melvin

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri

Govinda, the One who enlivens the senses

of everyone by His personal bodily features,

resides in His transcendental abode, Goloka

Vrndavana, yet He is present in every nook

and corner of His creations hy His expan-

sions. He is therefore the Supreme Absolute

Truth, Sri Krishna. His transcendental form

is full of eternity, knowledge and bliss.

I Therefore offer my respectful obeisances

to my dearmost Supreme Lord. May He and His

Brother, Sri Balarama, be merciful to me.

My understanding of Ramayana is that

it`s an epic or saga describing the life

of Lord Ramachandra and His wife, Laks-

midevi. When Ravana, a demon, abducted

Lord Rama`s wife, Laksmidevi, the Lord

never forgave Ravana for such dastardly

act, even if the Lord had to chase Ravana

to the ends of the earth. With the help

of Hanuman, the half-human, half monkey

devotee of the Lord, they were able to

cross the vast ocean when Lord Ramachandra

with His inconceivable energy casts large

boulders unto the water which did not sink

as these gigantic rocks became sort of a

foot path by which the Lord and Hanuman

could cross the vast ocean leading to

Ravana`s abode, Sri Lanka. As they reached

its shores, Lord Ramachandra immediately

confronted the demon Ravana. There was a

fight and the demon Ravana was killed when

Lord Ramachandra shot the demon with His

arrow pierching Ravana`s weakest part,

the heart. When the demon Ravana got hit

by Lord Rama`s blazing arrow, he immedia-

tely took a dive, like a supersonic jet

being hit by Arjuna`s brahmastra bullet.

After this great battle, Lord Ramachandra

then took His wife, Laksmidevi, back to

His kingdom in Mathura, thanking as They

depart, the services of Hanuman and His

devotees.

All glories to Lord Ramachandra who is

like Lord Baladeva in strength and pro-

wess Who always protect His devotees from

demons like Ravana or Hiranyakasipu.

( Note: This story was taken from the

book, Srimad Bhagavatam. My apologies if

the summary of this epic is left, among

the lovers of Vedanta philosophy, to be

desired )

Hello! Viji,

GOD is an acronym of G(Generator)

O(Operator) and D(Destroyer). That

is what I used to know from the

very start when I developed a taste

for the Absolute Truth.

Today, GOD to me looks like this:

GO(VIN)D(A).

Self-realization is like waking up from

a dream, knowing that God had asked you

to complete the assignment He has re-

quested you to do. It does not matter

how many dreams/lives you`ve been through.

As long as you have completed the task

He has given you.

I`m reminded of a friend who took him

almost two decades to finish and pass the

board in medicine( 4-years in college,

4-years proper medicine, 1 year post-gra-

duate, 6 months rural work, and 6 months

review for the board exams ). When he

finally passed the licensure for physi-

cians last year, everyone next to him

breathed a sigh of relief. We even joked

that he was one of those who contributed

to the construction of the massive pil-

lars responsible for his alma mater`s

school buildings standing on its own feet.

When he applied to volunteer in the hos-

pital where I work, everyone who knew him

were scratching their heads as to how he

could compete with his colleagues in the

field when experience-wise, even a nurse

could handle and treat a sick patient

better than my friend. But he persevered,

even though he does not receive anything

from the services he renders to his pa-

tients who actually are under our service

but gave these cases to him for his limi-

ted practice.

At present, after almost a year, my friend

Dr. A. R. still reports for duty although

he is not connected in any way with the

hospital where I work. And I really, tell

you the truth, appreciate the kind of

spirit he pours on his job without pay.

My friend, Dr. A.R., is not the kind of

person whom we say, is very religious. He

enjoys with his friends over a case of

beer on his day-off. At an age of 50 years

old, my friend still remains single, the

eldest among the few siblings who have

their own businesses to take care of.

I don`t discuss to my friend, Dr. A.R.,

about spiritual matters because I know God

in His own time will call and ask him to

preach the Good News. It`s enough that my

friend passed the medical board exams and

not giving up when the breaks were no-

where. The service my friend renders to

his patients, with sincerity and honesty,

is enough to please God. Because he did

it without asking from Him the returns.

Are we one like my friend?

Vedic Mantra of Purification

--------------------------------

om apavitrah pavitro va

sarvavastham gato pi va

yah smaret pudarikaksam

sa bahyabhyantavah sucih

sri vishnu sri vishnu sri

vishnu

" Unpurified or purified, or

even having passed through all

situations, one who remembers

the lotus eye of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead is cleansed

within and without. "

nama om visnu padaya krishna

prestahya bhu-tale srimate

bhaktivedanta-svam iti namine

" I offer my respectful obeisances

unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakti-

vedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is

very dear to Lord Krishna, having

taken shelter unto His lotus feet."

The summum bonnum of Bhagavad-gita

is to surrender unto Krishna`s lotus

feet and become His pure-devotee.

One should therefore follow the foot-

steps of a pure devotee like Bhakti-

vedanta Swami Prabhupada and his

associates and chant the Hare Krishna

maha-mantra, "... there`s no other

way... no other way... in this age of

Kali-yuga, " says Lord Chaitanya Ma-

haprabhu.

Jesus Christ said to his disciples,

" I`m the Way, the Truth, and Life."

Krishna consciousness therefore is

the only Path, the Absolute Truth,

and the very Life of a pure-devotee

who is cent-percent so much in love

with God.

That is our conclusion: ON NAMO BHA-

GAVATE VASUDEVAYA.

Bathala is a Visayan word for God. To be

more specific, ChildGod. He`s enshrined

today at the Basilica del Sto. Nino in

Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines. He`s the

Cebuano`s Patron Saint, because it was

here in Cebu island where Christianity in

the Southeast Asia began, after Magellan

planted the cross on her soil 379 years

ago, in the name of the King of Spain,

Philip.

Not much has happened to the Visayans af-

ter Spain abdicated her to the United

States of America in the early 1900s, a

taste of Japan in the middle 1940s, until

she got her independence after the World

War II.

The island of Cebu where the ChildGod( Bat-

hala) therefore is enshrined is the spot

where Balarama, Krishna`s Brother is found.

If you want to see Krishna`s twin Brother,

the ChildGod Bathala, then you are most

welcome to visit this web site: http:www.

mateo.bizland.com/ There you can see Him

as you click on the colored balls one af-

ter the other. That is one of the lost

shrines of Narayana I had been telling you

to search and uncover. To us, devotees of

the Lord Balarama, we, Visayans, worshiped

Him as our dear Sr. Sto. Nino.

A Prayer to Bathala in Visayan Dialect

---------

O Senor Santo Nino, nga nag-ingon Ka:

" Pangayo, ug makadayat kamo; pangita ug

makakaplag kamo, pagtuktuk ug abrihan ka-

mo," nangamuyo Kami kanimo sa bug-os na-

mong kasingkasing, dinha sa pulong ug sa

buhat, ug nga dili gayud kami muhunong sa

pagdayeg Kanimo. Himoa, O Senor Santo Nino

nga kami magbaton kanunay sa kahadlok ug

sa gugma sa Imong Santos nga Ngalan, kay

dili man gayud Ikaw mobiya sa pag-amuma ka-

nila nga Imong gilig-on pagbarug dinha sa

Imong gugma(love), pinaagi ni Kristo nga

among Ginoo. Amen.

The Connections

-----------------------

The missing pieces of the puzzle how Lord

Garbhodakasayi Vishnu`s different forms

control the cosmos were described began

when the Vaisnava almanac became the

standard of reference. From this book, we

learned that the twelve months of the year

were named after the twelve representatives

of Lord Krishna`s four-handed plenary form

as Narayana and His predominating Deity

incarnations, each of which represents the

twelve months of the year in the calendar,

beginning from Margasirsa, late october to

early November, then to Keshava, late No-

vember, followed by Narayana representing

the month of December, Madhava representing

the month of January, Govinda represnting

February, Vishnu representing March, Sri

madhusudana representing April, Trivikrama

represnting May, Vamana represnting June,

Sridhara representing the month of July,

Hrsikesa representing August, Padmanabha

representing September, and Damodara repre-

senting October. These plenary expansions

of the Lord therefore control eternal TIME.

Other Paramatmas defined:

-------------------------

1) Adhoksaha- Lord Krishna`s is said to be

beyond the range of experimental know-

ledge.

2) Padmanabha- He entered the universe as

the Garbhodakasayi Visnu where the first

living entity, Brahma, was born in His

transcendental lotus navel.

3) Hari- One who takes away from His pure

devotee which he doesn`t need in his ad-

vancement in Bhakti-yoga.

4) Pradyumna- Incarnation of Sanat-Kumara,

born of the son of Lord Krishna and Laks-

midevi Rukmini, the principal Queen of

Dvaraka. He is therefore one of the ple-

nary expansion of Lord Krishna.

5) Vamana- The dwarf incarnation of the

Lord who took two steps by steping for-

ward quickly, Urukrama, to obtain the

right to possess the whole of kingdom of

Bali Maharaja( the grandson of Prahlada

Maharaja) after the Lord asked Bali Ma-

raja a piece of land from him in just

three steps, which Bali Maharaj obliged

without ado thinking that Lord Vamana

was an ordinary beggar.

( To be continued)

It is the duty of a Vaisnava, one who knows

the science of Krishna, to begin searching

where the lost sites of Lord Narayana, the

four-handed Vishnu forms of Krishna, and

eventually locate Them in order to inspire and give pleasure to the other Vaisnavas, or

pure-devotees of Krishna, who have not set

foot on any Indian soil. These Vaisnavas

from all over the world have simply forgot-

ten that there exist on the island( conti-

nent they were born) the hidden form of the

Lord of the Universe, a shrine buried for

centuries in some remote desert, forest, and

mountain. Locating these lost sites(shrines)

of Lord Narayana(Krishna) should be made

the Vaisnavas priority by embarking on a

journey of excavating whatever that is left

of the Lord`s prints after His departure

for Goloka Vrndavan, India, 5,000 yrs. ago.

The Needle in the Haystack

------------------------------

Hence, by simply finishing what Swami Prabhu-

pad has started after his departure to Vrn-

davan in Krishnaloka 23 yrs. ago, it is

therefore imperative that his translations

on Srimad Bhagavatam be translated to their

versions for the people at the local level

to understand this great science of Krishna

consciousness. Once the local folks get a

good description of the Lord`s different

forms, then the task of locating the lost

sites of Narayana will not be that hard be-

cause of the willingness of the local peo-

ple to help and cooperate with a Vaisnava

in the mold of Sanatana Goswani and his

associates in helping find these lost trea-

sures. Its discovery will also help the lo-

cal community because of the unexpected

benedictions Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu bes-

tows for finding what has been lost, the

Holy Shrines of Lord Vausdeva. That is

therefore the ultimate mission of a Vaisana-

va who loves Lord Krishna`s servant, A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the co-editor

of Vyasadeva, the author of Srimad Bhagava-

tam.

The four manifestations of Narayana(Krishna)

are found in each planet of the spiritual sky

of which the planet Narayanaloka is repre-

sented, also called the Vaikuntahloka. On

each of these planets, the four-handed Nara-

yana form is further subdivided in the forms

of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, and Ani-

ruddha, and Narayana being at the center

from whom these other forms revolve, each of

which have expanded into other forms, of

which, Keshava is One among the 12 other

different forms with names taken from how

each carry the symbols(flower, conchshell,

disc, mace ) are arranged. Through these

different placements is the reason why

the form of Vasudeva have systematically

manifested the forms of Keshava, Narayana,

and Madhava, the form of Sankarsana as

Govinda, Visnu and Madhusudana, Pradyumna

in the forms representing Trivikrama, Va-

mana and Sridhara, while, the forms of Ani-

ruddha as Hrsikesa, Padmanabha and Damodara.

In order to fully understand how these Na-

rayana forms representing Krishna were in-

vested, we can perhaps get a clue from the

Vaisnava almanac as our point of reference,

a book that describes the 12 months of the year named after the 12 Vaikuntha forms of

Narayana(Krishna) known as the predomina-

ting Deities representing the 12 months of

the calendar, beginning with the month of

Margasirsa, which is equivalent to late of

October and early November. The remainder

of November is known by Vaisnavas as Ke-

shava, December as Narayana, January as

Madhava, February as Govinda, March as Vis-

nu, April as Sri Madhusudana, May as Tri-

vikrama, June as Vamana, July as Sridhara,

August as Hrsikesa, September as Padmanabha,

and early October as Damodara.

In other words, in the spiritual sky, all

the planets dominated by the Narayana form

(Krishna`s plenary form) are transcendental,

the topmost planet of which is Krishnaloka,

where the three places where Krishna plays

his pastimes, Gokula Vrndavan, Mathura, and

Dvaraka, are located.

In Mathura, the form of Keshava is always

found represented on earth as the Keshava

murti situated in Mathura, India. Similarly,

there is the Purusottama form in Jagannatha

Puri in Orissa. In Anandaraya, the form of

Visnhu, and in Mayapur( the birthplace of

Lord Krishna Chaitanya ) is the form of

Hari. There are many forms of Narayana loca-

ted in various places on earth, an indica-

tion that the world comprised of seven con-

tinents(islands) also have the other forms

of Narayana(Krishna) located in some remote

part of the earth, which at this moment,

there are no information as to where these

other forms are enshrined.

It is therefore the duty of a Vaisnava to

uncover Their exact locations in order to

inspire and give the devotees the pleasure

of discovering for themselves these lost

sites of Narayana`s different forms. These

devotees of Krishna I`m refering to were

not born in India who have simply forgotten

their original identities as Krishna`s

eternal associates. This is precisely why

the Krishna bhaktas should continue A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad`s mission of

translating Srimad Bhagavatam to its local

versions because by doing so, they might positively uncover, with the help of

the local folks who have understood what is

Krishna consciousness is all about, the lost

sites(temples) where the different forms of

Narayana(Krishna) are enshrined.

This project of locating the lost sites of

the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda,

began in Lord Krishna Chaitanya`s time, who

instructed His disciple, Sanatana Goswami,

to uncover them. That was their mission and

it is therefore the duty of a devotee who

loves Srila Bhaktivedanta Prabhupad to finish

this project from where his work, after Sa-

natana Goswami, had ended.

(reference book: The Teachings of Lord Chai-

tanya)

Hare Krishna!

Yes, Lord Vishnu, Who is no other than

Lord Krishna in His plenary form awarded

award Arjuna the gift of liberation or

mukti but it became an obstacle in his

progress for spiritual perfection when

he refused to fight his relatives in the

Battle of Kuruksetra.

Mukti or liberation is a state of mind

or self when he has merged his persona

in the Lord`s Brahmajyoti, a philosophy

on the science of impersonalism prac-

ticed by Mayavadis.

Only after Krishna showed Arjuna His

universal form that the latter was con-

vinced to fight in that great Battle of

Good and Evil. This willingness to

engage in implementing the Lord`s order

is called Bhakti.

Lord Krishna therefore prefers that His

devotee desires from Him the gift of

Bhakti(devotional service) instead of

Mukti(liberation).

" It is neither practical nor necessary

for one who is already engaged in Bhakti

and whose minds is fixed in samadhi to

endeavor for the cultivation of knowledge

and renunciation, " Krishna`s answer to

Uddhava`s questions about certain contra-

dictions regarding the study of Yoga.

In other words, Bhakti should be foremost

in the yogi`s mind than Mukti.

Hare Krishna!

Hare Krishna!

My wife,Cecile,was diagnosed on June this

year for having stones in her R and L kid-

neys, medically termed as nephrolithiasis,

which radiologists would call as " s-

ponged kidneys. " There are, thanked God,

no indications yet for surgery. That`s why

we are treating her medically with pipera-

zine granules to dissolve the stones by

alkalinizing her urine, an anti-diabetic

drug for her elevated serum blood sugar,

and analgesics for her back pains. My wife

is a devout Catholic and she prays regu-

larly the Holy Rosary. She`s a plain house-

wife, taking care of our three children

with their needs, and doing her best to make

our home spotlessly clean.

Me and my wife, Cecile, differ in our view

about God. Externally, I`m Catholic but in-

ternally, a Krishna conscious human being.

Either way, I`m completely surrendered to

Him, the Paramatma within everyone`s heart,

Hari.

Please heal my wife`s discomfort, dear ser-

vants of God. I know you can do it and I`ll always be grateful for any effort you may

have spent on healing her kidney problem.

Hare Krishna!

It is stated in Srimad Bhagavatam(2.2.9)that

the all-pervading, and omnipotent Supreme

Person(Krishna) expands Himself in His ple-

nary form as Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, Who

resides within everyone`s heart. He is said

to be approximately 8 inches in size( from

the ring finger to the tip of the thumb ),

Who holds in His hands a lotus flower, disc,

conchshell, and a club. His name is Janar-

dana because He controls anything that has

mass. There are other forms, however, that

may rise, like Keshava, if the objects the

Paramatma(Supersoul) carry are arranged with

the symbolic lotus flower being the first,

from right to left, followed by the conch-

shell, disc, and club, respectively. Keshava

in short is in-charge with fulfilling our

desires, Who appeared before Dhruva Maharaj

in order to grant the latter`s wish of ac-

quiring some piece of land. But when Dhruva

saw the Lord, he refused Keshava to grant

him that wish. Nevertheless, Keshava awarded

Dhruva the right to rule the planet, Pole-

star, where it serves as the pivot for whom

all the other stars revolve.

I don`t know yet how the other Paramatmas

function with names according to how the

symbols( lotus, mace, etc.) They each carry

and arranged. These Paramatma forms are as

follows; Purusottama, Acyuta, Narasimha,

Trivikrama, Hrsikesa, Madhava, Aniruddha,

Pradyumna, Sankarsana, Vasudeva, Damodara,

Narayana, Hari, Padmanabha, Vamana, Madhu-

sudana, Govinda, Krishna, Vishnumurti,

Adhosaja, and Upendra.

I would like therefore to know how these

other Paramatmas function.

My dear Janardana Prabhu,

Hare Krishna! Yes, you can continue with

your chakra healing. I`m supporting you

on this. In fact, I have very little idea

as to what it`s all about. All I know is

that in medical anatomy, I think chakras

are similar to the plexuses found in the

spinal vertebra, examples of which are

the sacral plexus, the lumbar plexus, the

solar plexus, etc. Do these refer also to

the chakras? And how I could apply them to

my practice? Hare Krishna!

Hare Krishna!

I would like to dedicate this message to

Touchstone Narada for having touched my

ironic life, like the musical stringed

instrument called the Vina handed by Lord

Krishna to Lord Narada.

A pure devotee of the Lord, Sri Naradadeva

is always fulfilling his obligation for the

gift of the instrument by engaging it in

singing and chanting Lord Krishna`s glories

and hence making Touchstone Narada become

infallible in his exalted position as the

Supreme Lord`s appointed Lead Singer and

Vina player of the science of Krishna cons-

ciousness.

Lord Krishna is not different from His name,

form, pastimes and the sounds vibrated from

Lord Narada`s stringed instrument thereof.

Because as soon as Touchstone Narada starts

strumming his Vina to glorify the Supreme

Lord, Sri Krishna at once becomes visible

to the transcendental eyes and ears of the

singer by reflecting Himself on the screen

of the singer`s heart by spiritual televi-

sion.

The Singer-Vina player of Lord Krishna

therefore whose only desire is to please

Him by playing the Supreme Lord`s favorite

songs can experience His presence in each

of the song`s refrain.

It`s natural in every individual case on

psychology that a person likes to hear and

enjoy his personal glories and the Supreme

Lord like the others is also not an excep-

tion to the rule because psychological

characteristics visible in the individual soul is but a reflection of the same psy-

chology that is eternally present in the

Absolute Lord. The only difference is that

the Absolute Enjoyer Sri Krishna is the

greatest fan of all the great songs sang by

great singers in the mold of Narada Muni.

If, in other words, the Supreme Lord is

attracted by the sounds vibrated from the

Sri Narada`s Vina which describe Krishna`s

glories, then there`s nothing to it that is

awesome since Sri Krishna`s absolute. He

can appear Himself as the Listener of His

glorification, the two being identical.

Touchstone Narada with his Vina sings Lord

Krishna`s favorite songs not for his per-

sonal benefit but because the songs are

identical to Him. And Vina-player Srila Na-

rada can penetrate into the ears and eyes

of the Lord of Goloka Vrndavan, Sri Govinda

by these transcendental songs vibrated from

the Vina owned by the Leader of the Band,

Gandharva Upabarhana.

Hare Krishna!

Hare Krishna!

I was born on the 3rd of November 1957 on

this elongatedly shaped island christened

by historians as Sugbu or Sebu or Cebu, a

name I can not even trace from whom or to

whom it`s attributed to when Magellan, a

sea voyager of Portugese descent empowered

by the Spanish government to counquer lands

from the eastern part of the world for the

glory of Victoria, the Queen of Spain du-

ring that era, discovered this very idyllic

tropical island inhabited by a people whose

way of living to survive depended on the

resources this island queen had to offer, a

very abundant marine life and verdant fo-

rests filled with fruit trees, birds and

wild animals.

Since Cebu island`s inhabitants, the Sugbu-

wanons, took care of her as if it were their

Reyna(Queen) she, with her unlimited poten-

tials, therefore attracted people from the

other lands and began trading with them her

fruits picked from trees her grateful oc-

cupants had grown and nurtured. These ex-

changes, in other words, had transformed

this Queen island of Southern Philippines

a business hub of the Orient where traders

from different cultures managed to savor

and smell the aroma of her products. Hence,

history would show that it became a part

of Shri Visaya Majapahit Empire, a kingdom

ruled by Muslim Datus and Rajas. Here, I

think, my dear Prabhu, the Visayan culture

was derived, a civilization whose people

believed in diwatas, mythic gods, supers-

tition, and in a God whom they worshipped

as Bathala, which means Child( Bata)God(

Allah). Today, this ChildGod is worshipped

as the Sr. Sto. Nino, the island`s patron

saint.

We, Sugbuwanons, therefore speak Visayan,

a dialect spiced with sanskrit texts. An

example of which is the word " Maya " or

" Rama ", words we used regularly, the for-

mer named after a town located north of the

island and the latter, a name of promiment

families residing, since time immemorial,

on the island.

To learn more about our culture, I really

have to refer you to my friend, Mr. Juanito

V. Jabat, the publisher of the local daily,

The Freeman here in Cebu because he can

provide you more solid information regarding

our Visayan culture. His e-mail address is

editorial@thefreeman.com. Or if you can`t

contact him, just ask for Jerry Tundag or

Noel Pangilinan, the newspaper`s editors.

Their web site is www.thefreeman.com. You

can begin from here. Hare Krishna!

Hare Krishna!

You know, I really liked the idea of us

together in this forum discussing any

issue that has a connection with God which

allows every discussant to air his or her

own views related to the issue being dis-

cussed. It so intellectually stimulating

to know you, my dear friends, have minds

of its own. We are therefore like the NBA`s

mythical five, a team chosen to play bas-

ketball in the first half of the game. By

working, as a team, I have this feeling we

could bond ourselves together by searching

for a common window by which could re-invent

ourselves that would benefit those who

themselves think they are spiritually lost

in the sea of nescience and hence don`t have

an iota of being rescued from the sea`s

terrifying giant waves. I like us in other

words to group together and discuss again

topics that sates a soul`s thirst for God

and the liberation these discussions can

offer to one single soul who have already

forgotten his or eternal relationship with

their Maker.

Our being one in discussing God had earned

me the ire of my wife, Cecil, for coming

home very late just to post to you this mes-

sage about God. Because of it, sometimes

I sleep outside our bed. She`s been pissed

as to how I could profit from your minds

when there is the children, Matthew, Marco

Nino, and Melsa Reina, who longed for my

endearing fatherly talks and sweet words

of encouragement that they will always be taken cared of by yours truly who ever

since he discovered the Internet seven

months ago have made it an obssession to

connect from a afar a soul of God hoping

that it would satisfy his desire for the

ultimate union of that one great Mind whom

everyone identify as God, a Supreme Being

with no name, impersonal without a face,

speculating whether He is in the happy mode

or in a mood ready to unleash his wrath

to an significant soul worthy of receiving

this type of benediction. I, for one, may

think I`m infallible because of the way I

explain to you these things, that I am not

afraid of falling from the lofty place I

have placed myself in. No sir, I`m just like

your neighbor next door, trying to eke out

a living so his family could survive the

terrible laws of nature, such as, diseases,

death, accidents, bankruptcy, unpaid bills,

tuitions fees to be settled before the dead-

line, always in anxiety where to get the

extra amount to meet the deadline. If only

you knew how much a government physician in

my mold receives( $400 ) per month. I`m no

beggar for using this forum as my church

collection box. No sir. After I`m through

writing you this message, I will now have

to explain for the nth time to my wife why

I have come home late again, when my day

off was supposed to be 8 hours ago. Why?

It`s because I have been reading again God`s

books so I could write to you something

nice. Yes, it`s true, my dear Prabhus, that

once I get home, war between the silence of

the lambs is waiting. And that`s where I

begin to start believing that this Melvin

who is married to Cecil is not her hus-

band`s body, but an eternal servant of God.

Servant of God? Who? That is how I can

describe to you the meaning of Mukti, or

liberation of the soul or mind from your

wife`s continues fire of negative energies

repeatingly hitting your numb body until

both of your energies, negative and posi-

tive, exhaust itselves until there is no-

thing left from her to shoot and nothing

left from you to shield from the negative

energy`s effects thrown at you from your

material partner for life. When everything

has died, it`s when sandman visits, sprin-

kling you the narcoleptic dust he brought

from the Netherworld. As the dust touches your being, the sleeping state is the only

reality by which it can give you comfort,

joy, and bliss you at last deserve. It`s

an event, you and I, experiences everyday,

each moment of our lives, a reality you and

I have to accept, not deny, and be at

peace with, that break in time when it`s no

routine but an ultimate act in itself, the

lowering of the curtain, a point in time

when the Fat Lady sings, when one writes

"30", when the illusory Mukti is realized

finally in the end by the eternal soul as

Krishna`s all-pervading Rudra expansion who

comes to severe the the silver cord connec-

ting the two bodies, the physical from the

spiritual, which we all know as DEATH. In

death, Mukti is realized. Bhakti, however,

is transcendental to Mukti which is rea-

lized by the great souls like Srila Narada

Muni. That`s why he is called a liberated

spaceman because he can travel anywhere in

the universe just to broadcast the glories

of God, Krishna.

How I wish I were Srila Narada Muni once

I finally bring courageously myself into

the loving embrace a disgruntled wife.

Good night, everybody and sweet dreams. I

hope to see you all there in person chan-

ting Hare Krishna.

The Supreme Person( Krishna) is the creator

of the universe, who is Himself the form of

the universe and who nonetheless is trans-

cendental to this cosmic manifestations. He

is the Supreme Knower of everything in the

world, the Supersoul of the universe, the

Master of all mysticisms, who is seen from

the core of the heart by perfect yogis

when they are completely purified and freed

from the reactions of Karma by practicing

Bhakti-yoga.(S.B. 8.3.28)

As authoritatively stated in S.B. 12.13.1:

"...a yogi is one who always meditates on

the lotus feet of the Supreme Person, who in

Brahma-samhita 5.38 is the worshippable,

Sri Govinda, the primeval Lord, Syamasundara

Krishna Himself, possessing inconceivable

innumerable attributes whom the pure yogi

sees within their hearts of hearts as the

Yogesvara, eyes tinged with the ointment of

love and devotion.

The Supreme Person therefore and His

pure devotee are intimately related, like

father and son, between the spiritual mas-

ter and the servant, and between the teacher

and his student.

Unfortunately there are some students who

are attached to Lord Shiva`s philosophical

treaty on impersonalism, a yogic subject

meant only for those who are less-intelli-

gent, low E.Q students who are lured by

Lord Shiva`s most confidential instructress,

goddess Kali to take up her master`s course

because they seemed lazy to study, learn,

and read the 64 volumes of Srimad Bhagavatam

recommended by a student taking up Bhakti-

yoga himself, Srila Narada Muni. That pro-

gram on impersonalim designed by Lord Shiva

himself is hard for the mediocre students of

yoga to refuse, like taking a short-cut ins-

tead of following the long and winding road,

not knowing impersonalism is subject meant

for the blue-collared, but the wise student

who listens to the sound advice of a Bhakti

graduate like Mahajana Sukadeva Goswami is

not bewildered by the glaring effulgence of

impersonalism, Lord Shiva`s favorite topic.

Instead, the wise student of yoga would

obligedly, without much ado, enrols and

take up the course entitled, the science of

Krishna consciousness or Bhakti-yoga, whose

architectural design was planned by the

great professor of Bhakti-yoga himself, Lord

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Once the wise student

of yoga has been officially registered by

the Institute of Bhakti-yoga itself, he is

immediately ushered to the Brahman section,

a classroom especially constructed for yoga

students who are Self-realized.

" One who is transcendentally situated in

that platform at once realizes the Supreme

Brahman and becomes fully joyful( in study-

ing the science of God). He never laments

or desires to have anything( related to the

subject on impersonalism ). He is equally

disposed towards all living entities( all

yoga subjects). In that state, he attains

pure devotional service unto Me( in making

the subject of Bhakti, not Mukti more in-

teresting and challenging to the students

and the professor, Mr. Krishna Himself.

It`s only devotional service to the Supreme

Lord Krishna or Bhakti-yoga can counter the

effects of Kali-yuga, the age of quarrel and

hypocrisy." Mukti or liberation from the il-

lusory effects of maya is not the answer,

but Bhakti," a statement coming from Sarba-

bhauma Bhattacarya himself, a famous scholar

of Sankaracarya`s mayavada school. He was

convinced that Bhakti not Mukti is the solu-

tion to the problems created by the goddess

Kali. Mayavadi Bhattacarya`s conversion in

embracing Bhakti instead of Mukti was the

handiwork of Lord Krishna Chaitanya Mahapra-

bhu, the greatest teacher of Bhakti-yoga.

I therefore offer my respectful obeisances

to Nimai Pandita, the Supreme Guru.

Parikramasitajaya!

------------------

All glories to Maharaja Pariksit for hearing

Srimad Bhagavatam from Srila Sukadeva Gos-wami, the son of Srila Vyasadeva for seven

days, fasting without food and water, until

his death, after having been cursed by the

son of a brahmana. One should therefore hear

Srimad Bhagavatam from a pure devotee of Sri

Krishna like Srila Sukadeva Goswami, if he

wishes to go home, back to Goloka Vrndavana.

That is the mission A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami

would want us to do: Hear from a maha-bhaga-

vata devotee of God the science of Krishna

by submissively asking from a self-realized

devotee of Sri Krishna how one should carry

out Krishna consciousness to perfection. To

do so, one is obliged to follow in the foot-

steps of a Mahajana like Sukadeva Goswami.

Question: How about following in the foot-

steps of Srila Narada Muni?

Answer: Well, that`s another story from Sri-

mad Bhagavatam. Stay tuned, my dear Prabhus.

Hare Krishna!

I had been doing a little soul searching

last night but couldn`t find a book on

Zoroastrianism. So I opened the Holy Bible,

read its pages, starting from the Old tes-

tament down to the New one. Still I could

not find it until it dawned on me that

Easter Sunday, the day Lord Jesus Christ

was raised into the heavens may have a

connection on the word, " astro", meaning

stars or "heavens" to Zoro(aster)nism.

It has been said that Christianity`s evo-

lution and development did not come by

itself, but was formed from a compilation

of pagan rituals and practices which were

derived from the source itself, The Vedas.

All religions, in fact, are rituals and

ceremonies patterned from the Vedic

religious practices whose author is no

other than Srila Vyasadeva, the compiler

and writer of Srimad Bhagavatam, a book

narrating the transcendental pastimes of

Vishnu(Krishna) and His affair with Radha-

rani, His fraternal relations with cow-

herd friends, His paternal relations with

Nanda Maharaja and Mother Yasoda, as well

as His servant`s spiritual master.

If the religious would only take to se-

riously reading and studying Srimad Bhaga-

vatam, then something will change the

consciousness of these people where they

can see for themselves, face to face, God

or Krishna Himself.

I do not recommend that we should face

the star(sun) or Krishna`s brahmajyoti by

merging in its effulgence or glitter and

become one with God. This is the Mayavada

philosophy of Sankaracarya.

What is recommended therefore is that we

take to devotional service by offering

our minds to Krishna and let Him after

this do the directing, teaching, talking,

feeling, emoting, walking, working and

etchethera for us. That is the only way

for us to be happy and peaceful, free from

karma or the ill-effects of work, be it

mental or physical.

That is what devotional service or Bhakti

is all about, Krishna consciousness. In

fact IT was taught to Vivasvan, the sun

god himself by no other than Krishna, the

Supreme Personality of Godhead in the

Bhagavad-gita.

The Vedas where The Vedic rituals origina-

ted actually was compiled and written by

Srila Vyasadeva, a pure devotee of Lord

Krishna, who was not satisfied by what he

did, even if the Vedas became the source

from which all the religions of this world

were made. Inspite of its success, still,

Srila Vyasadeva was not satisfied. Thus he

was despondent and lamented for having was-

ted so much time and energy in writing a

great book when Vedavyasa himself could not

understand why it did not brought him that

transcendental bliss he expected after

writing that great compilation where it

would benefit the less-intelligent, the

sudras, the women, etc. all over the world.

It was only when Srila Narada Muni instruc-

ted him to write the glorious pastimes of

Lord Krishna that Srila Vyasadeva was able

to write the spotless Purana known as the

Srimad Bhagavatam, a book about Krishna`s

pastimes and the message of devotional ser-

vice it carried that would finally revolu-

tionize the minds of the people by focusing

their minds in going home, back to Krishna

consciousness.

Srila Narada Muni criticized Srila Vyasa-

deva for authoring the Vedas which became

the source of knowledge by which the masses

would learn the art of doing business, the

art of performing religious rituals, the

art of war and the art of sense gratifica-

tion, and many more. Leaving along the way

to die a natural death the art of rendering

devotional service to Krishna, from Whom

everyone should take if they want to become

happy and peaceful. We should therefore

first study and read Srimad Bhagavatam ra-

ther than waste our time and energy in un-

derstanding the different religions of this

world whose very source directly or indi-

rectly came from the Vedas itself. Srimad

Bhagavatam is a book which gives us a re-

corded account of Krishna`s transcendental

activities that took place millions of

years ago, stories which until today are

re-enacted , without their knowing it, by

the living entities, starting from Lord

Brahma down to the insignificant ant, of

whom are actually Krishna`s parts or exten-

sions. Knowing one`s real identity that he

is Krishna`s eternal servitor makes one

eligible to enter the Kingdom of God and

become eternally His associate.

P.S. I offer my humble obeisances to Gaura-

chandra for bringing up this topic. I`m

sorry if the answer to his question have

deviated from what he actually wants to

know about Zoroastrianism and the Vedic re-

ligion.

Parikrama Part 2

----------------

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu emphasized the

effect of going to holy places where the

varied temples of the Lord are found and see

the forms of the Lord in these temples. By

worshipping the Lord in each temple, a

certain paraphernalia is used, such as,

concshell, mace, fragrant flowers, prayers

and hymns, while circumambulating and

offering obeisances to the Deity as well.

That way, one can tell whether the prospec-

tive devotee himself is eligible to become

either a bonafide spiritual master or a

bonafide student, who is qualified to

accept the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and

how the science of Krishna consciousness

is understood and perfected by the perfor-

mance of ritualistic ceremonies. Swami Prab-

hupada`s heart broke when his trusted

disciples disallowed him to go with Loka-

natha Swami and Hamsadhuta on a Parikrama

on the Lord`s day even if the doctor( who-

ever he was ) rendered Swami unfit to pro-

ceed with the journey of whom was, in fact,

ready to die along the way just to relish

it.

In Bhagavad-gita, Krishna`s last instruc-

tions were that everyone should give up all

other engagements and render devotional

service unto Him. This was also supposed to

be A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami`s final message

he wanted his confidential disciples to

carry out before his departure from earth but some of his disciples misunderstood this final event.They became contaminated with

the Mayavada philosophy that produced so

many mental speculators that they forgot

Swami Prabhupad`s actual position as their

spiritual master.

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, his spiritual

master, Bhaktisiddhanta Saravasti, and

Lord Chaitanya are One and the same Perso-

nality of Godhead, Jagad Guru, although

They possess different personalities,

all of whom wanted to teach us, students

of Bhakti-yoga, how devotional service

to Krishna or Krishna consciousness should

be carried out to perfection. Alas, this

was not meant to be.

My perception of Lord Shiva is that He

protects Lord Vishnu`s devotees from the

asuras` harassments led by the latter`s

leader, Maya Danava. In fact in Srimad

Bhagavatam Canto 7, The Science of God,

there in Chap. Ten it says that Lord Vishnu

equipped Lord Shiva with the paraphernalia

in setting fire the asuras` residences

made of gold, silver, and iron. These

abodes were created by Maya Danava in or-

der to shelter the asuras who sought him

for his protection after they were

defeated by the demigods in a war led by

Lord Brahma.

There is another instance when Lord Shiva

saved the universe by drinking the hala-

hala poison generated from the churning

of the ocean of milk performed by the demi-

gods and the asuras after they made a truce

so that they could generate the nectar

to revive their weary bodies by agreeing

to churn the ocean of milk so they could

generate the nectar that they need to res-

tore their weary bodies after the fighting

between them was over. To generate the

nectar from the ocean of milk, they used

Vasuki as the rope which they tied around

the Mandara mountain, where Lord Vishnu

resides, kept afloat on the Tortoise( an

incarnation of God) back. By pulling Va-

suki`s tail and head back and forth moved

the Mandara mountain to stir the ocean of

milk thereby producing the nectar not

knowing that a poison, halahala, was gene-

rated from it that threatened the safety

of the inhabitants in the universe. With

Uma`s ( Lord Shiva`s wife) persmission,

Lord Shiva drank the poison, reduced in

such a way it could be accommodated in His

hand, without much ado, creating only a

bluish line on His neck.

If these stories are not proofs to convince

one who doesn`t believe that Lord Shiva is

the protector of Lord Vishnu`s devotees,

then there is not much to convince anyone

that, comparatively, Lord Shiva is the

reflection of Lord Balarama while Lord

Vishnu is the mirror image of Lord Krishna.

Both, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, are One

although different in Their qualities, a

philosophy Lord Chaitanya had taught to

His students in order to erase their doubts

regarding Lord Shiva`s supporting role

and Lord Vishnu`s principal role in this

great drama called LIFE.

My dear Prabhus,

Please let us not make a fire out of an

ember. Janardana is my friend and so are

all of you. If Janardana calls me names,

well, it`s alright with me. It won`t hurt

me if a friend calls me names. He`s a

friend, see? If friends don`t share the

same feelings then let it be. A friend does

not impose his points of view on his dear

friend because he gives respect whatever

view his friend has on himself. We should

love one another as Lord Jesus Christ had

commanded to his disciples. There`s no

greater command than this. Let peace rule

in our hearts so this peace may also rule

among men and women throughout the world.

The solution starts with us, my dear Prabhus.

Hare Krishna!

There are three types of devotees described

in the book, Nectar of Instructions. They

are: 1) kanistha-adhikari 2) madhyama adhi-

kari and 3) uttama-adhikari.

The kanistha adhikari devotee of God can`t

distinguish between a person who is Krishna

conscious from a person who is not.

Whereas, the madhyama-adhikari devotee of

God is able to spot the person who is

Krishna conscious from the other who is not.

Whereas, the uttama-adhikari devotee of

God doesn`t discriminate a person from the

other whether one belongs to a particular

religious sect or not. Because he`s con-

vinced that Sri Govinda, the Supreme Perso-

nality of Godhead has entered into the

hearts of everyone as the Paramatma or the

Supersoul of all living entities, inclu-

ding Brahma, the creator of the universe.

The uttama-adhikari devotee of God therefore

is the maha-bhagavata of everyone. To him,

everybody, except himself, is a servant of

Krishna.