Planet ISKCON

Pope Francis offered some provocative thoughts last week. Speaking about the hot-button issues of abortion, gay rights and conception, he told a Jesuit interviewer: “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”

He went on in the interview to say that his church had grown obsessed with those topics.

I have to admit, the church universal seems way too caught up in debates over abortion, gay marriage and conception. So, I happen to agree with his view.

But what do you think? Are people of faith becoming too occupied with gay rights, abortion and conception?

And what do you make of this statement that also came from the Pope:

“The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent.”

Applying that line to your own religious tradition, how are believers supposed to know which teachings are more important than others?

In my tradition, the Presbyterian Church USA, we have creeds, but we don’t necessarily have a Presbyterian’s guide to the top 10 beliefs, or some such list of priorities.

This could get arbitrary, couldn’t it?

NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas 

All teachings start with a foundation. Without a clear foundation it is impossible to get a translucent picture as to how should one operate in this material world. Otherwise one may have various principles, many of which that have value, but such value will difficult to impart without a clear, logical, and philosophical premise.

The basic idea in the Bhagavad Gita is that the soul is different from the body. That is something that everyone witnesses, whether they know it or not. That body changes but the witness within that body remains the same.

So with this understanding one can evaluate various issues. One can see how the particular issue relates to the soul and that soul’s relationship with God.

If the soul is different from the body and if the soul can be understood to be present by the symptoms of life, then it is easy to understand that there is a soul in body of every human, every fetus, and every animal. To say that there is a soul in the fetus but Fido the dog does not have a soul is illogical.

People of this world will not continue to be satisfied with rules and regulations based illogical and foundationless principles. That is why so many have rejected religion altogether. Therefore anyone who is interested in the All Intelligent Supreme Person, Krishna or God, must seek a logical foundation upon which the proper rules and regulations can rest

To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.

Only a powerful genius could compose such an amazing work.  Verses composed of only 2 or even 1 consonant and verses that create almost impossible pictures. 

Expounded upon by Baladeva Vidyabhusana in his last commentary.  This great video has been put together by the Matsya Avatara Prabhu and his students from ISKCON’s Govardhan Sanskrit school, Śrīmad-Bhāgavata Vidyāpīṭham.
Here are some related links
Books by Rupa Goswami - http://j.mp/17oRChW
HH Sivarama Swami - http://www.sivaramaswami.com/en/2008/12/07/citra-kavitvani/
Powerpoint - http://j.mp/15HwkxA

"....one can be freed from all sinful reactions simply by remembering His holy name. The Lord is therefore as good as the holy places of pilgrimage. One can be free from all sinful reactions after reaching a place of pilgrimage, but one can have the same benefit at home or at any place simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord."

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.7.15 purport

http://Kiwi6/file/v7msqwif20

http://Kiwi6/file/v7msqwif20

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 8 September 2013, Johannesburg, South Africa, Home Program)

There are favourable principles described:

dadāti pratigŗhnāti

guhyam ākhyāti pŗcchati

bhuńkte bhojayate caiva

ṣaḍ-vidhaḿ prīti-lakṣaname, (Nectar of Instruction, Verse 4)

  

It is said that first one must give, one must generously give. Yes, devotees, they are giving. It is about giving gifts but not ordinary gifts.

One time, I went with Indradyumna Maharaja to a program in Sydney, Australia and we went to the house of some devotees and it was a pizza party and the whole mood was, “Pizza! Pizza! Party!” You know how these things go, I need not mention. Anyway, a pizza party and Maharaja came in and he had a bouquet of flowers which he presented to the lady of the house and he said, “I guess, it’s not all the time that you’re getting bunches of flowers from sannyasis. It’s a bit uncommon”. I looked sort of, “Yeah, it is, Maharaja, it is.”

And then, it went on and then Maharaja, at one point, at the end of the dinner, he pulled out this big box! It was like nicely wrapped – ribbon and the whole thing, you know these boxes, right! And a big one, you know. And then, inside there was actually a lot of stuffing paper and in the big box, there was a small box. So okay fine, the small box came out. That was wrapped as well and it would have driven me nuts (laughing), but anyway, finally the packet was open and then what was inside the little box was a little piece of a chaddar of Srila Prabhupada. So that was not bad! In the end, you know, the substance was spiritual. See. That’s the substance – giving spiritual substance – somehow or other, giving some mercy. Because devotees receive mercy, dadāti pratigŗhṇāti, they receive mercy. They save that mercy for special occasions.

I know another devotee, Bhurijana, who found out where there was a chaddar of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. He went for it and with donations, this and that, he got it! And then what did he do, believe it or not, when he had the chaddar of Bhaktisiddhanta, he got himself some big scissors and started cutting the whole thing into pieces, “Aaaah, maha-aparadh! How can you cut it into pieces!?” But then, he took each piece, he nicely put it in a little frame and then started distributing it to so many devotees! So, yes, he understood, deeply understood this principle of dadāti pratigŗhṇāti of somehow or other, receiving things, collecting things, collecting mercy and then distributing it and distributing it.

So this is our culture, imagine some devotee gives you a chaddar like that, you never forget it, right. He’ll be your friend. Yeah, so in this way, devotees are giving mercy. That is our charity and it is said that devotees are charitable. We collect mercy and give it and that builds genuine relationships where we feel, “Yes, he gave me something so valuable, so valuable.” So this is a very nice culture. I will appreciate it when such things are given. If you say, “Yeah well okay, I don’t have such a chaddar”, but then give a very nice verse from the scripture. I know someone that always sends me nice verses and that is appreciated.

There was one devotee who would walk into my room with Srimad Bhagavatam in his hand and say, “Listen to what I’ve just read”, and then he would start reading to me (laughing). He would do it all the time, not just once in a while – he would just come again with a book in his hands and he start reading to me. And after a while, I start to appreciate it, you know, I said, “God, he’s actually a nice person. He always brings me a little Krsna in my life. He just walks into my room and starts reading about Krsna. It’s actually nice, it’s nice. He brings something of value in my life, something meaningful.” So this is a devotee, one who brings something meaningful.

 

 

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

Many people imagine that the body is the gateway to pleasure, as is often depicted in novels and movies.

Pleasure is not our native country, not our normal condition. Miseries from the body-mind complex, the social circle and the environment attack us repeatedly, if not constantly. Just as residents of a troubled country look for a gateway to a better land, we look for a gateway to pleasure. That gateway, the media makes us believe, is the body.

However, the body is at best a visa, never a passport. Just as a visa gives us opportunity to stay in a foreign country, the body gives us opportunity to experience pleasure at the material level of reality that is foreign to us as souls. Just as a visa allows us to stay only temporarily in a foreign country, the body allows us to enjoy pleasure only temporarily – only in youth and even then for a few moments at a time. Those few moments are preceded and succeeded by hours and years of craving that are often nothing but torment unrelenting. And as the body ages, its capacity to enjoy declines and dies, leaving us vulnerable to misery due to various ever-worsening diseases. As the visa expires, we are evicted from the fantasized pleasure-land into a nightmarish misery-land.

The Bhagavad-gita (05.22) cautions us about this visa-like nature of bodily pleasures by stating that they have a beginning and an end – and that they ultimately breed misery.

Thankfully, we don’t have to be trapped forever in misery-land. The real passport to get out of it is devotion. By using the body as a tool to render devotional service to Krishna, we can raise ourselves to the spiritual level of reality where bliss eternal awaits us.

**

05.22 - An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunti, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.

 

 

 

 

Maharaja liver is not functioning now and impure blood flowed into his brain and caused brain coma. Doctors say medically there is no hope now. Urgent request for your prayers please! Read more ›

The sixteen names of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare destroy all the inauspiciousness of the age of Kali. This is the conclusion of all the Vedas. (Kali-santarana Upanisad from Krishna Yajur Veda) Read more ›

His Holiness Sivarama Swami is the ISKCON GBC representative for Hungary, Turkey, co-GBC for Romania and an initiating spiritual master in ISKCON. Maharaja was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1949. His family emigrated to Canada during the failed 1956 Hungarian revolution. Read more ›

Yesterday we journeyed eastwards from Sofia to the town of Sliven for a program in a classic Bulgarian house, several hundred years old. Archeologists have found evidence of settlements in and around Sliven dating back over 6,000 years. In modern times Sliven has become one of the most significant cultural centres in Bulgaria. At our [...]

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjK3cdsw

NEW BOOK      Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest

 by long time New Vrindaban resident and award-winning storyteller Sankirtana Das

In the  late 1960’s, while in college, Sankirtana Das discovered an old book in the library. The Indian Story Book  (1914) by Richard Wilson,  a collection of India’s ancient stories,  included some from the epic Mahabharata. Sankirtana majored in Theater/ Film and turned one of the Mahabharata stories into a one act play. His theater class chose the piece as one of several plays they performed for elementary schools in New York City.

Sankirtana Das  was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1973 and has resided in New Vrindaban for over 37 years.  He developed the theater program here and  wrote, acted and directed numerous plays throughout the 80?s and into the early 90?s. He and Lokamangala prabhu developed and performed a two-actor, two hour  Mahabhharata drama for Off Broadway in NYC (1987), which they also toured to temples, colleges and special events for four years. Their performance touched many people who were fascinated that  each of the actors took on several roles, including the role of storytellers. Devotees would often suggest that they develop a full length Mahabharata film. But that was not to be.

Sankirtana started working on his Mahabharata manuscript in 2000. He explains the intent of his rendition was threefold, “to deliver the story as good literature, to give it a cinematic slant, as potentially the basis for a film, and to keep it at a length that could easily be studied in college classrooms.” Gradually, the manuscript came together as he tried to find the unique elements of each part of the story. He recalls, “Sometimes it was exhilarating. Sometimes it was discouraging. I wondered if I could really pull it off successfully. Sometimes I would stop writing for weeks or months at a time and go on to other projects.  But over the years, writing Mahabharata has been a wonderful meditation for me.”

Now the book, entitled Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest is  finally available.  See www.Mahabharata-Project.com  It has received acclaim from scholars across the country:

“Fresh, fast-paced and cinematic! This book captures the scope and breath of this great epic.” Subhash Kak, PhD, Oklahoma State University (from the book’s Foreword)

“To condense the profound wisdom and rich culture of Mahabharata  into a book of this size constitutes a formidable challenge. In his offering, Sankirtana Das  has distilled the essence of the expansive scripture and has skillfully crafted  a book which is accessible and comprehensible to a universal audience.” Varshana Swami, Author & Vaisnava Scholar

“Sankirtana Das maneuvers through the story’s monumental terrain with ease. His powerful narrative captivates and sustains the reader.” Kevin Cordi, PhD, Professor, Ohio Dominican U.

“Both entertaining and erudite, This rendering of the ancient Sanskrit epic delivers a text that is readily accessible to the layperson and refreshingly insightful to the scholar. A delight to read – and ponder over.” Greg Emery, PhD, Director, Global Leadership Center, Ohio University

“A stirring and authentic version. My prayer is that this Mahabharata will be enjoyed, studied and appreciated by people for years to come.”  Dr. Laxmi Narayan Chaturvedi M.D, Author, “The Teachings Of Bhagavat Gita”

“A wonderful, rich narrative! Sankirtana Das  does  a fine job keeping all the threads clear, even as they interweave. I  see his  long career of storytelling at work on every page… it’s obvious how much work  has been put into it… this book should be in every high school and college library.”   Dr. Robert Rosenthal, Philosophy Chair, Hanover College, Indiana

For the last 20 years Sankirtana has offered professional storytelling programs and workshops in a variety of venues: schools, colleges, libraries, museums, temples, churches and special events. He is a recipient of a WV Artist Fellowship Award. His workshop, In Search of Story, delves into the creative process  to help participants explore and share the stories of their life’s journey. For more info about his programs visit www.sacredvoices.com

Monday evening meeting with Turkish devotees in Istanbul.

Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday we journeyed eastwards from Sofia to the town of Sliven for a program in a classic Bulgarian house, several hundred years old. Archeologists have found evidence of settlements in and around Sliven dating back over 6,000 years Read more ›

In pursuance of the GBC’s recent recommendation that the ISKCON Disciples Course be taught to all of the Society’s aspiring initiates, Namhatta leaders and preachers recently attended the course in Sri Dham Mayapur, with the aim of making it available to more than 2000 Namhatta centers throughout West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha. Taking a break […]

The post ISKCON Disciples Course appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post October 1st, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

ISKCON Punjabi Bagh had a humble beginning in 1984 as a small temple and was shifted to its present premises on 15th July 2005. ISKCON Founder Acarya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada always desired to establish the deities of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram in Delhi. Fulfilling the desires of Srila Prabhupada, under the guidance of HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj, the deities of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram were installed on the auspicious occasion of Radhastami in September 2007 Read more ›

What does not happen at a kirtan mela? No other activities are to take place in the kirtan area (i.e. garland making, drawing, sewing, japa … ). Only chanting and dancing from the heart. (Exception made for broadcast and sound crew.) No clapping or cheering as though observing a performance. No flash photography or videography that can distract our already fickle minds! Read more ›

This is the first annual Bhaktivedanta Swami Lecture, given at Wits University in Johannesburg under the auspices of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Africa. The lecture was given last March Read more ›

Madhava prabhu – Day 4 of Polish Woodstock 2013

Answer Summary: Yes, they definitely have that right, but the issue is not of rights, but of sending the right message about ourselves to others. When rights blind us to the right, we brand the right - modest dressing - as wrong, as old-fashioned.

Answer:

Today’s culture makes women believe that they have the right to wear any kind of dress, no matter how revealing. Those women who buy into this belief bristle at any suggestion that their provocative dresses might be a factor in sexual violence against women: “No matter how we dress, men have no right to force themselves on us.”

They are right, of course, that nothing makes sexual violence right. Offenders need to be punished. Swiftly and strongly.

But might bringing the question of rights be blinding us to the right issue?

Suppose a person walked down a dark alley with dollar bills sticking out of his pockets. If muggers rob him, they are culpable. But cops would also offer the common sense suggestion: “Better don’t keep your bills sticking out like that in future.” Suppose that person retorted: “I have the right to keep my money however I like.”

Agreed, that’s his right, but is it the right thing to do? After all, bills sticking out attract the wrong attention. Why attract trouble?

Researchers Carmine Sarracino and Kevin M. Scott in their book The Porning of America give the above example and point out the logical fallacy in the rights argument: “The issue of slutwear is often framed in terms of the wrong argument. ..The question is not, ‘Don’t I have the right to wear a micro-miniskirt and belly shirt?’ The more precise and pertinent questions are, ‘What do I want my clothes to say to the world about me? Do my clothes in fact say what I want them to say, so that others will be more likely to treat me as I want to be treated?”... What we wear, all of us, signals others in society about how we see ourselves… Slutwear (in itself, apart from any behavior) indicates, in the words of the APA [American Psychological Association] report, that girls dressed this way ‘exist for the sexual use of others’.”

The Bhagavad-gita (03.37) declares lust, the dark inner force that impels people to sexual violence, as the enemy of the whole world. Everyone needs to cooperate in combating this Public Enemy Number One. As an essential first strategy in combating lust, the Gita (03.41) urges regulation of the senses. Such regulation implies modest female dresses, for it limits exposure of their skin, which is one of their senses and which is the primary trigger for lust.

Yet today those making suggestions for modest dressing are verbally lynched as politically incorrect, as male chauvinists, as hopelessly outdated self-appointed moral police.

In our obsession with rights, have we ostracized common sense?

It’s such a good thing when you chant your japa decently. It brightens your day. You feel hope for the ultimate goal. After all, chanting is the prime necessity, the easiest way to achieve love of God. In fact, it’s the only way in Kali-yuga.

From Japa Transformations
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

Willis and the Gita

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I met Willis at German Town, he was just having a smoke outside the pub when we greeted each other.  First of all, because he was curious, I had to clarify which monastic order I belong to.

“What’s your belief system?” he asked.

“We follow the ancient teaching of Bhagavad Gita.”

“Hey, I read Bhagavad Gita,” which he pronounced perfectly.

“What do you think of it?”

“It’s got a lot of positive energy,” remarked Willis who I learned is a writer and a real estate agent.

Eventually our conversation lead to many spheres and especially the topic of male/female union.  He asked me what advice I could give of his urge and pursuit in this direction.  Frankly, I suggested to find the right partner and be committed to the one.  This way you both work on patience, tolerance and selflessness.  “We will all exit from this world at one point, and we want to leave this world being very clean inside,” I said.  To this he nodded in agreement.  It seems that Willis knows the people in the neighbourhood where two blocks away from our ISKCON centre, he succeeded in pulling a couple of guys over to let them in on the conversation.  We eventually parted on amicable terms.

Hours later I found myself in the office of Ravindra.  I had asked him for a critique on our dramatical rendition of the Bhagavad Gita called, “Gita: Concise”.  He was just cool with everything he had seen and had heard on the stage the previous day.  He did offer a brief suggestion for perhaps inserting a script, an emphasis on everyone’s natural role in this world as a servant.  Thanks, Ravindra, consider it done.

By the way, my performance towards walking was poor today, but a second take on the drama where my energy went, enthralled our Sunday crowd at the ISKCON Open House, including the university students that came.

3 KM

Shoeless?

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

How is a person to walk without his shoes?  May he go barefoot?

There is one criticism that I have when visiting a Vedic centre, temple, or even a yoga studio.  While some of these destinations do not subscribe to the mayavad or ‘all is one’ philosophy, when it comes to precious shoes, you might experience a free for all culture.  It’s a little bit odd, but arrangements for the deities in a temple is totally together, or orderliness in a yoga session, but if you’re looking for a good first impression at the shoe shelf entrance area, then look elsewhere.

It was embarrassing for me when I discovered that Ravindra, the leader of the community, spent a good portion of his morning trying to track down my footwear.  He is my senior of nine years, he is my big bro, and to have him do this for me, well, it was a moment of humility that struck me.  I had left my pair of shoes at the entrance before retiring for the night.  By morning, prior to a proposed walk, they had vanished.  It ends up that they were borrowed.  Humourously, my crocs, a couple, if you will, had gone for separation.  One was found in the kitchen and another was found by some stairwell, a result of enthused chaos in preparation for the Chariot Fest today.

In any event, we were all “happy feet” again, and I became majorly involved in a chanting procession which began at noon at Ben Franklin Parkway to the art museum where according to one devotee is the famed place where Sylvester Stallone had himself go up and down those steps for training in the classic film, Rocky.

For the entertainment at the “Parade of Chariots” many Bharat Natyam dances took place. There’s a mesmerizing pull that these dance presentations offer, but after a while, I think, the audience wants something more comprehensible (the style of dance has vocalists using non-English formats).  Our troupe of monks from Canada came on the stage to demonstrate a different art form with a predominant male presence for “Gita: Concise”.  It went over really well.

As the day rolled on, my shoes stayed put at the base of my legs.  At one point I tucked them under a table situated near the mantra yoga tent where I also conducted a session.

You might lose your shoes, you might lose your soles, but you should never lose your soul.

8 KM

I first came to Bulgaria in 1989. It was communist at the time and one of the most draconian places I had ever visited. Much has changed since then. A deeply Christian county, with a population of over 7 million people, Bulgaria is now part of the European Union and in it’s free and democratic [...]

Some people fear that devotion to Krishna will require them to renounce the world.

However, devotion requires not renunciation of the world, but its reconnection with Krishna. Arjuna, the Gita’s original student, didn’t renounce the world; he became a world ruler.

Why did Arjuna get so involved?

Because devotion is meant to include the world, not exclude it. That’s because the enlightened vision sees the world as it actually is, as the property of Krishna meant to be used by devotees in his service.

Of course, we can’t acquire this vision overnight; it requires sustained practice of devotional service. That practice fosters intellectual illumination and emotional reorientation: illumination to understand ourselves as souls whose real fulfillment comes by loving Krishna, and reorientation to direct our heart towards Krishna, not the world.

As we don’t yet have this enlightened vision, we need to be cautious. That’s why we stay away from some activities that are especially entangling and we make time regularly to keep our devotional connection strong. But beyond that we do our worldly duties responsibly to set an example for others and to thereby attract them to Krishna and to the path of devotion. The Gita (03.20) declares such example-setting a vital social responsibility that does loka-sangraha, a word that literally means maintenance of the world order.

This may raise a question: If setting an example is so important, then why do some devotees renounce the world?

Devotee-renunciates focus not on renunciation but on devotion; they use renunciation as a tool to focus singularly on sharing Krishna’s message of love with the world. Thus they inspire more people to reconnect with Krishna and reconnect the world with him.

Such is the glory of devotion – it includes in its fold both the world and renunciation of the world.

**

03.20 - Kings such as Janaka attained perfection solely by performance of prescribed duties. Therefore, just for the sake of educating the people in general, you should perform your work.

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

"In Bhagavad-gita we find that women are also equally competent like the men in the matter of Krsna consciousness movement. Please therefore carry on these missionary activities, and prove it by practical example that there is no bar for anyone in the matter of preaching work for Krsna consciousness." (Letter to Himavati, December 20th, 1969)

This temple is the first one build as an Indian style arquitecture in America with three domes and three altars Read more ›

From Vidya Kotwani M

Answer Podcast

This album includes the initiation of Visnujana Maharaja and Tamal Krsna Goswami in April of 1968. Many old, familiar faces such as Jayananda dasa, Yamuna devi dasi and a host of others. Read more ›

William Wallace gave his entire life in pursuit of freedom. At the end of the movie Braveheart, William was being tied to the stake and about to die, I was anticipating with eagerness William's next move? Is he going to seek forgiveness from the British Rule and be released from death or continue his defiance towards the King? I was surprised - William does not relent but shouts out "freedom" as he lay his life for his motherland Scotland. The feeling is still fresh, I was drenched with feelings of awe towards William Wallace's chivalry and his pursuit of freedom.

I had the same if not even intense feelings of awe and reverence towards Krishna when I first read the Bhagavad Gita As it is. It also was a scene set in a battlefield in pursuit of freedom. Krishna urges Arjuna to fight to annihilate adharma and reinstate dharma. But the freedom of Bhagavad Gita and the movie is not the same. Although William's cause was noble as he sacrificed his life for his countrymen, still he and his countrymen were bound to the identity of being a Scotsman. After we die we are neither British nor Scot nor Indian etc. We are spiritual beings encased within a physical body. So when the identity of the physical body is enhanced then our cause will be bound to this material world of birth and death - a temporary world. We will believe that pursing freedom for sensual enjoyment is the highest and ultimate purpose of life. We will not cultivate a desire to practice austerity to give up the physical identity. In that sense William's pursuit of freedom was binding.

Today this is also our thinking. Practicing rules of spiritual purity such as chanting God's names, refraining from eating meat, intoxication, illicit sex and gambling in a regulated manner is seen as a restriction. We think these rules restrict us from enjoying this world. This idea of binding restriction is there within us because we are intensely attached to this body and mind. We think it is unnatural to practice such rules which brings pleasure to the body & mind. In the ultimate sense, we think such rules bind us against living our life freely - the opposite of freedom!

Krishna, however, says that these very same regulative principles that we think is the opposite of freedom actually give us freedom. It gives us freedom by reinstating us back to our spiritual world free from the bondage of this physical world of birth and death. We no longer have to be subjected to state, physical, material and karmic laws. We no longer are forced to suffer old age, disease and death or miseries caused due to the body/mind, or natural disturbances or other living beings. According to Krishna, this is real freedom.

William Wallace gave freedom from the rule of British and Krishna is giving us freedom from the rule of this entire material creation (not just the British). So it is in our benefit that by practicing the regulative principles as enunciated in the Gita, we can achieve eternal freedom from the clutches of cruel death.

But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord.- BG 2.64

Hare Krishna