Planet ISKCON

Ramesvara das: In 1974 we were faced with a great dilemma. Our most important single book for distribution was the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. The rights had been given to Macmillan in 1969 and 1970 before Prabhupada even dreamed of his own Society distributing books in large quantities.

Janmastami 2018 in Los Angeles (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Every one of us is searching after some mellow, some pleasu...

Although it was a rainy night at New Govardhana and a Monday, there were still many devotees who attended Sri Krsna Janmastami.

The deities were gorgeously dressed and little Radha Krsna came out to be swung on Their swing.

There was also, dance, drama, abhiseka, kirtana and stories recited. Of course, after the midnight arati, an ekadasi feast was served to those devout devotees who stayed until the end.

My dear Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my prostrated obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace.

nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

 “I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krsna on this earth, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.”

namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine                                

 “Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.”

After the conveyance of the Juhu land was finally signed in October 1973, you declared, “It was a good fight. Someone should write a book about it.”

And in Vrindavan in June 1977, you repeated the instruction when speaking with Tamal Krishna:

Tamal Krishna: Always you came out victorious. Always. I have never seen you ever defeated. In Bombay it was absolutely impossible. It seemed to be impossible.

Prabhupada: Nobody encouraged. . . . Nobody, not a single man. Who could see such a big project would come out?

Tamal Krishna: Only you could see that, you and Radha-Rasabihari.

Prabhupada: Nobody. Still, I was determined: “No, this place is very nice.”

Tamal Krishna: They should write a book about that.

Prabhupada: Yes, it is worth writing—history.

You had already instructed me, in February 1971, “You should write. This is your first business,” and over the years you repeated this instruction, and so I thought that you would want me to write that book about Juhu. As it is, I am the only devotee who was intimately involved in the project from the time you got possession of the land in 1972 to the time the temple opened in 1978.

So, with the encouragement and assistance of many well-wishers, I took up writing about you and Juhu as my first priority. In doing so, I became absorbed in your divine qualities, activities, and words, and I came to understand you—and even events to which I was party—in new, deeper ways. I felt like I was mining a limitless reservoir of precious gems.

Now, by your and Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari and the devotees’ mercy, I have finished writing the basic narrative of the book, entitled “I’ll Build You a Temple”: A Good Fight and a Promise Fulfilled. In the process, I have come to appreciate you—and your servants—even more, first and foremost those servants who assisted you in the Juhu project, and also those who have supported me in my efforts to write about it.

Your transcendental desire to establish a center of Krishna consciousness in the remote Bombay area of Juhu was awakened even before you left for America. When you would visit Sumati Morarji, you would pass the land and think, “This would be a nice place for a temple.” Years later, Mr. Nair offered to sell you the very same land, to be “profitably utilized for big purpose, as yours,” and you brought Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari from Their residence in a posh flat in Akash Ganga, overlooking the Arabian Sea, to a rented pandal on the property. From there They were moved onto a wood-plank platform under cloth supported by bare bamboo poles; then, for the rainy season, into a chatai hut with devotees; and on Janmastami 1972 into a makeshift structure of bricks and asbestos sheets. But you had vowed to Them, “I will build You a temple.” And finally, after years of struggle, we were able to offer Their Lordships the temple you had promised.

You expressed your spiritual desire to build Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari a temple with great, intelligent endeavor. And in your purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.13.50 you explained, “The word svakarthanam refers to great desires. As mentioned in this verse, the glance of Lord Visnu creates the desires of the devotees. A pure devotee, however, has no desires. Therefore Sanatana Gosvami comments that because the desires of devotees whose attention is fixed on Krsna have already been fulfilled, the Lord’s sidelong glances create variegated desires in relation to Krsna and devotional service.” Thus in “a place where there was no temple, . . . a devotee desired, ‘Let there be a temple and seva, devotional service.’ Therefore, what was once an empty corner has now become a place of pilgrimage. Such are the desires of a devotee.”

By the strength of your desire, an overgrown plot of land in Juhu became a place of pilgrimage and devotional service. And in the long process, you engaged so many of us in devotional service. As you explained in your introduction to The Nectar of Instruction, “This devotional service is a sort of cultivation. It is not simply inaction for people who like to be inactive or devote their time to silent meditation. There are many different methods for people who want this, but cultivation of Krsna consciousness is different. The particular word used by Srila Rupa Gosvämé in this connection is anusilana, or cultivation by following the predecessor teachers (acaryas). As soon as we say ‘cultivation,’ we must refer to activity. Without activity, consciousness alone cannot help us. . . .

“We can offer many services with our bodily activities. But all such activities must be in relationship with Krsna. This relationship is established by connecting oneself with the bona fide spiritual master, who is the direct representative of Krsna in disciplic succession. Therefore, the execution of Krsna conscious activities with the body should be directed by the spiritual master and then performed with faith.”

You engaged us, your disciples—and so many others—in devotional service authorized by the principles of scripture and the instructions of previous spiritual masters, developing Hare Krishna Land on a grand scale, and after your departure, by your mercy, we were left with tremendous challenges of work and responsibility—for our own spiritual benefit and for the benefit of all those who would associate with the temple.

In spite of all opposition and obstacles, you remained perfect in Krishna consciousness—an ideal sadhu. During one of your talks on Srimad-Bhagavatam, you spoke about our situation in relation to a verse describing the qualities and behavior of a sadhu:

titiksavah karunikah
  suhrdah sarva-dehinam
ajata-satravah santah
  sadhavah sadhu-bhusanah

“The symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.” (SB 3.25.21)

You perfectly exemplified the verse, and while discussing it, you explained to us your inner mood and motivation, but you did so in such a way as to include us:

“Here all the boys and girls, the devotees, they are concerned with Radha-Krishna. That’s all. Their whole business, day and night, is Radha-Krishna. From early morning, three o’clock, to night, ten o’clock, their only business is Radha-Krishna. That’s all. Therefore they are sadhu.

“And so many people are criticizing. We are not getting the sanction to build, because we have so many enemies. They say we are creating a ‘nuisance.’ We are chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, and that is a ‘nuisance.’ This complaint is going to the police. So that is very difficult.”

Filled with emotion, you exclaimed, “Therefore a sadhu is advised, Titikñavaù, tolerate! Tolerate all this nonsense! What can be done? We have no other alternative but to tolerate. Nobody’s coming to help us. Our business is so thankless. Because we are trying to create one temple, so many enemies are giving hindrance: ‘You cannot do it.’ Therefore titiksavah. You have to remain sadhu. You cannot become asadhu. You have to tolerate. What can be done?

“At the same time, you have to become merciful. You know what has happened in this place, Hare Krishna Land? So much attack by the police, by the municipality: ‘Break this temple.’ We could have gone, concluding, ‘What is the use of taking so much botheration? We have hundreds of temples outside India. If people here are not liking, let us go away.’ No. Karunikah. We have come to distribute Krishna consciousness. We must tolerate and give this message to the people. Karunikah: very merciful, in spite of all trouble.

“These American boys and girls have come to help me—not that they have come because they are hungry. No. My mission is, ‘You Americans, you chant Hare Krishna so the people of India will see, “Oh, Americans are also chanting. Why not we?” ’ But unfortunately—such dull brains—that thought is not coming. But still, we have to do it. We have to tolerate, and we have to become karunikah, merciful.

“Why should you want to be merciful? Para-duhkha-duhkhi. Krpambudhir yas tam aham prapadye. A Vaishnava understands, ‘These people are engaged like cats and dogs in sense gratification. They are misguided, and in the next life they’ll be punished. Let us do something for them.’ This is karunikah: out of mercy. There is no question of getting something, money. No. We have got sufficient money. But just to become merciful upon these fallen, conditioned souls, who are suffering on account of becoming animalistic, without Krishna consciousness, the preacher, the sadhus. . . These are sadhus—titiksavah, tolerant: ‘Never mind. Whatever hindrances and tribulations they are offering to us, never mind. Tolerate.’

“And suhrdah. Suhrdah means the heart is so nice. . . . The Vaishnava is always thinking how a man can be saved from the clutches of maya. He has no other desire. The Vaishnava is so kind that suhrdah sarva-dehinam: he is kind not only to the human beings but to all embodied souls—cats, dogs, trees, plants, insects. A Vaishnava will hesitate to kill even a mosquito. Sarva-dehinam. Not that ‘I shall take care of my brother only. I am good, and my brother is good.’ No. Suhrdah sarva-dehinam.

“And ajata-satravaù. When one is living in that way, as a sadhu, why will others become his enemy? The sadhu does not create enemies, but people become enemies out of their own character. How can a sadhu create enemies? Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja, and we are simply teaching, ‘My dear human being, my dear friend, you become a surrendered soul to Krishna.’ So what is our fault? So we don’t create any enemy, but they become enemy. Why shall I create enemy? Suhrdah sarva-dehinam. But they become, out of their own nature. . . .

“So we are in this society, human society, and because we are spreading Krishna consciousness, the envious, who are more dangerous than snakes, are putting so many impediments. But we have to tolerate. We have no other alternative. You see? Ajata-satravah santah. Be peaceful. What can be done? Depend on Krishna.

“These are the ornaments of a sadhu: titiksavah karunikah suhrdah sarva-dehinam. You must know what is a sadhu. First, a sadhu is a devotee. And if he is a devotee, then all the symptoms are there. Now, you find a sadhu and associate with him. Then your path of liberation will be open.”

Srila Prabhupada, it has been our greatest good fortune to be able to associate with you, a perfect sadhu. And by your words and example, you encouraged us to try to become sadhus as well. And by the service of such a sadhu as you, one actually develops the qualities of the sadhu.

Along with your desires as a preacher, you also had your personal commitment and service to Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari. “My dear Sir,” you had told Them, “You just stand here, and I will build You a temple.” And you did. You fulfilled your promise. And what a temple you built! And what a struggle to do it! But you did it. It was a good fight, but you did it: you kept your promise and built Them a temple.

All glories to Your Divine Grace, to your wonderful service to Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari and to all of Mumbai, all humanity, and all living entities—including this fallen soul. And all glories to your servants, who, by your mercy, are continuing your sublime mission.

mukam karoti vacalam
  pangum langhayate girim
yat-krpa tam aham vande
  sri gurum dina-taranam

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, the deliverer of all fallen souls, whose mercy turns the dumb into eloquent speakers, and enables the lame to cross mountains.”

Hare Krishna.

Your eternal, dependent servant,
Giriraj Swami

By Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami

The next day was Vyasa-puja day, the celebration of Prabhupada's seventy-fourth birthday. That morning a package arrived from New York containing several copies of the Vyasa-puja booklet, a twenty-five-page paperback filled with homages from Prabhupada's disciples. Months before, one of the devotees had discovered an old issue of a magazine published by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati; the magazine contained a Vyasa-puja homage Prabhupada had written commemorating the appearance day of his own spiritual master. When the article had been brought to Prabhupada's attention, he said that his disciples could also write their own appreciations, just as he had done forty years before. So the devotees in New York had gathered offerings from seventeen different temples and had printed them all in a Vyasa-puja booklet. Continue reading "The first Vyasa Puja book
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By Iskcon Mayapur

How is it possible that in the face of encroaching materialism and a culture of sense gratification, a process which preaches the reverse is spreading? How is it possible that as problems and suffering increase exponentially on the global scale, transcendental happiness is also increasing? How is it possible that in the darkest age of Kali-yuga, the most ecstatic process of bhakti-yoga is spreading? How is it possible that millions of books preaching the essence of love of God have been distributed in dozens of languages? How is it possible that people of all nationalities and backgrounds have joined together to raise their arms and chant the holy names of the Lord? Continue reading "Honoring Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Senapati-bhakta
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I am very pleased to hear that you are increasing in your distribution of our books and magazines. This is a good sign that your preaching work is also strong. The more you increase your strength in preaching, the more you will go on selling books. I want especially that my books be distributed widely.

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.”

TEXT 18

tato jagan-mangalam acyutamsam
  samahitam sura-sutena devi
dadhara sarvatmakam atma-bhutam
  kastha yathananda-karam manastah

SYNONYMS

tatah—thereafter; jagat-mangalam—auspiciousness for all living entities in all the universes of the creation; acyuta-amsam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never bereft of the six opulences, all of which are present in all His plenary expansions; samahitam—fully transferred; sura-sutena—by Vasudeva, the son of Surasena; devi—Devaki-devi; dadhara—carried; sarva-atmakam—the Supreme Soul of everyone; atma-bhutam—the cause of all causes; kastha—the east; yatha—just as; ananda-karam—the blissful (moon); manastah—being placed within the mind.

TRANSLATION

Thereafter, accompanied by plenary expansions, the fully opulent Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is all-auspicious for the entire universe, was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki. Devaki, having thus been initiated by Vasudeva, became beautiful by carrying Lord Krsna, the original consciousness for everyone, the cause of all causes, within the core of her heart, just as the east becomes beautiful by carrying the rising moon.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As indicated here by the word manastah, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was transferred from the core of Vasudeva’s mind or heart to the core of the heart of Devaki. We should note carefully that the Lord was transferred to Devaki not by the ordinary way for a human being, but by diksa, initiation. Thus the importance of initiation is mentioned here. Unless one is initiated by the right person, who always carries within his heart the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot acquire the power to carry the Supreme Godhead within the core of one’s own heart.

The word acyutamsam is used because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sad-aisvarya-purna, full in the opulences of wealth, strength, fame, knowledge, beauty, and renunciation. The Supreme Godhead is never separated from His personal opulences. As stated in the Brahma-samhita (5.39), ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan: the Lord is always situated with all His plenary expansions, such as Rama, Nrsimha, and Varaha. Therefore the word acyutamsam is specifically used here, signifying that the Lord is always present with His plenary expansions and opulences. There is no need to think of the Lord artificially as yogis do. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah (Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.13.1). Yogis meditate upon the Supreme Person within the mind. For a devotee, however, the Lord is present, and His presence need only be awakened through initiation by a bona fide spiritual master. The Lord did not need to live within the womb of Devaki, for His presence within the core of her heart was sufficient to carry Him. One is here forbidden to think that Krsna was begotten by Vasudeva within the womb of Devaki and that she carried the child within her womb.

When Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun, whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in the pure, unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form of Krsna. The appearance of the form of Krsna anywhere, and specifically within the heart, is called dhama. Dhama refers not only to Krsna’s form, but to His name, His form, His quality, and His paraphernalia. Everything becomes manifest simultaneously.

Thus the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full potencies was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki, exactly as the setting sun’s rays are transferred to the full moon rising in the east.

Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the body of Devaki from the body of Vasudeva. He was beyond the conditions of the ordinary living entity. When Krsna is there, it is to be understood that all His plenary expansions, such as Narayana, and incarnations like Lord Nrsimha and Varaha, are with Him, and they are not subject to the conditions of material existence. In this way, Devaki became the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is one without a second and the cause of all creation. Devaki became the residence of the Absolute Truth, but because she was within the house of Kamsa, she looked just like a suppressed fire, or like misused education. When fire is covered by the walls of a pot or is kept in a jug, the illuminating rays of the fire cannot be very much appreciated. Similarly, misused knowledge, which does not benefit the people in general, is not very much appreciated. So Devaki was kept within the prison walls of Kamsa’s palace, and no one could see her transcendental beauty, which resulted from her conceiving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Commenting upon this verse, Sri Viraraghava Acarya writes, vasudeva-devaki jatharayor hrdayayor bhagavatah sambandhah. The Supreme Lord’s entrance into the womb of Devaki from the heart of Vasudeva was a heart-to-heart relationship.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

We have gathered here at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna to remember and celebrate His appearance in this world. According to Vedic literature, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). He is the Absolute Truth, the origin of all that exists. And He is realized in three features, nondual (advaya), as explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11):

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
  tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
  bhagavan iti sabdyate

“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma, or Bhagavan.”

Brahman is the impersonal effulgence that emanates from the transcendental form of the Lord, Paramatma is the localized feature of the Lord, within the heart, and Bhagavan is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna Himself, full in six opulences.

The form of Krishna is not material. Our bodies are material, distinct from the soul, which is spiritual. The Bhagavad-gita (2.13) explains,

dehino ’smin yatha dehe
  kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
  dhiras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” The soul is a nonphysical, nonchemical particle of spiritual energy, and it is the soul that animates the body. As long as the soul is in the body, we say the body is alive. Actually, the body is never alive; it is just a machine. But it appears to be alive when the soul is present to animate it. And when the soul leaves the body, the body has no capacity to act, to function, and then we say that it is dead. In conditioned beings, such as us, there is a distinction between the body, which is made of material energy, and the soul, which is composed of spiritual energy. But in the case of Krishna, there is no difference between His body and soul. Being absolute, His body and He are the same. In our case there is a difference between us and the body, because our real identity is the soul. If someone’s father passes away, he or she will cry, “Oh, my father has left. My father is gone.” Although the body of the father is there, why do we say, “My father has gone”? Intuitively we know, especially at a time like death, that the body lying there in the room is not the person. The body is just a bag of chemicals. The real person is the soul who has left the body, and so the children and other relatives and friends cry, “Oh, he’s gone.”

But in the case of Krishna, because He is absolute, He and His body are not different. He is completely spiritual. The Brahma-samhita says, isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah: “Krishna is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body.”

The Brahma-samhita also tells us, anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam: “He is the origin of all, but He Himself has no origin. He is the prime cause of all causes.” Everything we see in the material world has a cause. On a simple level we can say, “I am caused by my parents” (or “my body is caused by my parents”). They, in turn, were caused by their parents, who, in turn, were caused by their parents. And if we keep going back, eventually we will come to the original cause, and that is Krishna (sarva-karana-karanam). He is the cause of everything—the cause of all causes. But He Himself has no cause.

In our conditioned state, this is hard for us to understand, because everything material has a cause, a beginning and an end. But Krishna has no beginning and no end—He is eternal (sanatana). Even we, as spirit souls, are also eternal. We have no beginning and no end. Our life in a particular body has a beginning, which we call “birth” (or “conception”), and it has an end within a particular body, which we call “death.” But we, as spirit souls, have no beginning and no end, because we are parts and parcels of Krishna. We are of the same quality as Krishna, just in different quantity. The Lord says,

mamaivamso jiva-loke
  jiva-bhutah sanatanah
manah-sasthanindriyani
  prakrti-sthani karsati

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” (Gita 15.7)

The living entity is an eternal, fragmental part of Krishna. This is the sublime philosophy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called acintya-bhedabheda-tattva: the “inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference” of the living entity and the Supreme Lord. We are one in quality with the Lord but different in quantity—He is infinite and we are infinitesimal. Because we have the same qualities, we can have a relationship with Him. Unless there is some commonness, we can’t have a relationship. And because of the difference in quantity—He is the whole and we are the part—our relationship is one of service. It is the natural function of the part to serve the whole. For example, the hand is part of the body, so the function of the hand is to serve the body. If the hand doesn’t serve the body, there is something wrong; it is diseased or dead. So, our natural function is to serve Krishna (jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’). And we are eternal, as Krishna is eternal, and our relationship, our service, is also eternal. It never ends.

Earlier we mentioned the three features of the Absolute Truth: Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. There are different classes of transcendentalists, who have different spiritual aspirations. Most people are materialists. They are not even interested in spiritual life. They just want to enjoy the world. But when one becomes a little more elevated, a little more purified in consciousness, one thinks of improving oneself spiritually. And when one becomes serious enough, one will actually enter into a discipline in a particular school of thought and practice. So, one category of transcendentalists is the jnanis. Their goal is to merge and become one with Brahman, the impersonal effulgence that emanates from the transcendental body of Krishna. And higher than the jnanis are the yogis. They want to realize the localized feature, the Lord within the heart (dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah). And the highest are the bhaktas. They want to enter into a loving relationship with Bhagavan, Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Although in one sense, because the Absolute Truth is nondual (advaya), all transcendentalists are the same, still, from an analytical, or objective, point of view, there are degrees of realization. As stated earlier, Krishna is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. Sat means “eternal,” cit means “cognizant,” and ananda means “blissful.” The jnanis who attain impersonal Brahman realize only the sat feature, eternal existence. The yogis who realize Paramatma have perception of sat (eternity) and cit (knowledge), because they apprehend the individuality of the Lord in the heart. And the bhaktas have full realization of sat, cit, and ananda (eternity, knowledge, and bliss), because real happiness comes from loving relationships. Although one may say that there is a sort of bliss in impersonal Brahman, compared with the ecstatic happiness of loving service to Krishna, it is insignificant. There are many statements in the shastra, the Vedic scriptures, to the effect that the happiness realized in relationship to Krishna is like an ocean and that the happiness of merging (or trying to merge) into impersonal Brahman is like a puddle of water in comparison.

tvat-saksat-karanahlada-
  visuddhabdhi-sthitasya me
sukhani gospadayante
  brahmany api jagad-guro

“My dear Lord, O master of the universe, since I have directly seen You, my transcendental bliss has taken the shape of a great ocean. Being situated in that ocean, I now realize all other so-called happiness, the pleasure derived from impersonal Brahman, to be like the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf.” (Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya 14.36) Practically, there is no comparison.

Furthermore, to realize impersonal Brahman is very difficult, especially in the present age. And even if one succeeds—or imagines that one has succeeded—there is every chance that one will fall down.

ye ’nye ’ravindaksa vimukta-maninas
  tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah
aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah
  patanty adho ’nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah

“O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.” (SB 10.2.32)

More likely, they just imagine that they have realized Brahman, but whether they have actually realized it or just imagine they have, because they have neglected the service of the lotus feet of Krishna they fall down (patanty adhah).

We, conditioned souls, are rotating in the cycle of repeated birth and death (samsara), and our goal is to gain release from this samsara-chakra. Such liberation is called mukti, or moksha. The impersonal type of liberation, in which the individual soul merges into the spiritual light, is very hard to achieve—if one can achieve it at all. But even if one does, it doesn’t last. Therefore the Bhagavatam says patanty adhah: they fall down. Why? Because they have no engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

Impersonal liberation is like going to sleep. Intelligent people can perceive that there is misery in material existence, and they want relief. That is one factor that may lead someone to consider spiritual life. So, a person trying to achieve impersonal liberation is similar to someone who is suffering and tries to escape the suffering by sleeping—“The world is too much.” Well, all right, you can temporarily escape the misery by going to sleep, but how long can you remain asleep? Eventually you will wake up, and the same miseries will be there.

And being suspended in the impersonal Brahman effulgence can be boring. It is a relief—it is definitely a relief to be out of the material world—but eventually it can get boring. Someone may go on a cruise: “Oh, boy, I need to get away from things. Let me go on a cruise. I want to enjoy the sea.” And it may be nice for a while, but eventually one gets bored—just water and waves and wind. Eventually one wants to go back on dry land—even though the land is what he wanted to get away from. Although there was frustration and misery on the land, at least there was some stimulation, some variety.

So, the impersonal jnanis who want to merge and become one with Brahman eventually become restless and fall down (patanty adhah). They want some activity, and because they have no idea of the spiritual activities of Krishna consciousness, devotional service to Krishna, patanty adhah—they fall into material activities, and again they suffer, because the result of material activity is material misery.

So, why does the Lord descend? He is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha: eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. And He lives in His spiritual abode, where everything is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. And He is served by great souls completely free of material contamination, liberated from the material bodies that cause so much pain. So why should the Lord come here at all? What does He have to gain?

Personally, He has nothing to gain. But He comes out of His mercy, to deliver us. The material world is compared to a prison house, and we, conditioned souls, are the prisoners. We are restricted, like prisoners. We can’t just go anywhere and everywhere, wherever we want. Liberated souls can travel anywhere in the universe. They don’t need spaceships or any other such contraptions. They can move about freely. But we, conditioned souls, are bound. We are not allowed to leave this planet very easily, and even if we do, we don’t really have any other place to stay. So we are bound, and at the same time we have to suffer.

I mentioned the body, that there is so much pain in the body. So someone might think, “This swami is very negative about the body.” But the Bhagavad-gita says, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam: one should always perceive the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. You might say, “Why does the swami have to be so negative? I want to enjoy the body. I want to enjoy life. I want to enjoy the here and now”—which is good in a certain context—but if I ask any of you, “Truthfully, do you want disease?” “No.” “Do you want old age?” “No.” “Do you want death?” “No.” Well, that is what comes with the body. When you get a material body, those come in the package; they are what you get with it. You may think, “But there is so much happiness in the body. I can go surfing, I can go hiking, I can eat ice cream, I can drink and eat and enjoy with the body.” Well, yes, but it is not actually the body that enables you to enjoy; it is the soul within the body. All the parts of the body may be there when the soul departs, but where is the enjoyment? There is no enjoyment in the body after the soul leaves. We may think that we are enjoying with the senses, but it is actually because of the presence of the soul that we are able to enjoy and work and live.

The body is the medium for the conditioned soul’s experience. For example, I have these eyeglasses. I see through the eyeglasses—the eyeglasses themselves don’t see. Similarly, we have these senses—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin—and we perceive through them. The senses themselves cannot actually perceive. It is the soul that perceives—through the senses of the body. But we don’t actually need the body to perceive happiness. With the body, there is some perception of happiness—but with lots of pain.

There are different schools of philosophy—sad-darsana—and one of the philosophers has analyzed and concluded that the body is meant for misery. He gives the example of your little finger. How many ways can your little finger enjoy? Not many. And how many ways can it feel pain? So many. Even a little sliver or blister can be so painful. And the finger can be cut, burned, crushed. The body is so vulnerable. But the soul is not. As the Gita says, it can’t be cut, it can’t be burned, it can’t be wet, it can’t be withered—it is beyond the range of material elements.

nainam chindanti sastrani
  nainam dahati pavakah
na cainam kledayanty apo
  na sosayati marutah

“The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.” (Gita 2.23) Without the body, the soul can enjoy freely, in every way, but without the pain.

And because the soul is part and parcel of Krishna, it derives its real happiness in relation to Krishna. We now are like fishes out of water, because originally we come from Krishna, from the spiritual atmosphere, and we have come into the material world and are suffering in a foreign atmosphere. We are always restless, anxious, and fearful.

So, why does Krishna come? He comes to reclaim us, His lost children, to bring us back home, back to Him. That is why He comes. There is no other reason. There is nothing for Him here. He comes only for our sake.

Although He comes into the material world, He doesn’t come in a material body. He comes in His original, spiritual form (sac-cid-ananda-vigraha). And Krishna in particular comes in a form that resembles a human being. “Man is made in the image of God.” That Krishna comes in a humanlike form is very good for us, because it makes it easier for us in human bodies to relate to Him.

anugrahaya bhaktanam
  manusam deham asthitah
bhajate tadrsih krida
  yah srutva tat-paro bhavet

“When the Lord assumes a humanlike body to show mercy to His devotees, He engages in such pastimes as will attract those who hear about them to become dedicated to Him.” (SB 10.33.36) He comes to reclaim us and deliver us, his lost children and devotees.

And how does He come? He does not take birth like ordinary human beings, through the joining of sperm and egg. Rather, He manifests Himself, or appears.

ajo ’pi sann avyayatma
  bhutanam isvaro ’pi san
prakrtim svam adhisthaya
  sambhavamy atma-mayaya

“Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.” (Gita 4.6)

And that is what we read tonight. It is a very esoteric subject, how the Lord appears. But He chooses a completely purified devotee and enters his mind. The name of that devotee is given here—Vasudeva. And the state that enabled him to receive Krishna within his pure mind is called vasudeva, which means completely beyond the three modes of material nature, completely transcendental—the state of pure goodness, suddha-sattva. As stated in Srimad-Bhagvatam, sattvam visuddham vasudeva-sabditam: completely pure consciousness is known as vasudeva.

sattvam visuddham vasudeva-sabditam
  yad iyate tatra puman apavrtah
sattve ca tasmin bhagavan vasudevo
  hy adhoksajo me manasa vidhiyate

“The condition of pure goodness, suddha-sattva, in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is revealed without any covering, is called vasudeva. In that pure state the Supreme Godhead, who is beyond the material senses and who is known as Vasudeva, is perceived by my mind.” (SB 4.3.23, quoted as Cc Adi 4.66)

After Vasudeva received Krishna within his purified mind or heart, he, by his spiritual power, transferred Him into the purified heart of Devaki. There was no seminal discharge. And the process by which the Supreme Personality of Godhead was transferred from the heart of Vasudeva to the heart of Devaki is called diksa. Diksa means “spiritual initiation.” Diksa takes place between the teacher, or guru, and disciple. When the guru is qualified enough, he can carry Krishna within his heart. And when the disciple is qualified enough, he can receive Krishna from the guru—through an exchange called diksa.

The process of diksa is essential for the realization of God (Krishna). There is an entire science of bhakti-yoga, described in Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, and it begins with this process. Guru-padasrayas tasmat: “One must accept shelter at the lotus feet of a spiritual master.” Krsna-diksadi-siksanam: “One must take initiation from him and receive instruction from him.” And visrambhena guroh seva: “One must serve him with intimacy.”

We cannot attain Krishna by our own efforts. We have to receive Krishna by the mercy of one who has Him. Thus Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a great spiritual teacher, prays to the pure devotee:

krsna se tomara, krsna dite paro,
  tomara sakati ache
ami to’ kangala, ‘krsna’ ‘krsna’ boli’,
  dhai tava pache pache

“Krishna is yours; you have the power to give Him to me. I am simply running behind you shouting, ‘Krishna! Krishna!’ ” (Saranagati, “Ohe! Vaishnava Thakura”)

This act of diksa, as described in today’s verse, is really the culmination of a gradual process. It is not so easy that we just decide, “Oh, let me find a guru who has Krishna, and he will give Him to me, and my business will be finished.” We have to be qualified to receive Krishna, and the process of becoming qualified proceeds gradually. We have to work to come to that stage of purity where we can receive Krishna in our hearts—and not just receive Him in our hearts, but actually see Him face to face. After residing for some time in the heart of Devaki, Krishna came before her, and they saw each other face to face. She saw Him face to face, and He saw her. That is the perfection of Krishna consciousness.

So, we have to qualify ourselves. We have to cleanse the mirror of the heart (ceto-darpana-marjanam).

The process of purification varies from age to age. Although the basic process is the same—Krishna consciousness—in the present age the specific process recommended is to chant the holy names of the Lord:

harer nama harer nama
  harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
  nasty eva gatir anyatha

“One should chant the holy name, chant the holy name, chant the holy name of Lord Hari [Krishna]. There is no other means, no other means, no other means for success in this age.” (Brhan-naradiya Purana 38.126)

Chant is repeated three times for emphasis. “You must do it, you must do it, you must do it.” There was once a cartoon in a newspaper, which depicted an elderly man sitting across from his wife. She was requesting him, “Chant, chant, chant,” and he was replying, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” That is our misfortune. Shastra, scripture, tell us, “Chant, chant, chant” (harer nama harer nama harer nama), and for no good reason—just some causeless aversion—we say (not necessarily by our words but by our behavior), “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” “Can’t, because I am too busy.” “Can’t, because I prefer other things.” “Can’t, because . . .”—because, because, because. So harer nama harer nama harer nama is emphatic: chant, chant, chant. And kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva: there is no other way, no other way, no other way.

Now, that phrase might conjure up images of a fanatical Christian insisting, “Jesus is the only way.” But this nasty eva, the “only way,” is a little different. (And we don’t want to presume that there is anything wrong with “Jesus is the only way,” either.) But in this context, nasty eva, “no other way,” has a special meaning.

In different ages different methods for self-realization were recommend. In Satya-yuga it was meditation, in Treta-yuga Vedic sacrifice, and in Dvapara-yuga opulent temple worship. In the present age, however, harer nama, chanting the holy names of God, is prescribed. So, nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva means “not by silent meditation, not by elaborate sacrifices, not by ritualistic temple worship,” but by chanting the holy names.

But the holy names are not sectarian. In fact, there are Christian sects in which practitioners constantly repeat the name of Jesus. We don’t say that you have to chant only the holy name of Krishna. You may chant any name of God. Because God is absolute, any name of God is as good as any other. But you should chant some name. The Muslim tradition also recommends chanting the name of God, of Allah. In Pakistan I came across a book titled, Ninety-Nine Names of Allah. In the Vedic tradition there is Visnu-sahasra-nama, “A Thousand Names of Vishnu.” So the principle of chanting the names of God is current in many traditions, but it is often overlooked. Then again, in any tradition, the majority are conventional. It is only the minority who are really mystical, or spiritual. But within the mystical, spiritual traditions, the chanting of God’s names is often advised.

The process of chanting (sankirtana) cleanses the heart (ceto-darpana-marjanam) and makes it a fit place for the Lord to reside. That is what we have to do to prepare to receive Him. We have to chant. And chanting is pleasant, as I hope you all experienced. It is pleasurable. That’s the other thing: although the results of Krishna consciousness are the highest, the process is also the easiest and most sublime. It’s almost too good to be true, but it is true. Chanting is easy and joyful, and at the same time it cleanses the heart (ceto-darpana-marjanam) and makes it a fit place for the Lord to reside. And that process is accomplished through diksa, the continuing process of diksa, which culminates in perfect realization of Krishna. And then, when one is fully purified and realized, Krishna can’t contain Himself within your heart. He becomes so pleased with your service and so eager to see and embrace you that He comes out of your heart. (Of course, at the same time, He also stays there.) In His own way, He comes out of your heart to look at you and touch you and embrace you and take you by the hand and invite you to come with Him to His eternal abode.

That is the perfection of Krishna consciousness, and it is possible for each and every one of us. We just have to make the effort to chant without offense, and remain encouraged and steady in that effort. So we need association. In every endeavor, one needs association. In every field there are associations of people engaged in the same endeavor, because they support each other. There is the chamber of commerce, the diabetes society, the birdwatchers association—there are societies for everything, because in association with others who are pursuing the same goal, we get encouragement to stay on the path and we learn from them, from their experiences, how to improve in our own efforts and quicken our progress. It is a natural thing. And association is essential. Once we become a little serious, once we develop a little faith and attraction, the next stage is to associate with devotees (adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sangah). That association will really help us.

Chanting is simple, but the real art of chanting is to hear the chanting. Anyone can chant mindlessly, “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna . . .” and look at the trees, look at the moon, look at the newspaper, look at the television, but that’s not real chanting. Real chanting means to hear with one’s mind fixed on the sound. This is meditation, mantra meditation, and it takes practice. If you chant for five minutes, will you be able to keep your mind fixed on the sound of the holy name? It will be a challenge. Even one minute is a challenge, because the nature of the mind is to flicker. It is restless. It always wants to go every which way—like the wind. In the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna says that it is as hard to control the mind as to control the wind.

cancalam hi manah krsna
  pramathi balavad drdham
tasyaham nigraham manye
  vayor iva su-duskaram

“The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate, and very strong, O Krsna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.” (Gita 6.34)

How can you control the wind? It is always going here and there. No one can stop it. So how can we control the mind? We can’t. Still, the Bhagavad-gita says it is possible—by practice (abhyasa) and detachment.

asamsayam maha-baho
  mano durnigraham calam
abhyasena tu kaunteya
  vairagyena ca grhyate

“It is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.” (Gita 6.35)

And this is the suitable practice: hearing about Krishna consciousness and then chanting—and hearing—Lord Krishna’s name. We chant and we hear. We practice fixing our mind on the sound of the holy name of the Lord. That is our sadhana; that is our practice. And it is serious business, and hard work. As our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, said, “Chanting is easy”—anyone can articulate the sounds of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna—“but the determination to chant [and hear with attention] is not so easy.” So that is what we need. We need that determination (drdha-vratah). And that determination develops in the association of devotees who are serious about chanting and hearing. Therefore the association of devotees is so valuable, and it is most important to maintain favorable relationships with devotees.

There are different offenses to be avoided when one chants. The main offense is to be inattentive while chanting, but another is to offend devotees. Devotees are our best well-wishers. They give us the holy name. They give us support in our efforts to chant. And if we offend them, we cut ourselves off from our best well-wishers, our best friends, our best support for the chanting. We cut ourselves off from the mercy that we so desperately need to progress. But if we pay attention to these two points—chanting attentively and maintaining favorable relationships with devotees—then gradually we can come to the stage of perfection. It takes time, but we can actually come to that stage when Krishna will enter our hearts. He is there already, but He will manifest Himself fully to us, and then, eventually, we will see Him face to face. So we should always, at every spare moment, kirtaniyah-sada-harih, chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Whatever you do when you are not chanting should be to place you in a position where you can chant. You may say, “I can’t chant all the time. I have to work. I have to earn money. I have to pay the bills.” That is true, but what is the goal of it all? Why do you want a roof over your head? Why do you want food on your plate? Ultimately, it should be to keep your body and soul together so you can chant the holy names and realize God. That is kirtaniyah-sada-harih, to “always chant the name of God.” We have the body. We must take care of it. We must bathe and dress and eat and sleep. We must get the necessities of life. We must do it all. But why are we doing it? The goal should be to chant the holy names of Krishna and realize Krishna.

So, Krishna comes to give us this message, and if from this occasion, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, we can just take this message—take it in our heart—that will be the beginning of our perfection. We must take it in our heart and practice it and repeat it to others—repeat it both for the benefit of others and for our own sake. And the results will be glorious. Krishna’s purpose in appearing in this world will be fulfilled, and our purpose as human beings will be fulfilled. And we will all be happy in Krishna consciousness together. Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Guest (1): I always ask myself a question. Christians believe in resurrection, and Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation, but personally, I always ask myself, “What is the meaning of starting something and ending something? What is the meaning of several or many lives when we can be comfortable with maybe just one life? Why we are reaching perfection through many lives?

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good question. Miguel says that Christians believe in resurrection and Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation, but what is the need of passing through many lifetimes if you can realize God in one lifetime?

We agree with you completely. That is the whole idea. Especially now that we have come to this human form of life, which is achieved after many lifetimes, and especially now that we have come in touch with devotees who tell us about Krishna and the process of bhakti-yoga, we can and should complete our purpose in this world in this life.

labdhva su-durlabham idam bahu-sambhavante
  manusyam artha-dam anityam apiha dhirah
turnam yateta na pated anu-mrtyu yavan
  nihsreyasaya visayah khalu sarvatah syat

“After many, many births one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life before his body, which is always subject to death, falls away. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Krsna consciousness is possible only for a human being.” (SB 11.9.29)

And if we chant seriously—chant and hear and follow the regulative principles that support the chanting and hearing—we can achieve complete success in the same lifetime. And that should be our determination.

Still, the Bhagavad-gita explains that if you are not completely successful, then in your next life you continue from where you left off in this one. You don’t have to start all over again. With anything material, you have to start all over again in the next life. In this life you might know seven languages, but in your next life, when you are born, all you can say is “Ga, ga, ga,” and you don’t even know ABC. Materially, whatever you acquire in this life is lost at the time of death. But whatever you gain spiritually through the practice of bhakti-yoga continues in the next life. Suppose in this life you complete only 50 percent; then in the next life you begin from 51 percent. You don’t have to start again from the beginning.

But still, we have the human form of life, and the association of devotees, so why should we take any chances? We should have that determination to be completely successful in this life, just like you said.

Guest (1): Why did we come here in the first place? Why do we have to go through so many lives?

Giriraj Swami: Actually, as mentioned, we all come from Krishna, but when we turn away from Him—when we forget Him and want to enjoy apart from Him—we come under maya and suffer in the material world.

krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga-vancha kare
nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare

“When the living entity desires to enjoy separately from Krishna and turns away from Him, the illusory potency of the Lord, maya, immediately takes the soul in her clutches.” (Prema-vivarta)

But in that process, we don’t start at the bottom; we start at the top. We start as an elevated being on a higher planet. So we can reverse the process from that position and go back to Godhead. We don’t start as a germ or an amoeba. But if we are careless, we can keep declining and end up as an amoeba, in the body of an amoeba. But we don’t start at the bottom. We actually start at the top, and if we are attentive and vigilant, we can reverse the whole process in one lifetime. We don’t have to pass more than one life, and we don’t have to see any lower form of life.

Guest (1): Can we say that everything around us is energy—the material world? Animals, vegetables, minerals—everything is life, even if it doesn’t have consciousness by itself?

Giriraj Swami: Well, that is true—everything is energy—but as stated in the Bhagavad-gita, there are two kinds of energies. One is the material energy, and the other is the spiritual energy. The spiritual energy is conscious, alive. And the material energy is dull, dead.

bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh
  kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
  bhinna prakrtir astadha

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.” (Gita 7.4)

apareyam itas tv anyam
  prakrtim viddhi me param
jiva-bhutam maha-baho
  yayedam dharyate jagat

“Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.” (Gita 7.5)

What we see alive in the material world is really a combination of the spiritual and material energies—the spiritual spark within the physical body. And as long as the soul is present, there is consciousness. But an inanimate object—say this piece of metal—has no consciousness. Of course, in an ultimate sense, we could say that there is consciousness everywhere, because Krishna is everywhere. He is expanded within the atoms and in the space between the atoms throughout the entire universe (andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham). But practically, in terms of individual consciousness, animals and vegetables have souls; they are a combination of matter and spirit. Minerals do not have souls; they are material energy. And then there is Krishna, who is completely spiritual.

Guest (1): Are there other forms of intelligence on other planets in the universe, or is it just here on our own planet?

Giriraj Swami: There is, in fact, even more advanced intelligent life on planets other than the earth. Everything is the creation of God. We don’t believe that anything has happened by accident or chance. God has created all these planets to provide different environments for different types of people. Just as there are different relativities on earth—Ojai or Santa Barbara may be relatively more congenial than Alaska or Antarctica—so there are relativities within the universe. Some planets are more heavenly, and some are more hellish. The earth is considered to be in the middle, though a little on the lower side. But there is intelligent life everywhere—and suffering everywhere—and everyone is ultimately meant to become God conscious and go back home, back to Godhead

a-brahma-bhuvanal lokah
  punar avartino ’rjuna
mam upetya tu kaunteya
  punar janma na vidyate

[The Supreme Lord Krishna said:] “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Gita 8.16)

Guest (2): You said that the only practice we need to do is chant the name of God. That seems to be asking God to receive from Him the grace of the holy name. But what can we do to prepare ourselves in everyday life to better understand and receive this grace?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, there are practices. Although the chanting in and of itself is enough, there are disciplines that we can undertake to make it easier for us to get the full benefit of the chanting, to get the full grace of the Lord. There are certain personal restrictions. But the beauty of the chanting is that even if it is hard at first to accept these restrictions, the process of chanting itself, the process of purification itself, will make it easier to accept them—to the point where we won’t even want to indulge in such adverse activities anymore.

The first restriction is no eating meat. The second is no taking intoxicants. The third is no illicit sex—no sex outside of marriage, no frivolous sex. And the fourth is no gambling. If we are able to follow these regulative principles, our chanting will be more quickly effective, and we will be better receptacles for God’s grace.

And there are other things as well, such as getting up early in the morning. “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” The early hours of the morning, especially before sunrise, are considered the best for spiritual practice, and therefore we generally rise early. Some devotees, when feasible, get up at two. They may take rest at eight and get up at two. Otherwise, we try rise by four. Initiated disciples have a certain quota of chanting, which takes about two hours to complete. So they rise by four and complete their quota of rounds between five and seven and still have the rest of the day ahead of them.

And the more serious you are, the more things you can learn to improve your practice. But if you can just manage those four restrictions—and get up early—you will be off to a good start. And if you want to know more, we have volumes of books . . .

Guest (2): Hard news. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: I was going to ask if you were ready for the answer before I gave it, but I figured that you asked, and you seemed sincere, so I just said it.

But again, the good news is that if you chant, all the other things will become easier. That’s why we don’t emphasize the restrictions at first, because we know that if people just chant, they will lose interest in those indulgent acts, and they will become more and more eager to advance in Krishna consciousness.

Guest (2): Inshallah.

Giriraj Swami: When you said “inshallah” it reminded me of a group of Ahmadiyya Muslims who would sometimes meet me at our Juhu Beach temple. They told me the same thing, that the prayers offered before sunrise—almost like we say, beginning an hour and a half before sunrise—are heard by God more than prayers offered later in the day.

Inshallah, or insha’Allah, means “if Allah wills.” Allah is a name of God, so insha’Allah means “God willing.” Of course, we also accept the name Allah. Allah is the same as Krishna. But our devotees in Pakistan, instead of “insha’Allah,” would sometimes say, “insha Krishna,” to mean the same thing—“God willing.”

Krishna Bamani dasi: Maharaja, I was just going to give an example. In the beginning some people think, “Oh, I have to be a vegetarian” when they hear all the negative restrictions. But the process of spiritual life is so pleasant that they experience a higher taste. They actually prefer our food, prasada, to other things they used to eat. And it is kind of like that with all of the seeming restrictions. As we chant and associate with devotees, we develop a higher taste.

Giriraj Swami: Good point.

Krishna Bamani dasi: I was going to say one more thing. You already explained it. But in today’s world, fanatical Muslims, or fanatics in any religion—they may be chanting God’s names, yet so much violence is going on. They may chant, for example, “Allah, Allah,” yet engage in so much violent activity. They are “God’s warriors,” so to speak. So, you have explained that there are ways to chant God’s names properly.

Giriraj Swami: Correct. One must avoid that offense of offending devotees, and devotees are there in every tradition. One may take the name of God in one’s own tradition, but if he is inimical to devotees in other traditions, that is an offense, not only against the devotees but against the holy name. And if one commits offenses against the holy name, one doesn’t get the benefit. In fact, it is described that when you offend devotees, the holy name is offended and withdraws its mercy. So even though such fanatics are mouthing God’s name, it is almost as if God has left. He has withdrawn His mercy from them, because they are offensive.

Of course, offending devotees is the worst, but offending anyone—causing pain to any living entity—is prohibited. That is the complete injunction. And that is one reason why we don’t kill animals or eat flesh.

So, it is not just a question of mouthing God’s name. One should be in the proper consciousness, the proper mood of service to God and to the devotees of God—in whatever tradition, culture, or community they may be. We should respect and appreciate all genuine devotees, servants of God, and encourage the devotees and chant the holy names. That will bring us all success, and one day the holy name will reveal Himself to us, and we will see Krishna face-to-face.

prabhu kahe,—“vaisnava-seva, nama-sankirtana
dui kara, sighra pabe sri-krsna-carana”

The Lord [Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu] said, “You should engage yourself in the service of the servants of Krsna and always chant the holy name of Krsna. If you do these two things, you will very soon attain shelter at Krsna’s lotus feet.” (Cc Madhya 16.70)

Hare Krishna!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Sri Krishna Janmashtami, September 2, 2007, Ojai, California]

Kirtan - Compassion Week Chant. Kirtan Fest brings together kirtaniyas, traveling preachers and devotees to our state-of-the-art temple in Houston, Texas. Kirtan Fest Houston 2018 is extraordinarily special as it falls during the Janmastami Festival on Monday Sept 3 and Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance Day on Tuesday Sept 4! KIRTAN FEST HOUSTON offers a very unique kirtan immersion experience in one of the largest and most majestic temples in the world. Thank you for joining us for a rejuvenating weekend of positive sound vibrations and an escape from the ordinary. Please take advantage of this special opportunity to experience enlivening kirtan in the company of senior Vaishnavas who have a deep taste for the Holy Name! Guests include: HH Indradyumna Swami, HH BB Govinda Swami, HH Giriraj Swami, HH Bhakti Sundar Goswami, HG Bada Hari Prabhu, HG Akincana Krishna Prabhu, HG Havi Prabhu, HG Krishna Kishor Prabhu and more…

Srila Rupa Goswami Disappearance 2018 (Album of photos)
For Srila Rupa Goswami’s Disappearance, every year the VIHE does an amazing program at Ter Kadamba, his bhajan sthali. Decorations, feast, and kirtans were from the Spiritual world! Come see for yourself!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/uKjDWR

“The Jharkhand government wants to develop Nagar Untari as Banshidhar Nagar and model it on the lines of Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. They have plans to make ‘Banshidhar Nagar’ part of the Lord Krishna religious circuit. They are examining proposals for a tie-up with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) also,” said a senior government official, confirming that the Centre had cleared the proposal.

Toronto, Ontario

Cold Water, Ontario

Toronto / Caledon

KOLKATA: Three days (S eptember 2 to 4) of festivities and fervour will mark the Janmashtami celebrations, the birthday of Lord Sri Krishna and the global ambassador of Sanatan Dharma, Swami A C Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupad, founder Acharya of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at its spiritual headquarters, Mayapur, Nadia. Several spiritual, devotional and cultural programmes will be held on the occasion,

[Talk at ISKCON, Detroit, USA]

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[Talk at ISKCON, Farmington Hills, USA]

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Krsna Janmastami is the most important day in the vaisnava calendar. Every year devotees from all over the world come together at temples and centres to celebrate the anniversary of Lord Krsna’s appearance.

This year I was fortunate to attend two Janmastami festivals, one at the Southport Cultural Centre and the other at New Govardhana.

The devotees at the Southport Centre had theirs first on Sunday and the hall was packed with enthusiastic guests who enjoyed the kirtan, drama, lecture, abhiseka and arati.

By Demian Martins

Srila Prabhupada’s appearance and accomplishments are a turning point not only in Gaudiya Vaisnavism, but in the very history of human civilization, so it is not surprising that they were predicted many centuries ago. In several ancient religious traditions, the sacred scriptures usually include passages or whole sections dealing with predictions. Some of these passages are marked by a veiled language and are often interpreted in different ways. Interpretations are subjective and may be relatively taken as correct according to time, place and circumstance, but they are conclusive when properly substantiated by sufficient evidences. The meaning of some of the following verses and statements might have been previously obscure or misunderstood, but since Srila Prabhupada’s deeds were self-evident, unprecedented and matchless, there is hardly any scope to doubt that he is the personality who is being directly or indirectly pointed out here. From diverse sources there is a general prediction that Vaisnavism would be spread throughout the world, so it is also implied that there would be a pioneer preacher. I am sure that there must be many more verses like these and it is just a matter of time until we have a much longer list. This is a short compilation with the original texts and exact references of what we have found so far. Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance Predicted in the Scriptures
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By Hari Narayana Das

Lampung Krakatau Festival is the core event of Lampung regional tourism which is held every year, in 2018 stepping on the 28th implementation. Aside from being an activity to commemorate the eruption of Mount Krakatau on August 26 and 27, 1883, this tourism activity is a means of appreciation and preservation of regional art and culture as well as introducing Lampung Tourism Objects and Attraction. This event presents a variety of main activities and several supporting events that are very interesting as a dish, a means of appreciation of cultural arts and enjoying the hospitality of the people of Lampung in the diversity of culture, ethnicity and customs through the Regional Cultural Carnival Parade and enjoying the beauty of natural charm. Devotees who reside in Lampung also got invitation as part of the diversity and they presented Jagannatha Ratha yatra to the thousands of Lampung people. Continue reading "Jagannath Ratha Yantra Nusantara
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By Giriraj Swami

Many residents of Mathura believe that Lord Krishna appeared in Mathura, but the residents of Vrindavan know that He was born in Vraja, in Gokula. Yet Srimad-Bhagavatam states that Lord Krishna appeared in the prison house of Kamsa in Mathura as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki and thereafter was carried by Vasudeva to Gokula to be taken as their son by Nanda and Yasoda, in exchange for Yasoda’s newborn daughter, Yogamaya. So, how to solve this mystery? Continue reading "The Mystery of Lord Krishna’s Birth
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We are together to celebrate the appearance of Lord Krishna in the material world. On special occasions such as this—we’ll soon be celebrating the pastime of Mother Yasoda binding Krishna with ropes, and then Krishna lifting Govardhana Hill—unless we know who Krishna is, we won’t know what to make of these seemingly fantastic stories.

The scriptures give different explanations of why Krishna, the all-loving, ever-blissful, Supreme Person, appears. The Bhagavad-gita (4.8) states, paritranaya sadhunam, vinasaya ca duskrtam/ dharma-samsthapanarthaya, that He appears to deliver the devotees and to annihilate the miscreants and to reestablish the principles of religion. Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.33.36) explains further, anugrahaya bhaktanam, manusam deham asthitah/ bhajate tadrsih kridah, yah srutva tat-parobhavet: “When the Lord assumes a humanlike body to show mercy to His devotees, He engages in such pastimes as will attract those who hear about them to become dedicated to Him.”

So, who is this Krishna? Is Krishna just a concept or, as some people think, is it that the impersonal One assumes the form of Krishna, or Rama or Shiva or Ganesh or Durga, and you can worship any form and in the end merge into the oneness? To avoid such misunderstandings, we have to know who Krishna is, and that begins with the Bhagavad-gita and then the first cantos of the Bhagavatam. Ultimately, Srimad-Bhagavatam gives us a picture of the spiritual world, what life with God in the spiritual world is like. We read about Krishna, how He comes home from tending the cows, and we read that we can live with Him forever in a loving relationship in the most splendorous land of Vrindavan. And we become attracted and think, “Oh, I want to go there; I want to experience that life.”

That is why Krishna comes, specifically in His humanlike form—to show mercy to His devotees so that by hearing about life with Krishna, we become attracted to Him and inspired to dedicate our lives to Him.

But we should not think that Krishna is only in the spiritual world; Krishna is everywhere, and if we surrender to Him, we can get the same benefit here in the material world that the pure devotees get in the spiritual world.

If you read the Krsna book or otherwise hear about the pastimes of Krishna, you’ll find that almost every day some demon was coming to Vrindavan to cause trouble. But did the residents of Vrindavan come rushing out with their ploughs and sticks to attack the demons? No. They took shelter of Krishna. And what did Krishna do? He protected them. So when we hear these stories, we should think, “Wow—Krishna is so kind to His devotees. Even in the midst of the worst calamity, if we just take shelter of Him, He will protect us. All I need to do is surrender to Krishna.”

So Krishna appears for that reason, and we can make the purpose of His appearance successful by hearing about His pastimes and dedicating ourselves to Him.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

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NEW VRINDABAN DAYS

As New Vrindaban enters its 50th anniversary (1968 to 2018), I wrote this series of articles for the Brijabasi Spirit in an attempt to give the reader not only an “understanding,” but more importantly a “taste,” of what life in early New Vrindaban was like – through the stories of one devotee’s personal journey.

The title of the series, “New Vrindaban Days,” is in tribute to the wonderful book “Vrindaban Days: Memories of an Indian Holy Town” written by Howard Wheeler, Hayagriva Das. He was one of Srila Prabhupada’s first disciples, a co-founder of New Vrindaban, and, a great writer. As with Hayagriva’s book, this series focuses on a period of time in the 1970’s.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Chaitanya Mangala Dasa, for spending untold hours assisting me in refining my writing for your reading pleasure.

I have been asked to describe certain aspects of early New Vrindaban Community life such as the nature of the austerities, what it was like for a new person coming here, cooking, anecdotes about particular devotees, etc.

I attempt to tell these stories in some semblance of a chronological order, beginning with my first meeting with devotees in 1968, leading to my arrival in New Vrindaban in late 1973 and carrying through to the official opening of Srila Prabhupada’s Palace in 1979.

This article describes my day to day service activities after only a couple of weeks of living in New Vrindaban.

Advaitacharya Dasa

CHAPTER SIX: IN THE WOODS

In the first few weeks I am in New Vrindaban I not only work in the wood shed but I am also going out into the woods every few days to help to bring the wood in.

Community woodsman Romaharsana Das stands about 5’5”. He wears a big western hat, muddy jeans, heavy boots, a green sweatshirt, and has a large bowie knife dangling from his belt. He is in his thirties, has been a devotee for years, and has even had direct association with Srila Prabhupada. He is not a city boy. Instead he talks with a country boy twang and revels in the fact that he is a mountaineer kind of guy.

On this day we are a half a mile back in the woods. In Romaharsana’s hands he holds the reins which control two big white horses named Prince and Molly.

“Boy, you see that tree lying over there? Go on over and see if it’s green.”

I walk to the felled tree but like all the other trees both standing and lying on the ground it looks “brown” to me.

“Well boy, is it green?”

I shake my head, no, too embarrassed to tell him that the tree is obviously brown.

“Boy, how can you tell if the trees green or not if you haven’t even touched it?”

Now, I am completely bewildered. I’m supposed to tell the color of a tree by touching it? I bend down and begin stroking the tree with my hand. It still looks brown to me.

“What the hell are you doing? Come over here and hold on to these horses.”

I walk over and take the reins, allowing Romaharsana to inspect the downed tree.

“Oh yeah, this baby ain’t green. This baby is nice and dry for Krishna.”

Now, I’m even more confused. He’s repeatedly asked me the color of the wood but now he’s commenting on the wetness of the wood. The downed tree has snow all over it so the fact that he is referring to it as dry is beyond me.

“Go on down that hill and tell me what those trees laying on the ground down are.”

I climb down the steep bank to the felled trees below. Checking them out, I yell back to him.

“They’re trees.”

“Boy, what kind of trees?”

“Big trees.”

“Are they locust?”

Are they locusts? What the hell is he talking about? “No, they’re not locusts. They’re trees.”

“Boy, get up here and hold onto these horses.”

Again, I take the reins and Romaharsana makes a closer inspection. After climbing back up the hill he takes out his wrath on me.

“Don’t you know nothin’ about the woods? You don’t even know “green” wood. You don’t know locust. How you supposed to live in New Vrindaban when you don’t know nothin’ about nothin’?”

Romaharsana begins educating me. “You see that tree right there? Do you know what kind of tree that is?”

“Prabhu, I’m from Brooklyn. I just know that trees are trees. I know “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” but I don’t have any idea what kind of tree it is. And, as far as I know all trees are brown.”

“Well, you ain’t in Brooklyn no more. You wanna be self-sufficient you have to learn these things. Look here. You see that tree right there? That is a locust tree. Locust is good hard wood.”

“All wood seems hard to me.” I say.

“Don’t be stupid. You want hard wood cuz hard wood burns hot.”

Now, I’m even more confused. All wood isn’t hard and all fire isn’t hot. I foolishly think it must be some kind of ancient Vedic knowledge that I am just now being introduced to. Perhaps, even some kind of mystic riddle I am supposed to meditate on in order to achieve enlightenment.

Over the next days in the woods Romaharsana continues to teach me. “You can tell the different types of trees by looking at the bark.”

I am twenty years old and being from NYC I guess I kind of know that there are different kinds of trees, but I have no idea of how to tell them apart. Basically to me a tree is a tree, is a tree, is a tree.

“Locust trees have bark with the bigger grain and bigger veins. The bark of an Ash tree is much tighter and smaller. Green wood is wood that has not dried out yet and still has a lot of sap in it. Dry wood is the opposite. It’s not only hard to start a fire with green wood it’s also dangerous. If you burn green wood eventually the sap will stick to the inside of the chimney and it could catch fire inside the wall.”

Romaharsana seems to know everything about the woods. He points out places where herbs and edible plants will be coming up in the spring. He shows me places he swears will soon be full of berry bushes. He climbs trees. He cuts down trees. He wraps large chains around the felled trees and uses the horses to drag them out of the woods. Although I am far from being any kind of woodsmen, I am starting to see city life in my rear view mirror and a life of self-sufficiency based on simple living and high thinking in front of me.

Besides his knowledge, obvious appreciation for New Vrindaban, and his life as a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, Romaharsana loves to talk about Krishna. Between his tidbits about the beauty and abundance of the forest, and his critiquing of my inadequate skills, he is always talking about Krishna.

“In New Vrindaban Krishna is hiding behind every tree! That’s why I love it out here in the woods. Krishna is everywhere in New Vrindaban, but he’s especially out here in the forest. He goes out into the forest every day with the other cowherd boys. And, you know what he does at night, boy? He goes out into the forest with the cowherd girls.” Saying this he gets a giant grin on his face. “Yeah, I love being out in the forests of New Vrindaban.”

Romaharsana is much older than me and is still a single man. Although he loves being in the woods, loves Prabhupada, and loves Krishna, there still seems to be some other kind of “love” that Romaharsana is requiring as a remedy to counteract the symptoms of one of the most prevalent maladies found in New Vrindaban.

I’m not sure the malady is described in medical journals but in New Vrindaban it is generally diagnosed in the following way:

“What’s wrong with Romaharsana?”

“He’s agitated.”

Although the symptoms are varied – sleeping in, not coming to work, spending days in your room, not getting up in the morning for the services, not chanting your rounds, etc. Once the malady is diagnosed there is ultimately only one remedy.

While Romaharsana’s “illness” is having multiple negative effects around the community, I am appreciating his daily absence. If there is no Romaharsana, then there is no wood coming in. If there is no wood coming in, there is no wood for me to cut in the woodshed. If there is no wood for me to cut in the woodshed, Bhakta Emil is on a fast track for taking it as easy as he can trying to make himself look active doing busy work or disappearing to my room to “read Prabhupada’s books,” also known as sleeping.

Talk in Kirtanananda Swami’s cabin is that they are thinking about getting Romaharsana married to cure his “agitation.” In the Hare Krishna movement there is no acceptable mingling of the sexes and marriages are not accomplished by two people who get to know each other and their common interests connecting over a dinner date or seeing a movie together. Instead someone getting married starts with the Swami picking up a copy of the community census and going down the list to see which single woman might be a good match for Romaharsana.

The whole idea behind the process of Krishna Consciousness is rooted in surrender. For many of the devotees, both male and female, the greatest act of surrender they will be faced with is being asked to marry someone that they don’t even know.

While this is going on one day I get word that the Swami wants to see me in his cabin.

“Hare Krishna, Maharaja. They say you want to see me?”

“What’s going on with the wood, Bhakta Emil?”

“Well, you know, I’m just waiting for Romaharsana or somebody to drag in some wood so that I can cut it up.” In my mind I have presented an unarguable argument.

“Well, why don’t you just hitch up the horses and go out and get the wood yourself?”

“Me take the horses out? I really don’t know anything about driving work horses, Maharaja.”

“I’ll send Kasyapa to show you a few things. It’s not very difficult. It will only be until Romaharsana gets it together.”

The next day I am at the horse barn early in the morning where I am met by the brahmacari, Kasyapa Das, who drives another team of horses. After showing me how to clean the horses, shovel out the stalls, take the horses for their morning drink of water in the creek, harness the team up, and explain some of the equipment to me, he takes me along with him and his team Tom and John.

While going through the motions with Kasyapa and his team the words of the Swami reverberate between each of Kasyapa’s warnings.

Kasyapa:                           “You have to be really careful when you do this because if it goes wrong you could get killed.”

Swami in my Head:        “It’s not very difficult.”

Kasyapa:                           “If you don’t do this right the horses can get killed.”

Swami in my head:         “It’s not very difficult.”

Kasyapa:                           “If that piece of equipment swings the wrong way it can break the horse’s legs.”

Swami in my head:         “It’s not very difficult.”

Swami in my head:         “It will only be until Romaharsana gets it together…”

Fortunately, for Romaharsana, his “malady” is soon relieved when he is married to the brahmacharini, Vajresvari Dasi. Vajresvari seems to me very “city” to Romaharsana’s very “country,” and I hope the match will now mean that I can return to life in the woodshed while Romaharsana returns to driving the horses.

Unfortunately, for me the saying frequently said all over the community, “Man proposes and God disposes,” lands squarely on my head when the Swami decides to increase the size of the “plough” department and keep me in the horse barn.

Although a couple of devotees living in various places across the entire terrain of New Vrindaban may have vehicles of their own, there are only two “community” vehicles in Bahulaban. Whatever “junk” car the Swami might be getting around and an old red Farmall tractor. This means that everything that might need to be moved from here to there – trash, manure, hay, supplies, and other commodities too gross to mention in print have to be moved by the horses.

Just preparing the horses for their workday takes over an hour between feeding, watering, cleaning, and harnessing. This now means my workload from life in the woodshed has been increased tenfold. This verbose New York City kid would like to be complaining twenty four hours a day but unfortunately my fellow horse driver and teacher Kasyapa seems to enjoy socializing even less than the horses – unless of course it is actually socializing with the horses whom he remarkably seems to be able to communicate with.

My fate is sealed: Bhakta Emil – horse driver in training – and plough department member.

Did you miss any of the previous chapters? Click the links below to catch up:

Chapter 1: Every Journey Begins With a Single Step

Chapter 2: Srila Prabhupada – Jaya Radha Madhava

Chapter 3: Captured by the Beauty of Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra

Chapter 4: Fired Up – We Depend On Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra

Chapter 5: The New Vrindaban Landscape – January 1974

Stay tuned for Chapter 7: Prasadam

By Stephen Knapp

(Sri Nandanandana dasa)

(Written for the 2nd World Hindu Congress in Chicago, September 7-9, 2018)

            As we look at Hindus today, we have so many organizations that work for the sake of the Dharma traditions. We have such institutions as the RSS, HSS, VHP, HSC, HMEC, Kalyana Ashrama, or Swadhyaya, Iskcon, Gaudiya Math, the World Vaishnava Association, RamaKrishna Mission, Chinmayananda Mission, Vedanta Society, Self-Realization Fellowship, and many others. And I am happy to say that I have worked with many of them or still have friends in them. But some of these groups seem to be more exclusive than others. They may work hard for their own interests, yet these are often similar to the work and goals of other institutions. So, what if we were more united, more cooperative with each other? We know that there is strength in numbers. So how much stronger could we be if we could cooperate in a single force, at least when needed?

It seems that right now we cannot easily unite and become a strong federation, a powerful force that can determine the fate or future of India and the preservation of its Vedic culture. If anything, so many of these associations in India still fight with or are indifferent to one another and, thus, weaken each other to the point of becoming incapable of performing any worthwhile actions that will make a real difference for the unity and future of India and its traditions. More divisions mean more disunity. This means the less unity we will have for defending our culture.

This was the same sort of weakness of the past 1000 years when invaders came into India, sometimes few in numbers, but conquered and took over parts of the country without much resistance. It was this lack of unity amongst the princely states, and their inability to support each other or come to the aid of another, that allowed for such a poor defense system in which they could not repel their invaders. So, we have to ask ourselves, are we going to continue the same pattern? Are we going to sit back and criticize others and what they have or have not done while we have yet to do anything of real significance? If we do, then there is no doubt that we, Hindus in general, are already finished. It is only a matter of time when we and the Vedic system will become so diminished that it will fade from the world, like other cultures that have been reduced to mere museum pieces. We have to rise above that.

So, it seems we still do not have a unified identity in which we can all work together. I was the president of the Vedic Friends Association for 15 years in which we are still trying to create such a united force here in America. Nonetheless, in my view, one of the greatest attempts to do this in India was the Acharya Sabha as organized by Swami Dayananda Sarasvati, which joined together over 200 spiritual leaders of the major paramparas and spiritual lineages to discuss the common issues that affected all of them, and then make plans on how to deal with such concerns.

So, in this regard we need to reach a singleness of purpose in which we feel that if any part of the Vedic tradition or any group is under attack or being challenged by outside forces, then we are all under attack, and we all must be ready to stand up for the cause. We should be willing to be a united force to be reckoned with, the kind that makes people think twice before persecuting or attacking any Hindus or any part of the Vedic tradition. But this is a call to be active. And many Hindus are not.

Once while giving a talk at a Krishna temple in Mumbai, I began discussing the need to be protective of our culture and try to elect those politicians who are pro-Hindu, or show why they should be pro-Hindu. So, I asked the audience of over 1200 people how many had participated in the last election. Not one hand went up. This is why some people ask whether Hinduism is destined to become extinct. I hope not, but that depends on what we do. Which means we all have to be pro-active.

If we were a stronger and unified force, politicians would know that they need to get our approval. They would take the needs of Hindus more seriously if they want our vote. They would not simply be concerned with vote bank politics that often cater to non-Hindus. Such strength would also mean there would not be the persecution of Hindus that often seems to be sanctioned by politicians in states such as Kerala or West Bengal, or love jihad as found in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere. They would know that Hindus will react and defend themselves, or even go after the politicians who neglect them or even work against them.

Some say that Sanatana-dharma means that it is eternal, so there is no need to worry. But that means they do not even know that Lord Krishna said in Bhagavad-gita (4.1-3, 7-8) that one of His purposes was to re-establish the Vedic traditions that had become lost. This lack of familiarity is a sign of such fading away of knowledge of the Dharmic culture, and the importance of understanding the part we need to play. Arjuna also had to fight for Dharma, so why should we not think that we also need to do something to protect Vedic Dharma?

India must remain the homeland of a thriving and dynamic Vedic tradition. This is essentially based on the universal spiritual truths and knowledge that can be applied by any person at anytime, anywhere in the universe, so they can reach their highest potentials. That is Sanatana-Dharma. If Hindus, Dharmists or Sanatanis, whatever name you want to use, can stand united, there is no threat we cannot handle. History has shown that. But history has also shown that when we are fragmented, then bits and pieces of our culture and even our Mother India get chopped off and taken away from us. This cannot go on.

Therefore, the need of the hour is to find the means wherein we can stand together for the cause of Sanatana-Dharma, the basis of our Hindu culture.

If we can do this, the youth would also be more proud of being a part of something in which reasoning is sound, stable, and in which the participants, such as their parents, are not shy about sharing it or defending it. Nonetheless, the children have to be guided by proper training and association, and proper observance of Vedic traditions. This also is part of forming the proper samskaras in the minds of the children. And isn’t this what we are meant to do anyway? But for this to happen, the parents must also be educated in our Dharmic traditions.

We also need to realize that America is a prime location where we can work together for cultivating as well as protecting and preserving the Vedic tradition. Why? Because there is less emphasis amongst Indian Hindus on local ethnicity or caste. In other words, it is easier to simply be an Indian Hindu or American Hindu rather than a Rajasthani Hindu, Maharashtrian Hindu, or Tamil brahmin, and so on, which thereafter can bring out so many distinctions. If we are going to become united, our identity should first start with being a Hindu, Dharmist or Sanatani: a follower of Sanatana-Dharma. Anything else can be added after that, no matter whether we are Indian, Nepali, Malaysian, Fijian, or from Mauritius, Bali, or America. We are first Hindus or Dharmists. In order to create greater cooperation and a powerful association, we need to have and accept a more unified identity. Then in that light, we can work together and assist each other for the Vedic cause, and form a united federation that can more powerfully take on any threats to our future. There is no reason why we cannot do that if we actually live by the spiritual principles of Sanatana-Dharma, and, thus, Think Collectively, Act Valiantly.

by Stephen Knapp

Kuruksetra is a spiritually important and peaceful town which no pilgrim should miss. It is 118 kilometers north of Delhi, or about a four hour train ride or three hour auto ride away. It is most noted for being the place where Lord Krishna sang the Bhagavad-gita, which means the “song of God,” to his friend Arjuna. Therefore, this town is considered the cradle of Vedic culture, part of the battlefield of the Mahabharata war, and the birth place of the Bhagavad-gita. The Bhagavad-gita is a classic text of India and Vedic thought. Every December there is the festival of Gita Jayanti, which is the celebration of Krishna relating the Bhagavad-gita when thousands of pilgrims visit Kurukshetra. The name of the town is believed to have come from King Kuru, the son of Samvarana and Tapati, and the ancestor of the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

Not only was the Bhagavad-gita sung by Lord Krishna in Kurukshetra, but other spiritually important events also took place here. Krishna met his friends and residents of Vrindavana here during an eclipse while He was living in Dwaraka. He also took bath in Brahma Sarovara and the Sannihit Sarovara water tanks. It is said that the Brahma Sarovara tank is one of the most important in all of India, and that all the holy waters of India are found in the Brahma Sarovara during an eclipse, which is why millions of pilgrims come here to bathe during such an event. It is also said that those who bathe here, live here, visit, or die in Kuruksetra go to heaven after death. In the Kurukshetra Mahatmya of the Mahabharata the sage Pulastya says that even the dust of Kurukshetra will cause one to reach the highest goal. This is the benefit for all who died in the battle of Kurukshetra 5,000 years ago, and one reason why the battle took place here. It is another reason why every pilgrim should visit this holy place. It is also explained that if a person walks eight miles along the Ganga River, he will acquire the merit of performing one ashwamedha ritual. In Kashi (Varansi) one gets the same result by walking only four miles, and only two miles when walking in Kurukshetra.

Furthermore, it is said that Manu wrote the Manu-samhita here. Some people also believe that Vyasadeva wrote some of the Vedic texts, such as the Mahabharata, at his ashrama along the banks of the Sarasvati River when the Sarasvati used to flow through Kurukshetra. This is not to contradict the premise that he also wrote Vedic texts in his ashrama near Badrinatha. The Rig and Sama Vedas may have been written here as well. Even Lord Buddha is said to have visited Kuruksetra.

While we are here, there are several places we want to visit. First of all, Jyotisar is the place where Krishna related the Bhagavad-gita to His devotee Arjuna. This is about 10 kilometers north of town. It is a pleasant motor-ricksha ride away, and it provides a time to meditate on the occasion when the huge armies gathered on these plains thousands of years ago. Jyotisar is now a small park with a central banyan tree over a small marble chariot that marks where Krishna sang the Bhagavad-gita and showed Arjuna His universal form. The banyan tree is said to be the same tree as when Krishna and Arjuna were present and, thus, the only living witness to the event. There is a large pond of water here that provides for a refreshing atmosphere. There are also a few other small shrines, like an old Shiva temple. It is most pleasant to sit and meditate on the significance of the area and read some of the Bhagavad-gita while visiting.

The history of the Battle of Kuruksetra and the speaking of the Bhagavad-gita can be told briefly. The five Pandava brothers, born of King Pandu, were the legitimate heirs to the kingdom of India. However, when the Pandavas were still young, Pandu died untimely and Dhritarashtra, the head of the Kuru family, assumed control until the Pandavas were grown. However, due to his love for his own sons, Dhritarashtra engaged in many plots and intrigues to eliminate the Pandavas so his sons, the Kauravas, could inherit the kingdom. After many years of tribulations, close escapes from death, and fourteen years of exile, the Pandavas returned to reclaim their rights to the throne. However, the Kurus were not inclined to honor the Pandavas in any way. Even after asking for only five villages, one for each of the Pandavas to rule, Duryodhana, the chief of the Kauravas, said he would not give them enough land with which to stick in a pin.

After all peaceful negotiations were exhausted, the Pandavas agreed that there was no other choice than to fight. Even Lord Krishna went and personally asked the Kauravas to settle the matter in a peaceful way, but this was not what was destined to be. Each side then amassed huge armies from all over India and beyond. In fact, the Kurus had a much larger army and far greater warriors than the Pandavas. However, the greatest ally of the Pandavas was their great moral and spiritual character, and their friend Sri Krishna, the most powerful personality.

When it was time for the huge armies to face each other on the plains of Kuruksetra, there were many millions of warriors, horses, chariots, and elephants ready to fight. Before the battle, Krishna, who was serving as Arjuna’s chariot driver and advisor, drove Arjuna’s chariot between the two great armies. Seeing the number of friends and relatives on each side ready to fight each other, Arjuna hesitated and felt much grief over the situation. He felt it was useless to fight. He preferred to retire to the forest and live as a recluse and meditate. It was then that Krishna took the opportunity to sing the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna to show him that action for devotional service and to protect Sanatana-dharma is a higher standard.

The Bhagavad-gita is the essence of all Vedic philosophy and is composed of 700 verses and explains such topics as the nature of the soul, God, the material universe, activities and karma, reincarnation, the process of yoga, the purpose of life, and more. After all this was explained to Arjuna, he took courage with proper understanding and fought. Thereafter, the war of Kurukshetra lasted for 18 days in which several million warriors died in the fierce fighting. Then the Pandavas were rightfully established in their kingdom, and Sri Krishna had provided His eternal instructions in the form of the Bhagavad-gita for all of humanity. This is all elaborated in the Mahabharata which is composed of 100,000 verses, making it the longest poem in literary history.

When we leave Jyotisar, our next stop is at Bishma Kund, also called Bana Ganga. This is where Grandfather Bhishma fell on the tenth day of the battle of Kurukshetra, but remained laying there until the sun entered the northern hemisphere. The battle was so fierce that Bhishma’s back was covered with arrows. Finally, he fell on his back and laid on what appeared as a bed of arrows. Then Krishna and the Pandavas, hearing the news, gathered around him as he prepared to leave this world. Bhishma was one of the greatest and most respected of the warriors on the battlefield. As he lay there, he became thirsty and Arjuna shot an arrow into the ground from which sprang Ganges water to quench Bhishma’s thirst. This later formed into what is now a small kund or water tank called Bana Ganga, or Bhishma Kund. Bathing in it is said to give the benefits of bathing at all the holy tirthas. This is also where Bishma gave the teachings of Rajadharma (statecraft) and Anushasana (discipline) to Yudhisthira. Bishma also sang the Vishnusahasranama (The Thousand Names of Vishnu) to Lord Krishna before he departed this world.

Next to the kund is a small temple that has images of Bhishma on the bed of arrows surrounded by Krishna and the Pandavas in the act of listening to Bhishma as he instructs Yudhisthira on the path of dharma, or spiritual merit. There is also a deity of Krishna in His universal form. At one end of the kund is also a huge 26-foot tall deity of Hanuman. There is also a little temple here of Sita-Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman, and Durga. When we are finished here, next we’ll go to the large Brahma Sarovara tank.

There is another place called Bana Ganga southwest of Kurukshetra in Dayalpur. This is a small kund where Arjuna had stopped to rest his horses on his way to fight with Jayadratha. In order to quench the thirst of his horses, he shot his arrow called Parjanyastra into the ground which generated the necessary water. There is also a temple of Goddess Bala Sundari on the premises, and a large Hanuman image.

Brahma Sarovara is one of the holiest tanks in India and is where millions of pilgrims gather to bathe during an eclipse. One who bathes here is said to receive the merit of performing an ashvamedha ritual, and one is freed from all sins by bathing here during an eclipse. This is where Lord Brahma performed a large sacrificial ceremony and also from where he manifested the earth planet in the process of creation. Legend has it that Brahma Sarovara was excavated first by King Kuru long before the epic battle of Kurukshetra. It is a huge tank (half a kilometer wide and one kilometer long) with an island in the middle connected by a road that cuts through it. On the island is a water well called the Chandra Kupa Well, one of the oldest sacred wells. Tradition has it that in ancient times the water in the well would change to milk during the solar eclipse. Next to the well is a small Radha-Krishna temple where Yudhisthira is said to have built a victory pillar after the successful culmination of the war. This lake is also where Krishna, His brother Balarama, and His sister Subhadra came from Dwaraka to bathe during an eclipse. Along the side of the tank is a smaller island with the Sarveshwar Mahadeva (Shiva) temple on it.

The streets nearby have a number of other temples that we can visit, such as the Birla Gita Mandir. This has a deity of Krishna in the act of explaining the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna. Outside is a chariot with images of Krishna and Arjuna on it. Down the road along Brahma Sarovara are other temples and ashramas, many of which are quite nice. You can simply ride down the street and stop to see the ones you want to visit.

Nearby is Sannihit Sarovara, another lake or water tank that is very significant. It is not as large as Brahma Sarovara, but it is fairly big (1500 by 450 feet). Sannihit means the assembly of the entire range of holy tirthas or sacred sites, which is said to happen every Amavas, or eclipse, especially the Somavati Amavas (lunar eclipse). It is also said that all of the sacred holy places gather here on the new Moon day, and that this is where the seven sacred Sarasvatis meet. Performing the shraddha ceremony for the benefit of the ancestors and bathing during the eclipse is said to purify you of all your sins and give you the merit of having performed 1,000 ashvamedha ceremonies. Lord Krishna also bathed here and met the gopis and residents of Vrindavana when He was present. It is also accepted that it was here where Lord Indra accepted the bones from the great sage Dadhichi, which were so powerful that they were used in making a Vajra or thunderbolt for killing the demon Vritasura.

On the eastern end of the tank are several small temples to Vishnu, Dhruva, Hanuman, Durga, Lakshmi-Narayana, Surya, etc. Across the road is a large, beautiful temple to Lakshmi-Narayana. There are also numerous sadhus found here, and those who merely look like sadhus. In fact, as I walked around the lake on one occasion, I came upon a group of sadhus who, instead of engaging in meditation or reading scriptures, etc., were sitting and playing a game of cards. When I asked them if I could take a photo, a few instantly said no. Playing like a naive tourist, I asked why not, and one answered, “What do you think?” They thought I was going to take a photo and then give it to the newspapers. Of course, I knew why they didn’t want their photo taken: They didn’t want to be seen that way because they would lose their credibility. This made me realize how few real sadhus actually exist.

Not far from here is a very impressive, government operated Krishna Museum. Every aspect of this museum is related to the pastimes of Krishna and the various ways to express devotion to Him. The museum has a wide assortment of brass, metal, and wood deities of Krishna, Jagannatha, along with paintings, drawings, sculptures, and artwork from all over India. There was also a life-size image of Mother Yasoda with Krishna and Balarama. It also has an assortment of costumes and dress from different eras of Indian history. This museum is very nicely done and well worth the visit, but don’t take any photos or, as I was told, they may take away your camera. There is also a Multimedia Mahabharata and Gita Gallery for all those who are interested. Altogether it is an especially nice exhibit. Also, do not miss the Kurukshetra Panorama & Science Centre, which brings to life the epic battle of the Mahabharata with special acoustic effects. Exhibits are also related to various branches of science like astronomy, medicine, chemistry, botany, and zoology.

Our next stop is Kamal Nabha or Nabhi, which is a water kund said to mark the place where Brahma was born out of the lotus flower that arose from the nabhi or navel of Lord Vishnu. This is located in the old town of Thanesar. The water tank here is not that large and is green with algae, but is very significant. There is only a small shrine with Lakshmi-Narayana deities and a picture on the wall of Vishnu with Brahma on the lotus coming from Vishnu’s navel. In the entranceway are a few other small deities.

Another short ride to a different part of town takes us to the Sthaneswara temple and tank. This is also quite interesting and is where the Pandavas prayed to Lord Shiva for blessings to be victorious in the war of Kurukshetra. The water from the tank is considered sacred and to have healing powers. A few drops of the water from the tank is said to have cured King Ban or Vena of leprosy. The temples around the tank have very beautiful deities of Krishna, Radha-Govinda, Sita-Rama and Lakshmana, Shiva, Durga, etc., and an ancient Shiva lingam. The present temple is said to be constructed by Sadashiva Rao Bhau, the commander-in-chief of the Maratha forces, to commemorate his victory over Ahmed Shah Abdali in the battle of Kunjpura, near Karnal. According to the Vamana Purana, the tirthas of Shukra, Soma, Daksha and Skanda are located in the north, east, south, and west parts respectively of this Sthanu tirtha, but one who visits the linga of Shiva here gets moksha or liberation. The Vamana Purana also says that whoever enters this Sthanu temple, with or without desires, gets emancipation from all karma and attains the supreme seat.

Down the road is the Bhadra Kali temple. This is another Shaktipeeth, or empowered place related to Devi, which marks the place where Sati’s ankle fell when Lord Vishnu cut her dead body into pieces as it was being held by Lord Shiva. This was after she left her body when she had been insulted by her father, Daksha, in Haridwar for having Shiva as her husband. A marble sculpture of a right ankle is placed over the well where Sati’s ankle fell. It is visited by a large number of devotees.

The Iskcon Krishna temple is in the bazaar in the older part of town. If you can get there in the morning you can have darshan of the beautiful Radha-Krishna deities, which stand about two feet tall, and the smaller Gaura-Nitai deities. You can also attend the arati and have a nice prasadam breakfast. The temple is quite nice and expanding. They also have guest quarters on the top floor where visitors can stay. The number of devotees is small, but they are very friendly and helpful. In fact, they helped arrange my motor ricksha transportation to see the holy places in town the first time I came to visit Kurukshetra. However, they are building a new and very large temple on the road on the way to Jyotisar, which will be in the shape of a chariot. So many people will be stopping to see this new temple.

Another place to see is the Dharohar Haryana Sangrahalaya, established in 2006, which houses a variety of objects like agricultural and domestic implements and art and craft items from the state of Haryana. It also has archaeological artifacts, manuscripts, wall paintings, folk music instruments, ornaments, weapons, etc., to highlight the culture and rich traditions of Haryana.

There is also the Kalpana Chawla Memorial Planetarium named after Dr. Kalpana Chawla, India’s famous astronaut and space scientist. This has been set up by Haryana State Council for Science & Technology for imparting non-formal education in astronomy so anyone can learn more about this form of science. However most shows are run in Hindi language, but when needed, they are shown in both Hindi and English.

There is an assortment of other noteworthy places around Kuruksetra, some of which you may want to visit if you have time. Altogether there are still about 134 important pilgrimage sites that are still known today, of which we will describe a few. For example, the mound called Amin, eight miles outside of town, is where Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu, was caught in the Chakra Vyuha military formation and killed during the battle of Kuruksetra, as described in the Mahabharata. And the Karna Vadha trench is where Karna, the Pandavas half-brother who fought against them, was killed when his chariot got stuck there.

About 40 kilometers from Kurukshetra is the place of Pehowa where the ancient Sarasvati River is commemorated, and is famous for the performance of the shraddha ceremonies for the ancestors. The tirtha of Prithudaka is mentioned in the Puranas and Mahabharata, where Matinara, a king in the Puru lineage, performed many rituals here on the bank of the Sarasvati River, which is now mostly dried up and no longer flows through Kurukshetra as it did during the times of the Mahabharata.

Jind and Safidon are towns where you will find such tirthas as Ram Hridaya where Parashurama performed a spiritual ceremony. At Birhi Kalan near Jind is Varaha Tirtha where Lord Varaha appeared in order to save the earth. Sarp Damam, in Safidon, is where Janamejaya, the son of Maharaja Pariksit, performed a fire sacrifice in order to destroy all the snakes after his father was bitten by the snake bird Takshaka from a curse by Shringi, as described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. This is in connection with the holy town of Shukratal. If you have the time to do some research, the library at Kuruksetra has a good collection of Vedic literature in Sanskrit and English.

Many of the sites mentioned herein will likely change greatly in their appearance over the next few years because the government plans to spend a lot of money to make these sites more tourist and pilgrim friendly. They plan to make a “Krishna Tour” for the many pilgrims so they can easily see the sites connected with Krishna and India’s history. This will include Kurukshetra and many other places in Haryana, but also places like Vrindavana which will also be a part of this tour.

In this way, Kurukshetra has much to offer the sincere pilgrim and also elaborates the significance of the Bhagavad-gita. Some people stay for a day, but Kurukshetra deserves a few days to see and absorb all it has to offer.

 

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By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

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