# Back to Godhead Magazine #55 *2021 (04)* Back to Godhead Magazine #55-04, 2021 PDF-View Welcome All devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa are familiar with the basic story of His appearance in this world, narrated most notably in the Tenth Canto of the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. There are subtle details in the story that don’t appear in the Bhāgavatam but can be found elsewhere. To commemorate this year’s celebration of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, our cover story in this issue—“The Unborn’s Birth”—provides some of those details from scriptures such as the Harivaṁśa Purāna. The article is written, fittingly enough, by new BTG contributor Harivaṁśa Dāsa. Gaurāṇga Darśana’s article “Is God Partial?” replies to this common doubt with a variety of examples from Lord Kṛṣṇa’s life. Dr. Vinay Venugopal, a college professor and another first-time BTG author, shows how Lord Kṛṣna revealed the reality that is “Beyond the Observable Universe.” Perhaps the most important insight about God that we gain from the Vedic literature is the intimate nature of His love for His devotees and their love for Him. In the “Founder’s Lecture” that opens this issue, Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks about Lord Kṛṣṇa’s beloved gopīs, the celebrated cowherd girls of Vrindavan who gave up everything out of their deep, spontaneous desire to engage in devotional service to Him. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nāgarāja Dāsa, Editor* Letters *Kṛṣṇa Conscious Student Life* As a student, what should I do to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, managing regular life and time devoted to Kṛṣṇa? Aman Via the Internet *Reply:* Yes, it is a real juggling act to balance our material and spiritual duties. Try to have an early-morning spiritual program filled with chanting, hearing, and discussing Kṛṣṇa. We are fortunate to have so many ways to engage our mind and senses in Kṛṣṇa’s service. At the temple there are regular times for japa, class, kīrtana, and other forms of worship. Many temples have live webcams, so you can observe and take part even during a lockdown. Many temples are open; check for the ones near you. There may be gatherings of devotees in your area too. But going to bed early and rising early with sacred time for your chanting and hearing is most important. If you can have some association with advanced devotees, that is best. Make sure your food is offered to the Lord. This will keep you purified and peaceful. Listen to lectures and seminars in between your driving or studies to keep in touch with the transcendental. Kṛṣṇa is there when you call to Him, so listen carefully to His instructions in the *Gītā*. Many devotees do a lot of positive preaching in their student life by being good examples, having home programs, and talking to others about the philosophy and the spiritual way of life they follow. *Faith vs. Logic* Which is better, to develop love towards God with faith or through logic? Pratik Patil Via the Internet *Reply:* Whatever works for you is the best. It will be different for different people. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* that people come to Him for four main reasons: because they’re distressed, because they desire some kind of material gain, because they’re inquisitive, or because they’re searching for the Absolute Truth. While He especially favors those who are sincerely searching for the truth, all of them will ultimately attain the perfection of self-realization, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness (love of God). To stick to the process of developing love for God, we need to have realizations about the efficacy of our practice. These will come, and they will increase our faith. Some initial faith is required to be able to hear properly. Logic often helps people accept the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and gives them the faith to engage in the process of purification. Logic will not always convince everyone to have faith. But faith in the teachings will promote one to higher levels of realization and the ultimate dedication of one's life to serving the Supreme Lord. *Answers to All Questions* Is it true that the Vedas and the *Bhagavad-gītā* have answers to all the questions of humankind? Janki Via the Internet *Reply:* Yes, true. Your search for the Absolute Truth has ended. The word veda means “knowledge,” and the Vedas contain all knowledge, both material and spiritual. They answer not only questions you are wondering about, but also questions you never would have thought of. They are the real wealth that we’re seeking to enrich our mind, intelligence, and soul. The Vedas, the *Bhagavad-gītā*, and especially the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* are the post-graduate study of religion and philosophy, the true guides to self-realization and God-realization. Please take the opportunity to study this knowledge and put it into practice in your life. It will save you from repeated birth and death in the material world. It is best to study under the guidance of advanced devotees who are pure in heart. There are regular classes at our temples, and many classes are available online. *The First Question* Who am I? Sandesh Bhopale Via the Interent *Reply:* You are definitely an intelligent soul for asking the most important question a human being can ask. For so many lifetimes we have been tricked to think we are these bodies, both the gross and subtle ones, like the mind and the false ego. But the truth is that each of us is a spirit soul, part of the Supreme Soul, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. We have been in the material world since time immemorial, occupying one body after another in our quest to enjoy separately from Kṛṣṇa. But He has been next to us in the heart all this time, hoping we would listen to Him. Kṛṣṇa is waiting for us to turn to Him and agree to serve Him with love and devotion without wanting anything in return. This is the art of *bhakti*, loving service, which will awaken the soul and begin to allow us to experience the pleasure of contacting the Lord. His holy names are identical to Him. He recommends we chant His glories to stay in contact with Him. Kṛṣṇa’s instructions in the *Bhagavad-gītā* are guides for us fallen souls to understand our position and that of the Lord. We are eternally related to Him in a specific loving mood that is gradually revived by our serving Him purely. In this lifetime, try to put yourself in an atmosphere of loving service, with the association of advanced devotees, so you can advance and reawaken your lost identify as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Founder's Lecture: The Gopīs’ Example of the Purest Love *As the great devotee Bhīṣma prepares to leave this world, he remembers Lord Kṛṣṇa’s greatest devotees.* > lalita-gati-vilāsa-valguhāsa- > praṇaya-nirīkṣaṇa-kalpitorumānāḥ > kṛta-manu-kṛta-vatya unmadāndhāḥ > prakṛtim agan kila yasya gopa-vadhvaḥ > [SB 1.9.40] "Let my mind be fixed upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose motions and smiles of love attracted the damsels of Vrajadhāma [the gopīs]. The damsels imitated the characteristic movements of the Lord [after His disappearance from the rāsa dance]." Pradyumna: "By intense ecstasy in loving service, the *damsels* of Vrajabhūmi attained the qualitative oneness with the Lord by dancing with Him on an equal level, embracing Him in nuptial love, smiling at Him in joke and looking at Him with a loving attitude. The relation of the Lord with Arjuna is undoubtedly praiseworthy by devotees like Bhīṣmadeva, but the relation of the gopīs with the Lord is still more praiseworthy because of their still more purified loving service. By the grace of the Lord, Arjuna was fortunate enough to have the fraternal service of the Lord as chariot driver, but the Lord did not award Arjuna with equal strength. The gopīs, however, practically became one with the Lord by attainment of equal footing with the Lord. "Bhīṣma's aspiration to remember the gopīs is a prayer to have their mercy also at the last stage of his life. The Lord is satisfied more when His pure devotees are glorified, and therefore Bhīṣmadeva has not only glorified the acts of Arjuna, his immediate object of attraction, but also he has remembered the gopīs, who were endowed with unrivalled opportunities by rendering loving service to the Lord. The gopīs' equality with the Lord should never be misunderstood to be like the sāyujya liberation of the impersonalist. The equality is one of perfect ecstasy, where the differential conception is completely eradicated, for the interests of the lover and the beloved become identical." Prabhupāda: So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, *ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā* [*Caitanya-mañjusā*]: There is no better method of worship than the system invented by the *gopīs.* So *gopīs'* invention of worshiping Kṛṣṇa was to remain always Kṛṣṇa conscious, without any material profit. That is the superexcellence of *gopīs.* They never expected any return from Kṛṣṇa. That was not their business. "Kṛṣṇa, we have done so much for You, You cannot give me this benediction?" No, they never asked like that. That is the first-class worship. "Kṛṣṇa, You take whatever You like from us, but we do not ask anything, neither we have any need." This is *gopīs'* worship. "We have got everything to give You, and we have no need to ask You." This is *gopīs'* worship. Generally, they worship God, needy, *ārtaḥ *arthārthī** [*Bg* 7.16]*. Ārtaḥ* means diseased, *arthārthī* means in need of money. People generally go to church, temple, when they are suffering from some ailments or need of money, these two classes. Another two classes: **jijñāsuḥ*, jñānī. Jñānī* means who is after pure knowledge, and *jijñāsuḥ* means inquisitive—what is the nature of God. These are..., they are higher section. But they are not *bhaktas.* Just like there are many philosophers, they also talk of God, but they are not *bhaktas.* But because they are talking of God, they are getting some benefit. Just like if you handle with fire, you perceive some warmth automatically. So these four classes of men, they are not *bhaktas,* devotees—*ārtaḥ, arthārthī, jñānī* and *jijñāsuḥ.* But because they come to Kṛṣṇa for some benefit, some way or other they offer their service, because praying is also another service. There are nine kinds of services: *śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam, arcanaṁ vandanam* [SB 7.5.23]*. Vandanam,* this is also service. But because this service is rendered for some motive to mitigate the sufferings, *ārtaḥ arthārthi,* or to satisfy some inquires, they are not pure devotion. So the *gopīs'* activities, they are the supreme platform of pure devotion*.* There is no other business*.* There is no other business*.* **Gopīs*,* they are not interested to know philosophically whether Kṛṣṇa is God, although they are seeing every step Kṛṣṇa is God*.* Mother Yaśodā is seeing that Kṛṣṇa is God*.* *Gopīs* also, *gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī* [*Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava*]*.* Kṛṣṇa is lifting the Govardhana Hill*.* Who can do it except God? They are seeing it; still they do not know that Kṛṣṇa is God*.* "Kṛṣṇa is wonderful," that's all*.* They do not like to know whether Kṛṣṇa is God or not*.* They want to love Kṛṣṇa*.* Kṛṣṇa may be God or not God, it doesn't matter*.* Just like if you love somebody, what he is—he is rich man, poor man, educated or non-educated—there is no consideration. Love has no such thing, consideration. Similarly, *gopīs'* love for Kṛṣṇa was pure. There was no consideration that Kṛṣṇa was God, therefore they wanted to dance with Him. No. Kṛṣṇa wanted to dance with them, therefore they came to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is now calling by the vibration of His flute at this dead of night. So, all these young girls, they are all married—some of them are mothers—so immediately left their home. That is described in the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.* Some of them were cooking, some of them were feeding, breast-feeding the children, some of them were feeding the husband or the father. In this way, everyone was engaged. But as soon as Kṛṣṇa's flute was heard at dead of night, they left home immediately. All the guardians... Generally in India for young girls, the guardians are the father, the husband, the brother—all male members—they forbid, "Where you are going? Where you are...?" Nobody cares. No love for so-called children, no love for home, no love for brother, father, or no respect. Kṛṣṇa. That is *gopīs'* superexcellence. So that is being explained, and Bhīṣmadeva, at the point of his death, he is relishing. These are to be learned. Unless we are practiced to think of Kṛṣṇa always, how at the time of death we can think of? Therefore Kulaśekhara says, > kṛṣṇa tvādiya-padapaṅkaja-pañjarāntam > adyaiva viśsatu me mānasa-rāja-haṁsaḥ > prāṇa-prayāṇa-samaye kapha-vāta-pittaiḥ > kaṇṭhāvarodhana-vidhau smaraṇaṁ kutas te > [Mukunda-mālā-stotra 33] Mahārāja Kulaśekhara, king, a great devotee, is praying to Kṛṣṇa, "Kṛṣṇa, this is the opportune time. Now I am healthy. I am quite in good health, so let me die immediately, thinking of You. Because my whole purpose is to think of You, of Your pastimes, at the time of death." So generally, at the time of death, *kapha-vāta-pittaiḥ,* the whole system becomes disarranged. There are coughing, there are headache, there is some pain. This is general system. Sometimes they are so intolerable that the man who is going to die, he cries. The system within the body is so complicated that at any time it can be disarranged, and it becomes a great source of pain. So, at the time of death means the arrangement becomes so dangerously painful that one leaves this body: "No more." This is death. This bodily arrangement becomes so painful. Just like one commits suicide. When the situation is too much painful he wants to rescue by committing suicide. Similarly, when the bodily pains are too severe, then the living entity cannot live in this body. *Tyaktvā deham:* he gives up this body. So we have to give up this body. That we forget. People have become so misguided, they are memorizing. In our country, some astrologer has said that one big politician, he has become one of the two dogs in Scandinavia. Now here, for this material body, they have erected museum and statues, and being worshiped by so many methods, but the spirit soul—which was the politician actually, not this body—he has taken birth as a dog. This is their mistake. Where the politician has gone and how, what he is doing, they do not know. But they are concerned with the body. My Guru Mahārāja used to say... that "One man is drowned, and another brave man comes—'I'll save him.' " So he jumps over the water and brings the coat and shirt: "Now this man is saved." So what people will say? "What a nonsense he is. He has brought his coat and shirt, and the man is saved?" Similarly, these rascals, they are dealing with the coat and shirt of the living entity, but they have no knowledge in the university or anywhere where the soul has gone. These rascals have no knowledge. They are simply concerned with this external body. Those who are interested only with this external body... Not those who are. Ninety-nine per cent population, they are interested in this bodily concept of life. Perhaps we are the only institution in the world which is teaching that you are not this body. This is the wonder of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We are the only institution throughout the whole world that we are teaching people that "My dear sir, you are not this body. You are different from the body, and after death you get another body." *Tathā dehantara-prāptir* [*Bg* 2*.*13]*.* Simple education in the Bhagavad-gītā*,* they do not understand*.* There are big*,* big scholars*,* rascals*,* all rascals*.* Our difficulty is these rascals are going on as scholar*,* dehātma-buddhiḥ*.* Their life is bodily concept of life*,* and they are passing as scientist*,* scholars*,* leaders*,* politicians*,* and they are leading us *andhā yathāndhair* [*SB* 7*.*5*.*31]*.* They are blind*,* and they are leading us*,* so we have*.**.**.**,* we are also put into difficulty*.* So only this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can save the human civilization and get him raised to the platform of the *gopīs.* We have got such nice thing, these *gopīs',* unalloyed Kṛṣṇa love. That is wanted. Thank you very much. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Transcendental Form and Attributes Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s form glistens with the black mascara of the sweetness of His nectarean handsomeness. His complexion is the color of a blue lotus flower or a sapphire. His complexion is as enchanting as an emerald, a tamāla tree, or a group of beautiful dark clouds. He is an ocean of nectarean handsomeness. He wears yellow garments and a garland of forest flowers. He is decorated with various jewels, and He is a great reservoir of the nectar of many transcendental pastimes. He has long, curling hair, and He is anointed with many fragrant scents. His handsome crown is decorated with many different flowers. His handsome forehead is splendidly decorated with tilaka markings and curling locks of hair. The playful movements of His raised, dark eyebrows enchant the hearts of the gopīs. His rolling eyes are as splendid as red and blue lotus flowers. The tip of His nose is as handsome as the beak of Garuḍa, the king of birds. His charming ears and cheeks are decorated with earrings made of various jewels. His handsome lotus face is as splendid as millions of moons. He speaks many charming jokes, and His chin is exquisitely handsome. His handsome, smooth neck bends charmingly. It is decorated with a necklace of pearls, and its beauty enchants the residents of the three planetary systems. Decorated with a necklace of pearls and with the Kaustubha gem, which shines like lightning, Kṛṣṇa’s handsome chest longs to enjoy the company of the beautiful gopīs. Decorated with bracelets and armlets, Kṛṣṇa’s arms hang down to His knees. His reddish lotus hands are decorated with various auspicious signs. Kṛṣṇa’s hands are beautifully decorated with the auspicious signs of a club, conchshell, barleycorn, parasol, half-moon, rod for controlling elephants, flag, lotus flower, sacrificial post, plow, pitcher, and fish. Kṛṣṇa’s charming abdomen is the pastime abode of handsomeness. His nectarean back seems to long for the playful touch of the beautiful gopīs. The nectarean lotus flower that is Lord Kṛṣṇa’s hips bewilders the demigod Cupid. Kṛṣṇa’s thighs are like two beautiful plantain trees that charm the hearts of all women. Kṛṣṇa’s knees are very splendid, charming, and handsome. His charming lotus feet are decorated with jeweled ankle bells. Kṛṣṇa’s feet have the luster of roses, and they are decorated with various auspicious markings, such as the markings of the disc, half-moon, octagon, triangle, barleycorn, sky, parasol, waterpot, conchshell, cow’s hoofprint, swastika, rod for controlling elephants, lotus flower, bow, and jambu fruit. Kṛṣṇa’s handsome lotus feet are like two oceans filled with the happiness of pure love. His reddish toes are decorated with the row of full moons that are His toenails. Although we have sometimes compared Kṛṣṇa’s handsomeness to various things, nothing can actually be equal to it. In this place we have given a small indication of Kṛṣṇa’s handsomeness to arouse the attraction of the reader. —*From Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Gaṇoddeśa Dīpikā (Part 2, Texts 1–19); translation by Kuśakratha Dāsa* Śrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out *False Pride in a Foolish Age* *This exchange between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and some of his disciples and guests took place during a morning walk in Hamburg in December 1969.* Śrīla Prabhupāda: So last night at the lecture, our explanation of spiritual life was all right? Disciple: Oh, yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda. And there would have been even more people present but this is the week for the big world-championship football matches. So everyone tries to see those matches. Either they stay home and watch the matches on television, or they go out to the stadium. Everyone wants to see them. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Because they have been taught like that. What is their fault? They have not been taught the importance of human life. They have been taught “Eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy.” That’s all. And then in your next life, become a dog. That’s all. But people do not know. They simply say, “Never mind. I shall become a dog. After all, in my next life I will forget everything.” In the universe there are so many planets, so many different standards of life. But people know nothing. They do not know anything. Guest: But beings on the other planets may have forms more spiritual than ours. Śrīla Prabhupāda: No. They have material forms. For instance, although you cannot live within the water and only the fish can live within the water, still, a fish’s body is not spiritual. It is material. Likewise, you cannot go to the sun planet, because for you that is a foreign atmosphere. But there are living entities who live on the sun planet. They have got their suitable material body. Guest: But I think for the people all this is difficult to understand. Śrīla Prabhupāda: They are trained up to be fools. How will they understand? They are simply fools, eating flesh and becoming like tigers and dogs. That’s all. A tiger may be very strong, but what kind of brain has he got? No brain. To have a brain, one must be a brāhmaṇa. Samo damas tapaḥ śaucam: as Kṛṣṇa explains in *Bhagavad-gītā* (18.42), real intelligence means one must be peaceful, self-controlled, austere, and pure. To truly have a brain, one must be qualified spiritually. A tiger may attack me and kill me—he is very strong. But that does not mean he has got a better brain than me. Guest: Yes, yes, I see. Śrīla Prabhupāda: So the modern civilization is making tigers—discovering the atomic bomb and teaching people how they can be physically strong and kill others. They are busy only in these things, the dog’s business—how to attack another dog. That’s all. Guest: Your Divine Grace, this will be a very nice area here for your spiritual community. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Guest: And I think you will provide a very, very good example for the people around here. Śrīla Prabhupāda: But the so-called advanced human beings—they come here for hunting. They come here to shoot animals. Guest: Yes. Śrīla Prabhupāda: The animals are living peacefully in their own atmosphere, and these people come to kill them. This killing business has become very prominent at the present moment, and therefore so many humans are being killed in the very womb of their mother. Abortion—children killed. People do not know. Nature will not excuse you. You are killing; you’ll be killed within your mother’s womb. You’ll never see the light of the sun. You will go on being killed, life after life—as many lives as the number of animals you have killed. People do not know. And the time will come in this age when there will be no food and man will kill man and eat. That time is coming. Yes. They are now killing animals, but animals live on these grasses and grains. When there are no more grasses and no more grains, where will people get animals? They’ll kill their own sons and eat them. That time is coming. Nature’s law is that you grow your own food. But people are not interested in growing food. They are interested in manufacturing bolts and nuts. Factories. Big, big factories. So in time they will have to eat bolts and nuts. Where will they get food grains? They thought, “Let us eat the animals and manufacture bolts and nuts.” But then, when all the animals are gone—then what will they eat? Disciple: Śrīla Prabhupāda, the scientists are making artificial food. So they’re not very worried. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. That is why I’m talking of bolts and nuts. That “artificial food” means bolts and nuts. Somebody told me that the scientists have manufactured artificial butter, and when people ate it they were vomiting. There is already ample butter supplied. Why are these rascals interested in manufacturing artificial butter to show off their scientific brains? Just see what rascals they are! They think they can get unlimited quantities of butter, huh?—just as Kṛṣṇa was stealing unlimited quantities of butter from His mother and throwing it to the monkeys. Butter can be produced by the Lord’s cows, so that everyone can eat sumptuously. But no. “Kill the animals, eat artificial butter, and vomit.” That’s all. Just see their intelligence. And they are proud of their advanced civilization. The Unborn’s Birth *References from various Vedic sources provide details about Lord Kṛṣṇa’s mysterious appearance in this world.* By Harivaṁśa Dāsa The story of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance in this world combines seemingly ordinary elements with inconceivable ones. Every year, countless devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa eagerly await the blessed day of Janmāṣṭamī, the day when the Lord appeared on this earthly plane some five thousand years ago. Janmāṣṭamī is especially spectacular in the holy place of Vrindavan and the surrounding area, called Vraja-maṇḍala, where Kṛṣṇa enacted His charming and captivating childhood pastimes. While serving the Lord through a myriad of devotional ways—such as hearing about His divine activities, chanting His holy names, serving His Deity form, and offering Him hundreds of food items—most devotees fast throughout the day in the mood of single-minded absorption in His loving service. The festivities of the day reach their climax at midnight with a grand celebration. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself makes a categorical statement on the divinity of His birth while speaking to Arjuna in *Bhagavad-gītā* (4.9): > 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.” In *Brahma-saṁhitā* Brahmā, the engineer of the universe, addresses Kṛṣṇa as the cause of all causes. Kṛṣṇa is thus unborn, and hence the events leading up to and including His “birth” are all unique and divine, as recounted in the pages of numerous Vedic scriptures, primarily in the *Bhāgavata* *Purāṇa*, or Śrīmad-*Bhāgavata*m. Therefore many celebrated teachers and scholars in Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas (lineages) have written voluminous commentaries on just this one episode. Undoubtedly, the birth process in this world is both a labor of love and a harbinger of celebration for the family members. However, the mother, the relatives, and the medical staff involved in the process would all attest that childbirth is a highly traumatic event even in a normal delivery, let alone when there are associated complications. In addition, for the mother the trouble generally does not end with the delivery. Even with a normal birth there may be postpartum depression, with symptoms ranging from irritation to frustration and anxiety. What makes Lord Kṛṣṇa’s birth different? To provide details and to clear misconceptions about this mysterious pastime, this article takes a theological journey primarily through Śrīla Vyāsadeva’s *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* and *Harivaṁśa Purāṇa*—the appendix to the *Mahābhārata*—and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmi’s *Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta*, along with Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravarti Thākura’s comments on this matter. *Not an Ordinary Birth* We begin by observing how the entire episode of Kṛṣṇa’s birth unfolds in *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. Kaṁsa imprisoned Vasudeva and Devakī and mercilessly killed their six sons by smashing them against the prison-cell walls. The seventh pregnancy was transferred from the womb of Devakī to that of Rohiṇī, another wife of Vasudeva, in Gokula Vrindavan. This child was Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother, Balarāma. Now Vasudeva and Devakī awaited the birth of the eighth child, predicted to be Kaṁsa’s nemesis. Scriptures such as *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (10.2.16) explain that Kṛṣna first appeared in the mind of Vasudeva (*mana ānakadundubheḥ*), also known as *Ānakadundubhī*. Then He transferred Himself to the mind of Devakī, who became extraordinarily beautiful on carrying the Lord. Though extremely fearful, Kaṁsa refrained from killing the Lord and decided to wait until He was born. Finally, after beautiful prayers by the demigods to the Lord within Devakī, at the auspicious time marked by the constellations in their best designated positions, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared from the heart (the seat of emotions) of Devakī (*Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 10.3.8). The birth was not an ordinary semen-ovum affair. The word used in the verse is āvirāsīt, “He appeared,” not that He was born. Appeared from where? The heart, where He is already situated as the Supersoul. Śrīlā Rūpa Gosvāmī uses the verb *prādurbhavati* for the act of Kṛṣṇa’s birth, which means Kṛṣṇa manifested or showed Himself. > atha bhādrapadāṣṭamyām > asitāyāṁ mahā-niśi > tasyā hṛdas tirobhūya > kārāyāṁ sūti-sadmani > devakī-śayane tatra > kṛṣṇaḥ prādurbhavaty asau “Then, in the middle of the night on the eighth day of the waning moon in the month of Bhādrapada, Kṛṣṇa disappeared from Devakī’s heart and showed Himself on her bed in the birthing room of the prison.” (*Śrī Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta* 1.5.445, translation by Bhānu Swami) It was as though He disappeared from the heart of Devakī and then appeared out on the bed. The birth was not painful, like the birth of an ordinary child. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī uses the words *sukhaṁ śiśur ajāyata*, implying that there was no labor pain. > janayitrī-prabhṛtibhis > tābhir ity avagamyate > laukikena prakāreṇa > sukhaṁ śiśur ajāyata “Kṛṣṇa’s mother and the others believed that her child had taken birth in the ordinary manner and that His birth had been an easy one.” (*Śrī Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta* 1.5.446) Certainly, then, there was no question of symptoms of postpartum depression. Due to Kṛṣṇa’s illusory potency, it appeared to Devakī and everyone else around that the birth was like that of an ordinary child, but without any ordeal. It was a smooth process. In fact, Kṛṣṇa appeared in His four-handed Viṣṇu form bedecked with His conch, club, disc, and lotus, bearing the mark of Śrīvatsa on His chest and the brilliant Kaustubha gem on His neck *(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 10.3.9–10). Smitten with both extreme wonder and parental love, Vasudeva and Devakī offered their heartfelt prayers. Then Devakī, out of motherly love, requested the Lord to hide His dazzling form so that Kaṁsa would not figure out His divinity. Such thick love that pays no heed to the opulence! Kṛṣṇa’s requesting Vasudeva to be taken to Gokula does not appear in *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, but it is mentioned in the Harivaṁśa Purāṇa. The following verse there is quoted by several commentators to provide the missing link. > vasudeva-vacaḥ śrutvā > rūpaṁ saṁharat acyutaḥ > anujñāpya pitṛtvena > nanda-gopa-gṛhaṁ naya “Hearing Vasudeva’s words, the Lord withdrew His form, affectionately requesting his father, ‘Please take Me to Nanda’s house.’” (Translations from Harivaṁśa are by Bhānu Swāmi.) Following Kṛṣṇa’s orders, Vasudeva exchanged Kṛṣṇa with Yaśodā’s newborn daughter in Gokula, unbeknown to Yaśodā, who was in deep slumber. Yaśodā was *pariśrāntā*, exhausted by the labor of childbirth *(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 10.3.53). *Heightened Mystery* Thus it seems that the following chain of events would have occurred. 1. Kṛṣṇa’s Birth in Mathura: The divine birth of Kṛṣṇa in His four-handed Viṣṇu form took place from the heart of Devakī. The birth was much removed in form or manner as compared to worldly childbirth. In fact, Kṛṣṇa was transferred from the heart (mind and heart are used interchangeably here) of Vasudeva to the heart of Devakī. 2. Vasudeva’s Exchange in Gokula: On Kṛṣṇa’s request, Vasudeva took two-handed Kṛṣṇa (who had withdrawn His four-handed form on Devakī’s request) to Gokula and exchanged Him with Yaśodā’s daughter, Yogamāyā, the energy of the Lord who orchestrates His pastimes. 3. Vasudeva’s Return to Mathura: Vasudeva brought Yogamāyā back to the prison cell in Mathura and put her beside Devakī. 4. Yogamāyā’s Announcement to Kaṁsa: And the story goes further. Desirous to kill the eighth child of Devakī, who had been announced by an unembodied voice to be his very death, Kaṁsa charged into the prison cell, and, ignoring the pitiful pleas of his sister, he took the newborn child by the legs to dash her against the wall, intending to subject her to the same fate he had awarded to Devakī’s six sons. But the child was none other than Yogamāyā Devī, who slipped away from Kaṁsa’s hands and warned him that his enemy had already taken birth somewhere else. 5. Nanda’s Celebration in Gokula: Finally, in Gokula, Nanda saw Kṛṣṇa as the child his wife, Yaśoda, had given birth to, and he performed the birth rites, *jāta-karma*, in jubilation. As a result of the above chain of events, it seems established that indeed there was a divine birth in Mathura, where Kṛṣṇa was born in the prison cell of Kaṁsa to Vasudeva and Devakī. Case rested, no? Not at all. In fact, the explanation of the chain of events only heightens the mystery. On a superficial level this may appear to be the flow of events, but knotty questions arise. First, when awakened from slumber, the residents of Gokula recognized that Yaśodā had given birth to a beautiful blue boy. And, indeed, Kṛṣṇa is called the son (ātmaja) of Nanda and Yaśodā, as in the following verse. > nandas tv ātmaja utpanne > jātāhlādo mahā-manāḥ > āhūya viprān veda-jñān > snātaḥ śucir alaṅkṛtaḥ “Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Nanda Mahārāja was naturally very magnanimous, and when Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared as his son, he was overwhelmed by jubilation. Therefore, after bathing and purifying himself and dressing himself properly, he invited brāhmaṇas who knew how to recite Vedic *mantras*.” *(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 10.5.1) But if Kṛṣṇa had just been exchanged for Yaśodā’s daughter, *ātma*ja** is not the appropriate word. Ātma*ja* means someone born (*ja*) from one’s self—one’s body or heart (*ātmā*). From the above explanation of events, Kṛṣṇa should be called the *ātma*ja** of Vasudeva and Devakī, not Nanda and Yaśodā. Could a learned transcendentalist like Śukadeva possibly have been careless in describing the Lord? Second, why is Yogamāyā Devī called *anujā*, the younger sister of Kṛṣṇa, as in the following verse? > sā tad-dhastāt samutpatya > sadyo devy ambaraṁ gatā > adṛśyatānujā viṣṇoḥ > sāyudhāṣṭa-mahābhujā “The child, Yogamāyā Devī, the younger sister of Lord Viṣṇu, slipped upward from Kaṁsa’s hands and appeared in the sky as Devī, the goddess Durgā, with eight arms, completely equipped with weapons.” *(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 10.4.9) Kṛṣṇa was born to Devakī, and Yogamāyā was born to Yaśodā. So how did Yogamāyā end up becoming Kṛṣṇa’s younger sister? And third, as we saw above, why did *Yogamāyā* inform Kaṁsa that his archenemy had already been born somewhere else? If she was worried about Kaṁsa committing further atrocities on Vasudeva and Devakī, she could have just said that Kaṁsa’s enemy was somewhere else. There was no need to add “born.” And surely, she did not need to lie about where Kṛṣṇa was born, given that Kaṁsa was already frightened to his core. How do we resolve these questions? *Simultaneous Births* All three questions get resolved by allowing the possibility that Kṛṣṇa was also born to Yaśodā on the same day as He was born to Devakī. In fact, not only the same day, but He was born to both Devakī and Yaśodā at exactly the same time. This is indeed the case, as explained in our revealed texts and the devotional commentaries thereof. In order to fool Kaṁsa, Kṛṣna manifested a month earlier—in the eighth month of pregnancy—to both Devakī and Yaśodā. This happened on the *aṣṭamī-tithi* (eighth day) of the eighth month, as mentioned in both the *Harivaṁśa Purāṇa* and the *Laghu-bhāgavatamṛta*: > garbha-kāle tv asampūrṇe > aṣṭame māsi te striyau > devakī ca yaśodā ca > suṣuvāte samaṁ tadā “Without the pregnancy period being completed, in the [eighth tithi of the] eighth month Devakī and Yaśodā gave birth at the same time.” (*Harivaṁśa*) > so ’yaṁ nitya-sutatvena > tasyā rājaty anāditaḥ > kṛṣṇaḥ prakaṭa-līlāyāṁ > tad-dvāreṇāpy abhūt tathā “This same Kṛṣṇa is Yaśodā’s son eternally, and thus in His visible pastimes He also took birth from her.” (*Śrī Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta* 1.5.450) On the next tithi, or date, soon after Kṛṣṇa’s birth at the midnight hour, Yogamāyā was born to Yaśodā, making her Kṛṣṇa’s younger sister (*anujā*). When Kṛṣṇa was born to Yaśodā, not only was Yaśodā exhausted, but by Kṛṣṇa’s arrangement all the residents of Gokula were put in slumber too, so they could not identify the gender of the newborn. > yaśodā nanda-patnī ca > jātaṁ param abudhyata > na tal-liṅgaṁ pariśrāntā > nidrayāpagata-smṛtiḥ “Exhausted by the labor of childbirth, Yaśodā was overwhelmed with sleep and unable to understand what kind of child had been born to her.” *(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 10.3.53) How was this possible? It was due to Yogamāyā sprinkling both awe and sweetness. Following Kṛṣṇa’s birth, in the next few moments, Yogamāyā was born to Yaśodā. The bewilderment of the guards at the Mathura prison allowed Vasudeva’s unfettered journey to Gokula, and at the same time, the deep slumber of the residents of Gokula allowed for the smooth act of transcendental exchange that Vasudeva was supposed to enact. > tasmin kāle yaśodā ’pi > mohitā yoga-nidrayā > tām eva kanyāṁ maitreya > prasūtā mohite jane “At that time Yaśodā was bewildered by yoga-nidrā. She gave birth to the daughter when all others were also bewildered.” (*Viṣṇu Purāṇa*) This happened to be the next tithi. And finally, when Vasudeva reached Gokula, covered by the *Yogamāyā* potency, he could not see Kṛṣṇa by Yaśodā’s side. He picked up *Yogamāyā* and kept Kṛṣṇa, whom he was carrying. Some commentators explain that when Vasudeva set down Kṛṣṇa, who was actually Kṛṣṇa the Lord of Mathura, that Kṛṣṇa got merged into Kṛṣṇa the Lord of Vraja, who was lying next to Yaśodā, invisible to Vasudeva. Others say that while Vasudeva was crossing the Yamuna, at one instance Kṛṣṇa fell into the river and changed from Mathurānātha Kṛṣṇa to Nandanandana Kṛṣṇa. Yet others opine that the moment Vasudeva reached Gokula, Mathurānātha Kṛṣṇa transformed into Nandanandana Kṛṣṇa. Mathurānātha Kṛṣṇa and Nandanandana Kṛṣṇa are in fact the same person—the source of all avatars—but with different emotional moods. In the fifth chapter of its tenth book, *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* presents Nanda Mahārāja’s beautiful celebration on fulfilling his cherished desire to have son—a child more beautiful than a dazzling blue sapphire, with eyes putting to shame full-blown lotus petals. The celebrated Vaiṣṇava poet Surdas sings of the celebration in Gokula: No one go to the woods today! Instead, bring all your cows and calves And gaily adorn them, For in Nanda’s house a child has been born (Sur’s Ocean, translated by John Stratton Hawley) *Inconceivable Kṛṣṇa* It is generally believed that Yaśodā’s labor pain caused her to have a deeper affection for Kṛṣṇa than Devakī had because Yaśodā’s affection was divested of Devaki’s mood of reverence. Also, Yaśodā’s lack of any semblance of maternal love toward *Yogamāyā* in the pages of the *Purāṇas* is attributed to the absence of any remembrance, let alone pain or emotion, related to *Yogamāyā*’s birth. We know from folklore and medical science that struggle in childbirth is indeed associated with greater affection of the mother for the newborn. And yet, how Kṛṣṇa can amalgamate such mundane phenomena with His supernatural birth pastime is highly inconceivable. We can never fully fathom the inconceivability of Kṛṣṇa. In a state of humility, we can at best strive to dovetail our intelligence to try to understand His glorious pastimes so that as aspiring seekers, we remain absorbed in their remembrance. *Harivaṁśa Dāsa is currently a faculty member in computer science in the top-tier graduate institution in Mumbai, India, and is closely involved in the academic affairs of the Bhaktivedanta Research Center, Mumbai.* Book Excerpt: Chant More: Collected Writings of Śivarāma Swami *Take the Mind to Vṛndāvana A meditation while chanting the holy names in Hungary.* By Śivarāma Swami Afternoon: Meditation during japa, Hungarian Pada-yātrā, 2007 Sitting in the same place I sat this morning, the sun is no longer to my right but setting to my left, about to sink behind a tall tree. Birds continue to sing, some chirping in a staccato way, others questioning, “Where is Kṛṣṇa?” The doves and pigeons are cooing, making background music to the beautiful symphony that is the heartbeat of Vṛndāvana-dhāma. At this time of day, almost 6 o’clock in the early evening, we could be thinking of Kṛṣṇa, wonderfully adorned in fresh clothes that the cowherd boys have dressed Him in, decorated with the beautiful flowers from the forest of Vṛndāvana. Different colours, pigments, and minerals from Govardhana Hill are illuminating and highlighting His beautiful transcendental form, and that of Balarāma and His associates. Kṛṣṇa’s peacock feather is fluttering in the wind, and everything—from the top of His peacock feather to His bare lotus feet—is covered in the cintāmaṇi dust of Vṛndāvana, dust that has been further purified by the transcendental surabhi cows whose hooves churn the dust into the air, making a beautiful cloud which then settles upon the cowherd boys, who are still full of unlimited energy: dancing, singing Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma’s names, frolicking, playing jokes amongst each other, cutting jokes about each other, throwing bael fruit like balls, and increasing the great ocean of transcendental bliss that is this pastime called go-caraṇa, Kṛṣṇa returning again from the forest pasture grounds of Vṛndāvana to Nandagrāma. Kṛṣṇa will not go directly back to Nandagrāma, but rather He will go past the village of Yāvaṭa. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has already returned to Yāvaṭa after Their midday meeting, and is cooking sweet preparations to be taken by Her gopī associates, on Mother Yaśodā’s instructions, to Nandagrāma for Kṛṣṇa to enjoy at supper. Kṛṣṇa wants to see Her, and wants Her to see Him. Therefore He tends His cows in that direction. And everyone else wants to see Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa wants to see everyone else, because everyone, regardless of who they are, be they little children, babies in their mothers’ arms, or household animals, *brāhmaṇas*, the elder men, the elder ladies, the young gopīs, the young gopas—everyone loves Kṛṣṇa. This is what Vṛndāvana is about. And when we have such love for Kṛṣṇa, then we will be always living in Vṛndāvana. When you love someone, you want to see them. You just cannot get enough of seeing them. Your senses cry out for them—your eyes by seeing, your nose by smelling, touch by touching … and in the same way, the Brijbāsīs, they have not seen Kṛṣṇa all day, and they live only for the opportunity to be able to have His direct association. So when that great cloud of dust is seen on the horizon, then the Brijbāsīs know, “Oh, Kṛṣṇa is returning!” And to confirm that this cloud is not some ordinary cloud, that it is not one of Kaṁsa’s demons coming to disturb them, the Brijbāsīs can hear the sound of the cows’ hooves; they can hear the beautiful lowing of the cows as they call out for Kṛṣṇa, competing with each other just to be close to Him. *Most important of all, they can hear the sound of the flute.* And when they hear the sound of the flute, it is not just a sound, but it is actually a song that touches their hearts. Kṛṣṇa sings the flute song as one melody, but actually it has an individual message for every living entity in Vṛndāvana. Actually Kṛṣṇa’s flute song has a message for all living entities. In Brahma-saṁhitā, Lord Brahmā understood the message that Kṛṣṇa’s flute playing meant for him, and in the same way, Kṛṣṇa’s flute-playing has a message for us. Kṛṣṇa is calling us: “Come back, come back!” Now we have to hear Kṛṣṇa’s flute and decide that yes, we want to come back, we do not want to stay here any longer in this material world. When the gopīs hear this commotion of the cows mooing and they see the dust cloud, they tell Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, “Quickly come! Your beloved, Śyāmasundara, whom You have been missing for the last few hours, is just about to pass by the house!” Then Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, with Her friends Lalitā and Viśākhā, runs up to the top of the moon tower, a six- or seven-storey tower that is part of Her house. From the top of that moon tower, She can see this vast, vast ocean of cows and cowherd boys. Actually there is no counting the number of cows; some of them are snow white, some of them are reddish—there are so many different colours. Some of them have faces like mṛdaṅgas, others have straight horns, others have curved horns. They are decorated with different colours which are generally the hand prints of the gopas, and of course their hooves and horns are gold plated. They all wear beautiful garlands; some of them––the groups leaders––have silk blankets draped across their backs, and around their necks they have bells that are jangling. Just imagine the sound of these hundreds and thousands of beautiful bells, and all of the bells are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Just like everyone chants Hare Kṛṣṇa. By the arrangement of *Yogamāyā*, within the midst of this cloud, within the sea of cows, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī—directed by the sound of the flute—sees Śyāmasundara. And when She sees Him, then He sees Her. And at this time different things may happen. Sometimes, with their eyes locked in a glance, Kṛṣṇa faints in ecstasy; sometimes Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī faints in ecstasy; sometimes both of Them faint in ecstasy. Sometimes He pretends not to see Her. Sometimes She turns away. There is no telling what the exchanges of love induce in the Prince and Princess of Vṛndāvana. Rūpa Gosvāmī says aher iva gatiḥ premṇaḥ (Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 15.102)—that these loving exchanges are just like the movements of a snake. They are winding and crooked, and it is very difficult to determine whether there is any cause to them, or whether they simply happen by some transcendental accident. When Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī have seen each other, when the inhabitants of Yāvaṭa have seen Kṛṣṇa, and even Jaṭilā and Kuṭilā, who are Kṛṣṇa’s greatest critics, they cannot help but climb the stairs to their roofs and, on the plea of criticising Kṛṣṇa for His loose behaviour, they also fill their eyes with His beauty, His loveliness, His sweet smile which melts everyone’s hearts. And they fill their ears with the sound of His flute. If this is how those who are transcendentally inimical to Kṛṣṇa react, then we can just imagine the reaction of Mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja, who have been standing on top of their palace for such a long time. For them it appears like yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa, like ages, just to hear the sound of the flute, just to see that cloud raised by the hooves of the cows. And when they finally do see it, then their eyes become so full of tears of love for Kṛṣṇa that they again cannot see it, and they panic, thinking, “Maybe it is just an illusion, maybe I did not see,” but thankfully their assistants are there to tell them, and therefore Mother Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja turn to each other, and Nanda Mahārāja says to his beloved wife, “Your son is returning to give joy to your eyes and your senses. Very soon you will be able to hold Him on your lap and embrace Him to your full satisfaction.” When Mother Yaśodā hears this she becomes so overwhelmed with ecstasy that tears pour from her eyes and her body shivers, and if not for the assistance of her gopī friends like Rohiṇī and others, she would faint on the spot. But they tell her, “No! Yaśodā-mayī, you must make arrangements to receive your son, get the ārati tray to remove any inauspiciousness that may have clung to Him as a result of being out there in the forest with wild beasts, where Kaṁsa’s demoniac friends come. Make sure that the feast is being properly prepared. What about His bath? Is that being set out? And His new clothes that you had the tailor design for this very occasion, and the special ornaments that you want Him to wear tonight. You must immediately make these arrangements!” As Mother Yaśodā hears the many services that she has to do for Kṛṣṇa, immediately she is the transcendental and ultimate temple commander of Nandagrāma; she starts giving many instructions to her friends, associates, and servants, and they are bustling, running back and forth, because Kṛṣṇa is coming back to Vṛndāvana. If this is how Mother Yaśodā is when Kṛṣṇa is still some far distance away, then we can just imagine when she actually sees the cowherd boys approaching, and when, amongst those cowherd boys, she sees her sons, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma: she becomes so ecstatic, so overwhelmed that although she reaches out her arms, she cannot move; she becomes stunned in ecstasy, just standing there like a statue. Kṛṣṇa is required to come running into her arms and touch her so that she can then melt in motherly affection and again resume her non-statue-like form. This is the wonderful return of Kṛṣṇa to Vṛndāvana that happens at this time of day. Learned Vaiṣṇavas meditate upon this pastime. In fact, Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, as they happen throughout the twenty-four hours of the day, are the subject of absorption of both practicing devotees as well as perfected devotees. So in that way, we should also take the opportunity whenever we have an extra moment to think, “What is Kṛṣṇa doing now?” We are always thinking about what our family is doing, we are thinking about what we are doing, or what we want to be doing, or about the news, about what materialistic people are doing all over the world. But rather than spending our very valuable time with this, at least a few times a day we should ask ourselves, “Now what is Kṛṣṇa doing?” and try to remember what Kṛṣṇa does as it is written in Kṛṣṇa Book, in *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. *Veṇu-gītā* describes Kṛṣṇa’s daily activities, and we should spend at least even a few minutes remembering them. It will only bring us ecstasy. > tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanaṁ > kavibhir īḍitaṁ kalmaṣāpaham > śravaṇa-maṅgalaṁ śrīmad ātataṁ > bhuvi gṛṇanti ye bhūri-dā janāḥ “The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one’s sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.” (SB 10.31.9. The Gopīs’ Song of Separation) Hare Kṛṣṇa. *His Holiness Śivarāma Swami became a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda in 1973 and entered the sannyasa order in 1979. He has written many books on Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism (srsbooks.com). He has served as a member of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission for nearly forty years and is responsible for projects in Hungary, Turkey, and Romania.* Beyond the Observable Universe *In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa reveals the reality that lies outside the range of our senses, mind, and intellect.* by Dr. Vinay Venugopal Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa has explained the nature of the material world, our situation within it, and what lies beyond it. The current scientific understanding of the observable universe, said to consist of at least two trillion galaxies, is based on the detection of galactic redshifts and the cosmic microwave background radiation. These are accounted for by the big bang theory, based on the general theory of relativity, which assumes that the universe began from a point of infinite density and temperature known as a singularity. The age of the universe is estimated at 13.8 billion years, and the diameter of the observable universe with respect to the earth is 93 billion light years. To explain the expansion of the observable universe, the cosmological models invoke the presence of dark energy and dark matter, expected to make up 68.3% and 26.8% respectively of the mass-energy of the universe. The other 4.9% is ordinary (baryonic) matter, 6% of which is planets, stars, and visible gas clouds. Dark energy and dark matter are yet to be detected experimentally, yet several theories that predict the fate of the universe depend on them. Similarly, scientists have proposed several mechanisms for the origin of life on earth from organic molecules 4.41 billion years ago. These mechanisms too await experimental confirmation. There has been no scientific evidence so far for the existence of life outside the earth. Hence the scientific method is yet to provide conclusive insights about the significance and purpose of the observable universe and the human form of life. However, *Bhagavad-gītā*, which contains the essence of the Vedic literature and is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Bhagavān)1 Śrī Kṛṣṇa to His devotee Arjuna, provides knowledge about the primary reality and the primary cause of the material world, about using the human form of life to transcend the material world (of which the observable universe is a part), and about reaching the spiritual world, paraṁ dhāma (8.21), the supreme abode of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, to lead an eternal and blissful life. Here we consider the knowledge given by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the *Bhagavad-gītā* about the material world, the spiritual world, and the means to reach the spiritual world. *What the Gītā Has to Say* Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the source and controller of all material and spiritual manifestations (10.8, 10.39, 5.29). The material nature *(prakṛti)*, working under His direction, is producing moving and nonmoving living entities and is responsible for the transformations of the material world and the living entities (9.10, 13.20). The material world involves two of His energies (7.6), known as the inferior energy and the superior energy. His inferior *(aparā)*, or material, energy is made up of earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego (7.4). His superior *(parā)*, or spiritual, energy is the living entities (*jīva bhūtām,* 7.5). These *jīvas*, entangled by material nature, develop different material bodies due to fruitive activities *(karma*, 8.3) and are subjected to birth, disease, old age, and death (13.9). By one part of Himself, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa pervades and supports the entire material world as the Supersoul (Paramātmā, 10.42) situated in the heart of all living entities and directing their activities (18.61). By His will the material world is subjected to eternal cycles of creation, sustenance, and dissolution (9.8), each cycle lasting 311.4 trillion earth years (9.7). This great cycle is the lifetime of Lord Brahmā, the first created being in the universe. Each day of Brahmā lasts 4.32 billion earth years, during which the living entities are active; during his night they are inactive for the same duration (8.17–18). Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa impregnates the material world (mahad brahma) with the living entities at the time of creation (14.3), and the living entities descending from twenty-five great sages2 (who emanate from Brahmā) take birth on different planets of the material world (10.6). These planets, or planetary systems, are designated as upper, middle, and lower based on the predominate mode of nature—goodness, passion, or ignorance—of the living entities residing there (14.18). *The Nature of the Jīvātmā* The living entity in the material world is an individual spirit soul *(*jīvātmā*)* and is unborn, eternal (2.20), and unchangeable (2.24). The living entity is an eternal fragmental part *(aṁśa)* of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa (15.7) and in the spiritual world is engaged in the transcendental loving devotional service of the Lord (15.16). In the material world the living entity tries to enjoy independently of the Lord and endeavors to control material nature *(Bhāgavatam* 3.27.24). The *jīvātmā* in a material body is forgetful of its eternal relationship with Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa *(Bhāgavatam* 4.29.26). It is covered by a layer of subtle body consisting of mind, intelligence, and false ego, and a gross body consisting of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. The *jīvātmā* illuminates the entire body with consciousness (13.34). The individual soul and the Supersoul reside in the heart as knowers (*kṣetra*jña) of field of activity (*kṣetra*), made up of twenty-four elements3 (13.1–3, 13.6–7). The *jīvātmā* leaves the body at death (2.13) and takes birth in different species (13.22) according to its association with the three modes of material nature (14.5). It is therefore responsible for its own suffering and enjoyment in the material world (13.21). Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa describes the material world as temporary and full of miseries (8.15). As impersonal eternal time (kālaḥ, 10.33) and as death personified (mṛtyuḥ, 9.19), Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the prime subduer in the material world (10.30). He revealed to Arjuna how He has entered the material world. He revealed this by displaying His divine universal form (paramaṁ rūpam, 11.9), including its innumerable expansions of the universe (11.13) and an effulgence as great as many thousands of suns (11.12). It had unlimited faces, eyes, arms, bellies, and legs (11.23), and an assembly consisting of Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, sages, divine serpents, other living entities (11.5), Ādityas, Rudras, and all the demigods (11.6). *The Spiritual World* The spiritual world is the manifestation of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s superior energy (parā). It is eternal and is unaffected by the annihilation of the material world (8.20). The living entities reaching the spiritual world never return to the material world (8.21). The spiritual world is self-luminous by the effulgence of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, unlike the material world, which is illuminated by sun, moon, and fire (15.6). The living entities in the spiritual world are eternally liberated and have a spiritual body. They exist in an eternal relationship with the Lord (15.16). Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa explains that one who surrenders unto Him (18.62), who is constantly engaged in His pure devotional service, engaging all senses in the service of the Lord (*mad-bhaktaḥ,* 11.55), and whose mind is constantly engaged in remembering Him (8.8) can reach the spiritual world after quitting the material body while remembering Him at the time of death (8.5). Hence the purpose of the human form of life is to prepare oneself to reach the spiritual world by constantly engaging in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s devotional service, thereby attaining an eternal life of transcendental peace (*paraṁ śāntim,* 18.62). For this, one needs to approach a bona fide spiritual master (4.34) coming in a line of disciplic succession from Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa (4.1–2). One must submissively serve and receive the transcendental knowledge of *bhakti-yoga* from the spiritual master. Under the guidance of the spiritual master one should engage in the processes of devotional service to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, involving chanting and hearing His glories (9.14, 10.9), chanting His holy names (*śravaṇam, kīrtanam,* 10.25), bowing down before Him (vandanam, 9.14), worshiping Him with devotion (9.22), offering leaves, flowers, fruits, and water with devotion (arcanam, 9.26), meditating on His transcendental form (smaraṇam, 9.22, 9.34), offering one’s work (18.46), charity, and austerities to Him, and accepting remnants of food offered to Him (9.27). Hence one will be able to discharge one’s prescribed duty and at the same time remember Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa (8.7) and achieve the highest perfection life (18.46). *Notes* 1. Bhagavān means one who fully possesses six opulences: wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation. 2. The four Kumāras (Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana, and Sanat-kumāra), the seven Ṛṣis, and the fourteen Manus. 3. The five working senses, the five knowledge-acquiring senses, the five material elements, the five sense objects, mind, intelligence, false ego, and pradhāna (material nature). *Dr. Vinay Venugopal is Professor and Head of the Department of Physics at GSSS Institute of Engineering & Technology for Women in Mysuru, India.* Why Does God Seem Partial? *As Kṛṣṇa Himself tells us, He protects His devotees and destroys their enemies. Is that fair?* By Gaurāṅga Darśana Dāsa When God seems to favor some of us more than others, maybe there’s a reason for that. How would you feel if your parents were partial towards your sibling, or your teacher towards your classmate? It is natural to expect from one’s superior or guardian a similar treatment as one’s equals receive. Any discrepancy in that leads to disappointment. Perception of partiality is painful and can demotivate people and slacken their spirits. How does the idea of partiality apply to God? *Isn’t God Equal to All?* Yes, because He is the eternal father of all beings and doesn’t have the faults of an ordinary father. The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (9.17–18) that He is the ultimate source, shelter, sustainer, and well-wisher of everyone in the universe . Every living entity is His part, or *aṁśa: mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke* (*Gītā* 15.7). Thus He loves everyone as His own child and hates no one. However, He also says that He is especially inclined towards His devotees: > samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu > na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ > ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā > mayi te teṣu cāpy aham “I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” *(Gītā* 9.29) *But He Shows Favoritism!* Lord Kṛṣṇa also says in the *Gītā* that He descends into this world in various incarnations to revive *dharma*, protect the devotees, and annihilate the miscreants. If God is equal to all, why should He protect His devotees and punish the demons? To favor the demigods, the Lord incarnated as Varāhadeva and killed a great demon named Hiraṇyākṣa. He later took the form of Nṛsiṁhadeva and killed the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu. To reinstate Indra as the king of heaven, the Lord appeared as a dwarf brāhmaṇa named Vāmana and took back Indra’s kingdom from Bali Mahārāja by cheating. When the demigods and demons churned the milk ocean (*samudra-manthana*), the so-called nectar of immortality appeared. At that time the Lord came in the form of a beautiful woman, Mohinī-mūrti, cheated the demons, gave all the nectar to the demigods, and beheaded the demon Rāhu, who in disguise tried to drink the nectar. Thus the Lord often cheats, subdues, or kills the demons and shows favoritism towards the demigods. He is therefore also known as Surapriya, one who is dear to the demigods, or one for whom the demigods are dear. *Why This Disparity?* Actually, this characteristic of the Lord is not a disparity. This difference in treatment is not exactly God’s partiality, but His reciprocal nature. Some people expect God to fulfill their material desires, and some desire to become one with Him. But some selflessly serve Him with no expectation of return. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (4.11) that He reciprocates with people according to the mood in which they approach Him (*ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham*). That is why different people achieve different results although their endeavors seem similar. Human eyes see only the external endeavor, but with His divine eyes God sees the attitude behind the endeavor and reciprocates accordingly. This cannot be called partiality on God’s part. One who is influenced by the three material modes (*guṇas*), namely goodness, passion, and ignorance (*sattva, rajas,* and *tamas*), exhibits partiality on the material plane. God is transcendental to these modes (*nirguṇa*) and is beyond the dualities of happiness and distress. He is self-sufficient (*ātmārāma*), and even though He sides with the demigods, unlike their worshipers He’s not dependent on them for His happiness. And He is not afraid of the demons, nor does He suffer distress as a result of their actions. So He has nothing to achieve by favoring the demigods or destroying the demons. Thus, unlike ordinary selfish, materialistic people, He has no need to be partial. In regard to the different outcomes for the demigods and the demons in the samudra-manthana, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, > evaṁ surāsura-gaṇāḥ sama-deśa-kāla- > hetv-artha-karma-matayo ’pi phale vikalpāḥ > tatrāmṛtaṁ sura-gaṇāḥ phalam añjasāpur > yat-pāda-paṅkaja-rajaḥ-śrayaṇān na daityāḥ “The place, the time, the cause, the purpose, the activity and the ambition were all the same for both the demigods and the demons, but the demigods achieved one result and the demons another. Because the demigods are always under the shelter of the dust of the Lord’s lotus feet, they could very easily drink the nectar and get its result. The demons, however, not having sought shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord, were unable to achieve the result they desired.” *(Bhāgavatam* 8.9.28) One who is satisfying the Lord gets His special mercy and attention while others don’t. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Any activity performed for the Supreme Lord is permanent. As a result of such activities, the performer is immediately recognized. . . . The only distinction between materialistic activity and spiritual activity is that material activity is performed only to satisfy one’s own senses whereas spiritual activity is meant to satisfy the transcendental senses of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” *(Bhāgavatam* 8.9.29, Purport) *Isn’t It Expected?* Isn’t it natural for anyone to reciprocate with others according to the way they’re approached? If people treat us respectfully, we give them respect, and if they mistreat us, we may stay away from them or even speak or act against them. For instance, a teacher in the classroom gives the same lecture to all the students without discrimination. But if some students are more eager to learn and approach the teacher with relevant inquiries on the subject, the teacher becomes especially happy with them and explains more to them. On the other hand, the teacher scolds or even punishes a mischievous student. This is not the teacher’s partiality, but a natural response to the students’ behavior. Similarly, although the Lord is equal to everyone, He gives more attention to His surrendered devotees. This favoritism is not a fault for Him, but an ornament. Lord Kṛṣṇa is specially inclined to His devotees because they approach Him with devotion, sincerity, and a service attitude. They seek His shelter and depend on Him. In this regard, Prahlāda Mahārāja, an exalted devotee of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, prayed, > naiṣā parāvara-matir bhavato nanu syāj > jantor yathātma-suhṛdo jagatas tathāpi > saṁsevayā surataror iva te prasādaḥ > sevānurūpam udayo na parāvaratvam “Unlike an ordinary living entity, my Lord, You do not discriminate between friends and enemies, the favorable and the unfavorable, because for You there is no conception of higher and lower. Nonetheless, You offer Your benedictions according to the level of one’s service, exactly as a desire tree delivers fruits according to one’s desires and makes no distinction between the lower and the higher.” *(Bhāgavatam* 7.9.27) *Natural Examples* A bee was relishing nectar inside a lotus. When the sun set, the flower’s petals closed and trapped the bee, killing it. Is the sun responsible for the bee’s death? Certainly not. The sun was only following its routine of rising and setting while giving heat and light to all beings. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī writes, “The sun shows attachment to the sun stone by imparting its own qualities. It shows indifference to blind people and helps the cakravāka birds (who become joyful when the sun rises and destroys darkness). The sun is harmful to the darkness used by thieves and owls. But the sun is not partial to anyone. It manifests the same light to all. The cause of difference is the good or bad qualities of the specific object. It is the same with the Lord. Different people relate with the Lord in different ways according to their qualities.” *(Bhāgavatam* 1.8.29, Commentary) A cup of milk can be perceived by different people in different ways. One who just sees the milk understands it as some white substance. One who just hears about the milk will only know some information about its characteristics, nutrient values, and so on. One who just touches the milk might feel that it’s a hot or cold liquid. And one who just smells the milk might just relish its aroma. But one who drinks the milk gets the real advantage of the milk by satisfying his hunger and getting nourished. The substance—milk—is same in all the five cases. But one derives maximum advantage of milk by drinking it rather than just seeing, touching, smelling, or hearing about it. Here milk is not partial, but different people experienced it according to their approach. If this is true of milk, it is even more so when we speak of God. In this regard Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “[T]hose who are trying to find the Supreme Godhead by mental speculation may approach the bodily effulgence, or the impersonal Brahman, and those who are trying to find the Supreme Godhead by *yoga* practice may find Him as the localized Supersoul, but those who are directly trying to approach the Supreme Truth by practice of bhakti-*yoga* can see Him face to face as the Supreme Person.” *(Bhāgavatam* 3.32.33, Purport) Giving another example of impartiality, Srīla Prabhupāda writes: By the order of a judge, one person is released from jail, and another is imprisoned, but the judge is not responsible, for the distress and happiness of these different people is due to their own activities. Although the government is ultimately the supreme authority, the justice is administered by the departments of the government, and the government is not responsible for the individual judgments. Therefore the government is equal to all the citizens. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is neutral to everyone, but for the maintenance of law and order His supreme government has various departments, which control the activities of the living entities. *(Bhāgavatam* 6.17.23, Purport) Considering these examples, therefore, one cannot attribute partiality to the Supreme Lord, who loves everyone. *Does God Hate Bad People?* No. God hates no one. God disapproves the nefarious activities of demoniac people, but He never disowns them. He tries to rectify their mentality, and He is willing to forgive their misdeeds, but He never interferes with their little independence. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, Why does the Supreme Personality of Godhead permit sinful activities? The Supreme Lord does not want any living being to act sinfully, and He begs him through his good conscience to refrain from sin. But when someone insists upon acting sinfully, the Supreme Lord gives him the sanction to act at his own risk (*mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca*). No one can do anything without the sanction of the Lord, but He is so kind that when the conditioned soul persists in doing something, the Lord permits the individual soul to act at his own risk. *(Bhāgavatam* 5.18.3, Purport) Lord Kṛṣṇa supported the Pāṇḍavas in the Battle of Kurukshetra against the evil Duryodhana and company. But at the end of the battle, when Duryodhana lay on the ground with his thighs broken, Kṛṣṇa was not happy to see him so. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, The fall of Duryodhana, the leading son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, was not pleasing to the Lord, although He was on the side of Arjuna and it was He who advised Bhīma how to break the thighs of Duryodhana while the fight was going on. The Lord is constrained to award punishment upon the wrongdoer, but He is not happy to award such punishments because the living entities are originally His parts and parcels. He is harder than the thunderbolt for the wrongdoer and softer than the rose for the faithful. The wrongdoer is misled by bad associates and by ill advice, which is against the established principles of the Lord’s order, and thus he becomes subject to punishment. The surest path to happiness is to live by the principles laid down by the Lord and not disobey His established laws, which are enacted in the Vedas and the Purāṇas for the forgetful living entities. *(Bhāgavatam* 3.3.13, Purport) Lord Kṛṣṇa tried several times to give good advice to Duryodhana and rectify his vile mentality, but Duryodhana was bereft of all fortune due to the ill advice of Karṇa, Duḥśāsana, and Śakuni. Similarly, when Rāvaṇa kidnapped Sītādevī, Lord Rāmacandra gave him several opportunities to return Sītā and save his life, but Rāvaṇa was so stubborn that ultimately Rāma had to kill him. Śiśupāla was envious of Kṛṣṇa and always blasphemed Him since childhood. Kṛṣṇa tolerated him many times, but finally beheaded him with His Sudarśana cakra when he exceeded his limit. God wants to rectify the mentality of miscreants, but when they become too adamant, He punishes or kills them, not out of revenge, but to liberate them from their demoniac mentality. *A New Dimension of Equality* When a young boy is well behaved, his mother appreciates or hugs him. But when he does some mischief, his mother chastises him. Both acts are expressions of her love, although one appears pleasant and the other harsh. The mother’s dealing with the child is tuned to the child’s mood and needs, but her underlying emotion is love. The same holds true for God. When God is strict with some people and punishes them, that is only out of His compassion upon them. When He kills a demon, He liberates him from demoniac life. Thus the Lord is the well-wisher of everyone, and He shows compassion to different people in different ways according to their condition. Though apparently Kṛṣṇa punishes or kills the demons, He looks for reasons to show them His causeless mercy and liberates them. Pūtana is one such example. > aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ > jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī > lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ’nyaṁ > kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema “Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than Him [Lord Kṛṣṇa], who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Pūtanā] although she was unfaithful and had prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?” *(Bhāgavatam* 3.2.23) Even if one thinks of Kṛṣṇa with anger or envy, by such constant thinking one gets liberated by His mercy. How much more fortunate, then, is one who lovingly remembers and serves Him? When the mind is somehow fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, the material part is very soon vanquished and the spiritual part—attraction to Kṛṣṇa—becomes manifest. Therefore the *Bhāgavatam* says that one should always focus one’s mind on Kṛṣṇa somehow or other (tasmāt kenāpy upāyena manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet). The Lord’s causeless mercy in liberating both the devotees and the demons clearly distinguishes Him from ordinary living entities. *Attitude Is Greater Than Magnitude* Even in regard to devotees, the Lord does not favor those who do more service or neglect those who do less. He accepts the mood in which a service is done (bhāvagrāhī janārdana). For Him the attitude behind the service is more important than the magnitude of the service. Lord Rāmacandra was equally pleased with Hanumān, who was bringing huge boulders to build the bridge to Lanka, and a small squirrel, who was bringing some grains of sand. Some people are rich, some poor; some suffer, some enjoy. Some suffering people might compare themselves with others and say that God is partial, blaming Him for their misery. Some happy people might ignore God in their enjoyment. Thus people tend to claim credit for their happiness and blame God for their distress. However, mature devotees see both distress and happiness as God-sent as a result of their own past deeds and do not accuse God of partiality. The Lord is not partial to anyone, but reciprocates with our moods and deeds. He is specially inclined to His devotees because they love and serve Him with all their heart. He is merciful to the demons as well, but owing to their negative attitude He punishes them mercifully only to uplift them. In either case, as a loving father He is the supreme well-wisher of every living being. *Gaurāṅga Darsana Dāsa, a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānath Swami, is dean of the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha (www.vidyapitha.in) at ISKCON Govardhan Eco Village (GEV), outside Mumbai, and a member of ISKCON Board of Examinations. He is a śāstric teacher and is the author of* Gita Subodhini, Bhagavata Subodhini, Caitanya Subodhini, Disapproved but Not Disowned, Bhagavata Pravaha, *and other books.* Self-Acceptance, Team Spirit, and Success *The monkeys helping Lord Rāma in His search for Sītā Devī provide a clear example of what cooperation can achieve.* by Caitanya Caraṇa Dāsa Being the best we can be requires an honest appraisal of our strengths and weaknesses. We all have limitations, things we can’t do well or at all. Acknowledging our limitations is vital for self-acceptance, which in turn is essential to avoid negative emotions such as resentment and envy. By self-acceptance we can focus our energies on creating a good life for ourselves within the constraints of our limitations. How can we come to such self-acceptance? How can it open new doors for us? Why is it so difficult? Let’s analyze all this based on an incident from the Rāmayaṇa. *The Ability to Admit Our Inability Is Humility* The Rāmayaṇa depicts an incident when the monkeys serving Rāma were brought brutally face to face with their limitations. While they were searching for Sītā, they survived many dangers until they finally came to know her whereabouts: she was held in captivity by the demon king Rāvaṇa in his island fortress of Lanka. Delighted, they roared and ran toward the ocean. But when they came to the coast and saw the vast ocean extending unendingly into the horizon, their voices fell, as did their spirits. How could they cross this ocean? They looked at each other with growing apprehension. Much as they wanted to serve Rāma by reaching Sītā and conveying Rāma’s message to her, they realized they just couldn’t cross the ocean. Trying to bolster the team of monkeys, their young leader, Aṅgada, said, “I’m sure many of us can scale this ocean. Tell me, monkeys, how far each of you can jump.” Hesitatingly, the various monkeys started telling their capabilities, but none of them could leap all the way to Lanka. Jāmbavān, the oldest member of the team, said, “When I was young, I could leap across the whole earth. But now that I have aged, I can’t leap even up to Lanka.” Finally, Aṅgada said, “I might be able to jump to Lanka, but I don’t know if I will have the strength to jump back all the way.” Jāmbavān responded immediately, “You are our prince. You shouldn’t go; one of us should go.” But who would that one be? That question troubled and disheartened all the monkeys. Through all this discussion, Hanumān remained silent. How Jāmbavān reminded him of his phenomenal prowess and how he achieved mission impossible is another story. Here, let’s stick to the point that the monkeys, despite being determined to do their best and despite being on a mission to serve God Almighty, still faced inescapable limitations. They all had the honesty to admit their inability. Indeed, the ability to admit our inability may well define humility. *Breaking Limitations and Being Broken by Limitations* Today’s culture often glamorizes pushing against all limitations, breaking free of them, and achieving the impossible. “The sky is the limit,” say some. “Even the sky is not the limit; we have gone beyond the sky and conquered space,” say others in a competitive game of bashing limitations. Such slogans sound great. Sometimes they can help us bring out our best. Amidst life’s routine course, we all tend to settle into a comfort zone and avoid things that are difficult. By such lethargy or complacency, we may overlook our hidden strengths. History shows that many people have, by stretching themselves, achieved several things that were earlier deemed impossible. Though we may be able to stretch ourselves beyond our own estimate, still, we aren’t unlimitedly stretchable. Just as an elastic band breaks when stretched too much, we too break down if we try indiscriminately to do the impossible. If we can lift 25 kg but try to lift 50 kg, we may well break our bones. Accepting our limitations is relatively easier with regard to physically tangible tasks such as weightlifting. But it’s much more difficult where parameters aren’t so clearly quantifiable. We may rush into things we aren’t suited for, believing we can do anything if we just resolve to. Such a belief sets us on a collision course with reality. If we have been led to believe that we can do whatever we resolve to do, but then find ourselves unable to do a particular thing, we may well conclude that something is intrinsically wrong with us. We see our inability not just as a circumstantial limitation but as a flaw in our core identity. Such a negative self-perception can lead to depression, an inferiority complex, and suicidal urges. Today’s culture often lionizes those people who persevere doggedly and make life say yes to their will. Yes, such a strong will is a characteristic of greatness, but it isn’t the only characteristic. When life says no, accepting that gracefully is also a characteristic of greatness. In the long run, the ability to face life’s reversals steadily may well characterize enduring greatness more than making life change according to our will. *Team Spirit Amidst Competition* If we compare life to a sport, then life is largely a team sport, not an individual sport—most of our life’s key responsibilities or aspirations require other people’s active involvement. Suppose we are working on a major project wherein something very important needs to be done. That doesn’t necessarily mean we will be the one to do it. In a team, we all have our particular roles to play. During some phases of the match of life, we may have less prominent roles than others. If we all clamor for the most important role, especially when we don’t have the necessary ability, we will end up hurting our prospects as well as the team’s prospects. Suppose one of the monkeys who didn’t have the ability to leap across the ocean had claimed to have that capacity. Though that monkey might have temporarily got the recognition of being the special one who took up what no one else could, eventually he would have ended at the bottom of the ocean, dead. Moreover, the team’s task of finding Sītā would have been delayed or even thwarted. To prevent such unnecessary fiascos or disasters, the monkeys needed to put the task and the team first. And that’s what they did. Of course, we live in a competitive world. To further our ambitions we may want or even need to stake our claim to be the best among our peers. But if we aren’t actually the best, we may well be acting in delusion. Being ambitious to change reality may be desirable, but being foolhardy and denying reality isn’t. Counterintuitive as it may seem, accepting our limitations can be empowering, for it stops our denial of reality. Even if reality is changeable, it is not deniable. When we find ourselves in situations where our limitations stop us, we may respond in various ways, many of which may be unhealthy. One such unhealthy way is the denial of reality. We may claim to others or even believe ourselves that we can do things we can’t do. But by denying reality, we don’t change it; we just set ourselves up for an ugly collision with it, ending up shattered or at least battered. Better to accept the reality, not in a mood of defeat, but in a mood of a strategic suspension of hostilities so that we can resume more effectively at a more opportune time. Accepting reality stops our fruitless fight against an unchangeable present and frees our energy to change the future. If to improve we take the steps we can in our situation, we may eventually become good enough to do what we can’t do now. Even if we don’t ever become good enough to do that particular thing, we will still grow in the discipline of functioning in constrained circumstances. And that discipline will prepare us to better tap some future opportunity. What is of critical importance at present is the purpose of the team. We need to move the team’s purpose forward, even if the mover is someone else. If that member’s expertise leads to the success of the team, we too will succeed as members of that team. Later on, when some opportunity comes in our niche, we too may be able to play a prominent role. *Play for the Team, Not the Gallery* Despite their particular limitations, the monkeys had one great strength: they were centered on serving Rāma, not on taking credit for doing the most visible service to Rāma. Similarly, if we focus on the bigger picture of what we want to achieve together and why, we won’t get carried away by the urge to be the sole or primary achiever ourselves. During the war, all these monkeys got their day; they fought heroically and rendered memorable service to Rāma. But they were able to see that day, even be alive to see that day, because they accepted the reality that they couldn’t leap across the ocean. Their willingness to accept what they couldn’t do freed them to do what they could, even in that moment. When Hanumān remembered his great power and leapt to Lanka, the remaining monkeys didn’t sit idly. They decided to help him by doing austerities and offering him the results of those austerities. They resolved to stand on one leg until he returned. That was no small resolution, because they had no idea how long it would take for him to return. Instead of resenting their inability or envying Hanumān’s ability, they focused on leveraging whatever ability they had to assist the one with the necessary ability to meet the challenge. If teams could function with such synergy, they would be much more effective. In team sports, some players are star performers. But for them to shine, other players need to give them the necessary space and support. If the other players try to usurp the star performer, the most probable result will be that they will fail and their team will fail. Team spirit means to focus on how we can best contribute, not on how we can be the best. *Be Thoughtful, Not Resentful* When we face limitations, we can become either resentful or thoughtful. If we become resentful, we compound the constraints imposed by our finite capacity with further constraints imposed by our negative mentality. But if we become thoughtful, we can re-envision that encounter with our limitation as an opportunity. Opportunity for what? To break free from the constraints of ego that make us believe we are something we aren’t. To go beyond the ego, spiritual self-understanding can be especially empowering. Spiritual knowledge helps us understand that we are at our core spiritual beings. Each one of us is a part of the Whole. And that Whole engages all of us in a team effort, akin to an orchestra. In this team, we all have our place and purpose commensurate with our abilities. Pertinently, the *Bhagavad-gītā* urges us twice (3.35, 18.47) to stick to our role and not jump to others’ roles just because those roles look better. Ultimately, all abilities come from the Whole *(Gītā* 7.8). When we strive to live in harmony with the Whole, we are given from within the intelligence to act wisely *(Gītā* 10.10). With such inner guidance, we can better understand which limitations to push against and which to live within—and correspondingly, when to play a supportive role and when to take a prominent role. By playing our part, we enter into a life of meaning and purpose, which is far more sustainably nourishing than the euphoria of an occasional special achievement, which may or may not come our way regularly. When we play our part in a mood of service to the Whole, we relish sublime spiritual fulfillment. When Hanumān returned victoriously after meeting Sītā, all the monkeys celebrated; his success was their success too. Being thus fulfilled, we gradually understand that the things that matter most don’t depend on our abilities; they depend on our consciousness, our character, our commitment—things we can develop, despite our inabilities. By thus accepting ourselves for who we are presently, we can concentrate our energies on becoming the best we can be eventually. *Caitanya Caraṇa Dāsa 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, “Gītā-Daily,*” visit gitadaily.com.* A Temple for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Land of the Buddha *The story of how ISKCON Phuket came to be.* by B.V.V. Narasiṁha Swami Tsunami relief brought devotees to Phuket, and now Kṛṣṇa has come. In December of 2004 I was in Singapore for a few days on my way back to Bangkok when I learned of the tsunami devastating the coastlines of Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. I was staying in the home of a devoted couple, Śrīdāmā Dāsa and his wife, Tulasī Devī Dāsī. Together we watched the news reports on the TV. There had been immense devastation and thousands of deaths. I didn’t know at that time how this tsunami was to open up a new preaching field for ISKCON. I had been visiting Thailand for a couple of years, but we still didn’t have a center there, and I was just beginning to get to know some interested persons. Therefore it came as a surprise to me that after I reached Bangkok a devotee from London, whom I knew but who didn’t know me, rang my landline and began yelling at me. He said there was a major disaster in south Thailand and many people were homeless and needed shelter and food. He forcefully told me to go there immediately and do some prasādam distribution. I was virtually alone in Thailand, and I didn’t know how I could possibly do what he was demanding. Then I got an idea to call the regional director of our ISKCON activities in Malaysia, Siṁheśvara Dāsa Brahmacārī. He was aware of the situation as Malaysia had also been affected, but he knew the situation in south Thailand with its beach towns such as Phuket was more serious. He agreed to come to Phuket with a vehicle and some devotees. He also secured support from the International Food for Life office of ISKCON. I took an overnight bus ride, and we met in Phuket the next day. We found our way to a local Sanatana Dharma temple that had only recently been established, and there we discovered a number of people who had been made homeless by the devastation. The temple authorities were happy to see us, and they invited us to do *kīrtana* and give class. This became a regular program for us as long as we were in Phuket. Siṁhesvara had contacted the director of ISKCON Food for Life, Priyavrata Dāsa, and he arranged for a generous contribution from his office. We were able to find a location at one of the main camps established for those made homeless by the tsunami, and every day for a week we delivered tasty *prasāda* for distribution. I brought some of our Thai books, and they were soon in demand with the locals. We knew that the best thing we could give them at this time was the holy name, so we performed *harināma* *saṅkīrtana* along the beachfront and around the refugee camps. *A Request from the Locals* When life was back to normal and the homeless had resettled, we were ready to return to our bases, but some of the locals, including Ram Gautam, had become seriously interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and wanted us to establish a center in Phuket. He got his friends to share his enthusiasm, and in a short time he found a small property to serve as place for a center. Property in Phuket is the most expensive in all of Thailand; hence a bank loan had to be arranged. It was to be nearly ten years before we could pay it off. With the completion of the loan, Ram Gautam, now Ravikula Rāma Dāsa, decided to build a wall around the center’s property, only to find the neighbor up in arms, complaining that we were occupying his land. We had to call in officials from the land office, and when they arrived they declared that not only had our wall been built on his land, but half of our center was built on his land. The property had been purchased without a careful study of the land deed. We would either have to knock down half of the building or pay our neighbor a substantial rent for the land we were occupying. Our congregation members were mostly shopkeepers, and their businesses had not been doing well, so they didn’t think it necessary for us to purchase the land. We had enough land for our needs. We decided to knock down the part of our building occupying the neighbor’s land. When we had taken down that half of the building, the remaining part started to fall to the ground. We understood that this was not going to work. We would have to construct an entirely new building. It was a daunting thought. We had no money, and our congregation was not wealthy or successful in their attempts at business. We had to surrender and depend on Lord Kṛṣṇa. *Help Arrives* None of our devotees had any experience in building a temple. We didn’t know where to begin. Then we heard about Ajāmila Dāsa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda who was an authority on the vastu śāstra, which describes the rituals necessary before beginning construction, as well as the proper positioning of the Deity and other such matters. He was kind enough to come from his base in neighboring Malaysia and visit the land, during which time he gave us valuable advice on how to design the center. One of the things Ajāmila Prabhu had us do was to establish a Deity of Lord Ananta Śeṣa, who would act as the support for the temple foundation. On an auspicious day we performed this ceremony, and the construction work was then able to begin. Seeing the enthusiasm of the local devotees and the construction now underway, the congregation was encouraged to donate. Shyam Greer, now overseeing the affairs of the center, took the initiative to visit devotees located around Thailand and get them to donate. Gradually the construction took place, and we were ready to have the opening ceremony. On Gaura Pūrṇimā last year, His Holiness Kavicandra Swami, the GBC representative for Thailand, came and officiated the opening. Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita Dāsa Brahmacārī, regional secretary of neighboring Myanmar, also attended. The temple serves as a shelter from the hedonistic environment of the beach town. The devotees arrange programs for the spiritual education of the local people, with special attention on the children and youth, who are especially vulnerable to the permissive atmosphere that pervades Phuket. After the temple opening, we realized that we needed another entrance to the temple. This would not only make it easier to enter the temple, but it would allow temple visitors to approach the Deities from the front rather than from behind. We need to acquire land from a neighbor and get approval from the local government for the new entrance road, so we request all the devotees to please pray that we can successfully complete this task and have a wonderful center for ISKCON in the land of Buddha. *B.V.V. Narasiṁha Swami, initiated by Śrīla Prabhupāda in London in 1971, has been teaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness the Far East since 1984.* ISKCON Phuket Gaura-Nitai Temple 14/1 Soi Kouenton 1, Karon, Muang, Phuket, Thailand 83000 Phone: 081-894-7005, 086-945-3873, 086-312-0133 Email: [email protected] Facebook: ISKCONPHUKET *From Phuket International Airport to ISKCON Temple Around one hour by taxi (fee 1,000 baht) Airport bus every hour to Kata Beach (150 baht), then a five-minute taxi ride to the temple* Culture Crossing: Kṛṣṇa Kids in the Material World *What can devotee parents do to help their children meet the challenges of the dual world they live in?* by Madhurikā Devī Dāsī How can we help our children thrive in divergent spiritual and materialistic cultures? What if your eleven-year-old son comes home one day and says he wants to cut off his *śikhā*? Or your teenage daughter doesn’t want to wear neck beads because they ruin her look? How about if your kids want to spend time over at the homes of friends who are not devotees? Or you learn that your thirteen-year-old daughter is having long text chats with a boy from school? As a parent, how do you respond? Now that the majority of devotee kids attend public schools, or eventually progress from devotee-run schools to regular high schools or college, we might easily find ourselves facing these kinds of parenting dilemmas. Devotional culture and modern materialistic culture are incompatible in many ways, and living in both or between the two is challenging. It’s not easy for kids, and it’s not easy for parents either. I’ve heard from many second-generation devotees that their first ventures out into mainstream society, often in middle or high school or college, were difficult and stressful, even traumatic. How can we help young people who need to figure out how to thrive in divergent spiritual and materialistic cultures? *Fitting In* It’s easy to understand that teenagers’ task of figuring out who they are as individuals and how they fit into their peer group and society at large is a challenging one that can cause them stress, uncertainty, and anxiety. Belonging to a religion and culture that is very different from the mainstream can add to the social pressure of adolescence. So we can be empathetic and understanding of our kids’ desire to fit in. For example, if my son wants me to wear jeans and a T-shirt to his soccer match, or doesn’t want me to play weird-sounding kīrtana when his friends are in the car, or doesn’t want to take food that looks unusual to school, these are easy requests to accommodate. When he gives his name as “Kevin” when placing an order (his name isn’t Kevin), we can have a laugh about it. It also helps if we try to expose our children to some of the richness and variety of world culture as they are growing up, so that they are aware that so many different kinds of music, art, and cultural and religious practices exist. This can contextualize and normalize our beautiful culture by helping them to realize that the world is a very multi-cultural place and that what is considered “normal” varies widely. One former gurukuli wrote to me that it would really have helped her to have been exposed to people from other groups and religions and realize that we aren’t the only weird and different ones. Our kids subconsciously absorb our attitudes and take their cues from us, so it’s helpful if they see that we are comfortable being devotees in a variety of different social environments and that we are at ease and open with people we encounter who are interested in our spiritual practices—by offering them prasāda or inviting them along to kīrtanas or festivals or family occasions, and being happy to answer their questions. We can help our kids by talking about what kinds of answers they could give to questions they may be asked. For example: How do you explain the meaning of your name? What do you say if people ask why you’re vegetarian? Why don’t you eat onion and garlic? What is your religion all about? What is the chanting all about? Having a semi-prepared answer can really help them to answer confidently if these questions come up, and feel less self-conscious while explaining. *Integrating Identities* While many young devotees may choose to keep their devotee identity private, sharing it only with close friends or those who inquire with genuine interest, we don’t want our kids to feel they need to be “split people.” (We may have struggled with this ourselves—if we joined the movement and cut ourselves off from our personal history or our culture of origin; or if we grew up as devotees and experienced trauma or stress when trying to adapt to the secular world.) Some young devotees have described how they kept their spiritual life and college life strictly separate (a kind of Clark Kent/Superman scenario), and when by chance these two worlds collided, felt extremely uncomfortable and exposed, and struggled to integrate their two identities. Encouraging young people to find ways for the two worlds to meet and overlap helps with this integration—for example, if they can use skills that they have learned at college to contribute to a service project for the local temple or community, or if they can share skills or perspectives that they have learned in their devotional lives with their friends and peers. Some young devotees have even written about their experiences during their unconventional Hare Kṛṣṇa upbringings in college application letters or assignments. Sharing Kṛṣṇa consciousness with others is a big part of our culture. Forcing unwilling kids to participate in public chanting or book distribution is generally not a good idea, but letting them experience or participate in dynamic outreach programs can help young people realize that our philosophy and practices are something precious and amazing that many people are really searching for. For example, if they attend a *kīrtana* event and see lots of new people excited to chant and enthusiastic to learn about spiritual life, it can give them a whole new perspective on our *bhakti* culture. Our kids’ teachers took them on a field trip to Kṛṣṇa House, a center at the University of Florida in Gainesville. They got to serve out Kṛṣṇa Lunch, a *prasādam* program that has been running for over thirty years and is a well-loved institution on campus. It was fun for them to interact with the students and inspiring to see how popular the program is. It is especially inspiring for teenagers to see young people they can relate to interested in finding out more about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It can give them a fresh perspective on knowledge and practices they may underestimate due to over-familiarity. *Spiritual vs. Materialistic Values* Culture encompasses our shared knowledge, values and beliefs, behavior, language, communication, and symbols, and so affects almost every aspect of our lives. Spiritual culture is an outward expression of values such as love, compassion, service, respect, and devotion to God, while modern materialistic culture is often an expression of the desire for profit and fame, exploitation, competition, sense gratification, and so on. Modern materialistic culture is so technologically advanced and dominant that other cultural perspectives struggle to compete with it for our kids’ attention. Our kids are likely to spend a fair amount of time absorbing materialistic culture in the form of music, movies, social media, games, and so on, so how can we insulate them against its negative effects and help them appreciate the value of spiritual culture? Part of this is education. We need to teach our kids how to critically consider the images of success and happiness presented to them by the mainstream media, and how these make them feel. Being “social newborns,” adolescents are quite susceptible to the media’s portrayal of reality, and they need to be encouraged to look beneath the surface of the lifestyles and cultural norms and personalities they are being presented as benchmarks for their own lives. We can have lots of conversations to help them develop critical awareness in relation to media content. We might discuss topics such as: Why do you think so many people want to be famous? Do you think most famous people are a lot happier than ordinary people? Do people accurately represent their lives on social media? In movies and TV shows, young people having casual sex and taking drugs and alcohol is made to seem normal. Why do you think our Kṛṣṇa culture so strongly discourages these things? When a song comes out with super-explicit lyrics and video, what do you think about it? Is it degrading or liberating for women? And people in general? It’s great if these conversations can come up in a natural way. When teenagers sense that parents are having a “teaching moment,” they can quickly lose interest. Which brings up a practical point: we need to have good communication skills to be able to have conversations about tough topics and to maintain openness and trust in the relationship. Part of this means knowing when to stop talking, and give young people space to come to their own realizations. If we are too focused on simply getting our kids to think or behave as we want them to, we will come on too strong and probably go on for too long. We can offer information or different perspectives on an issue, clearly state our values, and honestly express our feelings. But if we want our kids to allow us to remain involved and influential in their lives, we need to avoid lecturing, criticizing, and (excessive) advising, and to know how to listen well and have constructive conversations. *Spiritual Relationships* These kinds of discussions will help foster critical thinking and discernment, but a better counterbalance to the allure of materialistic culture is giving our kids firsthand experience of the sweetness of our spiritual culture. This is all about their relationships—with their loved ones, with the community of devotees, with their teachers, and with God. Interpersonal connectedness is the key to happy, fulfilling lives, and offers protection against depression, addiction, harmful behaviors, and so on. We do our kids a great service if we can help them understand that loving relationships are a key to happiness, and help them develop the social skills to have good relationships, and especially good spiritual relationships. Our Kṛṣṇa culture has a beautiful and highly developed awareness of the subtle intricacies of different kinds of loving relationships. Devotees who are advanced in the practice of *bhakti* become very soft-hearted and expert in loving exchanges, and we have many such devotees in our society, especially among Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciples. We can try to give our kids the chance to have their association and the chance to serve them, preferably in an informal setting. In our family we’ve tried as much as possible to invite inspiring devotees to our home, and have included our kids in hosting them. This created opportunities for sweet and affectionate exchanges and planted little seeds of relationships that may hopefully continue to grow. Parents can also consider asking older devotees if they would be willing to spend some time passing on one of their skills, such as by teaching kids how to make a particular sweet, or how to make jewelry or clothes or garlands for the Deities, or how to look after cows. By associating with these devotees, our kids get impressions of what humility and kindness and devotion look and feel like. Having their own relationships with mentors can have a deep impact on young people. We need to use our intelligence and creativity to facilitate interesting and fun Kṛṣṇa conscious programs geared to teenagers. We can’t reasonably expect them to be inspired and excited simply by attending the same temple programs that they have attended their whole life. Śrīla Prabhupāda likened Kṛṣṇa consciousness to honey in a jar, making the point that licking the outside of the jar is no use—we have to taste the honey inside. But we can put the honey in all kinds of appealing jars to attract teenagers to taste it. They love to be together and to have new, fun, and exciting experiences—like traveling, camping, skating, hiking. All we have to do is include prasāda, kīrtana, some talk about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and a bit of service, bundled up along with activities that they like. The more fun and interesting experiences they can have within the context of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the less they will feel the need to look for them elsewhere. Still, many kids will want to experiment with the kind of enjoyment and happiness promoted in modern materialistic culture. What will ultimately offer them a foothold in a more sāttvika and spiritually oriented lifestyle is having had tangible experience of the joy and satisfaction that *bhakti* culture and spiritual relationships offer. One devotee, now an adult, described how, from the time he was in middle school, he was determined to shed his devotee identity and experiment with everything that mainstream culture had to offer. He was popular at school and excelled at sports, so he had every opportunity for sense enjoyment. It was only several years down the line, when he concluded that all these experiences hadn’t really left him happy or satisfied, that he realized that what he actually wanted was that feeling of love and happiness he had experienced around his parents and the devotees while growing up, and he knew how and where to find it. It reminded me of a book I read by a man who moved into Amish country and gradually came to understand his neighbors’ rejection of modern conveniences and enjoyments a bit better. A neighbor explained to him that Amish life “isn’t about what you can’t have; it’s about what you can.” Meaning that their lifestyle offers them what they want most—connection with family, community, and God; health; security; peace of mind; time to savor life, opportunities to develop qualities like patience, self-control, and empathy. And so modern culture, which distracts and detracts from the quality of life and values they hold dear, is just not worth it. Amish teenagers are given the opportunity to freely experience the outside world during rumspringa, a period of a year or more of “running loose.” “They’re free to buy cars, dress English, fly to Disneyland, pound Jager at Mardi Gras . . . . Once they’ve experienced the modern world the overwhelming majority decide, Meh, not so great after all, and return to ‘living plain.’” (from Running with Sherman, by Christopher McDougall) The point is that we need to focus less on rejecting or condemning materialistic culture and more on giving our kids the positive experiences that spiritual culture has to offer. *Family Culture* The primary place for kids to really experience Kṛṣṇa conscious culture and relationships is in the family. We need to develop a strong family culture, creating traditions and practices that reflect what is important to us. Our kids will absorb the values underlying our lifestyle choices. These could be anything—for example, “We love serving devotees.” “We respect and care for elders.” “We are inclusive.” “We make an effort to help those who are suffering.” Small things that we do repeatedly in our families can leave deep impressions on our kids. Śyāma-vallabha Dāsa, son of the highly esteemed and exemplary late Kṛṣṇanandinī Devī Dāsī, described how as a kid, if he was in big trouble for something, he knew that if he could just make it to their home temple room and get in front of the Deities, he’d be safe from his parents’ chastisement. This helped reinforce the idea, instilled in him by his mother, that Gaura-Nitāi were where he could go for shelter. When my boys were smaller, after reading to them at bedtime I would lie and snuggle with each of them and chant a round or two. I wanted them to associate hearing and chanting the *mahā-mantra* with warmth and safety and love. They were very attached to that, and if I was busy doing something else, they would insist, “Come and chant with us!” When it was their birthday, they would say that I had to chant the number of rounds corresponding to their age. They always wanted me to “chant more”—stay longer. A friend described how in their family they had the habit of always offering whatever they received to their Deities. This stuck with their son so that when he got his first job after college, he naturally offered his paycheck to the Deities. Some of these family customs will arise spontaneously. Others we may intentionally decide to start. There are so many possibilities. For example, a family could decide that they will go once a month to distribute Food For Life to underprivileged people, or have a family kīrtana every week, or sponsor and serve out a feast on a child’s birthday, or make a special gift for the Deities each year for a particular festival. By participating in these kinds of activities, kids get to experience that choosing a lifestyle is a creative, intentional act—you get to decide what kind of atmosphere you will live in, what activities you will put your energy into. Sometimes when our kids want to follow something that “everyone else” is doing, we might have to reply, “That may be so, but in our family . . . ” When we have a strong family culture, it makes it easier for kids to recognize when something is not in line with their family’s values. While our kids are growing up, we have a precious opportunity to give them an immersive experience of spiritual culture at home. But by the time they are teenagers, many of us may feel worn out after so many years of parenting, or may be overwhelmed with careers, family and household management, and many other responsibilities, along with our sādhana. Trying to give our teenagers some Kṛṣṇa consciousness may seem difficult or impractical (sometimes impossible!), especially as their interest and energy is focused so much outside the home and family. But we can always take it back to the basics—cook for and offer food to Kṛṣṇa, and feed our kids prasāda; play kīrtana in the house; chant or do pūjā ourselves in a happy mood. Although young people may not want to participate or may not seem to notice, the sounds and sights of spiritual activities taking place in their environment make an impression on them. We can also try to remember that our interactions with them and our service to them are prīti-lakṣaṇa, loving exchanges between devotees, and conduct our everyday dealings with our children in a personal, loving, and respectful way that will leave an impression in their hearts. All of us want our children to have the chance to realize their full potential as individuals, and to be genuinely happy. Especially in the years when they live with us, we have a great opportunity to share the gift of Kṛṣṇa consciousness with them. We can try to make our families and communities places where our young people can experience the essence and sweetness of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, can have deep loving relationships, and can discover a sense of belonging. Our youth need to feel that they are a valued part of a spiritual community that loves and encourages them, and wants them to succeed. The experience of growing up in a loving spiritual culture can inspire them to choose to be devotees, and help them be happy as devotees and genuinely self-confident as they venture out into the world to share their gifts with others. *Madhurikā Devī Dāsī grew up in South Africa and met Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees while studying literature and education at the University of Cape Town. She now lives in Alachua, Florida, with her husband and two teenage sons. Her services have included teaching, editing, and writing, and current interests are conscious parenting, youth mentorship, and cultivating mental well-being and healthy relationships. She is a disciple of His Holiness Girirāja Swami. She thanks Nāṭaka-candrikā Devī Dāsī and Gaura Vani Buchwald for generously sharing their time and realizations.* Highest Song of Bliss: Alice Coltrane and the *Mahā-Mantra* *This famous musician, the wife of one of jazz’s all-time greats, discovered the Lord’s holy names and did much to introduce them to others.* By Satyarāja Dāsa “When you’re chanting the *mahā-mantra*,” said the late Alice Coltrane, “your soul responds, because the soul knows these names.” The wife of the great jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane, she was known among her followers as Turiyasangitananda (which she translated as “the Transcendental Lord’s highest song of bliss”). She continues: “The soul relates to them, the soul is enlivened, the soul is lifted up upon hearing the names of the Lord. It’s something people would open their hearts to and experience. They don’t have to be any certain age—they can even be children. And they don’t even have to understand the meaning of the words. Whether they understand or not, the hearing of that chanting is going to produce their spiritual good.” How is it that she spoke so eloquently about Vaiṣṇava spirituality? Who was she, and how did the sounds of transcendence come to engulf her life so thoroughly, transforming her music and, through her, hundreds of thousands of others? I briefly met her once at the ISKCON temple on Fifty-Fifth Street in New York City. Sometime before, I had heard her unique version of what we in ISKCON call “the Nṛsiṁha prayers.” Her version was similar to a traditional tune sung daily at all Hare Kṛṣṇa temples, and I wanted to let her know that. It was 1977, and as I passed her in the temple lobby, I blurted out, “I like your music.” She turned with a bright smile and, without missing a beat, responded, “It’s not my music. It’s God’s.” Alice McLeod was born in Detroit in 1937. She studied classical piano and harmony at an early age, and by her teens she was singing and playing hymns, anthems, and gospel music for black congregations in Detroit. This soon morphed into bebop and swing as she began to frequent jazz clubs in the 1950s. By 1963 she was playing professionally with jazz greats such as Lucky Thompson, Johnny Griffin, and Terry Gibbs, and the following year she met and married John Coltrane. In 1965, the same year Prabhupāda arrived in the West, Alice filled the large shoes of McCoy Tyner as pianist in Coltrane’s famous quartet, gigging and recording with the legendary band for two years. After her husband’s death in 1967, she dedicated herself to bringing out the spiritual in music, something her husband had been nurturing into an art form for many years. Indeed, John Coltrane’s iconic albums, such as A Love Supreme (1965), exuded the moods of free-jazz that would soon be developed further in Ascension (1966), and through these experimental records he inadvertently created a new category of music that jazz aficionados would come to know as Spiritual Jazz. This culminated in his posthumously released Om (1968)—a masterpiece of progressive improvisation, free jazz, and atonal motifs taken from African and Indian music. This latter recording included the chanting of selected verses from the *Bhagavad-gītā*. While the atmosphere and sounds of these records certainly evoked an otherworldly state of consciousness, many spiritual practitioners noted that they afforded no practical method of spiritual procedure and remained too abstract to create lasting, tangible results in terms of quantifiable spiritual advancement. Alice sensed this too and set out to bring a more fully developed transcendental sound vibration into her music. *Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore* Just before John’s death, both she and her husband had come to question the Protestant teachings of their youth. They began pointing East, publicly highlighting their belief in reincarnation and interest in Indian **guru*s*. In 1971, Alice said it outright. “The Western Church has failed, especially with young people. It was set up to serve needs it’s not meeting. Ask a Swami Hindu monk or someone else from the East about life after death and you’ll get answers that are real about direct experience, about looking to God. It has helped me to go on.”1 In 1970, Alice became a follower of Indian *guru* Swami Satchidananda, visiting his headquarters on New York’s Upper West Side. Gail Lewis met Alice at New York University in 1971, and soon after became a co-follower of Swami Satchidananda, living at his ashram on West Thirteenth Street. But her interest in the Swami was short-lived, and she and Alice soon took different paths: While Alice maintained her spiritual connection with Satchidananda, Gail moved on to *yoga* teacher Dr. Ramamurti Mishra, an associate of Śrīla Prabhupāda when His Divine Grace first came to the West. This contact eventually led Gail to Prabhupāda, and she became his disciple, taking initiation as Rasāṅgī Dāsī. After marrying Dharmadhyakṣa Dāsa, she eventually relocated to Los Angeles, where her husband was engaged as a BTG editor. “Now,” says Rasāṅgī, “Alice Coltrane, it turns out, was also living in LA at the time—and she was a BTG subscriber! When Mukunda Dāsa (not yet a swami) found out that she read our magazine, knowing that I had had a previous relationship with her, he asked me to contact her and to see if I could rekindle something. By Kṛṣṇa’s grace, she was happy to hear from me and even asked if the devotees could come and help her learn how to cook authentic Vedic cuisine. So Mukunda arranged that I would be part of a small crew that went out to her home to teach culinary science and the process of offering food to Kṛṣṇa. This was in 1976. We would go weekly, cooking, offering, chanting—she would play piano, accompanying us—and this went on for quite some time, into 1977. Mukunda and myself, and a few others, would go regularly. Well, one day she announced that she wanted to go to India to meet Śrīla Prabhupāda.”2 Rasāṅgī tells the story of how Alice’s desire came to fruition. She wanted a lady to go with her who had been to India before to show her around. It wasn’t me. I had never been to India. I was still a new devotee. So, the temple chose Gurutama’s wife, Deva Mātā, who had some experience in India. I really wanted to go, but the decision had been made. Anyway, I went before Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādhīśa and prayed that I could somehow go along. Really, my prayer was, “My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, I want to go to India and spend time with my spiritual master in Vrindavan.” Well, when I got home that day, Dharma was there with the phone, saying, “Alice Coltrane is on the phone, and she wants to talk to you.” So I pick up the phone, and it’s Alice, and she says, “Rasāṅgī, today I got a message from God telling me that you should go with me to India, not Deva Māta.” She was very serious, and the temple wanted to accommodate her. So off we went. It was June 1977. We stayed for about a month. It’s funny because it was summer, and people tried to dissuade her from going, saying it would be too hot. But she insisted. “No, I must see Śrīla Prabhupāda now.” It was as if she knew that he would soon be departing. Once they arrived in Vrindavan, Rasāṅgī and Alice stayed in the same room, waiting to see Śrīla Prabhupāda. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami, Prabhupāda’s secretary at the time, arranged for Pradymuna Dāsa, Prabhupāda’s Sanskrit editor, to show them Vrindavan. They were taken to all the main holy places, including Govardhana and Rādhā-kunda. Finally, they were brought into Prabhupāda’s room, on two occasions. Both times, Alice left the room exclaiming, “What a high being!” It left an impression on Rasāṅgī. She was happy to see that Alice could appreciate Prabhupāda’s exalted position. *An Eternal Relationship* It is impossible to say where the relationship began, but we see that Śrīla Prabhupāda corresponded with her on March 12, before they met, likely as a response to a letter from her, which was obviously accompanied by one of her albums: My dear Turiya, Please accept my blessings. I have listened to your new record album, “Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Nama-Sankirtana,” and am very pleased with your chanting. You have become transcendental. Now continue to keep yourself in that transcendental state and your life will be successful. As soon as you chant Govinda Jaya Jaya and Hare Kṛṣṇa *Maha-mantra* you are no longer in the material world. These are the Vedic verses in favor of chanting: yan-namadheya-sravananukirtanad / yat-prahvanad yat-smaranad api kvacit / svado ’pi sadyah savanaya kalpate / kutah punas te bhagavan nu darsanat aho bata sva-paco ’to gariyan / yaj-jihvagre vartate nama tubhyam / tepus tapas te juhuvuh sasnur arya / brahmanucur nama grnanti ye “To say nothing of the spiritual advancement of persons who see the Supreme Person eye to eye, even a person born in the family of dog-eaters immediately becomes eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices if he once utters the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or chants about Him, hears about His pastimes, offers Him obeisances or even remembers Him. Oh how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all good manners of the Aryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything required.” *(Śrīmad* *Bhagavatam*, Canto 3, Ch. 33, v6-7) [missing text] So here the spiritual potency of chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord is greatly stressed. The holy name has to be chanted to please the Supreme Lord, and not for any sense gratification. If this pure mentality is there then you become so glorious that not only do you become purified yourself, but you become competent to deliver others. So go on doing this nicely and Kṛṣṇa will help you make advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami His message to her was clear: She should abandon any material motivation and chant purely. By June, just a few months after receiving that letter, she was in Vrindavan. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami remembers the exchange: Alice Coltrane came to visit Śrīla Prabhupāda. She played some of the pieces from her latest record. Prabhupāda very much liked the Nṛsiṁha-deva prayers and blessed her for it as well as for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. After taking darśana of Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma, Śrīla Prabhupāda met with “Turiya” Alice Coltrane. Śrīla Prabhupāda answered her questions, including one about the number of rounds she should chant and whether she could chant them mentally. “You should chant twenty-four hours a day. But minimum sixteen rounds. Chanting any way that is convenient. But chanting with voice is better because it benefits not just yourself but others as well.” Śrīla Prabhupāda stressed not to concoct anything. He had me read *Bhagavad-gītā* 16.23 with purport, which condemns whimsical activities. He stressed that she study the books carefully. It was clear that she had enjoyed her stay here immensely. After she had left, Śrīla Prabhupāda said she was very sincere. If she chanted and read the books carefully, she would be a nice devotee. Prabhupāda was very pleased that she promised to lead a kīrtana at three of our upcoming Rathayātrā festivals. He said this would be a practical demonstration of how our movement united all people, black and white.3 At that same meeting, Prabhupāda approved her upcoming performance at three Rathayātrā festivals: New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, which she did. She had also asked His Divine Grace what chant she should focus on at the festivals. He answered that the *mahā-mantra* should surely be the heart of her kīrtana: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. With that instruction, she took his leave. *A Mantra Supreme* We can see Alice Coltrane’s trajectory—and her entire spiritual evolution—by what she recorded on her final group of albums, released on the famous jazz label Impulse!/Warner Bros: Universal Consciousness (1971), World Galaxy (1971), Lord of Lords (1972), Eternity (1975), Transcendence (1977), Rādhā Kṛṣṇa Nama Sankirtana (1977), and Transfiguration (1978). On these albums she stays true to her jazz roots, along with her avant-garde and musically abstract leanings, but she also experiments with a string orchestra, tambura, harp, piano, and electric organ as she never has before. For jazz traditionalists, she had always been criticized for being a tad too creative, over-exploring rhythmically nonrepresentational motifs and uncommon musical pathways. But now she had gone even further, incorporating Indian music and almost cacophonous, nontraditional rhythms. But there was something else, too. On her later albums, one with an initiated ear could detect a marked development toward the transcendental sound she had been looking for: Vaiṣṇava *mantras*. The late musicologist Franya Berkman analyzes Alice’s contribution by looking at her two most popular devotional pieces, “Hare Kṛṣṇa” and “Sita Rama”: “Hare Kṛṣṇa” and “Sita Rama” are the most strikingly original compositions on the album. Both are based on traditional Indian chants. During her career as a bandleader, Alice Coltrane saw the potential of bhajans as a transcendent, avant-garde vehicle for rhythm section and orchestra. Thus, rather than simply arranging the traditional hymns, she created a new devotional genre modeled as much upon the participatory and functional aspects of the music as the original melodic material. To the best of my knowledge, no other jazz or classical composer has used Indian devotional music in this fashion. In her adaptation of “Hare Kṛṣṇa,” the entire ensemble plays an opening rubato theme in unison while Rashied Ali adds a patina of cymbals and bells. The opening melody appears to be an invocation and could very well match the text “Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama.” “Sita Rama,” her second bhajan arrangement, is perhaps the most “Indian” of her tunes thus far considered. The strings are absent here, and the tambura and drums begin by establishing the drone. Another slowly-expanding organ improvisation emerges resembling alap, the unmetered melodic exposition of raga in Indian classical music. This is followed by a more clearly defined melody that becomes the basis of improvisation. This structure is quite typical of Indian improvisational music. However, the entire conception is literally “jazzed up” with the sound of the rhythm section and overdubbed harp arpeggios. After this sonic environment has been established, Alice Coltrane closes with an entirely new ethereal musical moment using only harp and percussion.4 One might wonder if she received these chants from her *guru*, and she did, but she learned their true meaning and elaboration from the *guru* of *guru*s, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Her penultimate album, Transcendence, has been lauded as a masterpiece of modern jazz. The technique and instrumentation vary widely throughout the album. One can hear her unique harp playing accompanied by a string quartet on the sweet-sounding “Radhe-Shyam” and the title track, setting the table for “Vrindavan Sanchara,” a moody solo piece wherein Coltrane plays harp, tamboura, wind chimes, and tambourine. She even engaged devotees on several tracks, including Mukunda (mṛdaṅga, karatālas) and Jagajīvana (mṛdaṅga), and Citsukhānanda, Dharmadhyakṣa, Maṅgalānanda, Rasāṅgī, and others (backing vocals). On this record she tried to capture the mood of Vrindavan, which is exactly where she was when the album was released in the summer of 1977—with Śrīla Prabhupāda. *Rathayātrā and Beyond* To prepare for that summer’s Rathayātrā festival in New York, she visited Manhattan’s Fifty-Fifth Street temple. For her it was both discouraging and inspirational—seeing the devotees absorbed in *kīrtana* with the force of a spiritual volcano was humbling. She saw congregational chanting as she had never seen it before. The night before Rathayātrā especially, Dīnanātha, an African-American devotee from D.C. who was particularly adept at Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava *kīrtana*, was leading in the temple room, and the entire room was vibrating with spirituality. It was New York *kīrtana* at its finest, with hundreds of devotees making the building shake. Literally. That same evening, Alice had been asked to do a recital in that very temple room, and for this purpose she came downstairs to the front lobby to meet Rāmeśvara Dāsa, who was hosting her. He met her there and invited her to join the kīrtana in the temple, saying that she could give her recital immediately thereafter. She popped her head in to see the celebration and quickly closed the door. Turning around to Rāmeśvara, she said, “I can’t follow that. That’s way too transcendental. I’ll just bring the energy down.” The following day, however, she performed at Rathayātrā. And she brought the energy up. Way up. Although the festival was on fire from start to finish, she was among its most anticipated highlights. Indeed, she thrilled the crowd in Washington Square Park with her Gospel-flavored and jazz-inflected renderings of traditional chants. And, following the recommendations that Prabhupāda had given her in Vrindavan, she focused on the *mahā-mantra* as the main song of the day. *Friendship with Devotees* As the years passed, she continued to associate with devotees and to use her devotional community, Sai Anantam Ashram, in the Santa Monica mountains, in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Says Jayaśacīnandana Dāsa: In the spring of 1978, I first met Alice Coltrane, at her home in Woodland Hills, California. A devotee from the L.A. temple had invited me to meet her and join her for monthly kirtans. I brought my harmonium and mridanga, and because she had already heard recordings of my singing, she invited me to lead the bhajans and kirtans at that first meeting and at every other meeting after that. We became good friends through spiritual music. Sometime later, a devotee named Vishnave Dāsa told me that she gave me a huge compliment, saying that I had one of the most beautiful voices she had ever heard. I played percussion at our kirtan sessions, she would play the organ, and her son John Coltrane, Jr. played the upright bass. I was very saddened to learn from her later that John had died in an automobile accident. When I was in New York in October of 1978 I got a call at the temple from Alice, who asked me if I would play mridanga with her group the next night. They were playing a show at New York's fabulous Beacon Theater, a major concert venue there. She gave me the address and told me just to come to the stage door early for sound check, and then at 8 p.m. we started our part of the show. During the sound check I learned that we were the front band for John McLaughlin’s Indian fusion group Shakti, which I was excited to hear. I am glad that at the time I didn’t know who was playing tablas for Shakti, as I would have been a bit intimidated playing my mridanga before he went on. It was Zakir Hussein, the son of Alla Rakha, Ravi Shankar’s virtuoso tabla player. After the show, though, Zakir said I did just fine, which was a relief for me.5 In the mid-1990s she held large programs on her property with *Bhakti* Tīrtha Swami and perhaps twenty of his disciples. She performed transcendental melodies on her grand piano for the devotees’ pleasure. That same year, she gathered together with *Bhakti* Tīrtha Swami and Rādhānath Swami at Rāga Dāsī’s home, with hours of chanting and prasādam served for a packed house. Until her passing in 2007, she remained favorable to Kṛṣṇa and His devotees, honoring Prabhupāda’s request to focus on the *mahā-mantra*. She was not a full-on member of ISKCON, but she assisted whenever she could, and she did receive Prabhupāda’s grace. Perhaps she is still chanting, wherever she is. *Notes* 1. See Dews, Angela. “Alice Coltrane,” Essence. December 1971, 42–43. Quoted in Franya Berkman, “Appropriating Universality: The Coltranes and 1960s Spirituality” in American Studies, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Spring 2007), pp. 41–62. 2. From a personal interview with the author, September 5, 2020. 3. TKG’s Diary, July 1, 1977, p. 99. 4. Franya Berkman, ibid., pp. 53–54. 5. From a personal interview with the author, September 8, 2020. *COVER: At the end of August this year, devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa celebrate His divine appearance on earth fifty centuries ago. (Painting by Radhe Gendron.)* From the Editor *Kṛṣṇa and the Gopīs* Some readers of BTG might be surprised to find that the opening article in this issue—Śrīla Prabhupāda’s “Founder’s Lecture”—is about the *gopīs*. Prabhupāda was very cautious about speaking about the *gopīs*, whose relationship with Kṛṣṇa is more intimate than that of any of His other devotees. For his daily *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* class, Prabhupāda spoke on the verses as they came up. So while he was speaking on the chapter of the First Canto where Bhīṣmadeva is about to depart from this world to enter the spiritual world, a verse about the *gopīs* came up, and Prabhupāda naturally spoke about them. The question of the suitability of discussing the *gopīs* in BTG was touched on in a meeting between Prabhupāda and the BTG staff in 1969. When Prabhupāda expressed approval for an article that talked about the *gopīs*, one of the editors asked, “That means that we can make reference to the *gopīs*?” Prabhupāda replied, “The policy should be that the people may not understand *gopīs* like ordinary girls or like that. You should be careful to present the *gopīs*. It does not mean that ‘We shall not utter even the name of *gopīs*. We have taken a vow to boycott the *gopīs*.’ No. They are our worshipable devotees. How we can avoid them?” The editor’s question reveals the mood on this subject that Prabhupāda instilled in his disciples. Prabhupāda was especially concerned that we not “jump ahead” to Kṛṣṇa’s romantic exchanges with the gopīs. Narrations of these exchanges appear in the Vedic scriptures, but they are rare in comparison to many other topics. They are intended for advanced devotees, especially the most advanced devotees. Most of us here in the material world, even if seriously committed to the practice of *bhakti-yoga*, are what Prabhupāda referred to as “conditioned souls.” That means we have not realized our eternal spiritual identity and still identify with our body and mind. But, granted, there is a wide gulf of difference between someone with no spiritual inclination and a dedicated practicing devotee. Therefore, although devotees may not yet be liberated souls, they can cautiously, with Prabhupāda’s guidance, hear about the exchanges between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs. An illustration of this point is that in Prabhupāda’s book Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his summary study of the Tenth Canto of *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, Prabhupāda didn’t skip the five chapters that describe Kṛṣṇa’s *rāsa* dance with the gopīs, even though Prabhupāda published this book early on. But Prabhupāda’s retelling of this most confidential pastime includes repeated reminders of its transcendental nature. It has nothing to do with mundane romance. It’s the highest expression of the purest spiritual love, without a speck of selfish desire. As exemplified in his lecture in this issue, when Prabhupāda spoke about the gopīs it was almost always to point out their exalted spiritual status. He was speaking most often to practicing devotees, and it was important that they understood the characteristics of Kṛṣṇa’s dearest devotees. Of the many philosophical points that Prabhupāda would make in reference to the *gopīs*, an essential one to understand—in order to avoid offending Kṛṣṇa and His dearest devotees—is that there is nothing immoral in the loving exchanges between Kṛṣṇa and the *gopīs*. The *gopīs* are part of Kṛṣṇa’s essential nature, or *svarūpa-śakti*. Specifically, they are expansions of His *hlādinī-śakti*, or pleasure potency. Therefore, when He is enjoying the *gopīs*, He is enjoying His own energy. We can realize the nuances of this deep topic with ongoing study of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and steady, determined progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nāgarāja Dāsa, Editor* Vedic Thoughts The jurisdiction of Kṛṣṇa consciousness extends everywhere, and one who knows Kṛṣṇa consciousness is blessed. Those who do not know Kṛṣṇa are in illusion, and so knowledge of Kṛṣṇa is liberation, and ignorance of Him is bondage. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda *Bhagavad-gītā* As It Is 7.8, Purport Just because mundane thoughts appear in the mind while we chant the holy name does not mean we should slacken our chanting. The useless thoughts will gradually disappear as the irrevocable fruits of chanting the holy names appear. Do not be in a hurry. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura *Amṛta-vāṇī, Section*: “108 Essential Instructions,” No. 93 Moral codes that do not include thought of the Lord cannot accomplish any good for humanity even though they may be presented most skillfully, because such morality is purely materialistic. Only moral codes that express belief in the Lord and oblige service to Him are fit for mankind. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura *Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta,* First Rainfall, First Shower A heart filled with love for the Lord can naturally understand the truth that the Lord’s form is identical with the Lord, just as an ear trained to understand music can naturally understand the forms of various melodies. Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Commentary on *Vedāntra-sūtra* 3.2.14 O my Lord, those influenced by demoniac principles cannot realize You, although You are clearly the Supreme by dint of Your exalted activities, forms, character, and uncommon power, which are confirmed by all the revealed scriptures in the quality of goodness and the celebrated transcendentalists in the divine nature. Śrīla Yāmunācārya *Stotra-ratna* 12 The Lord is pleased only if one has unflinching, unalloyed devotion to Him. Without sincere devotional service, everything is simply a show. Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 7.7.52 For those who have achieved the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of the pure devotees, what is impossible to do, and what is impossible to give up? Śrī Durvāsā Muni *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 9.5.15 Kṛṣṇa alone, the controller of all, pervades everything, and He is the true object of worship. Although one, He appears as many. The wise who constantly worship Him within their hearts enjoy eternal happiness, a happiness no one else can enjoy. Lord Brahmā *Gopāla-tāpanī Upāniṣad*, Pūrva 1.21 If someone says, “The individual soul’s becoming the Supreme is the true goal of life,” then that person indeed speaks a lie. The individual soul can never become the Supreme. *Viṣṇu Purāṇa* 2.14.27 BTG55-05, 2021