Srila Prabhupada told us that recitation of mantras was important, even if we didn’t know the meaning of the words. He even taught a tune to the devotees in Los Angeles during a lecture, saying it was “very nice.” If you’d like a copy of that melody, you can find out how to obtain it by contacting Lokadhyaksa prabhu at lagarwal@us.oracle.com

The word “mellifluous” usually refers to sweet, flowing speech. This – in pure form — certainly applies to Lord Krishna, Who is said to be the best linguist and who know every language, even those of non-human entities who communicate within a given species. “Krsna is the linguist of all wonderful languages. He is a truthful and very pleasing speaker. He is expert in speaking, and He is a very wise, learned scholar and a genius.”

Often the term “magic” is used to portray something wonderful, something misunderstood or not understood, something illusory, or something extraordinary. But the greatest magic of all is that performed by the Supreme Lord. That is real magic. Srila Prabhupada says this about magic: “The yogis want to get these siddhis and declare that he has become God. The same, like the jnani, people are hankering after this magic.” (From a lecture in Mumbai on 24 November 1975).

“Growing grain for feed instead of food may be humanity’s greatest evil yet,” according to an article by Jeremy Rifkin published by the Los Angeles Times on 28 May 2002. Rifkin offers these two important facts, among others, to support his arguments: * Hundreds of millions of people are going hungry every day all over the world because much of the arable land is now being used to grow feed grain for animals rather than food grain for people. Grain-fed cattle, pigs, chicken and other livestock, in turn, are being consumed by the wealthiest people on the planet while the poor go hungry. * Today, more than 70% of the grain produced in the United States is fed to livestock, much of it to cattle. Unfortunately, cattle are energy guzzlers, considered by some to be the Cadillacs of farm animals. In the U.S., 157 million metric tons of cereal, legumes and vegetable protein suitable for human use are fed to livestock to produce 28 million metric tons of animal protein that humans consume annually.

This is a “meditation” from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada’s guru, from his Last Will and Testament: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna is the only enjoyer, everyone, everything else is the object of His enjoyment.”

The mark of a truly learned persons according to Srila Prabhupada, citing Chanakya Pandita, is to regard others’ possessions as garbage on the street, others’ pain as one’s own and women not one’s wife as “mother.”

It is fashionable to think of God in quirky ways. In April of 2001, Lisa Miller wrote in The Wall Street Journal: “the number of those (Americans) who say no standard definition ‘comes close’ to their notion of the deity has more than doubled in the past 20 years, according to market-research firm Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.” But in 1972 Srila Prabhupada told us, “Because it is science, so either in America or in India or in England, everyone will accept ‘Two plus two equal to four.’ That is science. Science is true everywhere. Not that ‘I can imagine my God according to my whims; you can imagine your God…’ That is going on. No, how you can imagine? There is no question of imagine.” (Excerpted from a lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam in Los Angeles.)

For a human to have the mystic power to live in the water for an entire lifetime or to fly in the sky with telescopic vision, are not worthwhile goals for a Krishna consciousness aspirant. Here are two reasons why. Fish can live under water for a lifetime – for a human, that’s an inconceivable power – but they are easily victimized by a fisherman’s bait. Secondly, vultures and other predatory birds have the ability to fly high in the air and have keen eyesight. The can distinguish hundreds of yards away tiny objects on earth. But to what objects are they attracted? Dead bodies. Here’s something Srila Prabhupada specifically said about predatory birds, vultures: “Oh, the vulture can fly more than you. It is a vulture, and it flies many miles above, and it has got very sharp eyesight. The vulture is so up. The business is where there is a dead body. That’s all. He is trying to find out, “Where is a dead body?” You see? It goes high, but the business is to find out a dead body. That’s all.” (SB lecture 2.3.18-19, Los Angeles 13 June 1972.)

Each summer Indradyumna Swami’s Hare Krishna festival tour hits the Baltic Coast of North Poland. It’s important for all of Srila Prabhupada’ s followers to at least be aware, if not a part of, this uniquely wonderful presentation of the Krsna consciousness culture by dozens of devotees. It includes book distribution, Harinama, prasadam distribution, spiritual fashions, face painting, questions and answers, boutiques, and lots of irresistible stage events, including kirtans, dance, dramas with amazing costumes, extraordinary lighting and sound, lectures, active participation of children ages 2-7, and Krishna rock and reggae. The festival is set up in many cities and up to 20,000 townspeople take part. The tour, like a visit to Vrindavana or Mayapura, is a must for anyone in ISKCON.

The fourth of the principal Vaisnava Sampradayas is called the Madhvacarya Sampradaya. It is also sometimes known as the Brahma Madhya Gaudiya Sampradaya, and is the Sampradaya in which Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta appeared.