Krishna - The Lord of Your Heart

Why We Follow Rupa Gosvami -- or what it takes to be a guru

2011-10-26T07:04:00.002+02:00

Today is Diwali in Jaipur and Mangalarati was absolutely mobbed. I have never seen such a crowd at the Govindadev Temple. You had to fight the waves of people to get anywhere close to the darshan barriers. It reminded me of the story I was reading just yesterday in Krsna Book; when Krsna and Balarama met the inhabitants of Vrindavana at Kurukshetra during the solar eclipse. At that time Krsna asked Srimati Radharani to come to his capital Dvaraka with him but she refused. She, and the gopis and the rest of the Vrajavasis had no desire to be with Krsna among his royal entourage of servants, advisors, ministers, ambassadors, other minor kings, brahmanas, sages, petitioners, commanders, troops, chariots, elephants, horses, and the rest of the formal clatter. They wanted to be with Krsna in the village and forests of Vrindavana. In fact it says in Krsna Book:

“In spite of their long separation, the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, the gopīs, were not interested in the idea of going with Kṛṣṇa to His capital city, Dvārakā. They wanted to remain busy in Vṛndāvana and thus feel the presence of Kṛṣṇa in every step of their lives. They immediately invited Kṛṣṇa to come back to Vṛndāvana. This transcendental emotional existence of the gopīs is the basic principle of Lord Caitanya's teaching. The Ratha-yātrā Festival observed by Lord Caitanya is the emotional process of taking Kṛṣṇa back to Vṛndāvana. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī refused to go with Kṛṣṇa to Dvārakā to enjoy His company in the atmosphere of royal opulence, but wanted to enjoy His company in the original Vṛndāvana atmosphere. Lord Kṛṣṇa, being profoundly attached to the gopīs, never goes away from Vṛndāvana, and the gopīs and other residents of Vṛndāvana remain fully satisfied in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

Then I remembered Rupa Gosvami’s famous verse he wrote at Puri, the verse Caitanya Mahaprabhu found rolled up in the thatched roof of Haridas Thakur’s hut. That’s the verse that explained the entire situation. Upon reading it Mahaprabhu was so moved he even mildly slapped Rupa with his lotus hand. Later he confided in Svarupa Damodar wondering how it was possible for Rupa to understand his mind. To which Svarupa Damodar replied that it was only possible for one who had received Mahaprabhu’s special mercy. Here it is:

priyaḥ so 'yaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ saha-cari kuru-kṣetra-militas
tathāhaṁ sā rādhā tad idam ubhayoḥ saṅgama-sukham
tathāpy antaḥ-khelan-madhura-muralī-pañcama-juṣe
mano me kālindī-pulina-vipināya spṛhayati

[This is a verse spoken by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.] "My dear friend, now I have met My very old and dear friend Kṛṣṇa on this field of Kurukṣetra. I am the same Rādhārāṇī, and now We are meeting together. It is very pleasant, but still I would like to go to the bank of the Yamunā beneath the trees of the forest there. I wish to hear the vibration of His sweet flute playing the fifth note within that forest of Vṛndāvana."

This kind of jewel is worth collecting. This is cintamani, transcendental touchstone. Rupa Gosvami, he’s our leader not because he pretended to be the exalted person he is but because he understood Mahaprabhu’s mind. Srila Prabhupada adds a nice personal touch for those of us who find it difficult be sincere about our struggle for purification:

“We had the opportunity to receive a similar blessing from Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī when we presented an essay at his birthday ceremony. He was so much pleased with that essay that he used to call some of his confidential devotees and show it to them. How could we have understood the intentions of Śrīla Prabhupāda?”

Bodily Conception

2011-07-07T21:13:00.001+02:00

The Ism That Won’t Go Away
by John Glaser, July 07, 2011

Recent anthropological studies of the Turkana people, “a nomadic society in east Africa that lacks a centralized government,” find that they can “regularly muster armies of several hundred warriors, most of whom have never met before” by relying on fear of punishment or marginalization as the price of dissent and by exploiting kinship loyalties expected to “benefit the ethnolinguistic group.” A new theory holds that warfare “has played an integral role in our evolution” throughout our tribal histories and has “turned into the modern ability to work towards a common goal.”

The word “tribalism” was traded for nationalism once humanity began to organize on a larger scale and needed to overcome increasingly arbitrary associations in order to summon the collective will for war. This nationalism manifests itself in various civic dogmas and state myths about America and Americanism. It is precisely what permits state warfare in our modern imperialist age.

The militarism of the George W. Bush administration, although fundamentally a continuation of a long tradition of ruthless expansionism in American foreign policy, shocked much of the world with its boldness and grandiosity. Bush framed the Sept. 11 attacks as an assault on freedom, on a particular Americanness, and in doing so provided implicit moral justification to an ambitiously belligerent response. The terrorists “attacked America because we are freedom’s home and defender,” Bush proclaimed. He then mixed this uninquiring posture with a war of aggression against a non-threatening Iraq by preying upon feelings of unity and nationhood. “The long-term security of America and civilization itself” forced America to confront the threat of dangerous “weapons in the hands of terrorists or hostile regimes.” “History has called us to these responsibilities,” Bush declared before invoking a “special mission.”

Political scientist Paul T. McCartney wrote that “enduring nationalist themes provided the basic structure in which Americans organized their comprehension of and reaction to the terrorist attacks” and that America’s “insular preoccupation with its own lofty distinctiveness” galvanized “a sense of mission, which sometimes emerges as a crusading mentality.” It was “productive of little,” he explained, “but superstition and bloodshed.”

Some expected a departure from Bush’s martial frivolity with the election of Barack Obama, but the religious jingoism that has always provided the backbone for aggressive military interventionism remained and thus was taken full advantage of by the guarantor of change. In announcing a military surge in Afghanistan, Obama told American that our values “are a creed that calls us together … behind a common purpose.” Doctrines of exceptionalism were the rallying cry of his speech on the intervention in Libya. “America is different,” he said, and it is “our common humanity” and “values” that have impelled us to war. In announcing the eventual withdrawal of surge troops and the continuing commitment to warfare in Afghanistan this month, Obama said we must be steadfast in “extending the promise of America.”

These rallying cries do not differ from those propagated within any other state; they don’t even differ from how the Turkana people manage to motivate “several hundred warriors” of “participants [that] are not kin or day-to-day interactants” to “incur substantial risk of death” in order to “produce collective benefits.” George Orwell wrote that “the abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality.” Political scientist Benedict Anderson famously called this unit an “imagined community” made up mostly of strangers held together by pretenses about their countrymen, rather than actual connections to most or even any of them. “Ultimately,” Anderson wrote, “it is this fraternity that makes it possible, over the past two centuries, for so many millions of people, not so much to kill, as willingly to die for such limited imaginings.”

In both primitive and modern societies, fear of punishment or social ostracism is an imperative tool in reinforcing nationalism. During the First World War, one of the most fiercely nationalistic times in American history, President Woodrow Wilson set up the Committee on Public Information (CPI), a propaganda ministry meant to build public support for the war effort. It succeeded in turning a largely pacifist population wary of foreign intervention into fervent nationalists. The CPI distributed propaganda in news stories, street posters, advertisements, and films. It launched pro-war lecture circuits to mobilize public opinion, and publicly criticizing the president or the war effort was criminalized. One woman, Rose Pastor Stokes, was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 10 years in prison under the Espionage Act for writing a letter to the editor of the Kansas City Star that said the government was allied with the war profiteers.

Ganging up on “the other” has a way of fortifying this fraternity and war fever. Americans became aggressively anti-German during the First World War. They called sauerkraut “liberty cabbage.” In 1918, a mob in St. Louis attacked a German immigrant named Robert Prager, who had tried to enlist in the Navy. They beat him up, wrapped him in the American flag, and lynched him. A jury found the mob leaders not guilty, citing a case of what they called “patriotic murder.” That’s a nice little microcosm of how war works: convince a people of their own righteousness and purpose in the course of history — as Wilson and his CPI did — and they can justify all kinds of horror.

It is “imaginings” about our place in history and the superiority of our group that caused Americans to excuse the Bush administration and the military for raiding a hospital and throwing patients on the ground with their arms tied behind their backs, which is considered a war crime under international law. These imaginings also made Americans gullible enough to believe that the rationale for raiding that hospital was that it was a “refuge for insurgents and a center of propaganda against allied forces.” These imaginings are precisely what enables Americans to demand respect for sovereignty here at home but disregard it completely when our leaders profess the necessity of conducting a drone war in Pakistan or Yemen. It lent credence to Obama’s call for intervention, and ultimately regime change, in Libya, while he managed not to blush that his own clients elsewhere in the region were committing the same crimes as Gadhafi. As Orwell put it:

Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them, and there is almost no kind of outrage — torture, the use of hostages, forced labor, mass deportations, imprisonment without trial, forgery, assassination, the bombing of civilians — which does not change its moral color when it is committed by “our” side.

In 2004, “new atheist” Sam Harris wrote that “religious faith perpetuates man’s inhumanity to man,” and to mitigate such inhumanity we need “the end of faith.” The abolition of faith needs to carry over and indeed be concentrated on the end of nationalism. If, as Randolph Bourne said, war is the health of the state, then nationalism is the health of war. Any hope for a departure from U.S. militarism will be shattered if it rests upon electing a seemingly sober new leader or making minor changes in policy. The change must be in how Americans think of themselves; it must be an abandonment of that timeless tribal tendency to perpetrate savagery in the interest of the group.

Happy New Year From the Ship of Fools

2011-01-10T10:05:00.003+01:00

New Year! What a crock of sh**t. No one is interested in the slightest in taking a close look at their ongoing situation. Like dumb rats they follow each other over the cliff, following the pied piper of self interest. They invest in illusion creating relationships with temporary meanings which vanish into the mists of time immediately the body is finished. The 100 year span allotted comes and goes in a blink of self absorption that blinds any attempt at analysis of the situation that unfolds right before their noses. No one asks, "What is going on here? Who is really in control? Why all these species of life coming and going? Why some suffer while others enjoy? Why the huge diversity of the creation?" The penny fails to drop: diversity of species, destiny, work, alliances, tastes... it all has to do with desire upon desire upon desire stretching back to time immemorial. Why, if everyone is equal (as we are on the spiritual platform), do we start off with varying handicaps? Why do the innocent suffer and die? Why do we get bad even when we do good? Like dumb animals no one asks, no one cares. All caught like hares in the headlights. Splat!

God is controlled by love

2010-12-30T07:07:00.002+01:00

How is this for a dynamite quote. One that you never hear the "lifers" in the various organizations mention, nor practice much for that matter.

Krishna becomes obliged to the loving spirit of the devotee and not exactly to the service rendered. No one can serve Krishna completely. He is so complete and self-sufficient that He has no need of any service from the devotee. It is the devotee's attitude of love and affection for Krishna that makes Him obliged. (Nectar of Devotion, Qualities of Krsna Further Explained. 40. Controlled by Love)

Meditations for the month of Damodar (Kartik, October/ November)

2010-10-30T11:37:00.005+02:00

Ten prayers submitted to Lord Damodara’s lotus feet

-1-

O Damodara! Due to Your childish restless nature, mother Yasoda is always in great anxiety to protect You from the horns of cows and bulls, the teeth of monkeys, beaks and claws of birds, from fire, water and other imagined dangers. Always anxious to keep You safe and at the same time to execute her household duties, she knows no tranquility. May a tiny drop of Yasoda’s ecstasy in parental love enter my heart and drown all my so-called duties cultivated independently of You over innumerable births.

-2-

O Damodara! Bent on mischief, every morning at sunrise You visit the houses of Yasoda’s gopi friends. There, You let loose the calves before milking and then steal the gopis’ stocks of butter and yogurt. If someone calls, “Hey thief, stop!” You become angry and shout back, “I am not thief, you are thief!” May the truth of Your sweet words enter my heart and eradicate the deep rooted propensity to steal from You that I have nurtured over innumerable births.

-3-

O Damodara! With a mischievous smile You tell Yasoda, “Mother, you should know that I am expert at this art of stealing.” Thus, You plunder the gopis’ storerooms of butter and yogurt and feed the assembled monkeys. When the monkeys are satiated and will eat no more, You call the gopis and chide them, “Just see, this butter and yogurt is so useless even the monkeys wont take it!” May that vision of Your butter smeared lotus hands enter my heart and feed to satiation the assembled monkeys of kama (lust), krodha (anger), moha (illusion), mada (intoxication) and matsarya (envy) so that they will cease their incessant demands made on me over innumerable births.

-4-

O Damodara! When Your pastime of drinking milk from the breast of mother Yasoda was abruptly interrupted as she rushed to the stove to attend to an overflowing pot of boiling milk, You became very angry, bit Your lips, red like the bimba fruit, and cried false tears. Then, in retaliation, You picked up a stone and broke her churning pot causing all the yogurt to spill out. May that stone enter my heart and smash to pieces the unlimited pots filled with sinful activities I accumulated over innumerable births.

-5-

O Damodara! When caught by mother Yasoda after breaking her churning pot, You became afraid and admitted to being an offender. You cried in fear of her and Your tears mixed with the kajal (black ointment) around Your eyes. As You rubbed Your eyes with Your small lotus hands that kajal smeared over Your enchanting face. May that vision of Your kajal smeared hands enter my heart and wipe away the black layers of sinful recalcitrance encrusted there over innumerable births.

-6-

O Damodara! Although You delivered the two sons of the demigod Kuvera from the form of arjunatrees, You remained firmly tied by the love of mother Yasoda to a wooden grinding mortar. Why is this? To understand it is not the play of some incompetent fool. It is to show the yogis who drill their breath over lifetimes, the jnanis who assiduously cultivate knowledge and the tapasvis who undergo mortifying austerities that You can be bound only by the ropes of unalloyed love. May that mortar to which Yasoda bound You enter my heart and grind to dust the enormous mountains of false ego I accumulated over innumerable births.

-7-

O Damodara! When, by pulling on the rope tied to the grinding mortar, You caused the two tall arjuna trees to crash to the ground, they made a tumultuous sound that shook the entire universe. In great anxiety Nanda Maharaja came running to the spot. When he saw You unharmed, sitting peacefully between the fallen trunks, he smiled and immediately untied the knots that bound you to the grinding mortar. May that vision of the lotus hands of Nanda Baba enter my heart and untie the grovel of knots of the ropes of offensive activities which have bound me for innumerable births.

-8-

O Damodara! With the offer of half a sweet the gopis induce You to dance in the courtyards of Gokula. As they clap their hands to keep time, You gracefully move Your enchanting small lotus feet in a wide circle while gesturing artfully with Your hands. May the sound of the gopis’ clapping enter my heart and chase away the countless crows of sinful habits that have perched there over innumerable births.

-9-

O Damodara! Just to invoke the transcendental pleasure of the gopis, at their request You bring them various items such as a wooden plank or a wooden measuring pot. When unable to lift a requested item, You simply touch it and just stand there smiling and to show them You have sufficient strength You clap Your hands over Your arms in an heroic pose. May the vision of that heroic pose enter my heart and frighten off the host of demons I assembled there over innumerable births.

-10-

O Damodara! One day a fruit vendor came calling before the house of Nanda Maharaja. Imitating the vaisya custom of barter, You took some grains in Your hands to exchange for fruit. However, Your lotus palms were very small and in Your eagerness You were not careful to hold the grains tight; nonetheless, the vendor immediately filled Your hands with fruit; not in exchange for the few remaining grains, but for Your enchanting smile. I may not see Your glorious, gentle smile for millions of births—and that’s all right—but at least grant me those few grains so that I may exchange them for the fruits of the sinful acts stored in my heart over innumerable births.

Annad Bhavanti Bhutani: "All living bodies subsist on food grains"(Bhagavad Gita 3.14)

2010-06-24T00:24:00.003+02:00

“Food grains or vegetables are factually eatables. The human being eats different kinds of food grains, vegetables, fruits, etc., and the animals eat the refuse of the food grains and vegetables, grass, plants, etc. Human beings who are accustomed to eating meat and flesh must also depend on the production of vegetation in order to eat the animals. Therefore, ultimately, we have to depend on the production of the field and not on the production of big factories. The field production is due to sufficient rain from the sky, and such rains are controlled by demigods like Indra, sun, moon, etc., and they are all servants of the Lord. The Lord can be satisfied by sacrifices; therefore, one who cannot perform them will find himself in scarcity-that is the law of nature. Yajña, specifically the saṅkīrtana-yajña prescribed for this age, must therefore be performed to save us at least from scarcity of food supply.” (Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 3.14. Commentary by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

Noam Chomsky's description of the dangers posed by U.S. elites' "Imperial Mentality" was recently given a boost in credibility by a surprising source-Bill Clinton. As America's economy, foreign policy and politics continue to unravel, it is clear that this mentality and the system it has created will produce an increasing number of victims in the years to come. Clinton startlingly testified to that effect on March 10 to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

Since 1981 the United States has followed a policy until the last year or so, when we started rethinking it, that we rich countries that produce a lot of food should sell it to poor countries and relieve them of the burden of producing their own food so thank goodness they can lead directly into the industrial era. It has not worked. It may have been good for some of my farmers in Arkansas, but it has not worked. It was a mistake. It was a mistake that I was a party to. I am not pointing the finger at anybody. I did that. I have to live every day with the consequences of the lost capacity to produce a rice crop in Haiti to feed those people, because of what I did, nobody else.

Who is Crazy?

2010-06-11T06:15:00.004+02:00

The thing about Prabhupada was his complete non judgmental approach to this world he came to. He saw a lot in the eighty years he was here. The imperial delusion, duplicity and connivery of the British in India. The gradual alienation of the Hindus and Muslims under that colonial rule. The decline of vedic culture and dharma. The apotheosis of Gandhi to a mahatma, Bhagavad-gita notwithstanding, and this in a period when he wrote a full commentary on that sublime book. He lived through the two world wars marked by unspeakable acts on all sides. In my experience with him no one better understood this place as the universal madhouse it actually is. Why else did he come to America, the very capital of the madhouse?

As a substitute for good company I spend a lot of time surfing alternative sites on the net. I try not to take sides: Israelis and Palestinians, Christians and Muslims, capitalists and socialists, obscenely rich and abject poor, irresponsible, criminal leaders of all stripes and in all fields — politics, art, education, health care, business, media, entertainment. The only way to keep my sanity is to remind myself of their madness. “God forgive them for they do not know what they do.”

For What We Are About to Receive…

2010-05-24T10:47:00.006+02:00

The modern theory that starvation is due to an increase in population is not accepted by the demigods or the devotees of the Lord. The devotees or demigods are fully aware that the Lord can maintain any number of living entities, provided they are conscious of how to eat. If they want to eat like ordinary animals, who have no God consciousness, then they must live in starvation, poverty and want, like the jungle animals in the forest. The jungle animals are also maintained by the Lord with their respective foodstuffs, but they are not advanced in God consciousness. Similarly, human beings are provided with food grains, vegetables, fruits and milk by the grace of the Lord, but it is the duty of human beings to acknowledge the mercy of the Lord. As a matter of gratitude, they should feel obliged to the Lord for their supply of foodstuff, and they must first offer Him food in sacrifice and then partake of the remnants. (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.5.50 purport)

“As you sow so you shall reap” or to put it in scientific terms, “Each action has an opposite and equal reaction.”

On this planet every year we slaughter:

-- 45,895 million (45.9 billion) chickens
-- 2,262 million (2.3 billion) ducks
-- 1,244 million (1.2 billion) pigs
-- 857 million rabbits
-- 691 million turkeys
-- 533 million geese
-- 515 million sheep
-- 345 million goats
-- 292 million cows and calves (for beef and veal)
-- 65 million other rodents (not including rabbits)
-- 63 million pigeons and other birds
-- 23 million buffalo
-- 4 million horses
-- 3 million donkeys and mules
-- 2 million camels (and other camelids)

Blowback anyone?

The Funny Side of Money

2009-11-09T19:03:00.005+01:00

Although Laksmidevi has been good to me throughout my life, I've grown to respect Her by watching and hearing how Srila Prabhupada dealt with Her. One time Tamal Krsna Maharaj told me a funny story. At least, we found it funny, it being so typical of Prabhupada, that we laughed in love and admiration for a long time. Tamal and I were old India hands and he could be the sweetest cowherd boy when he was away from management; and he knew so much history of our movement's early days in India, especially the funny side of it. Anyhow, once when he was sitting in front of Prabhupada's desk he noticed some coins on the table. When Prabhupada noticed him looking at the coins he unlocked the drawer, swept the coins inside, re-locked the drawer and put the key away!

Never give money without getting a receipt and anything collected in the name of Iskcon, or any charitable organization, should be deposited in the bank before any expenditure is made. Those were Prabhupada's edicts to us in India.

Laksmidevi = Indian goddess of wealth. Synonymous with money.

Again, Some Truth

2009-11-08T01:33:00.005+01:00

pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca

janā na vidur āsurāḥ

na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāro

na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate

Translation: "Those who are demoniac do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them. (Bhagavad-gita, 16.7)

According to the great whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, a military coup has taken place in the United States, with the Pentagon now ascendant in every aspect of foreign policy.

It doesn't matter who is president - George Bush or Barack Obama. Indeed, Obama has stepped up Bush's wars and started his own war in Pakistan. Like Bush, he is threatening Iran, a country Hillary Clinton said she was prepared to "annihilate". Iran's crime is its independence. Having thrown out America's favourite dictator, the Shah, Iran is the only resource-rich Muslim country beyond American control. It doesn't occupy anyone else's land and hasn't attacked any country -- unlike Israel, which is nuclear-armed and dominates and divides the Middle East on America's behalf.

In Australia, we are not told this. It's taboo. Instead, we dutifully celebrate the illusion of Obama, the global celebrity, the marketing dream. Like Calvin Klein, brand Obama offers the thrill of a new image attractive to liberal sensibilities, if not to the Afghan children he bombs.

This is modern propaganda in action, using a kind of reverse racism - the same way it deploys gender and class as seductive tools. In Barack Obama's case, what matters is not his race or his fine words, but the power he serves. (Breaking The Great Australian Silence, John Pilger, 7 November 2009)

Demoncracy

2009-10-02T00:56:00.001+02:00

Democracy... or as Srila Prabhupada rightly called it, demoncrazy!

Anti American

2009-09-03T01:43:00.007+02:00

Martha Gellhorn, explains "anti-American":

"I'll tell you what 'anti-American' is," she said. "It's what governments and their vested interested call those who honor America by objecting to war and the theft of resources and believing in all of humanity. There are millions of these anti-Americans in the United States. They are ordinary people who belong to no elite and who judge their government in moral terms, though they would call it common decency. They are not vain. They are the people with a wakeful conscience, the best of America's citizens. They can be counted on. They were in the south with the Civil Rights movement, ending slavery. They were in the streets, demanding an end to the wars in Asia. Sure, they disappear from view now and then, but they are like seeds beneath the snow. I would say they are truly exceptional."

The initial cause of Lord Krsna's advent 5000 years ago was the distress caused to mother Earth by the unbearable burden of, "the unnecessary defense force of different kings, who were actually demons, but were posing themselves as the royal order. At that time, the whole world became perturbed...” (1. Advent of Lord Krsna, Krsna Book, A.C. Bhktivedanta Swami Prabhupada).

It does not take a big stretch of the imagination to equate the demonic Kings of yore with today’s prominent political leaders. A distinguishing quality of the demons is their insatiable lust for power. Blinded by delusion they will stop at nothing to achieve dominion over all they see. Truly, it’s every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost. Not for nothing was this idiom first recorded in the Colonial Record of Georgia (1742). Although many things have changed since those shameful days of colonial mayhem, the underlying principles have regrettably stayed the same.

In the present situation change can only come from the bottom up. The overwhelming majority with common decency can create change by challenging the immoral, indecent criminal leadership of the few. Five hundred years ago in Bengal, India, Caitanya Mahaprabhu reversed a repressive political current by staging a civil disobedience movement. Sixty years ago Gandhi did the same. Reclaiming our moral ground is the first step on the road to enlightenment.

"At a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
(George Orwell)

The Root of the Problem -- Lest We Forget

2009-05-03T01:07:00.005+02:00

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, at the time of his departure, requested all his disciples to work together with the governing body and conduct missionary activities cooperatively. He did not instruct a particular group of men to become the next acaryas. But just after his passing away, his leading secretaries made plans, without authority, to occupy the post of acarya, and they split into eleven factions over who the next acarya would be. Consequently, all eleven factions and the supportive GBC body were asara, or useless, because they had no authority, having disobeyed the order of the spiritual master. Despite the spiritual master's order to cooperatively execute the missionary activities of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness, the eleven unauthorized factions began fighting and competing with one another and with their godbrothers and that is still going on after thirty years with no conclusion.... The members of the self-appointed acaryas’ party and their offshoots who occupy the property of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness are satisfied, but they could make no progress in preaching. Therefore, by the result of their actions, one should know that they are asara, or useless.

"Why this Gaudiya Matha failed? Because they tried to become more than guru. He, before passing away, he gave all direction and never said that 'This man should be the next acharya.’ But these people, just after his passing away they began to fight, who shall be acharya. That is the failure. They never thought, 'Why Guru Maharaja gave us instruction so many things, why he did not say that this man should be acharya?’ They wanted to create artificially somebody acharya and everything failed. They did not consider even with common sense that if Guru Maharaja wanted to appoint somebody as acharya, why did he not say? He said so many things, and this point he missed? The real point? And they insist upon it.They declared some unfit person to become acharya. Then another man came, then another, acharya, another acharya. So better remain a foolish person perpetually to be directed by Guru Maharaja. That is perfection." (Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation,16 August 1976, Bombay)

Krsna's Headache

2009-03-14T20:26:00.002+01:00

Devotee means accepting a headache on behalf of Krsna. Like the Gopis were ready to go to hell but let Krsna's headache be cured.

One ongoing migraine for the leaders in Iskcon is making room for dissent and free speech. To be willing, when necessary, to be corrected by one's godbrothers. To accept meaningful responsibility for past deviations. To give up simpering syrupy approval by neophyte disciples. To foster inclusion rather than exclusion. In other words, to accept headaches on behalf of Srila Prabhupada. As he wrote in 1961:

"Now even, my godbrothers, you return here to the order of our master, and together we engage in his puja."

"But simply a festival of flowers and fruits does not constitute worship. The one who serves the message of the guru really worships him."

"O shame! My dear brothers, aren’t you embarrassed? In the manner of businessmen you increase your disciples."

"From the seas, across the earth, penetrate the universal shell, come together and preach this Krishna consciousness."

"Then our master’s service will be in proper order. Make your promise today. Give up all your politics and diplomacy."

"The one who renounces the guru’s order (guru tyagi) and the one who tries to enjoy the assets of his spiritual master (guru-bhogi) are two kinds of useless persons. First become a servant of your spiritual master (guru-sevi) and then you will understand things clearly."

"Your gold, brother, is the father of sense gratification. Give up your wealth for preaching. Sit down together and make some special judgment."

"So what is the difficulty for all of us to come together in this way and why do all these things even have to be said to you?"

"Today my brothers, get to this task. Save the battered souls by your preaching."

Give Me Some Truth!

2009-02-06T23:58:00.009+01:00

I got into a lot of trouble in the past for airing my opinions on the web. I wouldn’t be openly critical if there was an open forum. Unfortunately, since Prabhupada’s departure there is no such thing in his institution. Only strictly off-limits GBC meetings closed to godbrothers. Not to speak of the official ISKCON web sites like dandavats.com, iskcon.com, pamho.com, chakra.com etc. All these sites practice a form of censorship and patent propaganda I have not experienced since my days as a young idealistic student in Afrikaner apartheid South Africa. The two posts below are representative of my feelings and those of 95% of Prabhupada’s disciples. They show that I am not alone in harboring misgivings about ISKCON history and leadership. Like me, many have waited years and years for meaningful dialogue leading to real change based on accepting truth and concomitant responsibility. As I commented on an earlier post on this blog:

"contemporary solutions depend to a large degree on an honest accounting of the past, which offers plenty of lessons for those willing to listen"

The first post is from someone I’ve known intimately for 30 years. Since I did not ask his permission I will not include his name. However, he had the fortune to spend significant and intimate time with Srila Prabhupada and was personally instructed by him on many occasions. Once, Prabhupada even spend more than one hour recording just for him on cassette many chants of verses from the Gita and Bhagavatam. He is a talented, articulate and extremely intelligent person. Just the type Prabhupada worked so hard to attract to Krsna consciousness. Reprehensibly, for him ISKCON has no place conforming to his talents.

The second post is from Gurukrpa das who needs no introduction. I met Gurukrpa when I was Temple President of ISKCON Hawaii in 1985. He had recently arrived in Honolulu with his wife and young son. Since his forced departure from ISKCON he had been ostracized by the GBC/zonal-guru combine. That notwithstanding, I sought his association and gave him space in the temple program, invited him to give Bhagavatam classes and lead kirtan, something that had been denied to him for almost ten years. His classes were philosophically perfect and his kirtans exceptionally sweet. It was inconceivable to me that such a senior man, an intimate associate of Prabhupada who had done so much service for the society, could be treated with such cynical neglect. I just did not see Prabhupada condoning something like that. Never! Over a period of a year Gurukrpa and I would spend several hours most days discussing Prabhupada and ISKCON history. Actually, he did the talking and I the listening. I have met and listened to many devotees but have yet to meet one who has as much faith and love for Prabhupada as Gurukrpa Prabhu.

An e-mail received today from a godbrother:

Ananda:

... I bow down to him (Gurukrpa) for his love for Prabhupada which is real, and for his humility in not taking the bait and becoming the 12th guru. I disagree with his analysis of why we all followed the 11 when Prabhupada left us. It was a well planned conspiracy. They convinced all of us, even the most intelligent ones... that this was Prabhupada's desire, his order. I remember the mood back in '78, '79. I think TKG and Kirtanananda were the leaders, but all 11 got into the act. And what an act! We wanted things to go on as if Prabhupada was still with us, and they convinced us for the time being that this picture of the new acaryas was how it could happen. None of us ever heard the actual order of Prabhupada told in this article: to stop the expansion, sit together and hear and chant. We heard just the opposite! "Pump it up, join a zonal or hit the highway!" How much different that would have been if we had followed the pure devotee's guidance! And how sad for us that it never happened and that Prabhupada left us to suffer our fate. (Although he gave us everything we needed to be successful despite our fate, before he left.)

My point is this: we are only going to be around for another 20 or 30 years. So if you have something to say on a subject like this, one of the most important subjects for followers of Srila Prabhupada, then you should say it.
We didn't screw up the movement. We should take responsibility for screwing up our own lives, but we didn't hurt hundreds of our godbrothers and potentially hundreds of thousands of jivas who might have been attracted to KC if it had been presented properly. That aparadha goes to the Zonals. I remember being pissed off and angry for years at them. Going back to when you were TP in Hawaii. I never even wanted to visit the temple on Coelho Way except to meet you. That's what they did to thousands of their godbrothers and sisters. To this day, unless you are a manager or guru, you can walk into any of Prabhupada's temples in the world and be completely unwelcome. You are seen as no different than a bum from the street. This is the legacy of the Zonals, followed by the Reformers. No sane man in the world would wish to be part of such a society.

Gurukrpa: What Really Happened in 1977-78
By Bhakta dasa

Another point of view from Gurukrpa Prabhu.

Dear Prabhus: Gurukrpa is here with me and on his behalf I am writing here.

Question: What happened the final months of Srila Prabhupada's appearance in connection with the process of initiating new devotees?

Gurukrpa: Nothing happened. In the beginning Srila Prabhupada did the diksa, the yajna and the name giving. As the numbers increased, he authorized GBC, and senior sannyasis to pick names and chant on the beads, etc. In 1977 during the months of May, June, July 1977 I was in Vrindaban with Srila Prabhupada, giving him his massage in his bed between 1 AM and mangala aratik. During the day, many letters would arrive. Satsvarupa Swami was the secretary and we decided that only letters that would give joy to Srila Prabhupada would be read. Like numbers of books sold, etc. A maximum of five letters daily were read to Srila Prabhupada.

After some weeks like this, there were stacks and stacks of letters, all relating to initiation. Hundreds of people were panicking that Srila Prabhupada would leave the planet before they were given initiation. At this time, this situation was brought before Srila Prabhupada in his room by Satsvarupa, Tamal, myself, and maybe some others.

Up until this time it was a very simple matter that we were doing the initiations, but we first had to ask permission. Srila Prabhupada NEVER refused any recommendation from his senior men. And personally, I would sometimes argue with some GBC that they were giving it too easily.

At this meeting, Srila Prabhupada basically said, "From here on, if you feel they are ready, then you may give the initiation on my behalf." I understood this for what it was, simply extending the authority a little further than it had been. Tamal Krsna Swami, began to say, "But who will do it?. Which devotees will do this?" Srila Prabhupada said, "The nearest one will do it. Whoever is closest." Tamal said, "Can Bhavananda do? Can Jayapataka do?" Thus these eleven names came out.

Question: Why were you not on the list of eleven?

Gurukrpa: Because it did not matter. Srila Prabhupada said whoever was closest. I was already doing and Srila Prabhupada never told me or anyone else not on the list to stop. For myself, it was not very relevant because I was working in Japan and did not have any new devotees to initiate.

Tamal Krsna Swami made these list of names himself and Srila Prabhupada signed the letter. But they were only priests to act on behalf of Srila Prabhupada. Tamal asked about Bhavananda who was not a TP or a GBC at that time. And everyone knew well of his homosexual tendencies. But, Tamal pushed his name, because he was already planning how to take over when Srila Prabhupada was gone.

Question: How did Tamal Krsna Swami become so influential at this time?

Gurukrpa: Tamal's original service was as GBC in India. He left that service without permission and arrived in America. Within one year the Temple Presidents made a huge complaint to Srila Prabhupada that he was disrupting the temples by taking important men. I was in the room when Srila Prabhupada told Tamal to go to China. Hari Sauri's memory of this incident is not accurate. Either way, that is another story.

Tamal went to New York to prepare to go to China. And in May 1976, he showed up in a suit in Honolulu, a broken man. He could not get a visa to China, he had no service to do in India, and he could not go back to America, so he was quite depressed. Approximately a day or two later, Srila Prabhupada called for Tamal and me at about 12:30 AM. He said, "My feet are swelling, my teeth are getting loose, I am passing urine too frequently. These are the first signs that death is coming." Then he sent us back to bed. The next day TKG volunteered to be Srila Prabhupada's secretary, as the service was vacant at that time. From this position he could control and manipulate the environment around Srila Prabhupada. I can write many more stories that will shock people about TKG's ambitious nature and his desire to take Srila Prabhupada's seat.

After Srila Prabhupada left, in November 1977, I stayed in Vrindaban till Gaura Purnima 1978, and there was no discussion of guru during these three or four months, because Srila Prabhupada's last instruction, or as the Ritviks call it, "The final order", was that "Now we have build a framework. There is no need to try and expand more. If we can just maintain our men and increase the chanting and hearing that is sufficient. We should sit down now and chant and hear."

There was NO TALK about initiations that I heard either in Vrindaban or in Mumbai during these months. If Srila Prabhupada has appointed these eleven as spiritual masters, why did they not start initiating at once? Because they all knew very well they were never appointed! We knew the philosophy, what is tattva darshi and what is saksad hari... but behind closed doors there was a plot simmering. In the GBC meeting of 1978 the initiation issue was brought up and it appeared they had already concluded that they were going to go ahead and say that they were appointed. I asked Harikesh sitting next to me, 'how are you going to let people call you a paramahansa? You are not a realized soul, you are a piece of shit. He turned to me with a smrik on his face, and said "What are you going to do about it?" That is basically what happened, none of us could do anything after that.

In 1978, Janmastami, TKG came to Vrindavan to give Sannyasa diksa to Bhagavan. I was the GBC at the time in Vrindavan. TKG called from Delhi and demanded flower garlands and a large reception greeting at the temple with vyasasanas for them to sit on. I told them this is Prabhupada's temple and everybody can sit on the floor. When they came I gave them no such reception, and the next morning in Bhagavatwam, Bhagavan brought his politics into the class. I went and told him, if you ever do this again, bringing politics into Bhagavatwam class, you will never speak again in any temple I manage. That day, Bhavananda, TKG, and Bhagavan asked me to meet them in the guest house for a meeting. When I came, they said, why are you making waves? Just stop making trouble about this appointment of gurus and we'll make you the 12th guru at the next Mayapur meeting. I told them, Prabhupada did not make anyone guru's, you have to be a realized soul. They said there was some talk about you in Japan doing some things, therefore Prabhupada did not name you. I told them you are now believing your own lies. They were silent. Bhavananda tried to speak. I told him to shut his mouth because he was a homosex and he had never done service and had been living off the money I collected and sent to Mayapur for construction.

Question: So how did everyone become gurus, if Prabhupada did not make them gurus?

Gurukrpa: Had Srila Prabhupada seen one of us as being capable, he would have named that person or persons, but he did not mention that anyone was fit. His Divine Grace B.V. Puri Maharaja, who Srila Prabhupada said "is the only godbrother who is not envious of me", asked Srila Prabhupada, "Please stay another 8 or 10 years with these boys." Srila Prabhupada's answer was, "They are all hard headed, I have done all that I can do."

Prabhupada said, "I can stay 100 years" many times, but he left after 81 plus a few months.

In the GBC meeting of 1978, they shouted me down and they had already decided the fix was in. This was how the future of ISKCON was going to go.

Question: Is the GBC absolute since they are named as the ultimate managing authority?

Gurukrpa: Prabhupada said the GBC would be the ultimate managing authority. But that does not mean they are perfect, and they have perfect vision. The process of the GBC meetings during the years, we would have the meeting and report the day's minutes of the meeting nightly to Prabhupada. Usually it would take 5 days. Prabhupada said, if you people were competent, you people would be done in 30 minutes. In 1977, Prabhupada told us, just have your meetings and after 5 days give me all your resolutions. After 5 days of meetings, the GBC filed in his room, sat down and read the resolutions; and one after another. Srila Prabhupada said, 'No I do not want that, no that is not what I wanted'. He vetoed almost all the resolutions. So to say the GBC is the ultimate authority is correct, but that does mean that it is absolute. As you can see by how many gurus have fallen down, and how many GBC's have had difficulties.

Guru means one who has no other interest but to realize the absolute truth, Krishna. The guru must have first realized the Name is non-different than Krishna. When I first joined the movement, we spent 9 to 10 hours a day chanting in the street. These present GBC's do not spend that in a year. Hari nama eva kevalam, in this age only the Holy Name, only the Holy Name. Your bureaucracy and your management is not the process. The elitism being shown by the GBCs putting themselves up on a platform, above all their godbrothers is absolute arrogance and the greatest sin of pride, the opposite of the humble blade of grass. Krishna is the one giving all directions for those who can hear Him.

Must of us are now hitting 60 or more. We've made successful businesses, won some, lost some, raised our families, and personally I have gone to 25 straight Kartiks in Vrindavan. We have been excluded from Srila Prabhupada's movement, it started in the GBC meeting of 1978. Still today, the people who have appointed themselves for life have had very little result. Rabindra Svarupa, the GBC of Hawaii, has come once in 6 years, and he will not give up the position. Kavicandra in Japan has done nothing there in 25 years. Even one of these GBC gurus does not wear neck beads, tilak, sikah, or have any faith in the Name is still a member in good standing. In the west, most of the temples have more deities than devotees. Most of the devotees are being paid, pujaris being paid, cooks being paid Temple Presidents are being paid, and they have to bring Indian devotees just to keep the bare minimum going.
I have witnessed over all these years how the elitist mentality of the GBC's and guru's have excluded all their godbrothers. They have put themselves on a high pedestal. They have no taste for staying in the holy dhama's of Mayapur and Vrindavna, and they run back to their comfort zones soon as they finish the meetings.

In 1977, during the rainy season, all the GBC's showed up in Vrindavan.. Srila Prabhupada said, we should go in a room and make out his will for him, i.e., who would manage what properties and so forth... Kirtanananda and everyone was there, and they were going on saying someone will do this, and someone will do that... I noticed how they totally left me out. So I just went to the Yamuna and took my bath and came back to find them still dividing everything up. When they were finished, it was brought into Srila Prabhupada room and read to him as he laid on his bed. After they finished reading the will, the first question Srila Prabhupada asked was, 'Where is Guru-krpa's name'? I had already opened a dozen temples and collected the most money in ISKCON history, up to that point, and they totally left me out. But Srila Prabhupada noticed it right away. So now, although I am the first executor in his will, and he told me to develop Hawaii and other places, (you may read the will), they also have totally neglected that order. Giriraj even came and asked me if I would resign from the will. I told him, 'How can I give up the order of the guru'? It is not as easy for me as you people.

There is no new blood in this organization, things have become stagnated and dry, not dynamic and the offense of neglecting all their godbrothers by excluding them from their spiritual birthright, they will have to answer to Srila Prabhupada for this aparadha.

Question: What is your idea of how the guru-disciple relationship should now be handled in ISKCON?

Gurukrpa: Love cannot be institutionalized. I fell in love with Srila Prabhupada the second I saw him. That is why I could surrender to the depth that I did, to get the insurmountable service I did at that time. Once in Mayapur, Kirtanananda came to me and said "Why are you giving all that money to Prabhupada. You should give it to me, in America we are protected. The communist one day will come and take these buildings away... Prabhupada is making a big mistake." I was shocked by what I just heard. At that time, Kirtanananda was considered by Satsvarupa to be the greatest of the great, and the most divine of the divine. My answer was, I do not care what he does with the money. He can flush it down the toilet, for all I care, I just love to give it to him.

It's a matter of the heart. According to one's state of the heart, if one has many material desires, he may say he loves Bhagavan Sai Baba, the Pope, Charles Manson. It's according to one's sukriti. Krishna is sitting in one's heart, He knows exactly what our intentions are. Before anyone has a right to ask a question, you must first enter the class. The price is surrender. Those who have not fully surrendered cannot understand those who have surrendered. Those who have surrendered can understand about everyone.

Srila Prabhupada initiated thousands, he told me once in his room in Vrindavan, he said "My guru ordered me to go to the west, and I did that. My main service was to translate these books and I did that. I have a personal desire to build these temples in India. That is my personal program. But they (his disciples) will not give me money and my head is getting hot. I have to translate these books, write many letters, and I am thinking how to raise the money to build these temples because my disciples have their own programs and will not give me money." So, seeing Srila Prabhupada like this, I told him that from today forth, you just translate the books peacefully, and I will take the headache and go and get the money. When I walked out of the room, I could not believe what I just said. So to think all the GBC are 100% surrendered souls, and the gurus are 100% surrendered souls with no self-interest, and their only interest is to serve Srila Prabhupada mission, they did not even care during his time (Srila Prabhupada's time). Srila Prabhupada said he would be happy, if he could get one moon. To get one disciple who would be perfect, out of many thousands. How rare is a personality of Srila Prabhupada's character.

The GBC's duty is to see that Srila Prabhupada's standard is being maintained. That standard is based on chanting and hearing, also becoming a lover of Krishna. If Srila Prabhupada said I bless you, I give you a benediction, it will manifest. He has the right, the adhikara to do that. If someone else says I am your guru, I am giving you diksa, can he give you Krishna? Can he give you the Holy Name? Can he take you to Vaikuntha? Have you been there, has the guru been there? Srila Prabhupada told me in the car in New Zealand, he turned to me in the car and said, while you were building Krishna Balarama temple in Vrindavan, Krishna was building you a house in Goloka. I have seen it, it is very nice. That is why you can only surrender to the depths, to one who is from that place, and who can you give you that place, who wants that place, otherwise it is just a big show. Whistles and bells with no substance.

My view of seeing this organization, it is cronyism. Most of the leaders, their hearts are still, steel framed, they are self-interested. They are not self-less. They have stopped somewhere on this road back to Godhead; they are satisfied with their easy lifestyle, food, respect, honor, traveling all at the expense of the community and the younger devotees who go on the street. It's a long way from chant, dance and be happy.

Question: Then how did it come about that immediately after Srila Prabhupada was not present physically, these eleven became worshipable as paramahamsas of the highest order?

Gurukrpa: Because it is the cheaters and the cheated. People are basically sudras who want a master tell them what to do. They do not have sufficient intelligence, or spiritual knowledge, therefore they accepted; and the more realized devotees left, after trying to correct things. They were told to leave because they were disturbing the faith of the new disciples.

Because they could not take it anymore anymore they left. Now it has become like the Pol Pot regime, "accept our way, or die." Devotees never die, KRSNA is always in their hearts. They are the losers for losing the association of their brothers and sisters. The senior men can do something, otherwise the new men cannot do without the association of the older devotees.

Most of the older devotees now also do not have the missionary spirit. Srila Prabhupada said, as a group we can't be broken, but alone we are all easily broken.

The leaders have never cared for the godbrothers/sisters. They are happy when they see their brother get victimized by Maya, and never come to try and rescue them. Do you think Srila Prabhupada is happy to see the present leader's disciples at his temples and not his own disciples???? They talk of love of God, but they do not care one bit for their own family members, unless the family agrees to accept everything they say. They have no peers around them that may object to anything.

I AM A VERY FALLEN SOUL. I AM NOT BASICALLY A FAULT FINDER, WHICH IS WHY I DID NOT SPEAK UP FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS. SO MANY PEOPLE ASK ME TO WRITE A BOOK, BUT I HAVE NOT. I HAVE LIVED VERY NICELY BY SRILA PRABHUPADA'S GRACE. I WILL BE VERY HAPPY TO SEE THE GBC ACTUALLY BECOME REAL GBC AND GENUINE LOVING COMPASSIONATE VAISNAVAS.

That is the end of this session. If anyone has questions, comments, they can send them and Gurukrpa can answer.

OM TAT SAT PARAM VIJAYATE SRI KRSNA SAMKIRTANAM....

In A World of Lies and More Lies, A Ray of Truth

2009-01-22T19:58:00.004+01:00

From time to time courageous voices tell the truth about the demoniac who rule our planet. Thanks to the internet these voices can now be better heard, the roar of spin propaganda notwithstanding. One such voice is that of John Pilger, a rare light of truthful courage in his field of hack journalism. Some of my readers may ask what this has to do with a blog devoted to Krsna conscious ideals. Isn’t spiritual life meant to nurture detachment from material affairs? The answer is yes, in the beginning. However, the natural progression of transcending the neophyte platform is to understand that everything within this universe, be it material or spiritual, moving or non moving, is owned and controlled by God. This is the very first truth of the Upanisads (Isa 1.1). There, it is further suggested that honesty is based on the other truth: that we have the right to utilize God’s creation to fulfill our legitimate needs and no more. If we do not take this advice and encroach on what is meant for others, if we mindlessly live to unnecessarily expand our dominion over others’ property and rights, then we create hell on earth. As a devotee of Krsna I take a keen interest in His creation. After all, is not a servant alert to his master’s benefit? Is there anything separate from God? Thus, when I find some truth in this world of illusion, some light in the darkness, some glimmer of honesty, then I feel inspired. Inspired to support it, to share it with you. Why? Because truth is the beginning of change and change is what takes one from the material to the spiritual. As always, your comments are welcome.

Excerpts from:
Come On Down for Your Freedom Medals
by John Pilger, January 22, 2009

On 13 January, George W. Bush presented "presidential freedom medals," said to be America's highest recognition of devotion to freedom and peace. Among the recipients were Tony Blair, the epic liar who, with Bush, bears responsibility for the physical, social and cultural destruction of an entire nation; John Howard, the former prime minister of Australia and minor American vassal who led the most openly racist government in his country's modern era; and Alvaro Uribe, the president of Colombia, whose government, according the latest study of that murderous state, is "responsible for more than 90 percent of all cases of torture."

As satire was made redundant when Henry Kissinger and Rupert Murdoch were honored for their contributions to the betterment of humanity, Bush's ceremony was, at least, telling of a system of which he and his freshly-minted successor are products. Although more spectacular in its choreographed histrionics, Barack Obama's inauguration carried the same Orwellian message of inverted truth: of ruthlessness of criminal power, if not unending war. The continuity between the two administrations has been as seamless as the transfer of the odious Bono's allegiance, symbolized by President Obama's oath-taking on the steps of Congress.

As eyes welled on 20 January for the first African-American president, who remembered Cynthia McKinney, the courageous African-American Congresswoman, the first to be elected from Georgia, who spoke out for the Palestinians and was duly driven from office by a Zionist smear campaign?

As deserving as Blair, Howard and Uribe are of the Bush Freedom Medal, others cry out for a place in their company. With the assault on Gaza a defining moment of truth and lies, principle and cowardice, peace and war, justice and injustice, I have two nominees. My first is the government and society of Israel. (I checked; the Freedom Medal can be awarded collectively). "Few of us," wrote Arthur Miller, "can easily surrender our belief that society must somehow make sense. The thought that the State has lost its mind and is punishing so many innocent people is intolerable. And so the evidence has to be internally denied."

In 1948, the year Israel's right to exist was granted and Palestine's annulled, Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt and other leading Jews in the United States warned the administration not to get involved with fascists like Menachem Begin who described the Palestinians in the way the Nazis used untermenschen – as "animals on two legs." He became prime minister of Israel. This fascism, which was not often flouted openly, was the harbinger of Likud and Kadima. These are today "mainstream" political parties, whose influence, in the treatment of the Palestinians, covers a national "consensus" that is the source of the terror in Palestine: the brutal dispossessions and perfidious controls, the humiliation and cruelty by statute. The mirror of this is domestic violence at home. Conscripted soldiers return from their "war" on Palestinian women and children and make war on their own. Uri Avnery, one of Israel's bravest dissidents, says his country's leaders suffer from "moral insanity": a prerequisite, I should add, for the award of a Bush Freedom Medal.

My other nominee for a Bush Freedom Medal is that amorphous group known as western journalism, which has always made much of its freedom and impartiality. Listen to the way Israeli "spokespersons" and ambassadors are interviewed. How respectfully their official lies are received; how minimally they are challenged. They are one of us, you see: calm and western-sounding, even blonde, female and attractive. The frightened, jabbering voice on the line from Gaza is not one of us. That is the subliminal message. Listen to newsreaders use only the pejoratives for the Palestinians: words like "militants" for resisters to invasion, many of them heroes, a word never used, and "conflict" for massacre. Mark the timeless propaganda that suggests there are two equal powers fighting a "war," not a stricken people, attacked and starved by the world's fourth largest military power which ensures they have no places of refuge. And note the omissions – the BBC does not preface its reports with the warning that a foreign power controls its reporters' movements, as it did in Serbia and Argentina, neither does it explain why it shows but glimpses of the extraordinary coverage of al-Jazeera from within Gaza.

There are the ubiquitous myths, too: that Israel has suffered terribly from thousands of missiles fired from Gaza. In truth, the first homemade Qassam rocket was fired across the Israeli border in October 2001, and the first fatality occurred in June 2004. Some 24 Israelis had been killed in this way, compared with 5000 Palestinians killed, more than half of them in Gaza, at least a third of them children. Now imagine if the 1.5 million Gazans had been Jewish, or Kosovar refugees. "The only honorable course for Europe and America is to use military force to try to protect the people of Kosovo …," declared the Guardian on 23 March, 1999. Inexplicably, the Guardian has yet to call for such "an honorable course" to protect the people of Gaza.

Such is the rule of acceptable victims and unacceptable victims. When reporters break this rule they are accused of "anti-Israel bias" and worse, and their life is made a misery by a hyperactive cyber-army that drafts complaints, provides generic material and coaches people all over the world on how to smear as "anti-Jewish" work they have not seen. These vociferous campaigns are complemented by anonymous death threats, which I and others have experienced. Their latest tactic is malicious hacking into websites. But that is desperate, since the times are changing.

Across the world, people once indifferent to the arcane "conflict" in the Middle East, now ask the question the BBC and CNN rarely ask: Why does Israel have a right to exist, but Palestine does not? They ask, too, why do the lawless enjoy such immunity in the pristine world of balance and objectivity? The perfectly-spoken Israeli "spokesman" represents the most lawless regime on earth, exotic tyrannies included, according to a tally of United Nations resolutions defied and Geneva Conventions defiled. In France, 80 organizations are working to bring war crimes indictments against Israel's leaders. On 15 January, the fine Israeli reporter, Gideon Levy, wrote in Ha'aretz that Israeli generals "will not be the only ones to hide in El Al planes lest they are arrested [overseas]".

One day, other journalists and their editors and producers may be called upon to not only explain why they did not tell the truth about these criminals but even to stand in the dock with them. No Bush Freedom Medal is worth that.

On Holy Vrindavana's Riksha wallahs, beggars, brahmanas, monkeys, dogs and hogs

2008-11-07T19:21:00.005+01:00

On one of the blogs that I read regularly there is a travelogue by my old friend, author, musician and spiritualist, Yauvana, on the fascinating Indian holy city of Vrindavana, the birthplace of Lord Krishna. You can read the original story here.

In yesterday's posting a certain Caitanya dasa made a comment which I consider typical of a breed of so-called devotees who are long on theory but woefully short on wisdom.

"Your "kindness" to these rickshaw wallas, who are in their present position because of their very sinful past life activities, will be unkindness to devotees and other westerners who travel in India. Now, the rickshaw wallas will ask triple or even more price to any westerner they meet. There are different levels of charity, for different modes of material nature, if I remember properly..."

We need be very careful how we deal with any Brijbasi, including ricksha wallahs, beggars, monkeys, dogs and pigs. For them it is their last birth just prior to returning to Lord Krsna's lotus feet and any offense is not tolerated, unlike in Mayapur.

The externally materially poor ricksha wallahs see us westerners as rich wallahs who can easily afford to be a little generous. Once in Calcutta, when overcharged by a ricksha wallah, I asked him in Bengali why he was charging me more that the usual rate. In a delightful moment of candor he replied, "See, saheb, you are a rich man and it is my duty to charge you more because if I did not my fellow ricksha wallahs would laugh at me." Paying a little more is part of our cost for the benediction of visiting India. Take it as a built-in blessing.

Regarding Caitanya dasa's abysmally ignorant view that Vrindavana's ricksha wallahs are so because of "their very sinful past activities" and negative comparison of them to devotees, the fact is that the lowest of Vrindavana's ricksha wallahs is greater than any visiting devotee I know. I should be so lucky in any of my future lives to be born a ricksha wallah in the Holy Dhama of Vrindavana!

In fact, I find Caitanya dasa's comments offensive in the extreme and I wonder from whom who he took instructions in Krsna Consciousness. Better he approaches his guru and humbly beg for rectification.

'Our Leaders'

2008-11-04T23:05:00.004+01:00

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada opens his “Krsna Book” by attributing Lord Krsna descent to,

“…the world was overburdened by the unnecessary defense force of different kings, who were actually demons, but were posing themselves as the royal order. At that time the whole world became perturbed….”

The great lie is that we are represented by people like Bush, Brown, Putin, Harper, Sarkozy, Berlusconi, Merkel, described as ‘our leaders’. Because they represent us and we are not monsters, we are to believe that ‘our leaders’ are seeking to resolve problems afflicting humanity in general, while working more specifically to protect us from terrorism and other threats. In other words, we are to believe that ‘our leaders’, like us, are rational, compassionate and well-intentioned.

The truth is very different. In fact we are free to chose from parties and leaders who all represent the same interests of concentrated state-corporate power - the tiny fraction of the population that owns much of the country and runs its business.

Crucially, ‘our leaders’ front a political system that has an overwhelming advantage in high-tech military power. They are all too willing to use this power to convulse countries with bloodshed when doing so supports their lucrative version of economic ‘order’. Iraq is the obvious example - Somalia is another.

‘Our leaders’ rule in the name of democracy, but they act in the interests of a narrow, extremely violent kleptocracy.

The entire material enterprise is based on godless, ruthless exploitation at any cost of our planet and everyone and everything in it by ‘our leaders’.

(with thanks to www.medialens.org)

Finally a True Christian Perspective

2008-09-09T13:16:00.003+02:00

It’s not often that exponents of mainline religions attract my attention. Generally Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists pay some lip service to their teachings while as far as greed, lust and highway robbery is concerned, its business as usual.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised by the following article. So much so that I decided to reproduce it here in full. As usual your comments are welcome.

You can read the original article here

In an address to an Assembly of God Church in Alaska, Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin suggested that church members pray “that our national leaders are sending [soldiers to Iraq] on a task that is from God, that’s what we have to make sure we are praying for, that there is a plan, and that plan is God’s plan.”

It would be interesting to hear Palin explain her understanding of how God’s plans can possibly involve violations of His sacred commandments.

The commandment is simple: That shalt not murder. God did not provide exceptions to that prohibition, not even for agents of the CIA and the U.S. military.

Lest we forget: Neither the Iraqi people nor their government ever attacked the United States or threatened to do so. No matter how many contortions that Dick Cheney and George W. Bush have engaged in (e.g., WMDs, the war on terrorism, 9/11, spreading democracy, UN resolutions, and radical Islam), the simple truth remains: The U.S. government attacked Iraq, not the other way around.

Thus, we should never forget: In the Iraq War, the United States is the aggressor nation and Iraq is the defending nation. That means that no agent of the U.S. government had any moral right to kill even one single Iraqi, much less the million or so that have been killed.

Some people calculate the wrongful Iraqi deaths only in terms of civilian deaths. They have it wrong. Since the U.S. government had no right to invade Iraq, U.S. agents, including those in the CIA and the military, had no moral right to kill any Iraqi, including Iraqis who were defending against the wrongful invasion and occupation of their country.

The standard neo-con religious position is that whatever the U.S. government does overseas against foreigners is right and moral as a matter of law because the government is operating as an agent of God and simply fulfilling His plans.

The hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children killed by the pre-invasion sanctions? A million Iraqis killed in the invasion? Well, you see, those killings can’t be murder because it was the U.S. government that did the sanctioning and invading. It would only be murder if, say, the Russian government committed those acts. Since it’s the U.S. government that killed all those people, it’s all good and moral because it must be all part of God’s plan.

Moreover, keep in mind that in the neo-con mindset the U.S. government and the American people are one and the same. Since everyone knows that the American people are kind, caring, and charitable, that means that everything the U.S. government does, including kidnapping, renditioning, torturing, and sexually abusing people, is all good and moral. It’s all part of God’s plan, you know.

This attitude, of course, is what distinguishes Christian libertarians from Christian neo-cons. Christian libertarians adhere strictly to God’s commandments, refusing to draw an exception for agents of the U.S. government. Unlike them, we hold that murder is murder, even when committed by agents of the U.S. government. Since the U.S. government had no right to invade Iraq, it had no right to kill any Iraqis, much less a million of them. The same principle holds true with respect to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children killed by the pre-invasion sanctions. The same holds true for the murders, torture, and sex abuse committed by U.S. agents against Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison.

Christian libertarians, unlike Christian neo-cons, do not conflate the American citizenry with the U.S. government. As such, we are capable of recognizing immorality and wrongdoing committed by the U.S. government and we are unafraid to take a stand against it. Unlike the neo-cons, we don’t try to excuse away evil and immorality by claiming that they must be part of God’s plan.

Indeed, unlike the Christian neo-cons we Christian libertarians don’t view the government as an agent of God but instead as simply a bunch of ordinary people who use government force to satisfy their self-interests, including the ever-growing lust for more power and more money.

An Answer for Satya dasa (When the Guru Falls)

2008-09-06T00:42:00.006+02:00

A few days ago a devotee called Satya dasa published a heart rendering letter in the Sampradaya Sun (see here). His question was, "What happens to a disciple when the guru falls?". Having been a guru myself and having fallen from the strict standard I thought I owed him and the devotee community a sincere and truthful answer. So, here it is.

The answer is that your guru Harikesa dasa lied to you. He presented himself for what he wasn’t. He wasn’t a liberated soul. He did not have the power to take you to Krsna because he himself had not yet reached Krsna. What he should have told you is that although he had no power to take you directly to Krsna, he could take you to someone who could: Srila Prabhupada. He should have told you that Prabhupada, as your siksa guru, was the preeminent spiritual force in your life and that he, Harikesa, was simply acting as Prabhupada’s humble, insignificant and unqualified servant. If he had told you that, he would have told you the truth. Certainly he was and still is your diksha guru but not on the platform of a liberated soul and he had no right to accept the worship and position as if he was. Specifically he had no right to allow you to believe that lie. If Harikesa had been a truthful vaisnava, then you, knowing him as a soul still on the path to perfection, could have seen his falldown in the proper perspective and avoided much trauma, possibly including the loss of your family. Although Harikesa tried his best with what he had and this painful, negative experience will teach him and purify him more, the fact that he lied will be a big stumbling block for his future redemption. Why do I say that? Because his lies and the lies of others in his position have practically destroyed the pure force of Prabhupada’s movement. Those lies have alienated 95 percent of Prabhupada’s disciples and stolen their rightful inheritance. Thus, although there are no negatives in Krsna consciousness and although it is all a purifying, learning experience, still, “The bigger you lie the harder you fall.”

I too am a fallen guru and sannyasi. My fall disappointed and hurt many people and I suffered greatly because of it. In many ways I am still suffering the shame of it all. However, in my defense, I can attest to one fact that greatly attenuated that negative reaction: the fact that to each and every one of the 22 devotees I initiated I clearly stated in advance that I was not a liberated soul, that although I could not take them to Krsna, I could take them to Prabhupada. The proof of it is that I never ever accepted a pranam mantra, a guru puja or a Vyasa puja. I simply tried to be what Prabhupada ordered all his disciples to be after his departure: regular gurus. Unfortunately, the ISKCON hierarchy and the GBC body did not and still do not share that view.

In the writing above is an implicit challenge to my godbrothers in ISKCON, to the gurus and sannyasis and to the GBC: be real vaisnavas and put the truth before everything. Stop the spin, stop the denial. Be real. If you do that you will have the goodwill and service of the lost 95 percent and with it the goodwill of Srila Prabhupada. Now, what will it be? Your foolish, puerile and wholly insignificant pratistha or a united movement with the spiritual strength to change the world? My dear brothers, it is not too late: Yes We Can!

jadera pratistha sukarera bistha

Your precious prestige is no better than the excrement of a pig

(Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura)

On Srila Prabhupada's lineage. An offering on his appearace day

2008-08-24T21:54:00.005+02:00

My dear Srila Prabhupada, I was in prison within the prison of Devi-Dhama, yet you effortlessly came in and freed me. Because you saved my life, from that day on my life belongs to you.

As a river flows to the sea, my natural desire to see you overcame all material obstacles and brought me to Vrindavana, to your lotus feet. You welcomed me and encouraged me to stay and “preach to the Indians.”

Owing one’s life to someone is a momentous, overwhelming experience. Each new breath one takes, each new day that dawns simply increases one’s indebtedness to one’s savior. As one cannot repay God for His gifts, so much more His cherished servant. Indeed, the very notion of repayment is risible. Still, knowing how Krsna’s fame is founded upon transmuting the impossible into the possible, I prayed to Him for guidance and He inspired me to go to Gauda-desa.

Because you appeared there, I conclusively decided that I would love everything about it. And indeed I did. I loved the language, the script and the way all Bengalis had a soft spot for Mahaprabhu. Truly, scratch a Bengali and you find a vaisnava. I loved the vibrant green and gold countryside, the Ganga, the pukurs (ponds). I loved the food: Govinda bhog is the best kept secret in the rice universe! And the fruit! My goodness! Mountains of lychees in the spring, bigger mountains of juicy Fuzly mangoes, big as rugby-balls, in the summer, and pots of heady tal-ras (date tree juice) in the winter – drink it before noon or you’ll get intoxicated!

I was fortunate to travel there before TV, satellite communications and rampant materialistic propaganda. In my time entertainment meant yatras – stage plays based on the Mahabharata and Ramayana and performances of akhanda kirtans.

I simply could not get enough of Bengal. I traveled to every nook and corner, bathed in all the ghats and pukurs, took the dust of every holy place and distributed your Gitar Gan in every town and village. Yet, despite this kaleidoscope of beauty I kept returning to the places directly associated with you, my master.

Baro Bazaar in Calcutta – where you appeared. The Suvarna Vanik community’s Sona Durga temple across the street from your house where, above the main Devi shrine, I discovered a small, intimate temple of Krsna-Balarama. There, the old Oriya pujari would tell me, “Before going to ‘merika your Guru Maharaj would come here daily at noon and play the harmonium and sing for Kisna”.

Ultadanga Road – the tree-shaded roof of the house where you first met your master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. In the corner a tiny, tiny room where this prince of aristocratic devotees performed his bhajan. How can I describe such blissful experiences? Such undeserved nectar? Far from beginning a scheme of repayment, I was sucked deeper and deeper in your debt! And it does not end – to this very day it increases.

Discovering first hand your background as an aristocratic vaisnava gentleman did not answer my inner questions. After all, I knew what it took to save me, and I knew it was beyond the power of a first class Bengali vaisnava gentleman. Way, way beyond.

Then, in the month of Magha 1977 I was told to take a sankirtan party to Adi Saptagram on the western bank of the Ganga, near the birthplace of Raghunatha Das Gosvami. This is the main temple of the Suvarna Vanik community and its presiding deity is Sri Sadbhuja Caitanya with the two hands of Lord Ramacandra holding the bow and arrow, the two hands of Krsna holding the flute and the two hands of Caitanya Mahaprabhu holding the danda and the kamandalu (water pot). This deity had manifested due to the intense bhakti of Uddharana Datta Thakur, one of the twelve gopalas (cowherd boys) who descended from Gokula with Lord Nityananda Prabhu.

The day I came there was the festival of Uddharana Datta Thakur and all the gentlemen and ladies of the Suvarna Vanik community were there. Some years before, on your first return from America, they had honored you at this temple on the same day. At that time you requested your disciples to send a sankirtan party every year.

Talks were given glorifying your achievements, kirtan was held and sumptuous prasadam was honored. As I looked around at the elegant gentlemen, the Mulliks and the Des’, in their starched dhotis of a hundred fine folds, and at the ladies, cooking puspanna rice and richly decorated with costly jewelery and gold-laced saris, I marveled at their aristocracy, devotion and consummate class. I remembered your description of them, how they had so much gold, they actually owned Calcutta – sold it to the British in fact – how you described them as fallen demigods. How proud they were of you, how blessed they felt that you had appeared in their community.

Over the years I returned to Saptagram many times with my sankirtan party and the pujaris told me wonderful stories. Uddharana Datta Thakura and Raghunatha Das Gosvami belonged to your community, the Suvarna Vanik Kayasthas, and were immensely rich, influential and aristocratic vaisnavas. Uddharana Datta Thakur was especially dear to Lord Nityananda Prabhu.

One day, Lord Nityananda came there to take prasad. As He sat in the courtyard of the temple, surrounded by His associates, a delegation of local Brahmanas appeared. They asked the Lord, “You belong to a first class Brahmana caste, why are you accepting prasad from a member of the Kayastha (lower) order? You should take prasadam with us brahmanas.” As this conversation was going on, Uddharana Datta Thakur came out of the kitchen where he was personally cooking for the Lord. He held a swizzle stick (used to churn dahl) in his hand. Without saying a word, Lord Nityananda took the stick from His devotee’s hand and pushed into the ground in front of the brahmana delegation. Before their astonished eyes the stick began to sprout twigs and buds and immediately grew into a large Madhavi-lata tree, its blooming and fragrant white flowers cascading on all sides. The brahmanas were dumbfounded and in complete silence got up and left. That Madhavi tree is still there, giving its shade and in the evenings the sweetest flowers I have ever experienced.

Behind the temple is a very large pukur and one day, as I came out of the water after bathing, the pujari said, “Now you have achieved the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda.” I replied, “What do you mean?” He then related the story how once, when Lord Nityananda bathed there, He lost one of His ankle bracelets. Uddharana Datta Thakur engaged hundreds of his servants and had the huge pukur dredged – totally emptied of water – but the ankle bracelet was never found. Thus, anyone who bathes there is at once directly purified by Lord Nityananda Prabhu, on the principle of His paraphernalia being non-different from Himself.

Srila Prabhupada, I wanted to share these stories depicting your exalted background. Out of humility you never directly told us but Lord Nityananda, the original spiritual master, wanted the whole world to know of your auspicious lineage. The Lord takes immense pleasure in glorifying His devotees as you took immense pleasure in glorifying Him.

(for more information see Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya lila, 11.41)

Some Notes On Real Kirtan (with one 't')

2008-08-18T17:58:00.005+02:00

So, what should a devotee do? Let all the non vaisnava non sampradaya non initiated non pure bhakti kirtan performers go to hell? Very nice. Very compassionate. Very prthivite ache jagat adi gram sarvatra pracar haibe mor nam.

Fortunately, the above sentiments were not the sentiments exhibited by the one true, pure vaisnava who had enough compassion and faith in guru and parampara to come to yavana-mlecca land, the land of the demons, the land of the killers of cows and brahminical culture, the land of the people totally written off by the neophyte vaisnavas in India of the time.

True, impure kirtan is not pleasing to Krsna and its effect not readily discernible. However, to make it pure and discernible is easy: just try to make a sincere attempt to connect it to Srila Prabhupada in some way or another. I see that Satyaraja Prabhu is doing this in his Yoga of Kirtan Book and I applaud him for it. I offer him my most humble obeisances and pray that he may give me a modicum of the expertise he has shown over the years in bridging the gap between pretentious gurus and sincere sweepers in Prabhupada’s “House in Which the Whole World Can Live."

Efficient At Being Inefficient -- One way Out

2008-08-10T23:38:00.002+02:00

OK, here goes. I'll start with the astute Bengali saying, "ati bhakti curer lokhon" or, too much devotion is a sign of a thief. This takes care, in my mind, of mostly all non-Krsna connected activities in human endeavor. From sex life on down, self interest is a mighty powerful incentive for efficiency. In my experience efficiency in KC became inversely proportional to my understanding that advancement depended on me giving up the idea of sexual enjoyment, especially the subtle kind, not only in the present, but in the future as well. That realization brought about a semi-catatonic state which took mighty trauma and years of pain to accommodate. I’m sure this is not an unique experience among the more serious contributors to these comments.

When Krsna pulls the rug of sex enjoyment from under your feet you are left in limbo, a kind of purgatory of inactivity where the mind thinks you’re dammed if you do and you’re dammed if you don’t. So, what did I do? I did…. nothing. For years. Going through the motions. Treading water. Getting whatever more or less legit sense gratification I could and often going overboard with it. Fortunately Krsna did not forget the little bit of sincere service I had done and He did not let me go too far. The result is, of course, that you get tired doing nothing for Krsna and eventually you pick up the pieces. The difference is that your appreciation for Krsna is enormously enhanced just because He went the distance with you. With me that’s one way He operates. Does this resonate with any one of you?

Anything related to Krsna is good, transcendental, purifying, pointing to reality in knowledge and understanding. Even frustrating inactivity. As the scientist remarked to a friend that pointed to his hundreds of failed experiments, “These are not really failures. Rather, they are hundreds of ways I learned what does not work.” Positive thus. Seeing the bagel rather than the hole.

Mens sana in corpore sano is a Latin aphorism which recently infused in me a surge of new energy I hadn’t experienced for many years. What I did is I embarked on a 30 day lemon cleanse program, also known as the Master Cleanse (plenty of info on Google). This is a powerful detox program which eliminated loads of mucus and other toxins on a daily basis. I felt no hunger, discomfort or loss of energy. Rather, around the 25th day I experienced a powerful surge of enthusiasm to get things done. Chores that I had put off for years altogether became a pleasant activity. Boring routines shelved in the basement of both my mind and apartment were eagerly dusted off and attended to. Not to speak of clarity in chanting and reading. Highly recommended.

Monkey, monkey on the throne…

2008-08-04T20:22:00.005+02:00

A recent post by my old friend and godbrother, Navajauvana dasa, entitled “Maws, Morons & Oxymorons”, has caught my undivided attention and deserves the attention of the general body of devotees. In it, the following comment sums up a long standing and oft-repeated request by myself and others:

Let them (the GBC body) call a general meeting of all devotees, including and especially all godbrothers and godsisters who left Iskcon but still honor and worship Srila Prabhupada, and together find some way to deconstruct the legal, corporate, religious labyrinth they have concocted and reconnect all sincere devotees to the original purpose Srila Prabhupada had in his pure heart when he brought Krishna consciousness from Vrindavan to a Second Avenue storefront.

What I recommended is for all of us to come together in Mayapura and put all we own on the table for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada. This means our abilities, talents, money, disciples, followers, secret assets and, above all, truth. This will be the demonstrable proof that we love Prabhupada. This is the only truth that will unite us. This will sort out the pretentious from the real. The time is long overdue. We’ve had enough of spin and propaganda. Too many of us have experienced the truth up close and personal. For us, propaganda will not work. It is not possible to please Prabhupada by external endeavors, by bloated multi-million dollar projects and by writing and mouthing a whitewashed version of ISKCON history. Contemporary solutions depend to a large degree on an honest accounting of the past, which offers plenty of lessons for those willing to listen. The point is, do we want to become independently thoughtful devotees as per Prabhupada’s clear desire or do we want to cop out in the lazy mood of see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil and risk a birth in Vrindavan as the proverbial monkeys?

Where Is The Simple Living?

2008-07-13T20:07:00.006+02:00

Both in the first and third world, people are facing a range of health problems. To name a few: bird flu, threat of a worldwide influenza pandemic, drug resistant tuberculosis, mad cow, e-coli infections on green-leaf crops, uncertainties about irradiated food, cloned and bio-engineered plants and animals, the mysterious dying bee population and lifestyle repercussions such as obesity and Alzheimer. In addition, the planet is facing unprecedented challenges: peak oil, climate change, melting ice caps, financial meltdown, nuclear strike threats in the Middle East, terrorism and loss of human rights in our democracies. The list goes on…

Srila Prabhupada had the answer: Simple Living.

Of all Prabhupada’s instructions, I think the most important one, the one closest to his heart, is the one to set up rural communities to live on the land, keep some cows for milk and fertilizer, bulls for hard work, grow our own organic crops, produce our own karma-free food and offer it all to Krsna in a spirit of devotion. The rewards are a no-brainer: health, both material and spiritual, self esteem from achieving independence from the corporate greedbags and an opportunity to create an inclusive spiritual community wherein no one’s talents, big or small, would go unrewarded. This proposal is not utopian. As I child I grew up in rural northern Italy on a small household farm. We lived as a big joint family, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, all in all about 30 souls. We didn’t have a lot of land, just enough to meet our necessities. There were no machines. Everything went on bull power. One uncle was a carpenter and he made the carts and the wheels, another uncle was a blacksmith and he made the rims, the plows and the simple tools. The other men knew how to farm, bake bread, make the best olive oil in Italy and, Italy being Italy, wine. The women knew the basic principles of herbs to use as medicines. We kept all kinds of animals like chickens, turkeys and rabbits around the farm to augment our basic diet of polenta (maize meal) and vegetables. We fished in the nearby rivers and lakes. Once a year we slaughtered a fat pig. No, we weren’t vegetarians but at the same time there was no question of keeping cows for slaughter. They were too valuable. We needed the milk and the bulls. The entire enterprise wasn’t based on making a profit. It was based on self-sufficiency. It never crossed our minds to raise animals for slaughter as a business. My mother sewed my clothes and when they got too small they were passed on to my younger brother. Us kids made our own toys: bows from tree branches, arrow tips from old umbrella ribs, catapults from discarded bicycle inner tubes, penny whistle flutes from the green branches of poplar trees and our carpenter uncle could make a beautiful rocking horse, hand cart, wooden train, or spinning top. Once a year in the summers there’d be a fairs at nearby villages where everyone was fed free polenta and sausage and we got a chance to buy stuff from traveling vendors. Me and my group of small friends knew every fruit tree for miles around and the stealing would begin with cherries in late spring, continuing with plums, apricots, peaches, loquats, figs, pomegranates, pears, apples and, just before the winter frost, kakis (persimmons). Wild strawberries, black and red berries and chestnuts were free. Among the adults it was a given that those who had a strong spiritual bend could always become monks or nuns and practice a life of renunciation and prayer in nearby monasteries. The rest went to church regularly and chanted on their rosaries. One of my early memories is of my grandmother waking me daily at 6:30 AM to go to church with her. Sunday was a day set aside for church and other things beside work and production. On Fridays we strictly ate no meat. It was a simple life but not a hard one. In the spring there was intensive work to prepare the fields, late summers were for harvest and late autumn to get ready for the winter. In between there was a lot of free time when the men would gather in the “cantina”, where the wine was aged, and sit around philosophizing, drinking and generally contemplating their life situations. The women had their own sphere of influence centered around the home and the children. So it wasn’t all work, especially not debilitating, soul destroying 12 hour days for some corporate, soulless corporation bent of exploiting you and everything around you. The concept of God was central to the people around me and because of that example and training I was later able to go to India and deepen my search for meaning that culminated in my practice of Krsna consciousness, which, please note, did not in any way convert me from nor minimize my Christian experience, rather it enhanced and perfected it so that nowadays I can reap the benefits of some spiritual maturity to go along with my 65 years.

So, don’t give me the spin that we need 50 million dollars to built a Temple in Mayapura (I saw the two designs and was appalled -- they look like glorified Sikh Gurudwaras) or that we need annual half a million plus dollar travel budgets for some of our swamis, hundred thousand dollar cars for some of our GBCs, or fat salaries, perks and golden retirement benefits for some of our managers. No! What we do need is some serious money and manpower for Prabhupada’s plans of simple living high thinking because without that we simply following the ardha murkha logic. And most of us can perfectly understand how a half baked half chicken idea will keeps us rotating in this material world for far longer that we or anyone else needs to.

Thank you for your attention.

Why I write

2008-04-20T21:23:00.001+02:00

Why do I write? I write because Srila Prabhupada expressly advised his disciples to do so. Why? One reason is that writing is a natural reflection of one's inner realization. Any fool can be considered spiritually advanced until he opens his mouth or, even more irreversibly, when he puts pen to paper. In any case, writing is a natural manifestation of any devotee who has genuine vijnana or wisdom. It is impossible to be silent when Krsna speaks through you. The reason for my blog and other writings is to share my thoughts and experience with my friends and students who participate in my Sat Sangs. Younger devotees are inquisitive and I try to provide some ideas to help them become independently thoughtful and competent in knowledge and action.

The material world is full of problems. Spiritual progress and material needs can go along peacefully side by side like the two parallel lines of a railway track. But not always. Sometimes there are disturbances and that should not be surprising. Thus, Krsna many times advises in Bhagavad-gita to be equal in all circumstances, in honor and dishonor, success or failure and so on (Bg 14.24, 16.3, 17.18, 2.38). Why does He advise us this way? Because the nature of the material world is that there will be dishonor, there will be lack of acceptance due to envious people and, of course, our old bad habits and karma coming from many, many previous lives will tap us on our shoulder until we have fully dealt with them. Material existence is padam padam hi vipadam na tesam (Bhag. 10.14.58), dangerous at every step. Notwithstanding the dangerous nature of this material jungle, because we are living in it, an important prerequisite to progress is to appreciate that Krsna’s plan is behind all things and thus there is no need be unnecessarily critical nor approving. In fact, mindless approval and visceral criticism are counterproductive. Each and every living entity is unique, there are no two alike and each one has the potential to offer unique love and pleasure to Krsna. Since there are unlimited living entities it is logical to see this as one way that Krsna enjoys unlimitedly. Because of this inclination to enjoy, every living entity is very dear to the Lord who is sitting in the heart waiting for that unique and as yet undiscovered loving reciprocation, raso vai sah (Taittiriya Up 2.7.1), He is all love and love is all to Him. The devotees who have begun the process of uniquely loving Krsna are personally nurtured by Him to come to newer and newer levels of loving exchanges. He specifically and personally takes care of them in proportion to their willingness to be trained, ye yatha mam prapadyante (Bg 4.11). Even if a devotee, due to past habits, makes some mistakes, we must know that Krsna Himself will take care of him or her in a better way then we can imagine or judge. Also, although we may not like what a devotee is doing, or his or her actions may be contrary to accepted morality, nonetheless Krsna may be satisfied with that devotion, api cet suduracaro (Bg 9.30). After all, who is in control?

Sat-sanga -- Using Discrimination To Find the Truth

2008-04-12T03:46:00.004+02:00

Discrimination is the best part of valor." Simply we have to learn how to discriminate whether we are working on material platform or on the spiritual platform. That's all. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna was being advised to work on the spiritual platform. That's all. The whole instruction of Bhagavad-gita is based on this principle, that Arjuna was perplexed with material thoughts. And Lord Krsna wanted to pose him, or to place him in the spiritual platform. That's all. So now, from Arjuna's activity, you can understand that what is spiritual platform and what is material platform.(Srila Prabhupada, NY, April 5, 1966)

The role of sat-sanga is to highlight the patterns that keep us on the material rather than the transcendental platform. The difference between the two is simple. The first is characterized by a subjective reaction to events. The second by understanding that, as pure spirits, no external event has any bearing on us. Naturally there is a huge gap between the two perceptions. Nonetheless, understanding the theory is an essential step on the journey to enlightenment. For example, we all experience rejection, and that can be very painful. As a young man I became suicidal over the loss of a long time lover. It took me years to overcome that loss and the pattern kept repeating itself in other failed relationships. Finally I figured out that the amount of loss I experienced was directly connected to the misunderstanding of myself as a spiritual being. In other words, the amount of suffering was directly proportional to my ignorance of my spiritual nature. The best part of my discovery was its possible and practical application to every day life. This is spirituality. Practical and applicable. Not some debatable promise of distant perfection or, even worse, extorted present payments on an after-life insurance policy.

In the next few posts I will try to explore how Prabhupada’s presentation of Krsna’s advice on discrimination can be understood and applied to immense benefit here and now, in our daily struggle for meaningful existence. Stay tuned!

Our Six Demons and How to Deal With Them

2008-04-08T03:26:00.003+02:00

It is sometimes very hard to know how to deal with deep emotions. Of these six: kama (lust), krodha (anger) lobha (greed), moha (bewilderment), mada (madness) and matsarya (envy), only envy must be ruthlessly uprooted from a devotee's heart. The other five, according to Narottama Dasa Thakur, must be dovetailed. He gives the following examples on how to do it: Lust by offering the results of my activities to Krsna. Anger by directing it to the enemies of the devotees. Greed by eagerness to hear Krsna-katha. Bewilderment by acknowledging my frustrating inability to quickly attain Krsna. Madness when I glorify the limitless beauty and sweet unpredictability of Krsna.

An important point to consider is that the above dosas (faults) are best mitigated according to a devotee’s position. Subjectively speaking, because I am an old man and have been around ISKCON since Srila Prabhupada’s time, my anger has a tendency to be directed at the many ways I see his legacy being misused and corrupted. I am not saying this is the best way and in fact often it isn't. Even for old geezers like me. I certainly would not recommend it for younger devotees. Anger is very dangerous and best to avoid it unless Krsna directs one like He did Arjuna or Mahaprabhu showed with Jagai and Madhai. So, I would be very, very careful if anger comes up too often.

That does not mean that under the guise of anger we should throw out truth. No. Truth is truth and nothing can change that. We may not be able to do much about it for whatever reason but as devotees we cannot live a lie. It is just not possible to lie or condone a lie and at the same time be a devotee.

Mission Critical

2008-04-02T00:38:00.004+02:00

(The) Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action, not for making bureaucracy. Once there is bureaucracy the whole thing will be spoiled. There must be always individual striving and work and responsibility, competitive spirit, not that one shall dominate and distribute benefits to the others and they do nothing but beg from you and you provide. No. (Srila Prabhupada, Bombay, 1972)

This is a mission critical instruction from Srila Prabhupada. Genuine spiritual life is never from the top down. Never impersonal. Never bureaucratic. Never dogmatic. According to Rupa Gosvami the Krsna Consciousness movement is not nyamagraha or organized solely around the rules. Rules are important up to a point but more important are the reasons behind the rules. We must always remember how liberal Krsna is in His dealings with His children and thus understand that no brother or sister can overstep the mood and desire of the father. That is, if you want to keep the family together. This begs the question: what happened to Prabhupada’s family? Why is its decimation since 1977 never discussed in any meaningful manner? At the time of Srila Prabhupada's departure there must have been upward to 2000 of his dedicated disciples active in ISKCON (perhaps someone can supply a more exact figure). What happened to them? Why did the overwhelming majority of them leave? Is no one responsible? Can we have leadership without responsibility? These are important question that need to be discussed. I am eager and open for genuine and now long overdue discussion. I want to talk to the devotee community about this and other important subjects which seem to be anathema in certain quarters. Please feel free to communicate with me.

Ananda Svarupa dasa
carloananda@gmail.com

http://carloananda.blogspot.com/

Letting Go

2008-03-30T08:21:00.002+02:00

Spiritual life is the opposite of material life. We have to let go of one to get the other. The built-in frustration of material endeavor forces us to let go. Being forced to let go materially always comes as a shock because we normally go on blissfully unaware of our past activities that are producing our present mentality and situation. As devotees, Krsna is directing us and, according to our capacity He allows us to deal with stuff that comes up from the past and through that process we grow towards Him.

The process of genuine introspection is not encouraged in the society in which we live and therefore in the bhakti, or devotional section of the Vedas, it is written that no one understands the dealings, activities and mentality of a real devotee of God. Actually, the more a devotee advances towards purity, the more he is misunderstood by the crowd and by their institutions, especially the religious ones.

Many of Krsna’s statements in the Bhagavad-gita are coded. They actually contain far more than it appears on the surface. For me, that is the beauty of the Gita, it is a never ending ocean of new realizations which spur my appreciation for Krsna’s supreme intelligence and His willingness to teach us the prerequisites of divine love. This is satisfying to my mind and especially to my heart. Krsna declares that he who studies the Gita worships Him by his intelligence (18.70). Thus, the Gita is not for fools and rascals who are bewildered by power, position and followers. Nor for the ones that think it is just a basic-level book and leave it aside to enter in the literature of the Gosvamis thinking it more advanced.

Some Comments on Crticism

2008-01-08T03:07:00.000+01:00

Lets face it, no sincere devotee likes to criticize another devotee. Fault finding is foreign to a devotee. We address each other as Prabhu and that term leaves absolutely no room for criticism. Quite the contrary. Even the most abject beginner full of material imperfections, if he chants Hare Krsna and accepts the process of Krsna consciousness he or she is to be considered a vaisnava and to criticize such a devotee is vaisnava aparadha. However, if someone uses the position of devotee to mask some ulterior motive or if someone accepts a position in the devotee community to further some hidden agenda, then criticism is not only allowed, it is mandatory, and to not expose the fault implicates one in the deception.

We don’t like to see senior devotees criticized. We don’t like to see certain gurus and sannyasis criticized. However, these devotees accepted a position of high responsibility and esteem in the devotee community and the community has the right to expect from them a behavior fully commensurate with that position.

If you present yourself for who you are, without pretense or duplicity, despite myriad faults, no devotee in his right mind will criticize you. However, if you pretend to be who you’re not, if you have a history of crooked dealings based on diplomacy and deceit, if your position has been achieved and is maintained through politics and manipulation then not to criticize you is aparadha to Srila Prabhupada, to his movement, and to what he stood for. Those in leadership position in ISKCON are expected to do their service according to the standards Prabhupada set up. These standards are no secret and are well known to the larger percentage of his disciples. Spiritually speaking, the difference between the times when Prabhupada was with us and now is like day and night. No wonder some of us find fault. We find fault not because we are addicted to fault finding. No. We find fault because fault is there.

Srila Prabhupada on What is Guru

2008-01-04T10:02:00.000+01:00

“But the spiritual master does not think of himself as Hari. Although he's offered the respect of Hari, he thinks himself as humble servant of Hari and all others. A spiritual master takes his devo..., disciples as his spiritual master. That is the position. He thinks that "Krsna has sent me so many spiritual masters." He does not think himself as spiritual master. He thinks himself their servant. Because they have to be trained. Krsna has appointed him to train them. Therefore he thinks himself as servant of the disciples. This is the position. So when one is advanced, he can see the importance of devotees. Advanced devotee never disobey or disrespect another devotee. Disrespect to another devotee is a great offense. Vaisnava aparadha. Vaisnava aparadha is very serious offense. Therefore we teach to address amongst the devotees, "Prabhu", "Prabhu", "Such and such Prabhu." This should not be simply spoken by the lips. It should be realized. Everyone should think other devotee as his prabhu, master. Not he should try to become master.” (The Nectar of Devotion Lectures, Vrndavana, October 23, 1972).

Recently I read an interesting comment to the effect that in the devotee community, instead of discussion who is guru, we should be discussing what is guru. In the preceding comments Srila Prabhupada highlights three of the important symptoms a real guru manifests: One, he thinks himself as servant of all others. Two, he personally takes responsibility to train his disciples and, three, he treats all devotees, big and small, as prabhu or master. To speak frankly, my biggest disappointment during my tenure as a regional secretary in ISKCON during the first six or seven years of the Zonal Acarya farce was the utter disregard of the local zonal guru to spend any time to train his disciples. Unlimited time and discussion covering every detail of the initiation ceremonies, that was taken, but for training post-initiation? Practically nothing. And that hurt my heart, my service and, ultimately, my faith. In fact, it has taken me the best part of twenty years to fully recover.

Krsna Consciousness Can Teach You How To Think Critically -- Or Would You Rather Vegetate?

2007-10-25T09:46:00.000+02:00

In this world the real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Greed is their God. Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners, capitalists. They own you. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the US Senate, the US Congress, the state houses, the city halls, the judges, not only in the USA but internationally as well. And they own all the big media companies so they control just about all the news and information you get to hear. They spend billions every year lobbying to get what they want. Well we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everyone else. They don't care about spiritual emancipation. They have effectively sidelined real religion. They don't believe in the soul. They don't believe in life after death. They may say they do but they don't. They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people. That’s against their interests. They want obedient workers, slavish consumers. Where do you stand?

Some thoughts on Dharma

2007-10-11T22:05:00.000+02:00

Religion means that we are servants. Otherwise, how can Krsna or God demand that we surrender to Him? Therefore the proper term for religion is dharma or the living entity’s inherent quality. Every living entity in whatever form is dependent, no one is independent. The common understanding of religion is faith, but faith can change whereas dharma or being dependent on Krsna is an unchangeable fact, i.e. not something introduced at a particular time.

Eternal religious truths are contained in the Vedas. Veda means fact and it is apauresam or not postulated, manufactured, concocted or cooked up at some point in time to serve some transient idea. It is reality, fixed and unchangeable. Unfortunately, and reprehensibly, all main line religions (including Hinduism) have a history of self-service, when the real purpose of the religion as originally taught by its prophets and acaryas has been perverted to support the institutional structure around it. Or, the essence has gone and most thinking people aren't such fools that they haven’t noticed.

Now, why does this remind me of an institution I was once so proud to belong to?

On YouTube

2007-10-02T02:53:00.000+02:00

On the second and fourth Saturdays of the month I hold a Bhagavad Gita Forum at Karunika, a cultural spiritual initiative in the center of Amsterdam. Last week a Dutch documentary maker filmed the event. He called me this evening to say that he had put the chanting part of my presentation on YouTube under the name Ananda Svarup. For those of you who like devotional music here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNgoeslpRIo

Accompanied by my acoustic guitar I 'm chanting the concluding verses from the Gita (Ch. 18.61-66), verses that have made a difference to my life and which mean more to me than I can properly express. It's not only about music, it's about feeling, appreciation and the tiny, very,very tiny beginning of love.

Sharing Some Thoughts with a Friend

2007-09-24T16:52:00.000+02:00

Dear X,

The Truth being the authority is simply a way of saying not to trust too readily just anyone who may have the external trappings of authority, spiritual or otherwise. Power, money, politics and diplomacy are the ways of the material world. isvarah sarva bhutnam hrd deshe 'rjuna tisthati... tam eva saranam gaccha sarva bhavena bharata (Bg. 18.61 and 62). Lord Krsna gave you a brain and a heart so don't vegetate, use them in His service and trust no one who does not speak and act exactly from sastra AND previous authority. Ultimately our tiny insect-like lives are not that serious. Me, I just like to make people, and especially devotees, think for themselves. Not all do. But even if a few do it, that will be a great victory for truth. Study Prabhupada's books deeply and don't be allured by nice stories, fancy acts and propaganda. Just because you noticed some emotions in me when I chanted my japa does not make me anything special. Plenty of drama actors can cry real tears and show very believable emotions at will.

You are a good boy X and I like you and have genuine affection for you. So, be blessed and in this life please wrap up this miserable existence in the material world. Be yourself, don't aspire to imitate anyone, ever great preachers. Devotee means no independent desire.

"Whatever You want of me, my Lord, let that be."

That is the path of freedom from fear.

Your aspiring servant always,

Ananda

Advanced? Who is advanced?

2007-09-24T03:21:00.000+02:00

Who is actually advanced in devotional service? That’s a tricky question. The pat and often heard answer goes something like this, “I am lower than a worm in stool and if someone hears my name he will go to hell...” and so on and so forth — that is a very popular line promoted by kanisthas for kanisthas. That answer is cheap imitation of great souls like Krsnadas Kaviraj Gosvami who wrote it in Caitanya Caritamrita. So, let's consider the circumstances under which it was written. Krsnadas Kaviraj is an eternal associate of the Lord and he expressed those feelings writing under the personal auspices and request of the Gosvamis in Vrindavana having been sent there by the direct order of Lord Nityananda in a dream who told him, “O My dear Krsnadas, do not be afraid, go to Vrindavana for there you will attain all things.” And off he went the very next morning, an old man on foot all the way from Bengal to Vrindavana -- but his heart brimming over with love of Krsna. Because that love is so overwhelming, so unimaginable and utterly undeserved, and because Krsna’s extraordinary beauty moves like huge waves in an ocean knocking one repeatedly head over heels, experiencing such great fortune one perforce feels totally undeserving, humble and small. Thus, speaking of humility, that’s the real deal. It is unthinkable and offensive to pretend to be on that level. And anyone who does so is a cheater, a rascal. Avoid his association like the plague.

kanistha = a devotee on the beginning platform of devotion, overly concerned with the external rituals and accouterments of spiritual life and unable to properly evaluate real spiritual advancement.

Some Thoughtful Words from Srila Prabhupada

2007-09-21T23:21:00.000+02:00

"Why this Gaudiya Matha failed? Because they tried to become more than guru. He, before passing away, he gave all direction and never said that 'This man should be the next acharya.’ But these people, just after his passing away they began to fight, who shall be acharya. That is the failure. They never thought, 'Why Guru Maharaja gave us instruction so many things, why he did not say that this man should be acharya?’ They wanted to create artificially somebody acharya and everything failed. They did not consider even with common sense that if Guru Maharaja wanted to appoint somebody as acharya, why did he not say? He said so many things, and this point he missed? The real point? And they insist upon it.They declared some unfit person to become acharya. Then another man came, then another, acharya, another acharya. So better remain a foolish person perpetually to be directed by Guru Maharaja. That is perfection." (Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation,16 August 1976, Bombay)

Radhastami -- The Auspicious Appearance Day of Srimati Radharani

2007-09-19T05:40:00.000+02:00

"Even though tightly embraced by Rukminidevi in a jeweled palace in Dvaraka on the shore of the ocean, Krsna, remembering the fragrance of Radharani's transcendental presence within a grove on the enchanting banks of the Yamuna river, suddenly fainted." (Ujjvala Nilamani, by Rupa Gosvami)

Rukminidevi = Krsna's chief queen in Dvaraka
Dvaraka = Krsna's capital city on the shore of the Western Indian Ocean
Yamuna river = Situated in Vrndavana where Krsna manifested His most intimate loving pastimes

A poetic offering to my Guru

2007-09-11T17:27:00.001+02:00

Vyasa Puja Offering to Srila Prabhupada 2007

1. The mercy you bestow is beyond compare.You make the impossible possible and you stand alone as the supreme patita pavana.
2. In your presence all sins take flight. By your mercy the most sinful are purified. How can anyone compare with you?
3. Bathing in the Ganges and similar rituals purify only after prolonged practice. But in a moment, just by your glance, the heart is cleansed.
4. The chanting of the holy name excuses even a direct offender to the supreme Lord Krsna. But to offend you is certain spiritual suicide.
5. Packed safely within your heart Krsna came to the West. From that residence He spoke, He wrote, He taught, He sang, He cooked -- all through you.
6. Spiritual choices sweetly beckon me to Krsna's side -- frolic and play in Gokula, love and fight in Dvaraka, chant and dance in Navadvipa? What do I want? Sincerely, all I want is to become worthy to be with you, life after life.

Your insignificant servant

Ananda Svarupa dasa

patita pavana = one who can purify the fallen souls.
Goloka = Krsna's intimate abode where He plays as a cowherd boy.
Dvaraka = Krsna's capital city where He reigns a warrior king.
Navadvipa = Where Krsna appeared as Caitanya Mahaprabhu to teach the chanting of His holy names as the principal religious principle for the current era.

--

The Beauty of the Gita part I

2007-06-20T01:54:00.001+02:00

Bhagavad-gita

Summary Study of Chapter 1

Verse 1

One will find in the Bhagavad-gita all that is contained in other scriptures, but the reader will also find things which are not to be found elsewhere. That is the specific standard of the Gita. It is the perfect theistic science because it is directly spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord sri Krsna.

The word dharma-ksetra (a place where religious rituals are performed) is significant because, on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was present on the side of His friend Arjuna. Kuruksetra was formerly known as Samanta-pancaka because there Lord Parasurama filled five lakes with the blood of 21 generations of ksatriyas (royal warriors) whom he killed. Later King Kuru performed austerities there and it thus became known as Kuruksetra.

Because the battle was arranged to be fought at Kuruksetra, which is mentioned elsewhere in the Vedas as a place of worship even for the denizens of heaven, Dhrtarastra, the father of the Kurus, became very fearful about the influence of the holy place on the outcome of the battle. He knew very well that this would influence Arjuna and the sons of Pandu favorably, because by nature they were all virtuous.

Another important word here is mamakah which means “my party”. Actually we all belong to Krsna and there is no “my” anything. Although conditioned souls may forget this and under maya’s spell will identify with family and loved ones, this is not acceptable from the executive head or king whose duty is to guide his subjects away from illusion. If the government is in illusion what hope is there for the subjects? The first qualification of government or king is that they represent God. God has given them the power over the citizens so they can uplift them, not exploit them. Thus, to rectify this situation Krsna engineered the battle of Kuruksetra. dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge , “To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium”. (Bg 4.8).

Verse 9

Here Duryodhana uses the words: mad-arthe tyakta-jivitah or “prepared to lay down their lives for my sake “. Although Duryodhana is speaking from the platform of false ego, his words turn out to be an inderect prophesy as Krsna confirms in the eleventh chapter, mayaivaite nihatah purvam eva , or, “they are already put to death by My arrangement”.

Verses 39, 40 & 41

(often quoted by srila Prabhupada in his lectures and writings)

These three verses contain Arjuna’s first argument against fighting. He says: if we kill all the men of the ruling class (ksatriyas ) then the women will be unprotected.

When women are not protected they will be exploited. The vedic system of family samskara (religious tradition) will stop. This refers chiefly to garbhadhana-samskara or the process of producing good progeny. Arjuna: strisu dustasu varsneya jayate varna-sankarah , “From the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Vrsni (Krsna) , comes unwanted population”. Good population in human society is the basic principle for peace, prosperity and spiritual progress in life.

In the varnasrama institution there are many principles of religious traditions to help members of the family grow properly and attain spiritual values. The elder members are responsible for for such purifying processes in the family, beginning from birth to death. If the elder members of the family are slain, the younger ones may, lacking good example, neglect their samskaras and develop irreligious habits thus losing their chance in human life of attaining salvation.

Why was this Arjuna’s first concern? Because he was leader of men who understood his duty as a member of the royal order very well. What are the duties and qualities of a ksatriya?

Some of the prominent personalities mentioned in the first chapter

Duryodhana: Eldest son of Dhrtarastra. Determined enemy of the Pandavas having usurped the throne.
Dronacarya: Martial arts teacher of the princes, both Kurus and Pandavas.
Dhrstadyumna: Son of Drupada and born (along with his sister Draupadi) from sacrificial fire. Drupada prayed for a son to kill Dronacarya.
Bhima and Arjuna: Second and third Pandava brothers. Bhima is the son of Vayu the demigod of wind and Arjuna of Indra, king of the heavenly planets.
Yuyudhana: Also known as Satyaki. A Yadava. He was an amsa (empowered portion) of the Maruts, demigods of wind.
Virata: King of Matsya where the Pandavas spent their last year of exile incognito. His daughter Uttara married Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna and Subhadra.
Drupada: King of Pancala. enemy of Dronacarya.
Dhrstaketu: King of Cedi. Son of Sisupala (who was killed by Krsna in the royal assembly of Yudhisthira’s Rajasuya sacrifice). Killed by Drona.
Cekitana: Famous archer of the Vrsni dynasty. Killed by Duryodhana.
Kasiraja: Son of the king of Benares who was installed as monarch after Krsna killed his father.
Purujit: Son of Kuntibhoja and stepbrother of Kunti.
Kuntibhoja: A king in the Yadu dynasty. Cousin of Vasudeva. Foster father of Vasudeva’s sister Kunti. Therefore Kunti is Krsna’s aunt.
Saibya: Great archer. Fought on the side of Duryodhana.
Yudhamanyu: Prince of Pancalas. He was Arjuna’s bodyguard. Killed by Asvatthama.
Uttamauja: Guard of Arjuna’s right chariot wheel. Killed by Asvatthama.
Saubhadrah: Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna and Subhadra. A maharati car warrior almost as good as his father. He is the son of the moon god, Candra. Killed by the combined effort of the Kuru’s maharatis.
Draupadeyas: The five sons of Draupadi: Prativindya (by Yudhisthira), Srutasoma (by Bhima), Srutakirti (by Arjuna), Satanika (by Nakula), Srutakarma (by Sahadeva).
Bhisma: Son of Gangadevi. The paternal grandfather of the princes.
Karna: Secret son of Surya the sun god and Kunti. Adopted by the suta (charioteer, lower caste than ksatriya) Radheya.
Krpa: along with Dronacarya he was the martial arts teacher of the Kuru and Pandava princes.
Asvatthama: Son of Dronacarta by Kripi, the sister of Krpacarya. Fanatic follower of Duryodhana. When the war was lost he unleashed the Brahmastra weapon to try to end end the Pandava dynasty. He was captured and then pardoned by Arjuna at the insistence of Draupadi.
Vikarna: One of Duryodhana’s one hundred brothers and one of the eleven maharatas among them.
Saumadatti: Known as Bhurisrava . Son of the king of the Bahlikas . Fought on Duryodhana’s side.
Sikhandi: He was Amba (princess of Kasi) reborn to cause the death of Bhisma.
Jayadratha: King of Sindh. Married Dussala (Duryodhana’s sister). Kidnapped Draupadi and for this was humiliated by Arjuna who shaved off his hair and mustache and dragged him in front of all the assembled kings and made him swear allegiance to his brother, King Yudhisthira.
Krtavarma: Born in the Vrsni dynasty. Friend of Arjuna.
Salya: King of Madras. Brother of Madri (one of the two mothers of the Pandavas). He was to fight on the Pandavas’ side but was diplomatically ensnared by Duryodhana to join his side instead.

By way of introduction... a Travelogue

2007-06-14T03:07:00.001+02:00

Some notes on the Vedas - their importance to life and love in South India

Tiruchendur, 20 February '06

After three weeks at the foothills of the Western Ghat mountains that separate Tamil Nadu from Kerala, I have moved to a new ashram by the sea at Tiruchendur. I am in a small village well outside the city and 5 minutes from the beach. Kulashekaram Pattinam, the village, is named after the renowned king of Travancore (modern day Trivandrum the capital of Kerala) and is set in a natural harbor. From this harbor Indian navigators sailed to Lanka and further to the Far East to trade their spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and pepper as well as jaggery (natural brown sugar), dried coconut, cashews and almonds. This was around 3000 BC (yes, that's five thousand years ago). Modern anthropologists, followers of Darwin's theory, do not accept that there was civilized life on this planet at that time, but Vedic written and, most important, oral and cultural tradition, speaks of spiritually evolved society going back millions of years.

Indian books of knowledge are called Vedas and include the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva vedas which deal mainly with the mantras (chants) and methodology of performing sacrificial rites usually aimed at the demigods like Surya (sun), Candra (moon), Indra (rain), Siva, Durga and so on with the aim of assuring material prosperity. This primary driving force for religious rites is called artha, or material development aimed at kama, or satisfaction of the senses. The supply of light and heat, rain and so on is out of our hands so why not worship the powers that supply these necessities? Something like, if you don't pay your electricity and water bills the supply will be cut off. The majority of people are happy with this. Let our necessities be given and let us enjoy in unobstructed ignorance of our spiritual identity. They forget that cruel death is waiting in the wings to end their part in this illusory stage play. We will be kicked out and it seems madness to me to arrive at that point without having made a concentrated effort to discover who am I really? What am I doing here? Where will I go? Can my action determine the outcome? The convention is to tag these questions as imponderables, but the Vedas very much beg to differ. Therefore there is another, deeper, section of the Vedas comprising of the Vedanta, Upanishads, Puranas and Itihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata). This section deals with our spiritual identity and how to revive our lost, loving relationship with our creator. The Vedic version is clear: the only absolute reality is the soul, atma, and its relationship with the supreme soul, paramatma. Everything else is but a passing show -- life after life.

But lets get back to the king. Maharaja Kulashekhara was born into the Sera dynasty of the royal family of Travancore, the southern half of the modern state of Kerala, in southwest India. The rulers of the land did not claim to own the kingdom but considered themselves vassals and ministers to Ananta Padmanabha Swami, the Deity of Visnu, whom they regarded as the actual owner of the land. Ananta Padmanabha, situated at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), was, and still is, the worshipable Deity of the people of that area. The kings of Travancore would come daily before the Lord to offer obeisances and report on the administration of the country. (The tradition of the Maharaja of Travancore’s visiting Lord Ananta Padmanabha Swami goes on to the present day, even though the king has no real political power.) Such was the pious and saintly quality of the ancient line of Vedic kings among whom Maharaja Kulashekhara appeared. Kulashekhara was a ksatriya (ruler and military man) of great prowess and became king not only of the Sera lands but also of the neighboring lands of the Pandya and Chola dynasties. His flawless administration stood for peace, virtue, justice, and happiness. He nourished the people, and he personified magnanimity.

Sometime in the middle of his rule, he had a spiritual vision and renounced the throne, moved to the holy place of Sri Rangam and dedicated his life to spiritual cultivation. He is famous throughout India for writing the Mukunda Mala Stotram, a garland of verses to Krishna, the giver of liberation. A sampler:

“I have no attraction for performing religious rituals or holding any earthly kingdom. I do not care for sense enjoyments; let them appear and disappear in accordance with my previous deeds. My only desire is to be fixed in devotional service to the lotus feet of the Lord, even though I may continue to take birth here life after life.”

“My Lord, I do not worship You to be liberated from this material entanglement, nor do I wish to save myself from the hellish condition of material existence, nor do I pray for a beautiful wife to enjoy in a nice garden. I wish only that I may always be in full ecstasy with the pleasure of serving Your Lordship.”

"The desert of material existence has exhausted me. But today I will cast aside all troubles by diving into the lake of Lord Hari (Krishna) and drinking freely of the abundant waters of His splendor. The lotuses in that lake are His hands and feet, and the fish are His brilliant shining eyes. That lake's water relieves all fatigue and is agitated by the waves His arms create. Its current flows deep beyond fathoming."

With affection,

Ananda
(Carlo)