Krishna reciprocates with, and is even defeated by, His devotees’ pure devotional service. They conquer Him. When Brahmananda Bharati came before the Lord in a deerskin Lord Caitanya pretended not to recognize him. When Brahmananda Bharati changed clothes and re considered everything, he became Lord Caitanya’s disciple. He gave up impersonalism for good. He quickly came to understand the Lord’s mind. He claimed that the main reason the Lord voluntarily accepted Brahmananda Bharati’s final argument (that the Lord Caitanya was God) was because the Supreme Lord is always defeated by pure devotional service. In this connection he cited the Srimad Bhagavatam verse in which Bhisma “defeats” Lord Krsna in battle by making Him break His promise not to take up fighting. These are the words of Bhisma in the Srimad Bhagavatam (1.9.37), sva-nigamam apahaya mat-pratijnam, rtam adhikartum avapluto ratha sthah dhrta-ratha-carano ‘bhyayac calad-gur, harir iva hantum ibham gatottariyah. “Fulfilling my desire and sacrificing His own promise, He got down from the chariot, took up its wheel and ran toward me hurriedly, just as a lion goes to kill an elephant. He even dropped His outer garment on the way.”

(The following article was posted in the “Meditations” column of the Hindustan Times, one of India’s largest English language daily newspapers, on 07 February 2004.) OF THE Padma Purana’s 8.4 million universal life forms, we’re told that earth-dwelling homo sapiens are in the best position to advance to higher consciousness. According to the Bhagavat, we can attain perfection (11.20.7). That book also says that ancient books of wisdom are like favourable winds propelling the boat of the human body toward its ultimate goal. It further suggests that a guru is like a coxswain, or the steersman of a racing shell, one who guides us to our destination. We’re implored to take advantrage of the human situation to avoid spiritual suicide. Unfortunately, as we ply seemingly smoothly along, there are endless opbstacles. And many hurdles are close to home. For example, the very manner in which we communicate is deeply entrenched in monetary and marketing terminology. Money is often the ultimate measure of success, and the desire to sell goods permeates our lanugage. Corporations sometimes say ‘people are our greatest asset’. But ‘asset’ is a monetary term. The words ‘worth’ and ‘value’ have come to mean little more than cost and and price. Language is reducing our grasp of any real values. The worth of a thing – as in ‘for what it’s worth’ – is not a measure of an item’s intrinsic merit. ‘Value’ today is seldom equated with importance and morality. The Bhagavat is a map, steering people across the ocean of an unpredictable world, where the body — and mind — are vulnerable to hijacking. Today’s ‘economic’ use of language, ‘cheapens’ lives. We’live in an age when a graveyard is called a ‘memorial park’, so that the dead rest easy in our minds. An earplug is a ‘noise filter’, and a bar of soap a ‘skin cleansing system’. Cows are called food products. ‘Bottom line’ is another phrase that’s come to mean a final conclusion or summary statement. When we take advantage of shastric evidence, linguistic morphing can be superseded by wisdom. The technology of spiritual progress guarantees our human craft are guided — in every respect — toward their natural harbour on the most protected route. (The writer is emeritus member of the ISKCON governing body commission)

Aucklanders, compared to big-city folk in other English-speaking countries, generally act good naturedly – innocent and polite – until they get behind the steering wheel of an automobile. This phenomenon illustrates how members of a normally quiet, considerate population can suddenly turn — Jekyll- and Hide-like –- into creatures with demonic mentalities. Road rage, defacement of road signs, auto theft, illegal tailgating, reckless and drunken driving have become major social problems in Auckland, New Zealand.

SO MANY times one has heard people attributing the reason for an action to God. In the name of Him, so many poor innocents killed, so much terrorism perpetrated. But such people seldom realise that mixing terrorism with God makes a sickening brew. Let’s know this for a fact: terrorists don’t believe in God, unless there is a God who encourages the sudden and unexpected killing of civilians, workers and children. God and the soul are correlative terms: atma and paramatma in classical parlance. Terrorists can garner fame and recognition from their peers, but the most dangerous sorts are those who live to die heroically by killing an unsuspecting “enemy.” Such persons, we learn, think that salvation means more sex, more drugs, and more fame – all in an afterworld and all for the pleasure of God. But we shouldn’t be surprised, for nonsensical notions of God are nothing new to human beings, especially in a secular world where God and the Devil can change positions at the drop of a sabre. But along with theology, all religions profess common decency. The Bhagavat Purana, for example, explains the original human nature is to be sattvic, and that only later during the initial process of creation do the modes of passion (rajas) and ignorance (tamas) pollute this seminal nature. That same Purana says that ideal human nature includes knowledge and renunciation. Although God is invoked as the ultimate sanctioning agent in many conflicts, wars are fought over land, economic power, and political or tribal supremacy. At least, holy wars like those in the Mahabharata, didn?t embrace kooky concepts of God. But that was five thousand years ago, when civilians were spared the untimely death at the hands of cowards. Today’s wars, increasingly involve private citizens, and are often fought in the name of God. And when it comes to terrorism, non-military personnel are almost exclusively targeted. Sadly, extreme form of nationalism has given rise to popular usage concepts of ?heathen? and kafir. This being so, gratuitous violence against those who are ?different? is the next step. But religion – of any stripe, in any country – espouses love of God as its ultimate teaching and this is meant to transcend all confessions. In Bhagavad Gita, God specifically advises us to develop qualities of “peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, and wisdom” and that we should “give up all varieties of religion (sarva-dharman) and surrender unto Me. “

In the purport to Srimad Bhagavatam First Canto, Chapter Seventeen verse Thirty-two, — BEFORE 3.25.21) Srila Prabhupada writes: The principles of religion, namely austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness, as we have already discussed, may be followed by the follower of any faith. There is no need to turn from Hindu to Mohammedan to Christian or some other faith and thus become a renegade and not follow the principles of religion. The Bhagavatam religion urges following the principles of religion. The principles of religion are not the dogmas or regulative principles of a certain faith. Such regulative principles may be different in terms of the time and place concerned. One has to see whether the aims of religion have been achieved. Sticking to the dogmas and formulas without attaining the real principles is not good.

Devotional service is so enlivening that any one of the nine processes, if perfected, can give us the highest benefit. Therefore reading (hearing) is very important. Srila Prabhupada said this about hearing: “If you become expert in hearing, that is as good as one who is engaged in any of the other eight processes or nine processes. That is stated in the sastra. Just like Pariksit Maharaja. He simply listened. He did not do any other process. Sri-visnu-sravane pariksit. They got liberation simply by executing one of the nine different processes. So Sri-visnoh sravane pariksid abhavad vaiyasakih kirtane. Pariksit Maharaja got liberation simply by hearing.” (Departure Lecture, London, 12 March 1975)

Another of the four principal Vaisnava Sampradayas is called the Rudra Sampradaya. It too is one of the Visnu Sampradayas.

Is it a fact that good and evil live side by side in our hearts? The testimonies of some great devotees support this strange notion. One of Srila Prabhupada’s most miraculous achievements is the transformation of heard-hearted, atheistic, inimical-to-God and inimical-to-Godly-people to Krsna consciousness. In a letter written by one of Srila Prabhupada’s followers in 1968, Lakshmidasa wrote: “…you are performing the wonder of wonders – turning beastly humans into Godly saints…”

Printed 8 April 2002 SUPPOSE YOU’RE told a loved one (husband, wife, mother, father or your child) may be in the next room. You’re told that no one is in there for sure, only that he or she MAY BE in there. Next you are asked to toss a live hand grenade into that room. Will you do it? I doubt it. But that’s exactly what medical science it asking us to do when it says that under three months, the embryo may or may not be ‘human’. Destroy now; ask later. Abortion has become a word game: pro-life, pro-choice, anti-abortion, abortion foes, family planning and abortion rights. In our lifetime, we may have to bear neologisms like an anti-fetal league, pro-necrosis union, and anti-choice network. Unfortunately suicide, homicide, infanticide, genocide, and insecticides are reality, but embryocide doesn’t exist in any dictionary. This is further complicated by the notion that pregnancy terminations are part of women’s rights–that each individual has the right to choose whether or not to procreate, before or after coitus. A further complexity is that economics is often cited as a valid reason for abortion. An additional muddle is vitiated traditions which intimate that female offspring will drain a family’s economy, whereas male offspring will impact positively. Whew! Vedic culture’s contribution to this debate is based on transmigration of the soul. This concept asserts that at the moment of conception there is life. As narrated in Mahabharata, Aswathama’s devotion to his father did not make his attempt to destroy the embryonic Parikshit sanction able. Whether we’re killing life or potential life, Vedic culture contends that abortion is wrong and that it’s an ethical issue. It may appear to be a debate between religious law and free enterprise, but in reality the issue is a value-centered, moral dilemma. Mother earth is not overpopulated with humans and will gladly accept and nurture many new ones. If we understand our heritage rightly, there will always be enough to eat (“… I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.” – Bhagavad-Gita 9.22) In the most materialistically successful country in the world, the US, a phenomenon known as post-abortion syndrome (PAS) has plagued psychiatric patients (women who have had abortions) for decades. Due to an increase in abortions, in Europe, France and Germany there is now a need to import thousands of immigrants from Africa and Turkey to populate factories and keep their economies running. Contrary to popular opinion, population experts tell us that if present trends continue, population growth will slow, and by the year 2020 a dangerous and precipitous decline will ensue. (The writer is emeritus member of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission)

Yogis are traditionally characterised as Indian men who don turbans, wear only the scantiest of clothing around their waists, and sit comfortably on beds of nails; conversely they’re men who can twist their bodies like pretzels into impossible positions. Krishna asserts He is the greatest yogi in the last verse of the Bhagavad-gita. Srila Prabhupada was a great yogi, but he said he didn’t have to exercise those powers. Prabhupada: I am yogi because I am taking lessons from the yogis… Dr. Patel: Yoga dharana. Prabhupaeda: Yes. Yogi, I am taking lesson from Sukadeva Gosvami. I may be fool, but I am taking lesson from the yogi. Yes. So yatra yogesvara krsna tatra srir vijayo bhutir. (From a Morning Walk, December 20, 1975, in Mumbai)