# Back to Godhead Magazine #53 *2019 (06)* Back to Godhead Magazine #53-06, 2019 PDF-View Welcome Most of the articles in this issue directly involve Vaiṣṇava scriptures, or books within ancient India’s vast body of literature that focus on Lord Kṛṣṇa, His expansions, His incarnations, His devotees, and numerous topics related to Him. Satyarāja Dāsa’s “Bhāgavata Māhātmya: The Journey and Rejuvenation of Bhakti Devī” draws on a noteworthy section of the fifty-five-thousand-verse *Padma Purāna*. In “Lust Bites the Dust,” Caitanya Caraṇa Dāsa continues his series highlighting lessons from the Rāmāyaṇa relevant to our material and spiritual lives. In “A Small but Profound Preface,” Girirāja Govinda Dāsa looks closely at Śrīla Prabhupāda’s preface to his commentated translation of *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, a book Prabhupāda knew could spiritualize the world. “*MotelGita: Solace for the Traveling Soul*” informs us of a flourishing program that’s placing Prabhupāda’s *Bhagavad-gītā* As It Is in numerous hotel rooms. Gaurāṅga Darśana Dāsa relies mainly on *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* to show how Kṛṣṇa is “*The Reservoir of All Beauties*.” “*Bharata, Son of Ṛṣabhadeva*,” the book excerpt in this issue, also relies on the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* to the tell the story of King Bharata and his two subsequent births. Finally, Ratnākara Gaurāṅga Dāsa describes an episode in his life to show that *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* is “The Book that Responds to Your Desire.” Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nāgarāja Dāsa, Editor* Founder's Lecture: Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Controller *Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that understanding God begins by recognizing that someone’s in control of nature and us.* San Francisco—September 11, 1968 *Only one person can rightfully claim to be beyond all control.* > jñānaṁ te ’haṁ sa-vijñānam > idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ > yaj jñātvā neha bhūyo ’nyaj > jñātavyam avaśiṣyate “I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and numinous. This being known, nothing further shall remain for you to know.” —*Bhagavad-gītā* 7.2 Knowledge means to know how this universe is working—what is the working force, what is the energy. The scientists are searching out different energies. The earth is floating weightlessly. Such a huge mass with so many mountains, so many seas, oceans, skyscrapers, cities, towns, and countries is floating in the air just like a cotton ball. If one understands how it is floating, that is knowledge. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to have all kinds of knowledge. Not that we Kṛṣṇa conscious people are being carried away by some sentiment. No. We have got philosophy, science, theology, ethics, morality—everything required to be known in the human form of life. Kṛṣṇa says here, "I'll speak to you all about knowledge." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person should not be a fool. He can explain how these universal planets are floating and how the soul is evolving through different species of life. There are different departments of scientific knowledge—physics, botany, chemistry, astronomy, and so on. Kṛṣṇa says, yaj jñātvā: “If through Kṛṣṇa consciousness you understand the knowledge I’m presenting, then you'll have nothing left to know.” That means you'll have complete knowledge. We are hankering after knowledge, but if we are in knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and if we know Kṛṣṇa, then all knowledge is included. You'll have full knowledge about the constitutional position of yourself, this material world, the spiritual world, God, our interrelationship, time, space, everything. There are many things to be known, but the principal things are God, the living entities, time, work, and the material energy. These five things are to be known. *There Is a Controller* You cannot deny God just by saying, "There is no God." God is the controller, the supreme controller. You cannot say that you are not controlled. There is a controller. Even in regard to the state you cannot say there is no controller. There is a controller. In every street, in every house, there is government control. This store here [the storefront temple] is also under government control. You have to build a store like this in a certain way, and you cannot live there. And if your building is a residential house, then the government says, "The fire arrangement should be like this." There is control. Even if you walk in the street or drive your car there is control: "Keep to the right." You cannot cross where it is written "Stop." You have to stop. So in every way you are under control. There is a controller. And the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. There is one controller over another controller. If you go on searching out who is the ultimate controller, then you'll find Kṛṣṇa. The *Brahma-saṁhitā* (5.1) affirms, *īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ*: “The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa.” We have to get knowledge of this controller and how He is controlling. *Vijñānam*, the knowledge Kṛṣṇa refers to here, means to not only know the controller but to know how He is controlling, how many energies He has got. This knowledge can be understood by a person who has made a relationship with Kṛṣṇa and is a surrendered soul. Without being surrendered, it is very difficult to understand the controller, His energies, and how He is controlling everything. If you enter into any educational institution, if you don't surrender yourself to the rules and regulation of the institution, how can you can get the advantage of the knowledge imparted by the institution? Everywhere, wherever you want to receive something, you have to be controlled, or you have to be surrendered to the rules and regulations. In our class we are imparting some lessons from the *Bhagavad-gītā*, and if you do not follow the rules and regulations of this class, it is not possible to receive the knowledge. Similarly, full knowledge of the controller and the process of controlling can be understood when, like Arjuna, one is surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Unless one is a surrendered soul, it is not possible to understand. Always remember that Arjuna surrendered himself to Kṛṣṇa and therefore Kṛṣṇa is speaking to him. Actually, these discussions of scripture are not to be done unless there is a relationship between the speaker and the audience. “Audience” means the disciples. And a disciple is one who accept the discipline. The exact Sanskrit word for disciple is śiṣya, which comes from the root *śas*, meaning “controlling.” And from *śas*, the word *śāstra* comes. *Śāstra* means books that control. From *śas* also comes the word *śas*tra, weapons. When argument fails, reason fails, then there is force. The state controls in that way. First of all they give you the laws. If you break the laws, if you don't follow the regulation books—the “*śāstra*”—then the next step is *śastra*, weapons. If you don't follow the regulation of the government—"Keep to the right"—then there is the police baton—*śastra*. You have to be controlled. If you are a gentleman, then you can be controlled under the instruction of the *śāstra*. And if you are defying, then there is the trident of Durgādevī. You have seen the picture of Durgādevī. She is holding a trident, which represents the threefold miseries—those caused by our own body and mind, those caused by others, and those caused by nature. You cannot violate any rules and regulations of the state; similarly you cannot violate the rules of the supreme state, or Kṛṣṇa. For example, there are some health rules. If you eat too much, then you will be controlled by some disease. You'll have indigestion, and the doctor will advise you not to eat for three days. There is control by nature. Nature means God's law. It is automatically working. Foolish people do not see God's law, but God's law is there. The sun is rising just exactly on time; the moon is rising exactly on time. The first day of the year, the first of January, has come exactly on time. So there is control. But foolish people do not see it. Everything is controlled. God and how things are working and how things are being controlled—these are to be known. We should not go simply by sentiment. Religious sentiment is good for persons who follow blindly. But at the present moment people are advanced in so-called education. *Bhagavad-gītā* gives you full information so that you can accept God with your reason, with your arguments, with your knowledge. It is not blind following. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not a sentiment. It is backed by knowledge, or *jñāna*, and practical knowledge, vi*jñāna*. The process to understand this knowledge is to be a surrendered soul. Therefore one becomes a disciple, or one who accepts the discipline. Without accepting discipline, we cannot make any progress. It is not possible. If you want to be aware in any field of knowledge, any field of activity, scientifically and factually, then you should accept the controlling principle. *The Supreme Worshipable Object* Now here, in this chapter, it is explicitly explained who is the supreme worshipable object. According to our capacity we are all worshiping somebody. At least we are worshiping our boss. Suppose I work in an office or in a factory. I have to worship the boss; I have to abide by his order. So everyone is worshiping. Now in this chapter it is explained who the supreme worshipable object is—Kṛṣṇa—and how He is the supreme worshipable object. Therefore if we understand that here is the supreme controller, here is the supreme worshipable object, then the problems of our life are solved at once. Everyone, knowing or unknowingly, is searching after the supreme. Just the other day I told you the story of a Muhammadan devotee who wanted to serve the greatest. He was serving the Nawab, the governor. Then he went to the emperor. Then he went to Haridāsa, a saintly person, and from Haridāsa he was promoted to worship of Kṛṣṇa in Vrindavan. We should be inquisitive, intelligent. We are serving, every one of us; at least we are serving our senses. Practically, people are not serving any boss or any master; they are serving their senses. Suppose I am serving somebody as my boss. Actually I am not serving his person; I am serving his money. He may say, "Tomorrow you have to work for free. You are getting twenty dollars a day now. Tomorrow I have no money. You will have to work free." "Ah, no, no, sir. I'm not coming. Because I am not serving you; I am serving your money." Actually we are serving money. And why are we serving money? Because with money we can satisfy our senses. Without money we cannot satisfy these formidable senses. If I want to drink, if I want to enjoy such-and-such things, then I require money. Therefore ultimately I am serving my senses. Kṛṣṇa is called Govinda, “one who gives pleasure to the senses.” Go means senses. We ultimately want our sense satisfaction. Here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If you serve Kṛṣṇa, then your senses become satisfied. Therefore His name is Govinda. Actually, we want to serve our senses, but the real senses, the transcendental senses, are Kṛṣṇa’s, Govinda’s. Therefore *bhakti*, devotional service, means purifying the senses to be employed in the service of the supreme pure. The Lord is the supreme pure. In the *Bhagavad-gītā*, in the Tenth Chapter (10.12), you'll find that Arjuna addresses Kṛṣṇa as pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān: "You are the supreme pure." If we want to serve the senses of the supreme pure, then we have to become pure also. Being pure means spiritual. Spiritual life means pure life, and material life means contaminated life. We have got this material body. This is the impure body. Therefore we suffer from disease, we suffer from old age, we suffer from birth, and we suffer from death. And in our actual, pure form, our spiritual form, there is no such suffering. There is no birth, there is no death, there is no disease, and there is no old age. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* (2.20) you have read that the soul is nitya, eternal. As soul, we are pure. We have no birth, no death, but we are simply changing bodies. Therefore we are the oldest. Although we are the oldest, we have got our new spirit. We are always fresh. That is our position. *Purifying the Senses* Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or devotional service, means purifying the senses. That's all. We haven't got to get out of the sensual activities. No. We have simply to purify the senses. Because we are living entities, our senses are there. But at the present moment, because we are materially contaminated, our senses are not getting full enjoyment. This is most scientific. Devotional service means purifying the senses. > sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ > tat-paratvena nirmalam > hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa- > sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate *“Bhakti*, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.” (Nārada Pañcarātra) Nirmalam means purification. How can you purify your senses? It is said *sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam*. Purification of the sense means you have to be free from all kinds of designations, or *upādhis*. Our life is full of designations. I am thinking, "I am Indian." I am thinking, "I am a *sannyāsī*." You are thinking you are American. You are thinking "man." You are thinking "woman." You are thinking "white." You are thinking "black." So many designations. These are all designations. Purifying the senses means to purify the designations. And Kṛṣṇa consciousness means "I am neither Indian nor European nor American nor this nor that. I am eternally related with Kṛṣṇa. I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa." When we are fully convinced that "I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa," that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that is purification of your senses. As part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa you have to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is your pleasure. Now you are trying to satisfy your senses, your material senses. When you realize that you are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, then you'll satisfy the senses of Kṛṣṇa, Govinda. And by satisfying His senses, your senses will be satisfied. A crude example: The husband is understood as the enjoyer, and the wife is considered the enjoyed. But if the wife satisfies the senses of the husband, her senses are also satisfied. Similarly, if you have got some itching on the body and part of your body—the finger—scratches the body, the satisfaction is also felt by the finger. Not that only the particular part is feeling the sensation of satisfaction, but the whole body is feeling this satisfaction sense. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the complete whole, so when you satisfy the senses of Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, then the satisfaction of the whole universe takes place. This is the science. Another example is that if you satisfy the stomach in your body, then the whole body is satisfied. The stomach will issue such energy by digestion of the foodstuff that it will transform into blood, it will come into the heart, from the heart it will be diffused all over the body, and all over the body the exhaustion will be satisfied. This is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And Kṛṣṇa is explaining it personally. *Yaj jñātvā*: if we understand the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then there will be nothing unknown. Everything will be known. It is such a nice thing. Thank you very much. *Cover: Flute-playing Lord Kṛṣṇa and His elder brother, Lord Balarāma, tend Their numerous cows in Their eternal, transcendental abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana. Please see Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lecture “Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Controller,” (Painting by Dhṛti Devī Dāsī and Rāmadāsa Abhirāma Dāsa.)* A Small but Profound Preface by Girirāja Govinda Dāsa Śrīla Prabhupāda introduces his *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* translation and commentary with an appeal to world leaders and thinkers. In his preface to *Śrīmad-*Bhāgavatam**, Śrīla Prabhupāda has summarized an ocean of wisdom in just a few words. The *Bhāgavatam*, with over eighteen thousand Sanskrit verses, is a masterpiece of knowledge for the benefit of humanity. Śrīla Prabhupāda undertook the monumental task of translating the text into English and adding his own commentary (“purports”), and his edition now appears in more than eighty languages. Scholars have opined that among Śrīla Prabhupāda’s many gifts to humanity, this literary contribution is especially noteworthy. Often an author writes a preface to provide the intended audience a glimpse of the aim and scope of the book. One can imagine the seriousness with which Śrīla Prabhupāda would introduce his English translation of the *Bhāgavatam*. The result is that every statement of his short but profound preface is food for contemplation. The aim of this article is to discuss and deliberate on parts of it. We shall discover the *Bhāgavatam*’s strong relevance to present-day humanity—collectively and individually. Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote this preface when he was unknown to the world. But his visionary character can be clearly seen in his words, written as early as in 1963, when people thought of him as just another ordinary swami. He arduously managed to complete three volumes of the *Bhāgavatam*, and then set sail to America to preach its gospel. The preface begins: We must know the present need of human society. And what is that need? Human society is no longer bounded by geographical limits to particular countries or communities. Human society is broader than in the Middle Ages, and the world tendency is toward one state or one human society. The ideals of spiritual communism, according to *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, are based more or less on the oneness of the entire human society, nay, of the entire energy of living beings. The need is felt by great thinkers to make this a successful ideology. *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* will fill this need in human society. Today we live in a world where all parts of the earth are interconnected economically, socially, and culturally, and thinkers are searching for a common ideology to bind society harmoniously. Diversity is natural when people of different nations mix, yet leaders are aspiring to achieve unity in diversity. It is a noble idea, but a formidable one to enact in practice. Various social scientists, anthropologists, economists, educators, political leaders, reformers, artists, and scientists are busy trying to make unification of humanity a reality. We can see their efforts in the establishment of worldwide institutions. Śrīla Prabhupāda envisioned that the need for unification would be inevitable. Consequently he stated his premise that the *Bhāgavatam* is a literature that can help leaders achieve their goal. *Bhāgavata Communism* In other places, he has explained what he means by “spiritual communism,” or the communism of the *Bhāgavatam*: Everything belongs to God; nothing belongs to us. This is *Bhāgavata* communism. As the communists, they say, “Everything belongs to the state,” we say, “Everything belongs to God.” We never say that anything belongs to anyone. No. This is *Bhāgavata* communism. So everything belongs to God. So one can utilize God’s property as much as he requires, not more than that. (Lecture, July 15, 1973, London) If the communist idea is spiritualized, then it will become perfect. As long as the communist idea remains materialistic, it cannot be the final revolution. . . . The communist philosophy as it is now practiced is vague, but it can become perfect if they accept the conclusion of the *Bhagavad-gītā—*that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme proprietor, the supreme enjoyer, and the supreme friend of everyone. Then people will be happy. (*Journey of Self-Discovery*, Chapter 7) Furthermore, *Bhāgavata* communism is not limited to humanity. It cares for all living beings. It is an all-inclusive welfare scheme. *Bhāgavata* communism says that even if you have got a lizard in your room, you must give him something to eat. If you have got a serpent in your room, you must give it something to eat. Nobody in your house should starve. You see? This is *Bhāgavata* communism. Not that "Only my brother and sister will not starve, and other animals should be killed." This is not communism. Here is communism. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness communism—that a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is thinking even for the ant, even for the lizard, even for the serpent. That is real communism. (Lecture, March 6, 1968, San Francisco) The opening paragraph of the preface is a call for revolution—a spiritual revolution based on the *Bhāgavatam*, a revolution for a universal welfare state with all inhabitants happy. The preface continues: Human society, at the present moment, is not in the darkness of oblivion. It has made rapid progress in the fields of material comforts, education and economic development throughout the entire world. But there is a pinprick somewhere in the social body at large, and therefore there are large-scale quarrels, even over less important issues. There is need of a clue as to how humanity can become one in peace, friendship and prosperity with a common cause. *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* will fill this need, for it is a cultural presentation for the respiritualization of the entire human society. Why should one bother to adopt spiritual communism from the *Bhāgavatam*? Here is the reason. Śrīla Prabhupāda says that despite rapid progress, a pinprick in the society at large is leading to big quarrels over less important issues. Modern wars are exploitative, selfishly driven by vested interests. Further, with rapid growth in almost all fields of life, we take pride in our social evolution. But we should pause and honestly ask, Are we really happy as a society? Are we united? Border problems, ethnic conflicts, resource conflicts, terrorism in the name of God, economic collapse, environmental problems, scandals, war tensions, communal disharmony, hundreds of diseases, suicides—shouldn’t this state of affairs prompt us to question the very philosophy underlying our growth? We’ve built a skyscraper on a shaky foundation. What is that foundation, that fake premise on which society rests? A diagnosis of the problem is needed before a suitable cure is thought of. Leaders are struggling without knowing the clue to how humanity can become one in “peace, friendship and prosperity.” Śrīla Prabhupāda urges them to refer to the *Bhāgavatam* for the clue. From the preface: Disparity in human society is due to lack of principles in a godless civilization. There is God, or the Almighty One, from whom everything emanates, by whom everything is maintained and in whom everything is merged to rest. Material science has tried to find the ultimate source of creation very insufficiently, but it is a fact that there is one ultimate source of everything that be. This ultimate source is explained rationally and authoritatively in the beautiful *Bhāgavatam*, or Śrīmad-*Bhāgavatam*. Here is the diagnosis of the problem. Society is now based on godlessness, on materialistic principles. Materialism has primarily two faces. One face is the belief that there is no God and no spirit and that matter is all there is—matter, not spirit, is the source of consciousness. The other face is the belief that matter alone, by chance or accident, caused everything we perceive. Materialism is the philosophy of most leaders today, coloring their view the world. Consequently all their plans are based on this premise, and the result is there for us to see. Materialism is simply not working. The *Bhāgavatam* teaches us that besides matter there is spirit and only an integrated worldview can solve the present-day problems. Leaders should take note of this. *The Bhāgavatam’s Uniqueness* Of course, this viewpoint is not just from the *Bhāgavatam*, but from many other Vedic scriptures as well as scriptures of the Abrahamic traditions. What then is the special contribution of the *Bhāgavatam*? The following verses hint at the *Bhāgavatam*’s uniqueness among other religious texts: Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this *Bhāgavata* *Purāṇa* propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful *Bhāgavata*m, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of *Bhāgavata*m, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart. O expert and thoughtful men, relish *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls. (*Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 1.1.2–3) These early verses of the *Bhāgavatam* warrant an open-minded reception. Atheists and materialists criticize the hypocrisy of supposedly religious people who do bad things in the name of God. Actually, their criticism is right. But the *Bhāgavatam* and followers of its true message shun materially motivated religious practices, and this should encourage critical readers to appreciate its nonduplicity. Further, here in the preface Śrīla Prabhupāda tells us that the *Bhāgavatam* contains an elaborate rational and authoritative explanation of God. The *Bhāgavatam* challenges many hardcore materialistic ideas and exposes materialistic vanity. Are there guidelines for studying the *Bhāgavatam*? From the preface: The only qualification one needs to study this great book of transcendental knowledge is to proceed step by step cautiously and not jump forward haphazardly as with an ordinary book. It should be gone through chapter by chapter, one after another. The reading matter is so arranged with the original Sanskrit text, its English transliteration, synonyms, translation and purports so that one is sure to become a God-realized soul at the end of finishing the first nine cantos. The *Bhāgavatam* has twelve cantos, and Śrīla Prabhupāda generally recommended that one read it in order. Reading elaborate commentary requires patience and interest. The reader can consult ISKCON leaders and teachers about how to study the *Bhāgavatam*. Whichever way we do it, a committed, disciplined reading will help us. In my last excerpt from the preface, Prabhupāda mentions becoming a self-realized soul after reading nine (of the twelve) cantos. Why nine? From the preface: The Tenth Canto is distinct from the first nine cantos because it deals directly with the transcendental activities of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. One will be unable to capture the effects of the Tenth Canto without going through the first nine cantos. The book is complete in twelve cantos, each independent, but it is good for all to read them in small installments one after another. *Awakening Natural Virtues* Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes the preface by admitting his frailties in writing his commentary but expressing hope that leaders will give the book a good reception. He then quotes a beautiful verse from the *Bhāgavatam* (1.5.11): > tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo > yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api > nāmāny anantasya yaśo ’ṅkitāni yac > chṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ “On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, form and pastimes of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a transcendental creation meant for bringing about a revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literature, even though irregularly composed, is heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.” Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mention of his frailties reveals his humility, but a person of his character and stature cannot err in his presentation. Nor is it ever inadequate. He ends the preface by quoting a verse (cited above) in which Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the author of the *Bhāgavatam*, shows the same humility. In fact, the quality of humility finds its ultimate expression and fulfillment in the pages of the *Bhāgavatam*, along with other desirable qualities such as gratitude, love, compassion, integrity, purity, and honesty. These special virtues are innate in every soul, and the *Bhāgavatam* draws them out in their splendid spiritual forms. All of us yearn for fulfillment, for satisfaction of our heart. Unfortunately our materially guided civilization desensitizes us, and we become stony and cold in relation to other living beings and nature. Materialism dries up the very essence of our compassionate humanity, leaving our soul parched. No wonder that despite much material advancement, a lingering sorrow pervades society. On one level everything may seem fine, but we sense that something somewhere is missing. There’s a pinprick, a constant irritation, in our otherwise soft bed. Where are happiness, peace, and prosperity? They elude us or come and go too quickly, leaving the heart wanting. It is this vacuum—the sheer hollowness, the ultimate emptiness of a materially guided civilization—that Śrīla Prabhupāda fills with his books and purports. His agenda is only one thing—how to make all living entities on earth happy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Seeing the *Bhāgavatam* as a panacea, Prabhupāda took great pains late in life to write his translations and purports. As Dhruva Mahārāja, filled with gratitude, kissed the feet of Lord Viṣṇu when He appeared before him, and as a sinful prostitute, moved by the compassion of Christ, kissed his feet, the entire humanity should kiss Śrīla Prabhupāda’s hands for his commentary on the *Bhāgavatam*. We should all read this literature and share it with leaders, urging them to apply the principles of the *Bhāgavatam* in their administrations. Instead of only criticizing them as godless, materialistic, demonic, and atheistic, we can proactively make them God-centered by taking introducing them to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s *Bhāgavatam* and encouraging them to give it the “good reception” that Prabhupāda desired. *Girirāja Govinda Dāsa is disciple of His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami Mahārāja and a śikṣā disciple of His Holiness Bhakti Vinoda Swami. He works as a scientist in the field of digital signal processing and is interested in exploring scientific aspects of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.* Bhāgavata Māhātmya: The Journey and Rejuvenation of *Bhakti* Devī *Through an allegory, a section of the Padma Purāṇa traces the spread of devotion to Kṛṣṇa in India during the current age.* By Satyarāja Dāsa A section of the Padma Purāṇa glorifying the *Bhāgavatam* presents an allegorical account of *bhakti’s* travels. In India’s traditional wisdom texts, *bhakti*, or devotion, is sometimes presented as a person. This is especially so in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava literature. In Kavi Karṇapura’s *Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭakam*, for example, we see *bhakti* personified as a character in a play. In the modern era, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s *Bhakti-tattva-viveka* describes her as an embodiment of the *svarūpa-śakti*, the internal energy of the Lord, and thus a manifestation of Śrī Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa’s ultimate spiritual potency. In the Ṭhākura’s other writings and in those of his son, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, among other spiritual masters in Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s line, Bhakti Devī is alternately considered a manifestation of Vṛndā Devī (a primary gopī associate of Śrī Rādhā) and an unidentified personality simply known as Bhakti Devī. Her most significant appearance is arguably in the *Padma* **Purāṇa*’s* **Bhāgavata* Māhātmya*,1 a short text of six chapters glorifying the *Bhāgavata* *Purāṇa* (Śrīmad-*Bhāgavata*m), known as the ripened fruit of the Vedic tree of knowledge. This *māhātmya* (“glorification”) is sometimes positioned as a preface to contemporary Sanskrit and Hindi editions of the *Bhāgavata*m itself or published as a separate booklet. *Bhakti’s Journey* The *Padma Purāṇa’s Bhāgavata Māhātmya* begins with *Bhakti* telling the history of her manifestation in the age of Kali, our current epoch of quarrel and hypocrisy. She was born in Draviḍadeśa, she says, which refers to the southern portion of the Indian subcontinent, and soon began her journey north. Traditionally, her “birth” in the south is seen as a reference to the Vaiṣṇavism of the Ālvārs, the twelve famous poet-saints of South India. Although *bhakti* is of course an eternal principle, *Bhakti* Devī makes her manifest appearance in Kali-yuga with the spirituality of the Ālvārs. Bhakti Devī continues north to Karnataka, and this is taken as a reference to Madhvācārya’s development of the *bhakti* tradition, which occurred on India’s southwest coast in the thirteenth century. With the establishment of his teachings, *bhakti* was firmly rooted in Indian soil, and Bhakti Devī’s devotees thrived in various ways. She says she reached a high point in Karnataka. Indeed, the various sampradāyas, traditional lineages, were systematized during this general period—notably those of Rāmānuja, Nimbārka, and Viṣṇu Swami—and other devotees also nurtured the *bhakti* tradition for all who were fortunate enough to embrace her teachings. But something strange happened as she made her way farther north to Maharashtra and then Gujarat. Bhakti Devī tells us that she was weakened in that part of India—a premature aging process was set in place—and she became almost unrecognizable due to illness. Her two “sons,” *Jñāna* (knowledge) and *Vairāgya* (renunciation), she asserts, fell sick as well. *Bhakti* historians, such as Shrivatsa Goswami and Kṛṣṇa Sharma, have explored just why *Bhakti* experienced difficulty during her Maharashtra/Gujarat sojourn, but answers are not forthcoming. Some say that the great wealth associated with Gujarat could have led to distraction from devotional principles, and there is certainly an element of truth in that perspective. From the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava point of view, however, Bhakti Devī’s premature aging would have more to do with speculative elements that arose among *bhakti* practitioners in that time and place. While there are great Vaiṣṇavas associated with those regions, a new perspective engulfed the tradition that temporarily compromised Bhakti’s virtues: nirguṇa-*bhakti*, or a devotional perspective where God’s form is deemphasized in favor of an impersonal force, had all but supplanted the more traditional saguṇa-*bhakti*, which emphasizes the worship of Kṛṣṇa or one of His manifestations, i.e., a personal absolute. In other words, while renowned Maharashtrian poet-saints such as Kabir, Jnanadev, and Namadev carried the tradition forward, their poetry highlighted a formless divinity, an emphasis not endorsed by the standard lineages. Nonetheless, as Bhakti Devī journeyed farther north to Vrindavan, she was rejuvenated, reinstated in her original blissful form. The Bhāgavata Māhātmya carefully mentions her renewal, especially noting that she began to dance: *dhanya vṛndāvanaṁ tena *bhakti*r nṛtyati yatra*, “Praise to Vrindavan, where *bhakti* is always dancing.” (1.61) Professor John Stratton Hawley comments on this reference to dance, which he says clearly associates Bhakti Devī’s resurgence in Vrindavan with the golden avatāra, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, known for His ecstatic chanting and dancing. Shrivatsa Goswami, too, in recounting Bhakti’s journey to the north, highlights the Caitanya component of the story: So this gives, beautifully, the historical development of the medieval *bhakti* tradition. The *bhakti* movement took birth in South India with the Dravidian saints, the Ālvārs, and so on. Then, a little later, Rāmānuja, the first systematic philosopher of *bhakti*, appeared in the Tamil country. . . . After Rāmānuja, the next great devotional thinker was Madhva, who was born in Karnataka at the end of the twelfth century. After that, the movement got a big boost from different saints who appeared throughout India, including Maharashtra, during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. These centuries were very crucial for the growth of the *bhakti* movement. But the *bhakti* movement did not attain its highest development, as the passage implies, until it reached Vrindavan. [Bhakti reached Vrindavan], of course, in the form of Caitanya Mahāprabhu because it was Caitanya who, along with his followers the Six Gosvāmīs, was the founder of Vrindavan in the early part of the sixteenth century. So the whole history of the *bhakti* movement is summarized here quite beautifully.2 But the *Bhāgavata Māhātmya* narrative develops from there: Whereas Bhakti Devī is reanimated in Vrindavan, her two sons only get worse. Their condition seems irreparable, and she worries for their welfare, asking the saint Nārada to advise her on an appropriate course of action. Desperately trying to revive them, Nārada chants Vedic *mantras*, the *Upaniṣads*, and even the *Bhagavad-gītā*, but nothing works. Finally, the four Kumāras arrive and strongly recommend recitation of the **Bhāgavatam*—*surely this will be the cure, for only the *Bhāgavatam* has the requisite purity to get the best out of *jñāna* and *vairāgya*. The sages chant the *Bhāgavatam*, and the task is done—her sons are healed. Thus the *Bhāgavata Māhātmya* does what it sets out to do: glorify the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. The culminating teaching of this scene comes from the mouth of Sanat Kumāra: *“Bhakti* yields the nectar of divine love only when one chants the spiritual sound of *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. And at that time, such love is accompanied by perfect *jñāna* and *vairāgya*, which as a result will dance in every heart and every home.” (*Bhāgavata Māhātmya* 63) The narrative moves on, saying that Bhakti Devī inundates all of India, moving farther north to Hardwar and elsewhere, including “other countries.” Given the accomplishments of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, especially in bringing the *bhakti* movement to the West in 1965, this is a significant statement. The text is clear: *idaṁ sthānaṁ parityajya videśam gamyate may*ā, “Leaving this place, I go abroad.” (*Bhāgavata Māhātmya* 1.50) According to both Shrivatsa Goswami3 and Satyanārāyaṇa Bābā, in his commentary on the *Bhāgavata Māhātmya*,4 this statement could easily point to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s journey to the western world. It is interesting, too, notes Satyanārāyaṇa (p. 244), that the Sanskrit verb used in this sentence is in the passive (gamyate), perhaps indicating that she (Bhakti) will be carried by someone, not that she travels on her own. Likewise, if there is any question that Bhakti Devī’s journey included going abroad, as opposed to just elsewhere in India, let it be noted that the Bhāgavata Māhātmya specifically uses the Sanskrit word videśam, which, according to the authoritative Monier-Williams (A Sanskrit-English Dictionary) translates as, “another country, foreign country, abroad.” These are primary definitions.5 *Philosophical Ruminations* Gaura Govinda Mahārāja (1929–1996), an ISKCON *guru*, while lecturing on this Bhāgavata Māhātmya (https://tvpbooks.com/2012/04/the-story-of-*bhakti*-devi/), quoted Nārada Muni speaking to Bhakti Devī: “It is your good fortune that you have come to Vrindavan Dhama and have become youthful again. Bhakti Devī is always dancing in Vrindavan. There are no customers for *jñāna* and *vairāgya* in Vrindavan, because everyone wants *bhakti*.” According to the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (1.2.7), *jñāna* and *vairāgya* arise naturally as a result of devotion to the Lord. Transcendental knowledge and detachment from sense gratification naturally follow *bhakti*. (11.2.43) This is why they are presented as Bhakti Devī’s sons in the *Bhāgavata Māhātmya*. That being said, it is further taught that without *bhakti*, knowledge and dispassion are inadequate. They may serve a preliminary purpose, but without *bhakti* they fall short. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava teachers throughout history have emphasized this point. As Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in *The Nectar of Devotion* (Chapter 14): “Actually, the cultivation of knowledge or renunciation, which are favorable for achieving a footing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, may be accepted in the beginning, but ultimately they may also come to be rejected, for devotional service is dependent on nothing other than the sentiment or desire for such service.” Once informed by devotion, however, knowledge and detachment hit their stride: “In that position of self-realization, by practice of knowledge and renunciation in devotional service, one sees everything in the right perspective; he becomes indifferent to material existence, and the material influence acts less powerfully upon him.” (*Bhāgavatam* 3.25.18) Further, “*Jñāna* and *vairāgya* can be achieved simply by becoming a devotee of Vāsudeva [Kṛṣṇa]. That is the verdict of Śrīmad-*Bhāgavatam*. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ, janayaty āśu *vairāgya*m [*Bhāgavatam* 1.2.7]. Āśu . . . very soon. Just like these boys, these American, these European boys, they are young men. Now they have taken sannyāsa and dedicated their life for service of Kṛṣṇa. They are *vairāgya*.” (Prabhupāda lecture, Calcutta, June 30, 1973) In other words, all spiritual ends are achieved by taking to *bhakti*, and a primary practice of *bhakti* is reciting *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, for it is identical to the spiritual realm. This is the teaching of the Bhāgavata Māhātmya. In all instances, *bhakti* is to be embraced as the very source of all other spiritual assets. Indeed, these assets do not show their true face until *bhakti* is fully embraced. Elaborating on the essence of pure *bhakti*, the scholar-devotee O. B. L. Kapoor notes: Prahlāda is said to have practiced *bhakti* in his mother’s womb, Dhruva in childhood, Ambarīśa in youth, Yayāti in old age, Ajāmila at the time of death, and Citraketu in heaven, after death. Even those consigned to hell or those who have attained liberation after bondage have practiced devotion and attained the supreme end. *Bhakti* is meant alike for those who desire liberation and those who have attained it. . . . The superiority of *bhakti* over the other paths of realization is thus apparent. Those who prefer *jñāna* to *bhakti* are therefore likened to people who run after the chaff and disregard the grain. The *Gītā* (6.46–47) states unequivocally that *yoga* is superior to *jñāna* and *karma*, and that *bhakti* is superior to them all.6 It should be noted that while pure *bhakti* transcends ordinary *jñāna*, *karma*, and *vairāgya*, they remain a part of *bhakti* in their purified forms. Pure *bhakti* as directed to Lord Kṛṣṇa presupposes a certain knowledge of the object of devotion, His form, His attributes, and the relationship between Him and the rest of the world, as well the concomitant detachment that arises as a result of this knowledge. *Caitanya-caritāmṛta* *(Ādi* 2.117) warns against any indifference toward this kind of knowledge, which is necessary for firm faith in Kṛṣṇa and exclusive devotion to Him: “A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one’s mind becomes attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.” This is why the B*hāgavata Māhātmya* depicts Bhakti Devī as beseeching the sages for the welfare of her sons, and the sages in turn rightly recite the *Bhāgavatam* as the prescribed remedy. For, as stated, only the *Bhāgavatam* can bring *jñāna* and *vairāgya* to the level necessary for the practice of pure *bhakti*. Apropos of this, we may contemplate the B*hāgavata Māhātmya*’s final words: Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī spoke the *Bhāgavatam* while in ecstasy. Anyone who recites or hears the *Bhāgavatam* is qualified to go to the spiritual world. . . . After studying various scriptures, I [one of the four Kumāras] have revealed this secret to you, which is the essence of all scriptures. There is nothing superior to this *Bhāgavatam* as spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. For the attainment of transcendental bliss, you should always drink the *Bhāgavatam*, which is composed of twelve cantos. Anyone who hears the *Bhāgavatam* from the lips of a pure devotee, with faith and a pure heart, or recites it to the devotees, will attain the supreme goal. In the three worlds there is nothing unattainable for such a person. Therefore, at the very heart of the *Bhāgavata Māhātmya’s* exaltation is Kṛṣṇa’s quintessential assertion: “Whatever appears to be of any value [up to and including *jñāna* and *vairāgya*], if it is without relation to Me, has no reality.” *(Bhāgavatam* 2.9.34) In other words, to be viable, *jñāna* and *vairāgya* must cling to *kṛṣṇa-*bhakti**. Otherwise, in the final analysis, they are simply contingencies of illusion, counterfeit currency subject to confiscation. Misfortunate persons who falsely believe they possess something of value are sadly disabused of the error when the fraudulence is discovered. They are left to lament. The Bhāgavata Māhātmya, by glorifying *bhakti* as the indispensable element in spiritual life, thus protects against this sad turn of events. This conclusion should be seen as uplifting, for it makes clear the singular spiritual balm known as *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. The *Bhāgavata Māhātmya* gives readers inspiration to read this best of all Purāṇas. “After the *Bhāgavatam’s* recitation,” the *Bhāgavata Māhātmya* tells us, “**Jñāna*,* *Vairāgya*, and *Bhakti* were at their best. Being young and enthusiastic, they attracted the hearts of all living entities. . . . In the midst of everyone, *Bhakti*, **Jñāna*,* and *Vairāgya* danced like expert performers.” Indeed, with the kind of prodding we receive from texts like the *Bhāgavata Māhātmya* of the *Padma Purāṇa*, we might one day follow their example. *NOTES* 1 *Māhātmyas* make up a genre *(Gītā* *Māhātmya, Mathurā Māhātmya*, etc.), and there are other Bhāgavata *Māhātmyas* besides the one referred to in this article. 2 Steven J. Gelberg, ed., "Interview with Shrivatsa Goswami" in Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa: Five Distinguished Scholars on the Kṛṣṇa Movement in the West (new York: Grove Press, 1983), p. 212. 3 Ibid, page 244. 4 Śrī Satyanārāyaṇa Dāsa, trans., **Śrīmad* Bhāgavata Māhātmya*: The Glories of *Śrīmad* *Bhāgavatam* (Vrindavan: BSI Gurukula, n.d.), p. 10. 5. When Gelberg questions Shrivatsa Goswami about the word *vi*deśa*m*, asking how we know it's not just referring to another province in India, as opposed to "abroad," Shrivatsa argues that all of the other places are mentioned by name, a common device in *māhātmya* literature, but somehow, mysteriously, this *vi*deśa*m* is left vague, indicating that it is some unknown place. That little fact, in conjunction with how the word is defined by Sanskrit experts, points to "another country." As Shrivatsa Goswami notes: In this context, *deśa* means "country" and vi means "another." 6. O. B. L. Kapoor, “The Path of *Bhakti*,” Back to Godhead, Vol. 65, May 1974. *Satyarāja Dāsa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, is a BTG associate editor and founding editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies. He has written more than thirty books on Kṛṣṇa consciousness and lives near New York City.* Lust Bites the Dust *Rāvaṇa, the main villain of the Rāmāyaṇa, represents the selfish, harmful desires that plague our hearts.* By Caitanya Caraṇa Dāsa Rāvaṇa’s strength—and his main problem—originated not in his conspicuous multiple heads but in his less conspicuous heart. The Rāmāyaṇa culminates in a massive war between the vicious Rāvaṇa and the virtuous Rāma, the Supreme descended in human form. The confrontation between them is triggered by Rāvaṇa’s abduction of Rāma’s wife, Sītā. But its seeds were sowed much earlier, by the demon’s atrocities that had extended for a long time. Rāvaṇa is traditionally seen as the embodiment of lust. Herein, embodiment refers not to the fictional concretization of a human attribute, but to a paradigmatic individual in whom that attribute is strikingly manifested. *Rāvaṇa’s Rampage Repelled* As the Rāmāyaṇa war neared its finale, Rāvaṇa had dispatched all of his foremost warriors to the battlefield, and Rāma’s forces had dispatched them from the battlefield and the world. Realizing that the fate of the war now depended on him alone, Rāvaṇa came out to fight with the last of his forces. The demon fought furiously, tearing through the ranks of the *vānaras* (monkeys), trying to reverse the odds that he had thought were overwhelmingly in his favor at the start of the war, but were now overwhelmingly against him. His initial derisive dismissal—“What can a motley band of humans and monkeys do?”—had changed to disbelieving despair: “What have these humans and monkeys done?” Unable to tolerate the thought of his defeat or demise, Rāvaṇa fought remorselessly, felling opponents wherever he went. Seeing him devastating the *vānaras*, Rāma confronted him. The two great warriors fought intensely. Despite his many boons, Rāvaṇa just couldn’t match Rāma’s speed and skill in archery. Slowly but unstoppably, he started losing ground. One by one, his bow was cut, his charioteer killed, his chariot wrecked, and his armor destroyed. He was rendered weaponless, defenseless, motionless—an easy target for Rāma’s final fatal arrows. But Rāma graciously spared the demon. He desired victory through a fair fight between the two of them at their best. As Rāvaṇa had already fought many great vānara warriors that day, he would now be tired. So Rāma let him go, telling him to retreat, rest, and return the next day. Though spared, Rāvaṇa felt humiliated. Yet he had no alternative except to run back to his palace while Rāma still remained benevolently disposed. *The Final Battle* The next morning, Rāvaṇa marched out of the city of Lanka, determined to avenge his humiliation. Soon, both Rāvaṇa and Rāma, who had been fighting other opponents, came face to face. Just as their fight was about to begin, a magnificent chariot descended in front of Rāma. The charioteer bowed to Rāma and explained that Indra had sent his chariot and charioteer to assist Rāma, who had till then been fighting from Hanumān’s shoulder. The arrival of a celestial chariot was another reminder to Rāvaṇa that he wasn’t fighting an ordinary human being. Of course, had he been in a mood to learn, he could have already learned that lesson by seeing how Rāma had felled his colossal and near-invincible brother, Kumbhakarṇa, and how Rāma’s warriors had felled all his foremost warriors, who had bested even the gods. In fact, he could have learned that lesson even before the war had begun. How? By contemplating Rāma’s feat of single-handedly overpowering the fourteen thousand demons Rāvaṇa had stationed at his outpost in Janasthana. Such a feat was far beyond the ken of any human being. Yet the same obstinacy that had blinded Rāvaṇa lifelong kept him blind when death stared him in the face. Incensed to see Indra helping his opponent, Rāvaṇa launched a ferocious attack. After a fearsome battle that left both warriors bloodied, Rāma slowly gained the upper hand with His peerless archery. Overwhelming Rāvaṇa with His unrelenting fusillade of arrows, Rāma used divine arrows to cut off the demon’s ten heads. To Rāma’s consternation, however, the heads soon reappeared. He cut them off again, and they appeared again. Seeing Rāma perplexed, Rāvaṇa laughed malevolently, convinced of his invulnerability. With blinding speed, he redoubled his attack, trying to turn the tables on Rāma. Rāvaṇa had got benedictions from the gods that if his heads or limbs were cut off, they would reappear. He had frequently used that benediction to baffle his opponents and then overpower them. That was how he had overcome the aged vulture Jatāyu, who had become exhausted after the stupendous effort of ripping off several of Rāvaṇa’s heads and arms. But unlike the aged Jatāyu, Rāma was young. And He had another decisive advantage: an ally who knew Rāvaṇa’s weakness. The demon’s younger brother, Vibhīṣaṇa, had joined Rāma, being appalled by Rāvaṇa’s remorseless viciousness. On seeing Rāma stymied by Rāvaṇa’s seeming invincibility, Vibhīṣaṇa rushed to Rāma’s side and informed him that Rāvaṇa’s life force was kept hidden in his heart. Destroying that life force by attacking his heart was the only way to fell the wicked demon. Inferring that his secret was being revealed, Rāvaṇa rebuked Vibhīṣaṇa and increased the ferocity of his attack on Rāma. Wanting to finish the demon, Rāma uttered a *mantra* given by the sage Agastya known as the Āditya Hṛdaya. That *mantra*’s mystic energy rejuvenated and empowered Rāma. Invoking one of the most powerful celestial arrows at His command, He aimed it at Rāvaṇa’s heart and fired it with breathtaking speed. Despite the demon’s frantic efforts to ward off that missile, it unrelentingly pierced his heart. With a howl that shook the earth, the demon fell, never to rise again. *The Significance of Rāvaṇa’s Reappearing Heads* The Rāmāyaṇa is an Itihāsa, a genre of spiritual literature based on historical accounts. Yet its significance extends far beyond mere historical reporting. It depicts timeless values that can guide people through all times in history to attain the world beyond history—the timeless spiritual arena of existence. Seen from this value-centered perspective, Rāvaṇa’s reappearing heads might represent our lower desires. Even if we reject one such desire, others keep appearing, as did Rāvaṇa’s heads. Just as Rāma succeeded only when He directed His arrow not towards the heads but towards the heart, similarly we can succeed when we direct our purificatory effort not towards specific desires but towards our heart, towards the misdirection of our love away from the Lord to the world. Rāvaṇa’s ten heads were conspicuous. Yet his strength lay not there, but in a less conspicuous part: his heart. Similarly, gross wrongdoings are conspicuous. But what corrupts us most is not such specific wrongdoings, but our fundamental wrongdoing of being disconnected from divinity. Wrongdoing refers not just to the wrong we do, but also the right we don’t do. As long as we don’t do the right of connecting devotionally with our Lord, we will keep succumbing to one wrong desire or another—the heads will keep reappearing. When we make our heart right by practicing *bhakti-yoga* diligently, our lower desires soon get exiled from our heart, fully and forever. The fall of Rāvaṇa is commemorated in the festival of Dussehra, wherein a huge effigy of the demon king is set ablaze. Often, a flaming arrow is shot at the wooden effigy, reenacting Rāma’s fatal attack on Rāvaṇa. Just as Rāvaṇa’s fall was celebrated with cheers by the many gods and sages assembled to watch the battle, so too is the fall of Rāvaṇa’s effigy cheered by onlookers assembled for Dussehra. The imagery centered on fire is significant. Fire sacrifices are time-honored means for sanctification. Additionally, fire is used for cremation after death. The body’s cremation releases the soul from any lingering attachment to its physical shell, freeing it to travel to its next destination. The incineration of Rāvaṇa’s effigy can be said to signify the incineration of our lower desires and the sanctification of our consciousness, which becomes detached and free to rise to higher levels of reality. While cheering the razing of Rāvaṇa’s effigy, we can pray that our lower desires be similarly razed by the purifying fire of devotion. *Gender Depictions* Some people feel that Indian traditions portray women negatively as agents of illusion. In fact, Māyā, who embodies the illusory energy of the Lord, is a female. However, the foremost force of illusion is lust, and it is embodied as Rāvaṇa, a male. Philosophically speaking, lust in particular and illusion in general are gender neutral. The same Rāmāyaṇa that depicts the masculine Rāvaṇa as an embodiment of lust also depicts his sister, Śūrpaṇakhā, as a female embodiment of lust. In fact, it was her lust for Rāma and her subsequent assault on Sītā, whom she saw as her competitor in gaining Rāma’s attention, that escalated tensions between Rāma and Rāvaṇa. Worse still, when Rāvaṇa had become circumspect on learning of Rāma’s formidable power, it was Śūrpaṇakhā who inflamed his lusty imagination by fueling it with provocative descriptions of Sītā’s beauty. The *Bhagavad-gītā* section that analyzes lust (3.36–43)—how it deludes and how it can be defeated—doesn’t use any gender-specific language or imagery. To the contrary, the *Gītā* (3.40) states that lust is present in all living beings—in their senses, mind, and intelligence. Lust deludes and degrades everyone it controls; it makes men into monsters and women into witches. Captivated by lust, men perpetrate barbaric atrocities to gratify their desires, and women bewitch and befool others with their feminine charms. In contemporary culture, sexual violence is often strongly condemned, and rightly so. Ironically, however, the same culture also condones sexually explicit images—and rationalizes such depictions as the right to free expression. In a culture that features both moral perversity and moral ambiguity, the Rāmāyaṇa’s gender-neutral narrative of the universal consequences of uncontrolled lust sounds an essential cautionary note. *The DUST Acronym* The phrase “bite the dust” signifies defeat, often an ignominious defeat. This usage derives from sports such as wrestling wherein the winner holds the loser down, metaphorically making the latter bite the dust. It could be said that Rāma’s fatal arrow made Rāvaṇa bite the dust. His fall represents the fate of those who give themselves to lust. Additionally, dust in a devotional context refers to the sacred dust of the lotus feet of the Lord and of those devoted to Him. Such dust is considered immensely pure, capable of purging us of our worldly desires. Indeed, becoming blessed by sacred dust is considered an essential purpose of practicing *bhakti-yoga*. And how that process of *bhakti-yoga* can help us overcome lust can be explicated using the acronym DUST: Determination, Understanding, Submission, Training. Determination: Suppose we are infected with a lethal but curable disease. When the gravity of the disease registers within us, we become determined to take the treatment, even if it is demanding. Similarly, when the grave consequences of infection by lust register within us, we muster determination to curb and cure it, even if doing so is difficult. The *Gītā* (2.41) underscores the need for single-pointed determination. We may have resolved to curb our lower desires in the past and failed. Such failures may dishearten us into thinking we just don’t have the necessary determination. However, we all have determination; it’s just misdirected. In our conditioned stage we use our determination to gratify our lower desires. We need to redirect that same determination in the opposite direction—to fight those desires. Understanding: *Gītā* wisdom helps us understand the deceptive nature of licentious desires: they promise huge pleasure, but deliver only meager pleasure, which too soon gives way to massive trouble. More importantly, *bhakti* literature help us understand where lust comes from. Love for the Lord is central to our spiritual nature. When it becomes misdirected to worldly objects, it transmogrifies into lust. And when lust is indulged in indiscriminately, it becomes insatiable. When we lead a life of dharma and practice *bhakti-yoga* for redirecting our love to the Lord, our desires become slowly but surely purified. This understanding of how lust originates and how it can be redirected complements our determination. Submission: Our fundamental malaise is the desire to seek pleasure separate from God, whose name “Rāma” conveys that He is the reservoir of all pleasure. The *Gītā* (15.7) states that we are eternal parts of the Lord; when we act apart from Him, we end up enticed and enslaved by the lower desires in our mind and senses. If we want to end our subordination to our lower desires, we need to cultivate submission to our Lord. Lest the notion of submission cause some visceral aversion, it’s important to stress that devotional submission to the Lord is not at all like worldly submission. Whereas worldly submission is sometimes demeaning, submission to Him who is our greatest benefactor is uplifting and empowering. This submission is out of love, just as those in love may say to their beloved, “Your wish is my command.” When we submit ourselves to the Lord, His omnipotence empowers us to overpower our lower desires. By our diligent practice of *bhakti-yoga*, devotional submission blossoms into devotional absorption, and we transcend our lower desires. Training: A patient who has been immobilized needs training to walk again. We are spiritually immobilized, being afflicted by our lower desires, which ground our consciousness at the material level. We need training to walk spiritually, that is, to raise our consciousness to the spiritual level. *Bhakti-yoga* offers this training. Devotional processes—such as chanting the holy names, studying scriptures, and associating with spiritual people—train us, through both precept and example, to keep our consciousness spiritual even amidst life’s temptations and tribulations. The more we practice *bhakti-yoga*, the more we become trained to keep our consciousness safe and spiritual. We learn to purposefully focus our consciousness on the constructive things we need to do, instead of letting our lower desires drag it to our default attachments. When lust is thus treated with dust, what results is liberation—liberation both in this world and beyond it, liberation from shortsighted desires during our stay in this world, and eventually liberation from this material world itself to our Lord’s eternal abode for a life of unending pure love. Sidebar: *The Dust of the Lotus Feet* What does “lotus feet” mean? Are the Lord’s feet dusty? Why should we take that dust? The lotus symbolizes transcendence. Even though a lotus may grow in dirty water, it is unaffected by its environment—its beauty shines forth in contrast to whatever is nearby. Similarly, when the Lord descends to this world, He is unaffected by its impurities; His purity shines forth in contrast to the world’s many contaminations. In temples, the Lord’s Deity is often placed atop a carved lotus to convey that though He may be in this world, He is not of it. The usage “lotus feet” is not just symbolic, however; the Lord’s feet are also said to be soft like lotuses and marked with lotuses. *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (1.8.22) is a lotus-centered prayer to Kṛṣṇa: “My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord, whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus, and whose feet are engraved with lotuses.” *Take the Dust* The act of “taking the dust of the Lord’s lotus feet” is a way of expressing humility by touching the feet of the Lord either with our head or our hands. If we were to literally take the dust from someone’s feet, we would bow before that person. Such bowing down bespeaks humility. Thus, taking the dust of the Lord’s feet means humbling ourselves before Him. If we touch our head at or near His lotus feet, we place the highest part of our body at or near the lowest part of His body, thus conveying the complete subordination of our entire being to Him. The dust in the phrase has both nonliteral and literal dimensions. The nonliteral dimension needs to be stressed to contrast with the normal usage of dusty as dirty. If we touch a table and find layers of dust on it, we consider the place unclean and uncared for. In marked contrast, the dust in “taking the dust of the lotus feet” doesn’t convey dirt, for the Lord’s feet are never dirty. If we touched His feet, we wouldn’t be left with dirt on our hands. Every part of His transcendental body is fully pure—so pure that contact with it can purify us. While touching any part of His body can purify us, the stress on the feet highlights His transcendence. Our feet are likely to get dirty and have dust on them. Yet for the Lord, even the bodily part most likely to be dirty remains pure and transcendental. Whereas touching dirty feet would normally contaminate us, touching the dust on the Lord’s lotus feet cleanses us. The usage is not just about touching His feet, however, but specifically about taking the dust from His feet. This refers to submission to the Lord, which is not just a fleeting one-time event. It means living according to His teachings, or taking shelter of Him. Additionally, the phrase “taking the dust” has acquired a literal dimension. Places such as Vrindavan where the Lord descended and performed His pastimes are supremely sacred. Devotees on holy pilgrimages who visit the places where the Lord walked often take some dust as mementos. The foregoing analysis also applies to the Lord’s great devotees, who are constantly absorbed in the Lord’s remembrance and dedicated to His service. By dint of their constant connection with Him, they are considered so pure that they too are treated as objects of this phrase, as in “The dust of the feet of a devotee is permeated with spiritual potency” *(Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, *Antya* 16.60) In fact, the clay that devotees use to make sacred marks on their foreheads and eleven other parts of their body is made of the soil from a sacred place where Kṛṣṇa’s topmost devotees, the *gopīs* of Vrindavan, are said to have searched repeatedly for Him, thus mixing the soil there with the dust from their feet. Thus, to “take the dust from the Lord’s lotus feet” is to bring ourselves in contact with His purity and be thereby transformed, being elevated to a higher level of purity. *Caitanya Caraṇa Dāsa, a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānāth Swami, serves full time at ISKCON Chowpatty, Mumbai. He is a BTG associate editor and the author of twenty-five books. To read his other articles or to receive his daily reflection on the Bhagavad-gītā, "Gita-Daily," visit gitadaily.com.* MotelGita: Solace for the Traveling Soul *Travelers in North America and elsewhere are discovering Bhagavad-gītā As It Is in their hotel-room nightstands.* by Nandinī Kiśorī Devī Dāsī It was business as usual at a Ramada Inn in New Jersey. The receptionist was busy at the front desk when suddenly a customer stormed through the door. While the receptionist assigned him a room, the man, who appeared angry, noticed a random book on the counter. He grabbed the book along with his room key. The next morning, he emerged from his room peacefully, and gladly thanked the hotel’s manager for the book. “I checked into your hotel last night to commit suicide,” he said. “But I found this book, *Bhagavad-gītā* *As It Is.* I read, and kept reading, and forgot my plan. This book saved my life.” Around the same time, halfway across the world in New Delhi, a French professional BMX rider, found *Bhagavad-gīt*ā As It Is in his hotel room and spent hours reading it. The book inspired a visit to Vrindavan sometime later. While there, he made a YouTube video based on the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It got seventy thousand hits. “In the BMX industry,” he says, “everyone now knows I’m into Kṛṣṇa. I’m so stoked to think that when people think about me they remember Kṛṣṇa—that makes my life complete.” *How It All Started* How is it that people are finding Śrīla Prabhupāda’s *Bhagavad-gītā* *As It Is* in their hotel rooms? The seed for this innovative book-distribution strategy was planted eleven years ago by clever devotees in the software capital of the world, Silicon Valley, California, where ISKCON has a temple. Māyāpur Bihārī Dāsa and Dilip Patel approached temple president Vaiśeṣika Dāsa and asked if it would be a good idea to place copies of *Bhagavad-gītā* in motel and hotel guest rooms. “We’re already distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books outside grocery stores, malls, and other big outlets,” Māyāpur Bihārī said. “Why not hotels? Just as the Gideons place Bibles in hotel rooms throughout the world, we’re thinking to distribute Bhagavad-gītās to hotels in California." Vaiśeṣika immediately agreed and encouraged them to put all their energy and effort into this service. He oversaw the initiative, and the project has flourished under his expert guidance and inspiration. Together the team came up with a mission statement: “Provide solace to the traveling souls.” Dilip Patel’s Sea Breeze Motel in Pacifica, California, became the inaugural hotel. A few other hotels in California soon joined the cause. The initial response was overwhelmingly favorable. Guests and hotel owners wholeheartedly welcomed these sacred books. Hotel owners rejoiced at their customer’s reactions and felt purified by performing this simple service. One of the first hotel owners to take part donated four thousand dollars toward the project. *Motels, Gujaratis, and the Śrīla Prabhupāda Connection* Devotees from the Indian state of Gujarat, where Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshipped in nearly every home, were beginning to settle and buy property in the United States around the time Śrīla Prabhupāda came to America in 1965. Lord Kṛṣṇa seems to have prepared the field for dissemination of His message through them. Seventy percent of motels in the United States are owned by Gujaratis. This widespread venue for planting the *Gītā* has the potential to spiritualize the lives of countless people for many years to come. The large population of Gujaratis in America has led to much of the approval for placing the *Gītās* in hotel chains as well as financial support for the project. Donors simply love the cause of bringing the *Bhagavad-gītā* to the mainstream. At a small-scale Diwali event early in the MotelGita project’s history, attendees donated more than a thousand dollars in just an hour. In 2011, during ISKCON’s annual December book-distribution marathon, MotelGita donations accounted for fifty percent of book-related donations at the Silicon Valley Hare Kṛṣṇa temple. Devotee representatives approached their colleagues at high-tech companies, and the response was incredible. These colleagues applauded MotelGita’s efforts and donated wholeheartedly. After the Silicon Valley MotelGita team received promising responses, other Hare Kṛṣṇa communities in the United States followed their lead. Today, MotelGita book placement is performed by devotees in more than twenty cities around the country. Lokadhyaka Dāsa has committed ISKCON Baltimore to sponsoring at least one thousand *Bhagavad-gītās* every month, and the temple has been successfully doing that for more than two years. *Broadening the Reach* When devotees of the Laguna beach MotelGita team were on a road trip during the Christmas holidays, they encountered Chinese and Japanese motel owners who enthusiastically agreed to place *Gītās* in their rooms. Jaya Caitanya Dāsa, a book distributor in the Los Angeles area, tells the following story: “At the Griffith Observatory I met a tourist from Louisiana who excitedly told his wife, ‘There it is! The book!’ He picked up the *Gītā* from my display table and almost kissed the cover. His wife couldn't understand why he was so excited. He said he had found a copy of the book the previous day in his hotel room. Because he had never seen another book placed next to the Bible, he knew the *Gītā* must be a very important book. He asked the hotel owner if he could keep the book, and the hotel owner gladly agreed.” He bought a copy of the First Canto of *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* and several other books from Jaya Caitanya and gave a generous donation. *A Growing Team* Book distribution is part of saṅkīrtana-yajña, or spreading the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa, as recommended in the Vedic scriptures as the religion for this age. Due to the popularity of the MotelGita project as a significant aspect of saṅkīrtana, the project has expanded globally, with programs in Canada, New Zealand, India, Australia, and the UK. Beryl Trimble from Maple Ridge, BC, Canada, had to stay at the local Best Western hotel for a few weeks after her home was damaged by fire. She found *Bhagavad-gītā* *As It Is* in her room, a comfort amid the calamity. She joined the MotelGita team and is now an initiated devotee. Bhakta Harish from Knoxville, Tennessee, lives where he has little opportunity for association with devotees of Kṛṣṇa. But his book distribution service keeps him connected with the larger ISKCON family. He visits motels on road trips and has placed over seven thousand Gītās in this way. In my own experience, the MotelGita team has become my extended family. The spirit of cooperation is unique as we work together to show our love for Śrīla Prabhupāda. *Book Distribution in Today’s Technology* Māyāpur Vihārī Dāsa explains that several organizations in the past had tried to place the *Gītā* in hotels, but it was very challenging. "If you have to do this on a massive scale,” he says, “you not only need to have a strong desire to share this knowledge but also sound logistics and infrastructure to run it. We are blessed to have the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), which prints and delivers books all over North America. We have devotees everywhere who can take part in this project, and above all we have leaders like Vaiśeṣika Dāsa and Svavāsa Dāsa who have dedicated their lives for distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and are always available to inspire, enthuse, and lead the team.” MotelGita (North America) is a large-scale project with sound networking. The infrastructure includes a core team member working from India. Similar to the use of call centers, MotelGita has employed Dinesh Tinani, a devotee from the Śrī Śrī Rādha-Gopīnātha temple in Chowpatty, Mumbai, to call motel owners in North America for orders and then do follow-up. On average he receives orders for five thousand Gītās every month. Vedavit Kṛṣṇa Dāsa manages the dispatch of the orders. He has set up a robust shipping system through the US postal system’s Media Mail and saved thousands of dollars in shipping costs for temples in the United States. *Outreach Efforts* A project as massive as MotelGita requires a strong outreach effort as well. One way the MotelGita team reaches out to motel and hotel owners is by attending regional and national conventions. Dilip Patel uses his contacts in the hotel industry to secure vendor booths at the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and Leuva Patidar Samaj (LPS) conventions. Several devotees on the MotelGita team attend multiple conventions. “Local conventions are a great place to connect with motel owners,” says Rūpasāgara Dāsa from Austin, Texas. “In this relaxed setting, you get to understand more about the industry. It helps us come up with innovative ideas to help the owners.” His wife, Mahāsundari Mādhavī Devī Dāsī, relates, “I met a motel owner from Ola*the*, Kansas, at *the* 2017 AAHOA convention whose property was right across from *the* bar where an Indian software engineer was killed on racial grounds. When I approached him to take Gītās, he very happily agreed. I asked him if he was afraid of any backlash. He smiled and said that it was in tough times like this that *the* message of peace in *the* Gītā is most relevant.” She loves the idea of spreading the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda to every town and village by reaching one motel at a time. This couple enjoys driving by a particular intersection south of Austin where there are eight motels—most of them owned by non-Indians and non-Hindus—and they all have *Gītās*. MotelGita acknowledges the crucial role motel owners play in this project. The Laguna Beach temple organized a special appreciation night for owners to thank them. They were given full sets of *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. The MotelGita team also does Bhāgavatam installations at homes and motels and conducts home programs. Occasionally motel owners buy Bhāgavatam sets, and some donate sets to needy devotees. *The Goal* Vaiśeṣika Dāsa writes in his book Our Family Business, “A soul trapped in a material body requires outside help to become free. Only by hearing from a transcendental source can a conditioned soul awaken his dormant spiritual awareness.” By sharing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, the members of the MotelGita team are hoping to help the trapped soul become free. This is what they strive for. It’s their victory and success. As Sañjaya says at the end of the *Bhagavad-gītā* (18.78), “Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.” Śrīla Prabhupāda said that his books are like time bombs, just waiting to explode and destroy peoples’ illusions and anxieties, and MotelGita is placing *Bhagavad-gītā* *As It Is* in an ever-increasing number of motel rooms. “If one properly follows the instructions of *Bhagavad-gītā*,” Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote, “one can be freed from all miseries and anxieties in this life, and one’s next life will be spiritual.” As His Holiness Girirāja Swami, a MotelGita supporter, says, “What greater gift can we give to the weary traveler?” Nandinī Kiśorī Devī Dāsī, a disciple of His Holiness Radhānāth Swami, holds bachelors degrees in both civil engineering and computer science. She is the director of the MotelGita team—twenty volunteers in the USA and eight other countries. She is also the North American coordinator for the TOVP project. She resides in Alachua, Florida, with her daughter, Rādhā Sakhi. Sidebar 1: *Appreciations* “I think this is the most important project ever undertaken for preserving and promoting Vedic knowledge in recent times. Thank you!” —Satish Kumar “I have developed respect for the Hindu culture now that I have read and understood a little about it.” —Vivian Browne “The *Bhagavad-gītā* is a profound literature. It has helped me to understand who am I and what this life is about. Lucky I found it at a motel!” —Jon Rodriguez “It has opened a new horizon, hitherto unexplored by me.” —Andrew Spencer “I often see guests coming in for breakfast with *Bhagavad-gītā* in hand and reading it while they are in the lobby or in the reception room. It is satisfying to know that I have contributed to spreading this knowledge.” —Nilesh Patel, manager of Super 8, Sacramento "When my regular customers do not find *Bhagavad-gītā* in their drawers, they ask me, ‘Where is that book?’ My customer Ben Smith has the Gītā on his iPad. You know Utah is predominantly Mormon." —Muljibai, Utah Sidebar 2 *A Call for Action:* The MotelGita team’s goal is to place one million Gītās in motels and hotels. Most of the team members work full time in their own professions, so they have limited time to dedicate to the project. They invite participation from more devotees. Here are four ways to do that: 1. Start a MotelGita chapter anywhere. It’s easy. If you’re interested, email [email protected]. 2. Post a “Like” on the MotelGita Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MotelGita/) and share with friends and family. Every Like helps spread Gītās. 3. Become a volunteer to help with social-media work, brochure creation, ads, follow-up, and more. 4. Donate via PayPal ([email protected], memo: MotelGita); or credit card: http://motelgita.org/donate; or check: MotelGita, 1965 Latham Street, Mountain View, CA 94040. The Cycles Shall Prevail *We’re tiny creatures rotating on the wheel of time, but we can bring the miserable ride to an end.* by Viśākhā Devī Dāsī The reality of our present situation is that our bodies and even the universe are continually subject to creation and annihilation. A few miles north of Mumbai, in an area called Juhu, the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement has a large temple situated near the popular wide and flat Juhu Beach. Śrīla Prabhupāda went for many morning walks on this beach. Walking on that same sand before sunrise recently, remembering the energetic and long walks Śrīla Prabhupāda so often took there, I noticed how the tide daily erases countless sandy footprints. This observation made me think that just as the incoming tide eradicates numberless imprints, similarly humankind’s many attempts to make this world a comfortable, pleasure-filled place will be eradicated by time’s cycles. On the pages of *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* we hear the earth personified reflecting on the destruction of those who would dominate her: Seeing the kings of this earth busy trying to conquer her, the earth herself laughed. She said: “Just see how these kings, who are actually playthings in the hands of death, are desiring to conquer me. Such kings . . . possessed great powers of control over others, were all full of knowledge, heroic, all-conquering and unconquerable. Nevertheless, although they lived their lives intensely trying to possess me, these kings were subject to the passage of time, which reduced them all to mere historical accounts. None of them could permanently establish their rule.” *(Bhāgavatam* 12.3.1, 11–13) As the moon waxes and wanes, as the sun rises and sets, as the seasons turn, as death follows birth, similarly our bodies (and indeed all the material planets and universes) are subject to cycles of creation and annihilation. From the *Bhagavad-gīta* (8.18–19) we hear that “At the beginning of Brahmā’s day, all living entities become manifest from the unmanifest state, and thereafter, when the night falls, they are merged into the unmanifest again. Again and again, when Brahmā’s day arrives, all living entities come into being, and with the arrival of Brahmā’s night they are helplessly annihilated.” Beginning with Brahmā, all created beings constantly undergo the continuous processes of birth and death, creation and annihilation, as does the entire material creation. In Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words, “There are two types of dissolution of the manifested cosmos. At the end of every 8,640,000,000 solar years, when Brahmā, the lord of one particular universe, goes to sleep, there is one annihilation. And at the end of Lord Brahmā’s life, which takes place at the end of Brahmā’s one hundred years of age, in our calculation at the end of 8,640,000,000 x 30 x 12 x 100 solar years, there is complete annihilation of the entire universe, and in both the periods both the material energy, called the mahat-tattva, and the marginal energy, called the jīva-tattva [the spirit souls], merge in the person of the Supreme Lord. The living beings remain asleep within the body of the Lord until there is another creation of the material world, and that is the way of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material manifestation.” *(Bhāgavatam* 1.10.21, Purport) In his prayers to Kṛṣṇa, Brahmā himself says, “Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the original Personality of Godhead, whose plenary portion is Mahā-Viṣṇu. All the Brahmās, the heads of the universes, live only for the period of His exhaling, after the universes are generated from the pores of His transcendental body.” (*Brahma-saṁhitā* 5.48) *From Kṛṣṇa Comes Mahā-Viṣṇu* Mahā-Viṣṇu, a transcendental expansion of Kṛṣṇa, is lying on the Causal Ocean. By His breathing all the universes are generated in seed form. As the seeds of a tree develop into numberless trees, so millions and trillions of universes in their seedling form come from the bodily pores of Mahā-Viṣṇu and gradually develop into gigantic forms with innumerable planets within each one. That Mahā-Viṣṇu is a part of a plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa. At the time of annihilation the whole creation merges within the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu, and when it is again time for creation it again emanates from His body. Brahmā addresses Kṛṣṇa: “What is Your glory? Unlimited universes pass through the pores of Your body just as particles of dust pass through the openings of a screened window.” *(Bhāgavatam* 10.14.11) The original creator and controller of the repeated creations is Kṛṣṇa. Before He sets His creative energy in action, He is in His abode. And after He annihilates the material universes, He remains unchanged. He exists separately, apart from His creative and destructive energies. Thus He is not a product of material energy, for His body is completely spiritual; there is no difference between His body and Himself. He is the ultimate cause of all causes. By attentively hearing how Kṛṣṇa creates and annihilates the universes, we can understand that within the vast scope of the total material manifestation our impact on this temporary planet is insignificant. Perhaps a strange comfort can be derived from the fact that no matter how much pollution we pour into the skies, rivers, oceans, and land; no matter what weapons of minor and mass destruction we release against each other; no matter how much suffering we experience from a myriad of causes; and no matter how disappointing our leaders, the cycles of creation and annihilation will continue unabated and unaffected. These enormous natural cycles will, in the final analysis, prevail over the material creation just as the tide prevails over a messy beach. *The Rich Not Exempt* Recently I met three brothers who own a multistory mansion on a large plot of land at the north end of Juhu Beach. Later, when I saw them walking on the beach without their multitude of servants, fleet of chauffeured cars, and endless accouterments, I noticed that they blended in with everyone else. The sun and sand, the vast sky and sea are like thoughtful sages in that, regardless of one’s social standing, they view all of us equally. On speaking with these brothers, I realized that, like me, they find solace in Kṛṣṇa’s elements: the spaciousness, the rhythm of the gentle surf, the caress of sea breezes, the welcoming firm sand. And like me, they grumble about the trash-strewn beach. These brothers, among the richest people in India, walk daily. Just like the less well-off of their generation, they have aging bodies that they’re obliged to exercise (no one else can do that for them!), for the effects of time spare no one: “All material entities undergo transformation and are constantly and swiftly eroded by the mighty currents of time.” *(Bhāgavatam* 12.4.36) Although exercise can temper time’s ravages for a few decades, even staggering wealth cannot stop them. “As an animal tamer tames animals according to his will, time also adjusts things according to its own will. No one can supersede the arrangement made by supreme time.” (*Kṛṣṇa*, Chapter 51) Each of us is a *jīva*, a soul, and since the *jīva* is never destroyed, the various annihilations of the material world and the annihilation of our body at death do not annihilate us, for the *jīva* is eternal. “For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” *(Gītā* 2.20) Unfortunately, at present we, the *jīva*, are accepting one material body after another, again and again experiencing birth and death. Our human form of life is meant for ending this continuous change of bodies and thereby attaining a place in the spiritual sky, where everything is eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge. We can accomplish this by living a genuine spiritual life, following Kṛṣṇa’s teachings. And success in this endeavor is, according to *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (12.4.34), the “ultimate annihilation of material existence.” In other words, it is possible, by Kṛṣṇa’s grace, to put an end to all the material cycles that otherwise prevail upon us. *Viśākhā Devī Dāsī has been writing for BTG since 1973. Visit her website at OurSpiritualJourney.com.* The Reservoir of All Beauties *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other scriptures reveal the unsurpassed beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s form and character.* By Gaurāṅga Darśana Dāsa The enchanting beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s form and character is the source of relish and refuge for all. God is always joyful, and so is the living entity, a part of Him. Each of us is naturally characterized by our pleasure-seeking propensity (*ānandamayo ’bhyāsāt, Vedānta-sūtra* 1.1.12). In their attempts to pursue pleasure in this world, most people try to bring their senses in contact with enjoyable sense objects. Thus naturally our eyes look for beautiful things and people, our nose searches for sweet smells, our ears chase enchanting music, and our tongue yearns to taste delicious food. Of these, the urge of the eyes to see beauty is especially powerful. *Two Kinds of Beauty* In this world we certainly see beauty in nature, objects, and people. However, nature has its ugly side, objects become less attractive with repeated viewing, and people lose their physical beauty with age. All beauty in the material world is inherently temporary. Is there a permanent beauty by which one never becomes satiated? Yes. The scriptures inform us of an eternal spiritual world where the people and objects are eternally fresh and beautiful. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “The law of satiation acts materially, but there is no scope for it in the spiritual realm.” *(Bhāgavatam* 1.11.25, Purport) Never will the passage of time deteriorate the beauty of the spiritual realm, because time has no influence there. *The prime example of spiritual beauty is Kṛṣṇa.* > nityaṁ nirīkṣamāṇānāṁ > yad api dvārakaukasām > na vitṛpyanti hi dṛṣaḥ > śriyo dhāmāṅgam acyutam “The inhabitants of Dvārakā were regularly accustomed to look upon the reservoir of all beauty, the infallible Lord, yet they were never satiated.” *(Bhāgavatam* 1.11.25) Elsewhere Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “The most beautiful object in the material world may be compared to the blue lotus flower or the full moon in the sky, but even the lotus flower and the moon were defeated by the beauty of the bodily features of Lord Kṛṣṇa. . . .” *(Bhāgavatam* 3.2.13, Purport) *Entangling Beauty vs. Elevating Beauty* Things that appear beautiful in this world are not necessarily beneficial for us. To believe that a temporary thing can give us permanent happiness is unfavorable to our wellbeing. Therefore the scriptures repeatedly mention that attachment to the temporary beauty in this world is entangling, binding one to the cycle of repeated birth and death. The beauty of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, however, is eternal, as are His other main opulences: strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, and renunciation (*Viṣṇu Purāṇa* 6.5.47). All living entities in their pure state are attracted to that eternally beautiful person—Kṛṣṇa. In our impure state that attraction is diverted to material beauty, a reflection of spiritual beauty. Temporary, material beauty satiates and entangles us, while permanent, spiritual beauty elevate us and never satiates us. *Bhakti-yoga* consists of worshiping the transcendentally beautiful Kṛṣṇa and thus elevating oneself from the material realm to the spiritual realm. *Kṛṣṇa, the Embodiment of Beauty* The very word kṛṣṇa means “the all-attractive one.” Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything and is thus the source of all beauty in both the material and spiritual worlds. Being the ultimate origin of all beauty, Kṛṣṇa is supremely beautiful. All the beauties we may experience in the entire cosmos put together are manifest in Him. Kṛṣṇa is the collection of all beauties *(sarva-saundarya-saṅgraham*, *Bhāgavatam* 4.24.45). His unparalleled spiritual beauty is repeatedly and elaborately described in Vaiṣṇava scriptures like Śrīmad-*Bhāgavatam*. The beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s form enchants men, women, animals, demigods, His incarnations, and everyone else, including Himself (*ātma-paryanta-sarva-citta-hara*, *Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya* 8.143). Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in his purport to *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 1.11.26, “And those who are artists, overtaken by the beautiful creation, should better see to the beautiful face of the Lord for complete satisfaction. The face of the Lord is the embodiment of beauty. What they call beautiful nature is but His smile, and what they call the sweet songs of the birds are but specimens of the whispering voice of the Lord.” Furthermore, in Kṛṣṇa, Chapter Fourteen, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Without being an expansion of Kṛṣṇa, nothing can be attractive. Whatever is attractive within the cosmic manifestation is due to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is therefore the reservoir of all pleasure.” Lord Śiva adores the transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa, whose sight satisfies all the senses. He prays, > darśanaṁ no didṛkṣūṇāṁ > dehi bhāgavatārcitam > rūpaṁ priyatamaṁ svānāṁ > sarvendriya-guṇāñjanam “My dear Lord, I wish to see You exactly in the form that Your very dear devotees worship. You have many other forms, but I wish to see Your form that is especially liked by the devotees. Please be merciful upon me and show me that form, for only that form worshiped by the devotees can perfectly satisfy all the demands of the senses.” *(Bhāgavatam* 4.24.44) Lord Kṛṣṇa is always youthful, and every limb of His body is properly formed, free from defect (taruṇaṁ ramaṇīyāṅgam, *Bhāgavatam* 4.8.46). Many devotees in the *Bhāgavatam* praise His beauty while offering prayers. For instance, Śrīmatī Kuntī Devī compares Kṛṣṇa’s limbs to beautiful lotuses: > namaḥ paṅkaja-nābhāya > namaḥ paṅkaja-māline > namaḥ paṅkaja-netrāya > namas te paṅkajāṅghraye “My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord, whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus and whose feet are engraved with lotuses.” *(Bhāgavatam* 1.8.22) *Different Forms for Different Devotees* Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: There are millions of forms of the Lord, but they are one Absolute. As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam: all the different forms of the Lord are one, but some devotees want to see Him in the form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, others prefer Him as Sītā and Rāmacandra, others would see Him as Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, and others want to see Him as four-handed Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva. The Lord has innumerable forms, and He appears in a particular form as preferred by a particular type of devotee. *(Bhāgavatam* 3.28.29, Purport) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust purport to *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 11.2.55 states, “When a devotee surrenders to Lord Kṛṣṇa and becomes a lover of the Lord by direct realization of Kṛṣṇa’s all-attractive nature, the Lord makes His residence in the clean heart and mind of such a pure devotee.” Furthermore, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “When one is attracted by the transcendental beauty of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, he is no longer attracted by material feminine beauty. That is the special significance of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa worship.” *(Bhāgavatam* 3.31.38, Purport) *Kṛṣṇa’s Form in Vṛndāvana* All the forms of the incarnations of Kṛṣṇa are beautiful, but Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana is the most enchanting of all the viṣṇu-tattva forms. This is confirmed by great authorities like Lord Brahmā, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and many ācāryas. The attire and attitude of Kṛṣṇa as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana are characterized by simplicity and innocence. In *Bhāgavatam* 10.21.5 the *gopīs* describe Kṛṣṇa as wearing a yellow garment as brilliant as gold, a peacock feather on His head, flowers on His ears, a garland made of different types of forest flowers, and a necklace of guñja berries. Thus He appears like the greatest of dancers as He enters the forest of Vṛndāvana, beautifying it with the marks of His footprints. Kṛṣṇa footprints are everywhere in Vṛndāvana because He doesn’t wear shoes there. Once His mother, Yaśodā, asked Him to wear shoes to herd the cows, but He said He couldn’t wear them as long as His cows were walking barefoot. No human being, animal, or bird in Vṛndāvana disturbs Kṛṣṇa’s footprints, considering them its greatest ornament. As Kṛṣṇa goes into the forest with His cows and cowherd friends, He plays His divine flute, enchanting all moving and nonmoving living entities, including those in the higher planets. Carrying a yogurt-and-rice dish packed by Mother Yaśodā for His lunch, He holds a small stick with which He herds the cows and calves. The scriptures proclaim that this Gopāla form of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana is the topmost manifestation of the Absolute Truth, the fountainhead of all expansions and incarnations, and the source of everything. Even though Kṛṣṇa is all of these, He is ever youthful. Even when He was on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, nearly a hundred years after His appearance, He looked like young man. *Six Aspects of Kṛṣṇa’s Beauty* As Kṛṣṇa entered the city of Mathurā (at age ten years, seven months), the women there described His beauty in six ways while praising the fortune of the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, who regularly see that beauty: > gopyas tapaḥ kim acaran yad amuṣya rūpaṁ > lāvaṇya-sāram asamordhvam ananya-siddham > dṛgbhiḥ pibanty anusavābhinavaṁ durāpam > ekānta-dhāma yaśasaḥ śriya aiśvarasya “What austerities must the gopīs have performed! With their eyes they always drink the nectar of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s form, which is the essence of loveliness and is not to be equaled or surpassed. That form is the only abode of beauty, fame and opulence. It is self-perfect, ever fresh and extremely rare.” *(Bhāgavatam* 10.44.14) 1. *lāvaṇya-sāram*—the essence of all loveliness. Kṛṣṇa’s moonlike face is the drinking vessel for eyes that hanker after all that is beautiful (*pāna-pātraṁ mukhaṁ dṛśām*, *Bhāgavatam* 1.11.26). 2. *asamordhvam*—unequalled or unsurpassed. Even the Nārayaṇa expansions in the Vaikuṇṭha planets and other incarnations of the Lord are not as beautiful as Kṛṣṇa. 3. *ananya-siddham*—self-perfect. Kṛṣṇa doesn’t acquire His beauty from another source, but it is innate eternally in Him. 4. *dṛgbhiḥ pibanty anusavābhinavam*—ever fresh. When one drinks His beauty with one’s eyes, it constantly appears new. 5. *durāpam*—difficult to obtain. Kṛṣṇa’s beauty is accessible not by any substandard religious paths, but only by pure devotion *(bhakti)* unto Him. 6. *ekānta-dhāma yaśasaḥ śriya aiśvarasya*—the only abode of beauty, fame, and opulence. *The Beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s Character* Beautiful forms inspire attraction, but attachment and affection develop more because of beautiful characteristics. Although physically attractive, if someone doesn’t have good qualities and a good attitude, people are not inclined to maintain a relationship with that person. But a relationship with someone beautiful in both form and character is most enlivening. Kṛṣṇa’s form is exquisitely beautiful, and so is His divine character. *Śīlaṁ* *sarva-janānurañjanam*: Kṛṣṇa’s character is satisfying to all kinds of living entities *(Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, *Madhya* 17.210). Studying Kṛṣṇa’s features from the *Bhāgavatam* inspires both awe and hope in spiritual seekers. Kṛṣṇa’s character is filled with the divine qualities of compassion, truthfulness, tolerance, gentleness, humility, and so on. Nārada Muni describes the beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s form and qualities in the following manner: > taruṇaṁ ramaṇīyāṅgam > aruṇoṣṭhekṣaṇādharam > praṇatāśrayaṇaṁ nṛmṇaṁ > śaraṇyaṁ karuṇārṇavam “The Lord’s form is always youthful. Every limb and every part of His body is properly formed, free from defect. His eyes and lips are pinkish like the rising sun. He is always prepared to give shelter to the surrendered soul, and anyone so fortunate as to look upon Him feels all satisfaction. The Lord is always worthy to be the master of the surrendered soul, for He is the ocean of mercy.” (*Bhāgavatam* 4.8.46) Kṛṣṇa’s Compassionate Descents Although Kṛṣṇa punishes the miscreants and reestablishes religion, the main purpose of His descent is to reciprocate with His devotees. All the forms that Kṛṣṇa manifests in this world are filled with compassion for His devotees (*bhṛtyānukampita-dhiyeha gṛhīta-mūrteḥ*, *Bhāgavatam* 3.28.29). Kṛṣṇa’s Merciful Glance and Smile Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful eyes are always accompanied by His merciful glances and reassuring smiles, enlivening His devotees who seek His shelter. > tasyāvalokam adhikaṁ kṛpayātighora- > tāpa-trayopaśamanāya nisṛṣṭam akṣṇoḥ > snigdha-smitānuguṇitaṁ vipula-prasādaṁ > dhyāyec ciraṁ vipula-bhāvanayā guhāyām “The *yogīs* should contemplate with full devotion the compassionate glances frequently cast by the Lord’s eyes, for they soothe the most fearful threefold agonies of His devotees. His glances, accompanied by loving smiles, are full of abundant grace.” (*Bhāgavatam* 3.28.31) Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in his purport to this verse: “As long as one is in conditional life, in the material body, it is natural that he will suffer from anxieties and agonies. Sometimes disturbances come, but the agonies and anxieties of the devotees are at once mitigated when they think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His beautiful form or the smiling face of the Lord. The Lord bestows innumerable favors upon His devotee, and the greatest manifestation of His grace is His smiling face, which is full of compassion for His pure devotees.” Lord Kapiladeva also speaks about the Lord’s smile: > hāsaṁ harer avanatākhila-loka-tīvra- > śokāśru-sāgara-viśoṣaṇam atyudāram “A *yogī* should similarly meditate on the most benevolent smile of Lord Sri Hari, a smile which, for all those who bow to Him, dries away the ocean of tears caused by intense grief.” (*Bhāgavatam* 3.28.32) *Giving Credit to Devotees* Another wonderful aspect of Kṛṣṇa’s character is that He gives more credit to His devotees than He takes for Himself. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is described as bhaktānāṁ māna-vardhanaḥ, “One who increases the fame of His devotees” *(Bhāgavatam* 3.24.30), and prabhave sarva-sātvatām, “One who expands the influence of devotees” *(Bhāgavatam* 4.30.24). While elaborating on the phrase sarva-saundarya-saṅgraham in *Bhāgavatam* 4.24.45, Śrīla Prabhupāda comments: Both materialists and spiritualists can enjoy the beauty of the Lord. Because the Supreme Lord attracts everyone, including demons and devotees, materialists and spiritualists, He is called Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, His devotees also attract everyone. As mentioned in the *Ṣaḍ-gosvāmī-stotra*: *dhīrā*dhīra*-jana-priyau—*the Gosvāmīs are equally dear to the *dhīra* (devotees) and a*dhīra* (demons). Lord Kṛṣṇa was not very pleasing to the demons when He was present in Vṛndāvana, but the Six Gosvāmīs were pleasing to the demons when they were present in Vṛndāvana. That is the beauty of the Lord’s dealings with His devotees; sometimes the Lord gives more credit to His devotees than He takes for Himself. For instance, on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Lord Kṛṣṇa fought simply by giving directions. Yet it was Arjuna who took the credit for fighting. *Nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasācin*: “You, O Savyasācī [Arjuna], can be but an instrument in the fight.” *(Gītā* 11.33) Everything was arranged by the Lord, but the credit of victory was given to Arjuna. Similarly, in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, everything is happening according to the predictions of Lord Caitanya, but the credit goes to Lord Caitanya’s sincere servants. Thus the Lord is described herein as *sarva-saundarya-saṅgraham.* Kṛṣṇa defeated the demoniac ruler Jarāsandha and his millions of soldiers seventeen times. However, Kṛṣṇa gave the credit of killing Jarāsandha to Bhīma, one of His dear devotees, by allowing Bhīma to kill Jarāsandha rather than doing it Himself. Lord Rāma made a bridge to reach Lanka, but His devotee Hanumān just jumped across the ocean. Although Lord Rāma, being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was very much aware of Sītā Devī’s whereabouts, He depended on Hanumān to find Her, as described in the beautiful section of the Rāmāyaṇa called the Sundara-kāṇḍa. Thus Hanumān’s glories are declared to the whole world. The Supreme Lord is always very eager to give more credit to His devotees than He takes for Himself. *Pleasing to the Mind and Senses* Thus the beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental form and character attracts the hearts of everyone. Śrīla Prabhupāda comments, “By His personal features and transcendental attributes, the Lord attracts all psychological activities of a pure devotee. Such is the attractive power of Lord Kṛṣṇa.” *(Bhāgavatam* 1.7.10, Purport) The subject of Kṛṣṇa’s beauty is very expansive, and in this short article only a few glimpses are mentioned. Knowing about Kṛṣṇa’s forms and character and meditating on them are pleasing to the mind and senses and therefore spiritually uplifting and enlivening. *Gaurāṅga Darśana Dāsa, a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānāth Swami, is dean of the Bhaktivedānta Vidyāpīṭha (www.vidyapitha.in) at ISKCON Govardhan Eco Village (GEV), outside Mumbai. He has written study guides, including Gītā Subodhinī, Bhāgavata Subodhinī, and Caitanya Subodhinī, and teaches Bhāgavatam courses at several places in India. He also oversees the Deity worship a*t GEV. Bharata, Son of Ṛṣabhadeva [Footnote on first page: From *Paurāṇic Caritāvali*: Legends of the *Purāṇas*, Compiled by Īśvara Dāsa and Bhūmipati Dāsa. Copyright 2018 Īśvara Dāsa and Touchstone Media. All rights reserved. Available at touchstonemedia.com.] Book Excerpt: *Pauranic Caritavali*: Legends of the *Puranas* *The history of three lifetimes of one soul —as an exemplary king, an enlightened deer, and an incognito saint.* *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* relates the ancient history of pious King Bharata and of his next two lives. On the request of his father, Ṛṣabhadeva [an incarnation of the Lord], Bharata was crowned king. He was married to Pañcajanī, daughter of Viśvarūpa, with whom he fathered five sons: Sumati, Rāsṭrabhṛt, Sudarśana, Āvaraṇa, and Dhūmraketu. He strictly practiced religious principles in his rule and his life. His father had also taught him to rule his subjects with the affection of a father for his children, and so he was a good king. Bharata performed many sacrifices and chose to offer the results of them to the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva. Because he pleased Lord Hari, the supreme controller and enjoyer of all sacrifices, his heart was purified and he developed steady and unwavering devotional service to his Lord. Through his pure devotion, King Bharata knew the Lord’s form to be decorated with Śrīvatsa, the Kaustubha gem, a garland of forest flower, a conch, disc, club, and lotus flower, and he knew that great devotees saw this form in their hearts. Retiring to the Forest According to *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (5.7.8), Bharata Mahārāja ruled for “one thousand times ten thousand years,” during which time he enjoyed his kingdom and also exhausted the reactions of his past deeds. Then, at the end of his life, he distributed whatever wealth and property he had inherited from his father and grandfather among his sons and went to the forest, settling at sage Pulaha’s *ashram*, a beautiful hermitage sanctified by the nearby Gaṇḍakī River. King Bharata lived there alone and spent his time worshiping Lord Vāsudeva with the *ashram*’s flowers, *tulasī* leaves, water, fruits, and roots. His heart was filled with so much love and devotion for the Lord that his material desires were vanquished and he attained bhava [the stage of spiritual ecstasy]. Then one day, after bathing in the Gaṇḍakī, the king sat down beneath a tree to chant his *mantras*. He saw a pregnant deer come to the river’s edge to drink. A lion roared nearby, and the deer, startled and frightened, tried to leap to the river’s opposite bank. As she did so, she had a miscarriage, and the fawn fell into the water. The doe’s heart gave out and she died on the spot. But the king could see the fawn struggling as it was swept away by the river’s current. The king’s heart melted, and he rescued the orphaned fawn and took her to his ashram. Bharata raised the fawn with care, and often petted her, scratched her neck, and kissed her. He also protected her from jackals and other animals. As the deer grew, he became so absorbed in her care that he gradually gave up his worship. Soon he had fallen from his *bhakti* path. Śāstra tells us that we should never neglect the helpless, and certainly this sense of duty lived in King Bharata. But the king became so attached to the deer that he thought of her constantly—while bathing, eating, walking, sitting, and sleeping. This undue attachment for a person who had given up an opulent kingdom could only be due to some reaction from a past misdeed or some sort of offense. One day, the king lost sight of the now half-grown deer. He was beside himself with grief and worry, and he began to wander the area, calling out the deer’s name. But as providence would have it, the king died while searching for the deer, all his attention focused on her. As he was leaving his body, he could see the deer lamenting for him as if she were his own child. In a New Body, Life with the Sages Since Bharata died while meditating on the deer he received the body of deer in his next life. But due to his advanced devotional practices, he was given the blessing of remembering his life as the king. Finding himself in this unfortunate circumstance, he repented profusely and thus again became materially detached. He then left the doe who had given birth to him at Kālañjara Mountain and returned to the sacred place known as Śālagrāma, near the ashrams of Pulaha and Pulastya and where, in his previous birth, he had performed his own worship. The area was filled with sages, and the saintly king remained alone, in his deer body, near enough to hear their discourses. He now feared any sort of association that would again drag him back to material consciousness, so he waited for death to free him of the deer body and otherwise avoided association even with other deer. A Saint in Disguise In due course, he gave up the deer body by entering the Gaṇḍakī. Bharata was liberated from the body of an animal but not yet liberated from material existence, so he took birth again, this time as the son of the youngest son of an exalted brāhmaṇa in the lineage of Āṅgirasa. Again he was able to remember his past lives, and so he became particularly determined never to fall again into distracting association. He remained constantly absorbed in thoughts of the Lord’s lotus feet, but externally, he seemed blind, deaf, dumb, and mad. His affectionate father tried to teach him brahminical duties, even performing his sacred thread ceremony, but Bharata intentionally acted as if he could not understand. His father spent four months trying to teach him to chant the *Gāyatrī* *mantra*, but Bharata pretended to be a fool. His affectionate father, however, worried about Bharata’s future. After some years, the brāhmaṇa left his body and Bharata’s mother gave the care of her children to her co-wife, ascending the funeral pyre with her husband. Once Bharata’s parents were gone, his stepbrothers ignored him, considering him mad. His brothers were not bhaktas, so they had no way to recognize Bharata’s actual spiritual status. And Bharata gave no hint. Whenever low-class fools misbehaved around him, Bharata paid them no heed. When people teased or abused him, Bharata ignored them. He worked without pay or for whatever was given to him by the mercy of his masters. Sometimes he begged enough to keep body and soul together. He remained ever fixed in spiritual consciousness and did not identify with mundane happiness or distress, honor or dishonor. Still, despite the austerity this lifestyle entailed, his body remained strong. Since he slept on the floor and did not bathe often or rub his skin with oil, he appeared dirty, although his heart was spiritually illumined. Fools considered him a degraded brāhmaṇa and disregarded him. Even though he was insulted, however, he took no heed. His stepbrothers then began to engage him in working in the paddy fields. Whatever pieces of burned rice or mustard cake they gave him to eat he ate without complaint. Saved by Kālī One day, the leader of a gang of robbers arrested a man they intended to sacrifice to goddess Kālī, but somehow the man managed to escape. The leader sent his men out to find a suitable replacement, and finally, in the dead of night, they saw Bharata protecting the paddy field from animals. The men arrested the innocent Bharata and brought him to their leader. Once the leader judged him suitable for the offering according to their concocted procedures, the thieves bathed Bharata and dressed him in new clothes. They decorated him with sandalwood pulp and a flower garland, and then led Bharata before the Deity of Bhadrakālī. They then took out a sharp sword and prepared to behead him. But Bharata, whose heart was fully absorbed in God consciousness and who was a well-wisher of all living beings, was not the kind of sacrifice Kālī approved of. Instead, she became angry and her face took on a deeper fierceness. She laughed aloud as she stepped from her Deity form, sword in hand, and cut off the heads of the leader and his band of rogues. Bhadrakālī and her witches then drank the blood spurting from the headless necks. Enlightened Palanquin Carrier Unalloyed pure Vaiṣṇavas remain ever unaffected even when faced with danger because the Supreme Lord protects His surrendered devotees, who do not identify with their material bodies and minds and who remain loving in all circumstances toward all living beings. Those who commit violence against such exalted persons, however, suffer. After this, there was a day when King Rahūgaṇa of Sindhu and Sauvīra was being carried on his palanquin to visit Kapila Muni. Although the king had started out with four palanquin bearers, one had somehow been unable to perform his duties, so on arrival at the river Ikṣumatī, the chief palanquin bearer realized he needed another carrier. When he saw Bharata walking along the riverbank, and especially how young and strong he was, he pressed him into the king’s service. Bharata did not object, but as he walked, he refused to step on the ants along the path, so his gait was uneven as he avoided them. As a result, the palanquin was being tipped and jostled. When the king understood that it was the new bearer who was causing the problem, he ordered Bharata to walk properly. Rahūgaṇa was a pious king, but he was also a passionate kṣatriya, and when Bharata ignored him, he became angry. The king looked down at Bharata, whose inner glow was hidden to the king, and said. “Are you tired? Perhaps you’ve carried the palanquin too far and need a rest? Or maybe you are older than you look, or weaker than the strong man we thought you were?” The king continued to ridicule Bharata for some moments, but Bharata, who did not identify with his gross and subtle bodies, remained silent. And yet he continued to carry the palanquin as before. When the king continued to be jostled despite his reprimand, he said, “Do you have no intelligence? I am your master. You are disobeying my order. I will punish you if you don’t come to your senses!” Bharata then looked at the king with compassion, and to benefit the king he spoke spiritual truths, using the same words the king had just said to him: “I am not the body. I am not a carrier, so how can I be fatigued? I am not in any kind of distress about how far we have traveled because my real destination is elsewhere. I have a body made of gross elements, but I am not a product of matter. Because I am not my body, I cannot be strong or weak, fat or thin, healthy or diseased, hungry or full, afraid or brave. I have no mental agony and no desire to quarrel or enjoy the body’s senses. I am neither old nor young, tired nor energetic, angry nor tolerant, lamenting my position nor happy in it. All these states are illusions related to the material body. I do not identify with my body, so I have nothing to do with any of these states. I am not afraid of dying because I am not born nor do I die. Everything in this world has a beginning and an end, and so the material body I inhabit also appeared and will disappear in due course. Whatever relationships this body has between its appearance and disappearance are also temporary, and so the relationship we have as master and servant will not last and has nothing to do with me. One who in this life takes on the role of a king may be a servant in his next life. So please know that the material idea you have that you are the king and I am your servant is a misunderstanding. Both roles are temporary and related only to the material body and mind. Who is the king and who the servant? If I am, as you say, intoxicated or mad, then what will punishing me accomplish? And if I am fixed in spiritual consciousness, your punishment will still have no value.” Hearing these valuable instructions, King Rahūgaṇa’s pride crumbled and he got down from the palanquin and fell at Bharata’s lotus feet to beg his forgiveness. King Rahūgaṇa then asked Bharata who he was. “Are you Kapiladeva, who is the form of pure goodness? I am not afraid of anyone—even Indra—but I am very afraid of committing the offense of disregarding a Vaiṣṇava. Are you Kapiladeva wandering about incognito to test others? How can foolish, attached householders hope to recognize him? If someone offends an exalted personality like you, he will be destroyed, even if he is as powerful as Śiva.” *Instructions to the King* Bharata’s invaluable instructions to King Rahūgaṇa are presented in *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, Canto Five, Chapters 11–14. They are summarized here: The mind is the original root of all material miseries. Until the living beings learn this, they will continue to revolve in the cycle of birth and death. It is the mind that identifies with disease, lamentation, illusion, attachment, greed, enmity, and everything else that causes one’s material bondage. Until we smear dust from the feet of an exalted Vaiṣṇava on our head and thus receive that pure devotee’s mercy, we cannot attain the Supreme Lord’s shelter, even if we perform penance, worship the demigods, accept the renounced order, take to household life, or practice celibacy. Bharata told King Rahūgaṇa, “You have fallen into material enjoyment by coming under māyā’s illusion. Give up your royal duties, such as punishing and rewarding others, and become a friend to all. Give up attachment for material enjoyment and cut the ropes of māyā that bind you with the sword of hari-sevā (service to God). In this way you will become liberated from material existence. This material world is just like a blazing forest fire. There is not even a tinge of happiness here. The point of material existence is distress, not happiness, and so we see that all those entangled in material existence experience the fire of lamentation. Sometimes they think themselves unfortunate and sometimes they think themselves sinful. Regardless, they are always in danger.” In prelude to his singing the glories of the saintly Bharata, Śukadeva Gosvāmī concludes this part of *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (5.14.42 and 5.14.46): “My dear Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the path indicated by Jaḍa Bharata is like the path followed by Garuḍa, the carrier of the Lord, and ordinary kings are just like flies. Flies cannot follow the path of Garuḍa, and to date none of the great kings and victorious leaders could follow this path of devotional service, not even mentally. . . . Devotees interested in hearing and chanting regularly discuss the pure characteristics of Bharata Mahārāja and praise his activities. . . . Whatever one desires can be attained simply by hearing, chanting, and glorifying the activities of Mahārāja Bharata. In this way, one can fulfill all his material and spiritual desires. One does not have to ask anyone else for these things, for simply by studying the life of Mahārāja Bharata, one can attain all desirable things.” *Īśvara Dāsa founded Touchstone Media in 1998 and has published over a dozen Vedic and Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava books. He lives in Vrindavan, India, where Touchstone Media is located.* *Bhūmipati Dāsa was personally instructed by Śrīla Prabhupāda to translate Bengali Gauḍīya scriptures*, and* he has translated dozens of them, including such popular works as the* Uddhava-gīta, Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata *with the commentaries of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī,* Bhaktivinoda Vāṇī Vaibhāva*, and* Hari-bhakti-vilāsa*. He lives in Vrindavan.* *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*: The Book that Responds to Your Desire *While packing for a trip to America, an Indian couple must reluctantly leave their beloved Bhāgavatam volumes behind.* by Girirāja Govinda Dāsa Śrīla Prabhupāda introduces his *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* translation and commentary with an appeal to world leaders and thinkers. In his preface to *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, Śrīla Prabhupāda has summarized an ocean of wisdom in just a few words. The Bhāgavatam, with over eighteen thousand Sanskrit verses, is a masterpiece of knowledge for the benefit of humanity. Śrīla Prabhupāda undertook the monumental task of translating the text into English and adding his own commentary (“purports”), and his edition now appears in more than eighty languages. Scholars have opined that among Śrīla Prabhupāda’s many gifts to humanity, this literary contribution is especially noteworthy. Often an author writes a preface to provide the intended audience a glimpse of the aim and scope of the book. One can imagine the seriousness with which Śrīla Prabhupāda would introduce his English translation of the *Bhāgavatam*. The result is that every statement of his short but profound preface is food for contemplation. The aim of this article is to discuss and deliberate on parts of it. We shall discover the *Bhāgavatam*’s strong relevance to present-day humanity—collectively and individually. Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote this preface when he was unknown to the world. But his visionary character can be clearly seen in his words, written as early as in 1963, when people thought of him as just another ordinary swami. He arduously managed to complete three volumes of the *Bhāgavatam*, and then set sail to America to preach its gospel. The preface begins: We must know the present need of human society. And what is that need? Human society is no longer bounded by geographical limits to particular countries or communities. Human society is broader than in the Middle Ages, and the world tendency is toward one state or one human society. The ideals of spiritual communism, according to *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, are based more or less on the oneness of the entire human society, nay, of the entire energy of living beings. The need is felt by great thinkers to make this a successful ideology. *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* will fill this need in human society. Today we live in a world where all parts of the earth are interconnected economically, socially, and culturally, and thinkers are searching for a common ideology to bind society harmoniously. Diversity is natural when people of different nations mix, yet leaders are aspiring to achieve unity in diversity. It is a noble idea, but a formidable one to enact in practice. Various social scientists, anthropologists, economists, educators, political leaders, reformers, artists, and scientists are busy trying to make unification of humanity a reality. We can see their efforts in the establishment of worldwide institutions. Śrīla Prabhupāda envisioned that the need for unification would be inevitable. Consequently he stated his premise that the *Bhāgavatam* is a literature that can help leaders achieve their goal. *Bhāgavata Communism* In other places, he has explained what he means by “spiritual communism,” or the communism of the *Bhāgavatam*: Everything belongs to God; nothing belongs to us. This is *Bhāgavata* communism. As the communists, they say, “Everything belongs to the state,” we say, “Everything belongs to God.” We never say that anything belongs to anyone. No. This is *Bhāgavata* communism. So everything belongs to God. So one can utilize God’s property as much as he requires, not more than that. (Lecture, July 15, 1973, London) If the communist idea is spiritualized, then it will become perfect. As long as the communist idea remains materialistic, it cannot be the final revolution. . . . The communist philosophy as it is now practiced is vague, but it can become perfect if they accept the conclusion of the *Bhagavad-gītā*—that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme proprietor, the supreme enjoyer, and the supreme friend of everyone. Then people will be happy. (*Journey of Self-Discovery*, Chapter 7) Furthermore, *Bhāgavata* communism is not limited to humanity. It cares for all living beings. It is an all-inclusive welfare scheme. *Bhāgavata* communism says that even if you have got a lizard in your room, you must give him something to eat. If you have got a serpent in your room, you must give it something to eat. Nobody in your house should starve. You see? This is *Bhāgavata* communism. Not that "Only my brother and sister will not starve, and other animals should be killed." This is not communism. Here is communism. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness communism—that a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is thinking even for the ant, even for the lizard, even for the serpent. That is real communism. (Lecture, March 6, 1968, San Francisco) The opening paragraph of the preface is a call for revolution—a spiritual revolution based on the *Bhāgavatam*, a revolution for a universal welfare state with all inhabitants happy. The preface continues: Human society, at the present moment, is not in the darkness of oblivion. It has made rapid progress in the fields of material comforts, education and economic development throughout the entire world. But there is a pinprick somewhere in the social body at large, and therefore there are large-scale quarrels, even over less important issues. There is need of a clue as to how humanity can become one in peace, friendship and prosperity with a common cause. *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* will fill this need, for it is a cultural presentation for the respiritualization of the entire human society. Why should one bother to adopt spiritual communism from the *Bhāgavatam*? Here is the reason. Śrīla Prabhupāda says that despite rapid progress, a pinprick in the society at large is leading to big quarrels over less important issues. Modern wars are exploitative, selfishly driven by vested interests. Further, with rapid growth in almost all fields of life, we take pride in our social evolution. But we should pause and honestly ask, Are we really happy as a society? Are we united? Border problems, ethnic conflicts, resource conflicts, terrorism in the name of God, economic collapse, environmental problems, scandals, war tensions, communal disharmony, hundreds of diseases, suicides—shouldn’t this state of affairs prompt us to question the very philosophy underlying our growth? We’ve built a skyscraper on a shaky foundation. What is that foundation, that fake premise on which society rests? A diagnosis of the problem is needed before a suitable cure is thought of. Leaders are struggling without knowing the clue to how humanity can become one in “peace, friendship and prosperity.” Śrīla Prabhupāda urges them to refer to the *Bhāgavatam* for the clue. From the preface: Disparity in human society is due to lack of principles in a godless civilization. There is God, or the Almighty One, from whom everything emanates, by whom everything is maintained and in whom everything is merged to rest. Material science has tried to find the ultimate source of creation very insufficiently, but it is a fact that there is one ultimate source of everything that be. This ultimate source is explained rationally and authoritatively in the beautiful *Bhāgavatam*, or Śrīmad-*Bhāgavatam*. Here is the diagnosis of the problem. Society is now based on godlessness, on materialistic principles. Materialism has primarily two faces. One face is the belief that there is no God and no spirit and that matter is all there is—matter, not spirit, is the source of consciousness. The other face is the belief that matter alone, by chance or accident, caused everything we perceive. Materialism is the philosophy of most leaders today, coloring their view the world. Consequently all their plans are based on this premise, and the result is there for us to see. Materialism is simply not working. The *Bhāgavatam* teaches us that besides matter there is spirit and only an integrated worldview can solve the present-day problems. Leaders should take note of this. *The Bhāgavatam’s Uniqueness* Of course, this viewpoint is not just from the *Bhāgavatam*, but from many other Vedic scriptures as well as scriptures of the Abrahamic traditions. What then is the special contribution of the *Bhāgavatam*? The following verses hint at the *Bhāgavatam*’s uniqueness among other religious texts: Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful *Bhāgavatam*, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of *Bhāgavatam*, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart. O expert and thoughtful men, relish *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls. (*Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 1.1.2–3) These early verses of the *Bhāgavatam* warrant an open-minded reception. Atheists and materialists criticize the hypocrisy of supposedly religious people who do bad things in the name of God. Actually, their criticism is right. But the *Bhāgavatam* and followers of its true message shun materially motivated religious practices, and this should encourage critical readers to appreciate its nonduplicity. Further, here in the preface Śrīla Prabhupāda tells us that the *Bhāgavatam* contains an elaborate rational and authoritative explanation of God. The *Bhāgavatam* challenges many hardcore materialistic ideas and exposes materialistic vanity. Are there guidelines for studying the *Bhāgavatam*? From the preface: The only qualification one needs to study this great book of transcendental knowledge is to proceed step by step cautiously and not jump forward haphazardly as with an ordinary book. It should be gone through chapter by chapter, one after another. The reading matter is so arranged with the original Sanskrit text, its English transliteration, synonyms, translation and purports so that one is sure to become a God-realized soul at the end of finishing the first nine cantos. The *Bhāgavatam* has twelve cantos, and Śrīla Prabhupāda generally recommended that one read it in order. Reading elaborate commentary requires patience and interest. The reader can consult ISKCON leaders and teachers about how to study the *Bhāgavatam*. Whichever way we do it, a committed, disciplined reading will help us. In my last excerpt from the preface, Prabhupāda mentions becoming a self-realized soul after reading nine (of the twelve) cantos. Why nine? From the preface: The Tenth Canto is distinct from the first nine cantos because it deals directly with the transcendental activities of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. One will be unable to capture the effects of the Tenth Canto without going through the first nine cantos. The book is complete in twelve cantos, each independent, but it is good for all to read them in small installments one after another. *Awakening Natural Virtues* Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes the preface by admitting his frailties in writing his commentary but expressing hope that leaders will give the book a good reception. He then quotes a beautiful verse from the *Bhāgavatam* (1.5.11): > tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo > yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api > nāmāny anantasya yaśo ’ṅkitāni yac > chṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ “On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, form and pastimes of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a transcendental creation meant for bringing about a revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literature, even though irregularly composed, is heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.” Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mention of his frailties reveals his humility, but a person of his character and stature cannot err in his presentation. Nor is it ever inadequate. He ends the preface by quoting a verse (cited above) in which Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the author of the *Bhāgavatam*, shows the same humility. In fact, the quality of humility finds its ultimate expression and fulfillment in the pages of the *Bhāgavatam*, along with other desirable qualities such as gratitude, love, compassion, integrity, purity, and honesty. These special virtues are innate in every soul, and the *Bhāgavatam* draws them out in their splendid spiritual forms. All of us yearn for fulfillment, for satisfaction of our heart. Unfortunately our materially guided civilization desensitizes us, and we become stony and cold in relation to other living beings and nature. Materialism dries up the very essence of our compassionate humanity, leaving our soul parched. No wonder that despite much material advancement, a lingering sorrow pervades society. On one level everything may seem fine, but we sense that something somewhere is missing. There’s a pinprick, a constant irritation, in our otherwise soft bed. Where are happiness, peace, and prosperity? They elude us or come and go too quickly, leaving the heart wanting. It is this vacuum—the sheer hollowness, the ultimate emptiness of a materially guided civilization—that Śrīla Prabhupāda fills with his books and purports. His agenda is only one thing—how to make all living entities on earth happy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Seeing the *Bhāgavatam* as a panacea, Prabhupāda took great pains late in life to write his translations and purports. As Dhruva Mahārāja, filled with gratitude, kissed the feet of Lord Viṣṇu when He appeared before him, and as a sinful prostitute, moved by the compassion of Christ, kissed his feet, the entire humanity should kiss Śrīla Prabhupāda’s hands for his commentary on the *Bhāgavatam*. We should all read this literature and share it with leaders, urging them to apply the principles of the *Bhāgavatam* in their administrations. Instead of only criticizing them as godless, materialistic, demonic, and atheistic, we can proactively make them God-centered by taking introducing them to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s *Bhāgavatam* and encouraging them to give it the “good reception” that Prabhupāda desired. *Girirāja Govinda Dāsa is disciple of His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami Mahārāja and a śikṣā disciple of His Holiness Bhakti Vinoda Swami. He works as a scientist in the field of digital signal processing and is interested in exploring scientific aspects of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.* Letters A Thank You I just wanted to say thank you for the May/June issue and the moving article on Narasiṁha’s lost temples. May we all be so eager to meet the Lord of our hearts! I know age doesn’t matter, but I was hoping for a feature by a “younger” devotee and was pleased to see this one. Indra Bahia (30 years old) Śrī Jagannath Mandir, Berlin, Germany What About Eggs? Are eggs nonvegetarian? My father is an egg trader. Can I invest my money in his business and support him? I am a vegetarian and an ISKCON follower. Mukul Baweja Via the Internet *Reply*: We devotees of Kṛṣṇa eat only what is offered to Kṛṣṇa, and the scriptures make clear that eggs (whether considered flesh or not) are not suitable for offering to Kṛṣṇa. Our restriction in ISKCON is “no meat, fish, or eggs.” This restriction is not difficult to follow. There are thousands of preparations that Kṛṣṇa likes that we can prepare for Him without these items. We have found that for baking, you can use two tablespoons of yogurt to replace each egg in a recipe. It works great. We would advise that you avoid investing in the egg industry. Best to keep your path of *bhakti* clean and clear of obstacles. Seeking Help Through Prayers and the Lottery I had never prayed to God much. But after I fell in love with a guy, I started to believe and trust in God. I have started reading Lord Kṛṣṇa’s books a lot. I am so happy that I have started to know about God. Initially I prayed for the guy I want to marry, but after knowing more and more about God, I got a lot of interest and felt connected to God more. I have been praying sincerely for my parents to get agree to let me marry him. Actually, his family’s financial situation is not good. So we have both been trying to win the lottery for more than three years. We are trying our 100% and praying to God with full concern. Yet we are failing. I want to know why I am failing. Why are my prayers not being answered? Priya Via the Internet *Reply*: Kṛṣṇa is in your heart and will help you get closer to Him, as you desire to. He knows what is good for you and what is bad for you, and He may not permit you to get things that may not be good for you. To ask the Lord to engage you in devotional service and accept you is a higher level of praying. Asking for material things is a lower level. Kṛṣṇa may not fulfill your request, at least not yet. He is most pleased when we don’t want any material gain for ourselves. As we become purified by glorifying, worshiping, and serving Him, then our desires will become spiritual. Every woman is encouraged to get married and serve nicely with her husband, but Kṛṣṇa may be testing your determination and patience, increasing your faith in Him. We always wish for good things to happen quickly, but be patient. He certainly has a plan for you. Playing the lottery is not a good way to please God, since it is gambling, one of the main activities we are instructed to avoid in spiritual life. Surely there is a better way to solve your problem. Searching, Doubting. Where is God? Vaishal Iraghuwanshi Via the Internet *Reply*: Lord Kṛṣṇa says that He is within everything and outside of everything. He is in everyone’s heart as Paramātmā, Supersoul, and He lives eternally in His spiritual abode. Because He is absolute, He is identical to His name and is present wherever His name and glories are chanted. He is in His Deity form, in His prasādam, and in the Vedas. He has innumerable forms and expansions—too many to list. He is present for His devotee at all times and in all places. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* He tells of these expansions and forms. In this age especially, He is easily present for us when we chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mahā-mantra*. Controlling the Mind How to control one’s thoughts? And what is the best way to mold thought for Kṛṣṇa? Madhwesh Upadhyay Via the Internet Reply: Controlling the mind and fixing it on Kṛṣṇa takes some practice and determination, even though, as parts of Kṛṣṇa, we are meant to be Kṛṣṇa conscious. But now we are busy with our own desires. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is designed to connect us with Kṛṣṇa as much as possible. The process of always chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa helps direct our attention to Him, and it purifies the heart, the sitting place of consciousness. Besides chanting, we should hear of His pastimes to have some place for our mind to dwell. It is hard to think of someone you know nothing about. It is also important serve Kṛṣṇa, trying to please Him in whatever way we can. If we have projects, engagements, and activities to do for Him, then our mind will be absorbed. Otherwise, Māyā, illusion, has many engagements for our mind and will keep us away from Him. Being steady in our *sādhana*, or spiritual practices, also helps fix the mind. The mind can be trained if we keep practicing diligently. The Hare Kṛṣṇa *mantra* is actually a prayer begging for Kṛṣṇa to accept us and engage us in His service. So keep chanting, and the mind will eventually get captured by Him. Obstacles How to avoid problems that come in the way of devotion? Avi Mari Via the Internet *Reply*: There are many impediments a devotee may encounter, since we are not already pure and free from material contamination. We should avoid association with things that make us forget Kṛṣṇa. To keep strong, we have to have a strong daily devotional program, full of japa, reading, kīrtana, and prasādam. Usually our mind is being affected by outside influences, our past sinful activities, and our own weakness. We have to be aware of our enemies—things that distract us from Kṛṣṇa consciousness—and try to avoid them. If we are always chanting and remembering the Lord, then Māyā will not attack. A satisfied intelligence, full of spiritual knowledge and philosophy, is a great weapon to cut down those enemies. Some problems may be there just to test us and see if we can transcend with our higher knowledge. The devotee learns how to analyze the problem and see how Kṛṣṇa has sent it and how to depend on Him to help deal with it. Kṛṣṇa, scripture, and saintly devotees are always there to help us. Try to stay in that association, and you can deal with any problem. A Pause for Prayer O my Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, You are the almighty Personality of Godhead. There is no limit to Your different energies. Therefore only You are competent to instill fearlessness in the hearts of Your devotees. Everyone in the flames of material miseries can find the path of liberation in You only. You are the original Personality of Godhead, who expand Yourself all over the creations and are transcendental to material energy. You have cast away the effects of the material energy by dint of Your spiritual potency. You are always situated in eternal bliss and transcendental knowledge. And yet, though You are beyond the purview of the material energy, You execute the four principles of liberation characterized by religion and so on for the ultimate good of the conditioned souls. Thus You descend as an incarnation to remove the burden of the world and to benefit Your friends, especially those who are Your exclusive devotees and are constantly rapt in meditation upon You. Arjuna to Lord Kṛṣṇa *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 1.7.22–25 Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out Śrīla Prabhupāda: So we are living beings. But we are not the Supreme Being. Reporter: And yet God is inside us. Śrīla Prabhupāda: God is inside, outside—everywhere. Reporter: Your Divine Grace, who do you think Jesus Christ was? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Now, let us finish one idea at a time. Jesus Christ said that he is God's son. That's all right. Reporters: But if you take a drop of water and you merge it back into the ocean . . . this is an example that is often given by these various masters . . . that if you take a drop of water and you put it into the ocean, that drop becomes one with the ocean. Śrīla Prabhupāda: The drop of water becomes the ocean? Reporter: No. But it becomes merged in that ocean. Śrīla Prabhupāda: That's all right. Merging is different. But the ocean remains the ocean. Reporter: Yes. Śrīla Prabhupāda: And you remain the drop. That's all. Now, take your material body—earth, water, fire, and so on. When you pass away and this body becomes decomposed, its present form will not remain. Does this mean that your body will become the totality of universal elements? Reporter: No. But surely the body is different from the soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda: So that body is a drop in the totality of material elements. That does not mean your body has become the totality of material elements. Similarly, a drop of ocean water is a drop always. It does not become the ocean. It appears that it is mixed with the ocean. But "mixed" does not mean the drop will ever become the ocean. That is not the fact. Reporter: When they say the drop mixes with the ocean . . . Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Reporter: ... it's like the human, finite form merging with the infinite, and then it acquires the powers of the infinite. Śrīla Prabhupāda: No. "Mixes" or "merges" means something less. This example is given. Let us say a green bird enters into a tree which is also green. So although to my eyes it appears that the bird has mixed or merged into the tree, actually that is not the fact. Or take an airplane. You look into the sky and see an airplane flying along. Then, after some time, you look and see there is no airplane. You see only the sky. To your eyes, it may appear that the airplane has mixed or merged into the sky. But of course, the airplane has not merged. It cannot merge. The airplane is keeping its identity, just as the bird is keeping his identity. Reporter: Your Divine Grace, is the human soul limited or unlimited? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Limited. Reporter: Limited? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Reporter: It has boundaries and . . . ? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Because you are in fact limited; therefore you are under the control of material nature. That is being explained in these examples of the bird and the airplane. For instance, the bird is limited. Now, if he keeps his limited existence, that is nice. But if, unnecessarily, he wants to become unlimited, that is artificial. How can it be? Reporter: I seem to remember reading a particular chapter of the *Bhagavad-gītā* that said ... I can't quite remember what chapter it was, but it said that. . . Kṛṣṇa was talking to Arjuna . . . and it said that Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna, "When you realize Me"—or when you realize God, Kṛṣṇa—"you will see the whole creation inside Me...." Śrīla Prabhupāda: Hmm? Reporter: "You will see the whole creation within Me and within yourself." Is that a true translation? Śrīla Prabhupāda: One of my disciples can give you the accurate translation. Disciple: "You will see all beings in Me. And you will see Me in all beings." Śrīla Prabhupāda: So what is that? Does it mean that all beings are Kṛṣṇa? Reporter: The translation that I read also said, "You will see Me within yourself." Śrīla Prabhupāda: As Paramātmā. or Supersoul, Kṛṣṇa is within everyone's heart. *Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati.* But that does not mean everyone is Kṛṣṇa. You are in this room. That does not mean you are this room. Reporter: So we are in God, and God is in us? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Without God we would have no existence. Disciple: Śrīla Prabhupāda, here is the exact translation of that verse in *Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.* "A true *yogi* observes Me in all beings and also sees every being in Me. Indeed, the self-realized man sees Me everywhere." Śrīla Prabhupāda: So without God we would have no existence. That's all. That we live in Him does not mean we become Him. Constitutionally, we are His part-and-parcel servants, and we have to serve Him. Reporter: Your Divine Grace, do you think that every human being will become liberated? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. When people learn this great science of God realization and self-realization that Kṛṣṇa has given in *Bhagavad-gītā*, then He promises they will be liberated. *Janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ/ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna:* "One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna." You see? Kṛṣṇa guarantees it. Reporter: Your Divine Grace, thank you very much for your time. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. From the Editor *Essential Qualities* The science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be divided into three divisions: knowledge of our relationship with Kṛṣṇa (*sambandha*), the process for realizing that knowledge (*abhidheya*), and realization of our relationship in pure love of Kṛṣṇa (**prayojana*)*. In other words, to become pure lovers of Kṛṣṇa and thus achieve the ultimate goal of life (**prayojana*)*, we begin by learning what Kṛṣṇa consciousness is all about (*sambandha*) and then diligently practicing *bhakti-yoga* (*abhidheya*). When Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu five centuries ago, He taught Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the context of these three divisions, and among His closest associates, three are considered the *ācāryas*, or leading preachers, of the divisions. Sanātana Gosvāmī is the *sambandha-ācārya*, Rūpa Gosvāmī is the *abhidheya-ācārya*, and Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī is the *prayojana-ācārya*. Here I’ll write a few words about an important lesson from the teachings of Rūpa Gosvāmī, who learned from Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself. In response to Lord Caitanya’s order that he write books on the science of devotion, Rūpa Gosvāmi wrote, among other books, *Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu*, which Śrīla Prabhupāda presented in a comprehensive summary as The Nectar of Devotion. The first part of *Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu*, Rūpa Gosvāmī’s most famous book, deals extensively with the regulated practices of *bhakti-yoga*, or devotional service. In a shorter book, *Śrī Upadeśāmṛta* (“The Nectar of Instruction”), Rūpa Gosvāmī lists six things favorable to devotional service and six things unfavorable. The first three items on the “favorable” list are enthusiasm, determination, and patience. To begin his purport to the verse listing the six favorable things, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity.” In other words, to be successful in *bhakti-yoga* we have to practice. How? With enthusiasm, determination, and patience. Learning the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness should naturally make us enthusiastic. Prabhupāda writes, “One should accept this opportunity to return home, back to Godhead, very enthusiastically.” Enthusiasm in our spiritual practices shows that we truly understand what has been made available to us. We often see, though, that the initial enthusiasm of taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness can wane after some time. This phenomenon, of course, can occur with any endeavor when the novelty of it wears off. But because Kṛṣṇa consciousness is on the spiritual plane, we can always have fresh experiences if we apply ourselves. That requires the determination to press on through rough times. Śrīla Prabhupāda compared taking up Kṛṣṇa consciousness to declaring war on māyā, the energy of the Lord that keeps us in material illusion. Our mind and senses naturally want to rebel when we try to engage them in devotional service after lifetimes of rejecting Kṛṣṇa. We must be determined to, as Prabhupāda would say, “do the routine work” of regulated *bhakti-yoga*. Fortified with enthusiasm and determination, we might expect overnight success, but the transformation from “me” consciousness to Kṛṣṇa consciousness takes time. So we need to be patient. Patience is not a quality our modern lives tend to inspire. Today we Ecan get almost anything we want very quickly. But material things are impermanent, and therefore not of ultimate value. Being patient about reaching the perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness shows that we truly appreciate its value. As Prabhupāda repeatedly told us, “Don’t take it as a cheap thing.” There’s simply nothing more valuable than entering our relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Our longing for it and our determination to work for it for many lifetimes, if need be, are the attitudes that will inspire Kṛṣṇa to grant us His priceless company. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nāgarāja Dāsa, Editor* Vedic Thoughts The whole world is engaged in sacrificing energy for advancement of learning, social upliftment, economic development and plans for total improvement of the human condition, but no one is interested in sacrificing for the sake of the Lord, as it is advised in the *Bhagavad-gītā*. Therefore, there is no peace in the world. If men at all want peace in the world, they must practice sacrifice in the interest of the supreme proprietor and friend of all. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 2.6.28, Purport The holy names of Kṛṣṇa are the eternal Truth. All scriptures explain Kṛṣṇa and nothing else. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme controller, the creator, the maintainer, and the annihilator. Everyone, beginning from Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, is His servant. The life of anyone who gives up the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and explains things as separate from Him is useless as a result of his false statements. The philosophies in all scriptures headed by the *āgamas* and Vedānta describe the wealth of devotion to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu *Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa* 1.148–151 An expert geologist can understand where there is gold and by various processes can extract it from the gold ore. Similarly, a spiritually advanced person can understand how the spiritual particle exists within the body, and thus by cultivating spiritual knowledge he can attain perfection in spiritual life. However, as one who is not expert cannot understand where there is gold, a foolish person who has not cultivated spiritual knowledge cannot understand how the spirit exists within the body. Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 7.7.29 It is not logical to say that the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not have inconceivable potencies that can arrange for the Lord to possess mutually contradictory qualities, for no one has the power to understand the Lord completely. The Lord must have inconceivable potencies, for that is logical and it is also confirmed by the Vedic revelation. Therefore idea that the Lord does not have such powers that can give Him mutually contradictory qualities is illogical and should be thrown far away. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī *Śrī Paramātma-sandarbha, Anuccheda* 58 One who follows the disciplic succession of *ācāryas* knows things as they are. *Chāndogya Upaniṣad* 6.14.2 By worshiping the devotees of the Lord, all one’s desires will be fulfilled. *Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad* 3.1.10 The Lord’s transcendental form is the Absolute Truth, devoid of duality or of beginning, middle, or end. It is self-effulgent, eternal, and full of knowledge and bliss. Only through devotional service can one understand that form to be infallible. *Vāsudeva Upaniṣad* 6.5 2020 The Technology of Transcendence BTG54-01, 2020