# Back to Godhead Magazine #52 *2018 (01)* Back to Godhead Magazine #52-01, 2018 PDF-View ## A Pause for Prayer Dear Lord, You relieve all kinds of material distress. Your magnanimous transcendental qualities and holy name are all-auspicious. This conclusion is already settled. You can go faster than the speed of mind and words. You cannot be perceived by material senses. We therefore offer You respectful obeisances again and again. Dear Lord, we beg to offer our obeisances unto You. When the mind is fixed upon You, the world of duality, although a place for material enjoyment, appears meaningless. Your transcendental form is full of transcendental bliss. We therefore offer our respects unto You. Your appearances as Lord Brahma, Lord Viṣṇu, and Lord Siva are meant for the purpose of creating, maintaining and annihilating this cosmic manifestation. Dear Lord, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You because Your existence is completely independent of all material influences. Your Lordship always takes away the devotee's miserable conditions, for Your brain plans how to do so. You live everywhere as Paramatma; therefore You are known as Vasudeva. You also accept Vasudeva as Your father, and You are celebrated by the name Kṛṣṇa. You are so kind that You always increase the influence of all kinds of devotees. The Pracetās to Lord Viṣṇu *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 4.30.22–24 ## Welcome New Vrindaban, ISKCON's first farm community, in the foothills of West Virginia, has seen its ups and downs over the years. During one particularly challenging period, many devotees around the world wondered if it would survive. But some of its dedicated residents ("inmates" in Prabhupāda's charming language) pressed on, weathered the hard times, and are still there today as the community moves steadily ahead to fulfill the goals Prabhupāda set for it. Satyaraja Dāsa's cover story in this issue gives us a good look at the past, present, and future of this important project in Prabhupāda's worldwide movement. Śrīla Prabhupāda's lecture that opens this issue was given at New Vrindaban, and he speaks about the importance of living in goodness, a fitting tie-in to that community's mission. Karuna Dharini Devī Dāsī's "In Excess of Our Quota" continues the theme of living happily with what Kṛṣṇa in His wisdom provides us. This issue also includes another excerpt from ISKCON's ever-growing body of literature. This one is from *Śrī Mana-siksa*, by Śrīla Raghunatha Dāsa Gosvami, one of the Six Gosvamis, prominent contemporary followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This edition of the work contains commentaries by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and ISKCON devotees. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nāgarāja Dāsa, Editor* Purposes o To help all people discern reality from illusion, spirit from matter, the eternal from the temporary. o To expose the faults of materialism. o To offer guidance in the Vedic techniques of spiritual life. o To preserve and spread the Vedic culture. o To celebrate the chanting of the holy names of God as taught by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. o To help every living being remember and serve Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead. From the Editor *Fulfilled by the Simple Life* As Satyaraja Dāsa points out in this issue's cover story, one of the main components of Śrīla Prabhupāda's vision for New Vrindaban was simple living. Though Prabhupāda grew up in Calcutta and lived in cities as a family man, he loved the simple, natural, agrarian way of life and was happy to do without many of the modern conveniences most of us hold dear. Prabhupāda presented various arguments in favor of the simple life, all of them grounded in Lord Kṛṣṇa's teachings in the *Bhagavad-gītā*. For example, in a 1966 lecture, Prabhupāda illustrated our misguided desires for what we think are solutions to our problems. "A diseased man, a suffering man, suppose he has got a severe headache. Now, he sometimes thinks, 'Oh, I am suffering. If instead of a headache, if there would have been some other pain in the hand or feet, then I would have been glad.' It is like that. Our thoughts are like that. We don't want to get rid of the pains." We think we'll be happy by increasing our "material necessities" (a favored phrase of Prabhupāda's), but that won't work. Prabhupāda continued with another example. In India, men would sometimes pull a boat up a river by attaching a rope to it and walking along the riverbank. This task was naturally very painful to the feet. "So he is thinking, 'When I shall be a very rich man, then I shall cover this bank of the river with soft pillows so . . . I shall have no pain.' " The poor boat-puller never considers that as a rich man he won't have to pull the boat anymore. Our thinking is like his. If we're not rich, we tend to think that money will solve our problems, and if we're rich, we never give up the desire to get richer. It's rare to find someone who says, "I have everything I need," and even rarer to find someone who says, "I have too much. Let me simplify my life and permanently solve all my problems by dedicating myself to the spiritual pursuit." What we generally see is that people work hard to fill their lives with artificial luxuries. The result of all that hard work is dissatisfaction. Acquiring more and more stuff can never truly satisfy us because we're spiritual beings with spiritual needs. To find fulfillment, we need to reconnect with Kṛṣṇa, the source of all happiness. This basic principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness lies at the heart of the devotee's quest for a simpler way of life. It's an important point to grasp, and until we do so, we'll fall victim to the allure of material things. There's nothing wrong with living a comfortable life and practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness in that environment, but modern life abounds in ways to distract us from our essential task of making spiritual progress. So we have to be careful. On early-morning walks with his disciples, Śrīla Prabhupāda would often remark on how people were rushing to work at breakneck speed while he and his disciples were enjoying a park or seashore and discussing spiritual topics. He also liked to point out that although the devotees were not working hard "like asses," they were serving Kṛṣṇa and therefore He was fulfilling all their needs. A simple life of service to Kṛṣṇa, Prabhupāda would maintain, is the key to satisfaction and fulfillment. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nāgarāja Dāsa, Editor* ## In Excess of Our Quota *By Karuna Dharini Devī Dāsī* *Though Lord Kṛṣṇa is supplying all our needs, for our benefit He may choose to sometimes restrict the supply.* Every living being requires air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, a place to live, and some work or activity. Any restriction on these for us is sure to raise our eyebrows, if not our anger. If that were not enough, we feel pinched even when we get less than what we're accustomed to. One person lives in a mansion, drives a fine car, and eats at a dozen restaurants. Another lives in a hut, keeps a few animals, and feels proud of his stock of grains and potatoes. No matter what providence has allowed for them, neither wants to be limited to less. The experience of restriction is relative to conditioned expectations. While one person accepts the conditions of a life of constant restriction, another expects or demands abundance. Still, no one's wealth can guarantee happiness and good health. Why does restriction gnaw at us, and what is the solution? The succinct instructions of *Śrī Īśopaniṣad* and *Śrī Upadesamta* are torchlights to illuminate the complicated matrix of needs and wants in our world of modern material accouterments. *Why Restriction?* The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance. (*Śrī Īśopaniṣad,* Invocation) Every emanation from Kṛṣṇa is a complete unit, and each of us, as pure spiritual beings, lacks nothing for our existence. So how do perfectly equipped complete units experience restriction? When the soul ignores the Personality of Godhead, restriction begins. Our own minute completeness faces limitation the moment we disassociate ourselves from the Supreme. Our full potential for bliss, knowledge, and eternal existence is put on hold. Consider the example of fire and sparks. Sparks sometimes jump out of a fire, fall through the air, and become extinguished. Similarly, we fall into restriction when we disassociate ourselves from the greatest source of fire and light, the original source of everything that exists. Restriction of God’s resources comes from our being distanced from Him, but Kṛṣṇa, our ever well-wisher, sends us a quota for living a balanced, happy life. *Our Natural Quota* In his commentary on *Śrī Īśopaniṣad* Śrīla Prabhupāda gives lucid examples from nature to illustrate “quota.” The cow gives her milk and does not drink any. All she wants is some grass and a place to stand. She's content to accept that as her quota. Another animal, the tiger, never hunts for wheat, rice, or cow’s milk because its quota is flesh. All animals live in strict adherence to the laws of nature. Human beings must also adhere to a certain natural quota. In *Śrī Upadesamta* (verse 2, purport) Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: According to nature’s arrangement, living entities lower on the evolutionary scale do not eat or collect more than necessary. Consequently in the animal kingdom there is generally no economic problem or scarcity of necessities. If a bag of rice is placed in a public place, birds will come to eat a few grains and go away. A human being, however, will take away the whole bag. He will eat all his stomach can hold and then try to keep the rest in storage. According to scriptures, this collecting of more than necessary (*atyahara*) is prohibited. Now the entire world is suffering because of it. Only a human being has the freedom to choose to either transgress the laws of nature or dutifully respect them in submission to the Supreme. Kṛṣṇa has created laws that govern human life, and we must use our intelligence to understand them. In the context of quota, we must ask ourselves, "Exactly how am I implicated in *atyahara* (collecting more than I need) and *prayasa* (endeavoring for needless things)?" We can become aware of our needless toil and exploits and inquire about how to transcend them. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "If our endeavor (*prayasa*) is not to inquire about the Absolute Truth, we will simply endeavor to satisfy our artificial needs. A spiritual aspirant should avoid mundane endeavor." (*Śrī Upadeśāmṛta* 2, Purport) We all require positive engagement to earn our livelihood, to be responsible toward our family members and society. Responsible action is a requirement of every human being. For the spiritual aspirant, whatever one's occupation, the guide in this regard is the *isavasya* principle. *The Isavasya Principle* Disparity was felt between the communists and the capitalists during the last century. Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions them in *Śrī Upadeśāmṛta* as examples of the weakness of political ideologies that fall short of sound spiritual insight. The communists wanted to nationalize the wealth of the citizens, while the capitalists encouraged the people in economic development. This led to quibbling over how wealth should be utilized, the Cold War, and the arms race (which is still running). Only in a God-centered society can people peacefully agree on who is the ultimate source—and thus the owner—of all wealth, who it should be used for, and how. Śrīla Prabhupāda called this the *isavasya* principle. As *Śrī Īśopaniṣad* (*Mantra* 1) states: "Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong." As Prabhupāda gave the example of the communists and the capitalists, I would like to present two modern conflicted sections of society—namely, the environmentalists and the industrialists. Like the communists and the capitalists, both groups engage themselves in *atyahara,* over-collection, and *prayasa*, over-endeavor. Industrialists serve mankind by combining natural resources with modern technology to produce a variety of desired products, and they glean excellent profit. Environmentalists devise research, projects, and complex legislations to curb human exploitation of the natural environment and protect nature. One party is a clever exploiter of natural resources, the other an indignant rescuer of natural resources. On both sides there is the ardent desire to use for their own purposes what God intends to be used for everyone's welfare. No workable agreement is foreseeable. However well meaning or not well meaning they may be, when people take more interest in the material side of life, forgetting their real interest of self-realization, they are misdirected. They only quibble and quarrel. Like every unit that emanates from the Lord, the earth planet is a complete arrangement, as we read in *Śrī Īśopaniṣad*. The complete whole Personality of Godhead reveals how the earth’s bounty is meant for the complete benefit of mankind. Our proper use of the vast, opulent expanse of our planet’s resources depends on our relationship with the one who entrusted it to our care. *The Supreme Supplier* While materialists take more interest in the material way of life, devotees of Kṛṣṇa take interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A pure devotee accepts supply and restriction as the expression of Kṛṣṇa's love. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in *Light of the Bhagavata* (verse 3, purport): We should always know that God is ever kind to us. Despite our gross disobedience to the laws of God's nature, the Lord is kind enough to look after our maintenance. The Lord distributes His mercy in the form of rains on the scorched earth at times of dire necessity. . . . He supplies rain when we are practically on the verge of death for want of water. God is merciful undoubtedly, but He bestows His mercy on us when we need it most. This is so because we forget God as soon as we obtain this mercy. We should therefore remember the mercy of God constantly if we want to avoid distress. We are eternally related with Him, despite the state of forgetfulness already described above. *Bhagavad-gītā* confirms that the laws of nature are stringent because they are conducted by three different modes. But one who surrenders unto the Lord overcomes the stringency of nature easily. Sometimes we face famine; sometimes nature lavishes us with rich bounty. Sometimes years of drought occur; sometimes springs pour out of mountains, yielding millions of tons of clear water. Sometimes scarcity occurs, such as when mercantile men stock grains to sell at their whim; at other times the same men cannot manage the surplus. Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke of how, despite artificial inflation, Kṛṣṇa continues to maintain us. From my own experience I have seen when first-class rice was selling at 8 np* per kg, and now that is being sold at 8 rupees. That means it is 64 times higher, but still people are eating, and the man who lives in care of the footpath, he is also eating. So the man in the footpath, and the man on the thirtieth floor of the skyscraper, they are living, and still the inflation is going on. Man-made laws cannot work any rupture in Kṛṣṇa's plan. Better let us remain now under Kṛṣṇa's shelter fully dependent, and we shall remain unaffected by all the man-made difficulties. (Letter, December 1, 1974) Devotees are in the know because of a devotional-service connection to the supreme supplier. They know that restriction does not occur in the abode of the supplier. Economic development is not required there. The trees there are pure devotees and, of course, are never cut down. If they wish to, they can move from one place to another to better serve Kṛṣṇa. Every entity there has only Kṛṣṇa as its sublime interest, and its needs and desires are fulfilled by perfect spiritual service to the ever-blissful Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. For example, "The cows that followed the Lord within the forest moved slowly because of their heavy, milk-laden udders. But when the Lord called them by their specific names they at once became alert, and as they hastened toward Him their milk bags overflowed and poured milk on the ground because of affection for the Lord." (*Light of the Bhagavata,* verse 23) In the abode of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa no restriction awaits us. The residents there are greatly satisfied to please Him, and any apparent want or lack on their part only serves to sweeten their exchanges of love with Him. The only "lack" they feel is the desire for more service. In Kṛṣṇa's world there are no conflicts of interest; every interest melts in the harmony of pleasing the Lord. Every tree can fulfill any desire of the residents to serve the Lord. When we enter that realm, our need to be wanted and loved and to offer our service to others is fulfilled by the overflow of pure, unadulterated love in that abode of the affectionate supreme supplier. Understanding information about the supreme abode is essential for understanding our duty on this planet. Unless the attitude of loving service to Kṛṣṇa is revived, the frenzied pace of *atyahara* and *prayasa* will only serve to further deprave mankind. Kṛṣṇa has given us each a quota, and exceeding that will not give us the precious love that is what we are actually hankering for. No wonder we feel restriction. In the words of *Śrī*la Prabhupāda in *Śrī* *Upadeśāmṛta*, “a spiritual aspirant should avoid mundane endeavor." *From 1957 to 1964, the Indian paisa (one-hundredth of a rupee) was called *naya paisa* (new paisa, or np). *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.* ## Letters *Overcoming Anxiety, Fear, and Lack of Confidence* How can one live life with full confidence and fearlessness? Abhishek Bohra Via the Internet *Our reply*: What you ask has a simple answer, but implementing it may not be easy. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (18.66) that if we just surrender to Him we need not have any fear, because He will protect us from the greatest danger. The greatest danger is taking birth again in the material world and especially losing the human form of life, which will cause us, the spirit soul, to glide down to a lower birth. That danger can be avoided simply by worshiping Kṛṣṇa. But worshiping Kṛṣṇa is not always easy. We have countless material desires, and as long as we depend on something material to make us happy, we'll experience fear, anxiety, and lack of confidence. Anxiety will naturally come because we have no real control over anything. We try our best to make things turn out the way we want, but still bad things happen. Our intention may be good, but sometimes we make mistakes and hurt others. We have plans, but the material energy forces us to drop them. Such is life in the material world. We lack confidence because we think we have to depend on our limited strength, intelligence, money, and so on to make things work the way we want them to. But generally they don't work the way we want, and no matter how strong or wise or rich we are, we can't change the course of certain events. We fear because we don't know the future. We are attached to certain outcomes, and we fear they won't be achieved. Although we want to live forever, we won't, and we don't know when or how our time will come, so we fear death. We don't know what will become of us when our body dies, yet we sense there is something more after this life, and so we fear the unknown. If we want to rid ourselves of fear, anxiety, and lack of confidence, we need to develop faith in Kṛṣṇa and love for Kṛṣṇa. We need to become aware of our nature as spiritual beings with an eternal spiritual relationship with the Supreme Person, Lord Kṛṣṇa. We need to accept that He is in control and that only by accepting His will can we be sure that what is meant to be will turn out for our ultimate good. If we are comfortable with that, then we have no fear or anxiety. We do our best, and Kṛṣṇa does the rest. And we accept whatever He wants. If we trust Him to take care, then we will be peaceful and happy. And we will be inspired to work hard to please Him, and that in turn will make Him happy. Then He will reciprocate with us and bring us back to Him. He will not necessarily make our material life "perfect" (material perfection is not possible), but He will guide us toward spiritual perfection. It is impossible to be comfortable here in the material world, and if we continue to try to be, we will not do the work necessary to go back to the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana. If we want the highest happiness—eternal happiness—we need to look outside this material sphere for our pleasure. Material pleasure is always temporary and heavily sprinkled with misery. Again, the key to becoming free from anxiety, fear, and lack of confidence is to develop faith and confidence in Kṛṣṇa. That means we need to get to know Him by performing devotional service to Him, guided by the instructions He gives in the *Bhagavad-gītā* and through His great devotees. By chanting His name and learning about Him, we can get to know Him—and to know Him is to love Him. We have to reestablish our relationship with Him by being willing to work diligently to attain that goal. *Looking for Clarity* Why am I so confused all the time? Satish Mishra Via the Internet *Our reply*: Most people are confused but pretend that they know everything and that everything is just fine. All living beings who do not understand their spiritual nature are confused. They misunderstand themselves to be their body and struggle hard to find the pleasure they seek within the sphere of the material world. The fact that they are still regularly frustrated and not really happy is confusing to them. It seems to them that since they are hankering for material objects or relationships, when these come they should bring peace of mind—but they don't. That is certainly confusing. Why do I continue to feel empty, lonely, frustrated, and disturbed even though I am following the crowd and doing all the things I'm supposed to do? And what's more, everyone looks so happy (especially on Facebook). Why am I not happy? In reality, though, people present themselves as they want others to think they are, not as they really are. And so all the selfies with big smiles are merely a cover for the confusion and dissatisfaction people generally feel. The shops are full of people running here and there to get more things. They're accumulating more gadgets, faster internet, better phones and computers, slicker cars and houses, and yet no one is satisfied. The divorce rate continues to rise, violence and hate seem more prevalent than ever, children are being neglected, bullied by other children, and losing interest in becoming productive members of society, Mother Earth is being exploited—these are all signs of a confused, misdirected, and unhappy world. We are spiritual beings. You are a spiritual being, and until you begin to feed your soul—to nurture who you really are—you will remain confused and frustrated. No material thing can satisfy the spirit soul. Fortunately, feeding the soul is easy in this age, and it's free. All you have to do is chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, study the Bhagavad-gītā, and try to associate with people aware of their spiritual nature. As devotees of Kṛṣṇa, we encourage you to learn more about your true identity and needs and to act in wiser ways. Kṛṣṇa's devotees can provide encouragement and guidance to help you cut through your confusion and come to understand the right course of action. Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (4.34) that one must find a *guru*, inquire from him submissively, and render service to him. The *guru* will give you real knowledge. Search for such a *guru*, and you will find the answers to life's questions. Be patient but determined, and your confusion will come to an end. *Replies were written by Krishna.com Live Help volunteers. Please write to us at: BTG, P.O. Box 430, Alachua, Florida 32616, USA. Email: [email protected].* ## Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the Original Sporting Propensity *By Sarvabhauma Dāsa* *Kṛṣṇa is always engaged in sport, and when we try to imitate Him, we lose.* When the 2017 Super Bowl game, the summit of American professional football, was held in Houston, a devotee convinced me and a few others to try to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books at a huge pregame event downtown. Venturing into the passionate, teeming crowd, we sold a few books, but not so many. This experience reinforced what was already obvious: mundane sport certainly has a powerful allure. In fact, every year over six hundred billion dollars are spent worldwide on the sports industry, which caters to an ever more fervent fan base. Why are sports so popular? According to Vaisnava teachings, everything here, including the sporting propensity, is an imperfect or distorted reflection of the original, blissful activities of all-attractive Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unfortunately, although in this material realm sports may be attractive, their charm is illusory. We can’t enjoy the Real Thing here. At best we can try to squeeze pleasure out of a perverted representation, like a mirage in the desert. When it comes to genuine, pure fun or sport, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the unrivaled champion, the unabashed connoisseur, as we see in *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 10.18.19: “Kṛṣṇa, who knows all sports and games, then called together the cowherd boys and spoke as follows: 'Hey cowherd boys! Let's play now! We'll divide ourselves into two even teams.'" Ravindra Svarupa Dāsa has explained how the Lord’s pleasure in sport or play, unlike ours, is not materially motivated or contaminated; it is transcendentally ecstatic and pure: God is playful: the Sanskrit term for divine activity is, in fact, *līlā*—play. By His inconceivable power God seamlessly unites in His descents very serious purpose (to save humanity) with sheer sport. Thus, as [His incarnation as the divine fish] Matsya, He frolics in the waves of the deluge; as Varaha [the transcendental boar-*avatara*] He enjoys a good fight. In all descents we see Him delighting in drawing out the possibilities of a particular role, a player in a play. The idea of *līlā* captures a defining element of divine activity: it is unmotivated. All human acts spring from motives, desire for what we lack or fear we will lack. But God already has everything. He has nothing to gain or lose. ("The Descent of God," *Back to Godhead*, May 1985) The Tenth Canto of the *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* (10.44.29) describes how Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma celebrated Their victory over King Kamsa’s demoniac wrestlers Canura, Mustika, Kuta, Sala, and Tosala: “Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma then called Their young cowherd boyfriends to join Them, and in their company the Lords danced about and sported, Their ankle bells resounding as musical instruments played.” The purport to this verse, by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples, notes: “Nowadays we see that in championship boxing matches, as soon as there is a victory, all the friends and relatives of the victorious boxer rush into the ring to congratulate him, and often the champion will dance about in great happiness. Exactly in this mood, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma danced about, celebrating Their victory with Their friends and relatives.” Scriptures describe how when Kṛṣṇa dances playfully on the hoods of the poisonous serpent Kaliya, the demoniac snake is humbled and purified. The *Bhagavatam* (2.7.34–35) says that even when Kṛṣṇa kills inimical attackers–humans like the evil King Kamsa or animals such as the aggressive bull-demon Aristasura—“The demons, thus being killed, would attain either the impersonal *brahmajyoti* or His personal abode in the Vaikuṇṭha planets.” Indeed, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s sportive *līlās* yield only spiritual benefit and bliss for everyone, even “spectators” like you and me when we simply read or hear about them. In the material world, however, anyone who tries to imitate the Lord’s sporting nature becomes implicated in the law of *karma*. For example, unlike the entirely positive results when Kṛṣṇa killed the bull-demon, when a bullfighter kills a bull the result is suffering for the bull and the bullfighter. The spectators become implicated in the *karma* as well. Another problem is that nearly all the athletes we admire or idolize are not pure devotees of the Lord, and are thus unworthy of the inflated adulation they often receive. For example, even though millions of fans once practically deified the well-known American football player O. J. Simpson for his athletic skill, he was charged with murder and later imprisoned for another crime and is no longer considered a hero. Many professional, amateur, even Olympic athletes—supposed role models or heroes—have been prosecuted for doping, cheating, spousal abuse, and even homicide. Such athletes may entertain us, but they cannot free us from the material world, which, as Kṛṣṇa explains to Arjuna in *Bhagavad-gītā* 8.15, is *duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam*, a place of misery and impermanence. Try as we might we can’t really win here, and even if we do, none of us can enjoy our hard-earned victories for long. *Wasting Time* As a compassionate Vaisnava, Śrīla Prabhupāda was *para-dukha-dukhī*, unhappy to see others’ suffering. Once, on a morning walk near a golf course in Dallas, he asked, “What are these men doing?” When told that they were playing golf, with a tear in his eye Prabhupāda declared, “See how they are wasting their time, hitting this little ball.” The Christian evangelist Billy Graham once implied that sports are ultimately less important: “God answers my prayers everywhere except on the golf-course," he joked. For any soul fortunate enough to have attained a human birth, Prabhupāda regarded mundane sports as simply a waste of time, one among many futile attempts at happiness through sense gratification. “In this age,” he wrote, “men are victims not only of different political creeds and parties, but also of many different types of sense-gratificatory diversions, such as cinemas, sports, gambling, clubs, mundane libraries, bad association, smoking, drinking, cheating, pilfering, bickerings, and so on.” *(Bhagavatam* 1.1.10, Purport) Of course, participatory sports do provide exercise and recreation, but serious devotees understand that mundane sport—including watching spectator sports—can be subtly or grossly polluting. Although often touted as good clean fun, major spectator sports are often connected with *vikarma*, or sinful, prohibited activities, through the products sold by their sponsors. Because sport in this world originates in Kṛṣṇa, who is all-attractive, it can attract us. But we should be aware that it can serve as one of the many weapons of mass distraction of Mayadevi, a dear servant of the Lord whose task is to test our priorities by offering illusory allurements. If we see in mundane sports occasional flashes of beauty, exuberance, heroism, excitement, drama, spontaneity, creativity, determination, great teamwork, and brilliant tactics—the skill, artistry, or prowess of a Pele, Muhammad Ali, Michael Phelps, Martina Navratilova, or Usain Bolt—we can remember that Kṛṣṇa tells us, “Know that all opulent, beautiful, and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor” and “I am the ability in man.” (*Gita* 10.41, 7.8) Lord Kṛṣṇa, however, does not want us to loiter in the material world trying to extract a mere spark of His splendor through perverted reflections in materialistic stadiums or on dazzling television screens. He beseeches us to attain His padam avyayam, or eternal spiritual realm, as Śrīla Prabhupāda explains: That *padam avyayam*, or eternal kingdom, can be reached by one who is *nirmana-moha*. What does this mean? We are after designations. Someone wants to become "sir," someone wants to become "lord," someone wants to become the president or a rich man or a king or something else.… Designations and attachments are due to our lust and desire, our wanting to lord it over the material nature. As long as we do not give up this propensity of lording it over material nature, there is no possibility of returning to the kingdom of the Supreme, the *sanatana-dhama*. That eternal kingdom, which is never destroyed, can be approached by one who is not bewildered by the attractions of false material enjoyments, who is situated in the service of the Supreme Lord. One so situated can easily approach that supreme abode. (*Gita* 15.5, Purport) *False Designations* We already have plenty of material designations: man or woman, American or Russian, black or white, Hindu, Christian, Jew, or Muslim. Do we really need to create more for ourselves? These superficial, material self-conceptions simply divide and bewilder us, causing us to forget our real spiritual identity. To get out of this dangerous material world, we must be free of all such false designations, or *upadhis*. Clearly, if we really want to enjoy transcendental sports with Lord Kṛṣṇa and His friends in the spiritual world, we have to “give up this propensity of lording it over material nature”—and the attempt to enjoy mundane sports is rooted in just that propensity. When we identify with worldly sports, we are simply concocting more unnecessary, artificial material designations for ourselves. We proudly wear T-shirts glorifying our favorite sports team. Although these teams carry imaginary names, many are fittingly named after animals or various creatures, and we often consider the players our heroes. *Real Heroes* In his purport to *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 4.25.25, Śrīla Prabhupāda notes, "Material activities are false heroic activities, whereas restraining the senses from material engagement is great heroism.” In a letter in 1975 to a devotee who was distributing his books, Prabhupāda suggested that even greater heroism than controlling one’s own senses is giving others transcendental knowledge. “During war time, a farm boy or ordinary clerk who goes to fight for his country on the front immediately becomes a national hero for his sincere effort. So Kṛṣṇa immediately recognizes a preacher of Kṛṣṇa consciousness who takes all risks to deliver His message.” In his book *Our Family Business*, Vaiseika Dāsa explains that a true hero—a genuine champion—is “an ambassador of goodwill,” a sincere servant of the Lord who helps countless losers rise above the illusory game of material life altogether by introducing them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, especially through Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. The miracle of these transcendental literatures is that if even convicted athletes, or you and I, are somehow blessed to read and follow them—in a dingy jail cell, a temple ashram, or a fancy penthouse—any of us can become actual winners. Our petty infatuation with illusion’s endless games, lifetime after lifetime, can come to an end, and one day we can participate in the real thing: we can sport face-to-face with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate sportsman. ## New Vrindaban: An Overview *In Honor of its Fiftieth Anniversary* *By Satyaraja Dāsa* *Archival research by Caitanya Mangala Dāsa* With the successful worldwide celebration of ISKCON’s fiftieth anniversary in 2016, another semicentennial event naturally follows in its wake: commemoration of the founding of New Vrindaban in 1968, two years after ISKCON's founding. By establishing this farm community, Śrīla Prabhupāda hoped his followers and eventually the rest of the world would embrace the Kṛṣṇa conscious ideal of “simple living and high thinking.” This could be accomplished, he taught, by underscoring five important components of a back-to-the-land Vedic ideal, beginning with (1) cow protection, (2) simple living, (3) spiritual education, and (4) holy pilgrimage. Under the right direction, he added, these four can lead to the most important component of all: (5) loving Kṛṣṇa. This article has two parts. The first is an overview of New Vrindaban—what it is, how it started, and what it has accomplished. The second focuses on four devotees who bring to life the five components that Prabhupāda mandated for New Vrindaban. While the community has produced a multitude of devotees who could be singled out for their consummate service, these four, each with a penchant for one of the initial components mentioned above, will serve as a sample. Their stories show how the fifth component, loving Kṛṣṇa, is the natural result of properly engaging in New Vrindaban’s central activities. *Part I: Origins and Development* Vṛndāvana is Kṛṣṇa’s paradise in the spiritual world, the kingdom of God described in the ancient wisdom texts of India. A replica of this realm exists even today as a village in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India, where Kṛṣṇa walked the earth some five thousand years ago. Soon after Prabhupāda arrived in the West, in 1965, he envisioned yet another replication of Vṛndāvana–New Vrindaban.1 In May 1956, Prabhupāda wrote a two-part Back to Godhead article about the potential for such a project in the Western world. The article promoted the notion of a community of devotees living close to nature according to the principles of the *Bhagavad-gītā*. He called the project Geeta Nagari (the name of his subsequent farm in Port Royal, Pennsylvania). Vrindavan’s initial Western counterpart came to be through the agency of two early disciples, Kirtanananda Swami and Hayagriva Dāsa. In the winter of 1968 they saw a brief newspaper article in which an enterprising landowner-turned-*yogi*, Richard Rose, mentioned that he was looking for people to create an ashram in Marshall County, West Virginia. “The conception is one of a non-profit, non-interfering, non-denominational retreat or refuge,” read the almost prescient article, “where philosophers might come to work communally together, or independently, where a library and other facilities might be developed.”2 Several months later, Kirtanananda and Hayagriva, who had temporarily developed a strained relationship with their spiritual master, set out on their own to visit the land. They negotiated with the owner and reached a provisional financial agreement. Kirtanananda settled there for a few months in a farmhouse in the woods. That summer, he and Hayagriva visited Prabhupāda in Canada to make amends. His Divine Grace “forgave his renegade disciples in Montreal with a garland of roses and a shower of tears.”3 With Prabhupāda’s approval they returned to West Virginia and leased the property. A month later Prabhupāda wrote to them, “Now we can work with great enthusiasm for constructing a New Vrindaban in the United States of America.”4 Excited about his new project, Prabhupāda had his secretary, Brahmananda Dāsa, write to the various ISKCON centers asking those devotees who were able and inclined to support New Vrindaban by visiting if not staying on and lending manpower.5 He had already given the land its special name in an earlier letter: “You have New York, New England, and so many ‘New’ duplicates of European countries in the USA, why not import New Vrindaban in your country?”6 Soon after the arrival of Brahmananda’s letter—that same month, in fact—New Vrindaban’s first Deities of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa made Their appearance as well: A small pair of bell-metal *murtis*, compliments of a devotee who had just returned from India. Prabhupāda was delighted. “I am very glad to learn that Harivilas has given you a pair of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Murtis, so it appears that Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is very kind on you, because you went to Vrindaban to live there but circumstantially, you could not live there, and you left. Kṛṣṇa has given you New Vrindaban, as well as, out of His good will, He has come to you. It is very surprising. So please welcome the Deity and install Him in a nice throne.”7 These Deities would eventually be called “Little Rādhā—Vrindaban-Chandra,” after the main Deities of the temple, installed three years later. Also in 1968, Kirtanananda brought from Montreal Jagannatha Deities to be worshiped on the community’s small altar. With Deity worship in place, a set of clear instructions from their spiritual master, and new devotees trickling in, New Vrindaban developed, steadily if also slowly. Despite frigid winters and austere conditions, sincere and determined devotees gradually made the journey and helped develop the small, humble ashram into a thriving Kṛṣṇa conscious village. Cows, central to the New Vrindaban paradigm, were soon bought and bred. Calves were born, and a very real bovine presence gave the land the feel of its namesake. Hand-tended gardens were set in place, providing food for the community and flowers for the Deities. Oxen and horses were trained to pull plows and wagons, resulting in small agricultural miracles. The fields gave birth to crops of corn and hay, harvested and stored in silos for the cows to eat during New Vrindaban’s cold winters. All the while, devotees were learning the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness under senior disciples. Simple living, high thinking. Spring of 1969 saw Prabhupāda’s first visit to the farm, and he loved it. He stayed a little over a month, but he made it clear that New Vrindaban was home. After he left, he continued to guide his disciples on transcendental life in a rural environment through many letters and even a few subsequent visits, in 1972, 1974, and 1976. By August 1970 almost fifty residents were living at the community, and the number would keep growing. Beautiful hand-carved white marble Deities were imported from India and installed on Janmastami, August 13, 1971, and after that, New Vrindaban grew like wildfire. Throughout the 1970s, cows, peacocks, and additional land were acquired, until New Vrindaban—initially some 138 acres—would eventually boast nearly 2,500, with devotees anxious to join from all quarters. Hayagriva wrote in 1972: “In ’69 and ’70 we built cottages and gradually expanded to include a dozen people. Then in the winter of ’70, we began making Spiritual Sky incense and distributing it through the city temples. This proved to be a real gold mine. By the spring of ’71 sufficient money came in to enable us to buy the other two farms [nearby], and as soon as we did people started pouring in.”8 Kirtanananda Swami became a leading ISKCON *sannyasi*, and his project became one of ISKCON’s premier pilgrimage sites, with devotees worldwide attending its many annual festivals. A tour de force development was Prabhupāda’s Palace of Gold. (See my article in *Back to Godhead*, May/June 2016.) Conceived in 1972 as a comfortable residence for Prabhupāda whenever he visited New Vrindaban, it was still unfinished when he departed this world in November 1977. The idea morphed into its being a memorial shrine, and with that vision the devotees continued to work on it as a lasting tribute to Śrīla Prabhupāda. Upon its completion in 1979, it exceeded everyone’s wildest dreams—a dazzling, highly wrought, even otherworldly palace of marble, gold, carved teakwood, and the blood, sweat, and tears of numerous dedicated devotees—a fitting tribute to the modern world’s greatest spiritual master. “It’s hard to believe that Prabhupāda’s Palace is in West Virginia,” wrote the Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky. “In fact, it’s hard to believe it’s on this planet.”9 Life magazine told readers that the Palace is “a place where tourists can come and be amazed.”10 The New York Times summed it up: “Welcome to Heaven.”11 The Palace was unquestionably a highpoint in New Vrindaban’s achievements, and throughout the 1980s it reaped the benefits of the devotees' monumental endeavor. Unfortunately, Kirtanananda Swami, though a qualified and noble leader in many ways, temporarily brought New Vrindaban to its knees, leading it into questionable and deplorable realms, some illegal, for which he was reprimanded and given a jail sentence, as were others. Naturally, the Governing Body Commission of ISKCON deposed him, for his wayward activity was not representative of the movement’s ideals and teachings. Thus he was excommunicated from the movement in 1994. Throughout the 1990s and into the early years of the twenty-first century, New Vrindaban suffered, even as the Palace, at first, continued to thrive and receive many visitors. But signs of decay soon appeared. New Vrindaban’s troubles became the stuff of books and news articles, causing even sincere followers to leave. Various deviations continued to occur. As a result, from the early 1990s until only recently the Palace suffered financially, causing maintenance to be neglected and an overall downward spiral, but one that was not to last. As the first decade of the twenty-first century came to a close, a new day dawned, and New Vrindaban started to rebuild. By 2011 a new team of dedicated devotees picked up where the old crew had left off, with some of the older devotees staying on and gaining new momentum. New acolytes join hands with New Vrindaban stalwarts and worked diligently to revamp the original spiritual vision of Prabhupāda’s first farm community. It is now on solid ground, with the community learning from previous mistakes. Indeed, fifty thousand tourists and pilgrims still visit each year.12 In recent years an ambitious multi-million-dollar renewal effort has been set in place, with an enthusiasm that rivals the Palace’s initial construction.13 *Part II The Five Principles of New Vrindaban* Here we briefly survey the five components that Prabhupāda mandated for New Vrindaban: (1) cow protection, (2) simple living, (3) spiritual education, (4) holy pilgrimage, (5) and loving Kṛṣṇa. *1. Cow Protection* “Kṛṣṇa by His practical example,” Prabhupāda wrote, “taught us to give all protection to the cows, and that should be the main business of New Vrindaban.”14 Apropos of this, New Vrindaban is home to the first and longest-running cow-protection program in ISKCON and the Western world. It has been in operation since the spring of 1969, when the community’s first cow, Kaliya, made her way into the association of devotees. The heroes who have championed the cow program at New Vrindaban are many, but one devotee in particular has worked hard to make this a reality. Doug Fintel was born in 1954 in Norfolk, Virginia. Raised on a farm in northwest Iowa, he migrated to the mountains outside Denver, Colorado, where he deepened his love for nature. His involvement in the counterculture of the 1960s reached a highpoint when he met the devotees of Kṛṣṇa, particularly Padmanabha and Mahotsava, a husband-and-wife team looking for interested seekers in that part of the country. Doug had started a firewood business, but the devotees won his heart, and he began to think how he could engage as one of them more directly. Frequenting the Denver ISKCON temple in the winter of 1976, he liked the idea of a farm community dedicated to Kṛṣṇa, and New Vrindaban seemed a natural fit. His general psycho-physical makeup and his background in rural America made him just the right man for a back-to-the-land Kṛṣṇa conscious environment, especially for the plow department and farm work. He has been in New Vrindaban, serving faithfully, since before Prabhupāda’s departure from this world. In fact, he had heard about Prabhupāda’s love for New Vrindaban’s cow-protection program soon after he joined ISKCON in 1977. New Vrindaban was abuzz with Prabhupāda’s recent visit. Madhava Smullen writes, In 1976, when [Prabhupāda] visited New Vrindaban for the last time, the community was caring for four working teams of oxen and over 150 cows. A new barn had been erected in Bahulaban [one of New Vrindaban’s first sectors], and Prabhupāda visited it to see the cows and four newborn calves. He let one of them lick his hand as a devotee told him how the cows were yielding about 120 gallons of milk every day, which they were turning into ghee, cheese and buttermilk. Prabhupāda was pleased.15 Doug, initiated as Ranaka Dāsa, gradually became more and more involved with New Vrindaban’s cows and is now, with their help of course, producing “*ahimsa* milk”—consciously trying to avoid any pain for the dairy cows on the farm. Ranaka is looking for a sustainable model for the future. “In the past,” he says, “New Vrindaban was known for its huge dairy production, but we couldn’t take care of the cows properly. So we’re looking for balance, a sustainable model for the future, where the cows are happy and produce in abundance. I think we’re getting there.” *2. Self-Sufficiency* Prabhupāda sometimes referred to self-sufficiency with the phrase “simple living,” reminiscent of his ISKCON Statement of Purpose #6: “To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler and more natural way of life.” Using the things of this world in God’s service is real renunciation, or saintly life. It is called *yukta-vairagya*. As Prabhupāda wrote: "Yukta Vairagya means that we should simply accept the bare necessities of our material part of life, and try to save time for spiritual advancement. This should be the motto of New Vrindaban.”16 One New Vrindaban devotee who embodies that mood is Vidya Devī Dāsī. Born in Wisconsin as Mary Meberg in 1949, she and her husband, Madhava Ghosa, now deceased, came from rustic, agrarian backgrounds and had always put a premium on intelligent agriculture, even before they joined Prabhupāda’s farm community. Her ancestors were among the first settlers in Wisconsin, developing sophisticated agronomical techniques early on. “It’s in my DNA,” she says. “I was born on a farm and I’ve been living close to the land from childhood.” She arrived in New Vrindaban in 1972 and met Madhava a few years after settling there. They devoted their lives to gardening for Kṛṣṇa, growing vegetables and flowers for the community while raising their five children. She's especially fond of the gorgeous and variegated gardens at Prabhupāda’s Palace, which she nurtured from the ground up, their beauty competing with the Palace itself. But even prior to the Palace, she and the other New Vrindaban farmhands performed natural miracles. By 1974 the Bahulaban temple garden expanded to 1.5 acres, with similar large gardens in the sections of New Vrindaban known as Vrindaban and Madhuban. Plantings included more than thirty kinds of vegetables, fruits, and herbs, along with oats, which became a staple in New Vrindaban. Teams of horses plowed the fields. Devotees involved included Varsana Swami (then Kasyapa Dāsa), Tejomaya, Manonatha, Madhava Ghoa, Advaitacarya, and Tapah-puṣja, among others. A greenhouse, built in 1975, extended growing periods and allowed flower growing during winter. Vidya also started a side business, called Nature Crafting. She would grow and sell tomatoes, herbs, flowers, and other crops, and she would teach the locals the value of organic gardening for both consumers and the environment. She laughs as she remembers how they would grow gourds of all shapes and sizes. These became among their most popular items. She would paint them and turn them into birdhouses and even Jagannatha Deities, which sold well. Prabhupāda’s strong endorsement for this kind of work came in 1976: “Yes. Anything grown in the garden, that is hundred times [more] valuable than [if] it is purchased from the market.”17 ECO-Vrindaban (ECO-V), a nonprofit organization, was started in 1998 to care for New Vrindaban’s cows, and in 2014 it also took responsibility for locally grown crops and flowers, continuing and expanding New Vrindaban’s self-sufficiency program. By caring for New Vrindaban’s bovine life, particularly by milking its happy and productive dairy cows, and by developing sustainable agriculture, ECO-V has been realizing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s vision of simple living for the devotee community. *3. Spiritual Education* Prabhupāda often said that people are suffering due to a lack of knowledge. His hope was that through spiritual education, people would become happy. This aligns with his ISKCON Statement of Purpose #1: “To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world.” Prabhupāda wrote, “It is necessary for the leaders of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to start educational institutions in different parts of the world to train children, starting at the age of five years. Thus such children will not become hippies or spoiled children of society; rather, they can all become devotees of the Lord. The face of the world will then change automatically.”18 Specifically for New Vrindaban, he wrote, “Please now try to organize a children’s school. This is one of our programs in New Vrindaban. . . . You can form a school committee and get it recognized by the Education Board. Then more children will be sent.”19 The realization of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s educational dream for New Vrindaban has been spotty, with various successes and failures. But the community continues to keep the goal in mind, and various attempts are being made to implement both children’s schooling and higher education. Sankirtana Dāsa and Ruci Devī Dāsī, Andy and Ruth Fraenkel, are two names that stand out in the realm of New Vrindaban education. The couple met in college in 1968, were initiated in 1973, and arrived in New Vrindaban by 1976. And for the next forty years, Ruci, especially, dedicated herself to teaching preschool and elementary school to prepare children for a life of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, but no less for the rigors of living in the outside world. While Sankirtana has underlined the importance of education through storytelling and dramatic performance, for which he has won significant accolades and awards, Ruci has concentrated her focus on schools and an academic environment. Way back in the 1970s when the New Vrindaban school was called Nandagram, the small classrooms for boys and girls gradually grew into one of the largest ISKCON *gurukulas* in the world. But the ashram-based facility was shut down by the end of the 1980s. Then, from 1989 to the late 1990s, there was a day school, which grew into Gopal's Garden, opened by Ruci in 2007. Gradually, the New Vrindaban educational system evolved into a homeschooling cooperative that keeps improving. “Today,” writes Madhava Smullen, “[Ruci] continues to teach at the Gopal’s Garden Homeschool Co-Op, established in 2007.” There she provides a balanced blend of standard academic subjects and Kṛṣṇa conscious education. At the end of each school year, she produces an anthology of the students’ writings and illustrations, now used in ISKCON schools worldwide. *4. Holy Pilgrimage* Among the several farm projects and rural communities started by Śrīla Prabhupāda, only New Vrindaban was given the mandate to build replicas of holy places of Vrindavan: “There will be seven principal temples, namely, Govinda, Gopinatha, Madana Mohana, Syamasundara, Rādhā Ramana, Rādhā Damodara, and Gokulananda.”20 Thus, from its inception New Vrindaban was seen not only as a pilgrimage site in its own right, but also as a reproduction of the original pilgrimage site—Vrindavan itself, home to the original temples of the Gosvamis, leading followers of Lord Caitanya. “Activities exhibited by Kṛṣṇa Himself at Bhauma Vṛndāvana, the Vṛndāvana-dhama existing on this planet,” wrote Śrīla Prabhupāda, “are not different from His activities on the planet Goloka Vṛndāvana. This is proper realization of Vṛndāvana anywhere. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we inaugurated the New Vṛndāvana activities, wherein devotees are always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and this is not different from Goloka Vṛndāvana.”21 One person who has taken the pilgrimage aspect of New Vrindaban to heart is Varsana Swami. Born John Mowen in 1950, he hails from Morristown, New Jersey, but spent many of his early years on his grandfather’s farm in Pulaski, in upstate New York. He also studied theology at St. Andrew’s College, but quickly decided that he could best pursue God in the forest, where he could pray and contemplate divinity without disturbance. It was in the forest that he met the devotees. He returned with them to the Brooklyn temple and took up devotional practices. This was in 1972. Relocating to New Vrindaban, he was initiated by Prabhupāda a year later. He has been there ever since. Varsana Swami gradually became known for landscaping, carving the holy area out of the existing contours of the West Virginia foothills. He has “excavated” replicas of Rādhā-kunda and Syama-kunda at Govardhana Hill in New Vrindaban, and is gradually constructing Rādhā-Gopinatha Mandir, the first of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s proposed replicas of the seven main temples of Vrindavan. This has become a prized pilgrimage spot for visitors. As time goes on, the other temples will manifest as well, and pilgrims will come from all over the world, as they do now to see the Palace of Gold. Varsana Swami clearly has a calling to liberate these holy places from the raw landscape that is New Vrindaban. *5. Loving Kṛṣṇa* Ultimately all four of the above components work in concert to bring about love for Kṛṣṇa, the fifth, if also the primary, principle of the New Vrindaban way of life. The third of the seven purposes of ISKCON is “To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Kṛṣṇa, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Kṛṣṇa).” This is where New Vrindaban ultimately hopes to take the people who live there, and to carry all its visitors on that journey as well. *Notes* 1. The earthly replica of Vṛndāvana in the spiritual world is spelled "Vrindavan" on modern maps. Śrīla Prabhupāda used the Bengali-style spelling when naming "New Vrindaban." 2. Richard Rose, *The San Francisco Oracle*, December 1967. 3. Hayagriva Dāsa, “Chant,” *Brijabasi Spirit*, November 1981, p. 20. 4. Letter from Prabhupāda, 8/23/68. Quoted in Hayagriva Dāsa, “New Vrindaban,” in *Back to Godhead*, Feb. 1, 1969 (Vol. 1, No. 23). Online version: http://www.backtogodhead.in/new-vrindaban-hayagriva-dasa/ 5. Brahmananda’s letter, dated September 7, 1968, and approved by Prabhupāda, summed up their master’s vision for New Vrindaban in those earliest days: “It has a farmhouse and several other structures, a well, streams, hills (Govardhan, as named by Swamiji [Prabhupāda]), pasture grounds (a cow will be acquired soon), ghat, pond, woodland, all situated on 138 acres. Prabhupāda has requested that 7 temples be established there. Its main activity will be cow protection and to show the world that simply by living with cows and land and chanting HARE KṚṢṆA a perfect society will prevail. . . . A great deal of work is required and Swamiji has requested at least four devotees to go there immediately. New Vrindaban lacks [such] so-called necessities as hot running water and toilets, so that only stout and sturdy devotees are needed, especially those with carpentry experience and can do manual labor.” 6. Śrīla Prabhupāda letter to Hayagriva, 3/17/68. 7. Śrīla Prabhupāda letter to Kirtanananda Swami, 9/22/68. 8. Howard Wheeler, “New Vrindaban: A Hare Kṛṣṇa Community in West Virginia,” *Mother Earth News*, July/August 1972. 9. “Children of Kṛṣṇa: Seeking heaven in West Virginia,” *Courier-Journal Magazine* (Sunday, February 10, 1980). 10. Hillary Johnson, “Children of a Harsh Bliss: In a West Virginia Commune, an Extraordinary Look at *Life* and Love Among the Krishnas,” *Life* (April 1980). 11. Edward Schumacher, “West Virginia Marvels at Indian Palace,” *The New York Times* (Monday, September 3, 1979). 12. Sarah Pulliam, “A lower-key kind of Kṛṣṇa,” *Columbus Dispatch* (July 18, 2008). 13. http://www.palaceofgold.com/history.html 14. Śrīla Prabhupāda letter to Hayagriva, 6/14/68. 15. http://www.brijabasispirit.com/2016/01/07/srila-prabhupada-kaliya-iskcons-first-cow/ 16. https://vanisource.org/wiki/Letter_to_Hayagriva_—_Montreal_14_June,_1968 17. https://vanisource.org/wiki/760803_-_Conversation_C_-_New_Māyāpur 18. *Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 4.12.23, Purport. 19. https://vanisource.org/wiki/691207_-_Letter_to_Ranadhir_written_from_London 20. https://vanisource.org/wiki/680823_-_Letter_to_Kirtanananda _and_Hayagriva_written_from_Montreal 21. http://vanisource.org/wiki/CC_Madhya_7.69 22. http://www.brijabasispirit.com/2016/10/16/new-vrindaban-devotees-serve-Prabhupāda-at-his-palace-with-renewed-enthusiasm/ ## Going Forward On the central altar of the New Vrindaban temple stand Śrī Śrī Rādhā–Vrindaban-Chandra–Rādhā with Kṛṣṇa as "the moon of Vṛndāvana." They are accompanied by Deities of Gopala Nathji, Gaura-Nitai, Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra, and Narasimha. Opened in 1983, the temple is elegant beyond words and competes with the Palace for the devotees’ attention. But the land and the cows will always hold a special place in the hearts of New Vrindaban residents. Although the landscaping and the development of various farm projects have been ongoing since the community’s inception, there is more to do. Recently a *Yoga* Shala opened just down the road from the main temple, and it hosts courses on *yoga*, meditation, and *kirtana*. This is part of a new outreach program meant to augment the Palace as a draw for outsiders. But the Palace is still the main attraction. New Vrindaban remains a holy place for pilgrims and a destination for many Western tourists, mainly because of the Palace of Gold. Madhava Smullen wrote in October 2016: It’s a reasonable expectation: this year, overall tourism at Prabhupāda’s Palace already increased from 20,000 annually to approximately 30,000. Vrajadhama [now Vrajakisora Dāsa, the new manager for Prabhupāda’s Palace] attributes this to stronger social media presence, as well as an increasing interest from TV, radio and print media. “It’s really about getting ourselves out there,” says Vrajadhama. “Because we have so much to offer. People are becoming aware that we’re doing a lot of work here, and that we’re ready to reintroduce ourselves to the world. They’re excited about that, and they want to come and see what we’re up to.”22 Apropos of New Vrindaban’s readiness for the future, the year 2018, its fiftieth anniversary, promises to be a major step forward. Several steps, in fact. To begin, five main events will commemorate the fiftieth in glorious New Vrindaban style. People will come from around the world for two weekend extravaganzas, particularly for congregation/donors, that start off the festival year in March and April. VIP events for West Virginia government officials and ISKCON dignitaries begin in May. During the summer there will be an open-house weekend for the public, with advertising that is sure to bring busloads of tourists from around the country and devotees from around the world. Finally, the main event will be a huge semicentennial celebration in September, commemorating the founding of New Vrindaban. In addition, all of New Vrindaban’s usual annual events will continue in a bigger and better way, including Gaura Purima, Nrsimha Caturdasi, Festival of Inspiration, 24 Hour Kirtan, Janmastami, Rādhāstami, Wheeling Rathayatra, Prabhupāda’s Appearance Day, and the Festival of Colors. *Timeline* 1968 January 22 First known mention of "New Vrindaban" in a letter from Śrīla Prabhupāda. August 8 Founding of New Vrindaban with Hayagriva's signing of a 99-year lease. August 23 Prabhupāda’s letter to Kirtanananda and Hayagriva fully authorizing the establishment of New Vrindaban. 1969 Spring Purchase of Kaliya (the community’s first cow) and the start of ISKCON's cow-protection program. May 21–June 22 Śrīla Prabhupāda's first visit. 1970 August First New Vrindaban Janmastami festival. 1971 Winter Large Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhada carved in Pittsburgh by Nara Nārāyaṇa Dāsa. August Janmastami: Rādhā–Vrindaban-Chandra installation ceremony at the Vrindaban farmhouse. 1972 May Bahulaban temple opens, and Rādhā–Vrindaban-Chandra move there from the Vrindaban farmhouse. August 31–September 8 Śrīla Prabhupāda's second visit. New Vrindaban sees the arrival of its twenty-first cow. 1973 Spring Guruban property purchased (future site of Prabhupāda's Palace). June 2–3 Groundbreaking ceremony for Prabhupāda's Palace & Govindaji Temple. Installation of Rādhā-Madhava at Madhuban and Rādhā–Vrindaban-Natha at Vrindaban. August 23 New Vrindaban Community Inc. incorporated by Hayagriva, Paramananda Dāsa, and others. 1974 April First issue of Brijabasi Spirit newsletter published. July 18–23 Śrīla Prabhupāda's third visit, and the first to his future palace. 1975 August 113 total cows in the herd: 47 milk cows, 27 heifers, 35 oxen, and 4 bulls. September *New Vrindaban: The Spiritual Frontier*, ISKCON Cinema movie released. Fall Big Gaura-Nitai Deities move from Buffalo to New Vrindaban. 1976 June 21–July 2 Śrīla Prabhupāda's fourth (and final) visit. 1977 January Kaliya, the first New Vrindaban and ISKCON cow, passes away at Vrindaban Farm. 1978 150 total cows in the herd. 1979 September 2 Dedication ceremony of Śrīla Prabhupāda's Palace of Gold. Labor Day Dharmasala guest lodge opens. Spring Varnashram College, a vocational school for teenage boys, starts (35 students by spring 1983). 1982 March/April Palace Gift Store & Restaurant opens. Guest cabins open. The State of West Virginia recognizes New Vrindaban as an unincorporated town. 1983 January Cow population approximately 300. March WV Dept. of Highways adds New Vrindaban to official state map. July 4 Rādhā–Vrindaban-Chandra's Temple of Understanding opens. Deities move from Bahulaban. Śrī Gopala Nathji installation. 1984 January Two temple lakes completed, Kaliya Ghat (now called Kusum Sarovara) and Chaitanya Ghat. 1985 Winter Large Gaura-Nitai sculptures dedicated. Spring Govardhan Dairy is opened in Valley Barn, built to handle 200 milking cows. 1986 January 6 Nrsimhadeva and Prahlada Deities installed. March Malini the elephant arrives. 1987 March Kirtanananda expelled from ISKCON. June Prabhupāda's Palace rose garden wins prestigious award from All-American Rose Selections. 1988 February New Vrindaban expelled from ISKCON. Difficult period, experimentation with Vaisnava/Christian blend. 1991 June 26 Census: 300 residents (131 adults). 1994 March New Vrindaban officially excludes Kirtanananda Swami. May *Brijabasi Spirit* returns focus to Śrīla Prabhupāda and his vision for New Vrindaban. 1995 Winter Danavira Goswami and his Rupanuga Vedic College move to New Vrindaban, as does ISCOWP (International Society for Cow Protection). 1998 February New Vrindaban provisionally accepted back into ISKCON. ECO-Vrindaban (GEETA) started. 2000 May Inaugural Festival of Inspiration. Fall New Vrindaban fully accepted back into ISKCON. 2006 March Prabhupāda's Palace formally recognized by GBC as Smrti Samadhi. 2007 June Inaugural 24-Hour Kirtan Festival. September Gopal's Garden Home School Co-op opens. 2008 September 11 New Vrindaban Community, Inc. name changed to ISKCON New Vrindaban, Inc. 2010 April Palace Renovation Committee started. 2012 April Start of construction for Rādhā-Gopinatha Temple by Dham Seva, Inc. July 10 CNN calls Prabhupāda's Palace one of the "8 religious wonders to see in the U.S." September Inaugural Festival of Colors. 2014 Summer Renovations on Palace entrance and front steps begin. 2016 December Prabhupāda's Palace front steps renovation completed. July 16 First Rathayatra in Wheeling, WV. 2017 April 15 *Yoga Shala inaugurated.* Autumn Prabhupāda's Palace outer wall renovation completed. 2018 New Vrindaban's Fiftieth Anniversary. 2019 Celebrations to come: April ISKCON Cow Protection Fiftieth Anniversary. September Prabhupāda's Palace Fortieth Anniversary. New Vrindaban, West Virginia, July 21, 1974 Founders Lecture: Happiness by Living in Goodness Founder-*Acarya* of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness *We can achieve true peace of mind by cleansing the heart of the influence of nature's modes of passion and ignorance.* > tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ > kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye > ceta etair anāviddhaṁ > sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati "As soon as irrevocable loving service [to Lord Kṛṣṇa] is established in the heart, the effects of nature's modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire, and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy." —*Śrīmad-Bhagavatam* 1.2.19 Everyone wants happiness and peace of mind. How it is possible? That is explained here: *ceta etair anaviddham*. Everything is within the heart, and we are being disturbed by *rajas* and *tamas*. *Rajas* means passion, or desire for material enjoyment, and *tamas* means ignorance. These give neither enjoyment nor knowledge. An animal has no material enjoyment or knowledge. Similarly, persons who are infected by the *tamo-guna*, the mode of ignorance, do not know the meaning of life, nor are they interested to know. People are becoming affected by this *tamo-guna*. Therefore even in this Western country they are becoming hippies. No material enjoyment, no spiritual knowledge—simply in darkness. If we simply practice the process of hearing about Kṛṣṇa, then gradually the darkness of ignorance and passion will disappear. We are suffering in this material life on account of these three modes of material nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance—especially the modes of passion and ignorance. Here is the process for getting out of the modes of passion and ignorance especially, but also the mode of material goodness. Sometimes material goodness is also a cause of bondage. A person falsely thinks, "Now I have become a *brahmana*" or "I have got a sacred thread; therefore my business is finished. Now I can do anything. It doesn’t matter." That is also another bondage. You have to advance further. Actually, a real *brahmana* does not think like that—"Because I have got this sacred thread, my business is finished." We offer the sacred thread, but don’t make your business finished there. There is further progressive life. After becoming a *brahmana*, one has to become a Vaisnava. Today we shall initiate several disciples, the first initiation and the second initiation. The first initiation is to give a chance for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. The beads are there, and the initiated members will agree to refrain from sinful activities and in pure heart chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Not in pure heart—the heart is already polluted—but offenseless. There are ten kinds of offenses. Our members who are going to be initiated should always remember to avoid the offenses. Of course, in the beginning the offenses are there, but if we try to avoid them, then there will be *namabhasa*. *Namabhasa* means almost pure chanting of the holy name. And if you attain the state of *namabhasa*, you’ll become immediately liberated. And then, when you can chant the *suddha* holy name—pure, uncontaminated by the material modes of nature—you will develop your love of Kṛṣṇa. Here it is stated, *rajas-tamo-bhava*: we are afflicted with the three modes of nature. Out of the three, two are very dangerous. What are they? *Rajas* and *tamas*, passion and ignorance. The whole material world is ongoing on the basis of these two qualities, passion and ignorance. What are the symptoms of passion? *Kama-*lobha*dayas ca ye*: too much attraction to sense gratification. This is called passion. And *lobha*: greediness, not satisfied. *Live the Simple Life* I have just come from a cottage. It is a very nice cottage. It is self-sufficient, with a little land for growing vegetables. Nice cottage, very warm. There is no need of air conditioning. We can live a very simple life anywhere, in any part of the world. There are so many jungles; you cut one or two trees, and with the logs you can make a little cottage. And after the trees are cut, the land becomes open, so you can utilize the land for growing food grains, for pasturing. Then if you have cows, food grains, vegetables, and a cottage, where is your economic problem? Live peacefully in the open air, take sufficient milk and vegetables, and get all the vitamins you need. You get a nice life and save time for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is life. We are trying to introduce this simple life in this New Vrindaban colony. We can live a very simple life, but because we are infected by *rajo-guna* and *tamo-guna*, we require the pigeonholes of skyscraper buildings. Unnecessarily. Why? Your time is so valuable that you cannot get back one day of your life or one moment of your life by paying millions of dollars. Today is the twenty-first of July. Now, the twentieth of July cannot be returned even if you try to bribe material nature with millions of dollars. It is not possible. What is gone is gone. Therefore Canakya Paita said, > āyuṣaḥ kṣaṇa eko 'pi > na labhya svarṇa-koṭibhiḥ > na cet nirarthakaṁ [nītiḥ] > kā ca hānis tato 'dhikā > [Cāṇakya Paṇḍita] We cannot get back even a moment of time by payment of millions of gold coins. That is not possible. If you simply waste such valuable time, then just estimate your loss, practically, from the monetary point of view. One moment of your life cannot be returned for millions of dollars. Therefore our Rupa Gosvami also teaches, *avyartha-kalatvam*. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person should see, "Has my time been wasted? Am I utilizing my time, the short duration of my life, properly?" All Kṛṣṇa conscious persons should be vigilant to see that time is not wasted. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore advises, > tṛṇād api sunīcena > taror api sahiṣṇunā > amāninā mānadena > kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ > [Cc Ādi 17.31] “One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.” (*Śikṣāṣṭaka* 3) We have therefore introduced chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day. I am glad to see all the devotees carrying chanting beads; that is a nice practice. It must be done. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, for twenty-four hours—while working, even while sleeping. If you practice, in sleep also you will chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is possible. It is not impossible; it is a fact. *The Sattva-guna Platform* In human life, if you want actual peace and prosperity you have to keep yourself always in the *sattva-guna*, the mode of goodness. This is the brahminical platform. Those who are going to be initiated as *brahmanas* must observe this principle; otherwise what is the use of taking a sacred thread? Don’t think that by simply having a sacred thread this business is finished. No. You should practice to keep yourself on the platform of *sattva-guna*. That platform of *sattva-guna* can be maintained when you are engaged in devotional service. Here it is said, *sthita sattve prasidati*: simply by being situated on the platform of goodness you will be happy. *Prasidati*. You will feel happiness because you are in knowledge. But the *bhakti* process is so transcendental that by discharge of devotional service you will be far above the *sattva-guna*. *Sattva-guna* means material good qualities. But these material good qualities can be contaminated sometimes, because the material nature is very powerful. Very, very powerful. Therefore sometimes we see that those who are not sticking to the principles fall down—immediately. Material nature will drag you: "Please come here." But if you remain fixed in devotional service, then you go above the *sattva-guna*. That is stated in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (14.26): > māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa > bhakti-yogena sevate > sa guṇān samatītyaitān > brahma-bhūyāya kalpate "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." We are introducing this process to become directly a pure devotee. Pure and impure devotees? Yes. Impure means those who are still contaminated by these three qualities, *sattva-guna*, *raja-gua*, *tamo-guna*. And pure means above that. No contamination. Take this direct process, because in this age it is very difficult to go step by step. Life is very short. You do not know if it will end at any moment. The material world is full of danger, especially in this age. > prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya > kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ > mandāḥ sumanda-matayo > manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ "O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed." (**Ś*rīmad-Bhagavatam* 1.1.10) This is our position. Almost every one of us has a very short duration of life. Although in this age the standard of life should be one hundred years, we may believe it is reducing. On account of sinful activities, the duration of life is reducing, memory is reducing. Therefore, the short-cut policy to make our life successful, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu has introduced, is śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana, the chanting of Kṛṣṇa's holy names. *Ś*rī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana will give you life. Those who are going to be initiated must avoid the ten kinds of offenses. Then the pure name will be manifested and you will try to chant more and more and more. This is the effect. *Unnecessary Desire* We want peace and prosperity because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is full of prosperity. And why should we not be in prosperity? We are not in prosperity because of our material contamination. *Kama-lobhadaya*: material contamination means being unnecessarily lusty. But if you practice, this unnecessary desire for sense gratification will be reduced. As you advance in devotional life, you will become uninterested in material activities, practically no interest. That is the test. Śrīla Yamunacarya says, > yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde > nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt > tad-avadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne > bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca "Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste." Here in the material world the highest pleasure is sex. Everyone—not only in human society, but in dog society, cat society, bird society—they are all after sex. The most abominable happiness is the first-class happiness in the material world. Yamunacarya was a king. So he says from his practical experience, "Since I have engaged my mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and am tasting newer and newer transcendental mellows that are increasing at every moment, when I think of sex life with women, immediately I spit at the thought." This is the test. The more you advance in Kṛṣṇa life, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the more you forget sex life, the topmost pleasure of material life. That is the test. Sex life, or *kama*, is passion, *rajas*. Here it is said, tada *rajas*-tamo-bhava: the result of passion is sex, *kama*, and *lobha*, no satisfaction. Spiritual life is above all these things. You cannot say that you have all the qualities of *rajas*-tamo-bhava—lusty desires, greediness—and still you are advancing. That is debauchery. That is not spiritual life. The test of spiritual life is that you shall be situated in *sattva-guna*. You have seen the picture of Cupid. He has an arrow to pierce you. Therefore this word is used: *anaviddham*—"without being pierced." As soon as you are pierced by an arrow, the painful condition begins. Immediately. We are always in pain because our heart is pierced by the arrow of Cupid. But if you remain in the *sattva-guna*, in goodness, then your heart will not be pierced by the arrow of Cupid. This is the test. Then you will be happy. Thank you very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out *"Knowledge" That's Illusion* *This conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and biochemist Thoudam Singh, PhD, took place in Bhubanesvara, India, on February 3, 1977.* Śrīla Prabhupāda: Just try to understand. Anyone who is not a devotee of the Lord—his whole life is a drawback. He has no value. And he is condemned so much. In *Bhagavad-gītā* Lord Kṛṣṇa calls him *na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ*: "rascal, ass, lowest of mankind, knowledge stolen by illusion." What can be done? A scientist who does not pursue the real science, the science of God, is condemned. "Oh? But he has earned so many big degrees." No. *Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā*—without knowledge of God, his knowledge is not knowledge but illusion. Finished. Anyone who has no knowledge about this Kṛṣṇa consciousness—he's so condemned. You can't give him any position. It is not possible. *Piśācī pāile:* when a man becomes mad, what is his position? Even someone who has become a high-court judge—if he has also become mad, he has no position. He's useless. "Now, wait just a moment. He is a high-court judge!" That's all right. But his present position—because he is mad—has no value. I have seen all this with my own eyes. Some fifty years ago, near my father-in-law's house, there lived a very famous scientist. A great scholar—he'd gotten all sorts of degrees, including PhD, and he used to study like anything. Later, he became so mad that he would run on the street in front of my father-in-law's house, naked. So what was his value? Just consider. This same man was so educated in so many fields of knowledge. But when he became mad and went running naked, who paid him any respect? Now, anyone who is under the deluding influence of this material energy—he is like that. Although actually he is part and parcel of God, he has now forgotten God and his own soul. So he's mad. And *piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya*: When a man becomes mad, he is finished. Whatever he may speak, it is all madness. It has no importance. His words may seem important on the relative platform, but on the absolute platform they must be mad. Because the basic principle behind the words—the man himself—is mad. Dr. Singh: The madness of the scientists may be a little different. They are mad or illusioned in that they know little of God's natural law, but they extrapolate vastly. Śrīla Prabhupāda: You can explain their madness in so many ways, but first try to understand the main idea: a very educated man—when he becomes mad, then he and his words have no value. In everyday life it is like that. If a high-court judge has become mad, you cannot give him the same high position. You cannot say, "Sir, you are now mad, but that's no matter. You just come and take your exalted seat, and everything will be all right." No, that is not possible. Of course, if by treatment you restore the man to sanity, that is another thing. Then he can work as before. You see, the person's inner potency is not finished, but as long as he shall remain mad, then his practical qualification will be finished. Dr. Singh: That was my idea also. For example, a scientist might, let's say, decide to write an equation that describes a spherical object's shape. But if he were to take only two points, his equation would be one for a straight line. And he would delude himself and others into thinking the object not spherical but flat or straight. In other words, in this example, although the scientist may not be running naked, he would still be mad—because he would be basing his conclusion on insufficient knowledge. Or to put it another way, sanity means understanding that our knowledge of things is very limited. And so, we have to understand, if we extrapolate from our limited knowledge to draw sweeping conclusions—conclusions beyond our knowledge—then it all becomes . . . just becomes false. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. If we go beyond our knowledge, it is false. When we have gone beyond our knowledge, our conclusions have to be false. Our conclusions must be false—unless they come from someone whose knowledge goes beyond our own. In other words, from someone who is a bona fide authority. We can return to a familiar example. If I am a small baby and I want to determine who is my father, that is simply beyond my knowledge. But if I receive knowledge from my mother—"Here is your father"—then my knowledge is sure to be correct. This subject matter is beyond my knowledge, but if I receive the knowledge from the right person, then my knowledge is correct. *Aroha-pantha* and *avaroha-pantha*. To obtain knowledge, you have two paths: the ascending and descending. On the one hand you have the ascending path, on which you try to rise out of your ignorance through experience, trial and error, deduction. On the other hand you have the descending path, which means the knowledge comes down to you from persons with higher experience. The knowledge descends from higher authorities. In this conditioned state of life—encased as we are by this material body, with its severely limited senses—there are many, many things beyond our knowledge. Therefore we have to take shelter of the descending path. This is our process. We have to take shelter of the *Vedas*, the scriptures. They are *sruti*, knowledge heard from higher authorities. This knowledge is perfect—coming from God by the system of *parampara*, or disciplic succession. This knowledge comes from Lord Kṛṣṇa to Brahma, from Brahma to Narada, from Narada to Vyasa, and so forth. This knowledge is perfect. With our limited senses, deductive knowledge has to be imperfect. But with bona fide authorities—starting from the Lord Himself—descending knowledge is perfect. The other way is all imperfect, but this way is perfect. Dr. Singh: Descending knowledge. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Hmm. This is perfect. ## Book Excerpt *Excerpted from the two-volume* Śrī Manaḥ-śikṣā: *Splendid Instructions to the Mind, by Raghunatha Dāsa Gosvami, with the commentaries* Bhajana-darpana *and* Manah-siksa Bhasya by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura *and* commentaries of contemporary Vaisnavas. Copyright 2016 by Padma Inc. Available from the Kṛṣṇa.com Store, Amazon.com, *and* elsewhere. *About the Book and This Excerpt* In its twelve verses, *Śrī Manah-siksa* presents a procedure for one to enter into and become absorbed in the pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. It is intended especially for dedicated students seriously practicing *bhakti-yoga* and aspiring for advanced levels of devotion. This edition consists of two volumes. Volume 1 (59 pages) presents each verse in the format familiar to readers of Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, along with a full-page original color painting for each verse and an explanation of each painting. Volume 2 (537 pages) has four parts: Summaries and Background, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's Commentaries, Commentaries by Contemporary Vaisnavas, and Appendices. For this excerpt, we are presenting Verse One (without the Sanskrit-English synonyms), along with Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's commentaries and a few paragraphs from each of the commentaries of contemporary Vaisnavas. *O Mind!* By Śrīla Raghunatha Dāsa Gosvami With Commentaries Verse One > gurau goṣṭhe goṣṭhālayiṣu sujane bhūsura-gaṇe > sva-mantre śrī-nāmni vraja-nava-yuva-dvandva-śaraṇe > sadā dambhaṁ hitvā kuru ratim apūrvām atitarām > aye svāntar bhrātaś caṭubhir abhiyāce dhṛta-padaḥ “O dear brother! O mind! Having given up all pride, please develop unprecedented and excessive attachment to Śrī *Guru*; to Śrī Vṛndāvana, the abode of cows; to the devotee residents of Vṛndāvana; to all the devotees on this planet; to the confidential *mantra* [given by Śrī *Guru*]; to the holy names of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa; and to the process of surrendering to the fresh youthful couple of Vraja. Holding your feet, I beseech you with sweet words.” *Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's Bhajana-Darpada commentary* *Slokartha*: Meaning of the Verse 1 *Sri Guru Guru* includes both *diksa-*guru** and *siksa-*guru*s* (initiating *guru* and instructing *guru*s). The types of attachment one should develop towards the *guru*s while serving them is clearly explained in the next verse (*Mana-siksa* 2). 2 *Gostha: Sri Vraja-dhama* This includes Gokula, Nandisvara, Govardhana, Syama-kunda, *Yavat* and all other places of Krsna’s pastimes in Vraja-maṇḍala. 3 *Gosthalayin: The residents of Vraja* Those who reside in Vraja-dhama for the purpose of pleasing the Lord through devotional service are called *vraja-vasi-gana*. Vrajavasi indicates a pure devotee, an elevated *uttama-bhagavata*. Such a person resides in *vraja-dhama*, both physically and in mediation, or just in meditation. 4 *Sujana*: The Vaisnavas,2 devotees of the Lord Vaisnavas may belong to any Vaisnava *sampradaya* (school). Perhaps they may not reside in *vraja-dhama* even in meditation, but still they are bona-fide and are devotees of the Supreme Lord, Bhagavan. These are the intermediate, *madhyama-bhagavata*, devotees. 5 *Bhu-sura-gana: The brahmanas* These are persons who are teachers, priests, intellectuals, scholars, counselors, or healers, and who are firmly fixed in the scriptural duties for their occupation and life stages, *varnasrama-dharma*. Such persons also teach the worship of the Lord, *Vaisnava-dharma*, to all pious persons, varnasrama followers. They are known as juniors, or *kanistha-bhagavata*. 6 *Sva-*mantra*: One’s diksa-*mantra** This is the spiritual *mantra*, or bhagavan-*mantra*, that a bona-fide *guru* gives as part of initiation (e.g., *kama-gayatri*). 7 *Sri Hari-nama* Primary names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in relation to the spiritual world and the spiritual eternal function are names like Sri Hari, Sri Radha-Kanta, Sri Krsna, Sri Govinda, and so forth. Secondary names, such as Patita-pavana (the deliverer of all fallen souls) and Paramatma (Supersoul), are related only to the material world. One should always take shelter of the Lord’s primary names. 8 *Vraja-nava-yuva-dvandva-sarana: Surrender to the youthful divine couple of Vraja* One should take shelter exclusively and one-pointedly of *vraja-yuva*, the divine couple Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. 9 *Dambham hitva: Give up pride* The varieties of dambha include *maya* (illusion and trickery), *avidya* (ignorance), *kapatata* (cheating), *asaralata* (lack of direct simplicity) and *sathya* (deceit and duplicity). While cultivating pure devotional service, if there is any other motive besides progression in *bhakti*, then one is engaged in a kind of cheating or duplicity. If philosophical detachment (*jnana*) or good works for material enjoyment (*karma*) is prominent in the devotional process, then ignorance (*avidya*) will be seen as more powerful than *bhakti*. If any unfavorable mood is present in the development of *bhakti*, it is a disguised form of *maya*. One must give up all such things. When one engages in the cultivation of pure devotional service, illusions about duties of occupation and stage of life (*varnasrama-dharma*), material desires, the self, God, material energy, life’s goal, and the process of success will all disappear. 10 *Apurva-rati* The love inherent in the soul is pure love for the Lord (*atma-rati* is *suddha-rati)*. When that pure love in the conditioned soul comes into contact with the dull matter of *maya*, it transforms into material attachment. In pure *krsna-bhakti*, the original, eternal, deeply emotional attachment remains fixed and visible at all times because Sri Krsna is the soul of all souls. During conditioned life, while performing devotional service, a soul becomes filled with apurva-rati, love that has no material precedent, in proportion to the expression of the soul’s inherent emotional attachment. 11 *Atitaram kuru: Make intensive endeavor* *(atisaya-vidhana*) Enthusiastically feel encouraged to progress and take full shelter in the devotional path. Do not become complacent, thinking, “If I am lucky I will get spiritual success, or, if it is not in my fortune, then I may not achieve it.” As much as the mercy of *guru* and Krsna combine with one’s own endeavors, one gets spiritual potency. As much as that spiritual potency manifests, one’s desires to enjoy the fruits of one’s own actions will be diminished. *Instructive Commentary* To be eligible to receive the pure instructions in this verse, a person should already have achieved faith, *sraddha*, in the path of loving devotion to Krsna. Such faith comes from the potency of the association of saintly persons, *sadhu-sanga*, manifesting within the heart. That potency diminishes the tendency to perform *karma*, actions for material gain. When *sraddha* develops, the first action is to accept and take shelter of an initiating spiritual master, *diksa-guru*, as well as the diksa-mantra to worship *yugala-kisora*, the divine couple Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. After receiving the mantra one should worship one’s *siksa-* and *diksa-guru*s with pure devotion and attachment to their lotus feet (*atma-rati*). One should not only respect *gurus* as saints, using rational intelligence, but one should also deal with one’s *gurus* as well-wishing friends. Always respect and serve the three types of Vaisnavas [junior, intermediate, and advanced] according to their eligibility, with love and in a friendly manner. One should also develop deep attachment to chanting the *mantras* and serving the holy name. One should come to the point of complete surrender to the lotus feet of the divine couple, knowing them to be one’s life and soul. This surrender is called *saranagati*. *Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Manah-siksa Bhatta, Song One3* [O mind,] desire to serve the young couple of Vraja with uncommon, wonderful attachment. Gurudeva, the forest of Vraja, the residents of Vraja, the pure devotees and the *brahmanas*, your *ista-mantra* and the holy name— O heart! I beg you, falling at your feet, please love all of them. I know the essence—without devotion for all these, along with devotion for Krsna, the soul will not escape the cycle of birth and death (*samsara*). Consider that action, knowledge, asceticism, and yoga only further bind one to karma and certainly are unable to free one from it. Renounce all these, O brother, and sing the praise of the goddess of faith, whose grace can bestow devotion. Give up all pretenses and meditate on the eightfold truths (guru, Vrndavana, Vrndavana’s residents, Vaisnavas, brahmanas, one’s mantra, the holy name, and the process of surrendering) at every moment. Love them all without ulterior motives. With prayers for attaining such love, Bhaktivinoda bows at the lotus feet of Sri Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami. *Commentaries of Contemporary Vaisnavas* Sivarama Swami This verse can be understood in depth by analyzing Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s words. Firstly, there are four specific questions being answered, so we will address those in summary. The first question has been asked, what is someone’s duty? The word sarane answers the second question of what a devotee’s duty is when his faith awakens in hearing about Lord Krsna. One should take shelter in Krsna, *mam eka saranam vraja*. The ultimate duty of every living entity, every conditioned soul, is to take shelter of Krsna. The natural question that arises is, “How do I do that? And what is the method for taking shelter, or what is the practical process?” And the answer is, by developing love for Krsna. Taking shelter means that Krsna gives us his shelter. But we cannot get Krsna’s shelter unless we actually have *rati*. This word *rati* is a very nice word, a common word which has multiple meanings and usage. So here *rati* means that one has love of Krsna (prema). When we have love for Krsna then we can receive his shelter. It is something that we have to acquire, that Krsna gives. It is not something that we can simply manipulate or achieve by some certain ritualistic or regulated activity. The third question is how to develop this love. And the fourth: is this love developed exclusively for Krsna? No, it is not. Rather, it is stated: *gurus*, Vraja, Vrndavana, vraja-vasis, the holy name, and Radha-Krsna. We cannot exclude anyone from the realm of our attachment. If one loves one’s father, then one will also love one’s mother, brothers, sisters, household—everything else is automatically included. Therefore a devotee is equally disposed, or even more favorably disposed, towards those things that are tadiya, related to the Lord, because they are an easier way of achieving Krsna. So one may ask, how will I develop love for all of these devotees? And here it is stated, dambha hitva: get rid of your pride. Sacidanandana Swami There is a ladder in our lives. We can go down in the direction of kama, become degraded, sad, disappointed, frustrated, and keep taking birth after birth, or we can go to the same ladder of desire, but go up to the level of love, to the beginning states of gratitude or appreciation of Krsna, feeling closeness to the Lord. Then we feel some *bhakti*, and finally some spiritual energy will really start working intensely in us, and then there will be ruci and asakti and bhava someday. But we can start now, and it’s only a matter of which direction we look. Do we want to look toward the material energy, or do we want to look toward guru, toward vraja-dhama, toward the *brahmanas*, toward the Vaisnavas, and all these personalities we have heard about in *Manah-siksa*? Train the mind to look to these residents of Vraja, the Vaisnavas, and to our diksa-mantras, the holy name, and we will see, without any doubt, that we will become free from this kama, this selfish desire that only makes us miserable and disappointed. When in the association of devotees, something happens. A sadhu is someone who practices bhajana and who helps us to do bhajana also. So when we come together with proper devotees who practice Krsna consciousness and who will preach to us nicely, I can guarantee we will faint when we smell the fragrance of the cup full of honey that will be opened in their association. In the association of materialists our heads turn downwards, and down we go. In the association of sadhus our heads turn upwards and up we go. It is that simple. Bhaktivijnana Goswami Certainly, externally we must be humble. Externally, we should try and offer respect to one and all, not expecting it in return. Externally, we should chant the holy name, but bhakti is not a mechanical process. We need to think what should be occurring in our hearts. That science is what Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami explains in the *Manah-siksa*. In this first instruction, Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami says, “O my brother, my dear mind, I’m offering my obeisances to you; I’m taking a very humble position. I’m taking hold of your feet and I humbly pray to you. Please, give up all your pride: sada dambha hitva.” He then says, “I pray to you, ‘O mind, try your hardest to develop attachment.’ ” The reason for this instruction is contained in the first two lines where he enumerates to whom and to what we should develop our attachment. Gurau to Sri Guru, *gostha*—Vrndavana, *gohalayiu*—to the residents of Vrndavana. Sujane means devotees. *Bhu-sura-gane* means *brahmanas*. *Sva-mantre* means in our own *diksa-mantras*. *Sri-namni*—the holy name. *Vraja-nava-yuva-dvandva-sarane*—the shelter of the lotus feet of Kisora-kisori. Each word or phrase carries an important message, which helps us to have a clearer idea of how we should chant the holy name and perform devotional service. Urmila devi dasi In his book *Jaiva-dharma*, Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes, “*Sri Manah-siksa* has laid down a systematic procedure (*paddhati*) for one to enter into and become absorbed in the pastimes of Sri Sri Radha Krsna; one should follow it without guile.” A *paddhati* is a kind of instruction manual. Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami joins together the concepts of having great love for others with giving up our inner pride. If we explore that relationship, we will find that love and humility must go together. Even in ordinary life, when we are convinced that we are great and so deserve to have others serve us, we can neither serve them selflessly nor appreciate and value the service they do for us. Thus, the essence of love—being fascinated by the beloved, valuing the beloved, and caring for the beloved—cannot happen authentically in the presence of pride. Certainly in the spiritual realm, *saprema-bhakte paramanukula dainyam maha-pusti-karam* (*Brhad-bhagavatamrta* 3.5.74), utter humility nourishes pure love. We should especially note that we are told in verse one to have great love for our *guru*s, the spiritual masters who show us the path, instruct us, and initiate us into the chanting of mantras. Krsna tells us in the *Bhagavad-gita* that we must serve a *guru* to receive transcendental knowledge. Such service, however, is not merely official, nor in the mood of an employee. As Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport to *Caitanya-caritamrta*, *Madhya-lila* 17.15: “The words *snigdha* (very peaceful) and su-*snigdha* (affectionate) are used in verses fourteen and fifteen respectively, and they are also found in *Srimad-Bhagavatam* (1.1.8): bruyuh *snigdha*sya siyasya guravo guhyam apy uta. ‘A disciple who has actual love for his spiritual master is endowed, by the blessings of the spiritual master, with all confidential knowledge.’ Srila Sridhara Svami has commented that the word *snigdha*sya means *prema-vata*. The word *prema-vata* indicates that one has great love for his spiritual master.” Thus the exchange of service and knowledge between *guru* and disciple is that of love. *About the Author and the Commentators* These short biographies are abridged from longer versions that appear in the book along with entries for Jayadvaita Swami (commentator), Hari Parada Dasa (Sanskrit translator), Krsna-abhiseka Dasa (Bengali translator), and Prana Govinda Dasa (Bengali translator. Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami (1495–1586) was born in Bengal to a family of very wealthy landowners, but at the age of nineteen he left his family and traveled to Jagannatha Puri to take shelter of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. After the Lord left this world, Raghunatha Dasa went to Vrndavana and received instructions from Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami. He lived near Radha-kunda for the rest of his life. He worked to find and restore places of Lord Krsna’s pastimes in the area and wrote and compiled many important books. Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1838–1914) grew up in Bengal and first worked as an educator and introduced English education to the state of Orissa. Later, he was a magistrate during British rule. When he lived in Jagannatha Puri with his wife and children, he supervised the temple on the government’s request. He had fourteen children, all of whom were advanced Vaisnavas. One of his sons, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, founded the Gaudiya Matha and was the spiritual master of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Sivarama Swami was born in Budapest, Hungary. His family emigrated to Canada, and in 1970 he became Srila Prabhupada's disciple. He accepted the renounced order of life in 1979. He became a member of ISKCON's governing body (GBC) in 1986 while serving in the UK and later became the GBC representative for Hungary. Well known for his scholarship, he has taught many courses and written many books on Gaudiya Vaisnava theology and philosophy. Sacinandana Swami, of German origin, joined ISKCON in 1970 and was initiated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1971. He teaches and writes prolifically on Vaisṇavism and the Hare Krsna movement and has translated the Bhagavad-gita into German. Bhaktivijnana Goswami was born in Tashkent, in the former Soviet Union. He took to spiritual life in 1980—as a scientist, a Moscow State University graduate and a postgraduate student at the Institute of Molecular Biology. He is a disciple of Radhanath Swami and is well known for his Sanskrit and sastric scholarship. Urmila Devi Dasi, born in America, has served ISKCON since her initiation by Srila Prabhupada in 1973. She has a PhD in education and is the chair of the Sastric Advisory Council to the GBC, an associate editor of Back to Godhead, and a professor of Sociology of Religion at Bhaktivedanta College in Belgium. She is the author of Vaikuṇṭha Children, Dr. Best Learn to Read (an 83-book literacy program), The Great Mantra for Mystic Meditation, and numerous articles. Jnananjana Dasa, born it Italy, is one of the founders of the International Vedic Art Academy at Villa Vrindavan, Florence, Italy. Some of his paintings have been published in books of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. He also does mixed-media art, paints frescoes and murals, and does conservation work on art of the Old Masters. He created twenty-two large paintings based on the Mahabharata that are displayed at the Museum of Sacred Art at Villa Vrindavan. *NOTES* 1 The meter for the verses of Manah-siksa is sikharini, like that of Jagannathastakam, found in ISKCON songbooks. 2 Some people say that Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami has placed sujana (Vaisnavas) and bhu-sura-gana (brahmanas) in two separate categories to show that a Vaisnava is not automatically a brahmana. However, if the term bhu-sura-gane is taken as an adjective of the term sujane, then it will translate as “to all the Vaisnavas, who are also brahmanas.” 3 The Bengali verses of the song appear in the book.