Archive - Sep 2008

It's been said that those who perform abortions will have to be aborted in the womb again and again. Srila Prabhupada says this in a poignant way: "He dies within the womb, again transferred to another womb, and again it is killed.

So those who are too much sinful, those who are causing these abortions, they will get this sort of life. They will never see light. One womb, killed; another womb, killed; another womb,
killed; another womb, killed.

One way to help us realize "I am not this body" is to remember that
forgetfulness generally happens when we change bodies. Actually the
body is constantly changing, so we're constantly forgetting. But the
reason we can't remember past lives is because we have completely
changed bodies.

A great way to explain this is as follows. When I dream vividly, I think it's real. Therefore I am totally forgetting that I'm the body lying in the bed.

The expert swimmer lies on his or her back in the water and enjoys the
sensation. This gives us a glimpse into how Maha-Visnu feels as he
reclines in His yoga-nidra mystic slumber generating billions of universes through his breach and pores.

Krsna consciousness is multi-faceted. Srila Prabhupada has used the
phrase, "angle of vision" many times. Even material truth is
many-sided. It is said there are at least two sides to every issue, and
another maxim says that the pursuit of truth is like picking
raspberries. You miss a lot if you approach from only one angle. Srila
Prabhupada wanted us to approach Krsna consciousness with an open mind.
Krsna is the ultimate Truth, so this truth has an infinite number of
facets. Being 'independently thoughtful' doesn't mean joining the 'herd

Let a Vaisnava or Krsna be your role model. We all need role models.
Arjuna carried a Hanuman banner on his chariot. I have a photograph of
Jayananda prabhu in the same locket as Prabhupada and they are both
always next to where I write.

Srila Prabhupada is known for saying that temples aren't places for
"lazies and crazies." This is a quote from the Narada Bhakti Sutra,
"And Srila Prabhupada was also stern, cautioning his followers, 'An
easy-going life and Krsna consciousness go ill together.' " Another
quote we have heard is this. "There are three types of people: those
who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who
wonder, 'what happened?'" Laziness can be in the form of mental
laziness, and although "lazy intelligence" is sometimes glorified, it

The process of yukta vairagya, or engaging everything in the Lord's
service is found in at least two places in Bhagavad-gita As It Is
(BGAII). We don't have to quote Rupa Goswami to understand or discover
this essential. It is right there in the BGAII.

Here are the two verses I refer to in BGAII:

BG 3.9

yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra
loko 'yam karma-bandhanah
tad-artham karma kaunteya
mukta-sangah samacara

To give is better than to receive. This has its true meaning in Srimad
Bhagavatam and in ISKCON. In the Bhagavad-gita As It Is Krsna
guarantees: ye yatha mam prapadyante...[BG 4.11] "accordingly" is key word in this translation.

-- and --

One has to be empowered by the Lord to spread devotional service.
Otherwise it will not be possible. Therefore we have to constantly beg
for His Mercy. CC Antya 7.11 says: kali-kalera dharma--krsna-nama-sankirtana, krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana. "The fundamental religious system in the Age of Kali is the chanting of the holy name of Krsna. Unless empowered by Krsna, one cannot propagate
the sankirtana movement."

Lord Caitanya's mood of separation is captured by this sentence Srila
Prabhupada spoke in Ahmedabad on 13 December 1972: "Just like Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, He's the symbol of Radharani's maha-bhava. He says that 'I
do not love Krsna. I do not know how to love Krsna.' Then if you,
somebody, if somebody says, 'Then why You are crying?' 'Well, that is a
show. I am making a show. I am crying.' Then what is the symptom? 'The
symptom is that if I would have loved Krsna, then without Him I have
died long, long ago. I should have died. I am living still without