Archive - Oct 2008

'Ecstatic' feelings may be interpreted as quasi mystical visitations.
How does this relate to the importance of Harinam Sankirtana and Srila
Prabhupada's insistence on examinations and scholarship? Is bhakti
primarily 'feeling?' I thought Drutakarma prabhu addressed this
question nicely when in 2000 he wrote : "This clash of images --science
and street religion - is nothing new. For ages, the bhakti tradition in
India has always been a mixture of two seemingly contradictory elements
-- the emotional statement of bhakti through public chanting and

Faith, although it can be blind sometimes and therefore fickle, is
necessary for aspiring transcendentalists. Srila Prabhupada said this
on 26 February 1973 during a conversation in Jakarta: "Religious idea
without philosophy is sentiment, and philosophy without religion is
mental speculation. They should be combined.

Here what scientist William R. Corliss (55 books and a consultant to
several corporations including Time-Life Books and General Electric)
wrote in 2000:
* Ganges water does not putrefy, even after long
periods of storage. River water begins to putrefy when lack of oxygen
promotes the growth of anaerobic bacteria, which produce the telltale
smell of stale water.
* British physician, C.E. Nelson observed that
Ganges water taken from the Hooghly -- one of its dirtiest mouths -- by
ships returning to England remained fresh throughout the voyage.

We've heard that the sky is blue because it's a reflection of Lord
Krsna's body. Modern science probably wouldn't agree. Here are some
things Srila Prabhupada said about this (excerpted from a lecture in
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.9 in Montreal on 4 July 1968: "Yes. Krsna is
bluish. Krsna's color is the sky. When you see the clear sky, bluish
sky, are you not very happy? ,Krsna's body, there is a ray,
brahmajyoti. That brahmajyoti is reflected in the sky. That brahmajyoti
is outside this material sky, but that is being reflected. Therefore
the sky's color, it appears bluish."

Sometimes learned devotees have 'an (a bad) attitude,' and sometimes
devotees who don't appear particularly learned have an attitude that
endears them to others who consider them advanced. Here's one thing
Srila Prabhupada says about 'attitude' in his Preface to "Nectar of
Instruction": "Advancement in Krsna consciousness depends on the
attitude of the follower. A follower of the Krsna consciousness
movement should become a perfect gosvami.

Sometimes, even after exhaustively researching Folio, also know as the
Bhaktivedanta Vedabase, it is difficult to determine what Srila
Prabhupada thought about a particular subject.

Just by seeing shaven-headed, sari-clad, tilak bearing devotees can
begin to convince people that there is a goal greater than sense
gratification ? beyond sex and money.

Lord Caitanya's direct reasons for appearing on earth was to draw
people into constant meditation on the Supreme Lord. Therefore, when He
was a child, he repeatedly acted naughtily and thereby drew everyone's
attention. He chastised brahmanas who claimed He 'broke their
meditation' by distracting them. In reality, however, he was pulling
attention directly onto Him. On such occasions He would sometimes ask,
"Who are you meditating on?"

Restraining forces (against ISKCON for example) will always exist just
as there always have been and always will be atheists. Our success is
not stomping them out of existence, but 'handling' them intelligently.
Even on the subtle, intellectual plane, people are trying to undermine
Srila Prabhupada and his movement. ISKCON must use intellectualism to
counter these attacks.

Lord Caitanya's indirect reasons for appearing on earth was to detach
people from everything material. Therefore as a child, he trashed many
items, especially in his mother's kitchen. Vrindavana Das Thakura
describes the phenomenon and why it occurs in Caitanya Bhagavat.