our reply:* Śrīla Prabhupāda has said that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the post-graduate study of religion. We know everything about God, not just that He is a judge or love. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, personally present in the heart of each of us. Since we are part of God and we are persons, He too must be a person. We couldn't have something—such as personality—if He didn't. He is Bhagavan, which means that He is full in six primary opulences: He is the most famous person, the most beautiful person, the most intelligent person, the strongest person, the richest person, and even the most renounced person. That is the position of the Supreme Person. Kṛṣṇa has an unlimited number of loving devotees, and He enjoys personal exchanges with each of them. Śrīla Prabhupāda's *Nectar of Devotion* describes many of Kṛṣṇa's qualities, activities, and relationships. People talk about love of God. Naturally love has to be between two persons; it is a reciprocation of loving service. How can you love God if He isn't a person? God does have impersonal aspects, but the real devotee is interested in knowing all about the supreme lovable person who is waiting in our hearts for us to look His way. God is described in detail in the Vedic scriptures, such as in *Brahma-saṁhitā*, Lord Brahma's prayers composed at the beginning of creation. Please study this and other great timeless Vedic texts. You'll find them spiritually and intellectually satisfying. Jesus said, "I have so much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now." It's all there now, in the Vedic literature, so don't miss out. *The king of Mantras* It is said that the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mantra* is the king of all the *mantra*s. Can you explain the significance and the meaning of the *mantra*? What has made it unique? Battu Eshwar Sai Via the Internet *Our reply:* The Hare Kṛṣṇa *maha-mantra* is identical to the Absolute Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or God. God is Absolute, and therefore His name is the same as Him. This fact allows us to come in direct contact with Him through sound vibration, that is, the chanting of His names. "Hare" addresses the energy, or *shakti*, of the Lord, specifically His highest, internal energy, Rādhā. "Kṛṣṇa" is His original name, and it means the most beautiful one, the most attractive one. "Rama" is a name of God that means the reservoir of all pleasure. All pleasure, both mundane and spiritual, comes from Him. The *maha-mantra* is a prayer in which we call out, "O Lord, O energy of the Lord, please accept me; please engage me in Your service." The *maha-mantra* is given in the *Kali-santarana Upanishad*, where it is described as the best of all *mantras* and is particularly recommended for this age. The Lord Himself appeared on earth about five hundred years ago as Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu to recommend and distribute this chanting of His name for self-realization in this difficult age. Please take advantage of it. Founder's Lecture: Successful Life New York City, January 3, 1967 *Lord Kṛṣṇa teaches that success in life begins by cultivating knowledge of matter and sprit.* > buddhir jnanam asammohah > kshama satyam damah shamah > sukham duhkham bhavo ’bhavo > bhayam cabhayam eva ca > ahimsa samata tushtis > tapo danam yasho ’yashah > bhavanti bhava bhutanam > matta eva prithag-vidhah "Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame, and infamy—all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone." —*Bhagavad-gītā* 10.4–5 What is *jnana*, or knowledge? Knowledge means distinguishing spirit from matter. That is knowledge. We should understand what is spirit and what is matter. We are a combination of matter and spirit. Actually we are spirit, but we are now covered by matter. A complete analytical study of matter and spirit is called knowledge. Regarding material knowledge, any subject matter you can learn is temporary. This body is temporary; similarly, any material knowledge you acquire—whether you become a chemist or a physicist or a medical man or an engineer—will finish as soon as this body is finished. You forget. Death means forgetfulness. Because the spirit, being eternal, does not die, spiritual knowledge continues. Suppose you acquire a certain percentage of spiritual knowledge in this body. That will continue with you after death. Even after the destruction of this body, that spiritual knowledge will continue with you. If you finished ten percent, then you will begin from eleven percent. That knowledge will not be lost. That is the law of nature. Cultivating spiritual knowledge even one percent or two percent can render you great service because it will continue. Once spiritual knowledge has begun, it will not be stopped. The best thing is to finish it one hundred percent in this life because this human form of life is meant for cultivating spiritual knowledge. It is not meant for material enjoyment. Material enjoyment means eating, sleeping, defending, and mating. These four principles are called material enjoyment. The other day I was seeing *The New York Times Magazine*. All the advertisements were based on mating. That's all. Because mating is most attractive, shopkeepers advertise a dress by putting before us a very nice girl. Because our attraction is for mating, as soon as we see a nice girl our attention is diverted. That is the psychology. So these are all material enjoyments: eating, sleeping, defending, and mating. And spiritual enjoyment is just the opposite; there is no sense enjoyment. There is self-realization, or purifying the senses. Spiritual enjoyment means purifying the senses. It is a purifying process. And as soon as you purify your senses, then you become in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness and eligible for being transferred to the spiritual world. This human form of life is especially meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge. There are 8,400,000 species of life, and the most developed consciousness is the human form of life, especially civilized human beings. There are 400,000 species of human beings, with two hands and two legs. Not all of them are using their life efficiently, but Kṛṣṇa consciousness is dormant within them. Even in the lowest aboriginal stage of life there is dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But those in civilized life are quite competent to cultivate this knowledge. So *jnana*, knowledge, means distinguishing between spirit and matter. And this knowledge should be cultivated and taken full advantage of in this life. That is a successful life. *Freedom to Travel Anywhere* In the *Śrīmad-Bha*ga*vatam* (1.5.18) it is stated, *tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhah*. Now, a living entity, a spiritual spark, is wandering, not only from one country to another country or from one body to another but from one planet to another. The living entity is called *sarva-*ga*. Sarva* means "all," and *ga* means "one can go." You can go anywhere. Now you have the facility to travel over the surface of the earth or in the space around the earth. But you cannot go beyond the earth's atmosphere. This is called conditioned life. In conditioned life we are limited in our traveling. But in spiritual life you can travel anywhere. The best example is Narada Muni. He can travel anywhere he likes. In this universe we have got a planet called *Siddha*loka, a "planet of the perfect." Those who live there are not completely perfect, but they are called *siddha*. *Siddha* means almost perfect. The inhabitants of that planet can travel without the aid of a spaceship or an airplane from one planet to another. We get this information from *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*. In spiritual life we have complete freedom to move, to act, to enjoy. Spiritual knowledge should be cultivated. That is the best use of this human form of life. If we do not use the human form of life for spiritual cultivation, then we are practically committing suicide. If you want to cross the Atlantic Ocean from New York to England, you must have a very nice ship and a good captain and a favorable atmosphere. Then it is very easy to cross. That example is given in a Sanskrit verse, *nri-deham adyam su-labham* . . . Material existence is compared to an ocean. *Bhava-sagara. Sagara* means ocean. To cross this ocean you have a very nice ship. What is that ship? *Nri-deham*, this human form of life. And this ship is *su-labham. Su-labham* means that you cannot always get this kind of ship. It is a rare opportunity. This is an opportunity because you do not know what is going to happen in your next life. There is no guarantee that in the next life you are going to take your birth in America or in the human form of life. There is no guarantee. Therefore, as long as you have this opportunity, you must fully utilize it. *Su-durlabham* means it is very difficult to get this human body. Just imagine. By the gradual evolutionary process from aquatic life to plant life, then from plant life to worm life, then from worm life to bird life, then from bird life to beast life, from beast life to human life—this is the gradual process of evolution. Therefore this human form of life is very difficult to obtain. By some fortune you have it now. Therefore it is said, *su-labham su-durlabham,* very rare and difficult to get. So you have this nice ship of the human body. Then, *guru-karna-dharam*: if you have a spiritual master who is a good captain, he can help you to ply your ship. And the favorable atmosphere is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, created by the Supreme Lord by delivering you the message of *Bhagavad-gītā*. So you have a very good atmosphere. Just compare in the same way: If in the Atlantic Ocean there is no wind, no hurricane, and you have a very good ship and a very good captain, now take this opportunity of crossing. If you don't cross, then you are committing suicide. *Don't Hesitate* These are the opportunities of developing your knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and spiritual culture. And the advantage is that as soon as you become fully conscious of your constitutional position, then you are freed from this material entanglement. This is called *jnanam,* the second word in this verse. The next word is *asammohah.* Don't be hesitant. *Asammohah* means that if you want to acquire some knowledge, you may acquire it slowly, but acquire it very surely, step by step. Don't be impatient. *Asammohah*. Don't blindly accept something and think, "I have all knowledge. Finished." No. You have developed consciousness, you have intelligence, but that intelligence and that consciousness depend also on your mode of living, on your mode of behavior. Therefore one has to become a *brahmana*—*sattvika*, in the modes of goodness. Then you will be patient, or *shanta*, peaceful. If you become hesitant, then you cannot be peaceful. *Kshama* means tolerant. You should not be disturbed. Suppose you are in this Kṛṣṇa conscious society. Now, you cannot expect that all the members of the society will be first-class men. How can we expect that? We are collecting members of the society from all classes of men. So there may be a man in goodness, a man in passion, and a man in ignorance. But if you think, "Oh, this man is not good. That man is not good." No. You should be tolerant. You haven't got any connection with this man or that man. You are connected with the philosophy, with the process of life. The same example: Suppose you are on the ship. You do not find all men to be of your choice. There may be different kinds of men. But what is that to you? You have to patiently cross the Atlantic Ocean. Just sit down tightly on the ship and take advantage of the opportunity. That is your business. This is called *kshama*, tolerance. Suppose somebody has offended you. Excuse him. This is a kind of penance. Lord Chaitanya has taught us: > trinad api sunicena > taror api sahishnuna > amanina manadena > kirtaniyah sada harih If you want to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then you have to become tolerant. How? Just like a tree. How tolerant a tree is! Everybody is committing offenses to the tree. Somebody is snatching its twigs, somebody is snatching its flowers, somebody is snatching its leaves, somebody is cutting it, but it does not protest. Rather, on the contrary, it supplies you fruits and flowers and gives you shelter. The tree is the nicest example of tolerance. So Lord Chaitanya teaches us that we should become tolerant just like a tree. And *trinad api sunicena,* forbearance like grass. You trample grass, but it does not protest. *Amanina*. And you should not be puffed up with your artificial honor. "Oh, I am this. I am that." Such considerations have to do with the body, but you are apart from the body. Suppose you are a king in this body. You have no connection with the body. And suppose you are the poorest man. You have no connection with the body. So why do you identify yourself as "I am poor" or "I am a king"? You are neither a king nor a poor man. You are a spirit soul. Therefore you should not hanker after the temporary honors of this material world. Honor and dishonor are the same thing because we do not belong to that kind of honor and dishonor. *Manadena*. But if some foolish creature disturbs you, you should give him all honor. Give all honor to whoever identifies with the body. "Oh, sir, you are very beautiful. You are very learned." So that he may not disturb you, give him all honor. *Kirtaniyah sada harih.* If you act in these ways, you can go on chanting without being disturbed. As soon as you take to spiritual life, there will be so many disturbances, because it is a declaration of war against the illusory energy. So as soon as you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, the illusory energy sees, "Oh, this man is going out of my hand, out of my control. Oh, give him all impediments." Therefore you have to learn tolerance. *What Is Truth?* The next word here is *satyam*. *Satyam* means you should speak the actual truth. You should not flatter for sense gratification. In the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (1.1.1) the definition of *satyam*, specifically the Absolute Truth, is given. What is that definition? *Janmady asya yatah*: "The Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates, the original source of all." You should understand what is *satyam*, the Absolute Truth. And you should speak truth also. What is that truth? That truth is "God is great and we are subservient to Him. So our duty is to abide by the orders of God." The simple truth. "God is great." You can say, "Why should we abide by the orders of God?" Because you are subservient. "No, I am not subservient." That is untrue. You are subservient. If you don't accept your subordinate position before God, then you have to accept your subordinate position under these stringent material laws. You have to become subservient. There is no alternative. You cannot become absolute. It is a false notion that you are independent. You are not independent. Nobody is independent. We may be puffed up: "We belong to an independent nation." India was under British rule. Now we have independence. But this is all a false notion. What is that independence? Nature's law is forcing starvation. What is this independence? Indians are now begging grains from other countries. In British time there was no begging at least. Now their independence means they are begging. So these are all false notions. Nobody is independent. Everyone is dependent in some way or other under the laws of nature. Nature can at once enforce its stringent laws, and everyone becomes subservient. To be subservient is your nature. You cannot alter it. Instead of becoming subservient to something false, the best thing is to become subservient to the Absolute Truth. *Satyam param dhimahi.* Therefore the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* instructs you to offer your respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Truth. That is your perfection of life. *The Importance of Sense Control* The next word, *damah*, means to control the senses. Now you are sitting here. It is very kind of you. But you could go to a cinema house or hear television or . . . It is simply a waste of time. You have to control your senses in such a way that every moment is being used for your spiritual cultivation of life. You should not allow the senses to enjoy anything against the cultivation of spiritual life. That is called *damah*, control. You can eat. You can go to a restaurant and have very palatable dishes of meats and so many things. But you have to control the tongue: "No. I shall not eat all this nonsense. I shall eat only *Kṛṣṇa-prasādam*." Eating is not prohibited, because without eating you cannot live. That's all right. Even if you don't accept *Kṛṣṇa-prasādam*, you can try to become vegetarian. In your country especially I see you have enough arrangement for vegetable dishes. I have been here for more than one year. I am getting nice vegetable dishes prepared by our nice student Kirtanananda. You are also tasting them. They are very nice. You should not allow the senses to enjoy something against the advancement of your spiritual life. That is called *damah*. "Swami," this title, means one who can control the senses. He is called swami, master of the senses. Generally we are all servants because our constitutional position is to be subservient. So we are servants of this material nature, which means we are servants of the senses. That's all. We have this material body, and the senses are prominent. We are active in the material body, and that means we are acting in sense gratification. We are practically servants of the senses. To become master of the senses requires that the senses not act according to their whims. The senses should act according to your order. Suppose there is a very nice performance of sense gratification and you want to go there. But if you can control your senses—"No, not to go there. Come here into this storefront. Hear *Bhagavad-gītā*"—then you become master, swami. The most important task for controlling the senses is to control the tongue. I have several times explained that the tongue is the beginning of all the senses. So if you can control the tongue, then you can control the other senses also. And if you cannot control the tongue, then you cannot control the other senses. The tongue has two functions: to taste and to vibrate. Vibrate Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare and taste *Kṛṣṇa-prasada*. Then just see how you are making advancement. This is called *damah*. As soon as you are able to control your senses, naturally you shall be able to control your mind. That is called *shamah*. These are aspects of the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have to practice this process and learn it from reliable sources and assimilate it into our life. That is the real utilization of this human form of life. We should learn this process. We should practice it and make our life successful. Thank you very much. ## Worlds of Magic, Worlds of Truth *By Nikunja Vilasini Devī Dāsī* *The Vedic literature reveals a real world beyond our experience and beyond our imagination.* Extra-terrestrial and mythical creatures have invaded our world, along with gods and superheroes, gnomes and fairies, dwarves and elves, hobbits and wizards, hippogriffs and dragons, centaurs and Cyclopes. These are the creations of imaginative geniuses—filmmakers, writers, and artists—who are pouring out more gripping and fascinating blockbusters than ever before. Some of their ideas stem from mythology, legends, and folklore that have intrigued man for thousands of years. How ironic it is that people are drawn to a world of fantasy and make-believe yet are skeptical about metaphysical phenomena. We doubt the paranormal in the world but seek satisfaction in fables and fairytales, in magic and fantasy, hoping to fulfill the parts of our being attracted to the supernatural. For centuries we have imagined worlds existing outside our domain of sense perception and reality. The idea of a mystical world intrigues us and gives us a sense of wonder. Perhaps it is an intuitive yearning to know what lies beyond this world, a world restricted by nature’s laws. This yearning comes from the core of our being. As spirit souls, we want to experience a life compatible with our spiritual nature, an eternal life that radiates supreme knowledge and bliss. Yet, because we are confined to the limits of our bodies and minds, we assume there is nothing outside our paradigm of existence. The analogy of the frog in a well illustrates this misconception. Once a frog who lived in a well enquired about his frog friend's recent travels. The friend told him he had seen the ocean. The well-bound frog tried to imagine the size of the ocean and asked, “Is it double the size of this well? Triple the size?” His friend simply laughed and told him it was much larger than that. The frog in the well could not begin to fathom the vastness of the ocean, and continued to compare it to his tiny well. Eventually he gave up, having nothing in his experience with which to compare the ocean. Similarly, we are bound by our experience. And our knowledge of the universe and other realms is based on sense perception and inference, which are incomplete and imperfect. It would be better to accept information from a more reliable source. In the Vedic tradition there are standard *pramanas*, or means of acquiring knowledge of God and the universe, of which *shabda* is considered the best and most important. *Sabda* is revelation from God or the valid testimony of God's pure devotee, who comes in a line of spiritual teachers and presents the scriptures without interpreting or changing anything. Because human sense perception and intelligence are fallible and imperfect, spiritual seekers acquire knowledge through the *shabda* process, which is flawless when followed in the proper way. The scriptures reveal the truth and reality of God, His creation, and His spiritual kingdom through His pure devotees, who directly perceive the revelations of the scriptures. Only someone who has traveled beyond the boundaries of our well-like world will be able to disclose the nature of the world beyond our vision. *Higher-Dimensional Universe* In his book *Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy*, Richard L. Thompson (Sadaputa Dāsa) elaborates on this concept. He describes some of the intricacies of the universe and explains that with our limited three-dimensional vision we can only understand the universe relative to these limitations. Higher-dimensional perception, which includes observation of higher planetary systems and beings, requires superior vision not available to ordinary human beings. Some rare persons have acquired higher-dimensional perception through *yoga* or other spiritual means. Their elevated consciousness has allowed them to enter normally invisible realms on earth and beyond. In previous ages this was common practice. People whose lives centered on godly principles dominated the Vedic age. It was not unusual for them to travel to other realms in our universe. But gradually the earth saw a decline in spiritual consciousness. People became slaves to their senses and chose an inferior quality of life. Weakened by mundane desires and polluted habits, they lost the higher sensory perception and mystic powers available to people of previous ages. *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*, the paramount Vedic treatise on God and His creation, describes the eight primary mystic perfections in detail: transforming one’s body to become smaller than the smallest, or greater than the greatest, or lighter than the lightest; acquiring whatever one desires; experiencing any enjoyable object, either in this world or another; manipulating the material energy; controlling others and being unimpeded by material nature; and obtaining anything from anywhere. Although the earth is becoming devoid of people with these powers, the residents of higher planetary systems, including beings named Siddhas, Charanas, Vidyadharas, and Gandharvas, possess these eight mystic perfections as well as secondary ones: being free from hunger and thirst and other bodily disturbances, hearing and seeing things far away, moving the body at the speed of the mind, assuming any form one desires, entering the bodies of others, dying when one desires, and many others. (*Bhagavatam* 11.15.4–8) The powers of our modern-day stereotype superheroes pale in comparison to these extraordinary beings. The opulence and powers in their realms far exceed anything we have seen, heard of, or experienced in our earthly paradigm. Life there seems to last forever; time seems to stand still when life spans reach millions of years. But although there is no disease and old age, life there is still temporary. Death still prevails. The danger of seeking residence in these realms or wanting to enjoy these powers is the urge to covet prestige, status, and control—in other words, to be God. These material allurements can also leave one with little sense of dependence on the Supreme Lord and thus bind one to an endless cycle of birth and death. *Beyond the Material Sphere* So is there some place that supersedes all others and truly satisfies the soul? Yes. The spiritual world—beyond the material spheres of existence. That is where we belong. Although spiritual realms far exceed the grandeur of even the best material planets, souls who go there focus only on their pure loving relationship with Lord Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. By hearing about the Lord in His spiritual abode—our eternal home—we can ignite our desire to reconnect to that transcendental plane. The *Vedas* describe invisible material realms that exist on earth. Might spiritual realms also exist on earth? The scriptures reveal that they do, but like other higher-dimensional planes, they are invisible to most of us. Only to someone whose consciousness has evolved to pure devotion to Kṛṣṇa are the spiritual realms on earth and beyond revealed. Vrindavan, the birthplace of Lord Kṛṣṇa, is one such realm. Although it is a geographical location visible to our mundane eyes, the unmanifested eternal Vrindavana can be observed and experienced only with eyes smeared with divine love. Some of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s followers, who possessed this supreme love, revealed many of Kṛṣṇa’s pastime places in Vrindavan. In 1514 CE, during the holy month of Karttika, Chaitanya Mahāprabhu Himself, who is a merciful incarnation of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa combined, discovered two unique ponds that had been lost for centuries. Immersed in the loving mood of Rādhārāṇī, He looked for Kṛṣṇa everywhere as He wandered on the pathways near Govardhana Hill. When He came to the town of Arishtagrama, He asked its residents, “Where is Rādhā-kunda?” Then He saw something that made Him run towards it. Passersby could not understand why two puddles of muddy water in the middle of a paddy field could excite Him so much. They were even more surprised when He bathed in the puddles and then marked His body with their mud. He had found Rādhā-kunda and Syama-kunda. Only His followers with a similar vision could understand why these *kundas* (ponds) were so close to His heart. Raghunatha Dāsa Goswami, one of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s devout followers, later excavated and enlarged the *kundas* because he knew that many pilgrims would eventually come there to bathe in the holy waters. During the excavation, Yudhishthira Mahajaja, one of the five Pandava brothers of the *Mahābhārata*, appeared to Raghunatha in a dream and told him not to cut down the trees around Syama-kunda because he and his four brothers were residing there as trees and performing worship on its banks. What were they seeing, and why were they worshiping these *kundas*, which can be perceived only by those with divine vision? Why did the name Arishtagrama remind Lord Chaitanya of Rādhā-kunda and Syama-kunda? *The Origins of the Kundas* More than four thousand years before, Kṛṣṇa killed a ferocious bull demon named Arishta, who had terrorized Vrindavan. Pleased with His own heroic deed, Kṛṣṇa met Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī and the *gopis* for the moonlit *rasa* dance. But the *gopis* bluntly refused to be with Kṛṣṇa because He had committed the sin of killing a bull. When Rādhā told Him He would have to bathe in all the sacred waters of the universe to become purified, He replied in disbelief, “O Radhe! That will take a long time, which means being away from You. Even one moment away from You distresses Me.” Then His face lit up with an idea. “I know what to do. I'll call all the sacred waters of the universe to come here instead.” *The gopis sneered.* “Kanha, don’t trick us with your words. We're not going to be fooled by Your magic.” Ignoring their remarks, Kṛṣṇa struck the ground with His right foot, making a depression. Placing His flute to His lips, He played a melody that sparkled as if turning sound to gold, and immediately all the sacred rivers personified appeared before Him, bowing their heads in reverence. The holy rivers introduced themselves one by one: Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Narmada, Kaveri, Godavari . . . Then as Kṛṣṇa summoned each of them, they poured their water into the hole, forming a dazzling pond. Kṛṣṇa jumped into the cool water, bathed, and then invited the *gopis* to enter His *kunda*. “How can we enter your *kunda*?" they replied. "Its water is contaminated with Your sin!” Kṛṣṇa tried to convince the *gopis* that His *kunda* was pure, but they disagreed and decided to make their own *kunda*. Digging with their golden bangles, they deepened a hole made by Arishtasura's hoof. After the *gopis* had finished, Kṛṣṇa suggested they take some water from His *kunda* to fill the hole they had dug. They stubbornly refused. Rādhārāṇī sent countless *gopis* to nearby Manasi Ganga to collect water to fill the new *kunda*, but eventually their efforts were in vain. Because Kṛṣṇa cannot bear to see even a bead of perspiration on Rādhārāṇī’s forehead, He signaled the rivers personified to appear again. They bowed before Śrīmati Radhika and prayed, “We thought the perfection of our lives was to be associated with Kṛṣṇa. But now we see that Kṛṣṇa is worshiping and serving You. We realize that to be associated with You is the perfection of life. Please allow us to enter Your *kunda*.” The rivers' sweet words melted Rādhā’s heart. She also knew that there was no question of Kṛṣṇa ever being contaminated. Her behavior was simply meant to increase His pleasure. The holy water from Syama-*kunda* then broke through its wall and entered Rādhā’s *kunda*. Kṛṣṇa exclaimed, “Your *kunda* is exceedingly more beautiful than Mine. It will be My favorite *kunda*. And because it is identical to You and is filled with Your love for Me, its glories will exceed the glories of My *kunda*.” *Transcendental Eyesight* The Vedic scriptures reveal countless fascinating stories like this one, and in Vrindavan we find historical monuments to many of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Vrindavan on earth is a replica of Vrindavana in the spiritual world. We may not yet qualify to perceive Rādhā-kunda with its banks laden with billions of conscious, blissful wish-fulfilling stones, its exquisite gardens and groves, or its desire trees and creepers made of coral and rubies. But we can appreciate and experience the special sanctity of this holy place by seeing through the eyes of those who possess transcendental eyesight. We learn from these seers of truth that magic exists in Vrindavana but there it is meant to enhance Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (15.6), Lord Kṛṣṇa describes His world: "That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. . . .” Self-illumined Vrindavana opens and closes like the whorl of a lotus flower, allowing far distances to become close for Kṛṣṇa and the *gopis* to meet. The cows are *kamadhenus*, or wish-fulfilling, and give unlimited supplies of milk. The trees (*kalpa-vriksa*) and the silver dust that decorates the footpaths are also wish-fulfilling. Animals, birds, and even inanimate objects are fully conscious beings with a special connection to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa and His devotees can expand themselves to be at different places simultaneously. Paurnamasi and Vrindadevi, the chief coordinators of Kṛṣṇa’s affairs in Vrindavana, arrange for flowers and fruits of different seasons to appear at the same time and enhance the forest scenes with a kaleidoscope of color and beauty. Reading or hearing about Kṛṣṇa’s astounding pastimes in Vrindavana will satisfy our innate spiritual need to be connected with the supreme spiritual person, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Mundane tales bind us to the material sphere, whereas spiritual tales uplift us. They are ever fresh and purify our hearts. When we are in contact with Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, abode, and pastimes, we are in direct contact with Him. Our spiritual nature becomes uncovered, and we begin to see things as they are. Free from illusion, we see beyond the purview of the material mind and senses. When we're steeped in pure devotion, neither supernatural powers nor anything else can distract us from serving and pleasing Kṛṣṇa. So if you want to ride on aerial chariots (*vimanas*), visit a land of magical creatures, or meet the best of superheroes, you do not need to have extrasensory perception or mystic powers. Simply by reading the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*, *Ramayana*, *Mahābhārata*, and other timeless classics of the Vedic literature, you can enter the wondrous world of the Lord and His pure devotees. Their true stories of wonder and magic will satisfy your taste for fantasy and adventure, and their profound lessons of spiritual wisdom will satisfy the soul. Do not dive into the realm of mythical science fiction or even that of the mystic *yogi* where your journey will end. Become a topmost mystic, and experience the real thing. *Nikunja Vilasini Devī Dāsī (Nirvana Kasopersad), a disciple of His Holiness Giriraja Swami, lives with her husband and two children in Durban, South Africa. She works as a freelance writer and editor.* ## No Newspapers! The Miners’ Mentality *by Karuna Dharini Devī Dāsī* *How to protect our spiritual lives from the constant allure of mundane topics.* Śrīla Prabhupāda a few times repeated a story he had heard from a friend about a preacher trying to persuade coalminers in Sheffield, England. “Do you know Jesus?” the preacher asked. All the miners wore a number on their shirt, so they asked the preacher, “What is Jesus’ number?” “I am referring to Jesus the Savior,” the preacher said. “He doesn’t wear a number.” “Then we don't know him,” they replied. “Well, if you don’t know Jesus, then you must go to hell.” ”What is hell?” asked the miners. “Hell is a very dark and damp place,” replied the preacher. The miners were silent, unimpressed; they worked in such a place. The preacher had to consider how to impress them. After a few moments he said, "Hell is very dangerous." "How?" "There are no newspapers." "Oh! Horrible!" Śrīla Prabhupāda told this amusing story to portray the irony of conditioned human nature. And he liked to poke fun at people’s acute interest in topics that are, from the spiritual perspective, banal. It's the miners' mentality—enthrallment with mundane topics, especially the news. Śrīla Prabhupāda did not closely follow current events, although he was often aware of top news stories and even included references to such in his writing and lectures. For example, on a flight he saw the *Time* magazine cover story "Crime: Why—and What to do?” He commented on it several times. He also addressed other issues, such as the assassination of President Kennedy, the Vietnam War, and the Watergate political conspiracy. But he was not interested in getting a newspaper subscription. I learned this from a man I met about twenty years ago. He told me that as a boy, he used to deliver the *Los Angeles Times* to the minister's quarters of the church that is now the ISKCON temple in Los Angeles. When ISKCON bought the property and Prabhupāda moved into the residence, the boy kept delivering the papers until the subscription ran out. The man told me he had met Prabhupāda, who seemed to like receiving the paper. But when the subscription soon ran out, Prabhupāda declined the paperboy's request to subscribe. Regarding the wholesale proliferation of the news, Śrīla Prabhupāda later spoke to a gathering of people in India: You don’t see it here, but in America they actually have a big paper shortage. They cut down so many trees to produce newspapers. How many, many pages it is, with so many advertisements, and it is thrown onto the street. And sometimes for days and days it lies there. No one picks it up. It is neglected. In my childhood the newspaper weighed four to five pounds. My mother and her father were newspaper editors. My father was a reporter and photographer, and his father was a typesetter for sixty years. My aunt drew pictures for newspaper advertisements. At family or social gatherings, they would often complain or tell stories about their work. The news and their roles in the news business seemed to have stolen their weary minds. I admired their courage and dedication, but after some years of practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I came to see that my beloved, hardworking family were victims of the miners’ mentality. *How to See* Śrīla Prabhupāda's often disparaging remarks about newspapers might suggest that, for the sake of strictly observing spiritual practice, devotees of Kṛṣṇa should disregard what is happening in the world around them. But the Vedic literature teaches that devotees must observe the world around them and see things correctly. Spiritual authorities throughout the ages repeatedly warn us not to observe this world (and the news of it) with our naked eye alone. In his purport to *Śrī Ishopanishad*, *Mantra* 6, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: The naked eye cannot see anything properly, due to its material defectiveness. One cannot see properly unless he has heard from a superior source. And the highest source is the Vedic wisdom spoken by the Lord Himself. This truth is coming in disciplic succession from the Lord to Brahma, from Brahma to Narada, from Narada to Vyasa, and from Vyasa to many of his disciples. With the naked eye we may see a miner or a preacher, a newspaper editor or a movie star, but in fact we have not seen the persons at all, not as the *acharyas* see them. For that matter we may visit a news website but in fact not learn about the news at all, not from the spiritual perspective. So it becomes the devotee’s duty, as well as pleasure, to ask himself, "How to see this? How would my spiritual master process this information?" By reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and hearing recorded conversations with him, we can get excellent examples of this. Śrīla Prabhupāda artfully included references to the top news of his day in his writings and lectures. For example, in a lecture to his young audience in New York in 1966, Prabhupāda poignantly addressed their well-meaning proclivity to march and protest against the Vietnam War: This world is full of danger. At any moment things may become chaotic. Why, you young people, are you waging these war protests? Because you can perceive that there will be danger. This war is danger. But although you may protest this war, still you must go on fighting. From the very moment of our birth, we are fighting with material nature. From the moment of our birth we are dying. So why do you want to stop war? Why stop war if life and death are not at all within your hands? This cannot at all satisfy you young boys and girls. It will be better to make a spiritual solution to this birth and death. Śrīla Prabhupāda well knew that his listeners were constantly hearing about the war in Vietnam. They had a certain way of looking at the situation, but he had Kṛṣṇa’s perspective. *The Power of Hearing* Most people want to communicate with others, and this often involves hearing, reading, or discussing information. We want the latest breaking news, the relevant and the sensational. Śrīla Rupa Goswami has poetically put forth instructions on this topic in his short, powerful treatise *The Nectar of Instruction.* He labels the tendency to discuss mundane subjects “the urge to speak.” A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind’s demands, the actions of anger, and the urges of the tongue, belly, and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world. (*The* *Nectar of Instruction,* Text 1) In lieu of making material topics one’s focus, a sober person will tolerate the urge to speak about mundane affairs and instead choose to engage his mind in self-realization by studying and discussing spiritual topics. Devotees do not wish to hear from people surrendered to the material urges Rupa Goswami mentions. Anything less than hearing from a sober devotee of the Lord can distract us from the goal of focus on Kṛṣṇa. Newspapers, magazines, television, the Internet—all are a grand intriguing production of people’s urge to speak. *The* minute we put ourselves in contact with them, we access a Pandora’s box. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "A toad in a field speaks by croaking, and similarly everyone who has a tongue wants to speak, even if all he has to say is nonsense. *The* croaking of the toad, however, simply invites the snake: 'Please come here and eat me.' Nevertheless, although it is inviting death, the toad goes on croaking." (*The* *Nectar of Instruction*, Text 1, Purport) To talk and listen is our natural urge. If gagged for only one hour, we may find the situation intolerable. An illness that takes away our speaking or hearing makes us feel helpless. Śrīla Rupa Goswami questions the quality of our speech. Do we have time to uselessly croak? We have a human life with which to perfect our spiritual understanding, and the way we use our power of hearing and speaking very much determines just how our mentality evolves as the years go by. Murder, war, terrorism, the stock market, natural catastrophes—these are all products of the incredible deluding power of Kṛṣṇa’s material energy, and we can learn from studying them. But focusing on these topics alone is dangerous. It increases our association with the ignorant nature of this world and conditions us to it. Should we hear about these dry, banal, pitiful topics as our daily fare? *Electronic Miners’ Mentality* My newspaper family has passed on. The *Los Angeles Times*, with its smaller dimensions and only thirty-some pages, seems like a shrunken head to me. Commentators say it shrank because it cannot compete with electronic media. Some studies say that modern generations do not care to read as deeply as previous ones; they are blogging, surfing, Googling, i-Tuning, streaming, YouTubing. The miners’ mentality carries on in a glittering electronic version. Instead of “No newspapers?” we hear, “Is the Internet down?” What is being dispersed through cyberspace to billions of screens is basically the same fodder that was offered in the newspapers of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s time. Meanwhile, the devotee's task remains how to see. As a welder dons a protective mask before igniting a torch, the devotee dons a spiritual eye before opening a laptop. Our naked eye must be equipped with the corrective lens of *shastra-cakshuh*—"the eye of scripture"—to observe this world like our previous *acharyas*. The eye of a pure devotee is the eye of the pure spiritual self. The clarity with which we see the form of this material world in news reports corresponds to our degree of purification by our practice of devotional service to the pure devotee. What we see with material eyeballs is an illusion. Actual seeing takes place in the heart of a pure Vaishnava. *Kṛṣṇa's Media* One of the great *acharyas*, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura, the spiritual master of Śrīla Prabhupāda, published a daily newspaper in India called *Nadiya Prakasha*. It was full of information about Kṛṣṇa consciousness as well as spiritual observation of current topics. A politician once asked him how he could come up with enough material to fill a newspaper with spiritual topics every day. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati replied that the information coming from the spiritual world is so dynamic that a spiritual newspaper could be published every minute. Computer software and the Internet have become powerful instruments in devotional service to the Lord. Kṛṣṇa's images and the immense treasure of Vedic knowledge were formerly not as portable or researchable as they are now. Many valuable Kṛṣṇa conscious websites are helping to prove the truth of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati's remark that news of the spiritual world can be published at every moment. Still, the Internet is rife with material that can harm our spiritual lives. But if we stick to Kṛṣṇa’s message, we can be like the swan, which can separate milk from a mixture of milk and water. We can be enlivened by nectarous messages on the Internet and avoid the trash that is the pilgrimage site for crows. If we do this, someday the mundane world coming to us through our glowing screen will fade to dark in the realization of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s illumination. What is a glowworm in the daylight? What is a candle to the sun? The narrow miners’ mentality will gradually fade. Kṛṣṇa’s handsome, bold radiance will put the forms, names, sounds, and illuminations of this world in their proper perspective. *Karuna Dharini Devī Dāsī, a disciple of His Grace Virabahu Dāsa, serves the Deities at ISKCON Los Angeles, where she joined ISKCON in 1979. She lives with her husband and daughter.* ## Devastation by Disinformation *We can learn valuable lessons from the actions of Kaikeyi, who was drawn into her maidservant's cunning scheme.* *by Chaitanya Charana Dāsa* One of the most heartwrenching events in the entire *Ramayana* is the conspiracy that led to the exile of Rama. From the devotional perspective, this pastime brings forth the exalted spiritual emotion of love in separation. From the cosmic administration’s perspective, it triggers the chain of events that culminate in Rama’s fulfilling the purpose of His descent: ending Ravana’s reign of terror. Simultaneously, from the ethical perspective, the pastime illustrates our human vulnerability to disinformation—it shows how even good people can get misled into doing terrible things. In our culture, many vested interests promote their self-serving ends through systematic disinformation campaigns. So, a close look at this *Ramayana* pastime can help us combat disinformation. *A Mission of Manipulation* This story unfolded in the city of Ayodhya, the capital of the kings of the solar dynasty. Dasharatha, the reigning monarch, had ruled virtuously for many years. On seeing his old age approaching, he felt inspired to transfer power to a worthy successor, his oldest son, Rama. To formalize this decision, he called an extended assembly of courtiers and leading citizens from various classes. The assembly unanimously approved his decision. They resolved that the process for succession begin the very next morning. The *Ramayana’s* spotlight shifts from this jubilant public setting to a private setting: the inner chambers of the palace of Kaikeyi, Dasharatha’s youngest wife. Kaikeyi's beauty had made her the king’s favorite queen, displacing the senior queen, Kaushalya. Despite the inevitable tensions created by such a power shift, the overall family atmosphere remained cordial. Neither Kaushalya nor Kaikeyi bore any malice towards the other. Their respective sons, Rama and Bharata, as well as the two other siblings, Lakshmana and Satrughna (sons of an intermediate queen, Sumitra), lived in cheerful fraternal amity. This familial harmony was destroyed in one night during which a self-interested person launched a mission of manipulation. That dark instigator was Manthara, an elderly hunchbacked maidservant of Kaikeyi. This spinster-schemester wanted to maintain at all costs her privileged position in the royal palace as the favorite maidservant of the king’s favorite queen. She feared that if Rama became the king, his mother would become the foremost dowager and Kaikeyi would be relegated to the position of just another member in the royal family. This would downgrade Manthara to the level of just another maidservant. Manthara's hunchback had sometimes made her the butt of jokes, which she bitterly resented. Such banter had stopped with her ascension to a prominent position in the royal staff. Dreading a return to a position of insignificance and scorn, she decided to use her wiles on Kaikeyi and somehow stop the transfer of power. When Manthara informed Kaikeyi about Rama’s upcoming succession, Kaikeyi became joyful and gifted her maidservant a jewel necklace for bringing such good news. But Manthara hurled the necklace on the ground and called her mistress a naive fool for not seeing what was happening. She said that the haste with which the succession ceremony was being executed, especially during the absence of Bharata, pointed to a conspiracy for depriving the absent prince of power. Actually, Bharata’s absence at that time was simply a happenstance. Moreover, Bharata, being the youngest son, had no claim to the throne, which was meant to go by primogeniture to the oldest son, Rama. Such facts notwithstanding, Manthara exploited the coincidence of Bharata’s absence to sow a seed of suspicion in Kaikeyi’s heart. And then she watered that seed well into the night with a dystopian tale spun from her imagination: A vindictive Kaushalya would have Kaikeyi reduced to a veritable serving maid; and a despotic Rama would have Bharata incarcerated, if not executed. By the end of Manthara’s diatribe, Kaikeyi was ready to do anything to stop the “conspiracy.” Seeing her readiness, her maid suggested that she use an old promise by the king that he would grant her two wishes. Kaikeyi soon agreed to ask that first, Bharata be designated as the royal heir, and second, that Rama be exiled to the forest for fourteen years. Manthara anticipated that the king would vehemently oppose his beloved son’s banishment. So she warned Kaikeyi to not go soft on that demand—only when Rama was outside the kingdom and indeed outside any position of political power would Bharata be able to consolidate his hold on the throne. *Hard Heart Breaks Hearts* What followed was a collision between Kaikeyi’s heart and Dasharatha’s heart. While the king’s heart was soft at the prospect of the coronation, his queen’s heart had become harder than stone by her believing the conspiracy theory. When their hearts collided, the impact left the king heartbroken. Late in the night, Dasharatha finished overseeing the arrangements for the next day's ceremony. Wanting to share his joy with his favorite queen, he went to her palace. When she reminded him of his past promise, he unsuspectingly reiterated his commitment to honor it. But when he heard her two wishes, he was petrified and collapsed in a swoon. On returning to consciousness, he realized that the nightmare was real. He strove feverishly to deter his wife from her ruthless resolve. Finally, he broke down into piteous tears and fell begging at her feet—both actions utterly uncharacteristic of a monarch. Yet Kaikeyi remained unmoved by her husband’s desperate pleas. Being bound by his word of honor, the king was forced to grant her wishes. But being horrified to see that his loving wife had become an unfeeling ogress, he disowned her. In a voice choked with agony and fury, he declared that with the granting of her wishes, his obligation to her was over, as was his relationship with her. Despite hearing such a dreadful declaration, Kaikeyi still remained unrelenting. Her heart had become so cold and hard that it had no room left for anything except her scheme: No room for any conjugal affection for her husband. No room for any maternal affection for her stepson Rama, who accepted the grievous diktat against him with disarming grace. No room for feminine concern for her daughter-in-law Sita, who had to don rough tree-bark to join her husband in His exile. No room for respect for the venerable royal priest Vasishtha, who implored her to desist from her nefarious plan. And no room for fear of public censure as the shocked courtiers and citizens condemned her. After Rama departed for the forest, the aggrieved Dasharatha found separation from Him unbearable. Even more agonizing was the thought that he himself had sentenced his son to exile. This sentence was reserved for the worst of criminals, being just one level below execution. And he had meted out that brutal sentence to one who had done no wrong, to one whom he should have protected, to one who had been born from his own blood. Crushed by anguish, Dasharatha’s broken heart broke down totally—he breathed his last. The whole kingdom sank into gloom at this double loss of both their cherished prince and their revered monarch. *The Imaginary Bharata Versus the Real Bharata* Manthara had exploited the fissures between co-wives to set off a catastrophic earthquake. That quake had now given rise to a tsunami that inundated the whole of Ayodhya with agony. Yet not one drop of that ocean touched Kaikeyi’s heart. Her transmogrification from wise, kind, and gentle to foolish, cruel, and harsh is astonishing. Given that she was not innately evil, how did she justify to herself her horrendous actions? By masking them in the garb of vigilant maternal concern. She imagined that she was doing all this for her son Bharata, who, being absent, couldn’t protect his interests. She believed her maternal rationalization so completely that nothing else mattered to her—no one’s words, emotions, or actions could dent her resolve. Yet her justification couldn’t but crumble to powder when debunked by the very person it claimed to defend: Bharata. Kaikeyi’s son had anxiously hastened to Ayodhya, being summoned by Vasishtha, who was officiating as the provisional head of state. On arriving in Ayodhya, Bharata saw the once cheery city looking dreary, like a ghost town. Feeling deep misgivings, he rushed to his mother’s chambers, expecting to meet both his parents there. On seeing his mother, he offered her his respects and enquired about his father’s wellbeing. Kaikeyi recounted her own version of events, stressing how she had done so much to protect Bharata’s right to the kingdom. Bharata was too sharp to fall for such spin doctoring. Hearing about his father’s demise and his brother’s exile left him shaken. Hearing that his own mother had caused these calamities left him shattered. Hearing her claiming that she had done all this for his sake left him sickened. He found his mother’s words so revolting that he felt sorely tempted to violate the *kshatriya* code that one should not raise one’s hand against a woman. Somehow checking himself, he poured his fury out in words. Castigating his unrepentant mother, he deemed her an evil witch born for the destruction of their dynasty. Kaikeyi heard her son’s denunciation with disbelief and dismay. She had imagined a Bharata who lauded her actions. When the real Bharata condemned those very actions, she realized to her horror that the Bharata who lauded her was nothing more than her imagination. As that imaginary Bharata died a quick death, so did her rationalization. And the monstrosity of what she had done hit her with the force of a thousand thunderbolts. She repented fervently, begging for Bharata’s forgiveness. She even went with him to the forest to second his request that Rama return and reclaim the throne. But it was too late—the juggernaut had already gained a fearsome momentum and nothing, not even its first pusher, could stop it. How did Kaikeyi become so misled? By a double blunder: she believed uncritically whatever Manthara told her, and she didn’t seek any second opinion. She let herself be so persuaded by just one person’s view that she rejected everyone else’s advice. *Don't Just Talk About Others—Talk With Others* As Kaikeyi had her Manthara, we too may have people who seem to be our well-wishers but who end up coming between us and our actual well-wishers. Meddling relatives come between affectionate couples. Envious colleagues come between a team member and a team leader. By drawing an imaginary line between unconnected events and planting unwarranted suspicions in our heart, such disinformers may paint the grim picture that we will soon be betrayed. Once our paranoia is triggered, we may end up becoming the betrayer, as Kaikeyi did. When someone casts an aspersion on a loved one, rather than believing the accuser, we need to give the accused a chance to respond. A common blunder is to talk about people rather than with people. If Kaikeyi had talked with Dasharatha as soon as the doubt had risen in her mind, things would have been amicably clarified and resolved. But instead of talking with Dasharatha, she talked about Dasharatha with Manthara. Or rather, she let Manthara talk about him to her. And because Kaikeyi heard uncritically from Manthara, Kaikeyi’s suspicion became a conviction. And with that conviction, she convicted Dasharatha in the court of her heart without giving him any chance to defend himself. She became the plaintiff, the plaintiff’s lawyer, the judge, and the jury all rolled into one. Actually, the reality was worse—she was just a bystander persuaded to become a plaintiff and then give power of attorney to Manthara. And Manthara, acting as the plaintiff’s lawyer, the judge, and the jury, found Dasharatha guilty—a verdict Kaikeyi naively accepted. While it is easy to condemn Manthara and even Kaikeyi, it is more helpful to introspect about times when we ourselves might have acted like them, and how we could have avoided or at least minimized conflicts by seeking clarifications. A note of caution: Clarifications need to be sought in a nonaccusatory way. If others don't have any inkling of where we are coming from, then just voicing the suspicion may hurt them grievously. So, instead of making a value judgment of any kind, we can just present facts and seek explanations. If Kaikeyi had gently asked Dasharatha why he was appointing his successor so hastily in the absence of Bharata, Dasharatha would have explained the jolting reminders of his mortality. And Kaikeyi’s apprehensions would have been allayed without her needing to even voice them, let alone act on them. In fact, hearing his concern might well have brought her closer to him at a spiritual level as they prepared together to accept the retired order of *vanaprastha*. But instead of seeking clarification, Kaikeyi presumed Dasharatha's motivation, thereby bringing a calamity on the dynasty and the kingdom. Instead of unwittingly bringing a similar calamity on our relationships, we can seek clarification by objectively presenting facts and gently soliciting explanations. *Spiritual Empowerment* To protect ourselves from disinformation, we need to strengthen our intellectual and ethical muscles. With stronger intellects, we can penetrate to the actual beyond the apparent, thereby discerning the disingenuousness in disinformation. With better ethical muscles, we can resist the promises of quick pleasure that disinformationists dangle to make us lower our guard. The process of *bhakti-yoga* helps us strengthen both these muscles. Devotional study of scripture sharpens our discerning power and hones our intellectual muscles. Devotional remembrance of Kṛṣṇa provides a higher inner fulfillment that empowers us to say no to lower temptations. Unfortunately, disinformation is so pervasive that it can distort our perception of *bhakti-yoga* too. With a barrage of half-truths and untruths about spirituality and spiritual organizations, disinformation can assault our sacred faith. We can best protect our faith by entirely avoiding such anti-devotional propagandists. But if we somehow hear from them, we shouldn’t let their opinions determine our spiritual decisions. By seeking clarification from trustworthy spiritual mentors, we can get a balanced understanding that protects our faith in *bhakti’s* potency. Disinformation threatens us not just externally (from others) but also internally (from our own mind). If we compare Ayodhya with our heart, then Manthara is like the mind. The mind comes up with the deadly duo of doubt and desire: doubt paralyzes our devotion, and desire aggravates our worldly infatuation. Being misled by the mind, we become like Kaikeyi and exile the Lord from our heart. To counter the mind’s insinuations, we need to meticulously avoid the two mistakes Kaikeyi made. First, we need to avoid hearing the mind uncritically. Unfortunately, the mind is always with us and it always has the opportunity to spin its self-serving yarn—so, we need to be constantly vigilant. Second, if the mind’s persuasion starts swaying us from our moral and spiritual principles, we need to counter it with the enlightening voices of *guru-sadhu-shastra*. We can take both these precautions by conscientiously engaging ourselves in devotional service. By such absorbing spiritual engagement, we will preempt the mind’s misleading stratagems and will instead be led by timeless wisdom towards our all-round well-being. *Chaitanya Charana Dāsa*,* a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānath Swami*,* holds a degree in electronic and telecommunications engineering and serves full time at ISKCON Mumbai. He is a BTG associate editor and the author of sixteen books. To read his other articles or to receive his daily reflection on the* Bhagavad-gītā*,* "Gita-Daily*,*" *visit thespiritualscientist.com.* ## Śrīla Prabhupāda: Our Founder-Ācārya *Fictional Prabhupādas* While developing a personal relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda, it is important to dispel impersonal and sentimental misconceptions we may have about him. *by Sureshvara Dāsa* To honor the fiftieth anniversary of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s incorporation of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, BTG presents Part Nine of a ten-part series celebrating Śrīla Prabhupāda’s unique, transcendental position in ISKCON, as well as every follower’s foundational relationship with him. Studying Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings without studying his life and how he lived and applied those teachings is impersonal. And becoming attached to Prabhupāda’s personality without studying and following his teachings is sentimental. Both approaches give us a “fictional Prabhupāda” we should avoid. Let’s look at some examples—some obvious, some not. *Impersonal Fictions* “Prabhupāda is God” Strange as it sounds, this fiction once possessed some of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s leading disciples. It happened during the summer of 1970. That spring Prabhupāda had countered a threat to his movement. While expanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the Americas and Europe, he was meeting resistance in India. Some inimical swamis were trying to prevent ISKCON from acquiring land in Māyāpur, the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya.1 Worse, they were spreading a minimized view of Prabhupāda, which was affecting the faith of some of his leading disciples in America. To counter the threat, Śrīla Prabhupāda formed a Governing Body Commission of trusted leaders, whom he would train to manage the movement’s worldwide preaching in his absence.2 After correcting the misled leaders, he deployed four of them as *sannyasis*,3 to travel and preach with full faith in *guru* and Kṛṣṇa. As the young renunciants toured ISKCON America that summer, the gravity of their offense to Prabhupāda weighed on them. Mortified at how they had been minimizing his position, they began to maximize him, even deify him, citing scriptural references that the spiritual master is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa Himself. In late August the four traveled to New Vrindaban,4 West Virginia, for the Janmashtami/Vyasa-puja festivals5 and the largest gathering of ISKCON devotees to date. The *sannyasis'* apocalyptic message: Prabhupāda is God, Kṛṣṇa, and because we haven’t recognized him, he has rejected us and gone back to India. Without understanding that Prabhupāda is God, our chanting is useless. Their preaching so disturbed the devotees that the Governing Body phoned Prabhupāda for guidance. Prabhupāda thundered his reply: “They have committed the greatest offense. There is only one thing worse than underestimating the *guru*—overestimating the *guru*. They have said I am God. Therefore, if I am God, they also can become God. This is impersonalism.” (*Rādhā-Damodara Vilasa I*, Eleventh Wave: “New Vrindavan Shakedown.” From author Vaiyasaki Dāsa’s interview with Madhudvisha Dāsa) Banishing the offenders from his Society, Prabhupāda said they could return if they separately opened centers, inspired people to take up devotional service, and preached the truth: the spiritual master is not God. God is God. The genuine spiritual master is God’s authorized representative. Any so-called spiritual master who says he’s God is as good as a dog. *End of fiction.* “ISKCON is Prabhupāda” Although less obvious than the previous fiction, the giveaway *is* *is*. To equate ISKCON in all respects with Śrīla Prabhupāda repeats the impersonal flaw of oneness without difference. Prabhupāda’s oft-quoted statement on the subject *is* flawless: “ISKCON *is* my body.” Although th*is* quotation was never recorded, reliable earwitness testimony *is* abundant, and the following letter excerpt says the same thing: “You are all my limbs of my body. Unless you cooperate, my life will be useless.” (Letter to Brahmananda Dāsa, 17 July 1968) Indeed, whenever Prabhupāda’s followers don’t cooperate, a part of his ISKCON body falls ill. And if the noncooperation becomes systemic, all of ISKCON falls ill. The unfailing cure: re-immersion in Prabhupāda’s life, teachings, mood, and mission, especially his admonition to cooperate. Interestingly, Prabhupāda also rejected as material this fiction’s inverse—“Prabhupāda is ISKCON”: “Suppose if I say, ‘I am everything in this, my institution,’ does it mean I have lost my personality? No, no . . . If somebody says that ‘Bhaktivedanta Swami is everything,’ does it mean I have lost my personality? That is material understanding.” (Conversation with college students, London, 11 July 1973) As ISKCON’s founder-*acharya*, Śrīla Prabhupāda is certainly ISKCON. At the same time, everything in ISKCON doesn’t equal Śrīla Prabhupāda, his Society’s life and soul. As the philosopher Emerson once observed, “An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man.” “The Governing Body Commission is Prabhupāda” This fiction reflects an impersonal understanding of the first item Śrīla Prabhupāda declared in his will: “The Governing Body Commission (GBC) will be the ultimate managing authority of the entire International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.” (Declaration of Will, 4 June 1977) The fiction lies in the way Prabhupāda’s GBC trainees understood his faith in their collective capacity to manage, a faith he several times expressed. Sometime after he signed the will, for instance, Prabhupāda called for his personal secretary in the middle of the night. The secretary’s diary discloses what happened next: He could not sleep; thinking of the will had kept him up. “Amongst the GBC, have you selected one after me who will succeed?” I replied that we felt that we should manage together as a group, that none of us was more qualified than the others. “Yes, each of you can be *acharya* of your zone.” (*TKG’s Diary: Prabhupāda’s Final Days*, entry for 27 June 1977) *Acharya*, but not the founder-*acharya*—a vital distinction it would take the Governing Body years to assert. After Prabhupāda’s passing, regional imitations of his pivotal position threatened to turn ISKCON’s zones into sectarian camps. The offenses devastated many. While the imitation was abating, the GBC began to reflect on Prabhupāda’s mandate for the Body. In March 2013 the GBC published its matured realization about Prabhupāda’s will that the Governing Body Commission be the Society’s “ultimate managing authority”: When we use the word “authority” in the context of the managerial structure, we do not mean an absolute, infallible authority—such as the authority of scripture—but the mandate to organize the preaching movement so that it is aligned with the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda. (*Harmonizing ISKCON’s Lines of Authority*, GBC policy paper, March 2013) In sum, “The GBC is Prabhupāda” is a fiction because it is incomplete, seeing the oneness but ignoring the difference between Śrīla Prabhupāda and his managerial body, the Governing Body Commission. “Prabhupāda is the *guru* only of his initiated disciples” A hangover from ISKCON’s “zonal-*acharya*” era, this impersonal fiction arose from ignorance of the founder-*acharya*’s personal, foundational role in the lives of all generations of his followers. In 1994, as Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Centennial year was approaching, the GBC began to present a deeper understanding of Prabhupāda’s position by passing the first of several founder-*acharya* resolutions. The resolution began as follows: “Śrīla Prabhupāda is the foundational *shiksha-guru*6 for all ISKCON devotees because he has realized and presented the teachings of the previous *acharya*s of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya *sampradaya*7 appropriately for the modern age.” (1994 GBC Resolution No. 35, “The Founder-Acharya Statement”) At ISKCON Māyāpur, some five months after this resolution was passed, the day of Prabhupāda’s Vyasa-puja arrived. As the sun rose outside the temple, a Prabhupāda initiate was chanting on his beads when he noticed a young devotee had stopped chanting to have a morning snack. Tactfully, he approached the young man. “Oh, Prabhu,8 maybe you didn’t know. We’re fasting till noon today for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Vyasa-puja.” Squinting into the sun, the snacker was blunt: “You say that because Prabhupāda is your spiritual master; he’s not my spiritual master.” And with that he went back to his snack. Incredulous, the Prabhupāda initiate didn’t know what to say, so he just walked away. “I guess no one told him about that founder-*acharya* resolution,” he pondered. “To give meaning to its legislation, our Governing Body needs to follow up with education.” Fortunately that’s happening now, so to continue our study, we’ll identify and dispel some sentimental fictions about Śrīla Prabhupāda. *Sentimental Fictions* “Illusory Prabhupāda” This fiction draws its title from ISKCON educator Bhurijana Dāsa’s account of what happened while he and his wife, Jagatarini Dasi, were pioneering Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Hong Kong. To attract Chinese people to Kṛṣṇa in the early 1970s, Prabhupāda had allowed Bhurijana and Jagatarini to adjust their appearance and dress. As guests started coming to their programs, more adjustments followed—in their food, music, mood, and decor—which in turn attracted more guests. The Chinese were becoming devotees. As they adapted their outreach, however, Bhurijana and his wife also began to neglect their spiritual practices. Resting and rising later, they were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa without the support and focus the quiet, early morning hours provide. They thought themselves too busy to study Prabhupāda’s books, and material desires began to reenter their hearts. But flush with success, they imagined they still had Prabhupāda’s approval. Then an aerogram arrived. In two weeks Prabhupāda would be arriving in Hong Kong, his secretary wrote, so get ready. By the time Prabhupāda arrived, Bhurijana and Jagatarini had prepared a beautiful rose garland and arranged a fancy hotel room. After picking him up in a Rolls Royce, they expressed to Prabhupāda how wonderful it was to see him again. Turning to Bhurijana, Prabhupāda was grave: “What is your morning program?” “Well, Prabhupāda, we don’t really have so many guests coming in the morning right now, so we usually don’t have much of a morning program.” *Prabhupāda disapproved.* “Guests may or may not be coming, but why don’t you have a morning program? Whose disciple are you?” Shaken awake, Bhurijana realized he had become a disciple of illusion. I had been imagining a Prabhupāda that allowed a compromise of purity and Kṛṣṇa conscious practices. When I was suddenly confronted by the real Prabhupāda, the illusory Prabhupāda dissolved like mist after sunrise. Prabhupāda, as he himself said, was “90% liberal,” but that other 10% was strict. (Bhurijana Dāsa, *My Glorious Master*) Despite his disciples’ preaching success, Prabhupāda knew if they continued to neglect their spiritual practices, they would gradually succumb to the Lord’s illusory energy. To avoid becoming illusory disciples of an “illusory Prabhupāda,” we need to continue living in the clear light of his protective instructions. “Figurehead Prabhupāda” Not long ago Queen Elizabeth II became England’s longest-serving monarch. And perhaps the most popular one too, as the adoring crowds on her jubilee tours have attested. Yet the queen has no real authority over her people, no parliamentary power like the prime minister. Elizabeth’s influence is purely sentimental because, like almost all monarchs today, she is a figurehead. By contrast, when Prabhupāda toured ISKCON as the founder-*acharya*, he wielded absolute authority over his disciples. He did this by the transcendental knowledge he revealed as well as his own endearing example of pure devotional service. Keen to see his knowledge and example inspire all generations of his followers, Prabhupāda took steps to protect his foundational role in ISKCON. One step was the introduction of his daily *guru-puja*.9 In April 1974 after his morning walk on Bombay’s Juhu Beach, Prabhupāda went up to the temple as usual to offer his respects to the Deities.10 At that time the devotees would offer flowers both to the Deities and to Prabhupāda. But this morning, in plain view of the Deities, Prabhupāda sat on his dais to receive full worship with his disciples singing *Śrī Guru-vandana*, a traditional Bengali song glorifying the *guru*. The song praises pure service to the *guru* as the way to obtain the full mercy of God. Since Prabhupāda was the only *guru* in ISKCON when he introduced the hymn, his direct disciples had yet to witness its full purport. Today, as successive generations of *guru*s and disciples come together daily to sing to Prabhupāda, the significance of his position as the jagat-*guru*11 continues to grow. Far from being a mere figurehead without real presence in the hearts and minds of his sincere followers, Prabhupāda lives in the core of their very being. *Janme janme prabhu sei*: “He is my lord, birth after birth.” Only failure to follow Prabhupāda’s teachings will leave us with a sentimental, “Figurehead Prabhupāda,” akin to the next despairing fiction. “Gone-Forever Prabhupāda” On July 16, 1975, at a packed press conference in Berkeley, California, a reporter challenged Prabhupāda: “What will happen to the movement when you die?” “I will never die,” Prabhupāda replied. “I shall live in my books, and you will utilize.” If Prabhupāda’s reply sounded defiant, it was also an invitation. To know Kṛṣṇa and transcend death, anyone could read and use the knowledge he was translating and explaining. Especially his followers, who rested as Prabhupāda wrote through the night. The problem, he would chide them, is that they didn’t read his books, where he was making himself most available. As inspirational as Prabhupāda’s personal presence was, his writings speak of a deeper intimacy by following his instructions. In fact, this was his experience while executing the order of his own spiritual master. Although he was only with Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta perhaps a half dozen times, he always felt him to be right by his side: “There is no difference between the spiritual master’s instructions and the spiritual master himself. In his absence, therefore, his words of direction should be the pride of the disciple.” (*Śrī Chaitanya-charitamrita, Ādi* 1.35, Purport) Although Prabhupāda’s form and initiations were certainly divine, it is his everlasting instructions that sustain us over time. “He lives forever by his divine instructions, and the follower lives with him.”12 “Living still in sound,”13 Prabhupāda will now dispel one more forever fiction. *“Diksha-guru Forever Prabhupāda”* In the 1980s this sentimental fiction arose to challenge the zonal **acharya*s* in ISKCON who were imitating the position of the founder-*acharya*. I call this imitation FAD, the Founder-*Acharya* Disease, which blocked devotees’ foundational relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda. But to counter that abuse by saying the founder-*acharya* appointed himself as everyone’s perpetual *diksha-guru* betrays ignorance of Prabhupāda’s consistent teachings. “Keep trained up very rigidly and then you are a bona fide *Guru*, and you can accept disciples on the same principle. But as a matter of etiquette it is the custom that during the lifetime of your spiritual master you bring the prospective disciples to him, and in his absence or disappearance you can accept disciples without any limitation. This is the law of disciplic succession. I want to see my disciples become bona fide Spiritual Master and spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness very widely, that will make me and Kṛṣṇa very happy.” (Letter to Tushta Kṛṣṇa Dāsa, 2 December 1975) Further: “Because people are in darkness, we require many millions of **guru*s* to enlighten them. Therefore Chaitanya 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, 21 May 1976, Honolulu) Since Prabhupāda and Lord Chaitanya want everyone to qualify themselves as spiritual masters, avoiding FAD, or even the pride of becoming a regular *guru*, may seem difficult. In the following lecture excerpt, Prabhupāda reveals the service attitude of a true spiritual master: “A spiritual master takes his disciples as his spiritual master. That is the position. He thinks that ‘Kṛṣṇa has sent me so many spiritual masters.’ He does not think himself as spiritual master. He thinks himself their servant. Because they have to be trained. Kṛṣṇa has appointed him to train them. Therefore he thinks himself as servant of the disciples. This is the position.” (Lecture, 23 October 1972, Vrindavan) Full immersion in our founder-*acharya’s* life, teachings, mood, and mission is the best prevention for FAD, or any “*guru* complex.” And when FAD is absent, so is the sentimental fiction it spawns, “Diksha-*guru* Forever Prabhupāda.” *NOTES* 1. Māyāpur, in West Bengal, India, is the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya, Kṛṣṇa’s "Golden Avatar." 2. *Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmrita*, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, Chapter 31: "A Threat Against ISKCON." 3. A renunciant whose preaching is enriched with knowledge and detachment. 4. The first ISKCON rural community, founded in 1968 and named after Vrindavan, India, the village where Lord Kṛṣṇa sported as a boy. 5. Back-to-back festivals on the ISKCON calendar celebrating the advent anniversaries of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Śrīla Prabhupāda. 6. A *shiksha-guru* is an instructing spiritual master. 7. A *sampradaya* is a spiritual community or tradition. 8. Prabhu means “master” and is the way devotees formally address one another. By serving the Lord’s devotees, one pleases the Lord. 9. *Guru-puja* is the ceremony to formally worship the spiritual master. 10. Deities are forms of God authorized by scripture and worshiped by devotees. 11. A *jagat-*guru** ("world-*guru*") is a *guru* of *guru*s, a universal teacher. 12. From the Dedication page in the First Canto of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam*. 13. “Living still in sound” is a phrase from a verse Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura inscribed on the sacred tomb of Śrīla Haridasa Ṭhākura. In the next issue . . . Unencumbered by impersonal and sentimental misconceptions about Śrīla Prabhupāda, we are now free to cultivate our own unique, foundational relationship with him as his eternal loving servants. *Sureshvara 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-acharya.” To find out how to bring the series to your area, please write to Sureshvara at [email protected].* ## Are We Bound or Free? *by Vishakha Devī Dāsī* *A discussion on the options for the soul under the influence of Kṛṣṇa's material energy.* A controversy arose during a Sunday discussion at ISKCON's Saranagati Village, in British Columbia, Canada. Some devotees quoted a famous *Bhagavad-gītā* verse (3.27) where Kṛṣṇa says, “The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of nature [goodness, passion, and ignorance].” In other words, they said, although a person may think he or she is making choices, in fact those “choices” are chosen and that “freedom” is an illusion. We’re bound. Other devotees read from another section of the *Gita* where Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “If one wants, he can develop, by practice, the mode of goodness and thus defeat the modes of ignorance and passion. One can similarly develop the mode of passion and defeat goodness and ignorance. Or one can develop the mode of ignorance and defeat goodness and passion. Although there are these three modes of nature, if one is determined he can be blessed by the mode of goodness.” (*Gita* 14.10, Purport) In other words, they said, we're not bound, because according to our desires, we choose how to act. Prabhupāda's purports to the *Śrīmad-*Bhag*avatam* contain similar apparently contradictory statements: “The conditioned soul is forced to act under the pressure of the modes of material nature. The living entity has no independence.” (*Bhag*. 3.27.2, Purport) And on the other side: “One has to act in such a way that in spite of being in the material nature he is not affected by contamination.” (*Bhag*. 3.27.21, Purport) So, are we forced to act by material nature, or do we freely choose how we act? *The answer is multifaceted.* Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that spirit is independent, or free, and matter is dependent, or bound. (*Life Comes from Life*, Chapter 8) In this world, all living things are spiritual beings—spirit souls—encased in a material body. Lower species are completely controlled by the body they’re in and so, by God’s arrangement, are not responsible for their acts: they don’t incur *karma*. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Animals, birds, reptiles, and other lower life forms strictly adhere to the laws of nature; therefore there is no question of sin for them, nor are the Vedic instructions meant for them. Human life alone is a life of responsibility.” (*Śrī Ishopanishad*, *Mantra* 1, Purport) Kṛṣṇa gifts humans with intelligence, and according to Śrīla Madhvacharya, persons above the age of fourteen are considered capable of distinguishing between good and bad and are thus culpable for their pious or sinful actions. (*Bhag*. 11.21.16, Purport) If we, whether devotees or nondevotees, are responsible for our acts, then it is only fair and logical that we are independently choosing what those acts will be. In other words, if we were forced to act, as the lower species are, then the law of *karma* would be unjust—we would be punished for doing what’s beyond our control. If our actions were impelled by Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa would be responsible for our good and bad actions. By making some of us to do good action, resulting in enjoyment, and some do bad, resulting in suffering, Kṛṣṇa would be partial and cruel. And if He were responsible for our actions, the reward or punishment for them should go to Him. Although Kṛṣṇa is the supreme controller and the ultimate doer, He does not accept responsibility for what happens to us. “The Supreme Lord does not assume anyone's sinful or pious activities.” (*Gita* 5.15) If material nature forced us to act, it would be responsible for our actions—and their reactions. But material nature is inert matter. It has no consciousness; it simply facilitates our actions and awards us the fruits of our pious and impious material activities. Material nature is not responsible for what we do. Kṛṣṇa, the cause of all causes, reciprocates our desires by allowing material nature to fulfill them. Although Kṛṣṇa has His own desires for us—He wants us to return to Him—He and material nature, remaining neutral, fulfill our desires. What we desire is our responsibility. According to our desires material nature allows us to act and then rewards or punishes us for our actions. So, regarding our desires, we are the doers. Regarding the facilitation and fruition of our desires, material nature is the doer (this validates *Bhagavad-gītā* 3.27). And Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate sanctioner. In the purport to *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 10.87.25, Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples write: Śrīla Vyasadeva refutes this idea [that the soul is inactive] in the section of the *Vedanta-sutra* (2.3.31–39) that begins, *karta *shastrartha-vattvat**: "The *jiva* soul must be a performer of actions, because the injunctions of scripture must have some purpose." Acharya Baladeva Vidyabhushana, in his *Govinda-bhashya*, explains: "The *jiva*, not the modes of nature, is the doer. Why? Because the injunctions of scripture must have some purpose (*shastrartha-vattvat*). For example, such scriptural injunctions as *svarga-kamo yajeta* ('One who desires to attain to heaven should perform ritual sacrifice') and *atmanam eva lokam upasita* (*Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad* 1.4.15: 'One should worship with the aim of attaining the spiritual kingdom') are meaningful only if a conscious doer exists. If the modes of nature were the doer, these statements would serve no purpose. After all, scriptural injunctions engage the living entity in performing prescribed actions by convincing him that he can act to bring about certain enjoyable results. Such a mentality cannot be aroused in the inert modes of nature." As adult human beings, we are responsible for what we desire. That means we have the ability—the freedom—to choose our desires, whether pious or impious. One student works hard and does well; another with equally good intelligence wastes his time and fails. One manager is friendly, another tyrannical. These are choices we, as individuals, make. As a result we individually reap the good and bad consequences of our choices. *The Plot Thickens* There is more to it, however, than this. One may ask, why does one student choose to be lazy, one manager to be tyrannical? Life is a continuum of birth, death, and rebirth. The body and circumstances we’re in now are not accidents but the results of our actions in previous lives. If in previous lives we ignored scriptural principles and instead tried to control and enjoy this material world, then in this life we will find ourselves proportionately more bound by the modes of material nature that govern this world. The God-given freedom we have as a spiritual being will be more covered. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, “When you are placed into the sea, you have no control. You move according to the waves. This means that there is a power that is controlling you. However, if you put yourself in better circumstances, you will be able to control.” (*The Quest for Enlightenment*, Chapter 6) Thus the more our activities contradict our identity as spiritual beings, the more we’re bound by the forces of material nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance. Due to complex *karmic* reactions, a student is intelligent but lazy, a manager is qualified but demonic. They are awash in the sea, pushed by its waves of passion and ignorance. Yet, they are not helpless. Although limited, they still have freedom. Otherwise, the reactions they accrue for their actions—their *karma*—would be unjust. And there is no injustice in Kṛṣṇa’s creation. This means the lazy student, the ogre manager have the innate free will to overcome their attitudes. The student can become industrious, the manager compassionate. No doubt this change is difficult and takes determination, but it’s not impossible. It can be done and has been. And it’s expected. We are meant to improve. Devotees of Kṛṣṇa are not exempt from the influence of the three modes of material nature. Kapiladeva, the son of Devahuti, explains: There are multifarious paths of devotional service in terms of the different qualities of the executor. Devotional service executed by a person who is envious, proud, violent, and angry, and who is a separatist, is considered to be in the mode of darkness. The worship of Deities in the temple by a separatist, with a motive for material enjoyment, fame, and opulence, is devotion in the mode of passion. When a devotee worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead and offers the results of his activities in order to free himself from the inebrieties of fruitive activities, his devotion is in the mode of goodness. (*Bhag*. 3.29.7–10) This is not to say, however, that devotees and nondevotees are the same, for Kṛṣṇa favors His devotees. He preserves what they have, carries what they lack, gives them the understanding by which they can come to Him, and swiftly delivers them from the ocean of birth and death. “When one desires Kṛṣṇa, the Lord takes special care and encourages one to desire in such a way that one can attain to Him and be eternally happy.” (*Gita* 5.15, Purport) Every one of us has some independence to chalk out the plan of our life. We are not helpless, and nothing is stereotyped. We can change our habits by good or bad association, and we need to become intelligent enough to discriminate between good and bad. We’re the cause of our bondage. “The living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.” (*Gita* 13.21) *Śrīla Prabhupāda explains:* Because he is a living soul, he has the capacity to desire by his free will. Such desire is fulfilled only by the omnipotent Lord. And so, when the living entity is bewildered in his desires, the Lord allows him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never responsible for the actions and reactions of the particular situation which may be desired. Being in a bewildered condition, therefore, the embodied soul identifies himself with the circumstantial material body and becomes subjected to the temporary misery and happiness of life. (*Gita* 5.15, Purport) But we can also desire freedom and eternal happiness. *Transcending the Mode of Goodness* We humans are expected to be sane and to follow scriptural regulations to gradually elevate our consciousness. We cannot annihilate our desires, but we can transform them. In a letter, Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote: You cannot kill the human propensities, but they can be changed for higher purposes. You [spoke] of annihilation of desire, or *vasana*. But you can think on it very wisely if *vasana* can be stopped at all. No. *Vasana* can never be stopped. The *vasana* is an eternal function of the soul, and as the soul is eternal, or *sanatana*, so also is the *vasana*. Therefore *vasana* can be changed only from one object to another. The mind is always a thinking and feeling organ. It does not matter what [it thinks] but it is a fact that it thinks. I am sure that you cannot probably put the mind completely at rest without thinking something. So the quality of thinking, feeling, and willing has to be changed but we may not attempt to kill the mind altogether. That is an impossible fact because the mind acts even after the so-called death or after the annihilation of the material body. (Letter to Ved Prakashji, undated) We can pray to Kṛṣṇa to purify our desires. In the words of the great *acharya* Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, > kanaka-kamini-lobha, pratishtha-vasana > chadaiya shodha more, e mora prarthana “To You I earnestly pray that You reform my greed for wealth and women and my yearning for name and position.” (*Jaiva-dharma*, Chapter 5) In his song "Gopinatha," Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura also fervently prays: O Gopinatha, I can no longer tolerate the pain of ignorance and the cycle of repeated births and deaths. O Gopinatha, I am a confirmed servant of lust. Worldly desires are awakening in my heart, and thus the noose of fruitive work is beginning to tighten. O Gopinatha, when will I wake up and cast this enemy of lust far away, and when will You manifest Yourself in my heart? O Gopinatha, I am Your devotee, but because I abandoned You and thus forgot my real treasure, I have worshiped this mundane world. When we understand the three modes of nature, their influence on us, and their ultimate controller, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and when we act according to His instructions, we become gradually free of the influence of the material modes. Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “By refraining from a particular sinful or materialistic activity, one becomes freed from its bondage.” (*Bhag*. 11.21.18) According to how covered we are by Kṛṣṇa’s external, material energy, we’re that much bound. Thus the apparently contrary statements above are all valid. Śrīla Prabhupāda assures us that if we’re enthusiastic, patient, and determined to follow the process of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, not only can we be blessed by the mode of goodness but we can also transcend goodness and overcome the effects of *karma*. Then all the actions and reactions of our past activities will be nullified. In Kṛṣṇa’s words, “One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” (*Gita* 14.26) And, “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (*Gita* 18.66) Simply by hearing about Kṛṣṇa and His devotees, we will lose our longtime desire to control and enjoy this world, and as we gradually reduce our desire to dominate, we will proportionately enjoy spiritual happiness. A Vedic *mantra* says that as we associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we proportionately relish our eternal blissful life. So, eternal blissful life can be ours if we desire and pray for it. “When will Nityānanda bestow His causeless mercy upon me so that my desire for material enjoyment will become very insignificant? When will that time come?” (Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura, *Lalasamayi Prarthana* 2). By the causeless mercy of our transcendental superiors, our desires will no longer be material, but spiritual. At that time the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance will release their ironlike grip on us. We’ll be completely free. *Vishakha Devī Dāsī has been writing for BTG since 1973. Visit her website at our-spiritual-journey.com.* ## Austerity and Pleasure: Managing Our Sexuality While Waiting for Transcendence *By Urmila Devī Dāsī* *Because sexual desire has a spiritual origin, the practices of* bhakti-yoga *can recover its pure eternal purpose.* **Bhakti*-yoga* gives us the key to the origin of sexuality and its means of total fulfillment. *Yoga* literally means "union." *Bhakti* means loving service. **Bhakti*-yoga*, therefore, means the loving union of the soul with the Supreme Soul. The soul’s deepest desire is for this loving union. Whenever the Lord is ple*a*sed in *a*ny w*a*y, He *a*nd His ple*a*s*u*re energy reciproc*a*te. Kṛṣṇ*a* is the *u*ltim*a*te m*a*sc*u*line, *a*nd His ple*a*s*u*re energy is His feminine co*u*nterp*a*rt, Rādhārāṇī. When there is *yog*a**, or *u*nion, of the S*u*preme So*u*l with His ple*a*s*u*re energy, this *yog*a** *a*lso gives f*u*ll enjoyment to *a*ll the min*u*te spirit*u**a*l p*a*rts (*u*s) who f*a*cilit*a*te it. The s*a*cred so*u*nd *om* shows this process, *a*s it is *a* blend of the S*a*nskrit letters *a* (prono*u*nced like the *u* in b*u*t), *u* (prono*u*nced like the *u* in p*u*sh) *a*nd m (*a* reson*a*nt n*a*s*a*l so*u*nd like in the French word *bon*). The *a* indic*a*tes the S*u*preme So*u*l, the *u* His ple*a*s*u*re energy, *a*nd the m individ*u**a*l so*u*ls like *u*s. As ill*u*str*a*tion, the gre*a*t devotee H*a*n*u*m*a*n *a*ids the *u*nion of R*a*m*a* *a*nd Sit*a*, *a*nd in doing so feels contin*u*o*u*sly exp*a*nding ple*a*s*u*re himself. The souls who refuse to exult in the Lord’s pleasure pastimes envy His central position. The utmost expression of that foolish rebellion twists the natural and intrinsic pleasure seeking of the soul into what we know in the world as sexual desire. Mundane sexuality is, therefore, a perversion of a desire that exists in our original, spiritual bodies. For this reason, all attempts to abolish sexuality result in failure. We cannot kill desires that are part of our very self. When males and females touch each other's bodies, their lusty desires naturally awaken. It appears from this verse that there are similar sensations in spiritual bodies. Both Lord Ananta and the women giving Him pleasure had spiritual bodies. Thus all sensations originally exist in the spiritual body. This is confirmed in the *Vedanta-sutra: janmady asya yatah*. Śrīla Vishvanatha Chakravarti Ṭhākura has commented in this connection that the word *adi* means *adi*-rasa, the original lusty feeling, which is born from the Supreme. However, spiritual lust and material lust are as completely different as gold and iron. (*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 5.25.5, Purport) The desire for enjoyment is present both in Kṛṣṇa and in His parts and parcels, the living entities. In the spiritual world, such desires are also spiritual. No one should mistakenly consider such desires to be material. In the material world, if one is sexually inclined and enjoys sex life, he enjoys something temporary. His enjoyment vanishes after a few minutes. However, in the spiritual world the same enjoyment may be there, but it never vanishes. It is continuously enjoyed. In the spiritual world such sex pleasure appears to the enjoyer to be more and more relishable with each new feature. In the material world, however, sex enjoyment becomes distasteful after a few minutes only, and it is never permanent. (*Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya* 8.138, Purport) The only ultimate cure for mundane sexuality—which entices us, embarrasses us, drives us, frustrates us, and provides us at best with fleeting, temporary, and decreasing pleasure—is to regain the original form of that pleasure through a union of love and service with our source, Kṛṣṇa. The process to achieve that is *bhakti-*yoga**, which includes a variety of practices, the chief of which is to chant the names of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Rama and Their pleasure energy, Hare. Because the names of the Lord and His energy are identical with them, the total *yoga* between the soul, the Lord, and the pleasure energy is accomplished as soon as a soul is immersed in that sound with a mood of dependent love and service. Therefore, when chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, one feels great happiness on a platform higher than that of the mind and senses. As a practitioner gradually deepens in *bhakti-yoga*, all mundane sexual desires are transformed back into genuine spiritual love, *Kṛṣṇa-prema*. However, achieving the full purification necessary to return our original state of utmost bliss is generally a gradual process. Therefore, material sexual desires demand some outlet until they are fully back in their primal spiritual condition. The scriptures prescribe two righteous outlets that give the student of *bhakti-yoga* support along the route to transcendence. *Two Supports for Bhakti-yogis* The astonishing beauty of each of these supports is how Kṛṣṇa uses the epitome of the soul’s rebellion against Him—mundane sexuality—to bring that soul back to the spiritual bliss of *yoga*. Because Kṛṣṇa has linked material sexuality with reproduction, a human being who allows that link to remain intact is pulled to the path of sacrifice and dharma from which spiritual life is natural. In the **Gita*’s* third and twelfth chapters, therefore, Kṛṣṇa recommends dutiful sacrifice and charity, even for those not yet conscious of their relationship with God. As the “all-pervading transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice” (*Gita* 3.15), sacrifice directed by the scriptures gives a satisfaction beyond selfishness. Such satisfaction may lead a soul to search out the supreme object of sacrifice, Kṛṣṇa. The link between sex and reproduction requires one of two sacrifices—the sacrifice of celibacy, or the sacrifice of marriage and parenting. Each of these *type*s of support for material sexuality involves unique pleasures and austerities. Because of the soul’s past deeds, each person in this material world has a predestined amount of pleasure and austerity in this life, which is mostly fixed. However, we can usually change the *type*. People can, therefore, choose the way of dealing with mundane sexuality that is in harmony with their nature, age, and circumstance. When one is getting the pleasures suited for one’s own nature and time of life, the concomitant austerities are bearable and often even joyful. As Kṛṣṇa explains in the third chapter of the *Bhagavad-gītā*, only one who accepts the austerities of a position has a right to enjoy the pleasures of that position. Indeed, one who tries to take the pleasures without the austerities will find those pleasures to be an empty shell only. “One who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the *Vedas* certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain.” (*Gita* 3.16) *The Sacrifice of Celibacy* The first support system for those aspiring for perfection through *bhakti* is celibacy. This support is appropriate for those who feel energized without sex, even in subtle emotional forms. The Supreme Lord, who when He descends sets the example for how to live, lives as a celibate in His incarnation of Nara-Narayana shi. Celibacy is often prescribed in the scripture as a great help for various types of *yoga*. Therefore, everyone should embrace the celibate life before marriage and, after the time of reproduction is passed, even within marriage. For a few people, lifetime celibacy without marriage is the most suitable support. The celibate uses sexual energy—which includes creativity, enthusiasm, expansion, attraction to beauty, and the urge to connect with life—to accept all living beings as family and work innovatively for the ultimate good of others. Indeed, the saffron-colored clothing worn by celibates in Vedic culture is of the same hue as the sacred fire, *agni-paricchadan* (*Bhagavatam* 7.12.21). Freedom is one of the primary pleasures of a celibate life lived according to shastric guidelines. Celibacy also makes it easy to live shastrically according to one’s tastes without having to be overly concerned with pleasing family members. Other pleasures are simplicity and a satisfaction in the accomplishment of sense control. Without the need to impress potential mates, there is peacefulness and satisfaction. Less time and energy are needed for basic maintenance, and so one can more easily choose work for personal fulfillment and meaning rather than necessity. The austerities of the celibate life involve not only sexual abstinence, but also the renunciation of subtle, emotional, quasi-sexual exchanges such as flirting and frivolous talks. A celibate should limit wealth, food, and possessions to basic needs. The dharma of a celibate includes a focus on scripture study, prayer, and purification of existence. The youthful celibate focuses on spiritual study; the older celibate on producing literary works and holding learned discourses. (*Bhagavatam* 2.2.5, Purport) Because the pleasures of channeling sexuality into a celibate life are sweet and enticing, a parody of it exists in modern society. Unfortunately the imitation, which seeks the pleasures without the austerity and is not based on the sacred, aggrieves individuals and society, harming rather than helping spiritual life. This modern “single life” is a parody of the celibate life, as it advertises the celibates’ freedom and simplicity—but without the celibacy that makes such pleasures possible. This parody consists either of no marriage or of delaying marriage and childbearing well past the time of desire and peak fertility. During this time, people may have one or more sexual partners, using contraception and even abortion to keep their so-called single status. Even those who abstain from sex often absorb their minds and hearts in the romance prevalent in various forms of media. *The Sacrifice of Marriage* The second support is marriage. Most people cannot live a scripturally directed celibate life during their youth and require the support of marriage. The incarnation of the Lord who sets the example of monogamous marriage is Lord Ramachandra and His wife, Sita, who remained faithful through many trials. The married couple use their sexual energy to produce children they raise in spiritual consciousness. Family members help each other and work as a team to meet material demands, have a pleasing emotional connection, and encourage each other in spiritual life. Companionship, stability, and security are some of the primary pleasures of married life guided by scripture. Regulated sexual life and home-cooked food please the senses, as does a home filled with comfortable furniture, art, and music. Married persons seek freedom through social status and wealth, which allow them a wide range of choices. Growing children fascinate and amuse the parents, while offering scope for a variety of affectionate exchanges. In marriage one attempts to accumulate enough wealth to have the pleasure of giving in charity to worthy causes, which gives a deep sense of meaning and of contributing to society. The austerities of marriage include limiting one’s sexual relationship to one person for life regardless of changing circumstances, working for income, tolerating the personality differences and conflicts within the family, dealing with envy and competition from neighbors, friends, and co-workers, arranging for children’s education, maintaining a home, and so forth. The dharma of marriage focuses on charity, honesty, and sense control. The pious and stable sexual gratifications of family life have induced a parody in modern society, as married couples seek to separate sex from reproduction. Through contraceptives and abortion, they seek to capture the pleasures without the austerity. The result in many countries, such as Italy, is birthrates so low that the government has become concerned that the whole culture will collapse. In these parodies of family life, people buy more than they can afford through irresponsible debt, and spend far more on the family than on charity. For example, Americans—residents of the most generous country in the world in terms of donations of time and money—give an average of only 3% of their income to charity. With an entertainment center as the home “altar,” their family life becomes an entangling snare of materialism. Another parody is cohabitation without marriage, which sometimes produces children, and generally ends in a breakup. Northern Europe seems to favor unmarried temporary families, with 28% of children in Sweden in 2010 born to cohabiting unmarried parents. In America 40% of children are now born out of wedlock, compared to 4% in 1960. *The Need for Honesty* In considering which support system to use at what point in our lives, we need to be very honest. One of the most damaging tendencies to our spiritual advancement is deceit, according to Raghunatha Dāsa Goswami, an associate of Lord Chaitanya. A deceitful person tries to take the pleasures from one or more support systems, with none of the austerities. Honest people admit what kind of pleasures they want and then take up the corresponding austerities. A gift-giving exchange of love can then occur between the soul and Supreme Soul. One offers the austerities to Kṛṣṇa as a way to express loving gratitude and responsibility. And one accepts the concomitant pleasures as His loving gift, using them to glorify Him further. The system of *ashrama* given in the scriptures prescribes celibacy until marriage, family life until around age fifty, and celibacy again until leaving this world. In the latter period of celibacy, married couples may opt to stay together but retire from occupations and from sex both physical and subtle. This *ashrama* system, while not possible for everyone today, works in synergy with the natural life cycle to engage mundane sexuality in ways appropriate to biology and psychology. Those who can engage their sexuality in this *ashrama* system generally find the practice of *bhakti-yoga* much easier. *A Loving Exchange with Kṛṣṇa* Whether as a celibate or a married person, the **bhakti*-yogi* acts in the way Prabhupāda’s *guru*, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati, describes here: “If whatever is accepted be received as favor vouchsafed by the Supreme Lord, the worldly activity will cease to be such and will turn into service of Godhead (*bhakti*)." (*Brahma-saṁhitā* 5.61, Purport) Prabhupāda explains the same principle: Whatever Kṛṣṇa gives us . . . Just like a master. A master allots something to the servant. "You can enjoy this." That *prasādam*. You understand. “Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, even my hands and legs. They also belong to Kṛṣṇa, all the parts of my body. They belong to Kṛṣṇa. Then they should be used for Kṛṣṇa." That is called *bhakti*. (Lecture on *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 1.2.9—10, Delhi, November 14, 1973) When one acts on this principle, then “matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality.” (*Gita* 4.24, Purport). When people live in this mood of a loving exchange with Kṛṣṇa, the intrinsically spiritual processes of *bhakti-yoga* such as hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa, along with an individually appropriate support system for mundane sexuality, unify in transcendence, as explained in the *Gita* (4.24): "A person who is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sure to attain the spiritual kingdom because of his full contribution to spiritual activities, in which the consummation is absolute and that which is offered is of the same spiritual nature." As *bhakti-yogis* mature, gradually material sexuality becomes as unattractive as someone’s spit-out chewing gum lying on the ground. There is no hatred for sex per se, which is simply a biological function. Nor is there hatred for those who may be objects of sexual attraction, as they are simply other embodied souls. However, there is repulsion from lust, which is the drive to gain happiness for one’s senses and mind by using the energy of the Lord and other beings. Mundane sexual lust gradually and proportionally transforms back into its original nature and becomes love of God. Then the need for a support system of a celibate or married *ashrama* starts to pale. One may still live in one of those *ashrama*s, but as a service to Kṛṣṇa and an example to others, not because of a personal need to do so. The enlightened devotee’s detachment derives from the superior satisfaction of spiritual love. The rising tide of spiritual love gradually increases to a flood. This love, real love, means giving rather than taking. It means giving oneself for the pleasure of God. It means being an agent to unite the Lord and His energy of pleasure—Kṛṣṇa with Rādhā, Narayana with Lakshmi, Rama with Sita. Of course, the Lord and His eternal consort do not depend on a tiny soul to aid their union. It is the kindness of the Lord that He engages the expanded living beings in this way so as to share His bliss. The finite soul, thus linked with the infinite through loving service, eternally experiences ever-expanding ecstasy. Such is our natural, constitutional, inherent nature. Let us take daily steps toward regaining our nature and letting go of its pale reflection. *Urmila Devī Dāsī, a BTG associate editor, has a Ph.D. in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She recently published Ragunatha Dāsa Goswami's* Śrī Manah-shiksha*, fully illustrated in two volumes, available on Amazon.com.* Dr. Best Learn to Read, *her three-part series to teach reading to children, is available at the Kṛṣṇa.com Store.* ## Don't Forget Your Real Business *This conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and some of his disciples took place at New Vrindaban, ISKCON's farming village in West Virginia, on June 24, 1976.* Śrīla Prabhupāda: A child may not believe he will get the body of a young man. He may not know that in the future he will have to accept another life. But can his ignorance alter the fact? He may believe or not. It makes no difference. And similarly, if modern rascals say, "I don't believe in a next life. I don't believe I'll have a next life," their ignorance does not alter the fact. Rascals, madmen, may talk like this, but the fact—the law of nature—remains. *Karanam guna-sango ’sya*: According to the way you act, according to the modes of nature in which you become enmeshed, you will receive a suitable body in your next life. The real fact is, these rascals will have to accept a body just suitable to their spiritual development, or lack of spiritual development. What they believe or do not believe makes no difference. Disciple: But what if they object, "You want us to pull back from our industrial civilization so that we can spend more time preparing for our next life. But farm-and-village civilization might be too difficult for us. We'd rather go to the factory for eight hours and then come home and enjoy life." Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, you can enjoy life, just as we are. We are eating and sleeping and so forth; everyone does that in any event. But if you enjoy life in such a way that you forget your real, spiritual business in life, is that intelligent? Your real business, now that you have received this human form, is to improve your next life—regain your original, spiritual form, back home in the spiritual world. Anyway, you are going to have a next life. Now, suppose that by your present actions, in your next life you have to accept the form of a dog. Is that success? So you must learn the real science: How, instead of becoming an associate of dogs, you can become an associate of God. That is intelligence. That is success. Disciple: But in this present life, why is it better, for instance, if we get our lighting by growing castor seed? What if we think we'd rather get our lighting by drilling for oil? Why is growing castor seed better than drilling for oil? Śrīla Prabhupāda: You require lighting of some kind. All right. So finish that lighting business as simply and quickly as possible. In the rest of your time, the time you have saved, pursue and perfect your self-realization. Learn about your soul and your relationship with the Supreme Soul. That is the ideal life. Take this child. He simply wants to play, not to become educated and cultured. He just wants to make some improvements on his toys or his ball-playing. It that very good intelligence? Disciple: No, from the standpoint of education, he's pretty much wasting time. But talking about wasting time—people on farms work some awfully long hours. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Not on small family farms, say four acres or thereabouts. In the spring you work a month and a half or two months for planting, and in the fall perhaps a month and a half or two for harvesting. If you think improving your electrical arrangements is better than living the simple life, we have no objection. But if you forget your real, spiritual business, is that intelligent? Disciple: It wouldn't be, no. Śrīla Prabhupāda: That is our proposal. Your real business in life is how to become God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious. If simply for improving your material condition you forget your real, spiritual business, is that intelligence? So this modern, so-called intelligence is known as *dushkriti*. *Kriti* means "resourcefulness." But *duh* means "sinful, harmful activities." You are utilizing your resourcefulness for harmful activities. Take, for example, these modern flesh-eaters. Now, when uncivilized men living in the jungle need to eat something, they shoot arrows or throw spears at some poor animal. And the animal dies and then they eat his flesh. These modern flesh-eaters, though, instead of killing the animal by throwing a spear, have devised slaughterhouses with sophisticated machinery to kill the animal. You may think this is an improvement. "Now we use our sophisticated machinery instead of throwing a spear. The old-fashioned method takes so much time. But now we can kill many, many animals per hour." This is your improvement? Just consider what fools and rascals people have become. They believe their slaughterhouses are an improvement, a milestone of civilization. "When we were uncivilized, we were spearing some animal and eating his flesh. But now, although we are doing the same thing—killing some poor animal and eating his flesh—we have improved our technique for killing." This is going on as "advancement of civilization." Do you think this is advancement of civilization? Now that you are living the simple life on this farm—now, at last, you are civilized. For instance, instead of killing the cow, you just take her milk—no killing—and then you make butter and yogurt and whipped cream and buttermilk and fried curd, all sorts of delicious preparations. This is civilization. But killing is sinful. You have no right to kill any creature—even an ant—because you cannot give that creature back his life. So killing is against the law of nature, the law of God. In the scriptures the Lord warns us, "Killing is an infringement on nature's law, My law. Killing innocent creatures is the most sinful activity. If you use your human resourcefulness to perform this most sinful activity, then you must suffer in your next life." Disciple: But we modern men don't believe our slaughterhouses are sinful. Śrīla Prabhupāda: These nonsensical statements—"We believe . . ." "We don't believe . . ." If you are breaking God's most basic law—"Thou shalt not kill"—then you are a rascal. So what difference does it make, what you believe or don't believe? You are, after all, a rascal. ## Yoga and the Great Mantra for Deliverance *By Satyaraja Dāsa* *A talk given at a yoga center in Rockland County, New York, explains why yoga and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa go well together.* I’ve been asked to introduce this program by briefly speaking about the relationship between chanting and modern-day *yoga*, to discuss how the sacred sound of the *maha-mantra*, for example, can benefit one’s *yoga* practice. For those who don’t know, the *maha-mantra*—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—is a sacred sound vibration, affirmed in Vedic texts as the best of all *mantras*, or transcendental utterances. It serves to free the mind of all unwanted distractions, to help one progress in spiritual life, and finally to bring one into the highly advanced realms of love of God. The connection between this *mantra* and the *Yoga-sutra* of Patanjali may not be obvious at first, but a careful look reveals that chanting such sacred sounds is a natural part of Patanjali’s strategy, as we shall see. First of all, the *Yoga-sutra*, originating in roughly the third century of the Common Era, should not be taken as an isolated text. It appeared in a milieu of Vedic rituals, cultured *brahmanas*, ancient Sanskrit texts, and a deep understanding of theological truth, which included daily chanting as a religious practice. Patanjali’s work was an addendum to an already evolved spiritual environment. Moreover—and contrary to popular belief—in all its 196 aphorisms, the *Yoga-sutra* rarely espouses the need for breathing exercises (*pranayama*) and sitting postures (*asana*). Perhaps four or five such verses exist in the text. Rather, it centers on meditation, focusing the mind, and the importance of mastery of one’s senses. This is clear throughout the text, beginning with the famous second *sutra* of the first section, which includes the famous words **yoga*sh citta-vritti-nirodhah*. This is lauded as Patanjali’s succinct definition of *yoga*. As most of you know, it basically means, *“Yoga* is the restriction of the mind’s fluctuations.” In other words, it refers to getting the mind under control—instead of letting the mind control you. Lord Kṛṣṇa talks about this very same principle in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (6.6), a *yoga* text that predates Patanjali’s work: "For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will be the greatest enemy." And how does one get the mind under control? This is where we see the natural correlation between **man*tra**s* and *yoga* as expressed by Patanjali. The two Sanskrit syllables of the word *man*tra** can be taken to mean release or liberation (*tra*) of the mind (man). Man*tra* is thus a sound that can liberate the mind from all things material. In other words, controlling it, or situating it in *tra*nscendence. Patanjali was aware of this. When he discusses the expected obstacles on the path to yogic perfection, he highlights the importance of focusing the mind (1.32). If the mind is focused, he teaches, it is less likely to get entangled in the material world and lost in the delusion of everyday existence (1.4). This is where **mantra*s* come in, and Patanjali mentions *mantra* chanting as a necessary part of the yoga process. He says in the first verse of the **Yoga-sutra*’s* Second Section, which focuses on practice, that **mantra*s*, among other things, are an inescapable part of the *yoga* paradigm, and specifically **mantra*s* in relation to Ishvara, or God. He writes, tapah-svadhyayeshvara-*pranidhana*ni kriya-*yoga*h: “Austerity, study of scriptures (*svadhyaya*, which includes the chanting of **mantra*s*), and dedication (*pranidhana*) to the Supreme Lord (*ishvara*) constitute the way to *yoga*.” Although Patanjali doesn’t use the word *mantra* in this verse, the famous *Yoga-sutra* commentator known as Vyasa (not to be confused with the compiler of the *Vedas*) writes in his commentary, “*Svadhyaya* in this context also refers to *japa* and general repetition of purifying **mantra*s*.” Again, the *Yoga-sutra* did not arise in a vacuum, and the culture that gave birth to it considered the chanting of **mantra*s* fundamental to spiritual practice. In the first verse of the Fourth Section, which is about ultimate liberation, we are again directed toward the chanting of *mantras*, this time more specifically. Patanjali writes, **janma*ushadhi-mantra-tapah-*samadhi*-*jah* *siddhayah**: “The mystic perfections (*siddhayah*) come (*jah*) with birth (*janma*), [or they may be attained through] herbs (*aushadhi*), *mantras*, austerities (*tapas*), or the culmination of concentration (*samadhi*).” So, *mantras*—*mantras* dedicated to Ishvara—figure prominently in both Patanjali’s method of practice and his concept of ultimate liberation. *The Mantra Om* Patanjali doesn’t mention the *maha-mantra* as such, but he does mention *om* in 1.23–1.29 and elsewhere. Here he calls *om* the “direct route to *yogic* perfection.” Now, again, let us be aware of context: As far back as the *Upanishads* we are taught that *om* is the sound representation of Kṛṣṇa. This is specifically mentioned in the *Gopala-tapani Upanishad*, and it was well known to the teachers of the past. In fact, the great sixteenth-century philosopher Jiva Goswami quotes the *Padma Purana* (6.226.22–23) as follows in his *Bhakti-sandarbha* (178): > a-karenocyate vishnuh > shrir u-karena cocyate > ma-karas tv anayor dasah > panca-vimshah prakirtitah “Reg*a*rding *om* (**a**u*m*), *a* represents Vishn*u*, *u* represents Śrī (L*a*kshmi), *a*nd m represents the so*u*l, the twenty-fifth element *a*nd *a* serv*a*nt of these two [Vishn*u* *a*nd L*a*kshmi].” Śrī Jiva’s contemporary Raghava Pandita offers an even more esoteric reading in his book *Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-ratna-prakasha* (verse 49): > a-karenocyate krishnah > sarva-lokaika-nayakah > u-karenocyate radha > ma-karo jiva-vacakah "In **a**u*m* the letter *a* refers to Kṛṣṇ*a*, the s*u*preme le*a*der, the letter *u* refers to Rādhā, *a*nd the letter m refers to the jiv*a* so*u*l.” One *m*ight *a*sk why Śrī Jiv*a* *a*nd R*a*gh*a*v*a* P*a*ndit*a* see*m* to dis*a*gree on det*a*ils. B*u*t in f*a*ct the essence of wh*a*t they *a*re s*a*ying is the s*a**m*e: They *a*re b*a*sic*a*lly s*a*ying th*a*t *a* in *a**u**m* refers to God, *u* refers to His energy or potency, *a*nd *m* refers to the tiny so*u*l, who is *m*e*a*nt to serve The*m*. Wh*a*t we h*a*ve here essenti*a*lly is the *m*a*h*a*-m*a*ntr*a**, *a* pr*a*yer to Rādhā *a*nd Kṛṣṇ*a*: “O Kṛṣṇ*a* (God), O H*a*r*a* (Rādhā, Kṛṣṇ*a*'s energy or feminine *a*spect), ple*a*se eng*a*ge me (the living being) in Yo*u*r service.” The connection between *om* *a*nd the *m*a*h*a*-m*a*ntr*a** is directly mentioned by the gre*a*t nineteenth-cent*u*ry V*a*ishn*a*v*a* theologi*a*n Bh*a*ktivinod*a* Ṭhāk*u*r*a* in his book *Bh*a*j*a*n*a*-r*a*h*a*sy*a** (*Pr*a*th*a*m*a*-y*a*m*a*-s*a*dh*a*n*a** 1.29): “The three syll*a*bles in *om*k*a*r*a*—*a*, *u*, *a*nd m—represent H*a*ri, Kṛṣṇ*a*, *a*nd R*a*m*a*.” Although Patanjali predates some of these specific references, the ideas themselves are ancient, and it would be highly unlikely that Patanjali wouldn’t have known about them, and his contemporaries, his cultured and learned audience, would have known them too. *The Name and the Named Are the Same* Now, why should *mantras*, like *om* or the *maha-mantra*, be so important? It’s because they are identical to the spiritual entity they invoke. This is what the tradition teaches. The sages ask us to reflect on a thing and its name. In this world, they are two different things, right? If you chant “*water*, *water*, *water*,” your thirst is not quenched. This is because the word *water* and the substance *water* are not the same. But that's not true for spiritual substance: God and His name are identical. In fact, Patanjali alludes to this notion when he writes, in *Yoga-sutra* 3.17, “The name associated with an object, the object itself, and the conceptual existence of the object—all three must in s*om*e sense interpenetrate each other. By contemplating the distinction and sameness between these three, one understands the true meaning of sounds.” This is the idea, and this is what the sages of India taught. When extended to God and the spiritual world, we see that all distinctions between the name and the named evaporate. This understanding was part of Indian culture long before the *Yoga-sutra* existed. So the chanting of **mantra*s* is how one gets the mind under control, because the *mantra* frees the mind of all material concepts and establishes it in a spiritual environment, focusing it on God, who is identical to His name. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa says in the *Gita* (6.27): "The *yogi* whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest happiness. By virtue of his identity with the spiritual element, he is liberated; his mind is peaceful, his passions are quieted, and he is freed from sin." This is the perfection of *yoga*. *Controlling the Wild Horses* As my spiritual master, Śrīla Prabhupāda, says in his book *On the Way to Kṛṣṇa*, “The mind is always concocting objects for happiness. I am always thinking, ‘This will make me happy,’ or ‘That will make me happy.’ ‘Happiness is here. Happiness is there.’ In this way, the mind is taking us anywhere and everywhere. It is as though we are riding on a chariot behind an unbridled horse. We have no power over where we are going but can only sit in horror and watch helplessly. As soon as the mind is engaged in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness process specifically by chanting, then the wild horses of the mind will gradually come under our control.” This is what chanting does: It stops us from becoming devoured or overcome by materialistic life and situates us in our natural consciousness, which is spiritual and ever blissful. It must be noted that this chanting is entirely spiritual—it is not material in any sense of the word, even if, externally, it appears like everyday sound vibration. Prabhupāda writes about this as follows: “You may chant someone's name a half an hour, or sing a mundane song three or four times, but before long this becomes tiresome. Hare Kṛṣṇa, however, can be chanted day and night, and one will never tire of it. Therefore it is only through transcendental vibration that the mind can be kept in a state of equilibrium. When one's mental activities are thus stabilized, one is said to have attained *yoga*.” In conclusion, I want to return to that verse from the *Yoga-sutra* with which I started this talk: **yoga*sh citta-vritti-nirodhah*. Real *yoga* is about controlling the fluctuations of the mind. *Vritti*, a key word in this verse, literally means “whirlpool.” It’s a complex *yogic* term indicating that the conditioned mind is debilitating, like a vortex that sucks all our energy and leaves us completely depleted, unable to pursue spiritual life. Chanting *mantras*, specifically the *maha-mantra,* reverses that process, rejuvenates us, and allows us to gradually see who we really are: eternal spiritual souls always hankering to transcend material life and become lovers of God. This is not only the goal of *yoga*, but the goal of all of life and something we all strive for, in one way or another. Thank you very much. *Satyaraja Dāsa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, is a BTG associate editor and founding editor of the* Journal of Vaishnava Studies. *He has written more than thirty books on Kṛṣṇa consciousness and lives near New York City.* ## e-Kṛṣṇa E-Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa.com is the curated links section at Kṛṣṇa.com. You can browse the sections by topic or use the search box to find what you're looking for. If you have a Kṛṣṇa conscious website, or know of a website not in the list, click on Submit a Link on the homepage and let Kṛṣṇa.com know about it. If you're looking for news, recipes, music, art, books, or lectures, this is the place to come. Unlike using a search engine, you won’t have to trawl through hundred of links for inappropriate sites while looking for those made for and by devotees. Over the past few years, e-Kṛṣṇa has brought you links to many interesting and useful sites. We started publishing this column to draw attention to the wonderful resources, information, and outreach that devotes are making available on the Internet. For many people the Internet has become a familiar part of life. We use it to organize programs, arrange to meet our close friends, and keep in touch with distant ones. You can read almost all of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books online, watch videos of lectures, read about the activities of devotees all over the world, and even take *darshana* of Deities in temples in many countries via streaming video. Devotees everywhere are making wonderful use of the Internet to inform and inspire us. Internet technology has become so easy to use, we no longer need descriptions of websites and how to use them to find our way around. Therefore we have decided to retire e-Kṛṣṇa, making this the last column. You won’t be lost for Kṛṣṇa conscious content, as devotees continue to create and share sites via newsletters, blogs, social media, and streaming video. Besides Kṛṣṇa.com, other Internet resources exist that provide an online index of links of interest to devotees, including links.iskcondesiretree.com and www.radha.name/links/iskcon-web-sites. —Madhumangala Dāsa ## Unfathomable! *by Braja Sevaki Devī Dāsī* *Even after this year's celebrations of ISKCON's Fiftieth Anniversary are over, we should always remember the great journey Prabhupāda took for us.* Friday, August 13, 1965: a date every ISKCON devotee knows by heart, the day ISKCON really began, when the *Jaladuta* sailed out of Calcutta harbor and hobbled across the seas for thirty-five days until it reached New York harbor’s Brooklyn Pier on September 19 and discharged one thin, small, elderly *sadhu*, Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. That was over fifty years ago. And mid last year, on July 13, 2015—the forty-ninth anniversary of the day ISKCON was created—the celebrations began in commemoration of the founding of ISKCON in New York City. Those celebrations continued right through the fiftiety anniversary: July 13, 2016. The year is almost over now. But imagine: fifty years. It’s an entire lifetime for some ISKCON members; twice a lifetime for others; three-quarters of a lifetime for those who joined in the early days; “historical” for the very young. But no matter how old or young, everyone in ISKCON was swept up in the celebrations for ISKCON’s Fiftieth. *Unfathomable.* The celebration of Prabhupāda’s departure for America on the *Jaladuta* takes place worldwide annually, but 2015 was the fiftieth anniversary, and the celebrations—especially in Kolkata—were huge. This anniversary alone is enough to give pause: today, international travel is commonplace, flights from one side of the world to the other are offered several times a day by many and varied airlines, and take only a matter of hours. So for most, it takes a conscious effort to stop the mind, park it in neutral, close the doors of conditioned thought, and even attempt to imagine what it was like to undergo a 35-day sea voyage on a vessel as austere as the *Jaladuta*. Harder still to imagine that one passenger was and is so dear to us all. And worse, still, that he was elderly, sick, alone. *Unfathomable.* When we travel, it is to visit friends or family, ISKCON centers where devotees await our arrival, the sacred lands in India that Śrīla Prabhupāda introduced us to. Even if we want to get away alone, things are smooth—flights to tropical islands to recover at retreats with *yoga*, Ayurveda, and herbal remedies: things that are commonplace now, but were alien to us before Prabhupāda’s journey across the ocean. That’s right, you youngsters: *these things didn’t exist before Prabhupāda landed on Western shores.* *Unfathomable.* “Celebrating 50 Years” is something we’ve all no doubt heard a lot of throughout this past year. We were unable to avoid such a glorious occasion, nor did we want to. But beneath the celebrations, the pomp and ceremony, the talks by senior devotees who were part of that time, the miracle of the second and third generations born in Vaishnava families across the globe, the joy in the hearts of every devotee young or old, still, even after these celebrations are over, we should try daily to take a few minutes and consciously direct our minds towards the reality of 1965, and the great journey Prabhupāda took for us. *Unfathomable.* Prabhupāda arrived in New York "Carrying only forty rupees cash, which he himself called 'a few hours' spending in New York,' and an additional twenty dollars he had collected from selling three volumes of the *Bhagavatam* to Captain Pandia." (*Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmrita*, Chapter 12) We speak these days of “austerity,” of being “simple,” of “living under the poverty line” even. But it is unlikely we know anyone who would have done what Prabhupāda did with what little he had in his possession: a few tin trunks of books, practically no money, a cloth bag holding just two changes of clothing. To see a renunciant travel between holy sites in India is rare enough; to see one cross history’s boundaries and carve his name in the planet’s heritage as the one who saved the world from doom is beyond rare. *Unfathomable.* On his first day in America at Commonwealth Pier in Boston, on board the *Jaladuta* Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote a poem entitled *Markine Bhagavata-dharma.* The first verse reads, “My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me.” How many of us have taken such mammoth risks into unknown territory and prayed to Kṛṣṇa to “do whatever You like with me”? Actually, since Prabhupāda wrote those words, quite a few have done so, inspired, as was Prabhupāda, by their spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. That is the phenomena Prabhupāda created: no other thought entered the heads of the pioneer devotees of ISKCON but to simply do as Swamiji asked, inspired by his example. *Unfathomable.* Śrīla Prabhupāda also wrote in that poem, “How will they understand the mellows of devotional service? O Lord, I am simply praying for Your mercy so that I will be able to convince them about Your message.” How could we ever hope to understand devotion, service, and the rich, deep mellows that weave through both, uniting us with Kṛṣṇa and His associates and binding us to them? *Unfathomable.* And that word is what made this year’s celebrations so extraordinary and wonderful: that the unfathomable was made into something within our reach, something that became part of our lives, our goal in life, our purpose behind our every thought and action, our reason for living, our everything. Śrīla Prabhupāda made the unfathomable fathomable. That itself is . . . well . . . *Unfathomable.* So here’s a meditation we can all engage in: every time we hear “ISKCON’s Fiftieth,” let us celebrate right at that moment, that very moment, our fortune at being caught in Prabhupāda’s graceful web of love. We will hear that term a lot in the coming days—just because 2016 is drawing to an end doesn’t mean this year will ever be forgotten. It won’t: it’s beyond special. So let us always meditate on this year and what it represents; let us not forget the richness of life and love we have been brought into since Śrīla Prabhupāda stepped onto the Brooklyn Pier, and then onto the soil of many other lands over the next twelve years; let us not be jaded by our fortune, inured to all we’ve been given, unconscious of what we take for granted, or ruined by our spoiled, conditioned natures. Let us instead, fifty times a day, stop to thank Śrīla Prabhupāda for his *unfathomable* selflessness, his all-encompassing love and compassion, and his loyalty to *guru* and Kṛṣṇa. We should let the memories of these drown us daily, because without them . . . . . . we would have drowned. *Braja Sevaki Dasi (Sorensen) has lived in Māyāpur for fourteen years, has published five books, and has been a regular* Back to Godhead *contributor over the years. She also works on Shivarama Swami’s books, most notably* Nava-vraja-mahima*, his nine-volume treatise on the sacred land of India through the Vaishnava perspective of pastime, pilgrimage, and philosophy. She is currently studying for her divinity degree at the Bhaktivedanta Theological Seminary in Māyāpur.* ## From the Editor *The Best Religion* With a particular religion, and perversions of it, grabbing the headlines today, one might wonder, Is one religion better than another? For clarity on this subject, I look to the Vedic literature and teachers who adhere to its authority. When citing the Vedic scriptures, however, we face a challenge: people generally fail to see a cohesive message in the tradition's wide array of teachings. Śrīla Jiva Goswami, one of the most prominent early theologians in the line of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, argues powerfully in his *Tattva-sandarbha* for the ultimate authority of the *Śrīmad-*Bhagavatam**. In doing this, he follows the example of Lord Chaitanya, who promoted the *Bhagavatam* as "the spotless *Purana*" and quoted it extensively in His teachings. Also, one of the *Bhagavatam*'s introductory verses characterizes the *Bhagavatam* as "the ripe fruit of the tree of the Vedic literature." The *Bhagavatam* (1.2.6) addresses the question of religious hierarchy: > sa vai pumsam paro dharmo > yato bhaktir adhokshaje > ahaituky apratihata > yayatma suprasidati "The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self." The *Bhagavatam* doesn't say that the highest religion (dharma) is Hinduism or Christianity or any other faith tradition. It says that the highest religion is one that leads to pure devotion to God. Śrīla Prabhupāda often clarified that the word *dharma*, translated in the *Bhagavatam* verse above as "occupation" and often translated as "religion," is not a kind of faith. Different religious traditions profess different beliefs, and a person's faith may change, but *dharma* is the eternal occupation of the soul, our true self. One of the characteristics of *para dharma*, or "supreme occupation," is that it is unmotivated. A religion that encourages its followers to ask God to fulfill their desires is not on the highest level. Like other scriptures, the Vedic scriptures contain such encouragement, but it is meant for people in the early stage of their relationship with God. As children, we routinely ask our parents for things, but as we mature, the relationship changes, and we want to serve them out of love. In considering this point, we find a good example of something Lord Kṛṣṇa implies to Arjuna in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (13.5). When the Vedic scriptures say something, the statement is backed up by reason. The *Bhagavatam* says that the highest occupation (or religion) is devotion to God, and that makes sense. If God exists—as most people throughout history have presumed—then we must be in some kind of relationship with Him. Fear or anger or even hatred might characterize our side of the relationship. But if we accept that God is a person filled with infinite love—another conclusion most people arrive at—then relating to Him with love seems the most sensible approach, and the one most likely to please Him. The other characteristic of *para dharma* mentioned in the *Bhagavatam* is "uninterrupted." The highest religion is to always love and serve God, despite obstacles or a seeming lack of reciprocation from Him. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, who taught and exemplified pure love for God, wrote, "He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipable Lord, unconditionally." Such a sentiment stands far above that of those whose "religious" acts are driven by selfish motives, even at the cost of violence to God's other children. —Nagaraja Dāsa ## Vedic Thoughts A self-realized person, or a devotee, knows well that this material cosmic manifestation is a temporary, illusory representation appearing to be truth. It is like a phantasmagoria. But behind this shadow creation there is reality—the spiritual world. A devotee is interested in the spiritual world, not its shadow. Since he has realization of the supreme truth, a devotee is not interested in this temporary shadow of truth. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 4.12.15, Purport One should learn how to associate with the devotees of the Lord by gathering with them to chant the glories of the Lord. This process is most purifying. As devotees thus develop their loving friendship, they feel mutual happiness and satisfaction. And by thus encouraging one another they are able to give up material sense gratification, which is the cause of all suffering. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 11.3.30 The . . . *jiva* is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency. *Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā* 5.21 The Lord, full of knowledge and bliss, is situated in *bhakti-yoga*, which is also eternity, knowledge, and bliss. *Gopala-tapani Upanishad* 2.78 Material *maya*, the controller of all beings in the material world, is the covering energy of yoga-*maya*. By her the whole universe becomes bewildered and everyone thinks they are their bodies. Sruti-vidya Narada-pancaratra When those in hell chant the name of the Lord, they develop *bhakti* to the Lord and go to the spiritual world. *Nrisimha Purana* O Lord [Kṛṣṇa], O killer of the Agha demon, may we find happiness in the deep ocean of Your transcendental pastimes, where the great waves of Your smiles and laughter rock the universes, where the center is always crowded with many dolphins of the surrendered souls, and where the swans of the great devotees drink to their full satisfaction. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura *Śrī Govinda-virudavali* 7 One hundred generations forward and one hundred generations backward of a family in which a *maha-bhagavata* [topmost devotee] appears are automatically delivered. Fourteen generations forward and fourteen generations backward of a family in which a *madhyama-adhikari* [intermediate devotee] appears are automatically delivered. Three generations forward and three generations backward of a family in which a *kanishtha-adhikari* [neophyte devotee] appears are delivered. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Ṭhākura *Amrita-vani,* Chapter: "Spiritual Life" 2017 The Unseen Universe