# Back to Godhead Magazine #56 *2022 (03)* Back to Godhead Magazine #56-03, 2022 PDF-View Welcome *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, the preeminent scripture about Lord Kṛṣṇa, says that about five thousand years ago He was present on earth for 125 years. He spent His first eleven years in idyllic Vrindavan, enjoying deep loving relationships with everyone there. He then moved to the nearby city of Mathura, where He lived for about two decades. He then created the magnificent city of Dwarka, off the west coast of India, where He spent the remainder of His time—almost one hundred years. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s childhood is the epitome of sweetness, and His life in Vrindavan has been celebrated in the culture of India for millennia. In our cover story for this issue, Satyarāja Dāsa tells us about Kṛṣṇa’s royal life in opulent Dwarka and the spiritual significance of His role as a prince and mighty warrior. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s time in Dwarka coincides with many of the episodes in the Mahābhārata, and in this issue Caitanya Caraṇa Dāsa spotlights Lord Kṛṣṇa’s great devotee Bhīṣma, who especially cherished Kṛṣṇa’s battle mood. Kṛṣṇa’s exit from Vrindavan was instigated by King Kaṁsa, who sent Akrūra to bring Him to Mathura. In “The Mood for Entering Vrindavan,” by Gaurāṅga Darśana Dāsa, Akrūra appreciates his upcoming great fortune to see the Lord in His home village. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nāgarāja Dāsa, Editor* Letters The Human Touch A short note to say how much I enjoyed the absorbing piece by Saṅkarṣaṇa Dāsa in the Nov/Dec issue of Back To Godhead. While some of the other reports were meaningful also, Saṅkarṣaṇa’s had that extra human touch. So well done. I also appreciate the Vedic Thoughts segment, which equate to wisdom. Brijlall Ramguthee Durban, South Africa Immeasurable Contribution My letter is to express great appreciation for the work you all do at BTG. A recent issue, Nov/Dec 2021, was very interesting. I especially liked the article about the mind, “The Mind: Magnificent and Mighty,” by Viśākhā Devī Dāsī. In that regard, may I offer special respects to Śrīmatī Viśākhā Devī Dāsī and her immeasurable contribution to the beloved Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement of our dear spiritual master, Śrīla Prabhupāda, over the years through photography with her husband, Yadubara Prabhu, and her wealth of inspiring articles that seem to touch on every aspect of spiritual life from the Vedic perspective. Daśārha Dāsa Marble, North Carolina Unsteady Mind I would like to inquire about how to steady the mind. Kamdeb Gorain Via the Internet Reply: Arjuna asked Kṛṣṇa this same question. Arjuna said that it is more difficult to control the mind than to control the wind. Kṛṣṇa advised him to keep practicing and be detached. The means of practice is to hear and chant Kṛṣṇa’s glories. We must keep trying even though we’re unsuccessful in controlling the mind in the beginning of our practice. In time, this *mantra* *yoga* will attract our spiritual senses to Kṛṣṇa, away from our constant material hankering and lamenting, which keep us in anxiety. Lord Kṛṣṇa has recommended the process of *bhakti-yoga*, which entails constant service to the Lord with our body, mind, and words. When the mind is busy with devotional service, then it is peaceful. When Kṛṣṇa is pleased, then we will be pleased as well. Even if we’re not always successful in our attempts to serve the Lord, our endeavors are eternally recorded, and we will always be making advancement toward the goal—Kṛṣṇa. We will never be happy by pursuing goals only for our own satisfaction. Take up the devotional process of chanting and hearing in relation to Kṛṣṇa, keep busy in serving Kṛṣṇa, and you will experience some relief from the mind’s demands. Helping the Family When we are in a situation where something doesn’t seem to improve even after so much effort, should we keep faith that one day it may improve, or should we step aside? I have a situation where family members struggle with anger but at other times take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sometimes it is very tiring, and I feel like my efforts to help them are failing, but at the same time, I don’t want to stop giving them Kṛṣṇa, as I can see it is making an effect. Do I keep giving them Kṛṣṇa? Is that the compassion of a devotee? Krupa Maisuria Via the Internet Reply: You are correct in your compassionate endeavors to help others find Kṛṣṇa. For all conditioned souls, every little bit of contact with Kṛṣṇa will add to the purification they need. The material covering will gradually become lifted, and the real consciousness will appear. It may take a long time for some, but for sure there is an effect working on them. We need to learn the art of being sensitive to how to attract others to devotional service. In your situation, that may mean just giving your family prasādam and letting them see that you are happy with your devotional life. They will surely become favorable in time. We are so glad that Śrīla Prabhupāda didn’t give up with us, who were totally unqualified. There are many success stories in our movement, especially in regard to parents who were at first totally against their children joining the Hare Kṛṣṇas but later fully embraced their decision, sometimes even taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness themselves. Be patient and pray for your family’s advancement. Kṛṣṇa will do magic. Just keep on spreading the glories of serving our Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Founder's Lecture: Bhāgavata Dharma: A Very Important Subject *Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks on the teachings of Prahlāda Mahārāja, one of the universe’s twelve greatest spiritual authorities.* Prahlāda Mahārāja taught his classmates about real religion—real dharma –not cheating religion. > śrī-prahrāda uvāca > kaumāra ācaret prājño > dharmān bhāgavatān iha > durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma > tad apy adhruvam arthadam “Prahāda Mahārāja said: One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life—in other words, from the tender age of childhood—to practice the activities of devotional service, giving up all other engagements. The human body is most rarely achieved, and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete perfection.*”—Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 7.6.1 Prahlāda Mahārāja is our predecessor *guru*. There are twelve mahājanas. It is said in the Vedas that we have to follow the footprints of the mahājanas, great authorized devotees. They have been described in *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (6.3.20): > svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ > kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ > prahlādo janako bhīṣmo > balir vaiyāsakir vayam Svayambhū means Lord Brahmā. Then Nārada Muni, the great saint. Then Śambhu, or Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras, Lord Kapila, Svāyambhuva Manu, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Janaka Mahārāja, Grandfather Bhīṣma, Bali Mahārāja, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and Yamarāja. Prahlāda Mahārāja was the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu, the famous demon. It is not that a demon’s son will have to be a demon. Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be achieved by anyone. Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the twelve mahājanas. He is speaking to his class friends. He was only five years old, and he took the opportunity of preaching bhāgavata-dharma whenever he got some opportunity. At that time Prahlāda Mahārāja’s father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, was a great demon. He would not allow Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Still, although he was a boy, Prahlāda Mahārāja used to take the opportunity for preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness among his friends. In the tiffin hours, when the boys were left free to play, Prahlāda Mahārāja used to call them, “My dear friends, sit down. Let us talk about Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” He is preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is saying to his friends, “My dear friends, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha: One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life to practice the activities of devotional service.” The friends were very much anxious to play, and Prahlāda Mahārāja says, “My dear friends, don’t play. Sit down. Sit down.” Why? “A very important subject matter, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, bhāgavata-dharma.” There are many dharmas. Especially nowadays there is Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma, Christian dharma, Sikh dharma, Ārya dharma—hundreds and thousands. But in the beginning of *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* it is declared, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavaḥ atra: “In the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* all rascaldom—cheating type of religion—is kicked out.” This is the standard of bhāgavata-dharma. From bhagavān the word bhāgavata has come. So bhāgavata-dharma means in relationship with God, Bhagavān. Therefore *Bhagavad-gītā* means the dharma, or the religious principle, preached by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. *Bhagavad-gītā* is bhāgavata-dharma, and *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* is bhāgavata-dharma. So dharma actually means bhāgavata-dharma. Any dharma which does not teach anything about God, that is cheating, kaitava. Beyond Even Liberation Generally the Vedas speak of four objectives of life: dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa. Dharma means religious principles, artha means economic development, kāma means sense gratification, and mokṣa means liberation. Above mokṣa there is bhāgavata-dharma. Mokṣa means mukti, liberation. What is that liberation? Muktiḥ hitvā anyathā rūpaṁ svarūpena vyavasthitiḥ: “Liberation is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies.” *(Bhāgavatam* 2.10.6) This is mukti. Mukti does not mean that after mukti one is finished, or that one becomes nirākāra, formless, or that one grows another two hands. It is not like that. It is a change of consciousness. That is mukti. Real mukti means change of consciousness. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya dāsa: “It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.” (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya* 20.108). Actually, every living being is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. *Mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ*. (*Gītā* 15.7) We forget this position. I do not become the servant of Kṛṣṇa, but I become the servant of my society, my family, my nation, my dog, my cat. This kind of dharma is not mukti. One must understand ahaṁ brahmāsmi: “I am not this body. I do not belong to any particular nation, family, or relationship.” Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is called the brahma-bhūtaḥ stage of realization. So long as we identify with a particular society or nation or community, then we are not brahma-bhūtaḥ. This other stage is called upādhi-bhūtaḥ, a designation. “I am Hindu.” This is a designation. Consider gold. Gold cannot be a designation. Gold is gold. Because gold is in the hand of a Hindu, it does not become Hindu gold. Or gold in the hand of a Muslim is not Muslim gold. Gold is gold. Similarly, dharma is dharma. There cannot be any Hindu religion or Muslim religion or Christian religion. There is no possibility. As soon as you designate, then it is not dharma; it is cheating. That is rejected in the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (1.1.2), dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavaḥ atra: “All cheating types of religious systems are rejected.” That is required. That is bhāgavata-dharma. *Beginning from Childhood* Prahlāda Mahārāja says, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatan iha: From the very beginning of education, bhāgavata-dharma must be taught. This is kaumāra ācaret prājñaḥ—for one who is intelligent. If one is an ass or a cow or an animal, he cannot understand. Prājña: “One who has known.” One who knows the value of life is called prājña. There are dharmas according to country and society, but real dharma is bhāgavata-dharma. That is instructed in the *Bhagavad-gītā* also. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” (18.66) Who is mām—“Me”? Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān. You will see in the *Bhagavad-gītā*, śrī-bhagavān uvāca: “The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa said.” Bhagavān says, “Surrender unto Me.” Kṛṣṇa comes to give the opportunity. He is canvassing, and not only in this universe, but in every universe. That calculation is there. Once in every four billion years Kṛṣṇa appears in this universe. When He comes, He appears in this land of Vrindavan. Therefore Vrindavan is so valuable. This is Kṛṣṇa’s place. When the governor goes to a city, he has got his own resting house there. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa comes to teach us dharma, He comes to Vrindavan. What is that dharma? This bhāgavata-dharma. When a rascal forgets his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, with God, he becomes entangled in this material affair, māyā. He is harassed. He is harassed in this way: He has to take one birth after another, beginning from Brahmā down to the small ant. There are so many varieties of life. According to *karma*, by superior arrangement one has to accept a type of body. That we are forgetting. We are thinking that we shall remain free like we are now. That is not possible. Your every inch of activity is being recorded, and at the end of life these things will be taken into account. And by the superior arrangement you have to accept one type of body. Today you may become a prime minister, but your activities will be recorded, and tomorrow after your death you may have to accept the body of a dog. That is the law of nature. > prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni > guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ > ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā > kartāham iti manyate “The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” *(Gītā* 3.27) These rascals are thinking, “I am free. I can do anything and whatever I like.” No. As you are contacting types of modes of nature, you are making your next life like that. We should be very careful because without this system of religious principles there is no scientific understanding of the modes of material nature—how we are contacting them, how we are becoming infected, and where is our next life. But if you see through the śāstra, the scriptures, then you can understand. > ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā > madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ > jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā > adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ “Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.” (Gītā 14.18) Everything is there in the *Bhagavad-gītā*. Unfortunately, we do not take care of it, and we make our own interpretation. This rascaldom is going on. And perhaps we are the only Society who is proclaiming, “Here is God, Kṛṣṇa. Take it.” We are the only Society in the whole world. Otherwise they are all misled, all misled. *Our Unchanging Policy* Anyway, others may cooperate or not cooperate; we don’t mind. But we cannot change our policy. Our policy is: Kṛṣṇa says, “I am the Supreme”; we must declare throughout the whole world that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme. Kṛṣṇa says, > mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat > kiñcid asti dhanañjaya > mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ > sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva “O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.” *(Gītā* 7.7) We shall declare to the whole world that “Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme. There is no one superior to Kṛṣṇa.” This is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Kṛṣṇa says, > man-manā bhava mad-bhakto > mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru > mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te > pratijāne priyo ’si me “Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.” *(Gītā* 18.65) We are preaching this. In this temple we are asking everyone, “Here is Kṛṣṇa. Always think of Kṛṣṇa. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.” Then you will have to think, “Hare Kṛṣṇa.” Hare Kṛṣṇa means thinking of Kṛṣṇa. As soon as you hear the name of Kṛṣṇa, you will think of Kṛṣṇa. And who will do that? Mad-bhakta: “My devotee.” Unless you become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, you cannot waste your time with “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa.” That means simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mantra* you become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Now, in this worship of Kṛṣṇa, the whole day is engaged for Kṛṣṇa’s maṅgala-ārātrika, for Kṛṣṇa’s chanting, for Kṛṣṇa’s cooking, for Kṛṣṇa’s prasādam distribution—so many ways. Our devotees all over the world—there are 102 centers—are simply engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is our propaganda. Always. No other business. We don’t do any business, but we are spending at least twenty-five lakhs of rupees [2.5 million] every month, but Kṛṣṇa is supplying. If you remain Kṛṣṇa conscious, fully dependent on Kṛṣṇa, then there will be no scarcity. I started this Kṛṣṇa business with forty rupees. Now we have got forty crores of rupees [400 million]. Is there any businessman in the whole world who within ten years with forty rupees can increase it to forty crores? There is no example. And ten thousand men are eating prasādam daily. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. *Yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham* *(Gītā* 9.22). As soon as you become Kṛṣṇa conscious and simply depend on Him and work sincerely, then Kṛṣṇa will supply everything. Everything. This is practically being manifested. Take, for example, in Bombay. Now our land is worth one crore of rupees. And when I purchased this land, I had maybe three or four lakhs. So it was completely speculation, because I was confident that “I shall be able to pay. Kṛṣṇa will give me.” There was no money. That’s a long history. I do not wish to discuss. But I have got now practical experience that when you depend on Kṛṣṇa, there will be no scarcity. Whatever you want, it will be fulfilled. *The Devotee’s Only Desire* Be always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then everything will be fulfilled, any desire, if you have got. > akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā > mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ > tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena > yajeta puruṣaṁ param “A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.” *(*Bhāgavatam** 2.3.10) *Akāma* means the devotee. He has no desire. His only desire is how he will glorify Kṛṣṇa. That is the only desire. And sarva-kāma means the *karmīs*. They are desiring, “Bring money, bring money, bring money, bring money.” They are called *karmīs*. *Sarva-kāma*—their desire is never fulfilled. And *mokṣa*-kāma means the jñānīs. They want to become united, one with the Supreme. That is a very inferior desire. Śrīdhara Svāmī has commented on the *Bhāgavatam* verse that a devotee should not desire even *mokṣa*. What is *mokṣa*? *Mokṣa* is a very insignificant thing for a devotee. Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura has explained, muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjali sevate asmān: “Mukti herself is standing at my door and flattering me, ‘Sir, what can I do for you?’” This is mukti. So why shall a devotee aspire for mukti? No. > nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve > na kutaścana bibhyati > svargāpavarga-narakeṣv > api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ “Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.” *(Bhāgavatam* 6.17.28) Nārada Muni even goes to the hellish planets for preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A devotee is not afraid of going anywhere for the service of the Lord. That is a devotee. He has no personal desire. He is simply concerned with how to glorify the Lord. *Why So Early?* Prahlāda Mahārāja is our *guru*. Out of the twelve mahājanas, he is one of them. He is advising, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha. Why so early? Kaumāra? Boyhood? Prahlāda Mahārāja says, durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma: “This human form of life is very, very rarely obtained in the process of evolution through the 8,400,000 species of life.” After that evolution, we get this durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma—this rare human birth. It should not be wasted living like cats and dogs. Everyone should be trained up in this bhāgavata-dharma. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam. “Yes, it is important, that’s all right. But let me live for a hundred years; then we shall talk about Kṛṣṇa.” Prahlāda Mahārāja said, “No. Adhruvam. You do not know when you will die. At any moment you can die.” Therefore, before your next death, realize Kṛṣṇa. Arthadam means that even if you live for only a few years and if you take the chance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, still you are benefited. You are still benefited. This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is so important that you can think always that “Death is coming. Death is at my door. Let me finish my chanting. Let me finish my chanting.” Always you should think like that. “Death is already coming, so let me chant.” This is called bhāgavata-dharma, and the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means bhāgavata-dharma. Read Prahlāda Mahārāja’s instruction very nicely, and utilize it in your life. Your life will be successful. Thank you very much. Not Everyone Will Come This conversation between Śrīla Prabhupāda and the poet Allen Ginsberg took place on May 12, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Allen Ginsberg: It’s difficult for me to conceive everybody in America . . . Śrīla Prabhupāda: Nothing is accepted by everybody. Allen Ginsberg: Or even a vast, vast number of people living a Hindu-language-based, Hindu-food-based, monastic life in America. And many of us have been thinking what form of religious practice, what form of simple meditation exercises could be set forth in America that could be adopted by a great, great, great many people on a large scale. We haven’t solved the problem. One thing I have noted is that the Kṛṣṇa temples have spread and are firmly rooted and solidly based. There are a number of them now. So that really is a very solid root. So I think that will continue. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Allen Ginsberg: But I’m wondering what the future is there. What’s the future of a religious observance so technical as this? So complicated as this? It requires so much sophistication in terms of diet, daily ritual—the whole thing that you’ve been teaching. How far can that spread? By its very complexity . . . Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes, it is complex. The whole idea is to keep the devotees always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the program. Allen Ginsberg: Well, the orthodox Jews have a very heavy, complicated, moment by moment ritual daily existence for the same purpose. It was to keep them conscious of their religious nature. And that has maintained a small group of Jews over the centuries as an integral unit. But this has tended to disappear in the later generations now simply because modern life does not allow that much Kṛṣṇa consciousness or Jewish consciousness or religious consciousness and attention, act by act throughout the day. So my question is how far can total Kṛṣṇa devotion, act by act all day, spread? How many people can that encompass in a place like America? Or are you intending only to get a few followers, like several hundred or a thousand who will be solid and permanent? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. That is my program. Because Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not possible for everyone. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* we learn, bahunāṁ janmanām ante: after many, many births one can come to this. So it is not possible that a mass of people, a large quantity of people, will be able to grasp it. You see? Another place in the *Bhagavad-gītā* it is said, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye: Among many thousands of men, one may be interested in how to liberate himself. And out of many such liberated persons, one may understand what is Kṛṣṇa. So understanding Kṛṣṇa is not a very easy thing. But Lord Caitanya is so munificent that He has given us a very easy process, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not easy. Because Kṛṣṇa is the last word of the Absolute Truth. Generally, people are just like animals. Out of many such persons, one becomes interested in the scriptures. And out of many such persons, if they’re attracted to the scriptures they’re attracted to the ritualistic ceremonies for improving their economic condition. You see? Not just Christians—everyone. They take up religion with the motive to improve their economic condition. Dharma, artha. Dharma means religion. Artha means money. And then why artha? To satisfy the senses. That is kāma. Dharma, artha, kāma. And when one becomes frustrated in sense gratification, then one desires liberation, mokṣa—to merge. These four things are going on. Dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa. But the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* says that dharma is not meant for acquiring money. Money is not meant for satisfying the senses. Sense gratification should be accepted simply to maintain this body. That’s all. The real business is tattva-jijñāsa, to understand the truth. The human form of life is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth. Kāma, sense gratification, does not mean that you have to increase the volume of sense gratification. No, you have to accept sense gratification only so far as to be able to live nicely. The real business is tattva-jijñāsa. Every human being should be inquisitive to know the Absolute Truth. That is the real business of human life. So to come to that business, you won’t find masses of people. It is not possible. You shouldn’t expect it. Allen Ginsberg: Your plan here in America, then, is to set up centers so that those who are concerned can pursue their studies and practice? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Personally, I have no ambition. Allen Ginsberg: Yeah. Śrīla Prabhupāda: But the mission of human life is to come to that point. So at least there must be some center or institution that may give people this idea. It is not that everyone will come. A Pause for Prayer O Lord Hari! O killer of the demon Madhu! First of all, I have a request, and so kindly listen to me. This is not a useless request. It is very confidential, and it is coming from the core of my heart. I am a most fallen soul, and You are the most merciful Lord. Therefore, it is my constitutional right to obtain Your mercy. It is said that the more fallen one is, the more he is qualified to receive Your mercy. In that case, I am a most suitable candidate. O Lord, if You neglect me, where will You find a more suitable candidate for bestowing Your mercy? You will simply lose Your reputation for being the most merciful of all persons. Bhaktivinoda says, “O merciful Lord! Please bestow Your mercy upon me. If You do so, Your glories will be sung forever.” – Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Gītamālā, Yāmuna-bhāvāvalī, Song 19 Translated from the Bengali by Bhūmipati Dāsa How Bhīṣma’s Fall Demonstrates His Greatness *The Mahābhārata highlights the exalted character of the grandsire of the Kurus and Pāṇḍavas.* by Caitanya Caraṇa Dāsa The grandsire of the Kuru dynasty revealed to the Pāṇḍavas the secret to their bringing about his own demise. An event occurred on the tenth day of the Kurukshetra war that had been widely considered impossible: the fall of Bhīṣma. That venerable grandsire had bested even his own teacher, Paraśurāma, who had been considered undefeatable. After all, who could defeat a warrior who had single-handedly defeated twenty-one generations of kṣatriyas? Bhīṣma showed he could. *Death by One’s Own Words* The difficulty, even impossibility, of defeating Bhīṣma had weighed heavily on the Pāṇḍavas’ minds even before the war had started. On the war’s first day, just before the fighting began, Yudhiṣṭhira, accompanied by his brothers and Kṛṣṇa, had approached his elders on the Kaurava side to seek their blessings. Additionally, he had the mortifying obligation to ask them how they could be killed; Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and Kṛpa were all formidable, near-undefeatable warriors. When Yudhiṣṭhira approached Bhīṣma to seek the grandsire’s blessings, Bhīṣma assured him, “Because Kṛṣṇa is with you, victory will be yours, O King.” When asked how he could be killed, Bhīṣma replied, “The time for my death has not yet arrived; approach me later and I will tell you.” On the dramatic ninth day, Kṛṣṇa had to intervene to save Arjuna from Bhīṣma. That evening, the Pāṇḍava leaders conferred to discuss the next day’s strategy. Yudhiṣṭhira voiced his discouragement. “Bhīṣma is undefeatable. If he can’t be stopped even by Arjuna, how can we ever fight against him?” He had expressed similar feelings after the war’s first day, when Bhīṣma had devastated the Pāṇḍava army. As on that occasion, Kṛṣṇa counselled and comforted Yudhiṣṭhira. But now, Kṛṣṇa also recommended a specific action plan. “O King, it is time that you go to Bhīṣma and ask him how he can be killed.” Once again, Yudhiṣṭhira felt acutely the heavy burden that had been thrust on him ever since the war had been made inevitable by Duryodhana’s envy and defiance. Duty required him to do something that his heart just didn’t want to do: fight against his venerable elders. In addition, he had the thankless task, nay the dreadful duty, to ask his own grandsire how he could be killed. When the Pāṇḍavas, along with Kṛṣṇa, approached Bhīṣma and offered him their respects, the grandsire greeted them with a tranquil smile. He knew what was coming. When Yudhiṣṭhira asked the dreaded question, Bhīṣma replied calmly, as if he were talking about the weather, not about his own death. “I have always fought honorably, following the kṣatriya codes of warfare. And so I will till my last breath. I will not raise weapons against those without arms, those without armor, or those without the will to fight, wanting to flee or surrender. Nor will I raise weapons against those who are disabled, who are female, or who bear a female name.” These codes were not unknown to the Pāṇḍavas. Seeing their quizzical looks, he explained how they contained the solution to their dilemma. “Śikhaṇḍī, Drupada’s valiant and violent son, is your key to defeating me. I see him as the same person he was in his previous life: a woman. Even if he is a warrior now, I will not attack him. Place him at the head of your army and let Arjuna attack me from behind him.” Śikhaṇḍī was the reincarnation of the princess Ambā, who had been circumstantially left husbandless and had held Bhīṣma responsible for putting her in that position. Wanting to take revenge, she sought to appease Lord Śiva by performing severe austerities, culminating in her offering her very life. She was reborn as a warrior destined to kill Bhīṣma. That warrior was Śikhaṇḍī. Though he was not powerful enough to kill Bhīṣma on his own, he would still play a vital role in the killing of Bhīṣma. What that role would be became clear as the Pāṇḍavas heard Bhīṣma’s plan. *Agony, Anxiety, Serenity* After learning from Bhīṣma this unthinkable plan to take him down, the Pāṇḍavas offered him their respects and took their leave. While approaching the grandsire, Yudhiṣṭhira had felt most burdened. While they departed from him, it was Arjuna who felt a similar, if not greater, burden. Whereas Yudhiṣṭhira had to ask his own grandfather how he could be killed, Arjuna had to be the person to actually shoot the arrows that would kill Bhīṣma. He had known this was coming; in fact, before the start of the war, he had vowed to take down Bhīṣma; and during the war, he had fought several times with Bhīṣma. Yet a small part of him had hoped that maybe, somehow, he could get away from his duty and still achieve its purpose. That part of him was now silent, deadly silent. When Dhṛtarāṣṭra heard from Sañjaya about the Pāṇḍavas’ meeting with Bhīṣma, he was aghast. “Why did Bhīṣma tell the Pāṇḍavas how they could kill him? How could that have been his duty?” Thinking about the fall of the Kaurava commander, the blind king shuddered and fell silent. When Duryodhana came to know about what the Pāṇḍavas planned to do, he was of two minds. A part of him was convinced that Bhīṣma couldn’t be killed, certainly not by the likes of Śikhaṇḍī. Nonetheless, another part of him urged caution. Accordingly, he ordered his foremost warriors to guard Bhīṣma carefully and to keep Śikhaṇḍī far away from him. Though the grandsire’s words had triggered great agitation, anxiety, and activity around him, he seemed strangely calm, even ethereally serene. He was ready for what was coming. He had had a hard life. The world lauded him for his fierce vows, especially his vow of lifelong celibacy, but that had been the least difficult vow to keep. Far more difficult had been the vow to always defend the Kuru ruler, especially when that position was unofficially yet unreservedly handed over by the attached Dhṛtarāṣṭra to his evil son Duryodhana. Most difficult had been to fight against the virtuous Yudhiṣṭhira, the heroic Arjuna, and his own worshipable Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Today it would all end. While Bhīṣma’s devoted heart longed for it to end as quickly as possible, the kṣatriya part within him knew the end would be preceded by a fierce fight—he couldn’t go down any other way. *Fighting While Not Fighting* When the battle finally began on the tenth day, the whole atmosphere seemed hushed, as if restrained by disbelief about what was to happen. As the two armies collided with each other, Bhīṣma was soon targeted by the combination of Arjuna and Śikhaṇḍī. Anticipating the danger to the grandsire, Duḥśāsana charged forward. Showing extraordinary brilliance in archery, he held back the advancing Pāṇḍava forces. But his inspired burst couldn’t last for long, and it was no match for Arjuna’s sustained class. Soon, Arjuna’s relentless stream of arrows forced Duḥśāsana to retreat and flee. The same fate met all the warriors appointed to guard Bhīṣma. While the grandsire’s guardians were losing ground, he himself was gaining ground. Summoning all his expertise and experience in what was to be his last battle, he put up a martial exhibition that stunned both opponents and onlookers. When Śikhaṇḍī and Arjuna finally came close enough to attack him, he neglected them and kept fighting on another front. Following kṣatriya codes, both Śikhaṇḍī and Arjuna challenged him to fight, but knowing that he couldn’t attack Arjuna without attacking Śikhaṇḍī, he didn’t respond to their challenge. Śikhaṇḍī felt incensed on seeing that Bhīṣma was paying no attention to his challenge; it was as if the Kuru commander didn’t consider him worth fighting. Well, he would show what he could do. He cast aside any residual scruples about attacking a nonresponding warrior. His repeated challenges to Bhīṣma were warning enough. If Bhīṣma chose to neglect those warnings, that was Bhīṣma’s problem, not his. Reasoning thus, Śikhaṇḍī shot arrow after arrow at Bhīṣma. Though those arrows thudded into Bhīṣma, they seemed to affect him not in the least. Infuriated, Śikhaṇḍī shot more arrows into Bhīṣma’s body, but to no avail. Suddenly, he saw the grandsire flinch. Turning to glare angrily in Śikhaṇḍī’s direction, Bhīṣma quickly turned back to his fight with another Pāṇḍava regiment. As arrows continued to afflict Bhīṣma, he spoke aloud to Duḥśāsana, who had recovered from his wounds and was trying to defend Bhīṣma. “Śikhaṇḍī’s arrows don’t hurt me, but Arjuna’s are like thunderbolts that my body can no longer bear.” It was then that Śikhaṇḍī realized what was happening. The arrows that had wounded Bhīṣma were coming from his direction, but not from him; they were coming from Arjuna, who was shooting from behind him. Repeatedly, Arjuna would emerge from behind Śikhaṇḍī, shower arrows on Bhīṣma, and then retreat behind Śikhaṇḍī. Śikhaṇḍī squelched his disappointment: even if he wouldn’t be the cause of Bhīṣma’s fall, he could still be a cause. Even if Arjuna’s arrows did most of the damage, he could still provide support and cover as Bhīṣma died by a thousand arrows. Maybe that was how he would fulfill the purpose of his birth. Seeing Bhīṣma being hit by more and more arrows, the Kauravas tried to divert Arjuna. But the Pāṇḍavas had planned their strategy well; they had stationed several of their best warriors near Arjuna. Those warriors engaged and diverted anyone who tried to divert Arjuna. Even if some Kaurava warrior did reach near Arjuna, that famed archer was dexterous enough to repel them, while maintaining his assault on Bhīṣma. Soon, Bhīṣma’s body was covered with arrows, like tall grass covering a mountain. Bhīṣma recognized that his wounds wouldn’t let him fight for long. Amid his pensive thoughts, he heard celestial voices. “Your time on the earth is nearing its end. There’s no need for you to fight anymore.” Recognizing the truth of those words, Bhīṣma felt a sublime sense of peace permeating his being. He lowered his bow and entered a prayerful mood. But his prayerfulness was interrupted by a fusillade of arrows piercing him. As pain shot through his body, his hand rushed to pick up his bow. He would go down fighting; there was no other way. As he resumed his attack on the Pāṇḍava forces, more arrows from Arjuna and Śikhaṇḍī kept piercing him, making fighting or even standing difficult. *Acceptance and Diligence on the Arrow-bed* Right before the Kauravas’ disbelieving eyes, their commander fell from his chariot. Because his body was covered with so many arrows, they obstructed his fall. He didn’t fall to the ground; he fell on an arrow-bed. To call the thing that kept Bhīṣma’s body above the ground a bed is euphemistic in the extreme. Whereas a good bed is usually arranged so that every part of it comforts our body, every part of Bhīṣma’s arrow-bed pierced his body. Seeing Bhīṣma fall, the celestials cried out in alarm, “How can such a great soul die at the present inauspicious time?” Raising his head slightly, Bhīṣma replied, “I am still alive.” Onlookers remembered that he had the boon of icchā-mṛtyu, the power to die according to his desire. Within moments, both the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas assembled around their fallen grandfather. They were all near tears. Even the wicked Duryodhana was distressed—he had just lost not only his army’s commander, but also his grandfather, who had always been kind to him, even when they had disagreed strongly on many things. Duryodhana ordered that brāhmaṇas expert in medicinal herbs and *mantras* be brought to treat Bhīṣma. But Bhīṣma firmly refused. “I have no need for those now.” When a tearful Yudhiṣṭhira asked Bhīṣma if they could serve him in any way at all, he replied, “I am afflicted by thirst. And my neck is hanging uncomfortably.” When Duryodhana was about to order his servants to fulfill Bhīṣma’s requests, the grandsire again refused. He turned his head toward Arjuna, who immediately understood his grandfather’s intention. Raising his bow, Arjuna carefully shot blunt arrows into the ground while chanting mystic **mantra*s*. Those arrows went into the ground and came out to offer support for Bhīṣma’s head. Then Arjuna closed his eyes to chant another *mantra* and shot an arrow deep into the earth. To everyone’s amazement, a stream of water sprang out of the earth where Arjuna’s arrow had pierced it. And that stream rose up and went straight into Bhīṣma’s mouth. Seeing Bhīṣma drinking that water with great reverence and spotting the personified goddess Gaṅgā with the water, onlookers gasped. Arjuna had used his arrow to fetch water from the sacred Ganges River, thereby not just quenching his grandsire’s thirst, but also uniting the wounded warrior with his mother. *Turning to Duryodhana, Bhīṣma spoke.* “You have seen the prowess of Arjuna. With Kṛṣṇa on their side, the Pāṇḍavas are undefeatable. Let the hostilities end with my fall.” Though the Kaurava prince was shaken by the grandsire’s fall, his envy of the Pāṇḍavas wasn’t. His silence was answer enough. Bhīṣma had known that his words were unlikely to work, but he had to try, just as he had tried to fight on that day, though he knew that his fall was unavoidable. He closed his eyes, waiting for the time when he would see the virtuous Pāṇḍavas victorious. He would live on till he saw their and Kṛṣṇa’s glory. And so he did, departing eventually in the most auspicious of all settings: in Kṛṣṇa’s presence. *A Less-spoken Dimension of Greatness* The world often glamorizes people who persist through great difficulties till they make life say yes. Such perseverance is laudable—by becoming more determined, we all can do greater justice to our God-given potentials and make better contributions to make the world a better place. Simultaneously, we need to laud another vital dimension of greatness: the strength to accept a no gracefully. Suppose someone proudly declares, “I never take no for an answer.” What happens if no is the only answer they get? They will just not be able to accept it. They may disintegrate emotionally and degenerate ethically, becoming self-destructive or even outright destructive. If we don’t want to meet a similar fate, we need to learn to recognize the greatness in gracefully accepting when life says no. Bhīṣma demonstrated greatness in its first dimension of making life say yes to one’s ambitions. Though born through a curse (he had been the head of the celestial Vasus and, because of an offense he made, had been cursed to be the only one among them to have to spend an entire lifetime on earth), and though raised by a single mother, he refused to stay stuck where life had landed him. By his diligence, he grew up to become a champion warrior in an age of many great warriors. As if that were not enough, he became so learned and wise that when he spoke, even sages would hear. Additionally, and more importantly, he demonstrated greatness in its second dimension. When Bhīṣma fell, he held no one responsible for his fall. He didn’t blame Arjuna, whose arrows would kill him; he bore no anger toward Śikhaṇḍī, whose presence had prevented him from countering Arjuna’s lethal arrows; he expressed no anger at Duryodhana, whose greed and envy of the Pāṇḍavas had caused the war that had left him on this agonizing arrow-bed. He accepted that fate had constrained him to fight on the losing side. Yet he didn’t lose heart—or lose his heart to the losing side. He remained fixed in duty and devotion, fighting as long as he could and stoically accepting when he couldn’t. Knowing that his fall was inevitable, he could have stopped fighting anytime. Yet he wanted to teach Duryodhana through his fall the lesson he had failed to teach through his words: the lesson that anyone opposing Kṛṣṇa could never win. Because he fought fiercely till the end and was still defeated, he showed Duryodhana the undefeatable prowess of the Arjuna-Kṛṣṇa duo. That Duryodhana didn’t learn the lesson only served to further underscore Bhīṣma’s greatness: he showed how to accept even Duryodhana’s refusal gracefully. By appreciating both dimensions of greatness, we too can learn how to do our duty diligently and accept our destiny gracefully. *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 receive his daily reflection on the Bhagavad-gītā, “Gītā-Daily,” visit gitadaily.com.* The Mood for Entering Vrindavan *Though on a mission for an evil king, Akrūra meditated on his good fortune—he would soon see Lord Kṛṣṇa in His supreme abode.* By Gaurāṅga Darśana Dāsa “Actually, one cannot go to Vrindavan by purchasing a ticket. The process of going to Vrindavan is shown by Akrūra.”—Śrīla Prabhupāda Akrūra had spent the whole night in Mathura awake in discussions about Lord Kṛṣṇa. Without even taking his breakfast, early in the morning he prepared his chariot and set off for Vrindavan. He had been ordered by the wicked King Kaṁsa, Kṛṣṇa’s maternal uncle, to bring Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to Mathura. Lord Kṛṣṇa was born in Mathura as the eighth child of Devakī and Vasudeva, but on that very day, Vasudeva transferred Kṛṣṇa to the home of Yaśodā Devī and Nanda Mahārāja in Gokula. After a few years there, Kṛṣṇa grew up in Vrindavan as their beloved child. On Vasudeva and Devakī’s wedding day, Kaṁsa had heard from a celestial voice that he would be killed by the eighth son of Devakī, but Kaṁsa didn’t know that Kṛṣṇa was that eighth child. Now Nārada Muni had revealed that secret to him, and Kaṁsa immediately sent Akrūra to bring Kṛṣṇa to Mathura. His plan was to kill Kṛṣṇa, and Akrūra, being a great devotee, was aware of it. Yet he was obliged by the king’s order, and he also knew that King Kaṁsa could not harm Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kaṁsa offered a new chariot to Akrūra to go to Vrindavan, expecting that Akrūra would be enthusiastic to drive it. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments that Akrūra liked the idea of a new chariot, not so much for himself but because he thought that a chariot already used by Kaṁsa would be unworthy for Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to ride in. As Akrūra traveled to Vrindavan, he felt tremendous bliss and devotion for the lotus-eyed Lord Kṛṣṇa, and he meditated on his good fortune to see Him in His supreme abode, Vrindavan. Akrūra’s meditation demonstrates the ideal mood for entering Vrindavan and shows the humility, gratitude, and aspiration of a sincere devotee. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, chapter 38, “Akrūra’s journey to Vṛndāvana is exemplary. One who intends to visit Vṛndāvana should follow the ideal footsteps of Akrūra and always think of the pastimes and activities of the Lord.” Kṛṣṇa’s Mercy vs. Our Disqualification Vrindavan is the forest where Śrīmatī Vṛndā Devī (tulasī) grows profusely. It is the eternal abode of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, who performs enchanting pastimes there with His beloved associates, including the gopīs (cowherd girls), the gopas (cowherd boys), and the cows. In Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.5.461), by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, it is said, vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya sa kvacin naiva gacchati: Lord Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vrindavan. And Śrīnātha Cakravartī, in his Caitanya-mañjusā commentary on the *Bhāgavatam*, writes, ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam: in the opinion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His abode Vrindavan are equally worshipable.” An opportunity to visit Vrindavan is not an ordinary privilege. Akrūra felt himself unqualified and wondered at this rare happening. “To see Lord Kṛṣṇa in Vrindavan today, what auspicious acts have I done, what severe austerities have I undergone, what great worship did I do, and what charities did I offer? I am such a wretched materialistic person absorbed in sense enjoyment!” *(Bhāgavatam* 10.38.3–4, paraphrased) It is not that pious acts, austerities, or charities enable one to see Kṛṣṇa in Vrindavan, but this is a conventional way to express the rarity of something. Humble devotees who fully have the ability and eligibility to serve the Lord still think themselves extremely low and unfit. Yet they sometimes accept such a spiritual privilege, but without false pride. For instance, when Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva was not pacified by the prayers of great demigods and sages, Lord Brahmā asked little Prahlāda to appease Him. Prahlāda felt utterly unqualified to do it, especially when the great demigods couldn’t. Yet he went forward, thinking that he could offer prayers according to his ability, and for his own purification. Similarly, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, the celebrated author of *Śrī* *Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, considered himself lower than worms in stool and more sinful than Jagāi and Mādhāi, yet he wrote that divine literature glorifying Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Devotees know that the Lord’s mercy is greater than their own disqualifications. In a similar way, although Akrūra considered himself fallen, he kept aside his contemplation of being unfit and diverted his attention towards the profound merciful nature of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which can uplift anyone from any position. He thought, “But enough of such thoughts! After all, even a fallen soul like me can have the chance to behold the infallible Supreme Lord [acyuta darśanam], for one of the conditioned souls being swept along in the river of time may sometimes reach the shore.” (10.38.5) *Memorable Moments in Vrindavan* Lord Kṛṣṇa promises at the end of *Bhagavad-gīta* that if anyone exclusively takes His shelter, He will protect such a surrendered soul from all sinful reactions. Thus the devotees keep full faith in Kṛṣṇa’s words and seek His shelter. Fully confident of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, Akrūra said, “Today all my sinful reactions have been eradicated and my birth has become worthwhile, since I will offer my obeisances to the Supreme Lord’s lotus feet, which mystic *yogis* meditate upon. . . . Those lotus feet are worshiped by Brahmā, Śiva and all the other demigods, by the goddess of fortune, and also by the great sages and Vaiṣṇavas. Upon those lotus feet the Lord walks about the forest while herding the cows with His companions. . . .” (10.38.6, 8) Akrūra eagerly awaited the moment when he would offer obeisances unto Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet in Vrindavan, a greatly divine spiritual act, and not a mere ritual. Kṛṣṇa is called praṇata-pāla. Praṇata means “surrender” and also “offering obeisances.” Merciful Kṛṣṇa not only protects (pāla) one who surrenders (praṇata) unto Him, but also protects one who offers obeisances (praṇata) unto Him. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa shows us His mercy even through materialistic and demoniac people. Akrūra noted how ironic it was that the envious and cruel Kaṁsa had given him an extraordinary blessing by sending him to Vrindavan. He said, “Indeed, today King Kaṁsa has shown me extreme mercy by sending me to see the lotus feet of Lord Hari, who has now appeared in this world. Simply by the effulgence of His toenails, many souls in the past have transcended the insurmountable darkness of material existence and achieved liberation.” (10.38.7) Akrūra saw an auspicious omen—the passing of a deer on his right—and thus felt sure he would see Kṛṣṇa and anticipated that moment. He said, “I am going to see the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, the reservoir of all beauty [lāvaṇya dhāmnaḥ], who by His own sweet will has now assumed a humanlike form to relieve the earth of her burden. Thus there is no denying that my eyes will achieve the perfection of their existence.” (10.38.10) *The Highest Happiness* As he was mediating on the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa he was about to see, Akrūra appreciated the greatness of the process of glorifying the Lord, which delivers the entire world. > yasyākhilāmīva-habhiḥ su-maṅgalaiḥ > vāco vimiśrā guṇa-karma-janmabhiḥ > prāṇanti śumbhanti punanti vai jagat > yās tad-viraktāḥ śava-śobhanā matāḥ “All sins are destroyed and all good fortune is created by the Supreme Lord’s qualities, activities and appearances, and words that describe these three things animate, beautify and purify the world. On the other hand, words bereft of His glories are like the decorations on a corpse.” (10.38.12) Akrūra continued, “That same Supreme Lord has descended into the dynasty of the Sātvatas to delight the exalted demigods, who maintain the principles of religion He has created. Residing in Vṛndāvana, He spreads His fame, which the demigods glorify in song and which brings auspiciousness to all.” (10.38.13) Of all the forms of the Supreme Lord, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s form in Vrindavan is the most enchanting, as confirmed by great authorities like Lord Brahmā, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and many Vaiṣṇava ācāryas. The attire and attitude of Kṛṣṇa as a cowherd boy in Vrindavan are characterized by simplicity and innocence, more than majesty and grandeur. In *Bhāgavatam* 10.21.5 the gopīs describe Kṛṣṇa as wearing a yellow garment as brilliant as gold, a peacock feather on His head, flowers on His ears, a garland made of different types of forest flowers, and a necklace of guñjā berries. Thus He appears like the greatest of dancers as He enters the forest of Vrindavan with His cows and cowherd friends. *The Joy of Spiritual Anticipation* His heart filled with spiritual excitement, Akrūra minutely meditated on the activities he was about to do just after reaching Vrindavan. “Then I will at once alight from my chariot and bow down to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, the Supreme Personalities of Godhead. Theirs are the same feet that great mystic *yogīs* striving for self-realization bear within their minds. I will also offer my obeisances to the Lords’ cowherd boyfriends and to all the other residents of Vṛndāvana.” (10.38.15) A devotee respects and worships not only the Supreme Lord, but also the Lord’s associates and dear devotees. Although the devotees of Kṛṣṇa exist all over the cosmic manifestation, His devotees in Vrindavan (Vrajavāsīs) are the foremost. They fully love and serve Kṛṣṇa, but not because He is God, relieving them from problems or giving them boons and so on. They are not even aware that Kṛṣṇa is the Godhead, the source of all incarnations, the creator, maintainer, and destroyer of all universes. Their love is not dependent on Kṛṣṇa’s powers or popularity. Their love is unconditional, unalloyed, natural, and spontaneous. The topmost display of love and devotion to Kṛṣṇa is seen in Vrindavan, and the Vrajavāsīs are the dearmost devotees of Kṛṣṇa. One who respects and worships them, desiring their mercy, becomes dear to Kṛṣṇa. So, Akrūa wanted to offer obeisances to the gopas also. Uddhava, another exalted devotee of Kṛṣṇa, desired to become a creeper or blade of grass in Vrindavan so that he would receive the dust from the lotus feet of the Vrajavāsīs. Even Lord Brahmā glorified the fortune of the Vrajavāsīs. Due to his devotion, Akrūra not only desired to offer obeisances to Kṛṣṇa, he also desired Kṛṣṇa’s touch and reciprocation. He said, “And when I have fallen at His feet, the almighty Lord will place His lotus hand upon my head. For those who seek shelter in Him because they are greatly disturbed by the powerful serpent of time, that hand removes all fear. By offering charity to that lotus hand, Purandara and Bali earned the status of Indra, king of heaven . . . .” (10.38.16–17) *God Never Misunderstands Us* Akrūra was confident that Kṛṣṇa wouldn’t misunderstand his intentions, although he was coming as Kaṁsa’s messenger. He thought, The infallible Lord will not consider me an enemy, even though Kaṁsa has sent me here as his messenger. After all, the omniscient Lord is the actual knower of the field of this material body, and with His perfect vision He witnesses, both externally and internally, all the endeavors of the conditioned soul’s heart. Thus He will cast His smiling, affectionate glance upon me . . . . Recognizing me as an intimate friend and relative, Kṛṣṇa will embrace me with His mighty arms, instantly sanctifying my body and diminishing to nil all my material bondage . . . . He will address me, “My dear Akrūra.” At that very moment my life’s purpose will be fulfilled. (10.38.18–21) Being omniscient, Lord Kṛṣṇa knew that Akrūra was only externally a friend of Kaṁsa. Internally he was an eternal devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. A genuine devotee who approaches Lord Kṛṣṇa need not have any doubts about the Lord’s mercy. Lord Kṛṣṇa ignores the external material discrepancies of the devotees’ situations and reciprocates with their inner sincere devotion. Describing the impartial and reciprocal nature of the Lord, Akrūra said, “The Supreme Lord has no favorite and no dearmost friend, nor does He consider anyone undesirable, despicable or fit to be neglected. All the same, He lovingly reciprocates with His devotees in whatever manner they worship Him, just as the trees of heaven fulfill the desires of whoever approaches them.” (10.38.22) An ordinary person may have reservations about dealing with an enemy or anyone from the enemy’s side. But the Supreme Lord never holds any inimical feelings towards a genuine person even though he or she happens to be on the side of the wicked person circumstantially. Although Bhīṣma fought on the side of wicked Duryodhana, Lord Kṛṣṇa was always merciful to Bhīṣma at heart. Kṛṣṇa showcased to the whole universe the glory of Bhīṣma’s knowledge by making him teach various dharmas to Yudhiṣṭira Mahārāja, and the glory of Bhīṣma’s devotion by giving him His personal audience at the time of Bhīṣma’s departure from this world. Similarly, Lord Rāma gave shelter to Vibhīṣaṇa, although he was the brother of the proud demon Rāvaṇa, who had abducted Rāma’s beloved wife, Sītādevī. Factually, the Lord never considers anyone His enemy in the first place. He punishes demoniac people only for their purification and to stop their nefarious activities that trouble the innocent. Further, Kṛṣṇa is more merciful in the land of Vrindavan than at other places. Although several merciless demons like Pūtana and Aghāsura attacked Vrindavan with malicious intent, Lord Kṛṣṇa mercifully delivered them and even gave positions to many of them. That’s the uniqueness of Vrindavan. If Kṛṣṇa is so merciful to demons who come to Vrindavan, how much more merciful will He be towards devotees who might circumstantially be in some awkward situations? *The Ecstasy of Reaching Vrindavan* Akrūra’s desires as revealed in his prayers grew greater as his prayers progressed. He first desired to see and offer obeisances to Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, and the gopas; then he expected the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s hand, then Kṛṣṇa’s smiling glance, His embrace, and His words of address and reciprocation. Deeply absorbed in meditation on Kṛṣṇa, Akrūra did not even notice the road or hurry his horses, but, though proceeding slowly, he still reached Vrindavan at sunset. As soon as he arrived, he saw Kṛṣṇa’s footprints in the dust. The pure dust from Kṛṣṇa’s feet is held on the heads of even Brahmā, Śiva, and the rulers of all planets. Kṛṣṇa doesn’t wear shoes in Vrindavan. Once Yaśodā Devī asked Kṛṣṇa to wear shoes while herding the cows, but He said He wouldn’t wear them as long as His cows were walking barefoot. Kṛṣṇa’s footprints, distinguished by such marks as the lotus, barleycorn, and elephant goad, made the ground wonderfully beautiful. No human being, animal, or bird in Vrindavan disturbed those footprints, and the land of Vrindavan kept them explicitly as her ornaments, which spontaneously manifest to the eyes of the devotees. The gopīs glorify the fame of Vrindavan. > vṛndāvanaṁ sakhi bhuvo vitanoti kīrtiṁ > yad devakī-suta-padāmbuja-labdha-lakṣmi “O friend, Vṛndāvana is spreading the glory of the earth, having obtained the treasure of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Devakī [Yaśodā].” *(Bhāgavatam* 10.21.10) Akrūra was increasingly agitated by ecstasy at seeing Kṛṣṇa’s footprints. His bodily hairs stood on end, and his eyes filled with tears. He jumped down from his chariot and rolled about among those footprints, exclaiming, “Ah, this is the dust from my master’s feet!” > dehaṁ-bhṛtām iyān artho > hitvā dambhaṁ bhiyaṁ śucam > sandeśād yo harer liṅga- > darśana-śravaṇādibhiḥ “The very goal of life for all embodied beings is this ecstasy, which Akrūra experienced when, upon receiving Kaṁsa’s order, he put aside all pride, fear and lamentation and absorbed himself in seeing, hearing and describing the things that reminded him of Lord Kṛṣṇa.” (10.38.27) Akrūra openly showed his love and reverence for Kṛṣṇa by rolling in the dust of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. He had no fear that he or his family might be punished by the cruel Kaṁsa. He had no pride in being an aristocratic member of society. He fervently adored the cowherd residents of the simple village of Vrindavan. And he had no lamentation for his house, wife, and family, which were in danger from King Kaṁsa. Akrūra finally saw Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in Vrindavan going to milk the cows. Overwhelmed with affection, he fell at Their feet like a rod. The joy of seeing Them flooded his eyes with tears and decorated his limbs with eruptions of ecstasy. Recognizing Akrūra, Kṛṣṇa drew him close, embraced him, and took him to His house, just as Akrūra had envisioned in his meditation on the way. All of Akrūra’s desires were thus fulfilled in Vrindavan by Kṛṣṇa’s grace. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructs us that just as Kṛṣṇa is worshipable, Kṛṣṇa’s place, Vṛndāvana, is also worshipable. And as Vṛndāvana is worshipable, similarly the paraphernalia in Vṛndāvana—the trees, roads, river, everything—is worshipable. A pure devotee thus sings, jaya jaya vṛndāvana-vāsī yata jana: ‘All glories to the residents of Vṛndāvana!’ If a devotee has a staunch devotional attitude, all these conclusions will be awakened or revealed within the heart.” *(Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, *Madhya-līlā* 12.38, Purport) In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.56) Lord Brahmā glorifies Vṛndāvana in the spiritual world, to which the Vrindavan on earth is identical: “In the spiritual realm of Goloka Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person and is the husband of all the gopīs and Lakṣmīs. The trees are wish-fulfilling trees. The land is made of touchstone, and the water is nectar. Words are musical vibrations, and all movements are dancing. The flute is the Lord’s constant companion. Not a single moment is wasted there. In Vṛndāvana, spiritual cows emit transcendental oceans of spiritual milk. Vṛndāvana is self-luminous like the sun and is full of spiritual bliss. The perfection of life lies in tasting that spiritual existence. Let me worship that spiritual land where Kṛṣṇa is present.” *Gaurāṅga Darsana Da¯a (www.gaurangadarshan.com), a disciple of His Holiness Radhanath Swami, is the dean of Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha at ISKCON Govardhan Eco Village, 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.* Loosening the Grip of Fear *At its root, fear is the result of turning away from Kṛṣṇa and entering material illusion.* by Harivaṁśa Dāsa Fear felt in unusually difficult times challenges our tendency toward arrogant optimism. The ripened fruit of the Vedic literature, *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, never misses an opportunity to repeatedly reposition its readers towards the ultimate spiritual reality by its bold announcement that the material world is a temporary place full of misery. The text often does it through vivid metaphors. In one such instance, in Canto 3, chapter 28, verse 32, the world is likened to an ocean (sāgara) of tears (aśru) produced by the intense grief (tīvra-śoka) of its inhabitants. When we objectively scan our current world, the term “ocean of tears” hardly seems an exaggeration. Unprecedented floods, widespread forest fires, merciless genocides, a ravaging pandemic, tsunamis, unforgiving mental syndromes, and the list goes on. And just when a situation seems somewhat under control at one front, almost immediately an apprehension grows about some impending disaster at another. Today, despite the extraordinary advances in science and technology, human hearts in most parts of the world are in the grip of fear as they have never been before, or at least in recent decades. More than the loss of wealth, resources, and things in general, the fear is clearly the fear of death. But whose death? Is it the death of our near and dear ones, our relatives and friends? Certainly. If we ponder deeper, though, and read the clear writing on the wall of our hearts, we will find that the dominant variant of fear is the unpredictability of our own life span, not that of others. It is this fear that is brandishing its sword against the optimism the human race has always held, boisterously and arrogantly. *Arrogance Challenged* In the days of yore, this arrogance was expressed by King Yudhiṣṭhira to a Yakṣa, a celestial being, in a wonderful episode of the great Vedic epic the Mahābhārata. The Yakṣa demanded that Yudhiṣṭhira answer his questions before he would allow him to drink water from the lake the Yakṣa guarded with spells. The other Pāṇdavās—Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva—instead of acquiescing to answer his questions, had mistakenly displayed their ill-placed arrogance, thereby falling prey to the Yakṣa’s mystical powers. They were now lying unconscious nearby. King Yudhiṣṭhira, the eldest of the Pāṇdavās, was of a more humble and righteous disposition and answered all the Yakṣa’s questions correctly. The Yakṣa asked Yudhiṣṭhira to identify the greatest wonder in the world. Yudhiṣṭhira answered that the biggest surprise is that everyone sees people dying around them all the time, yet they assume themselves to be an exception and therefore hope they will live forever. (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.116). Today, however, the feeble forts of the human race’s misplaced optimism have been battered. Man fears for his own life much more than for anything else. *Hierarchy of Attachment* *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* asserts that the value of any other person or object stems from its relation to oneself. This proclamation comes in the celebrated brahma-vimohana-līlā, the pastime of the illusion of Lord Brahmā. As the chief architect of the universe, Lord Brahmā attempted to test his own master, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was enjoying the role of a mischievous little cowherd boy, playing with His friends in the idyllic village of Vrindavan. The unsophisticated and frivolous ways of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who was supposed to be the master of all that is, were beyond Brahmā’s wildest imagination. But what transpired when Brahmā hid all the cowherd boys and calves in a mystic slumber to measure up his own Lord was even wilder. Śrī Kṛṣṇa replicated Himself into all those who had apparently disappeared, conjuring thereafter an outpour of love from the parents in Vrindavan towards their children, who were all Kṛṣṇa, and all the cows towards their calves, who too were Kṛṣṇa. This piqued the interest of Parīkṣit Mahārāja, who asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the speaker of *Bhāgavatam*, the reason for the all-pervasive newfound affection to one’s progeny in Vrindavan. This was intriguing to Parīkṣit Mahārāja, as the cowherd folks and the cows saw externally the very same children and calves as previously, matched to their exact physical appearances and psychological idiosyncrasies. Śukadeva Gosvāmī then revealed the hierarchy of attachment: The dearness of things and persons rests on their dearness to one’s body, which itself rests on its dearness to one’s actual identity, the conscious self or the soul. Finally, since the soul is a part of the Supreme Soul, Kṛṣṇa, no one is dearer to oneself than Kṛṣṇa. *(Bhāgavatam* 10.14.50–55) Therefore, when Kṛṣṇa multiplied Himself into the cowherd boys and calves, the flow of love towards them was involuntary and unrestricted. *The Way Out* The ordinary person, however, lives at the level of consciousness that the body is “me” and consequently those connected to this body are “mine.” This is the cause of the high levels of trepidation in our hearts. While healthy fear is required, the current levels of fear have reached panic markers. Medically too, such a state of our hearts renders low immunological predisposition and gives a royal pathway to a host of physical and psychological maladies. In this regard, a Sanskrit adage says: > rakṣata rakṣata koṣānāmapi koṣaṁ hṛdayam > yasmin surakṣite sarvaṁ surakṣitaṁ syāt “Protect, protect, the treasure of all treasures—the heart. When it is secure, everything is secured.” The best protection we can offer our hearts is to get rid of excess and unhealthy fear. *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (11.2.37) defines fear in terms of its origin, bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād īśād: fear is (bhayaṁ syāt) due to the investment of our consciousness (abhiniveśataḥ) in anything other (dvitīya) than the Lord (īśāt). Investing consciousness in “other” implies turning away from Kṛṣṇa, which plunges the soul into material illusion. The main outcome is identification with one’s material body and mind—the sense of “me.” And then the show begins; anything that gives titillation to this version of “me” becomes dear as “mine.” What is the way out of this situation in which the “me” is the body and mind and not our actual identity as the soul? In the context of the brahma-vimohana-līlā, Śukadeva Gosvāmī prescribes: “If a person comes to the stage of considering the body ‘mine instead of ‘me, he will certainly not consider the body as dear as his own self. After all, even as the body is growing old and useless, one’s desire to continue living remains strong.” *(Bhāgavatam* 10.14.53) The solution, therefore, is to change the identification of the body and mind as “me” to “mine,” for actually our bodies and minds are the instruments for our souls to operate in the material world. Given the ocean-deep investment in bodily (and mental) consciousness not only in this life but through multiple lifetimes, the prescription above seems hard to put into practice. This is why Śukadeva Gosvāmī moves on to the next level in the hierarchy—to develop affection for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the avalambana, the shelter or resting place of all souls and hence of our bodies and minds as well. To counteract the fear produced from investing in something other, Śukadeva advises us to turn towards Kṛṣṇa and perform *bhakti*, loving devotional service favorable to the Lord. Acts of service imbued with love for Kṛṣṇa powerfully divest us from our bodily consciousness and purge our hearts of its fears. *F.E.A.R.—Practical Steps to Subvert Fear* In challenging times such as ours, we can approach our choice of turning towards Śrī Kṛṣṇa with the following four simple, practical steps. They are presented here in the form of the FEAR acronym. However, they are not passive; rather, each step begins with an active verb and demands our courageous active participation to change our conditioned nature. Śrī Kṛṣṇa too defines courage in response to Uddhava’s inquiry as *svabhāva-vijayaṁ *śauryam**—courage or heroism (*śauryam*) is to win over one’s lower nature (*svabhāva-vijayam*) *(Bhāgavatam* 11.19.37). Fast from Over-exposure to News A healthy dose of social awareness helps one keep up with the proceedings of the world, but attention to news can soon go overboard. This is especially so with the pervasive sensationalism of twenty-first-century media and with the minimum human touch and maximum entanglement with devices our being isolated from others has produced. As a result, we end up feeding our already obese fears. We can consciously choose to take only a helpful dose of information and not binge on it. Engage in Selfless Service With whatever resources we have, we can try to extend ourselves to others as selflessly as possible. We can at least lend our empathic ears to those traumatized one way or another. If not in the wider world, the recipient can at least be someone in our contact circle. Selfless service is the natural disposition of the soul, and it is a time-tested method to move our attention away from ourselves. Adopt a Lifestyle of Goodness Fear thrives with the mode of passion, which is characterized by restless activity and dissatisfaction. Fear also grows under the influence of the mode of ignorance, which is identified by general languor and hopelessness. Adopting a balanced lifestyle in terms of work, sleep, eating habits, exercise, and recreation, and somehow or other practicing being satisfied with whatever we have, will help move us into the territory of goodness. The three steps described so far work through the agency of reason or intelligence. Their first purpose is to preserve our minds and bodies, which themselves are vehicles for our spiritual realization. Their second purpose is to create a favorable ground for the fourth and most important step. Rejuvenate Faith in Śrī Kṛṣṇa Reason is not enough to serve our hearts in purging fear, for as long as the “me” and “mine” exist, fear will persist, as seen above through the eyes of *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. But faith in something larger than fear can dwarf the fear itself. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is larger than the largest. And surely our challenging times have given us enough realizations to reduce the unnecessary and prioritize the absolutely necessary, which is to engage in the transcendental activities of devotional service to the Lord through chanting, hearing, and remembering. It is through these activities that our faith transforms from being a customary faith in a universal power beyond our imagination to a faith imbued with the salve of love for our beloved Lord. This faith, impregnated with the seed of love for Kṛṣṇa, ushers in both fearlessness and a hope for an ever-blissful, eternal existence. *Harivaṁśa Dāsa teaches computer science at a top-tier graduate institution in Mumbai and is closely involved in the academic affairs of the Bhaktivedanta Research Center, Mumbai.* Is *Bhakti-yoga* Difficult? *If it is, is it worth the trouble?* by Rukmiṇī Vallabha Dāsa It may be, but that’s no reason not to take it up. Instant gratification is the norm in this day and age. We look for great results with little and painless effort. We want the prize without paying the price. We want a shortcut to success. Therefore some people dismiss *bhakti-yoga* as taking too much patience and perseverance without tangible results. Even beginners may question, “How long will it take?” “Why is the practice so austere?” “Is it really going to work?” Let’s discuss whether *bhakti-yoga* is worth the trouble, whether there’s something wrong with *bhakti-yoga*’s being difficult, and how we can make our *bhakti-yoga* journey easy and enlivening. *Why Work Hard* Any endeavor has two components: effort and outcome. In general, we think that exerting the least effort for the highest gain will make us most happy. In actuality, if we gain something valuable with little effort, we often don’t appreciate the gain and will not take proper advantage of it. According to Roy Williams, president of The Williams Group, a wealth consultancy, nearly sixty percent of the time, a family’s money is exhausted by the children of the person who created the wealth. They do not understand the value of their estate because they have not worked hard for it. As a consequence they squander it away. Life generally shows us that the higher the gain, higher the price that needs to be paid. For instance, consider education. We know that education is required to make a living, so we pay the price by becoming educated. Though the outcome is to come after a long time, we invest our time and money because we value the result. Besides, the hard work may reward us with other benefits, such as knowledge, experience, and new acquaintances. Some of us may be born rich, some with a high IQ, some strong, etc., but that doesn’t mean we will get everything with ease. We need to work hard to make it in life. Lord Kṛṣṇa say in the *Bhagavad-gītā* (3.8) that we need to work to acquire at least our life’s necessities. Even if we are not ready to take up challenges in life, life forces us to do so. Life throws various problems at us—health problems, relationship problems, natural disasters. So we need to learn to work hard in life. As the saying goes, there’s no substitute for hard work. We are active by nature. If we don’t work hard for a constructive purpose with focus, we will be forced to act in ways detrimental to us and society. Despite our hard efforts, sometimes we may not achieve the expected outcome. Even then we are not at a loss. As Thomas Edison put it, “I have not failed. I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.” Therefore, expecting to do great things in the world with ease is utopian. Trying for cheap success may lead only to frustration and lamentation. *Is Bhakti-yoga Worth the Effort?* If life is meant for working hard, why don’t we just accept that fact by working hard, getting what we want, and becoming happy? That seems like an intelligent proposition. But we see that our life and the world around us are beset with limitations. Everything we see has a beginning and an end. Even billionaires get old and die. No one is spared. Everything in this world is temporary and potentially pain-producing. Hard work helps us earn our basic needs and gives us contentment to some extent, but it cannot take us beyond the inevitable distresses. What we earn by our hard work—wealth, power, fame—is bound to be washed away by time. Yet we have an innate craving for unending and ever-increasing happiness. How do we cater to this craving? Our craving implies that we are meant to experience real happiness. *Bhakti-yoga* offers that happiness. It can help us transcend the limitations and pains of this world by awakening us to our spiritual identity, beyond our physical, mental, and social designations. It can help us reconnect with our spiritual existence and experience unending spiritual joy, beyond the reach of the wealth, technology, or any other means of this world. Uncovering our spiritual existence is what every one of us is looking for. Only it can make us happy in the truest sense. We spend our time and resources searching for pleasure in this world. Therefore *bhakti-yoga* is worth prioritizing in life because it can give us real happiness. Practicing *bhakti-yoga* is the special prerogative of the human species. It is impossible for other species. Therefore it is worth all the effort we can give. Still, *bhakti-yoga* may seem too demanding. We souls have developed certain conceptions about finding happiness in this world. As a result, worldly designations and identities enter our consciousness and cover our spiritual essence, which is like a most valuable diamond buried deep inside. We need considerable patience and perseverance to dig deep into our consciousness and remove the unwanted material. Since in ordinary mining the minerals found underground are greatly valuable, huge amounts of capital and energy are invested in the painstaking work of extracting them. Compared to mining, *bhakti-yoga* offers us some good news. Mining is a well-established science, but so is *bhakti-yoga*, and it doesn’t require dangerous exploration and financial risk. In the *Bhagavad-gītā* Lord Kṛṣṇa elucidates the science of *bhakti-yoga* for our benefit. He delineates the obstacles one encounters in the process, the methods to overcome them, and the symptoms of progress. All we need to do is to understand these principles and apply them diligently in our life. We are not the first to try this. Many have traveled this path and achieved perfection, in both the past and the present. Since *bhakti-yoga* is executed on the spiritual platform, the progress we achieve on this path is never lost. It is beyond the influence of time. Even if we are not completely successful in this lifetime, our progress is permanent and can be continued at a later stage. Therefore *bhakti-yoga* is worth the effort and without risk. *Bhakti-yoga* is the perfect science of reconnecting to our spiritual essence, but we may be lacking in our understanding or application of the process. As a result, we don’t get the benefit we expect. This can impel us to consider the process too difficult and ineffective. Let us look at a few keys to making our practice effective. *Education* When we entered school, we did not go straight to the science lab; we went to sit in the classroom. While it is exciting to do something practical and get a new and thrilling experience, we first need to learn such things as what to do, why to do it, when to do it, and how to do it. *Bhakti-yoga* is valuable; therefore we need to learn it meticulously. *Bhagavad-gītā* and *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* provide us the intellectual conviction, confidence, and inspiration to practice *bhakti-yoga*. Without this proper education, our endeavors may not go in the right direction, and we may be unable to appreciate the newness and variety of our experiences. *Regulation* Many people go to school for at least twenty years. They go almost daily, as a regulation. As a result, they can make it in life and make a meaningful contribution to society. Our spiritual practice also needs regularity. We have to prioritize our practice. The more consistent it is, the more effective it will be, and the faster will be the pace of our learning and realization. In *bhakti-yoga*, the benefits are realized continuously and not only at the end. Because this spiritual practice deals mainly with our consciousness, which is more subtle than the body and mind, it requires consistent, concentrated, conscientious effort to monitor and regulate. *Determination* At school, children are often distracted by play, recreation, and mischief. These must be regulated so that the students can focus on their studies. Focus is also the key to success in our spiritual life, as we will naturally have to confront distractions, including various conceptions, ideas, plans for finding happiness in worldly ways, and the expectation that our spiritual practice should be easy and bestow instant results. Understanding the limitations of worldly pleasures and progressively realizing the benefits of *bhakti-yoga* will go a long way in protecting us from distractions. *Association* In the company of serious students, it becomes easy to focus on studies and keep us aloof from distractions. In a world full of distractions, it is almost impossible to practice *bhakti-yoga* in isolation. Association with serious practitioners of *bhakti-yoga* is the most important factor determining our progress because it facilitates our spiritual education and provides us with the required inspiration, encouragement, and guidance. Because we all have to interact with the world and can be affected by it, association with other *bhakti-yogīs* can help us rejuvenate spiritually and focus again on our spiritual practice. *Two-sided Bhakti-yoga* We are not alone in our practice of *bhakti-yoga*. Kṛṣṇa, the most loving and lovable person, is always with us. He is eagerly waiting for us to turn to Him. He is always there to attract us with His all-attractive personality and all-encompassing compassion. As we approach Him, He reciprocates accordingly. As we advance in *bhakti-yoga*, we get more and more attracted to the all-attractive Lord. The more we get attracted, the faster and easier will be our spiritual advancement. Our attraction to Kṛṣṇa makes it easy to cross over obstacles that seemed insurmountable. He is not just all-loving, but He is all-powerful, capable of helping us overcome any obstacle. *Bhakti-yoga* is the process of reconnecting to all-loving and all-powerful Kṛṣṇa, who is ever patient and possesses full power to help us. *Rukmiṇī Vallabha Dāsa, a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānāth Swami, began practicing bhakti-yoga in 2010 and serves full time at ISKCON Pune. His blog: http://spiritualwisdomonline.com.* The Majestic Glory of Śrī Śrī Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādhīśa *We tend to hear about Kṛṣṇa’s rural life, but His city life reveals other attractive aspects of multifaceted personality.* By Satyarāja Dāsa During His pastimes on earth, Lord Kṛṣṇa revealed both His supreme opulence and His supreme sweetness. “The Lord is king, and He rules the nations.” (Psalms 22:27–28) India’s ancient wisdom texts reveal that Śrī Kṛṣṇa—the playful flute-wielding cowherd boy who enjoys loving exchange with His associates in the free-spirited, rustic atmosphere of Vṛndāvana—is the Supreme Lord Himself. He is God in His original, highest feature, paramount among innumerable manifestations of the one Supreme Godhead. Kṛṣṇa is God as He appears in His own element, simple and unpretentious, comparable to a great stately personality in His intimate, home environment. This down-home and uncomplicated image of God is counterbalanced by His awe-inspiring manifestation as four-armed Viṣṇu, the opulent source of all beings, lying in the Causal Ocean while uncountable universes emanate from His pores. Viṣṇu is an expansion of Kṛṣṇa. That which is great and awesome is subservient to the basic and unadorned, for we cherish simplicity over complexity, love over might. Still, both are genuine aspects of the Supreme. The Viṣṇu feature resides in the Vaikuṇṭha planets, the kingdom of God, and in the material cosmos as its oversoul. Viṣṇu is comparable to God at work, as opposed to God at home. In other words, Kṛṣṇa is the more intimate Supreme Being, without any formal affectations, whereas Viṣṇu is how He appears in His role as the supreme controller of all that is. Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā lies somewhere in between, embodying a portion of the intimacy and sweetness of His original Vṛndāvana form—with two arms, like the original Personality of Godhead—but also displaying the royalty, grandeur, and majestic bearing of four-armed Viṣṇu. The regions known as Vṛndāvana, Mathurā, and Dvārakā—the sacred stages upon which Kṛṣṇa plays—exist in the spiritual sky even as they manifest as regions of India in the material world. These are the highest portions of Vaikuṇṭha, where Viṣṇu is displaced by Kṛṣṇa, where power (aiśvarya) is eclipsed by sweetness (mādhurya). Of course, on the spiritual platform all forms of God are equal, as are His abodes, and in that sense Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa are merely various faces of the same one Lord, with nuances of difference that mainly exist to facilitate relationship, as suggested above. In His earthly pastimes, when, for example, Kṛṣṇa leaves Vrindavan to go to Mathura and, later, to Dwarka, He expands into subsidiary versions of Himself. When He does this, He mystically remains in Vrindavan in His original form, in an unmanifest state, and His appearances in both Mathura and Dwarka are facilitated by plenary portions. With these “portions,” He exhibits transcendental pastimes infused with formality and opulence—a mood that is alien to Vṛndāvana, but very much in line with the lordship of Vaikuṇṭha. In Mathura and Dwarka, Kṛṣṇa is in His work clothes, so to speak, and while these secondary manifestations are fully transcendental, they do not fully reflect His original personality of intimacy and love. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa prefers that His devotees worship Him in His original form: “Knowing My opulences, the whole world looks upon Me with awe and veneration,” Kṛṣṇa says. “But devotion made feeble by such reverence does not attract Me.” *(Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, *Ādi* 3.16) This is because awe and reverence tend to dilute intimacy, as we see even in this world. For this reason Kṛṣṇa wants us to know Him as He is, penetrating His identity beyond His “vocation” as Supreme Lord. Thus worship of any of Kṛṣṇa’s forms should be accompanied by a sense of who He really is in terms of His original, intimate personality, for this leads to the unfolding of eternal relationships. These relationships (rasa) manifest either as servant (dāsya), friend (sakhya), parent (vātsalya), or lover (mādhurya), and self-realization involves finding our place in this varied interpersonal schema. Those blissfully ensconced in such relationships are oblivious of Kṛṣṇa’s Godhood—by design—for awareness of His divinity would result in formal and reverential exchanges, which, again, are contrary to the loving affairs cultivated in the supreme paradise. Those lesser, more ceremonious moods, exalted though they are, exist only in the other Vaikuṇṭha planets and are usually categorized as neutrality (śānta-rasa), servitude (dāsya-rasa), and lower-echelon friendship (sakhya-rasa), wherein one has a personal relationship with God but largely in a formal capacity. That is to say, in Vaikuṇṭha, awareness of Viṣṇu’s supreme position is paramount, disallowing more intimate exchanges of love. There are of course certain exceptions. The queens of Dvārakā, for example, experience the conjugal mood as part of their service to Kṛṣṇa. Even there, however, their love is tinged by awe and reverence, not quite approximating the gopīs of Vṛndāvana. Nonetheless, because of these varieties of loving exchanges, the full spectrum of relationship can be found in the kingdom of God, from formal (in Vaikuṇṭha) to intimate (in Goloka Vṛndāvana), and they all have a place in pleasing Kṛṣṇa. Again, Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā is more akin to Viṣṇu in Vaikuṇṭha, while also incorporating aspects of the more intimate loving moods of Vṛndāvana as well. Sometimes, in fact, Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā is indistinguishable from His primary form in Vṛndāvana, as we shall soon see. *The Kingdom of Dwarka* When Kṛṣṇa leaves Vrindavan in India to become ruler in the great kingdom of Dwarka, as He did some five thousand years ago, He is still Kṛṣṇa, even if He manifests in a so-called secondary form. For Kṛṣṇa, who is absolute, there is in reality no first or second. Kṛṣṇa is always Kṛṣṇa, “one without a second,” as Prabhupāda often said. But He manifests in particular ways for a specific purpose, especially to please His devotees. To understand Dwarka-Kṛṣṇa, we must look at Dwarka itself, popularly considered one of India’s four most important holy places: Puri (east), Rameswaram (south), Badrinath (north), and Dwarka (west). The word dvārakā is derived from the root dvāravatī, “gated [city],” perhaps a reference to the countless gates that encircled its many awe-inspiring buildings and gardens. *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (10.69.1-12) describes Dwarka as a countrified city filled with the sounds of birds and bees, chirping and buzzing as they fly through numerous parks and pleasure gardens. Dwarka’s many lakes were filled with a variety of blooming lotuses, the sweet, melodious songs of peacocks, swans, and cranes complementing the sounds of the birds and bees. Yet it was also a highly developed urban environment of some 900,000 royal palaces, constructed of crystal, silver, and huge emeralds, with wide roads and sophisticated grid street planning. Architecturally, Dwarka challenges the common notion of what man was capable of at the time, so elaborate were its buildings and engineering accomplishments, including progressive waste disposal and sewage systems. All of this was lost due to the vicissitudes of time and because Dwarka was submerged in much the same way that one might imagine Atlantis was. Today, the Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) of the Archaeological Survey of India conducts research off the west coast of India, near what is said to be the site of Kṛṣṇa’s ancient dwelling, now marked by a small town known as Devabhumi Dwarka, in Gujarat. The UAW is excavating underwater sites and ruins and finding many artifacts that appear to be remnants of a world that transcends time. Vaiṣṇava sages pass down additional information as well: In the original city of Dwarka there was a private enclave, distinct in its beauty, worshiped by rulers from numerous planetary systems who would periodically visit to make loving offerings. This was the residential area of Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, an ornately decorated collection of 16,000 palaces where the Lord expanded into an equivalent number of forms to live at peace with His queens. These queens, of course, were not ordinary souls, but rather expansions of His internal, spiritual energy (śakti), much as He was an expansion of the original Kṛṣṇa in Vrindavan. Their love is thus wholly transcendental. Why did Kṛṣṇa go to Dwarka? There is an esoteric reason articulated only in the Gauḍīya tradition. Having battled with demonic forces in Mathura, Kṛṣṇa led his troops to Dwarka to protect His clan, the Yādavas, from Jarāsandha, one of His arch enemies, who had attacked Mathura while Kṛṣṇa was there. Dwarka was a perfect choice, for it was surrounded by the sea, making it an impenetrable fortress. Kṛṣṇa had other concerns in Dwarka, too, such as an ongoing relationship with the Pāṇḍava princes, and the soon-to-be marriage of Subhadrā (His sister) and Arjuna. But Dwarka was perfect for another reason as well, one still more esoteric, a reason that highlights Kṛṣṇa’s innate love for Vrindavan. Had He gone back to that bucolic paradise after the battle at Mathura as He desired, Jarāsandha’s troops would have followed Him there, destroying Vrindavan’s beautiful rural atmosphere, quite possibly harming His family, friends, and the district of Mathura, which were all so dear to Him. Thus, out of love for Vrindavan and its neighboring city, the place of His birth, He led his Yādava army to far-away Dwarka, which became His kingdom for the rest of His pastimes in this world. He would now spend almost ninety-seven years in Dwarka. As time went on, Balarāma married a princess named Revatī, and Kṛṣṇa married numerous queens, as mentioned above. The foremost among them was the extraordinary Queen Rukmiṇī, who was an expansion of Candrāvalī, one of His prominent cowherd girlfriends in Vrindavan. His other primary queen was Satyabhāmā, a manifestation of His unsurpassed lover, Śrī Rādhā. Through these latter marriages He sought to bring the essence of Vrindavan to His new home in Dwarka. This is explained by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Lalita Mādhava, Acts Five (Texts 18 & 51) and Six (Text 32). *Dwarka Today* In Dwarka, Kṛṣṇa is known as Dvārakādhīśa, “the Lord of Dwarka,” for it was here that He manifested His princely side, wearing royal garb and attended by a vast retinue of reverential servants. To commemorate the Lord’s sovereign pastimes in this highly ornate kingdom, His great-grandson Vajranābha built a temple where His main palace once stood. Today, the modern structure in its place dates back to the sixteenth century and is considered the original site of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Dwarka home. The Deity of this temple is dressed with all the opulence of the original Dvārakādhīśa Himself. The symbols in the Deity’s four hands (conch, club, disc, and lotus), indicating a mood of sovereignty (aiśvarya) appropriate for Lord Viṣṇu, are covered in glittering silver. Numerous subsidiary shrines are in the same compound, including those dedicated to Lakṣmī, Śiva, Balarāma, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Jāmbavatī, Satyabhāmā, and Viṣṇu. The entire temple complex is thus a tribute to aiśvarya-bhāva, or the mood of worshiping Kṛṣṇa in awe and reverence. There are a few exceptions, such as an altar for Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and, opposite Dvārakādhīśa’s main altar, a shrine to Devakī, Kṛṣṇa’s mother, who lovingly gazes upon her divine child from across the way. These exceptions show that, even in Dwarka, the other standard devotional relationships exist as well, indicating that Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all loving exchange (rasa), even if awe and reverence are the focus of this particular temple. The temple is an imposing structure that stands five stories high, its main sanctum surrounded by seventy-two regal pillars. Functioning under the auspices of the Puṣṭi-mārga tradition, the temple conducts its elaborate Deity worship according to the Vallabha lineage, popular in this region of India. Nearly twenty miles from Dwarka is a quaint coastal village named Okha, from which pilgrims take a twenty-minute boat ride to nearby Bet (“island”) Dwarka. Here they see the remains of another ancient Dvārakādhīśa temple. Locals refer to this area as the real Dwarka, and it certainly puts visitors in a Dwarka mood. Halfway to Bet Dwarka, just off the main road, is Gopi Tallav, said to be the lake where Kṛṣṇa once reunited with the gopīs of Vrindavan. Here one finds gopī-candana, the yellowish clay that devotees use as tilaka, marking their bodies as temples of God. As one approaches Bet Dwarka proper, one comes upon a temple dedicated to Rukmiṇī, Kṛṣṇa’s primary queen, a structure said to date back to the twelfth century. ISKCON, too, has a temple in Dwarka, owing to a large property that was donated by a prominent well-wisher, Pritish Bharatia, in 1996. The temple is only a three-minute walk from the central Dvārakādhīśa temple, and the Deities of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Śyāmasundara happily greet Their devotees, again combining the awe and reverence of aiśvarya-bhāva with the mādhurya aspect of worship favored by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. His Holiness Mahaviṣṇu Goswami oversaw the project until his passing several years ago. Today, ISKCON has plans for expansion that will make its Dwarka temple the premier facility and tourist attraction in the region. Isvarabhai Pujari, one of the priests for the Dvārakādhīśa temple and an architect by profession, is designing a new ISKCON temple, with plans for elaborate outdoor dioramas depicting Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes from *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*. Aside from the main temple, ISKCON Dwarka includes a six-acre goshala (cow sanctuary) some eight miles from town, with plans for future expansion. *The Road to New Dwaraka** But the real story of ISKCON Dwarka is not to be found in India. Rather, it emerges in Los Angeles at the height of the hippie era as the result of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s early efforts in America, along with those of his early disciples. After establishing themselves in New York in 1966, and then expanding to San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Montreal, Prabhupāda’s disciples opened a temple in Boston and, soon after, in Los Angeles. These centers were all born in 1967, toward the end of the year. Once in LA, the devotees began what was to become their long history in the city by renting a storefront building at 2364 Pico Boulevard in mid-city, an area bordered by Beverlywood and Koreatown. The new “temple,” humble though it was, afforded them a makeshift altar, which was essentially two wooden crates covered by a patterned madras. At the very top was a vibrant and colorful poster of a smiling Kṛṣṇa with His loving arms wrapped around a cow. Dayānanda Dāsa and his wife, Nandarāṇī Dāsī, were in charge of the fledgling temple, as they and the resident devotees awaited Śrīla Prabhupāda, who was scheduled to arrive in short order. Dayānanda had rented him a separate apartment on Saturn Street, one block away, just so he would be comfortable while in Los Angeles. Prabhupāda visited as scheduled and held popular programs. People joined, the temple grew, and the full-time devotees, although few, would often go out chanting in the neighboring areas, attracting attention. Soon they installed Deities of Jagannātha, Baladeva, and Subhadrā, and their devotional standards blossomed. They quickly grew out of their little center and moved to busy Hollywood Blvd., one block from Grauman’s famous Chinese Theater. Being in such a popular area facilitated their rich and enthusiastic public chanting, which became the center of their lives, and they would often stay out until 1:00 in the morning. They would chant with similar enthusiasm at the temple, bringing the party home with them, so to speak, much to the dismay of the neighbors. As a result, they were quickly evicted. “Out on the sidewalk we went,” remembers Dayānanda, “with pots, pans, and bedding, and the Deities of Jagannātha, Baladeva, and Subhadrā in our arms. Luckily, a stranger passing us on the street offered the use of her nearby garage. That was in the Watts district of southern LA.” Although the devotees were comfortable there, Prabhupāda wanted them to have better facility. His concern was outreach, not personal comfort. He graciously lectured and joined them in kīrtana and feasts, but made clear that they should look for a more appropriate temple. Soon after, they found a church for sale with three large adjacent rooms. This was at 1975 La Cienega Blvd., situated on a major north-south arterial road, centrally located. The devotees moved in and quickly thrived, and no one was happier than Śrīla Prabhupāda. In fact, he often wrote to his disciples in other centers to describe it, proud of it as a groundbreaking “world headquarters” from which he would guide his followers to open many more. It was at this point that his LA disciples heard that he had taught the New York devotees how to worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities. Realizing its importance, the LA devotees wanted to learn this art and science as well. But where would they get Deities of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in America? At that time, They were only available in India. Still, because Prabhupāda and the LA devotees desired it, small but alluring Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities—eleven inches and made of brass—mysteriously arrived at their doorstep, delivered by a widow from Vrindavan. On July 16, 1969, Śrīla Prabhupāda installed the Deities in the temple, allowing the devotees to begin a full schedule of decoration, ārati, and food offerings, replicating the methods used in New York. Prabhupāda’s disciple Śīlavatī Dāsī learned from him directly and gradually taught others. In ISKCON’s early days, she became something of an authority on Deity worship. To accommodate the newly inaugurated temple program of worshiping the Deities, Śrīla Prabhupāda stopped the late-night saṅkīrtana programs, requesting all disciples to attend the daily maṅgala-ārati ceremony at 4:30 a.m., which would necessitate retiring early for the night. He established other mandatory programs to be performed later in the morning and in the evening too. These have become standard in all ISKCON temples. After one year at the La Cienega address, however, the devotees had outgrown their temple. Their Spiritual Sky Incense business was expanding, Back to Godhead distribution increased, and the Sunday Love Feast was attended by numerous seekers from both LA and the newly established outreach temples in Laguna Beach and San Diego. Under the general leadership of Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Dāsa (soon to be Goswami), the temple thrived. But he relocated to London, where newer services were calling out his name. Thus, in 1970, when Gargamuni and Dayānanda, both senior devotees in charge of the new temple, found a large and magnificent church—yet again—with an elaborate service building and minister’s quarters, Śrīla Prabhupāda negotiated the price with the minister. The elegant edifice would eventually become the movement’s most impressive property at the time, the true “Western world headquarters” of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. In the weeks that followed, Gargamuni was put in charge of arranging the finances. “Prabhupāda,” says Dayānanda, “was very pleased with him for arranging the purchase and later buying the three wonderful silver altars that would adorn the new temple. Prabhupāda also worked with Gargamuni on the actual purchase and finances.” This would become the majestic temple at 3764 Watseka Avenue, which continues to serve as the LA temple today. The earliest days at the new facility are remembered by Satsvarūpa Dāsa Gosvāmī in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta: [inset] On the auspicious occasion of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s appearance day anniversary, the Los Angeles devotees received permission to enter their new temple on Watseka Avenue. The rooms had not even been cleaned, and the large hall was bare; but the devotees brought in Prabhupāda’s vyāsāsana from the old temple on La Cienega, and Prabhupāda had them place on it a large picture of his spiritual master. Standing before his spiritual master, Prabhupāda offered ārati while some fifty disciples gathered around him, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and dancing in the otherwise empty hall. . . . This large new temple, Prabhupāda said, had been provided by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī as a gift for the devotees to use in Kṛṣṇa’s service. They should not become attached to the opulence, Prabhupāda said, but they should use this wonderful place for preaching. As he spoke, he wept. [end inset] April 1, 1970. Working day and night for the move to the new building, the devotees were finally ready to take their Deities and assorted devotional paraphernalia on a long cavalcade to the new location at Watseka Avenue. The Deities were placed on a magnificent palanquin beautifully painted with scenes from Vrindavan, and along with numerous chanting devotees and awe-struck guests, the Deities trekked through the streets of LA. When the chanting party arrived at what would soon be the new temple room, they noticed an old Spanish-mission–style pulpit with large arches over it. Seizing the opportunity, they hung large oil paintings of Lord Caitanya and the disciplic succession there, preparing it for the Deities, who were put in place. In what was still very much a churchlike atmosphere in terms of decor, Śrīla Prabhupāda lectured from the podium while disciples sat in the pews. He expressed his appreciation of this arrangement for guests. But the pews were eventually removed, and the large chanting room began to look like other ISKCON temples, if a tad more opulent. “As the movement grew,” writes frequent BTG author Karuṇā Dhārinī Devī Dāsī, “more and more devotees made their home in what Śrīla Prabhupāda eventually named ‘New Dwaraka.’ They were sculptors, architects, carpenters, designers, musicians, businessmen, managers, accountants, technicians, writers, editors, artists, teachers, seamstresses, jewelers, photographers, film producers, speakers, and actors, and their skills blossomed due to their love for Śrīla Prabhupāda. Much of his legacy was born from the culture of *kṛṣṇa-bhakti* he inspired in LA, including translated and published Vedic scriptures, kṛṣṇa-līlā oil paintings, musical recordings, lectures, museum dioramas, festivals, dramatic performances, films, and the standard-setting worship of Śrī Śrī Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādhīśa.” With the opening of Govinda’s Buffet in 1982, declared by major cuisine critics as being among the best vegetarian restaurants in all of California, or even the world, and, later, Govinda’s Gift Shop, providing devotional items for worship, books, posters, and more, for both devotees and visitors, the New Dwaraka community was complete—a tribute to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s herculean if loving work in the modern world. *What’s in a Name?* When the Watseka temple was purchased, due to its opulence Śrīla Prabhupāda named it “New Dwarka” (adding to its magnificence was an entire city block of private devotee apartments, all centered on the temple). When the large marble Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities were installed in 1971, They were named Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādhīśa in pursuance of His Divine Grace’s vision for an opulent temple community. At that time, too, the smaller Deities—then known simply as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa—were renamed Rukmiṇī-Dvārakānātha. Senior disciple Tuṣṭa Kṛṣṇa Dāsa, onetime personal servant of Śrīla Prabhupāda, tells the story: [inset] Prabhupāda was giving specific names for Deities in nearly every temple he opened at that time. There was Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Vṛndāvana-candra, for instance, of New Vrindaban, or Rādhā Pārtha-sārathī in Delhi. With this temple being on the west coast just as the Dwarka of India is on India’s west coast, it became obvious. The disciples requested Prabhupāda in a letter that the Deities be named Śrī Śrī Rukmiṇī-Dvarakādhīśa. Śrīla Prabhupāda gave his permission for this. In subsequent letters of instruction to the Los Angeles pūjārīs, Śrīla Prabhupāda always referred to the Deities as Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādhīśa. [end inset] Still, the difference between Kṛṣṇa in Vrindavan and Kṛṣṇa in Dwarka should, again, be understood. In Vrindavan, Kṛṣṇa plays His flute to entice the gopīs into higher states of uncompromising love (mahābhāva). This is not the case in pastimes with Rukmiṇī and the queens of Dwarka. In fact, Kṛṣṇa leaves His flute in Vrindavan when he enters Mathura. And this is even more the case in Dwarka. Dvārakādhīśa is never depicted as playing His flute. So one might wonder: Why is the Kṛṣṇa Deity in Los Angeles holding a flute when the person next to Him is Rukmiṇī? This seems to contradict both scripture and the truth (tattva) of kṛṣṇa-līlā. In Dwarka, Kṛṣṇa acts like a kṣatriya in the royal order, and flute playing is not a kṣatriya activity. Thus it can be argued that Kṛṣṇa standing in His threefold bending form, holding a flute, is incompatible with the presence of Rukmiṇī and even with the name, Dvārakādhīśa. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains this as follows: [inset] When the gopīs sometimes saw Kṛṣṇa in the form of Nārāyaṇa, they were not very much attracted to Him. The gopīs never addressed Kṛṣṇa as Rukmiṇī-ramaṇa. Kṛṣṇa’s devotees in Vṛndāvana address Him as Rādhāramaṇa, Nandanandana and Yaśodānandana, but not as Vasudeva-nandana or Devakī-nandana. Although according to the material conception Nārāyaṇa, Rukmiṇī-ramaṇa and Kṛṣṇa are one and the same, in the spiritual world one cannot use the name Rukmiṇī-ramaṇa or Nārāyaṇa in place of the name Kṛṣṇa. If one does so out of a poor fund of knowledge, his mellow [rasa] with the Lord becomes spiritually faulty and is called rasābhāsa, an overlapping of transcendental mellows. The advanced devotee who has actually realized the transcendental features of the Lord will not commit the mistake of creating a rasābhāsa situation by using one name for another. Because of the influence of Kali-yuga, there is much rasābhāsa in the name of extravagance and liberal-mindedness. Such fanaticism is not very much appreciated by pure devotees. (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya* 8.91) [end inset] In short, Rādhārāṇī and Her associates are not attracted to Dvārakādhīśa-Kṛṣṇa, nor should they be. They are attracted only to Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa, the Kṛṣṇa of Vrindavan, and Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas seek to follow in their footsteps. Although Kṛṣṇa, Dvārakādhīśa, and even Nārāyaṇa are one and the same in terms of ontological reality (tattva), they are different by virtue of individualized relationship and taste (rasa), and this is the main point. Nonetheless, in the excerpts below, Śrīla Prabhupāda shows his full acceptance of the names and the divine personalities behind them, directly referring to the Deities as Śrī Śrī Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādhīśa, without hesitation, criticism, or misgivings. Prabhupāda would have clearly spoken out if he disapproved in any way. He saw training and correcting disciples as a large part of his mission, and he would not have hesitated to speak up if he detected something inappropriate. [inset] Thank you very much for the pictures of Rukmini Dvarakadhisa. They are very nice. (Letter, Nov. 24, 1976) Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your card dated October 25, 1975, along with the beautiful photographs of Śrī Śrī Rukmini-Dvarakadhisa of New Dvaraka. (Letter, Nov. 10, 1975) It is very encouraging to hear the arrangement you are making for worship of Their Lordships Śrī Dvarakadhisa and Rukmini. Please do it very nicely and I shall be glad to see the completed result. (Letter, June 29, 1973) [end inset] The following exchange is excerpted from a room conversation recorded in Vrindavan on June 17, 1977. Here Śrīla Prabhupāda recalls communicating with the Deity Dvārakādhīśa in Los Angeles. He describes how he left Vrindavan in 1965 and went to the West, and then how Kṛṣṇa sent him back to India to establish temples in Māyāpur and Vrindavan, but how he then returned, soon thereafter to complete his mission. [inset] Tamāl Kṛṣṇa Goswami: Actually, when you intended to go to America, everyone was advising, “Better not go. It is too dangerous for someone of your age. Do not go.” Someone even said that you may not come back. Śrīla Prabhupāda: I thought all this. I went to USA not to come back. I left here hopeless. I did not want to come back. I went with determination that, “If I do this job, I will survive.” So Kṛṣṇa helped me. . . . I made my headquarters in Los Angeles. TKG: Well . . . by your coming here it was wonderful. Śrīla Prabhupāda: That means Kṛṣṇa desired. Otherwise I had no plan to come back here. TKG: Your business was in the West. Still it is, you said. Still, whatever we’re doing here . . . Śrīla Prabhupāda: Therefore I took this permanent residency. TKG: Not intention but . . . Do you regret having come back to India? Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, it is well. My plan was like that, but Kṛṣṇa’s plan was different. When I was coming back, I was speaking to Dvārakādhīśa, “I do not know. I came here to live. Why You are driving me away?” While leaving Los Angeles I was not happy. TKG: Oh, I remember. Śrīla Prabhupāda: But He had this plan. TKG: Pretty nice plan. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa wanted that, “You left Vrindavan. I’ll give you better place in Vrindavan. [Chuckles.] You were retired in Vrindavan. I obliged you to leave. Now you come back. I’ll give you better place.” So He has given a temple [Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Mandir] hundred times better than Los Angeles. Is it not? TKG: There’s nothing comparable in the three worlds. Śrīla Prabhupāda: Hmm. So it is always by His desire. [end inset] “Regarding the arrangement of the Deities on the altar,” wrote Śrīla Prabhupāda, “the arrangement here in the Los Angeles temple is: Guru-Gaurāṅga, Radha-Kṛṣṇa, Jagannatha. Gargamuni has taken some pictures of the temple room and I shall send a copy to you when they are printed. So make the altar very gorgeous according to your facilities there. That will be nice.” (Letter, June 22, 1970) Given his stated affirmation of the Deities as Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādhīśa, it is clear that Prabhupāda saw no distinction between Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādhīśa. But can ordinary devotees see like that? Should one merely imitate a pure devotee of the Lord? After all, he was a fully enlightened Vaiṣṇava, with the highest possible realization, and he was thus naturally able to see the supreme form of Kṛṣṇa everywhere. In point of fact, this is precisely what he was teaching his followers to do as well. While not neglecting the nuance of difference in the various forms of Kṛṣṇa, he wanted his followers to understand how Vrindavan-Kṛṣṇa is present everywhere, not least in all of His direct forms, whether Viṣṇu, Dvārakādhīśa, or otherwise. Moreover, he taught that Deity worship, especially for those who are immature on the devotional path, must begin with awe and reverence—not just when worshiping Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādhīśa, but even when worshiping Deities that are ostensibly Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa directly. All Deity worship begins like this, and as one advances, one learns to see Vrindavan-Kṛṣṇa in one’s worshipful Lord. As Prabhupāda says, [inset] Regarding your question about why we dress the Deities in very opulent fashion and not as simple cowherds boy and girl, this is an intelligent question and the answer is that according to the regulative principles we cannot worship Radha-Kṛṣṇa now. Radha-Kṛṣṇa worship is meant for persons who have already developed spontaneous love of God. In the training period we are only worshiping Laksmi-Narayana. We worship Radha-Kṛṣṇa because Laksmi-Narayana is there also, but actually we are not worshiping Radha-Kṛṣṇa with our present Deity ceremonies; we are worshiping Laksmi-Narayana. Narayana is there when Kṛṣṇa is there, but actually we do not worship Radha-Kṛṣṇa in Their original form. This is why we should worship Radha-Kṛṣṇa in Their Laksmi-Narayana feature with all respect and reverence. If we deviate from this standard then we shall be prakrta-sahajiya, or a person who takes things very cheap. We worship Laksmi-Narayana and because Radha-Kṛṣṇa includes Laksmi-Narayana there is no necessity of installing a Laksmi-Narayana Deity. It is just like a king who is engaged in administering justice. Actually that business belongs to the justice department. But what is the justice department? It is all part of the king’s energy, and the king also has the power to execute this function. (Letter, January 24, 1969) [end inset] “Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa,” he further writes, “cannot be approached by the neophyte devotees; therefore temple worship according to regulative principles is offered to Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Although there may be a Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa vigraha, or form, the worship of the neophyte devotees is acceptable as Lakṣmī-Narayana worship.” *(Bhagavatam* 4.24.45–46, Purport) *Responding to His Devotee’s Desire* “Kṛṣṇa is known as Bhakta-vatsala,” writes Karuṇā Dhārinī. “That is, He enjoys taking the supporting role, if it pleases His devotees. Kṛṣṇa enjoys responding to the desire of His worshipers. The New Dwaraka disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda felt inspired to worship the Deities as their transcendental king and queen, and Kṛṣṇa helped them to do so. They designed the present temple room to look like a beautiful Dwaraka palace. They installed a nice marble floor and pillars, arched altar and front entry doors with brass plating of maṇḍalas and cows, velvet canopies, and elegant dioramas of various demigods looking down into the room. Beautiful golden-framed oil paintings of the Kṛṣṇa book pastimes were placed everywhere.” In conclusion, and when contemplated in *the* present context, *the* words of both *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* and *the* Śrī *Caitanya-caritāmṛta* resound with deep meaning: > yad-yad-dhiyā ta urugāya vibhāvayanti > tat-tad-vapuḥ praṇayase sad-anugrahāya “You are so merciful to Your devotees that You manifest Yourself in the particular eternal form of transcendence in which they always think of You.” *(Śrīmad-bhāgavatam* 3.9.11) > yei yei rūpe jāne, sei tāhā kahe > sakala sambhave kṛṣṇe, kichu mithyā nahe “In whatever form one knows the Lord, one speaks of Him in that way. In this there is no falsity, since everything is possible in Kṛṣṇa.” *(Caitanya-caritāmṛta*, *Ādi* 5.132) As Prabhupāda writes in his purport: “If someone calls Lord Rāmacandra by the vibration Hare Rāma, understanding it to mean ‘O Lord Rāmacandra!’ he is quite right. Similarly, if one says that Hare Rāma means ‘O Śrī Balarāma!’ he is also right. Those who are aware of the viṣṇu-tattva do not fight over all these details.” *Kṛṣṇa’s Simplicity and Grandeur* Wherever Kṛṣṇa goes, He brings Vrindavan with Him. Thus, Sanātana Gosvāmī’s Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.7.7–8), for example, tells us that in Dwarka, there is a “Nava (New) Vrindavan,” where Kṛṣṇa can assuage His intense separation from Vrindavan. The same Nava Vrindavan is mentioned in Rūpa Gosvāmī’s play Lalita Mādhava (Act 6, Scene 1, texts 41–42). Essentially, Nava Vrindavan is a haven, complete with facsimiles of Kṛṣṇa’s family, friends, and favorite areas as found in the original Vrindavan. Viśvakarmā, the architect of the demigods, is said to have created it to lessen Kṛṣṇa’s intense pining for His village home. Similarly, New Dwaraka in Los Angeles, although opulent, has many of the same accoutrements as any other Kṛṣṇa temple, with inescapable elements of the Vrindavan mood, like Kṛṣṇa holding His flute. This is because it is an ISKCON temple and consequently partakes of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava standards and predilections. When Kṛṣṇa engages His Yogamāyā potency to recreate Vrindavan, even in an opulent environment like Dwarka it takes on many of the characteristics of the original Vrindavan. Dwarka is thus nondifferent from Vrindavan even while retaining its kingly splendor. Also, while we know Vrindavan as a simple rural village, it is not lacking in grandeur. For example, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura describes Kṛṣṇa’s home, Nanda Mahārāja’s palace, in his Vraja-rīti-cintāmaṇi (16–18): “His palace is made of glistening sapphires, with coral pillars, gold and lapis lazuli roofs, crystal windows, and large gates made of rubies. His entire capitol is enclosed by a great wall built of sapphires.” In other words, one sees transcendence according to the bhāva, or primary spiritual mood, in which one is absorbed. Thus, opulence can be found in the simple village of Vrindavan, and simplicity can be found in the stately environment of Dwarka—each according to Kṛṣṇa’s desire and the mood of His loving devotee. Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s disciple Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa further develops these ideas in Aiśvarya-kādambinī. In the end, Vrindavan is inseparable from Kṛṣṇa, and whether He manifests in His original form as a simple cowherd or as the king of Dwarka, Kṛṣṇa is always Kṛṣṇa, exhibiting both simple and opulent dimensions according to His transcendental, inexplicable, and sweet will. *Much of this history is derived from Karuṇā Dhārinī Devī Dāsī, “The Fiftieth Anniversary of *New Dwaraka Dhama*,” in Back to Godhead, July/August 2019, Vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 16–31. *Satyarāja Dāsa, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, is a BTG associate editor and founding editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies. He has written more than thirty books on Kṛṣṇa consciousness and lives near New York City.* Book Excerpt: Chasing Rhinos with the Swami, Vol. 3 *The Seed of Bhaktivedanta Manor: Prabhupāda Visits George at Friar Park* “We sit silently for many minutes as the sun winks out . . . and I sense this is a historic moment.” Inspired by Prabhupāda’s visit to his estate, George Harrison is ready to help with a unique, lasting gift. Excerpted from Chasing Rhinos with the Swami, Volume 3, by Shyamasundar das, © 2021 Samuel Paul Speerstra (Shyamasundar das) ISBN: 978-1-4951-7708-8. All rights reserved. This excerpt retains the book’s style for Sanskrit and other considerations. This volume and the previous two are available at chasingrhinos.com and the Kṛṣṇa.com Store. So on the afternoon of July 13, 1972, I guided the temple’s tank-like Ford Transit panel van, with Prabhupāda buckled into the passenger seat, away from Reading and eight miles down Henley Road to Friar Park. It was a gorgeous, lazy summer afternoon, and we saw people with parasols rowing on the river Thames. Pattie greets us at the heavy castle door, shy and beautiful as ever, in a canary yellow blouse and culottes under a long, open, cream-colored gauzy kameez. She tells us George will be along in a minute. She leads us through the vestibule into the main room, and we sit on couches, a little awkward, Prabhupāda sitting forward and resting his head on his cane as his eyes take in the splendor of this vast English hall. Suddenly, George bursts into the room, his arms filled with freshcut flowers from his garden. He dumps them on a table and falls flat on his face before Śrīla Prabhupāda, who is beaming with pride as he pats, then rubs his hand through George’s hair. George is in his usual country attire: bell-bottom jeans, no belt, and a light-blue work shirt, his face suffused with a rare happiness. They catch up. “Shyamsundar has been telling me—sounds like you’ve set India on fire!” “Yes, we have made some impression.” “And how are things at Bury Place?” “They have become so crowded they are sleeping on the stairs.” [laughs] “You need a place like this . . .” And we stand to make a tour of the place. George leads us up the wide staircase through a long hallway, past the huge master bedroom with its canopied bed, to his temple room. Along one wall of the room is a twelve-foot-long marble slab supported and surrounded by massive carved mahogany columns, balustrades, and intaglio backdrops. It’s breathtaking! At the center of George’s altar is the three-foot-high Orissa-style pagoda I’d built a couple of years ago, painted bright gold, with a color photo of Radha-Londonishwara inside. Candles stand in front of Them, and on the right, a big picture of Kṛṣṇa seated, wearing a jeweled crown and playing His flute. On the left, Kṛṣṇa dances on the hoods of the Kaliya demon. “Wow, George, this is magnificent!” I say, but George is modest, and says, “I chant rounds here every morning, and meditate, light some agarbatti—you won’t see me around the house most days till after noon.” Then we walk around outside for a while, chattering like chipmunks. Prabhupāda has the outsized head and feet and gangly walk of a teenager, loose at the waist in full stride, neck cocked back, knifing the wind. He’s on a leisurely summer afternoon stroll in Oxfordshire with gentlemen and a lady to see the estate and examine world affairs. We walk through alpine gardens at the base of the Matterhorn, past the topiary, the herb garden, and over to the maze. George explains to Prabhupāda, “You go in that opening in the hedge and try to find your way out to this opening, over here.” “Yes, it is just like the material world—you are lost inside, you cannot get out, but if you find a spiritual master, he can tell you, this way, that way, and you will come out successful.” [laughter] We pause on the way back to the house when I ask if I can take a photo of everyone. I can see George is a little uptight with that—probably thinking by tomorrow it’ll be in the Daily Mirror: “Beatle’s New Guru!”—but he agrees, reluctantly. I know I’ve only got one shot at this—there will be no “now you take the camera and take a picture of us”—so I shoot the now famous photo of the four of them: Prabhupāda, on the far left in flower-garden garland, hand on his cane, upright and smiling, proud of his children; Pattie, close on his left, grinning and shy; George, a bit distant from her, hip-cocked and formal, almost grim; and two feet away to his left, shaven-headed Dhananjaya in his yellow robes, maybe thinking, “Hey, I’m just the new guy here.” Making our way slowly back to the house, we pass a lake, weeping willows and tall Scots pines cast across the water in tranquil reflection, and Prabhupāda says: “We can see that the trees on the bank reflect upon the water with their branches down and roots up. Urdhva-mulam adhah-sakham. In other words, the tree of this material world is upside-down, only a reflection of the real tree of the spiritual world. This tree, this material tree, is an exact replica. Everything is there, original, in the spiritual world. . . . The material world is the perverted reflection, so the spiritual world must have the same variegatedness, but in reality. A reflection is temporary, for it is sometimes seen and sometimes not seen. But the origin from whence the reflection is reflected is eternal. The material reflection of the real tree has to be cut off.” Back inside the manor, we move to the small, south-facing dayroom in the alpenglow of a long midsummer evening. Prabhupāda turns to George and says, “Now you have given Kṛṣṇa to the whole world, and He has given you, reciprocal. You have very nice arrangement, practically you have everything, wealth, fame, beauty . . . But all of this is gone at the moment of death.” Prabhupāda sits in an armchair in the half light, and there is, yes, a bluish aura around him—around us. Time is suspended in the gloaming, as Prabhupāda gives us transcendental vision and takes us with him into the spiritual world. “In the spiritual sky, there is nothing but freshness. Even the flowers picked from the trees and plants remain fresh, for everything in the spiritual sky retains its originality and does not fade. The fragrance of the flowers picked from the trees and made into garlands does not fade, for both the trees and the flowers are spiritual: paritam vana-malaya. The bees are equally attracted to the flowers whether they are on the garland or on the trees. The significance of spirituality is that everything is eternal and inexhaustible. Everything taken from everything remains everything. The bees hum around the fresh flowers, and their sweet sound is enjoyed by the Lord.” A phone jangles somewhere deep in the house, and Pattie rushes off to answer it. Shadows deepen across Prabhupāda’s face and a patch of late sun, reflected from a mirror, slowly moves across the floor by his feet as he continues. “The women there are hundreds and thousands of times more beautiful than the women here in this material world, and the spiritual atmosphere is also many times better. Yet despite the pleasant atmosphere, the minds of the denizens do not become agitated because in the spiritual world, the Vaikuntha planets, the spiritualistic minds of the inhabitants are so much absorbed in the spiritual vibration of chanting the glories of the Lord that such enjoyment could not be surpassed by any other enjoyment, even sex, which is the culmination of all pleasure in the material world. Sex life is insignificant.” Pattie returns with a tray of different juices, asks each what he would like, and passes them around. Prabhupāda chooses mango juice, takes a small sip, and has our full attention. “Chintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vriksha-lakshavriteshu. In the transcendental world—as we have got experience here, the houses are made of bricks—there, the houses are made of chintamani stone. Of course, there is no exact translation, but it is understood it is something like touchstone. Touchstone means the stone which if it touches iron, it transforms into gold. So the abode of Kṛṣṇa is described that there are houses, chintamani-prakara-sadmasu. Prakara means house. And kalpa-vriksha, that the trees are desire trees. What is that desire tree? Just like here in this material world, a tree is meant for delivering a particular fruit or flower, but desire tree means whatever you desire you get immediately delivered from the tree. Kalpa means whatever you like, whatever you will, the tree will supply immediately. Everything is complete. Such a place and such abode and such activities are described about Kṛṣṇa. “And in the Vaikuntha world, the spiritual sky, only the mode of goodness in its pure form exists. The Lord and His devotees reside in the Vaikuntha planets, and they are of the same transcendental quality, namely, suddha-sattva, the mode of pure goodness. The Vaikuntha planets are very dear to the Vaishnavas, and for the progressive march of the Vaishnavas toward the kingdom of God, the Lord Himself helps His devotees. Bhagavan shabda gocharah.” And this was the kicker: “But even within the material world one can spiritualize one’s existence by seeing the Supreme Lord within everything and worshiping Him by constant meditation.” We sit silently for many minutes as the sun winks out—a quick glance at my watch says 9:15—and full dark descends on the room. Prabhupāda holds us in a magic spell, and I sense this is a historic moment. Prabhupāda has zapped us, convincing George beyond all doubt now. When he finally speaks, George clears his throat then says in a husky voice, “I want to buy you an ashram, like this place. I will get my estate agents to start looking tomorrow.” *Shyamasundar das, one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s earliest disciples, helped open ISKCON’s second temple, in San Francisco (1967), and the London temple (1968). From 1971 to 1973 he served as Prabhupāda’s secretary, staying by his side day and night.* Goodness: The Platform of Happiness *Spiritual practice begins by controlling the mind and overcoming the influence of passion and ignorance.* by Viśākhā Devī Dāsī Satisfaction in spiritual life requires that we rise above the modes of passion and ignorance. In his translation of *Bhagavad-gītā* 2.64, Śrīla Prabhupāda uses a phrase that has always stood out for me. He writes that we are to control our senses “through regulative principles of freedom.” Generally, we understand freedom to be the ability to act without constraint, restrictions, or interference. Yet in this translation we find that freedom is the result of observing restrictions or regulative principles, which in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Hare Kṛṣṇa movement are no eating meat, fish or eggs; no illicit sex; no intoxicants; and no gambling. And on the positive side, to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mahā-mantra* daily. One may wonder how following such rules brings freedom. To answer, we must first look at our ontological situation. We are ātmās, spiritual beings, who are an integral part of God. That is our eternal, spiritual identity. At present we’re covered by a material body and mind and are largely unaware of our spiritual identity. Due to this unawareness or ignorance, we don’t know what’s actually good for us as spiritual beings, but instead follow the dictates of our mind and body, thinking that in them we’ll find the satisfaction and happiness we seek. But, failing to find that satisfaction and happiness, we’re often confused and frustrated. The regulative principles of freedom are a method of controlling the ever-wandering mind and senses so we can begin to understand our identity as ātmās, spirit souls. In practical terms, it means curbing our lust (no illicit sex), greed (no gambling), anger (no intoxicants), and envy (no eating meat, fish, or eggs), for when we are in the grip of these we can’t understand what’s superior to them, namely our actual self, the ātmā. It means persevering in our God-given duty despite inconveniences and obstacles, for when we act whimsically, we’ve subordinated ourselves to our fickle mind and senses. And it means chanting the divine names of God, for this brings us closer to Him and to our actual selves as ātmās. By chanting we can experience the happiness of that closeness. In Los Angeles on June 23, 1975, I was fortunate to be present when Śrīla Prabhupāda had a lengthy and fascinating conversation with Dr. John Mize, a professor of psychology, in which Prabhupāda explained how abiding by regulative principles can lead to freedom: We have to bring him again to the sattva-guṇa [the mode of goodness], brahminical qualification, so that he can understand ahaṁ brahmāsmi, “I am spirit soul. I am not this matter.” Then his spiritual activity begins. Therefore we are trying to bring him to the platform of sattva-guṇa, which means to give up the business of rajo-guṇa [the mode of passion], tamo-guṇa [the mode of ignorance]: no meat-eating, no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling—so many no’s—to deny him the influence of material qualities. Then, if he is situated in the sattva-guṇa, the rajas-tamaḥ, the other base qualities, cannot disturb him. A verse from *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (1.2.19) confirms this: > tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ > kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye > ceta etair anāviddhaṁ > sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati “As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature’s modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy.” *Our First Business* By freeing ourselves from the powerful grip of lust and greed, we become situated in goodness and feel happy. That can be the beginning of spiritual life. As long as our mind is disturbed by lusty desires and greediness, there’s no question of spiritual life. Therefore our first business is to control the mind so that it isn’t influenced by these base qualities. Thus, following regulative principles leads to true freedom. And this opportunity is available to everyone. In Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words to Dr. Mize: Mode of goodness. Just like—not that everyone can become a philosophy professor. It requires certain qualification. But everyone can become, also. Everyone has got the chance. Provided he is qualified, then he can take the post of a philosophy professor. Everyone has got the chance. Not that only you have got the chance. Anyone has got the chance. But not that without having a certain qualification one can become. Similarly, these things will remain puzzling unless one comes to the qualification of goodness. Therefore we order our disciples, “Come to the platform of goodness. Give up all these nonsense habits.” Then it will be possible. Śrīla Prabhupāda attributed the success of his Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to his students emerging from passion and ignorance—overcoming the troublesome forces of lust and greed. In the words of the *Bhāgavatam* (1.2.18): “By regular attendance in classes on the *Bhāgavatam* and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the glorious Lord, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.” From the platform of the mode of goodness we can understand spiritual matters. In one of the last purports Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote, he reiterated the same point: “By hearing and discussing *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*, the rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa are subdued, so that only sattva-guṇa remains. Then rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa cannot do us any harm.” (Bhāgavatam 10.13.53, Purport) To Dr. Mize, Śrīla Prabhupāda said: “And practically you can see all these young men; they have no more lusty desires or greediness. They are also young men. They never ask permission from me anytime, ‘Now today I want to go to the cinema.’ . . . They are also young men, born in the Western countries, addicted to so many bad habits. But they have given up. This is practical.” *Lamenting in Passion and Ignorance* Without spiritual education, we may do or say things whimsically and then lament about our actions afterwards. This is one of the effects of the modes of ignorance and passion. By elevating ourselves to the mode of goodness, we will act with knowledge, learn from our mistakes, and not lament about the past or hanker for what’s to come. From that platform we can serve Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.” *(Gītā* 18.54) When we’re free from lamentation, hankering, and greed, we can begin our real business as integral parts of God, namely to please God and reunite with Him by serving Him selflessly. This process of God consciousness is so accessible that it doesn’t require any preliminary qualification. Whatever qualification one has is sufficient, regardless of one’s education, economic status, birth, bodily constitution, culture, or lack thereof. Genuine spiritual life has no material impediments; one’s advancement can be checked only by one’s own lack of desire. Anyone can begin immediately, make steady, gradual spiritual progress, and become increasingly happy in the process. In Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words, “Actually one who is Kṛṣṇa conscious, that very consciousness is so happy that he doesn’t want anything more. That very consciousness is happiness.” (Lecture, *Bhāgavatam* 7.9.10–11) In this regard, I’ve noticed how Śrīla Prabhupāda often revealed what he expected his followers to be experiencing. “I am very much encouraged by your progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Now go on in this way always striving to please Kṛṣṇa and you will feel yourself becoming happy more and more. That I want.” (Letter, Sept. 9, 1972) Kṛṣṇa speaks similarly in the *Gītā* (6.21): sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam. “In that joyous state [Kṛṣṇa consciousness], one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses.” If our desire for spiritual life remains strong, our future is brighter and more joyful than we can even imagine. *Viśākhā Devī Dāsī has been writing for BTG since 1973. The author of six books, she is the temple president at Bhaktivedanta Manor in the UK. She and her husband, Yadubara Dāsa, produce and direct films, most recently the biopic on the life of Śrīla Prabhupāda Hare Kṛṣṇa! The Mantra, the Movement, and the Swami Who Started It All. Visit her website at OurSpiritualJourney.com.* Three Levels of Appreciation *When we appreciate God for the things that bring us closer to Him, we grow in our gratitude.* by Vraja Vihārī Dāsa An effective way to ward off negativity and increase happiness is to cultivate true gratitude. “Appreciation is a wonderful thing; it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”—Voltaire What’s the default setting of your mind—to moan about opportunities lost or to celebrate the gifts bestowed upon you? Early in the morning, I often catch my mind slipping into thoughts of my own inadequacies—the many things I haven’t achieved or the holes in my spiritual standards that I need to plug. One day I tried a different approach. I decided to focus on all the things I am grateful for. Each morning when we wake up, our mind is like a tranquil water body. The first thought we consciously put in our mind is like a pebble dropped at the center of a still lake—ripples extend in all directions. If we choose a positive thought, the rest of the day is more likely to witness waves of favorable emotions and progressive thoughts. What we choose to think and do in the predawn hours affects us throughout the day. When I thanked God for the gifts I have received in life, the rest of my day was a productive one. But when I saw the gaps first thing in the morning, I lived the day feeling a gnawing incompleteness. When the contrasting experiences of both approaches became obvious to me, I decided to live the first few minutes of the day in a space of gratitude and appreciation. I slowly persisted with the practice and soon realized three levels at which I could live appreciation. *First Level: A Practice of Fresh Gratitude* When we write down five things that we are deeply thankful for, the happiness induced by this practice of gratitude is palpable. Give it a try, and if the exercise gets boring, try recalling the five best things that happened to you in the last twenty-four hours. This will keep your gratitude fresh and exciting. When we thank the Lord and our parents or teachers daily for all our blessings, it can get monotonous. To break the worn-out patterns of the mind, we can meditate on what has happened in the recent past. Many people remain disconnected and find spiritual joy inaccessible because they see only the bad in their lives. But this first step—to be thankful for our good fortune—is a liberating experience. It liberates us from the slide towards despair because we enter the space of celebration. This celebration is real, unlike the experience of those who seek to escape their daily worries by hard partying. A positive celebration of life is more fulfilling than a denial of suffering through indulgence in pleasurable sensual experiences. Although the focus of gratitude is still oneself, it’s healthier because we focusing not on our discomfort but on our blessings. It’s important to note that our gratitude becomes spiritual only when we thank God for experiences that align with universal principles of goodness. For example, if we were to use illegitimate means to earn quick money, and then thank God for our devious intelligence, that’s not exactly spiritual. When we appreciate God for activities that bring us closer to Him, we grow in our gratitude. That’s also when we are ready to tap a richer source of contentment—at level two. *Second Level: From “I” to the Other Person* After gratitude for what you have received in life, you can try thanking people not for what they have done for you, but for who they are, and for what they do independent of you. Here the focus is on the good qualities of the other person, which everyone has and which are a cause for celebration. This other-person-centric approach is an effective way to tap divine happiness. We are usually centered on ourselves; even when we appreciate something, we are happy because of the benefits it gives us. And that means we are still at the level of “I.” Now if we appreciate others for their existence and activities in general, we begin to touch a higher dimension of happiness. “There’s more to life than me and my worries” is the message we send out. That’s when we also learn to see our existence in general and our miseries in particular as tiny compared to the vast goodness in the universe. It’s a paradox: we feel insignificant, yet deeply satisfied. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu appreciated devotees and praised them as if He had five mouths. He could see an unknown elderly woman rushing to see Lord Jagannātha as spiritually advanced. In her enthusiasm she climbed on Lord Caitanya’s shoulders, and when Govinda, the Lord’s servant, admonished her and she begged forgiveness and hastily left, the Lord was unhappy. He scolded Govinda for his insensitivity and appreciated her devotion. Socially, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was a leader, a stalwart sannyāsī, whereas the apologetic elderly woman was unknown. Yet He saw her as more exalted than Himself, and therefore His appreciation was authentic. The *Caitanya-caritāmṛta* describes the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees. One striking feature of this book is the strong culture of appreciation and gratitude that flows through various pastimes. Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s glorification of Rūpa Gosvāmī and Anupama when speaking to Vallabhācārya at Prayag is one example that reveals the Lord’s mood of appreciating others. The gratitude He expresses to His mother and also to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya sets the standard of Vaiṣṇava behavior and culture. If we have a healthy practice of thanking others, then we are ready to enter the third level of spiritual experience. *Third Level: Moving from this World to Kṛṣṇa’s Space* The third level of a spiritual experience is when we move from others to the force that governs them; we appreciate them, but now we reflect on what moves others to do what they do or be what they are. As Kṛṣṇa says in *Bhagavad-gītā* (15.15), “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” A devotee of Kṛṣṇa therefore sees the Lord acting wonderfully through people of this world. Kṛṣṇa appreciates this vision as well. “That knowledge by which one undivided spiritual nature is seen in all living entities, though they are divided into innumerable forms, you should understand to be in the mode of goodness.” (*Gītā* 18.20). At this level we especially acknowledge and appreciate Kṛṣṇa in the heart of others who spread goodness around. For example, I once thanked a friend in our ashram for his consistent cooking services. I was one of more than a hundred fortunate brahmacārīs who were the daily recipients of his benevolence. As he heard me patiently, I realized my appreciation was about how his cooking had given me satisfaction and nourishment. I decided to take my appreciation to the next level: I focused on him, rather than on my own needs and joy. I wondered aloud how he managed to balance his tight schedule to find the time to develop his special skills. His humility and willingness to learn were a great inspiration. As I genuinely praised him, I could see he felt happy and encouraged. And I had entered a spiritual space; life in general and the day in particular seemed blissful. My worries and anxieties seemed insignificant compared to the rich goodness that prevailed in our ashram. Then I decided to take my appreciation of him to the third level, asking myself, “Who is responsible for his being so wonderful? What energy is common among many good men and women? What force has inspired people over the millenniums to love others and to contribute to and sacrifice for others’ welfare? How does goodness spread even as hate and anger threaten to destroy our world?” Slowly, I could see my consciousness enter a larger space—from “I” to “him” and then to the ultimate “Him.” I was now connecting to Kṛṣṇa, the spiritual being who inspires goodness in me and others in the cosmos. *Daily Application at the Three Levels* Practically speaking, this is what I had done: At the first level, I thanked my cook friend for what I received from him. At the second level, I was thankful for what he is. Finally, at the third level, I was thankful to Kṛṣṇa for giving food to countless living entities daily. Śrīla Prabhupāda would often point out that Kṛṣṇa is providing for all, from tiny ants in our room to huge elephants in Africa. When I thank Kṛṣṇa for what He constantly gives, I enter a spiritual space, almost instantly. Once, two hundred of us brahmacārīs went to a holy place for pilgrimage. In the context of the event, I tried to implement the spiritual practice of three levels of gratitude. First level: I thanked a friend who organized the four buses to transport us from one place to another. His taking care of this was a big relief. (I was also thankful when I escaped bee stings when our bus disturbed a beehive and the bees went on a rampage. Although I offered a sincere expression of thanks, I’ll admit that my spiritual practice was at the lowest level at that moment.) Second level: The bus organizer is an engineer by profession and didn’t take any money for his services. I thanked him for his example and meditated on his dedicated services over the last decade. I was appreciating him not for the help he offered me, but for his being who he is. I also spent time with my friends who were badly stung by the bees. In my kindness to them, and in my silent appreciation for their tolerance of the pain, I was being human and also spiritual; the experience of the heart is real. “In giving we receive,” and we discover the truth of this adage when we raise the bar to live at the second level. Third level: I thanked Kṛṣṇa for our safety during many pilgrimages. The brahmacārīs who got stung recovered in three days. The bus might have gone over a cliff instead of just hitting a beehive, which was therefore a relatively minor incident and thus a cause for gratitude and celebration. We returned in trains, and I thanked Kṛṣṇa for protection and shelter. *Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Instructions* Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu exemplified and taught the mood of being Kṛṣṇa conscious. He saw everything in relation to Kṛṣṇa. When He appreciated others, He saw their devotional heart. He saw and accepted God’s will in the passing away of His dear devotee Haridāsa Ṭhākura. While debating with the conquering scholar Keśava Kāśmīrī, He gave credit to Kṛṣṇa for His own ability to memorize the one hundred verses the scholar had just composed and recited. In His role as a devotee, Caitanya Mahāprabhu always saw the big picture—Kṛṣṇa—and saw Himself as an insignificant servant of Kṛṣṇa. In this mood He could appreciate all devotees, including His critic Rāmacandra Purī. Śrīla Prabhupāda taught us to appreciate Kṛṣṇa on at least two levels: We can thank Kṛṣṇa for what He does in our lives, and we can thank Him for who He is—wonderful, attractive, and most merciful to all living entities. In the two poems Śrīla Prabhupāda composed on the ship while traveling from India to New York for the first time, in 1965, he glorifies Kṛṣṇa as the most wonderful friend who frolics in the pasturing grounds of Vrindavan. He then also thanks Kṛṣṇa for having brought him to America and for using him as a puppet to execute His will. We are all connected to Kṛṣṇa, and therefore to each other as well. While many philosophers and scientists admit that all living entities are chemically and atomically connected, we devotees of Kṛṣṇa know Him to be the common factor that unites all of us. When we appreciate others and Kṛṣṇa, we are touching Kṛṣṇa. *Vraja Vihārī Dāsa, a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānāth Swami, has served full time at ISKCON Chowpatty since 1999. He has an honors degree in economics and a master’s in international finance. He teaches Kṛṣṇa consciousness to youth and the congregation and has written four books. You can read his daily reflections at www.yogaformodernage.com.* From the Editor *Faith Above the Modes* Although I was raised in a pious Catholic family, I had essentially become an agnostic before I came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I was mainly interested only in having a comfortable material life, and with a college degree and what looked to be a secure future, I should have been satisfied. But something didn’t seem right, so, not long before I met devotees, I started to try to figure things out. My musings tended to make me cynical about life. One of my “realizations” was that no one was better than anyone else because everyone was just doing what they believed in. I thought of my mother, for example. She was a committed church-going woman because she believed that was the right way to live. There was nothing particularly admirable in that, I thought. It didn’t take any heroic effort on her part. I had stopped going to church and doing anything religious because I didn’t believe in those things anymore. She had her faith, and I had mine, at least in a negative sense. Throughout history, most people had faith in something beyond themselves, and they worshiped God, gods, or other entities according to their faith. Since they all followed what they believed in, weren’t they all equal? Lord Kṛṣṇa addresses the topic of faith and worship in the *Bhagavad-gītā*. In the sixteenth chapter, in the context of speaking about people of divine and demoniac natures, He tells Arjuna that one who disregards scriptural injunctions “attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.” The seventeenth chapter then begins with Arjuna asking, “What is the situation of those who do not follow the principles of scripture but worship according to their own imagination?” Kṛṣṇa answers indirectly by speaking about the three modes of material nature. He says that one’s situation in the modes inspires one’s faith: “Men in the mode of goodness worship the demigods; those in the mode of passion worship the demons; and those in the mode of ignorance worship ghosts and spirits.” *(Gītā* 17.4) *Bhakti*, or worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of His pure representatives, is not mentioned here because it’s above the modes. On the assumption that worship in goodness or, especially, above the modes is superior to worship in passion or ignorance, a question remains: How does one come under the influence of (or transcend) certain modes? The answer is that it happens according to the choices we make. Kṛṣṇa spells out how each mode is acting in different areas of life, and we are free to choose which mode we associate with in all these areas. Our choices determine our future inclinations influenced by the modes. The point is that our faith is not accidental, something we’re not responsible for. Rather, our actions in the past have shaped our faith, and the actions we now perform based on that faith, including how we worship, will bring good or bad consequences. Lord Kṛṣṇa explains that true *bhakti* is transcendental, beyond the influence of the modes of nature. The practices of *bhakti*-yoga gradually carry us to pure *bhakti*. The śraddhā, or faith, that inspires us to steadfastly take up the practices of *bhakti*-yoga is a gift from Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pure devotees, who are themselves transcendental to the modes of nature. Even while in the material world, they exist on the spiritual plane, where they serve Kṛṣṇa directly. There’s nothing higher, or more admirable, than that. Hare Kṛṣṇa. —*Nāgarāja Dāsa, Editor* Vedic Thoughts As soon as there is the chanting vibration, Hare Kṛṣṇa, immediately Kṛṣṇa’s paraphernalia, Kṛṣṇa’s name, Kṛṣṇa’s fame, Kṛṣṇa’s abode, Kṛṣṇa’s associates—everything—all of a sudden become manifested within because He is present. This is the beginning of one’s Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To remember by reference to a context means that as soon as one hears a code word, one at once remembers all the information behind that code. Similarly, when our minds are attracted to Kṛṣṇa and everything about Kṛṣṇa simply by hearing a little glorification of His qualities, that is the beginning of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda The Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 8, “The Highest Love” As soon as we learn about the truth, we should become fixed in it. We should not waste even a moment of the time we have left in our lives on sense gratification. Rather, we should use all our time to worship Hari. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Amṛta-vāṇī, “108 Essential Instructions” The practice nowadays is to read a novel reclining on the bed after supper and before sleep. However, Śrī Caitanya’s teaching must not be treated or read in the same manner. The essence and profound conclusions of the entire Vedic scriptures lie encapsulated in His precepts. The transcendental truths contained in His teachings may only be grasped if and when they are read with proper faith, attentively and in the company of saintly personages, followed by discussions to mine out the gems of truth. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Daśa-mūla-tattva, Chapter 1 Who, other than one who is not a human being, can exist in this world and not be interested in the ultimate goal of life? Who can refuse the nectar of narrations about the Personality of Godhead’s activities, which by itself can deliver one from all material pangs? Śrī Maitreya *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 3.13.50 Kṛṣṇa is very grateful for the smallest drop of service, considering it an ocean. He strictly keeps a vow to always protect those devoted to Him. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Saṅkalpa Kalpavṛkṣa, Chapter 1 I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotee are very dear to Me. Lord Viṣṇu *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* 9.4.63 COVER: When the great sage Nārada visited Lord Kṛṣṇa in Dwarka, he was amazed to find that the Lord was present in each of His 16,108 palaces, doing something different in every one of them. BTG56-04, 2022