krsna

Desire is the subtle form of conditioning. I am today what I desired yesterday. so if I have any problems with the way I am situated then I should look closer at my desire What is it that drives me at every breath I take every step I make? My history is my desire record especially my call/cry to the Holy Name Krishna will give my heart's desire. Yes? I should approach the Holy Name,Nama Prabhu in the proper way in order to get the soul real heart's desire;prema: otherwise the Holy name can even fulfill my material desires for name ,fame and adoration quite easily. However if i cry ,a soul cry I mean pitiously wailing sob call as when I was calling mamma at 2 yerrs old then Krishna well come to me in sweet love dalliance. Yes?

By the combined causeless mercy of Guru and Krsna, any living entity can receive the bhakti-lata-bija. In this verse, "guru krsna" has two meanings: It means "by the combined mercy of Sri Guru and Sri Krsna," and it means that Guru is a manifestation of Krsna. Guru and Krsna are non-different, and this is confirmed in the Caitanya-caritamrta: guru krsna-rupa hana sastrera pramane guru-rupe krsna krpa karena bhakta-gane) According to the revealed opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is non-different from Krsna. Lord Krsna, in the form of the spiritual master, delivers His devotees." Cc Adi 1.45 By the causeless mercy of asraya-bhagavan (the spiritual master), the living entity can receive the bhakti-lata-bija. This bhakti-lata-bija is the desire to serve Krsna. How will this desire to serve Krsna manifest in the heart? It manifests by hearing hari-katha from the bona fide Guru and bona fide Vaisnavas. If we try to hear Krsna's pastimes with faith from the spiritual master, and also from pure Vaisnavas, the desire to serve will appear in the heart.

Have Hare Krishna devotees won any awards for their temple chants? ------ Buddhist Monks Win a Grammy http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/300304/detCIT04.shtml NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 29, 2004: It's still a mystery how a CD of sacred Tibetan hymns, not widely circulated, muscled its way onto the Grammy jury panel. But creativity is known to break barriers. Monks of the Sherab Ling monastery, some 60 km from Dharamsala, achieved a first, winning the Grammy for the best traditional world music album. This award had earlier been won by Pandit Ravi Shankar and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt but they didn't produce religious works. Even Tenam La -- representative of the monastery who received the award on February 8 at Los Angeles from Sophie Hawkins -- throws his hands up in the air, declaring: "We do not know. Maybe because of blessings of our Guruji." All they know is last year a New Zealand couple had recorded their chants live in their monastery. "These chants are performed routinely at the monastery everyday and an award was the last thing on our minds. Last year, Tai Situpa Rimpoche, founder and supreme head of the monastery, asked us to do the chants for a recording session," La said. The album titled is available at all international stores and amazon.com. "We are making enquires as to who all are marketing it," he said. "We knew nothing about the Grammy nomination until someone called up. Since I was in LA, I was instructed to receive it," said Tenam La at a press briefing. He admits that this has opened a whole new avenue of commercial viability of Buddhist hymns but rues that not a penny from the mysterious marketing of the Grammy album has reached the monastery.

Animal welfare takes on religion Cows can take too long to die under religious methods, say campaigners The government has rejected a call to ban the method used to kill animals for halal and kosher meat that is required by Muslims and Jews. While animal welfare activists claim the process is cruel, Jews and Muslims say the rules dictated by their ancient religious texts cannot be changed. BBC News Online talked to some of the interested parties in the ongoing debate. -- Last year the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) recommended that killing animals without stunning them first caused severe suffering. However the rules governing halal and kosher meat production say the animal should be killed by a single cut to the throat and nothing else. It must be alive and healthy before the slaughter, according to both the Jewish Torah law, and the Muslim Koran. Some people have erroneously taken this message and decided the Muslim method is cruel Masood Khawaja, HFA But FAWC has maintained its position since first bringing up the possibility of a ban in 1985. Chairwoman Judy MacCarthy-Clark said their work had at least brought about some changes in the handling of animals prior to and during slaughter. "It is not a simple thing, to kill an animal without stunning it. The animal doesn't take to it very well," she said. Although the government has ruled out an outright ban on the throat-cutting without prior stunning, it is consulting on whether animals should be stunned immmediately after the cut, rendering it unconscious. 'Natural convulsion' "It is significant that the government has accepted there is pain and distress involved, she said. This aspect of the report has angered the Jewish community. Shechita UK promotes awareness of the "Jewish religious humane method of dispatching animals for food", known as 'shechita'. Shechita is unequivocally humane and it cannot be compromised Henry Grunwald, Shechita UK Its chairman Henry Grunwald, who is also president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the government had failed to publish evidence proving the animals suffered. "In working constructively with the government, we will clarify that shechita is unequivocally humane and it cannot be compromised," he said. The group says opposition to the method is often due to ignorance of the facts or "ill will " towards Jews. FWAC insists that post-cut stunning would "significantly benefit cattle, who can remain conscious for up to 90 seconds after the incision," said Ms MacCarthy-Clark - an assertion Mr Grunwald calls "nonsensical". "When the cut takes places there is an instant drop in blood pressure in the brain. The animal is dead," he said. And president of the Halal Food Authority (HFA) Masood Khawaja has some doubts the suggested compromise will satisfy religious requirements. Of vital importance, according to the Koran, is that the animal's blood flows from its body by "natural convulsion". Embedded "The post-cut stun would have to be looked at. It may affect the way the blood drains out, we would have to see what happened to the convulsions," he said. He said HFA had been taking part in research to design new machinery that could carry out "controlled stunning" to the satisfaction of Muslims. "We have animal welfare already encapsulated in our manifesto," he said. "It covers all aspects, from transport, to conditions, to distress caused to the animals." The method at the time the rules were written was probably the most humane way of killing an animal, but that has changed Judy MacCarthy-Clark While compromises may be found, there can be no movement from the Muslim and Jewish communities on what meat they can and cannot eat. "The reason it is so important that the law should stay as it is, is that Muslims are forbidden by the Koran to eat carrion (flesh that is already dead), and they cannot eat flowing blood," said Mr Khawaja. "Some people have erroneously taken this message and decided the Muslim method is cruel. If you use the sharp blade on the animal's throat they don't feel the pain. "Jewish and Muslim methods cannot be changed, because they are in the religious books." Ms MacCarthy-Clark said FAWC appreciates that these methods have been embedded in religion for thousands of years. "The rules of both religions are concerned with welfare and hygiene. "The method at the time the rules were written was probably the most humane way of killing an animal, but of course that has changed."

5-Theological. a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul of man. Would the above definition also describe what we call initiation? -------------- Divine influence directed at the essence of our being making a mark as indelible as samskara The molding of creation of a new consciousneess required for pure devotion to sprout In the Beginning the divine self awakens to spiritual reality by the divine grace of Sri Guru who injects a spiritual bhakti-seed in the heart growing creeper of bhakti-lata fructifying into a tasty krsna-prema fruit.

Computers to be 'oxygen of the future' By Tracey Logan BBC Go Digital presenter By the year 2010, scientists predict we will be immersed in a sea of miniature computers. Current portable computing systems are cumbersome Many of us carry three or four digital devices with us, according to Simon Moore of Cambridge University's Computer Laboratory, but soon that figure will be in the hundreds. "They'll be woven into our clothing as identification markers during manufacture," he said. "They might tell your washing machine what cycle to use, or monitor bio-signs to alert us to impending illness." Those predictions came at the launch of the Cambridge-MIT Institute's Pervasive Computing initiative (CMI). It is part of a transatlantic collaboration between information scientists and engineers at Cambridge University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. Intelligent agents As well as ensuring the health of us and our clothes, those ubiquitous digital devices will, by default, be communicators. They will talk to each other and us, wherever we are. Hot-desking may have been a big trend in the nineties, but future computer users will be truly nomadic, able to access information everywhere. We have this joke that we want to make computers as pervasive and as unobtrusive as oxygen Umar Saif, MIT The challenge for CMI researchers is to build immersive systems that automatically reconfigure data or voice call connections between the full range of digital devices, without getting cut off. Keeping such systems secure from unauthorised use and attack, will be crucial, as will be the inclusion of intelligent filters that prevent the system pestering us with trivia. This became patently clear last year when MIT tested a prototype system which monitored a person's location and, seamlessly, used the best available communications device to reach them. A cell phone call turned into a video-conference call when the researcher entered his office and back to a cell phone call as he left for his car. But the embryonic system noticed a problem with the researcher's office computer, according to MIT's Umar Saif. "You couldn't escape from the system", he told Go Digital. "It would find whatever communications that was available and call you. "The computer was just trying to be helpful, but it turned into the nightmare scenario because there was no way of shutting the system down". Accessible information Such pestering from not-so intelligent computer systems in the future will be a real turn-off for users, according to Lancaster University's Professor of Organisational Psychology, Cary Cooper. "People already suffer from technological overload and it's our fault because we allow the technology to manage us, not the other way around," he said. Too much information can be overwhelming "Some of the problems we have are because technologies are created by engineers trying to think of a really interesting tweak. "Let the e-mail chase the cell phone if someone's away on business and if we can't get him that way, we'll get him some other way. "But they should think more about the impact of these developments on our lives." This is what the CMI researchers will be doing, said Dr Saif. Ultimately, he said, the issue is not about information overload but making the power of computers more accessible to ordinary people with no special skills and with little money to shell out on the kinds of gadgets we rely on today. Energy efficient processors running on wireless devices with vastly increased battery time will be essential to the CMI's pervasive computing vision, as will enhancements in computer vision and speech processing. "We have this joke that we want to make computers as pervasive and as unobtrusive as oxygen", he said. "We want people to use computers without even realising they're using them."

Smoke ban a breathtaking success By Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin March 30, 2004 MOST bar owners and pub goers declared Ireland's smoking ban a breathtaking success today, a day after the country became the first in the world to outlaw tobacco in workplaces. Publicans, the government and anti-smoking activists agreed Ireland's largely trouble-free introduction of the ban Monday should inspire other nations to do the same. "Many countries are watching us in the belief that if it can succeed in Ireland, it can succeed anywhere," said Luke Clancy, chairman of the Irish chapter of a United States-based pressure group called Action on Smoking and Health. Mr Clancy described the government's decision to outlaw smoking inside more than 10,000 pubs in the country of 3.9 million as "a cultural shift which I believe will see the rate of smoking drop greatly and relatively quickly. "In my clinic, people tell me all the time that they only smoke when they're in the pub," said Clancy, who has identified pubs as Ireland's No 1 recruiting ground for young smokers. Health Minister Micheal Martin, who announced plans for the ban 14 months ago, also outlawed the sale of 10-cigarette packets and ordered shops to lock up stocks of tobacco products rather than display them. He hoped such measures will discourage youths from starting. He rejected criticism the ban was denying smokers their civil liberties. "The only fundamental right I see here is the right of a worker to work in a clean, safe environment," said Martin, who predicted 150 fewer people in Ireland would die from smoking-related illnesses each year. Bar managers, customers and police reported few troubles as smokers largely opted to take their habit outdoors onto the pavement last night. Most pubs had already erected signs at the front doors warning violators faced up to a fine of up to £1000.

All Glories to our most exalted spiritual preceptor acarya Srila Prabhupada who has made spiritual life simple for the simple but very difficult for the crooked. Hare Krishna ps: Kc is simple and sublime but its application is difficult.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has said the following: Attraction and motion are present in their pure form within sentient objects as love. The soul is a sentient object. Here, “soul” refers to both the supreme sentient being, the Supersoul, and the minute sentient being, the soul. Their nature is to love. Pure love is found only within the soul. Only a perversion of that pure nature, note the pure nature itself, is to be found within the soul’s reflection – that is, within insentient objects. Hence, pure love is not to be found in any material object of this world. Rather, its perversion, which is mere attraction and motion, is to be found in them. By the forces of attraction and motion, atoms assemble to form objects. Through attraction, objects are drawn towards each other. Also, on account of their independent motion, the planets revolve around the sun. Anything that is present in a perverted object or perverted nature is also present in the original object in its untainted form. Independence and attraction to other objects are also always found within the soul. The soul exists in a state of bondage in this world. There are unlimited minute souls, each possessing the nature to love. This can be seen in the attraction all souls exert upon each other. Furthermore, because of their independence, each soul wants to remain separate from the others. In this material world, every object draws other objects towards it; and these other objects in turn, by virtue of their independent motion, try to remain separate from the object. Big objects draw small objects towards them. The sun is big, attracting the planets and their satellites towards it. But owing to their own independent motion, those planets and satellites remain at a distance from the sun and, attracted by its gravitational force, orbit it. Moreover, the planets’ attraction and motion also assist them in their orbit. What we see in this world is also found in the spiritual world in its unadulterated form. In the reflected creation, there are five elements, as well as the moon, the sun, lightning and the stars. All of these are present in their original form in Brahmapura, the spiritual world. The difference between the two worlds is that in the spiritual world all the variegated affairs are pure, blissful and perfect, whereas in the material world everything is flawed, incomplete and the cause of happiness and distress. To love is the fundamental nature of all beings in the spiritual world. Therefore, the poet Candi dasa says: No one has seen the person who pervades the universe. Only one who knows what love is can attain Him. Priti (love) has three letters and is of three kinds, but when it becomes condensed as a result of continuous bhajana, it will be of only one kind. The transcendental sun, Sri Krsna, attracts the jivas to orbit Him, and this is eternal rasa.

'Dead zones' threaten planet Jeju - The spread of oxygen-starved "dead zones" in the oceans, a graveyard for fish and plant life, is emerging as a threat to the health of the planet, experts said here on Monday. For hundreds of millions of people who depend on seas and oceans for their livelihoods, and for many more who rely on a diet of fish and seafood to survive, the problem is acute. Some of the oxygen-deprived zones are relatively small, less than one square kilometre in size. Others are vast, measuring more than 70 000 square kilometres. Pollution, particularly the overuse of nitrogen in fertilisers, is responsible for the spread of dead zones, environment ministers and experts from more than 100 countries were told. The number of known oxygen-starved areas has doubled since 1990 to nearly 150, according to the UN Environmental Programme (Unep), holding its annual conference here. "What is clear is that unless urgent action is taken to tackle the sources of the problem, it is likely to escalate rapidly," Unep executive director Klaus Toepfer said. Overfishing, widening dead zones "Hundreds of millions of people depend on the marine environment for food, for their livelihoods and for their cultural fulfilment." The world at present gets 17% of its animal protein from fish, UN figures show. That supply is now endangered on at least two fronts: overfishing that has depleted stocks in recent decades and now the challenge of widening dead zones. Marion Cheatle, a senior scientist at Unep's global environment outlook division of early warning and assessment, said dead zones were in most cases the "nursery grounds" for young marine species. "If they are affected, the replenishment of fish stock will be severely affected as well," Cheatle said. "It is quite an urgent issue now because we know that up to now, there has been a doubling in the number of dead zones recognised over the decade." Key emerging problem The issue was identified as a key emerging problem in the Global Environment Year Book 2003, a health report on the planet released at the start of the Unep's three-day conference that concludes on Wednesday. The spread of low-level oxygen zones in seas and oceans, identified as early as in the 1960s, is closely related to the overuse of fertilisers in agriculture, whose main ingredient is nitrogen. On land, nitrogen boosts plant growth. But when it washes into the sea as rivers and rainwater overrun, it triggers an explosive bloom of algae. When these tiny plants growing on the ocean surface sink to the bottom and decompose, they use up all the oxygen and suffocate other marine life. With oxygen depletion, fish, oysters and other marine life eventually die out along with important habitats such as sea grass beds. Unep said efforts should focus on cutting back on overuse of nitrogen to bring the seas back to life.

Srila Prabhupada on Sadhana Bhakti I THE RESULT OF PERFORMING SADHANA BHAKTI 1. In spiritual strength there will be no scarcity of money. 2. Please do not neglect yourself in the prescribed duties for maintaining your spiritual strength. Without keeping spiritual strength there is no question of any accomplishment. 3. If this routine work is always done nicely and never neglected, then our all success is guaranteed in whatever we do. 4. Simply become more concerned with increasing the spiritual content of our lives, and in this way all other problems like management will be easily solved. 5. If this program is strictly maintained amongst the devotees, they will remain pure. 6. I am confident that if you simply take our principles very seriously and follow them rigidly, everything will come out successfully. 7. I am very glad to note that you are seeing that the devotees are maintaining the devotional practices. This is the secret to success. Therefore, I am stressing it. 8. Make certain that your routine work is going nicely, then all other programs will be successful. II THE RESULT OF NOT PERFORMING SADHANA BHAKTI 1. Follow the simple process or be victims to women and wealth. 2. Please do not neglect to engage yourself in the prescribed duties for maintaining your spiritual strength. Without keeping spiritual strength there is no question of any accomplishment. 3. If we are not very careful to always stick to the point of regulative principles and purest standards of high living, then everything will spoil very quickly and the whole show will be a farce. 4. But if this our regular Krishna consciousness program is allowed to slacken, then everything we try will fail. 5. If we neglect even for a moment our routine work, if we allow the regular program to become slack, then everything else we may try will fail. 6. If you yourself remain always pure, then your preaching will have effect. As soon as there is little impurity, the whole thing will deteriorate and go to hell. 7. The smallest neglect or inattention to these matters of routine practices will cause our other programs to fail. III THE NECESSITY FOR PERFORMING SADHANA BHAKTI 1. Monetary matters are secondary. On principle, we should better starve than neglect our rules and regulations. 2. Everyone must rise by 4:00 a.m. and attend mangal arati. 3. All the temple members, without exception, must rise by 4:00 a.m. and attend mangal arati. 4. My instruction is that all of my disciples must attend mangal arati and chant 16 rounds daily. IV SADHANA AND TEMPLE PRESIDENT / LEADERSHIP 1. Managers must remain vigilant that everyone follow sadhana. 2. All the presidents of our centers should see that all the members are strictly observing the brahminical standards, such as rising early, cleansing at least twice daily, reading profusely, attending arati, like that. 3. You must be the perfect example of Krishna conscious devotee. 4. If temple worship is not attended better stop the press. V OTHER 1. And if you simply keep to our standard program that means chanting daily 16 rounds, rising early, attending mangal arati, like that, if this program is strictly maintained amongst all the devotees, they will remain pure, and if preaching is pure, automatically leaders, managers, funds, everything will be given profusely by Krishna - without doubt. 2. That is of utmost importance, do not fail to chant 16 rounds daily, rise early, come to mangal arati, come to classes, and follow the four regulative principles. In this way your life will become free from all anxieties. 3. I am also glad to hear that in your temple no one misses mangal arati and that everyone is becoming steady and peaceful in their service...Life will flourish.

Introduction The Heart of Krsna (Vaishnava Aparadha & The Path of Spiritual Caution) by His Divine Grace Om Visnupad Srila Bhakti Promod Puri Goswami Maharaja THE ETYMOLOGICAL development of the word aparadha is radhat arthat aradhanat- apagatah, which means "to be distanced from worship." Offenses committed at the lotus feet of Vaishnavas, the Devotees, distance one from devotional service to the Supreme Lord. But in a higher sense it means to be removed from the service of Sri Radha. All divine service to Krishna is being conducted under her direction. To offend her servitors is to make one unfit for her divine service. The whole aim of Krishna consciousness is radha-dasyam, the divine service of Sri Radha, and offenses at the lotus feet of Vaishnavas make one unfit for such service. The Lord is overly protective of his devotees (bhakta-vatsala ). He cannot tolerate any offenses against them. They have bhakti (devotion), and they can awaken it within us. Bhakti is the sole means to attract Krishna, who is a slave of devotion. The same is true of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Caitanya-Bhagavata states: A person can attain the shelter of Mahaprabhu only by the grace of a higher Vaishnava. Religious practices and even chanting the Holy Name without devotion is useless. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada writes in his commentary: Without developing a spirit of service, chanting the Holy Name is vain. Real devotion can only be cultivated when one receives the blessings of an unalloyed devotee. Bhakti means devotion. Vrndavana dasa Thakur says: If a person commits an offense at the lotus feet of a Vaishnava, even though he may have received Krishna's mercy, he will never attain divine love, prema. (Chaitanya-bhagavata Madhya-lila 22.8) Srila Prabhupada writes: Even if one is a Vaishnava, if he commits offenses to the Holy Name, he becomes unfit to render pure devotion. Although it may appear that he is still being shown favor by the Lord as he continues to make a show of chanting without difficulty, the Lord is actually very displeased with him because of his antagonism toward devotees. Therefore, to give up nama-aparadha we must first give up sadhu-ninda or finding fault with devotees. Regarding the phrase krsna krpa hoileo ("even though he may receive Krishna's mercy"), Srila Saraswati Thakur comments: People may think that because an offender appears to continue to chant without difficulty, the Lord must still favor him, but they are wrong. The Lord is not even slightly moved by their sham devotion. The author of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Vrndavana dasa Thakur, says that these statements are not his alone; they are the verdict of the Vedas. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur did not tolerate any disrespect towards genuine Vaishnavas. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also emphatically denounced any insults directed at Vaishnava devotees. To understand the seriousness of vaisnava-aparadha, offending devotees, one must grasp the multi-faceted, multi-dimensional nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu is the source of all incarnations in Kali-yuga and the savior of all souls. He is Krishna, the son of Maharaja Nanda, fully enriched with the mood and radiance of Sri Radha. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami offers prayers to all of these manifestations in the preface of Sri Caitanya-caritamarta: vande gurun isa-bhaktan isam isavatarakan tat-prakasams ca tac-chaktih krsna-caitanya-samjnakam I offer my obeisances unto all the gurus, the devotees, the Lord's avataras, his expansions, his saktis (energies), and the primeval Lord Himself, Sri Krishna Chaitanya. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 1.1) In the same way that Mahaprabhu is Krishna, he expands as Nityananda Prabhu (prakasa ), who is Balarama. Balarama's partial expansion is Sadasiva, Maha-Vishnu Avatara, whose counterpart in Chaitanya-lila is Advaita Acarya. What is left of Sri Radhika after Krishna has plundered her emotions and lustre is Sri Gadadhara Pundit. Sri Gadadhara and Svarupa Damodara are his sakti (energies). Bhakta means Srivasa Thakur who is Sri Narada Muni in Krishna-lila. Isa, Divinity means Mahaprabhu Himself. The complete conception of Divinity must include the predominating moiety and the predominated moeity. The slightest disregard to any one of these is equal to disregrading the Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. There are two aspects to the guru principle: the siksa or instructing guru, and the diksa or initiating guru. Both are represented in Srivasa Thakura. In the beginning of the second chapter of the Antya-lila of the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja offers the following invocation: vande ham sri-guroh sri yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaisnavams ca sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathan vitam tam sa jivam sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam sri-krsna-caitanya-devam sri-radha-krsna-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca (Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 2.1) I offer my obeisances unto the lotus feet of my Guru and to all the preceptors on the path of devotion. I offer my obeisances unto all the Vaishnavas and to Sri Rupa Goswami and his associates Raghunatha dasa, and Sri Jiva. I offer my obeisances to Advaita Acarya, Nityananda Avadhuta, Gadadhara Pundit, and to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with all his devotees, headed by Srivasa Thakura. I then offer my obeisances to the lotus feet of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna, and all the gopis headed by Lalita and Visakha. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 2. 1) In the above invocatory prayers (mangala-carana ), the Vaishnavas are venerated. Kaviraja Goswami writes further: Before beginning the narration of the pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, simply by meditating on Sri Guru, the Vaishnavas, and Divinity, I invoke their benediction. Such meditation destroys all detriments on the spiritual path, and helps one to fulfill all their desires. We must note very carefully that the Vaishnavas have been included within the full conception of Divinity. These writings describe the Vaishnava's extraordinary qualities, and the spiritual benefit resulting from serving them. There are also several warnings regarding the disastrous effects of vaisnava-aparadha. The Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 19.156 states: If a devotee commits vaisnava-aparadha, his offense is like a mad elephant uprooting and trampling his creeper of devotion; afterwards the creeper's leaves dry up and become lifeless. There are three categories of Vaishnavas: kanistha (neophyte), madhyama (intermediate), and uttama (advanced) described in the Caitanya-caritamrta. Kaviraja Goswami states that to gain shelter of a Vaishnava, it is imperative to first receive the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu: All of the Vaishnavas who live in Vrndavana are absorbed in singing the all-auspicious name of Sri Krishna. Sri Mahaprabhu and Nityananda are their life and soul. They do not know anything but devotion to Sri Radha and Krishna. My shelter at the Vaishnavas' lotus feet has been granted only by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prahhupada corroborates this fact: All of the Vaishnavas living in the holy dhama of Sri Vrndavana are very fortunate souls. They have taken shelter in the Holy Name of Krishna. Sriman Mahaprabhu and Nityananda are their life and soul. They know nothing but the eternal service of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna. Krishna's mercy descends only through the Vaishnavas. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, a nitya-siddha (eternal associate) of the Lord, instructs the devotees to pray to Mahaprabhu. He says that we should seek shelter in the shade of a Vaishnava's lotus feet, shed tears of remorse with total humility, submitting to him the plight of our material existence, which is the result of turning away from Krishna. The Vaishnava is an ocean of compassion and feels the pain of others. When he pleads on our behalf to the Lord, Krishna responds and kindly accepts us as the followers of his favorites. Krishna's mercy descends only through the Vaishnavas. There is Krishna and karsna. Krishna's mercy is embodied in pure devotees, who are known as karsna. The lotus feet of a Vaisnava guru represents the mercy of the Lord. Krishna is the priceless treasure enthroned in Sri Guru's heart. The Lord can easily give this treasure to those who are surrendered to his devotees. There is no other way to receive Krishna's grace than to serve and take shelter at the lotus feet of a Vaishnava. Sri Kaviraja Goswami discusses the importance of honoring the Vaishnava's remnants, using the example of Sri Kalidasa, the uncle of Raghunatha Dasa Goswami: Taking the food remnants of Vaishnavas is so potent, it forced Mahaprabhu to give his mercy to Kalidasa. Don't hesitate-eat the Vaishnava's remnants, and you will fulfill your heart's desire. Food offered to Krishna is called maha-prasadam. After maha-prasadam is taken by a devotee, his remnants are glorified as maha-maha-prasadam. The dust of a pure devotee's feet, the water of his foot bath, and his food remnants are three extremely potent spiritual substances. By honoring these three, one will be filled with ecstatic love for Krishna. All the scriptures declare this again and again. My dear devotees, please hear me: believe in these three and honor them in a mood of service, and you will achieve the purpose of your existence-ecstatic love of Krishna. This is the greatest mercy of Krishna, and Kalidasa is living proof. In Kalyana-Kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur writes: When will Mahaprabhu shower his mercy upon me so I may have shelter in the shade of the Vaishnava's lotus feet? I will humbly stand before the Vaishnava holding a straw between my teeth, weeping I will tell him of my miserable life, and I shall give up all self-deception. I will admit that my life is one never-ending misery and beg him to put an end to all of this. The kind Vaishnava will beg Sri Krishna with all his might, and Krishna, moved by the Vaishnava's sincerity, will shower his divine grace. And in Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur writes: O Vaishnava, you are an ocean of mercy. Please shower your compassion upon me. Give me the shade of your lotus feet and purify my polluted heart. I am following you, begging-Sri Krishna is yours-you have the power-give him to me! Narottama dasa Thakura sings a similar song: I am so sinful; how can I possibly serve the Lord? I have no love for my guru. I have no love for the devotees and I am constantly deluded. I am so absorbed in material life that I have forgotten who I am. The witch Maya is waiting to hang a noose around my neck. I have no power to resist her on my own. I am helpless without your mercy. I know that you never see the faults of anyone, so I'm begging you-please save me." (Prarthana ) Narottama's songs are filled with wonderful glorification of Vaishnavas. They are treasured by all devotees as priceless instructions for increasing one's devotion. From his childhood, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada chose Narottama's songbook as his constant companion on the path of devotion. Vrndavana dasa Thakura considered himself to be the last direct servant of Nityananda Prabhu. He has glorified the Vaishnavas throughout his masterpiece Sri Caitanya-Bhagavata. In his introduction he writes: I first offer my unlimited obeisances at the feet of Sri Krishna Chaitanya's dearest associates, the devotees. And then I pray to him, who appeared in Nabadwip and was also known as Visvambhara. Sri Vrndavana dasa offers his humble obeisances unto Mahaprabhu's devotees, and then to Sri Mahaprabhu. He explains: The Supreme Lord has boldly declared in all the scriptures that 'The worship of my devotees is higher than worshipping me.' By first glorifying the Vaishnavas, I am guaranteed success in writing my book. (This statement was made by Krishna to Uddhava in the Srimad-Bhagavatam.) The next statement is from the Itihasa-Samuccaya : If one wants God's mercy, he must first serve his devotees. Only this will satisfy the Lord; of this there is no doubt. The following verse, from the Pausayana-Sruti, is quoted in Srila Madhvacarya's commentary on the Brahma-Sutra : Worship the devotees, serve them, hear from them, and they will protect you. The Mundaka-Upanisad states: If you want the real treasure of liberation you must serve the Lord's pure devotee. In his Govinda-Bhasya commentary, Baladeva Vidyabhusana quotes Srimad-Bhagavatam : jnane prayasam-udapasya namanta eva jivanti sanmukharitam bhavadlya-vartam sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhir ye prayas'o 'jita jito'py asi tais tri-lokyam (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.3) Brahma prayed to Krishna, My dear Lord, those who have given up abstract thinking and armchair philosophizing, start hearing about you from devotees and begin divine service with their body, mind, and words. Although you are unconquerable and rarely attained, you are conquered by them. In the Padma Purana, Shiva says to his wife Parvati: O Goddess, higher than the worship of all the gods and goddesses is the worship of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. But higher still is the worship of everyone and everything that is dear to Him, including Ganga devi, Tulasi devi, the book Bhagavata and the devotee Bhagavata. Vrndavana dasa cautions us against seeing Vaishnavas externally. Such superficial vision is condemned: In order to teach us the absurdity of judging devotees externally according to race, color, family, or other considerations, the Supreme Lord arranged for Haridasa Thakura to take birth in the lowest section of society. All the scriptures emphasize that if a pure devotee appears even in the lowest social circumstances, he is still to be worshipped by everyone. A Vaishnava may appear in any family or section of society, yet he is still the most elevated person by the decree of the scriptures. God is the protector of all living entities, and he cannot tolerate insults and disrespect shown to his devotees. Extremely mindful of his dear devotee's well-being, he refuses to accept any worship from those who slight them. The Lord loves his devotees so much that he not only accepts food and gifts from them, but sometimes he even steals their offerings! Whereas he is repulsed by offerings from a non-devotees. In one pastime, Krishna was very eager to eat plain chipped rice cooked by Vidura's wife, and ignored a royal feast set by Duryodhana. Similarly the Lord could not resist eating the few morsels of flat rice offered by Sudama. He told him: O Brahmin! What wonderful things have you brought for me from your home? Even a small offering from a devotee is a grand feast for me, whereas a non devotee's feast cannot satisfy me in the least. Anything offered to me with love, I accept with love. Sriman Mahaprabhu quotes from the Itihasa Samuccaya, recorded by Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja: A person may learn all the Vedas, but if he has no devotion, how can he be my devotee? Whereas if a person born into the lowest section of society has devotion, he is very dear to me. All respect must be given to such an elevated soul. His offerings must be accepted by all, for he is as much worthy of worship as I am. Mahaprabhu also quotes Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya: A Brahmin's sins are burnt to ashes by the powerful fire of krsna-bhakti. Whereas if a Vedic scholar is an atheist, he is derided. Anyone devoid of devotion may take birth in a great family or nation, have extensive knowledge of the scriptures, perform austerities, or chant Vedic mantras, but such things are like ornaments on a dead body. Only fools will be impressed. When Mahaprabhu went to embrace Haridasa Thakura, with all humility Haridasa said to him: My dear Lord, please do not touch me. I am most fallen, the lowest of men. Mahaprabhu replied: I want to touch you just to purify myself. You are so pure, it is as if at every moment you are bathing in all the sacred rivers, visiting all the holy places of pilgrimage, and performing every sacrifice, austerity, and charity imaginable. You are more exalted than any Brahmin or sannyasi. The Lord then recited this sloka from the Srimad Bhagavatam: One who always chants your Holy Name, even though born in the worst circumstances, is a saint. We can understand that he must have performed all austerities and sacrifices, bathed in all the holy rivers, and mastered the Vedas. Therefore he is a true Aryan (one who is pure). In the Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda, it is declared: When a person is admitted into Vishnu's family, he is called a Vaishnava. It has been said that of all people, the Vaishnava is certainly the most exalted. The Dvaraka-Mahatmya states: A person who is devoted to Janardana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a saint even if he is born into a low-class family; whereas if a person is born into an aristocratic family of noble lineage and is not a devotee of the Lord, he is of bad blood. Any association with non-Vaishnavas or with Brahmins who lack devotion is categorically denounced. The Padma Purana states: The association of meat-eaters is strictly prohibited because their lifestyle goes against scriptural regulations; in the same manner, contact with a non-Vaishnava Brahmin must be avoided. Whereas a Vaishnava-one who is initiated and who is affectionate to the Lord and his devotees--even if born into a low-class family, is capable of purifying all three worlds. Vrndavana dasa says that intimate association with non-Vaishnavas, regardless of their parentage, is suicidal. According to the Padma Purana, the characteristics of a Vaishnava are as follows: One who is dedicated to worshipping Vishnu, who has received initiation into a Vishnu-mantra, is classified as a Vaishnava by spiritual preceptors; all others are non-Vaishnavas." (Hari-bhakti-vilasa 1.55) Those who are simply born into a Brahmin family but are non-Vaishnavas, and who are inimical towards Vishnu and Vaishnavas, are condemned. Vrndavana dasa cries out against these namesake Brahmins, citing the Varaha Purana: In Kali-yuga, demons will be born in smarta Brahmin families to harass and torture the righteous devotees of the Lord. The demons choose Kali-yuga to be born in, so they can torment those rare persons who adhere to the path enunciated by the Vedas (sruti ). They viciously attempt to disrupt the devotee's service to the Supreme Lord. These Brahmin impostors view Vaishnavas who have a bad background with contempt. They scoff at their spiritual practices, or when they see them receive honor and respect, they vainly try to expose the Vaishnava's background, and other mundane trivialities. The Brhad Aranyaka Sruti describes them, saying: One who leaves the world fully understanding the Absolute Truth is honored as a Brahmin, but one who does not has wasted his life. According to Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraja, not only should one not consider the form of God to be mundane, but the same is true of his devotees.As written by Srila Krishna-Dvaipayana Vyasadeva, the author of Srimad-Bhagavatam: There is no greater blasphemy than to think that the body of Vishnu is material. And Mahaprabhu says: The Vaishnava's body is never mundane; it is supramundane, and supercharged with ecstasy. (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 7.155, Antya-lila 4.191) The use of the term atmasama does not imply that pure devotees are equal to the Supreme Lord in every respect. The Supreme Lord is the only one who possesses transcendental qualities to an infinite degree. The jiva can only possess these qualities to a finite degree. Mahaprabhu says: "The finite and the Infinite can never be considered equal, just as a tiny spark is never equal to a fire." The following verse is found in the Bhagavat Sandarbha and also in Sridhara Swami's commentary to the Srimad-Bhagavatam: The Supreme Lord is the embodiment of etenality, knowledge, and bliss. Two of his multifarious spiritual energies are: hladini-sakti, the pleasure-giving potency, and samvit, perfect knowledge of the self and all other things, while the jivas are cocooned in ignorance, and deeply anchored in suffering. Only by taking complete shelter of Sri Radhika and her serving group, the hladini sakti, can we realize our innate spiritual identity and service to the holy lotus feet of Sri Guru, Gauranga, and Krishna. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja explains further why a pure Vaishnava's body is aprakrta, or supramundane: At the time of diksa (initiation), the devotee surrenders to Krishna with body and soul. In reciprocation, Krishna accepts him, elevating him, body and soul, to a status equal to his own. The Lord transforms the Vaishnava's body and makes it a repository of transcendental emotions." (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 8. 192-193) He then quotes the Srimad-Bhagavatam: When people reject materialism and conduct their lives under my direction, they attain immortality. They become eligible to be with me and share spiritual emotions (rasa ) with me in their spiritual identity." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.29.34) But what is meant by surrender, Srila Saraswati Prabhupada writes in his Anubhasya commentary: Although one who has completely renounced the world (akincana ) and one who is completely sheltered in Krishna (saranagatah ) may appear to be the same externally, the devotee who has given up the world has also offered his soul. At the time of initiation, the devotee gives up material conceptions while he begins to understand sambandha-jnana, one's eternal relationship with God and those who are part of the family of God. When the devotee gives up the shelter of maya, he takes shelter of Krishna and is Krishnized. At this stage, the devotee's delusion as enjoyer of material pleasures dissipates, and his real self merges with his new identity as an eternal servant of Krishna. The devotee attains his spiritual body (sac cid ananda svarupa )and his eternal service to Krishna, serving him in his own transcendental form. The pure devotee's ecstatic service is an elevated stage of devotion which is often misinterpreted and misunderstood by those unacquainted with the science of devotion. For this kind of aparadha one is deprived of the shelter of a Vaishnava guru." (Anubhasya, Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya 4.193) Mahaprabhu taught everyone that a Vaishnava's transcendental body is unlike that of an ordinary person, or even an extraordinary person. The Lord did not view personalities like Haridasa Thakura, who took birth in a low-class family, or Sanatana Goswaml, whose body was diseased, or Vasudeva Vipra, who was suffering from acute leprosy, as social outcasts or disease ridden beggars. Instead he embraced them, proving that a pure devotee's body is never impure. The pure devotee's body is transcendental, infused with spiritual bliss, and best suited to serve Krishna. As the Lord himself says: mad-bhakta-pujyabhyadhika sarva-bhutesu man-matih The worship of my devotees is the real worship of me. In fact it is higher than worshipping my very self. (Bhag. 11.19.21) My dear devotees, please read and listen carefully to the divine stories and instructions that follow, and pray to the Supreme Lord and his devotees-the Vaishnavas-that we may always worship and adore them, and thereby enter The Heart of Krishna.

Bhakti yoga - the science of self-realization by His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada bhakti-yoga: discovering the self This very important Krsna consciousness movement is meant to save human society from spiritual death. At present human society is being misled by leaders who are blind, for they do not know the aim and objective of human life, which is self-realization and the reestablishment of our lost relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the missing point. The Krsna consciousness movement is trying to enlighten human society in this important matter. According to Vedic civilization, the perfection of life is to realize one's relationship with Krsna, or God. In the Bhagavad-gita, which is accepted by all authorities in transcendental science as the basis of all Vedic knowledge, we understand that not only human beings but all living entities are parts and parcels of God. The parts are meant for serving the whole, just as the legs, hands, fingers, and ears are meant for serving the total body. We living entities, being parts and parcels of God, are duty-bound to serve Him. Actually our position is that we are always rendering service to someone, either to our family, country, or society. If we have no one to serve, sometimes we keep a pet cat or dog and render service to it. All these factors prove that we are constitutionally meant to render service, yet in spite of serving to the best of our ability, we are not satisfied. Nor is the person to whom we are rendering that service satisfied. On the material platform, everyone is frustrated. The reason for this is that the service being rendered is not properly directed. For example, if we want to render service to a tree, we must water the root. If we pour water on the leaves, branches, and twigs, there is little benefit. If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is served, all other parts and parcels will be automatically satisfied. Consequently all welfare activities as well as service to society, family, and nation are realized by serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the duty of every human being to understand his constitutional position with God and to act accordingly. If this is possible, then our lives become successful. Sometimes, however, we feel challenging and say, "There is no God," or "I am God," or even, "I don't care for God." But in actuality this challenging spirit will not save us. God is there, and we can see Him at every moment. If we refuse to see God in our life, then He will be present before us as cruel death. If we do not choose to see Him in one feature, we will see Him in another. There are different features of the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He is the original root of the entire cosmic manifestation. In one sense, it is not possible for us to escape Him. This Krsna consciousness movement is not blind religious fanaticism, nor is it a revolt by some recent upstart; rather, it is an authorized, scientific approach to the matter of our eternal necessity in relation with the Absolute Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Enjoyer. Krsna consciousness simply deals with our eternal relationship with Him and the process of discharging our relative duties to Him. Thus, Krsna consciousness enables us to achieve the highest perfection of life attainable in the present human form of existence. We must always remember that this particular form of human life is attained after an evolution of many millions of years in the cycle of transmigration of the spirit soul. In this particular form of life, the economic question is more easily solved than in the lower, animal forms. There are swine, dogs, camels, asses, and so on, whose economic necessities are just as important as ours, but the economic questions of these animals and others are solved under primitive conditions, whereas the human being is given all the facilities for leading a comfortable life by the laws of nature. Why is a man given a better chance to live than swine or other animals? Why is a highly posted government officer given better facilities for a comfortable life than an ordinary clerk? The answer is very simple: the important officer has to discharge duties of a more responsible nature than those of an ordinary clerk. Similarly, the human being has to discharge higher duties than the animals, who are always busy with filling their hungry stomachs. But by the laws of nature, the modern animalistic standard of civilization has only increased the problems of filling the stomach. When we approach some of these polished animals for spiritual life, they say that they only want to work for the satisfaction of their stomachs and that there is no necessity of inquiring about the Godhead. Yet despite their eagerness to work hard, there is always the question of unemployment and so many other impediments incurred by the laws of nature. Despite this, they still denounce the necessity of acknowledging the Godhead. We are given this human form of life not just to work hard like the swine or dog, but to attain the highest perfection of life. If we do not want that perfection, then we will have to work very hard, for we will be forced to by the laws of nature. In the closing days of Kali-yuga (this present age) men will have to work hard like asses for only a scrap of bread. This process has already begun, and every year the necessity for harder work for lesser wages will increase. Yet human beings are not meant to work hard like animals, and if a man fails to discharge his duties as a human being, he is forced to transmigrate to the lower species of life by the laws of nature. The Bhagavad-gita very vividly describes how a spirit soul, by the laws of nature, takes his birth and gets a suitable body and sense organs for enjoying matter in the material world. In the Bhagavad-gita it is also stated that those who attempt but do not complete the path of approaching God-in other words, those who have failed to achieve complete success in Krsna consciousness-are given the chance to appear in the families of the spiritually advanced or in financially well-to-do mercantile families. If the unsuccessful spiritual aspirants are offered such chances of noble parentage, what of those who have actually attained the required success? Therefore an attempt to go back to Godhead, even if half finished, guarantees a good birth in the next life. Both the spiritual and the financially well-to-do families are beneficial for spiritual progress because in both families one can get a good chance to make further progress from the point where he stopped in his previous birth. In spiritual realization the atmosphere generated by a good family is favorable for the cultivation of spiritual knowledge. The Bhagavad-gita reminds such fortunate well-born persons that their good fortune is due to their past devotional activities. Unfortunately, the children of these families do not consult the Bhagavad-gita, being misguided by maya (illusion). Birth in a well-to-do family solves the problem of having to find sufficient food from the beginning of life, and later a comparatively easier and more comfortable way of life can be led. Being so situated, one has a good chance to make progress in spiritual realization, but as ill luck would have it, due to the influence of the present iron age (which is full of machines and mechanical people) the sons of the wealthy are misguided for sense enjoyment, and they forget the good chance they have for spiritual enlightenment. Therefore nature, by her laws, is setting fires in these golden homes. It was the golden city of Laìka, under the regime of the demoniac Ravana, that was burned to ashes. That is the law of nature. The Bhagavad-gita is the preliminary study of the transcendental science of Krsna consciousness, and it is the duty of all responsible heads of state to chalk out their economic and other programs by referring to the Bhagavad-gita. We are not meant to solve economic questions of life by balancing on a tottering platform; rather, we are meant to solve the ultimate problems of life which arise due to the laws of nature. Civilization is static unless there is spiritual movement. The soul moves the body, and the living body moves the world. We are concerned about the body, but we have no knowledge of the spirit that is moving that body. Without the spirit, the body is motionless, or dead. The human body is an excellent vehicle by which we can reach eternal life. It is a rare and very important boat for crossing over the ocean of nescience which is material existence. On this boat there is the service of an expert boatman, the spiritual master. By divine grace, the boat plies the water in a favorable wind. With all these auspicious factors, who would not take the opportunity to cross over the ocean of nescience? If one neglects this good chance, it should be known that he is simply committing suicide. There is certainly a great deal of comfort in the first-class coach of a train, but if the train does not move toward its destination, what is the benefit of an air-conditioned compartment? Contemporary civilization is much too concerned with making the material body comfortable. No one has information of the real destination of life, which is to go back to Godhead. We must not just remain seated in a comfortable compartment; we should see whether or not our vehicle is moving toward its real destination. There is no ultimate benefit in making the material body comfortable at the expense of forgetting the prime necessity of life, which is to regain our lost spiritual identity. The boat of human life is constructed in such a way that it must move toward a spiritual destination. Unfortunately this body is anchored to mundane consciousness by five strong chains, which are: (1) attachment to the material body due to ignorance of spiritual facts, (2) attachment to kinsmen due to bodily relations, (3) attachment to the land of birth and to material possessions such as house, furniture, estates, property, business papers, etc., (4) attachment to material science, which always remains mysterious for want of spiritual light, and (5) attachment to religious forms and holy rituals without knowing the Personality of Godhead or His devotees, who make them holy. These attachments, which anchor the boat of the human body, are explained in detail in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. There they are compared to a deeply rooted banyan tree which is ever increasing its hold on the earth. It is very difficult to uproot such a strong banyan tree, but the Lord recommends the following process: "The real form of this tree cannot be perceived in this world. No one can understand where it ends, where it begins, or where its foundation is. But with determination one must cut down this tree with the weapon of detachment. So doing, one must seek that place from which, having once gone, one never returns, and there surrender to that Supreme Personality of Godhead from whom everything has begun and in whom everything is abiding since time immemorial." (Bg. 15.3-4) Neither the scientists nor speculative philosophers have yet arrived at any conclusion concerning the cosmic situation. All they have done is posit different theories about it. Some of them say that the material world is real, others say that it is a dream, and yet others say that it is ever existing. In this way different views are held by mundane scholars, but the fact is that no mundane scientist or speculative philosopher has ever discovered the beginning of the cosmos or its limitations. No one can say when it began or how it floats in space. They theoretically propose some laws, like the law of gravitation, but actually they cannot put this law to practical use. For want of actual knowledge of the truth, everyone is anxious to promote his own theory to gain certain fame, but the actual fact is that this material world is full of miseries and that no one can overcome them simply by promoting some theories about the subject. The Personality of Godhead, who is fully cognizant of everything in His creation, informs us that it is in our best interest that we desire to get out of this miserable existence. We must detach ourselves from everything material. To make the best use of a bad bargain, our material existence must be one-hundred-percent spiritualized. Iron is not fire, but it can be turned into fire by constant association with fire. Similarly, detachment from material activities can be effected by spiritual activities, not by material inertia. Material inertia is the negative side of material action, but spiritual activity is not only the negation of material action but the activation of our real life. We must be anxious to search out eternal life, or spiritual existence in Brahman, the Absolute. The eternal kingdom of Brahman is described in the Bhagavad-gita as that eternal country from which no one returns. That is the kingdom of God. The beginning of our present material life cannot be traced, nor is it necessary for us to know how we became conditioned in material existence. We have to be satisfied with the understanding that somehow or other this material life has been going on since time immemorial and now our duty is to surrender unto the Supreme Lord, who is the original cause of all causes. The preliminary qualification for going back to Godhead is given in the Bhagavad-gita (15.5): "One who is free from illusion, false prestige, and false association, who understands the eternal, who is done with material lust and is free from the duality of happiness and distress, and who knows how to surrender unto the Supreme Person attains that eternal kingdom." One who is convinced of his spiritual identity and is freed from the material conception of existence, who is free from illusion and is transcendental to the modes of material nature, who constantly engages in understanding spiritual knowledge and who has completely severed himself from sense enjoyment can go back to Godhead. Such a person is called amüòha, as distinguished from müòha, or the foolish and ignorant, for he is freed from the duality of happiness and distress. And what is the nature of the kingdom of God? It is described in the Bhagavad-gita (15.6) as follows: "That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. One who reaches it never returns to this material world." Although every place in the creation is within the kingdom of God because the Lord is the supreme proprietor of all planets, there is still the Lord's personal abode, which is completely different from the universe in which we are now living. And this abode is called paramam, or the supreme abode. Even on this earth there are countries where the standard of living is high and countries where the standard of living is low. Besides this earth, there are innumerable other planets distributed all over the universe, and some are considered superior places and some inferior places. In any case, all planets within the jurisdiction of the external energy, material nature, require the rays of a sun or the light of fire for their existence, because the material universe is a region of darkness. Beyond this region, however, is a spiritual realm, which is described as functioning under the superior nature of God. That realm is described in the Upanisads thus: "There is no need of sun, moon, or stars, nor is that abode illumined by electricity or any form of fire. All these material universes are illumined by a reflection of that spiritual light, and because that superior nature is always self-luminous, we can experience a glow of light even in the densest darkness of night." In the Hari-vaàça the spiritual nature is explained by the Supreme Lord Himself as follows: "The glaring effulgence of the impersonal Brahman [the impersonal Absolute] illuminates all existences, both material and spiritual. But, O Bharata, you must understand that this Brahman illumination is the effulgence of My body." In the Brahma-saàhita this conclusion is also confirmed. We should not think that we can attain that abode by any material means such as spaceships, but we should know for certain that one who can attain that spiritual abode of Krsna can enjoy eternal, spiritual bliss without interruption. As fallible living entities, we have two phases of existence. One is called material existence, which is full of the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease, and the other is called spiritual existence, in which there is an incessant spiritual life of eternity, bliss, and knowledge. In material existence we are ruled by the material conception of the body and the mind, but in spiritual existence we can always relish the happy, transcendental contact of the Personality of Godhead. In spiritual existence, the Lord is never lost to us. The Krsna consciousness movement is trying to bring that spiritual existence to humanity at large. In our present material consciousness, we are attached to the sensual material conception of life, but this conception can be removed at once by devotional service to Krsna, or Krsna consciousness. If we adopt the principles of devotional service, we can become transcendental to the material conceptions of life and be liberated from the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance, even in the midst of various material engagements. Everyone who is engaged in material affairs can derive the highest benefit from the pages of Back to Godhead and the other literatures of this Krsna consciousness movement. These literatures help all people sever the roots of the indefatigable banyan tree of material existence. These literatures are authorized to train us to renounce everything related to the material conception of life and to relish spiritual nectar in every object. This stage is obtainable only by devotional service and nothing else. By rendering such service, one can at once get liberation (mukti) even during this present life. Most spiritual endeavors are tinged with the colors of materialism, but pure devotional service is transcendental to all material pollution. Those who desire to go back to Godhead need only adopt the principles of this Krsna consciousness movement and simply aim their consciousness at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, Krsna.

In the Bhagavad-gita the last instruction is to surrender fully unto Him, the author of the Bhagavad-gita, but unfortunate men of demonic mentality misunderstood the teachings of Bhagavad-gita as a method of sophistry and therefore the same Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna in the garb of a transcendental devotee preaches the same techniques of Bhagavad-gita in a demonstrative way. The method of His demonstration was also very suitable. He inaugurated the sankirtana movement accompanied with melodious song which has been found practically very effective amongst the masses. It is not possible for the masses to study the Vedanta or to undergo the difficult mystic processes in the Kali-yuga when the general populous is indolent, unfortunate, short-lived and always disturbed by physical and mental tribulations. The general mass of people are fallen in the estimation of the great saints, and for them Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the only hope for deliverance.

Love this headline. This article is actually a riot: ----- Odds on that God exists, says scientist Stewart Maclean, Catherine Bolsover and Polly Curtis Monday March 8, 2004 A scientist has calculated that there is a 67% chance that God exists. Dr Stephen Unwin has used a 200-year-old formula to calculate the probability of the existence of an omnipotent being. Bayes' Theory is usually used to work out the likelihood of events, such as nuclear power failure, by balancing the various factors that could affect a situation. The Manchester University graduate, who now works as a risk assessor in Ohio, said the theory starts from the assumption that God has a 50/50 chance of existing, and then factors in the evidence both for and against the notion of a higher being. Factors that were considered included recognition of goodness, which Dr Unwin said makes the existence of God more likely, countered by things like the existence of natural evil - including earthquakes and cancer. The unusual workings - which even take into account the existence of miracles - are set out in his new book, which includes a spreadsheet of the data used so that anyone can make the calculation themselves should they doubt its validity. The book, The Probability of God: A simple calculation that proves the ultimate truth, will be published later this month. Dr Unwin said he was interested in bridging the gap between science and religion. He argues that rather than being a theological issue, the question of God's existence is simply a matter of statistics. "On arriving in America I was exposed to certain religious outlooks that were somewhat of an assault upon my sensibilities - outlooks in which religion actually competes with science as an explanation of the world," he said. "While I could not be sure, having slept through most of the cathedral services I had attended during secondary school, this did not seem like the version of faith I had remembered. In many ways, this project was for me a journey home - a reconciliation of my faith and education." Despite his findings, Dr Unwin maintains that he is personally around 95% certain that God exists. However, Graham Sharp, media relations director at William Hill, said there were technical problems with giving odds on the existence of God. "The problem is how you confirm the existence of God. With the Loch Ness monster we require confirmation from the Natural History Museum to pay out, but who are we going to ask about God? The church would definitely confirm his existence." Mr Sharp said William Hill does take bets on the second coming, which currently stand at 1,000/1. For this confirmation is needed from the Archbishop of Canterbury. "We do take bets on the second coming, whether that confirms the existence of God is up to the theologians to argue, most people wouldn't believe that, though."

Thank You for your words positive certainly inspired by the Golden Avatara,Sri Gaura Hari I am missing the mercy of Gouranga when I dwell on this body bag and not the soul positive. ------------------- I am sac-cid-ananda. I am an eternal part and parcel of God. I am totally obliged to Sri Krsna for supporting my existence forever. This is the dialogue of a healthy mind, a friendly mind. But it ain't gonna last forever, so we better sit down with Krsna right now, and have a heart-to-heart so we can get our minds into that healthy state. Otherwise, the thought of death will certainly put a damper on all the fun. -------------------- Lord Gauranga is like a powerful hammer which smashes the sin and oppression of the mad dog of Kali-yuga, and He is absorbed in distributing the holy name of Krsna, which is the great medicine to release one from material existence. His transcendental form is beautiful and His heart is full of compassion for the suffering, fallen souls of this world. Just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma's forest bowers. (Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)

My dear Prabhu, So what are you gonna do about this quite awkward existential situation: you will be forced to vacate 'your' body without prior notice. As sure as death not being morbid but let us be more realistic about life in this cage next life occupation in the next after life another!?

Christ, you know it ain't easy Lurid, sadistic and anti-semitic, Mel Gibson's film has performed box-office miracles in the US, but Joe Queenan is one Catholic who wasn't converted Saturday March 27, 2004 The Guardian The Passion of the Christ: an anti-semitic orgy of almost uninterrupted violence Traditional screenplay format dictates that the audience be introduced to the central theme of a film during its first 10 minutes. Very much a traditionalist, Mel Gibson quickly introduces the theme of The Passion Of The Christ - those nasty Jews killed My Sweet Lord - then settles into the trademark mayhem that made Braveheart and The Patriot so appealing to fans of disembowellings, impalings, beheadings and general depravity. But this time, Gibson has outdone himself. When I was visiting Edinburgh two years ago, several friends complained that Gibson had short-changed carnage buffs in Braveheart by pussyfooting around the issue of William Wallace's public castration. Duly chastened, the director has concocted a film so festive in its lurid, graphic, semi-pornographic, homoerotic violence that not even the most bloodthirsty film-goer could complain about failing to get his money's worth. If you're a male flagellation buff out for a night on the town with a girlfriend who hates Jerry Seinfeld and the rest of the children of Israel, I honestly can't think of a better date flick. A devout Catholic - the three scariest words any Jew is ever likely to hear - Gibson has based his film on the accounts of Christ's demise supplied by the Gospels. In his mind, this apparently provides the film with a sort of historical pedigree. Less devout Catholics like me recognise that the four Gospels are documents of dubious accuracy whose message falls directly into the yawning chasm between myth and propaganda. We do not know who wrote them, we do not know when they were written, they are certainly not eyewitness accounts, but we can be fairly certain that they are the work of harried Christians who were less concerned about offending powerless Jews than powerful Romans. For whatever the reason - and it is not hard to guess the true motivating factor here - Gibson has accepted the hateful notion that the Jews and the Jews alone wanted Jesus dead, and that the Romans were somehow hoodwinked into carrying out his execution. To its credit, the Catholic Church itself has gone out of its way in the wake of the Holocaust to declare this loathsome version of events morally anathema. To his discredit, Gibson has chosen to reopen the same old wounds by portraying the Jews as bestial Christ-killers. If you think The Passion Of The Christ is a huge money-maker now, imagine the opening night take in Berlin and Munich had it been filmed 60 or 70 years earlier. The film itself is an orgy of almost uninterrupted violence. After the Jewish powers-that-be have used their cunning wiles to intimidate Pontius Pilate into condemning the Messiah, Jesus is beaten with implements that tear the flesh from every portion of his anatomy. His skin is ripped to shreds. His eye is smashed shut. His head is crowned with thorns. His left arm is ripped from the socket to facilitate his Crucifixion. Seemingly, Gibson wished to convey the sense that Christ's execution was no day at the beach, perhaps objecting to the demure depictions of his torment in the 14 Stations of the Cross that adorn virtually every Catholic church on the planet. It was, of course, the inhuman treatment of this one Jew that led to the even more inhuman treatment of six million Jews by a Christian people during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was no day at the beach either. Devout Christians may object to the flippant tone I have adopted here, but anti-semitism as spectacular as Gibson's does not deserve to be treated with anything but contempt. Though a few Jews in the film seem to object to Christ's martyrdom, the high priests and most of the spectators lining the road to Calvary seem to thoroughly enjoy the spectacle, and a good time is had by all. And while the Roman executioners are presented as sadistic cretins, the film's unmistakable message is that Pontius Pilate and the boys were merely tools of the Jews, that without the manipulation of the high priests and the enthusiastic mob, they would have merely dished out a good thrashing and sent the Messiah on his way. But the Jews were out for blood. Any doubts about the director's medieval world-view evaporate when Satan is seen strolling among the high priests, who have turned out in their Sunday best to watch Jesus being ripped to shreds. Gibson depicts the Prince of Darkness as a mysterious chrome-dome who looks a bit like the sinister maître d's employed in many fine dining establishments. It will be interesting to see if this is how Satan actually looks should Gibson ever meet him personally. Perhaps he already has. Technically speaking, the film is well filmed but monotonous. The violence is so nauseating and repetitive that it is actually a relief when Christ is finally nailed to the cross, as the viewer knows that the ordeal will soon be over, and the nails make a refreshing change from the whips, canes and truncheons. Filmed in the very finest biblical languages, the screenplay is predictably terse, supported by a reliable faux-exotic soundtrack, with roll-the-eyes acting right out of silent films. As Christ the sacred stud, Jim Caviezel doesn't have much to do except say "Ouch" in Aramaic. As the Virgin Mary, Maia Morgenstern doesn't have much to do except look depressed. As the assorted Jews, the rest of the cast doesn't have much to do except look evil. It is well-known that Gibson's father Hutton is a Holocaust denier who recently wisecracked that most of the Jews allegedly murdered by the Germans had merely relocated to the Bronx. Gibson fils has said that nothing will ever drive a wedge between him and Pops; judging from The Passion Of The Christ, he needn't worry on that score. As Dad might put it: This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Any Jew-hater would be.

So regular resultant action of sinful life, one has to. Just like Yudhisthira Maharaja. Yudhisthira Maharaja was advised by Krsna that "You go to Dronacarya and tell him the lies.What is that?Now, tell him that 'Your son Asvatthama is dead.' " Because Dronacarya had some benediction that unless he is shocked by the death of his son, he will never die. So Krsna had to take this diplomatic, because it is politics. So Krsna... Because Dronacarya will not believe anyone. He knew that Maharaja Yudhisthira is a most pious man; he never tells lies. So if Maharaja Yudhisthira goes and says that "Your son is dead," then he will believe. Otherwise, Krsna could have gone personally, but He knew that people do not believe Him. (laughter) He is very tricky. (laughter) So therefore no tricky man can excel Him. A man may be very tricky, very intelligent, but he will not be able to excel Krsna. He is more tricky. Just like in His childhood, Krsna was naughty, so mother wanted to bind Him. So Krsna also became tricky. Mother first of all brought some rope and bound, and when it was to be knotted, it was short. And then again she joined another rope. In this way, whatever rope store she had, she brought one after another, and at last, when knotting, it is too... What is called? Devotees: Inches. Prabhupada: Short. So she, Krsna thought, "Mother, nobody can bind Me, and because I have accepted to become your child, you are trying to bind Me? All right, you bring your all ropes. You will never be able to bind Me." This is Krsna. But mother Yasoda is the greatest devotee. So when Krsna saw that "My mother is now exhausted, perspiring. All right, you can bind Me." This is the... You have seen in the Krsna book. So ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham [bg. 4.11]. If you want to play tricks with Krsna, Krsna is the greater trick. You will never be able. That is our mistake, that we think that "I am so intelligent, I can do something without the knowledge of Krsna." That is our foolishness. Krsna says, sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah: [bg. 15.15] "I am sitting in everyone's heart." How you can cheat Him? It is not possible. Don't try to cheat Krsna. Don't try to cheat guru. Don't try to cheat Krsna. Then your progress is sure. Guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. You are singing daily, sri-guru-carana... What is that? Sri-guru... Devotees: Sri-guru-carana-padma, kevala-bhakati-sadma. Prabhupada: No, that... Devotee: Guru-mukha? Prabhupada: Guru-mukha-padma-vakya, cittete koriya aikya **. Don't try to cheat guru. Then progress will be checked. acaryam mam vijaniyan navamanyeta karhicit na martya-buddhyasuyeta sarva-devamayo guruh [sB 11.17.27] Acaryam mam vijaniyan. Krsna says, "Acarya means I am." Navamanyeta karhicit: "Do not try to neglect." Na martya-buddhyasuyeta: "Do not consider acarya, spiritual master, as ordinary human being and become envious." These things are warned. Acaryam mam vijaniyan navamanyeta karhicit, na martya-buddhyasuyeta [sB 11.17.27]. Familiarity breeds contempt. That is not good. Similarly... Because by the mercy of acarya, by the mercy of guru, you will get Krsna. You sing that, krsna-prapti jaha hoite, what is that? Krsna-prapti jaha hoite. What is that language? Krta-krta: That by his mercy he brings us close to Krsna. Prabhupada: No, no, what is that Bengali language? You cannot... You are singing daily? Krta-krta: Prema-bhakti jaha hoite, avidya vinasa jate. Prabhupada: Ah. Avidya vinasa jate, krsna-prapti haya... So these are the things. Avidya vinasa jate. Avidya means ignorance. We are full of ignorance. So guru's duty is to open the eyes, and by opening your eyes he will give you Krsna. So this is the process. So you should be very much careful not to cheat Krsna, not to cheat guru, and become very sincere and follow. Then it is guaranteed. Guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. Two things required. You cannot jump over Krsna, neglecting guru. Then it is finished. If you want to jump over Krsna without favor of the guru, Krsna is not so easy. So these things should be very carefully observed, no offense. Sincerely follow. Then Krsna will protect, and your progress in Krsna consciousness, to go back to home, back to Godhead, will be assured, insured. So this man circumstantially fell down. So Krsna is saving him. Krsna is saving him, and he will be saved. We shall see in the following passage. Thank you very much. (end) >>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.28-29 -- Philadelphia, July 13, 1975

How to raise consciousness about animal-based products Cola: may contain ester gums as emulsifer. Ester gum uses glycerol, which can be of animal origin. Coca cola admits that glycerin (could be either animal or vegetarian) is an ingredient. http://www.awbi.org/pamp24.htm

The Benefits of Chanting Srila Prabhupada in his commentary on the Bhagavad-gita: 'We have practical experiace that any person who is chanting the holy names of Krsna (Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna ,Hare Here, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama,Hare Hare) in course of time feels some transendental pleasure, and very quickly becomes purified of all material contamination," In the preliminary stages of chanting, the practitioner experiences a clearing of consciousness, peace of mind , and relief from unwanted drives and habits. As one develops more realization by chanting, he perceives the original, spiritual existence of the self. According to the Bhagavad-gita, , this enlieghtened state "is characterized by ones ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self."And in the Caitanya-cartitamrta,a seventeen -volume commentary on the life and teaching of Sri Caitanya, founder of the modern-day Krsna conscuoiusness movement, the ultimate benefit of chanting is described."The result of chanting is that one awakens his love for Krsna and tastes transcendental bliss. Ultimately, one attains the association of Krsna and engages in His devotional service, as if immersing himself in a great ocean of love". So by chanting Hare Krsna, one reaps innumerable benefits, culminating in Krsna consciousness and love of God. We can rcaiize the fruits of chanting by adopting the process of mantra meditation and applying it systematically. For clear understanding of the progressive effects of chanting, some of the more important benefits are discussed sepewrately. Peace of Mind Initially meditation focuses on controlling the mind, for in our normal condition, we are slaves to any whimsical thoughts, desires, and appetites the mind may generate. We think of something and immediately we want to do it. But the Bhagavad-gita tells us that the meditator must learn to control the mind: "For one who has conquered the mind, then his mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will be the greatest enemy." The materialistic mind attempts to enjoy by employing the senses to experience matter and material relationships. It is full of unlimited ideas for sense gratification, and being perpetually restless, it constantly flickers from one sense object to another. In doing so, the mind vacillates between hankering for some material gain and lamenting some loss or frustration. In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna explains, "One who is not in transcendental consciousness can have neither a controlled mind nor steady intelligence, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?" By chanting the Hare Krsna mantra ,we can control mind,instead of letting it control us. Mantra is a Sanskit word. Man means "mind," and Tra means "to deliver." Thus, a mantra is a transcendental sound vibration with potency to liberate the mind from material conditioning. In his commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam,Srila Prabhupada explains"Our entanglement in material affairs is begun from material sound."Each day we hear material sounds from radio and television,from friends and relatives, and based on what we hear, we act. But as Srila Prabhupuda points out," There is sound in the spiritual world also. If we approach that sound, then our spiritual life begins." When we control the mind by focusing it on the purely spiritual sound vibration of the Hare Krsna mantra , the mind becomes calm. As "music has charms to soothe a savage breast," so the spiritual sound of the mantra soothes the restless mind. The Hare Krsna mantra, being imbued with God's own supreme energies, has the power to subdue all kinds of mental disturbance. Just as a reservoir of water is transparent when unagitated, our mental perceptions become clear and pure when the mind is no longer agitated by the waves of material desires. The mind in its pure state, like a mirror cleansed of dust, will then reflect undistorted images of reality, allowing us to go beneath the surface and perceive the essential spiritual quality of all life's experiences. Knowledge of tbe Self The Vedas state that consciousness is a symptom of the soul. In its pure condition, the soul exists in the spiritual world; but when it falls down into contact with matter, the living being is covered by an illusion called false egoism. False ego bewilders the consciousness, causing us to identify with our material bodies. But we are not our material body. When we look at our hand or leg, we say,"This is my hand" or "This is my leg." The conscious self,the "I", is therefore the owner and observer of the body. Intellectually, this fact is easily understandable, and by the spiritual realization that results from chanting, this truth can be directly and continuously experienced. When the living being identifies with the material body and loses awareness of his real, spiritual self, he inevitably fears death, old age, and disease. He fears loss of beauty, intelligence, and strength and experiences countless other anxieties and false emotions relating to the temporary body. But by chanting, even in the early stages, we realize ourselves to be pure and changeless spirit souls,completely distinct from the material body. Because the mantra is a completely pure spiritual sound vibration, it has the power to restore our consciousness to its original, uncontaminated condition. At this point, we cease to be controlled by jealousy, bigotry, pride, envy, and hatred. As Lord Krsna tells us in Bhagavad-gita, the soul is "unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying, and primeval."As our false bodily identification dissolves and we perceive our true transcendental existence, we automatically transcend all the fears and anxieties of material existence. We no longer think "I am American. I am Russian, I am black. I am white." Attaining real self-awareness also gives us the ability to see the spiritual nature of all living beings. When our natural, spiritual feelings are awakened, we experience the ultimate unity of all life. This is what it means to become a liberated person; by spiritual realization we become free of all animosity and envy toward other living things. This higher vision is explained by Srila Prabbupada in the Thanscendental Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja. "When a man becomes fully Krsna conscious he does not see, 'Here is an animal, here is a cat, here is a dog, and here is a worm.' He sees everything as part and parcel of Krsna. This is nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gita. 'One who is actually learned in Krsna consciousness becomes a lover of the universe." Unless one is situated on the Krsna conscious platform, there is no question of universal brotherhood." Brings Real Happiness Everyone is thirsting for true and lasting happiness. But because material pleasure is limited and temporary, it is compared to a tiny drop of moisture in the desert. It gives us no permanent relief, because material sensations and relationships lack the potency to satisfy the spiritual desires of the soul. But the chanting of Hare Krsna provides complete satisfaction because it places us in direct contact with God and His spiritual pleasure Potency. God is full of all bliss, and when we enter His association, we can also experience the same transcendental happiness. In the Vedic literature there is an interesting account of how the pleasure of chanting far exceeds any material benefit. Once a poor brahmana priest worshiped the demi-god Lord Siva for a material benediction. Lord Siva, however, advised him to go to the sage Sanatana Gosvami to obtain his heart's desire. Upon learning that Sanatana Gosvami had a mystical stone capable of producing gold, the poor brahmana asked if he could have it. Sanatana consented and told the brahmana he could take the stone from its resting place in his garbage pile. The brahmana departed in great joy, for he could now get as much gold as he desired simply by touching the stone to iron. But afterward he thought, "If a touchstone is the best benediction, why did Sanatana Gosvami keep it with the garbage?" He returned to Sanatana Gosvami to satisfy his curiosity. The sage then informed him, 'Actually, this is not the best benediction. But are you prepared to take the best benediction from me?Yes," the poor brahmana replied. "I have come to you for the best benediction." Sanatana Gosvami then told him to throw the touchstone in the water nearby and then return. The poor brahmana did so, and when he came back, the saintly Sanatana initiated him into the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, the sublime method for experiencing the highest spiritual pleasure. Liberation from Karma The law of karma means that for every material action performed, nature forces an equivalent reaction upon the performer, or, as the Bible states, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." Material activities can be compared to seeds. Initially they are performed, or planted, and over the course of time they gradually fructify, releasing their resultant reactions. Enmeshed in this web of actions and reactions, we are forced to accept one material body after another to experience our karmic destiny. But freedom from karma is possible by sincere chanting of Krsna's transcendental names. Since God's names are filled with transcendental energy, when the living being associates with the divine sound vibration, he is freed from the endless cycle of karma. Just as seeds fried in a pan lose their potency to sprout, so karmic reactions are rendered impotent by the power of the holy names of God. Krsna is like the sun. The sun is so powerful that it can purify whatever comes into contact with it. If any object enters the sun globe, it is immediately transformed into fire. Similarly, when our consciousness is absorbed in the transcendental sound of Krsna, His internal energies act to purify us of all karmic reactions. In his commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada stresses, "The holy name is so spiritually potent that simply by chanting the holy name one can be freed from the reactions to all sinful activity." Freedom from Reincarnation The Vedas teach that the living entity, the soul, is eternal, but due to past activities and material desires, it perpetually accepts different material bodies. As long as we have material desires, nature, acting under God's direction, will award us one material body after another. This is called transmigration of the soul, or reincarnation. Actually, this changing of bodies is not surprising, because even in this life we go through many bodies. First we have the body of an infant, then a child, later an adult, and finally the form of an old man or woman. Similarly, after the passing of our old body, we get a new one. Liberation from this cycle, known as samsara, or the endless wheel of birth and death, is possible by freeing our consciousness from material desires. By chanting Hare Krsna, we revive the natural spiritual desires of the soul. Just as the nature of the body is to be attracted to sense gratification, the nature of the soul is to be attracted to God. Chanting awakens our original God consciousness and our desire to serve and associate with Him. By this simple change in consciousness, we can transcend the cycle of reincarnation. Srila Prabhupada discusses this in his commentary on the Bhagavad-gita. "The cumulative effect of the thoughts and actions of one's life influences one's thoughts at death; therefore the actions of this life determine one's future state of being. If one is transcendentally absorbed in Krsna's service, then his next body will be trancendental [spiritual], not physical. Therefore the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra is the best process for successfully changing one's state of being to transcendental life?' The Ultimate Benefit-Love of God The final goal and the highest fruit of chanting is complete God realization and pure love of God. As our cosciousness becomes increasingly purified, our steady spiritual advancement is reflected in our character and behavior. As the sun approaches the horizon, it is preceded by increasing warmth and illumination. Similarly, as realization of Krsna's holy name is revived within the heart, this increasing spiritual awareness manifests in all aspects of our personality. Ultimately, the eternal, loving relationship between God and the living being is revived. Before entering the material world, each soul had a unique spiritual relationship with God. This loving relationship is thousands of times greater and more intense than any love experienced in the material world. This is described in the Caitanya-caritamrta: "Pure love for Krsna is eternally established in the heart of living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, the living entity is awakened." In our eternal, constitutional position in the spiritual world, we are able to associate with God directly, serving Him in a spiritual form just suitable for our mood of love and devotion. In this relationship of spiritual love, the pure devotee is absorbed in transcendental ecstasy. This state of ecstasy is described in The Nectar of Devotion. "At that time one's heart becomes illuminated like the sun. The sun is far above the planetary systems, and there is no possibility of its being covered by any kind of cloud. Similarly, when a devotee is purified like the sun, from his heart there is a diffusion of ecstatic love more glorious than the sunshine." Taken From Chant and Be Happy,By His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Abortion in the Holy Land Many are not aware that abortion has been legalized in India. Every Indian hospital and Indian doctor is obliged to perform abortions if so requested by pregnant women. The number of unborn babies being killed in this way is piling up a disturbing Mount Everest-like karmic burden, severly diminishing the luster and piety of the so called Land of Religion. http://www.cehat.org/publications/hp2.html In addition, female embryos have very little chance of being born. India's tradition, in order to get your daughter married you have to show up with a thick pocket of Rupees as dowry to attract a minimum qualified husband of the same social ranking and to generously finance the young familie's household. This is the very special "Indian system" when girls leave home to get married. Therefore female babies are not at all welcome. In fact the situation is so serious that in some regions such as Punjab, only very few girls are allowed to see the light of this world. No wonder, therefore, tons of homosexual men where ever you look at. Some readers may ask, what can be worse than Frisco? Yes, Punjab! No wonder also that Indian people increasingly cannot understand why they shouldn't cut the throat of the Holy Cow. It is socially accepted to kill your unborn child then why not slaughter Krishnas surabhi cows as well? It is amazing to see that almost no protest exists in modern Indians brains against this asuric practice of abortion and the opening of american-beefburgers at every streetcorner, even in Vrindavana. The Bhaktivedanta Hospital / Bombay made a strong attempt of encouraging Indians with a bit more vedic ABC's to make a campaign against asuric abortion. No feedback whatsoever! Of course many pious people in India silently reject abortion. Keeping silent, however, means accepting. Getting hooked to same future karmic catastrophy. Srila Prabhupada clearly stated that since we cannot create life, we have no right to take anyone's life. Whoever kills a child in the womb is a rascal and a demon. Especially in India where karmic reactions are intensified by a thousand times due to the presence of so many Holy places, Vedic Scriptures and history of so many pure Vaishnavas of the Lord. Demoniac propaganda emanating from Bollywood is making rapid progress and obviously those rascals are very well "educated" by their "successful" relatives in Hollywood how to broadcast their rubbish in the name of "Woman's liberation and family improvement".

Appreciations of Sridhar Maharaja A talk by Niranjana Swami on the Appearance Day of Srivasa Thakur Posted March 23, 2004 I'm always happy to come to Kiev, especially here at the Sunday Feast and see that there are always new faces coming to hear about Krsna. This is always very inspiring for me to see. Although I am going to speak about a few different subjects, hopefully we will be able to connect them to Krsna, because ultimately any topics that are connected to the Lord are beneficial for everyone to hear. As explained by Suta Goswami, only questions and answers that are related to Krsna will be able to fully satisfy the self. But connected to Krsna, one will always see that He is surrounded by many devotees. To discuss the devotees of the Lord are also topics that are related to Krsna. Today happens to be the appearance day of Srivasa Thakur. So we hope to have an opportunity to speak a little bit about that. But today also happens to be another day, which I haven't been able to fully digest, and therefore I beg your forgiveness if I become emotional, because at 6:15 AM my Godbrother H.H. Sridhar Maharaja left this world. So it is also his disappearance day, and he was a very dedicated servant of Srila Prabhupada. He gave his life to serving Srila Prabhupada's mission. Although we were expecting it because about four weeks ago he was told by doctors that he had cancer, still somehow we were thinking that he was going to fight it. I was just on the phone with him yesterday. I called him in India. He was in Mayapura, and we spoke for about 20 minutes. Sridhar Maharaja is always positive, and at that time during our conversation he was telling me that he had plans to travel and preach, but he begged me to please convince him to keep up the faith that he could possibly do it. Of course, there were also times when he would resign himself, saying, "Well if Krsna wants to take me then that's my fate. I'm ready to go whenever He desires to take me." Sridhar Maharaja was known as the Jolly Swami. He was always laughing and smiling. His disposition was always that of somebody who was very positive and happy to be serving his spiritual master. Every evening for the last several weeks he was hearing about Srila Prabhupada from Hari Sauri Prabhu's diary. Hari Sauri would go into Maharaja's room to read for some time, even up to two hours. And then after finishing reading from Hari Sauri's diary Maharaja would usually ask me to chant. So practically every evening for the last three weeks, up until just about a week ago, I was chanting in his room. And he would personally tell me that, "I have no taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord." And then he would say, "I know that you are going to say something to try to counter that statement, but it's the truth. Don't say a word. Just be quiet and listen to me." He said, "I have no taste. But if I'm here to try to prepare myself for giving up this body, I have to develop some taste." So he begged me, "So please, you will come here and chant?" And I said, "Maharaja, I have no taste, either." And then he said, "Well, now I'm going to speak. And you shut up." He said, "When I hear you chanting, then I get some taste." So in this way he would say these things to encourage me to come and chant with him in the evenings. I wasn't able to go every single evening. But usually, whatever program was going on in Mayapura at the evening time, I would just kind of disappear and go up to Sridhar Maharaja's room at around 7:30. And we would sit with many devotees in the room and just have kirtan. There were usually up to 50 devotees in the room. Maharaja usually would be lying on the bed. He was not completely bedridden all the time. But usually in the evening he would be quite exhausted. He had liver cancer, and the doctors would have to come from time to time and drain liters and liters of fluid that would accumulate in his abdomen. One day one doctor came and actually extracted seven liters of fluid. So it was quite exhausting for him. But still every day he would go to the Ganga to take bath. He also took part in the abhiseka ceremony, bathing the new Panca Tattva Deities that were installed in Mayapura. He told me personally that this was the only thing he had left to live for. When we heard him say this, we all became a little bit worried, because after the Panca Tattva installation we were afraid that maybe now he would just decide to leave. This Panca Tattva installation was probably the most amazing event I've ever participated in in my whole life. We can probably speak a little about this, too, because the Panca Tattva consists of also Srivas Thakur, whose appearance day is today. But, anyway, Sridhar Maharaja very enthusiastically participated in that abhiseka ceremony. So as is appropriate on appearance or disappearance days of great Vaisnavas that we should speak a little bit about their lives. And as I said, when we speak about the activities of Vaisnavas, we should somehow try to see how the Vaisnavas' activities are connected to the service of the Lord and therefore they are connected to the Lord. Sridhar Maharaja joined the Krsna consciousness movement, I believe it was in 1969. And in 1971 he went to India at the request of Srila Prabhupada to go and assist in establishing Krsna consciousness in India. He began working on the project in Bombay. Those devotees who know a little bit about the Bombay temple, you know that the conditions were extremely austere at that time. Many devotees were living in a rat-infested tin shed. And Sridhar Maharaja was also staying there at that time. Gradually, he became very instrumental in establishing and maintaining our Bombay temple. He served and preached in India practically right up until the present day. Although most of his preaching was in India, he later traveled and preached in so many other cities throughout the world. Sridhar Maharaja took sannyasa in 1975 from Srila Prabhupada and he continued to preach very vigorously to this day. Although I knew of Sridhar Maharaja in the very early years, I really didn't get to know him personally until I took sannyasa. When I accepted the renounced order of life in 1986, that same year I traveled with Sridhar Maharaja for some time in America. At that time I got the opportunity to appreciate many of his wonderful qualities. Sridhar Maharaja always referred to himself as a company man. It almost sounds a little bit impersonal. He wore a cap that said "Prabhupada's dog." So that may give you a little idea of what Sridhar Maharaja meant by being a company man. Prabhupada used to say that these beads on our neck are our dog collars. He said that when you put these beads around your neck it means that you've accepted a master. So Sridhar Maharaja considered himself to be Prabhupada's dog. Although he referred to himself in that I way, I appreciated just how much depth there was in that conviction, because a dog is always known to be very faithful to his master. Prabhupada even told a story once describing how faithful a dog is to his master. I'm not sure where it's from. Neither can I remember the whole story. If somebody does, maybe you could help me. One time this man had to go out for a short while and left his dog with his child. When he returned he saw that the room was empty, the child was not there and there was a trail of blood leading outside. He rushed outside and saw the dog coming from the bushes it's mouth covered with blood. The man was shocked and assumed that the dog had killed the baby and brought it outside into the bushes. He pulled out his gun, called the dog, and told the dog to sit down in front of him. The obedient dog sat there while his master pointed the gun to his head. He didn't move. He just accepted the order to sit. Then the man shot him and killed him. At the sound of the gun shot, he heard a baby crying inside, ran inside, and found the baby lying under the bed. He decided to go back and follow the trail of blood and saw that the dog had killed a fox and dragged the fox out behind the bushes. He then realized that in actuality what had happenned is that the dog put the child under the bed for protection, and then fought with the fox who had entered the house and endangered the baby. The point is that Prabhupada told this story about how the dog is always faithful to his master, and it helps us to understand a little bit the meaning of the cap that Sridhar Maharaja used to wear which said "Prabhupada's dog". He was always a faithful servant for his master and he was ready to do anything for Srila Prabhupada. He demonstrated that by his life in this movement. He would say, "I'm a company man. I've given everything to this movement. Whatever Krsna provides I will accept, and if He doesn't I will go on serving Srila Prabhupada." Sridhar Maharaja was also very expert in preaching to the Indian community. He spoke fluent Hindi, which he learned while serving and preaching in India for so many years. And while traveling and preaching with him in America in the 80s, I got to see a little bit how he captivated an Indian audience by the way that he preached. Sridhar Maharaja was also very witty. He had a way of preaching that would get people to laugh at themselves, and they wouldn't take offense at his preaching. Sridhar Maharaja would oftentimes preach, especially to the Indians in the West, because many of them had gone to the West looking for greener pastures. Especially during those years in the 70s and 80s, many people were emigrating from India, going to America to look for a better means of livelihood. Of course that was the 70s and 80s. Now during the 90s and after 2000, this is the era that the people from the former Soviet Union have taken over. Eventually everybody in less developed countries thinks that going to America is like going to the heavenly planets. Thanks and appreciation from dipika.org to our sponsor and host, During this tour with Maharaja, I would often hear Sridhar Maharaja preach very strongly to the Indians, like, "You've come here, you've given up your culture, you've given up your tradition, you've given up Krsna. You've come here to all of these things that are temporary." And then he would start speaking in Hindi. He would get everyone to laugh and would then melt their hearts. He was expert in dismantling their hopes for happiness in the West. And then he would try to induce them to take up chanting. Every lecture I went with him, he would always, at the end of the lecture, get everybody to chant so enthusiastically. So I very much appreciated this quality about him— his expertise in preaching. And I also appreciated how much he had love for his Godbrothers. I was amazed, actually, when he arrived in Mayapura. It was somewhere around February 11th or 12th. At that time, he had been warned by the doctors in Canada. First he was told in Bombay that they found traces of cancer, because he has been suffering from liver problems for many, many years. So he decided to go to Canada, where he was originally from, in Vancouver, and consult with the doctors to see if it was possible for a liver transplant. After a thorough examination, the doctors had told him after some time that the cancer had spread too far and that he could not qualify for a liver transplant. So he said that, "Well, I'm just going to go to Mayapura so that I can be with my Godbrothers and so that I can see the Panca Tattva installation, and I'll just go there to leave my body in the association of all of my Godbrothers." I heard about him from several sources shortly after this and heard that everyone was amazed by his spirit. One day one of the doctors came to him. He was supposed to get his abdomen drained from fluids that day. His abdomen would get very bloated. The doctor placed his hand on his stomach and Sridhar Maharaja turned to a few of us and said, "It's a boy!" His brother was there. In fact, both of his brothers were there. Both of his brothers came from Vancouver to be with him. They were not practicing devotees, but within two weeks, they were both shaved up, with sikhas, chanting in kirtans, and attending programs. In fact, one day, his brother— I became close with his brothers, and one of his younger brothers, Stuart, we were talking outside of Sridhar Maharaja's room, and he was looking at me and said, "You know we are having an unbelievable experience here." So I said, "Yes, you're probably finding a lot of love here, aren't you?" And he said, "Yes, I've never seen such love like this." And he said, "My heart is just melting seeing all of this love that's manifesting around my brother." So I said, "Yes you're very fortunate, because your brother is creating all of this love by his presence right now." That's the first time I spoke to Stuart, actually. And then he just said, "Yeh," and he just threw his arms around me as if we had been close friends for years. He embraced me, and neither of us could let go for a long time. He repeated, "I've never seen such love," and he started to cry. So his two brothers were there when the doctor was examining him. They stayed by his side quite frequently. And at that time, just nobody knew what to expect. But Sridhar Maharaja was also just simply trying to lighten up the atmosphere. His brother was crying at the sight of his older brother, and when Sridhar Maharaja said, "It's a boy," everybody started laughing. His brother switched from tears to laughter. Sridhar Maharaja was artfully dealing with everybody's emotions. He was always trying to take away any emotion that would cause crying. But of course, although he would joke, he was very Krsna conscious as well. One night after I finished kirtan— we had chanted for about two hours and Maharaja was extremely tired, but still during the kirtan, while lying in the bed, he would always put his arms up, and move them like this, like he was dancing. Of course, he couldn't get up and dance, but he would put his arms like this. And then just at the end of the kirtan, Maharaja just sat up and the room was filled with about 50 or 60 devotees. Maharaja then gave the most brilliant, sharp, clear lecture. He spoke for quite some time, how we are not these bodies. His consciousness was so crystal clear. And his lecture was powerful. How many times have we heard that we are not these bodies? But Maharaja spoke with such realization that everybody was just sitting there with their mouths open, as Maharaja was showing not only by his words, but by his actions on how to be detached from the body. His body was looking very frail. His face was a bit emaciated. But he spoke like a lion. And, again, I was appreciating his example. And the other point that Maharaja displayed was that he really showed unconditional love for his Godbrothers. It didn't make any difference what time of the day, who it was, if a Godbrother walked in the door, no matter how tired he was, how sick he was, he immediately stood up, he would throw his arms in embrace around his Godbrother, and he wouldn't let go. And then he would start glorifying. He did this with every single Godbrother, and in Mayapura, during this Gaura Purnima Festival, there were a lot of Godbrothers, probably no less than 100 throughout the festival. And everyone who came in— he would immediately throw his arms around him and just start glorifying him. So then, two weeks ago, one Godbrother, his name is Tridandi Prabhu, he knew this doctor down in Kerala, South India. And this doctor had been very successful in curing cancer patients. So he asked Sridhar Maharaja, "If we can get some kind of treatment for you, would you be willing to take it?" And Maharaja said, "Well, if there's any reason for me to stay, I'll stay. But to tell you the truth, I came here to leave my body. Do you think that there is anything to this doctor?" But Tridandi tried to convince him that he was a good doctor. The doctor was trained in America as an oncologist. He was also an Ayurvedic doctor and also a botanist. So he had many qualifications. So Sridhar Maharaja said, "OK, if you think that he can do something then let him come." So then the devotee arranged for this doctor to come within a few days. The doctor examined him and said to him, "I can cure you. This is not irreversible. You just simply have to follow this diet and take this medicine, and in three weeks you will see some results. Now Sridhar Maharaja likes prasadam. He's always been known as somebody who likes prasadam. He was called the Jolly Swami also because he had a jolly appearance. So the doctor gave him a very restricted diet, and something like that was not easy for Sridhar Maharaja. But the doctor said that, "You should follow this diet and take this medicine for three weeks." It was a very bland diet. So after a few days of following the treatment, Sivarama called from Vrndavana. And he was asking Sridhar Maharaja how he was feeling. Maharaja replied, "Well my lungs are working all right." Because he was having some problems with his lungs, too at that time. He said "My liver seems to be working." Then he said, "But I'm afraid that this diet is going to kill me." Prabhupada was like that also, actually. When Prabhupada was very ill the devotees were trying to restrict his intake of food. And they were giving him very bland food. And Prabhupada said, "Get rid of this. Let us die eating prasadam." Prabhupada also had a similar mood. He didn't like this strict diet. But still Sridhar Maharaja followed it. So, because the doctor felt so confident, Sridhar Maharaja started to feel more confident. So all the Godbrothers who were there in Mayapura started to think, "Well Sridhar Maharaja is feeling so confident." Then it gradually became the time for most of the devotees to leave because the festival was ending. So Sridhar Maharaja was telling everybody, "Hey, don't come in here and say good-by to me. I'm not going anywhere. Get out of here. You should just go do your preaching. Prabhupada wouldn't want you to stay here." To many godbrothers who came in, he said, "Don't say good-by." To me he said, "I'll see you in Moscow." So his disposition completely changed. And before that many of us were thinking, "How can we leave Mayapura?" In fact, earlier I was thinking that, too. I had changed my ticket to stay a few days longer, because I didn't know what was going to happen. Many devotees would ask me, "When are you leaving?" And I said, "Well to tell you the truth, I can't imagine going into the room and saying good-by to Sridhar Maharaja and I can't imagine leaving and not saying good-by to Sridhar Maharaja. So how can I go anywhere?" So I was also thinking that, "Maybe I'll stay a little bit longer to see how Maharaja's health develops." But Maharaja was getting so positive, that he was telling everybody, "Go, Go. Don't come in here and say good-by to me." He wanted everybody to go out and preach. Even when I called him yesterday, Maharaja said, "Why are you wasting your money calling me?" He said, "You have more important things to do with your money." So I said, "Maharaja, it's not my money. It's Prabhupada's money, and you're Prabhupada's dog." So I said, "Don't try to get me off the phone. Let's talk for awhile." So after some talk, he said, "Call me back in a couple of weeks." I said, "Maharaja, I'll call you back in a couple of days." And even yesterday, Maharaja's spirits were good. Although he did say to me, "Please, preach to me to keep the faith to stay here, because my faith to stay is getting a little weak right now." So, of course, it was very difficult for me. I actually wanted to stay in Mayapura, but because he was feeling so positive, and so was I, I decided to leave. And the irony is that I had left Mayapura, and then flew from Calcutta to Bombay. Two days later I got a phone call in Bombay at about 11:15 at night. I was leaving for the airport to fly to Kiev at 11:30. Vraja Kumara dasa called me and told me, "I just spoke to Mayapura dasa, Sridhar Maharaja's servant and Mayapura says that Sridhar Maharaja is feeling distressed right now because his Godbrothers have left, and he feels that it is a rough night for him tonight. He's having difficulty breathing and not many of his Godbrothers are there right now. " So at that particular point, I had to choose either to cancel the flight and go back to Mayapura, although I was leaving to catch my flight literally in 15 minutes, or to leave for Ukraine. I left for Ukraine. And I guess that's why it was a little extra painful for me this morning when I found out that Sridhar Maharaja had left his body at 6:15 this morning in Mayapura. There are many things more we could say about Sridhar Maharaja. He was a very wonderful devotee, and the world is going to experience a great loss. He was a Vaisnava through and through. He had only one attachment. He just wanted to be Prabhupada's dog. Of course as we know there is really no cause for lamentation. "He reasons ill who say that Vaisnavas die when thou are living still in sound. Vaisnavas die to live and in living try to spread the holy name around." (Some difficulty translating and it was taking some time) Vaisnavas don't die. That's the point. They may simply disappear from our vision. But Vaisnavas will always go on, continuing to do what they've done in this world, which is serving the Lord. Of course, we lament for the loss of the association of Vaisnavas. But for the Vaisnavas, themselves, there is no cause for lamentation. So in that sense, that's why we celebrate the disappearance day of great Vaisnavas. Someone might ask, "How is it a cause for celebration?" But it's a celebration because when Vaisnavas depart from our vision they are simply going on to continue their service for the Lord. When Sridhar Maharaja departed he was fully conscious. Devotees were chanting and he was hearing the holy name. He was completely absorbed in meditation on a picture of Prabhupada. Prabhupada's dog. That's all he wanted to see, was Prabhupada. And he departed very peacefully. Devotees who were present with him said that it was a very auspicious departure. So actually, in a sense, we do lament for the departure of a Vaisnava. Just like Srivas Thakur. Right. Today is his appearance day. There is a very wonderful pastime of Srivasa Thakur. Srivas Thakur as we know, he would conduct kirtans every night in his home with Lord Caitanya and His associates. Lord Caitanya would appear in four places. He would appear wherever Lord Nityananda was dancing in ecstasy. He would appear in the altar room of Sacimata. He would appear in the home of Raghava Pandit. And He would always appear when there was kirtan in the house of Srivas Pandit. The Lord would appear in different ways. One way is called "saksat," when he would directly appear. Another was called "avirbhava." He would manifest due to the strong love of His devotees. They would attract him to come. Not everybody would see His presence. But those whose eyes were deeply imbued with love and who had attracted the Lord could see the Lord's presence in His avirbhava form. And He would also appear in the form called "avesa." Avesa form is when He would appear in an empowered person. So Lord Caitanya would appear in the house of Srivasa Thakur. Of course, at this particular time about which we are speaking, He was directly present. And Lord Caitanya would regularly conduct all-night kirtans. He would experience great ecstasy during these kirtans. Only the most confidential associates of the Lord were allowed to participate in these kirtans. Present were Haridas Thakur, Lord Nityananda, Advaita Acarya, Srivasa Pandit, Srivas Pandit's brothers, Srirama Pandit, Srinidhi, Sripati— and so many other associates of the Lord were there. And the Lord, in the presence of these intimate associates would experience such great ecstatic love. But one night, during one of these kirtans, the son of Srivasa Pandit left his body. Present at the time of the son's departure were Srivas Pandit's wife, his brothers, and their wives. And when the son of Srivasa Pandit had departed, many of them felt great lamentation within their hearts. They were crying, very distressed at the disappearance of their close son. Srivasa understood that something had taken place in the other room, so Srivasa walked into the other room and saw that his son had returned to the spirtual world. He then turned around and saw that everyone was lamenting, and immediately chastised them, "Why are you lamenting? Why are you crying like this? Don't you understand? The Supreme Personality of Godhead is here in our home, dancing in kirtan. Anyone who sees His face receives the highest benediction. Anyone who hears His name receives the highest benediction. Why are you lamenting in this way? The Lord is omniscient. He knows everyone's heart. Please give up your lamentation. Otherwise you will disturb the kirtan of the Lord." Srivasa Thakur was thinking that the Lord was experiencing so much ecstasy, but if He saw everybody crying and lamenting then His ecstasy would break. He said, "If you do not give up your lamentation right at this minute, I will immediately tie a rope around my neck and I will drown myself in the Ganges." So Srivasa Thakur preached very strongly to all of his family members to give up their lamentation and go back in the kirtan and smile. And he threatened them, "If you don't, I'll drown myself." So he returned to the kirtan and he was ecstatic, dancing in ecstasy. And everybody else was also dancing, but within their hearts they were lamenting. But all Srivasa could think of was that he did not want to disturb the ecstasy of the Lord. And so the kirtan continued for many hours. Then at one moment, all of a sudden Lord Caitanya stopped, and He came to external consciousness. Because usually when He was in such ecstasy, He would lose external consciousness and would go completely into internal consciousness. So He came to external consciousness and said, "I think that something has happened here in this house," because the Lord could understand what was going on in their hearts. Then Srivasa Thakur immediately spoke up. "Oh Lord, how can there be anything lamentable in my house? You are present. I am seeing Your face. You are dancing in such bliss! Everyone here is so blissful. What could be the cause for lamentation? Nobody can be lamenting." And Srivasa Thakur was trying to convince Lord Caitanya that, "Nothing is going on here. Please continue. Chant! Dance! Ecstasy! Ecstasy!" But gradually Lord Caitanya could understand and others began speaking. They said, "Oh Lord, Srivasa's son has departed from this world. And Lord Caitanya said, "What? Tell me, when did it happen? How long ago?" The devotees said, "It happened about seven and a half hours ago. But Srivasa, not wanting to disturb your ecstasy, told us all to keep it within our hearts." When Lord Caitanya heard this he began to cry. He understood how much love Srivasa had for Him. And He said to Srivasa, "How is it possible that you have so much love for Me that you don't even know grief for your departed son?" So Lord Caitanya then went into the other room and He saw that Srivasa's son had departed. He approached the son, and He asked, "Tell me, why did you leave?" And everyone was gathered around. Srivasa was gathered there, all his family members were gathered there. So the Lord arranged for the living entity to appear back in the body of Srivasa's departed son. And then the son began speaking. He said, "Oh, my Lord. The destined time for my life span in this world is now exhausted. Now it is time to depart from this world and go on to my next destination. Who is anyone's son? Who is anyone's father? We are all living beings meant to go on in our journey from one body to the next. Oh my Lord, I simply pray to Your lotus feet. Please forgive me for any offenses I may have committed in your presence, and please allow me to continue to my next destination." And then he stopped speaking. Everyone that was standing there was overwhelmed. Through the mouth of this young boy, they were all given appropriate instructions, and they could all understand that the living entity that was in the body of Srivasa Thakur's son was simply returning back to the spiritual world. Lord Caitanya arranged this simply to remove everyone's lamentation. The Lord does not like to see lamentation within the heart of His devotee. So He instructed everyone through the mouth of the departed son of Srivasa Thakur. And when they heard all of these instructions, all of them, folded their hands, they bowed down, touched the lotus feet of the Lord and began offering prayers. "Oh Lord, You are our father, You are our son, You are everything to us. Simply by Your presence we are feeling such great happiness," and they began many wonderful prayers in gratitude to the Lord. Then all the proper rites were performed for the departed son of Srivasa Thakur, and everyone's lamentation was completely dispelled. Then Lord Caitanya turned to Srivasa Thakur, and He said again, "Srivas, how can I ever give up the association of one who has so much love for Me? One who does not even know grief for the loss of his own son? From this day, both Nityananda and I— We will become your sons. You will never know suffering. All those who ever see you will also never know suffering. Simply by seeing you all their suffering will go away." In this way, Lord Caitanya gave the benediction to Srivasa. Because Srivasa was so devoted to the Lord, the Lord blessed him. The Lord also made an arrangement to help us, to remove our lamentation. Just by the instructions that were given by the departed son of Srivasa, and by the instructions that were given by Srivasa to his family members, we can understand that there is no cause of lamentation for the loss of our dear godbrother Sridhar Maharaja. He departed on the Appearance Day of Srivasa Thakur. He departed in Sri Mayapur Dham. He departed surrounded by devotees chanting the Holy Names of the Lord. And He departed in full consciousness. So how can there be any cause for lamentation for him? Certainly, he achieved the fulfillment of all his desires. So today we are experiencing both the Appearance Day of Srivas Thakur and the Disappearance Day of His Holiness Sridhar Maharaja. And on the strength of remembering both and remembering their instructions and examples we've been able to go on speaking. Otherwise, someone even as emotional as me would have too oftentimes broken down and cried at the thought of his departure. So thank you very much. Sridhar Maharaja ki jaya!

RAMANUJACHARYA TAKES ALL RISK TO HELP THE CONDITIONED SOULS Therefore it is warned: “Don’t talk this philosophy of Bhagavad-gita to the rascal who has no austerities, no devotion, and who is not prepared to hear.” But the servants of Krsna take all risk for Krsna's sake. Just like Ramanujacharya. His spiritual master said, “My dear son, the mantra which I am giving, you shall silently chant and you’ll be delivered. It is so powerful. Don’t chant this mantra loudly so that others can hear.” So Ramanujacharya thought, “If this mantra is so powerful that if others hear it they’ll also be delivered, so why not chant it loudly?” He immediately went to the market and began to chant the mantra. So his spiritual master became very angry, “I told you not to chant so others may hear.” Ramanujacharya said, “My Lordship, I have made an offense unto you. That’s all right. For this, I am prepared to go to hell. But if this mantra is so powerful, I must speak it to everyone.” So that is our proposal. Although we are warned not to speak to the rascals, still we are flattering, “My dear sir, please hear, please hear, please hear. Please give up your bad habit. Please do it.” To turn one man to Krsna consciousness we have to shed a hundred tons of blood. So therefore it is warned and yet we are not easy-going, to say don't preach. We have taken the risk to preach. And it is becoming successful. People will take it. That is the Vaisnava philosophy—that others may be delivered. Prahlada Maharaja said “My dear Lord, for my personal self, I have no problem. I can chant Your holy name anywhere. I am simply thinking of these fools. For temporary happiness they are working so hard like dogs and hogs. I am simply concerned for them..” A pure devotee, in spite of the warning by Krsna, approaches the nondevotees and flatters them: “Please take to Krsna consciousness.” That we should do. Krsna will be pleased. Our business is to become a little recognized by Krsna. So we shall go on preaching like this at all risk. (Class by Srila Prabhupada Sept. 9,1972) The Supreme Lord, Narayana, is present among devotees who are engaged in hearing and chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Narayana is the ultimate goal of sannyasis, those in the renounced order of life, and Narayana is worshiped through this sankirtana movement by those who are liberated from material contamination. Indeed, they recite the holy name again and again. Dear Lord, Your personal associates, devotees, wander all over the world to purify even the holy places of pilgrimage. Is not such activity pleasing to those who are actually afraid of material existence? (The Pracetas SB 4.30.36-37) Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

"SVANANDA-ASVADANANDI" He is ecstatic by tasting the bliss of Himself if the form of Krsna During a night of the autumn season when a full moon brightened everything, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wandered all night long with His devotees. He walked from garden to garden, seeing the pastimes of Lord Krsna and hearing and reciting songs and verses concerning the rasa-lila. He sang and danced in ecstatic love and sometimes imitated the rasa dance in emotional ecstasy. He sometimes ran here and there in the madness of ecstasy and sometimes fell and rolled on the ground. Sometimes He became completely unconscious. When He heard Svarupa Damodara recite a verse concerning the rasa-lila or He Himself recited one, He would personally explain it, as He had previously done. In this way, He explained the meaning of all the verses concerning the rasa-lila. Sometimes He would be very sad and sometimes very happy. To explain fully all those verses and all the transformations that took place in the Lord's body would require a very large volume. If Ananta, with His one thousand hoods, tried to describe even one day's pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He would find them impossible to describe fully. If Ganesha, Lord Shiva son and the expert scribe of the demigods, tried for millions of millenniums to fully describe one day of the Lord's pastimes, he would be unable to find their limit. Even Lord Krsna is struck with wonder at seeing the transformations of ecstasy in His devotees. If Krsna Himself cannot estimate the limits of such emotions, how could others? Krsna Himself cannot fully understand the conditions, the mode of progress, the happiness and unhappiness, and the moods of ecstatic love of His devotees. He therefore accepts the role of a devotee to taste these emotions fully. Ecstatic love of Krsna makes Krsna and His devotees dance, and it also dances personally. In this way, all three dance together in one place. One who wants to describe the transformations of ecstatic love of Krsna is like a dwarf trying to catch the moon in the sky. As the wind can carry away but a drop of the water in the ocean, a living entity can touch only a particle of the ocean of love of Krsna. Endless waves arise moment after moment in that ocean of love. How could an insignificant living entity estimate their limits? Only a person on the level of Svarupa Damodara Goswami can fully know what Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu tastes in His love for Krsna.When an ordinary living entity describes the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he purifies himself by touching one drop of that great ocean. (CC Antya-lila 18.4-23) The ocean of ecstatic love for Krsna is very difficult to understand, even for such demigods as Lord Brahma. By enacting His pastimes, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu submerged Himself in that ocean, and His heart was absorbed in that love. Thus He exhibited in various ways the exalted position of transcendental love for Krsna. All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead! (Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami CC Antya-lila 15.1-2) Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare